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 82

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 82
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 82
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 82

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J OHN S. MILLER, a leading farmer and ex-soldier of Owen township, Clin- ton county, Ind., descends from an old colonial family. His paternal grand- father, Solomon Miller, was born August 22, 1795, and was the father of the following chil- dren: Mary, Jacob, Catherine, Solomon, Mary A., George, Elijah, David, James, Noah,

John, Betsey, Sarah and Rebecca. Solomon .Miller came to Clinton county in 1824, and entered 160 acres of land. He died compara- tively young; his widow then married William Douglass, and died in 1849. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Jacob Saylors, who was the father of eight children, viz: John, Henry, Daniel, Sanford, Andrew, Wil- son, Mary A., and Hettie. Jacob Miller, father of John S., our subject, was born Janu- "ary 1, 1818, married Mary A. Saylors, who was a few years his junior, and to this mar- riage the following children were born: Mary J., John S., Sarah £., Hester A., James, Mel- vina, Margaret C. and Elmira. Mrs. Mary A. Miller died at the early age of thirty-seven years, and for his second wife he selected Eliz- abeth Coapstick, who bore him one child, Joseph, Jr. The second Mrs. Miller died in 1890. Jacob Miller, the father of these chil- dren, was the owner of 120 acres of land on the present site of Sedalia; he was very highly esteemed among his neighbors and acted as the administrator of one estate in his vicinage. His death took place March 8, 1891, and his loss was deeply felt throughout the township.

John S. Miller was born in Clinton county, Ind., November 4, 1840, and was reared on the home farm, which was then nearly all tim- ber land, and received his education in the old log school-house. . September 25, 1862, he enlisted in the Third cavalry, company H, Forty-fifth Indiana volunteers, the company being commanded by Capt. Harriett. He joined the regiment at Crab Orchard, and his first engagement was at Lavergne, near Nash- ville; he was in the battles of Stone River, Chattanooga, Chickamauga and Knoxville, where they were surrounded in the winter of 1863-64, and returned to Chattanooga in the spring; then started with Sherman on his march to the sea, and for seven months were under constant fire, but on August 28, 1864,

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

while some twenty miles south of Atlanta and under command of Gen. Kilpatrick, he was ordered, with others, on detail duty, to tear up railroad tracks and to destroy the road, even if it cost the life of every man in the detach- ment of one hundred. Here he sprained an ankle, was taken prisoner and taken to Ander- sonville. (A most interesting article from the pen of Mr. Miller, too voluminous for the pages of this work, appears in the " American Trib- une," of Indianapolis, dated September 6, 1893.) After his release from Andersonville he was taken by a circuitous route to Jackson- ville, Fla., and to Fernandina, and by sea to Annapolis, Md., and thence by rail to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he received an honorable discharge June 28, 1865.

On his return from the war, Mr. Miller was married, September 21, 1865, to Miss Marry E. Moore, who was born October 19, 1844, and is a daughter of James and Harriet Abigail (Stevens) Moore, and to this union the following children have been born : Leonidas R., Clifton D., May, Dell, Murad Bertram (deceased), Margorie A., Clara Leone, Elsir Hortusa, John Grover (deceased), and Blanch Gertrude. In the fall of 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Miller began housekeeping, and on the second day of March, 1866, they moved to their present farm, which then con- tained eighty acres, all in timber, but now is a blooming farm of 148 acres, with ten acres only uncultivated. The place is well drained with over 2, 500 rods of tiling. and improved with a fine modern dwelling that cost fully $2,000. Fraternally he is a member of Seda- lia lodge, No. 508, F. & A. M., in which, with the exception of secretary and tyler, he has filled all the offices. He is also a member of the Oliver Short post, No. 390, G. A. R., at Rossville. His boys are also members of the Sedalia lodge of Masons, and in religion the family are Methodists, in which church Mr.

Miller is trustee and has served as superintend- ent of the Sabbath-school. Politically he is democrat, has been a delegate to the county convention, and was once elected justice of the peace, but declined to serve. The family enjoy the respect of the entire community and their social standing is of the highest.

EORGE ANTHON MILANI, retired business man and well known citizen of Frankfort, was born in the king- dom of Bavaria March 13, 1824, the son of Adam and Margaret (Fishland) Milani, parents both natives of the same country, where they lived and died. They had a fami- ly of eight children, only two of whom are now living, namely, the subject of this sketch and a sister. George A. Milani enjoyed the advantage of a good education in the schools of his native country, and, while young, be- gan learning the trade of watchmaking in a small city abont twenty miles from Vienna, Austria. He followed his trade at different places in the old country until 1850, at which time he came to the United States, locating first in Crawfordsville, Ind., where he estab- lished himself in business as a watchmaker and jeweler. After continuing at the above place for four years, he removed to the town of Ladoga, Montgomery county, thence in 1860 came to Frankfort, where he has since made his home.

Mr. Milani followed the jewelry business and watchmaking with most gratifying success until 1885, in which year he practically retired from active life and is now spending his de- clining years in the enjoyment of that quietude which only those who have battled long and earnestly with the world know how to appre- ciate. Personally Mr. Milani is quile popular in Frankfort, and belongs to that large and eminently respectable class of people who in a

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quiet way exert a wholesome influence in the community. He was married, in 1851, to Elizabeth Clevenger, daughter of Samuel Clevenger of Montgomery county, Ind., who died in 1871, leaving two children : Julia, wife of A. B. Kempf, and Jennie, who be- came the wife of Ferdinand Dern, both living at this time in the city of Frankfort.

p ROF. OSCAR S. MILLER is an in- fluential citizen of Sedalia, Clinton county, and the honored principal of the graded schools of that place. The family originated in Holland. His grand- father, Charles Miller, was born in Pennsyl- vania, and married Sarah Heller of that state, by whom he had eight children-Peter, Al- fred, Stephen, Sarah, Adeline, Joseph, Amanda and Christian. He was a tailor by trade and accumulated considerable property. including 400 acres of valuable land. He and his wife were active members of the Dutch Reform church, and he was a stalwart advo- cate of democracy. All of his children lived to rear families of their own. Christian Mil- ler, father of our subject, was born in Penn- sylvania in 1840, and in 1864 was joined in wedlock with Jane Amanda Toxel, who was born in 1843, and is a daughter of Stephen and Esther (Mickley) Toxel, who were natives of Pennsylvania but moved to Indiana in 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had eight children-Oscar S.,. Charles E., who died at an early age; William S., Joseph D., Sarah E., Annie M., Minnie M., who was a twin sister of Annie, and died at the age of a year and a half, and Adeline J. The parents began their domestic life in the home of an uncle, where they lived for two years, when Mr. Miller purchased twenty acres of partially improved land. This he afterward sold, and rented other land. He

met with many difficulties and hardships in the . early days, but at length prosperity crowned his efforts, and as the result of good man- agement and perseverance he is now well- to-do. He supports the democracy and he and his wife belong to the Dutch Reform church, in which he served for many years as elder. They are well known people and their friends in the community are many.

Professor Miller is one of the native sons of Clinton county. He was born October 8, 1864, spent his boyhood days on the old home farm and began his education in the public schools. In 1886, he entered the Danville Normal college, and has also attended the . county normals. His aptitude for study and earnest application have made him a scholarly man and brought him success in his work in teaching, which he began in 1886. He is now principal of the schools of Sedalia, which oc- cupy a fine two-story brick building, erected at a cost of $3.500. During the summer months he engaged in farm work and other pursuits, and in the summer of 1894 filled the important position of book-keeper for the firm of Milnor Brothers, extensive dealers in stock and grain. On the 10th of February, 1891, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss Sarah Ellen Morrisey, who was born in this state, April 17, 1869, and is a daughter of Michael and Malinda Morrisey, of Irish descent; both parents died when Sarah Ellen was eight years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have a pleasant, tasty home, surrounded by beau- tiful maple trees, and the household is noted for its hospitality. Mr. Miller warmly ad- vocates the principles of democracy, and by his ballot supports that party. He also be- longs to the Dutch Reform church A man of sterling worth and strict integrity, he well mer- its the high regard in which he is held, and de- serves mention in this volume. April 14, he received the democratic nomination for trustee

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

of Owen township, and was elected November 6, 1894. being one of the few democrats to achieve victory.

S AMUEL MOHLER. one of the old settlers and substantial farmers of Owen township, Clinton county, Ind., a deacon in the German Baptist church, descends from a Swiss family who came to America and settled in Pennsylvania in old colonial times. Ludwig Mohler, great- great-great-grandfather of our subject, came with his family from Switzerland on the ship Thistle, via Glasgow, Scotland. to America, arriving August 29, 1730, and settling in Lan- caster county, Pa. He was born April 4, 1696, and died in January, 1753, aged fifty- seven years, nine months, and two days. Henry, the forefather of this branch of the family, is traced five generations. These facts and the following genealogy are taken from a genealogical chart made by Simon Mohler, a descendant of Henry, who died an aged man in Lancaster county, Pa. He took the facts from the old records, tombstones and tradi- tions of the family. From Jacob the follow- ing branch comes: He married Mariah Bucher, and they had the following children-Mary, Fannie, John, George, Kate, and Elizabeth A. From John of this generation, who was the fourth from the founder of the family in Amer- ica, spring-Elias, Jacob, George, Emanuel, William, Nancy and Polly. From Emanuel spring-John, Rebecca, George. Sarah, Susan and Eliza. This is all the record preserved by Jacob, the son of Ludwig. From Henry, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, son of Ludwig the founder of the family and the ancestor of this branch of the Mohler family. spring - Sarah, Marion, Susan, Henry, great- grandfather of our subject; John Jacob, Cris, Sarah and Eliza. . These are the third. The

fourth generation from Henry of the third generation, are Mary, John, Henry, grand- father of our subject; Samuel and Elizabeth. The fifth generation from Henry of the fourth generation, are-Samuel, Hannah, Rebecca, Allen, the father of our subject; John and Eliza. From the sixth generation from Allen of the fifth (the father of our subject), spring six children: Daniel, Samuel, Henry, John, Mary and Ellen.

"Henry Mohler, grandfather of the subject, was a substantial farmer of Lancaster county, Pa., and married Annie Landis. They were German Baptists and it is believed that all the Mohlers were German Baptists. He died at forty-five years of age in Lancaster county, Pa Allen, son of the above and father of our subject, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1801, received a common education and be- came a farmer. His father gave him $1,000 in land in Cumberland county, Pa. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Ludwig Kurtz of Lancaster county, Pa., and to them were born five children. This wife died, and he married Sarah Murphy, and by her had one child, Ellen. After marriage he resided in Lancas- ter county, Pa., two years, and then lived in Cumberland county, Pa., until 1854, when he came to Clinton county, Ind., and settled on eighty acres of land in Ross township, to which he added until he owned 120 acres and was a prosperous farmer. He was an honor- able, hard-working man, respected by all who knew him. He died in 1885, aged seventy- five years.

Samuel Mohler, our subject, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., April 5, 1836, received a common education and became a carpenter and farmer. He came, when eighteen years of age, with his parents to Indiana and follow- ed the trade of a carpenter for twelve years, and built many barns in this part of the coun- ty, especially on Twelve Mile Prarie. In 1866

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he married Mary J., daughter of George and Rebecca (Thrush) Sthaler, from Pennsylvania, of English descent. Mary J. was born in Hagerstown, Md., September 23, 1846. Her parents died when she was but seven years old. Her father was a blacksmith and died in Harrisburg, Pa., and she was brought up by her uncle, Jacob Thrush, who caine to In- diana in 1854 and settled in Ross township. He was a substantial farmer and blacksmith. To Mr. and Mrs. Mohler were born nine chil- dren : Sarah, married Noah Reppart, a farm- er of Ross township; Albert, married Rebecca Anderson, is a baker and confectioner in La Fayette, and has one child; Edward, Simon, Eliza, Manson, Annie, Willis and Margie. After marriage Mr. Mohler settled on his pres- sent farm in Owen township.' He and wife are members of the German Baptist church, in which he has been deacon ten years. In politics he is a republican. He is an indus- trious, hard-working man and has brought up a respectable family of children and has given them all good educations.

EORGE E. MOORE, D. D. S., of Frankfort, Clinton county, Ind., was born in Acton, Ontario, June 3, 1868, and is a son of John and Jennie Moore. John Moore, the father was born in Nickell, in 1841, and Jennie Moore, the mother, was born in Ogdensburg, N. Y., in 1846. They were married at Guelph, Ontario, November 1, 1865, and first located in Acton, where John Moore engaged in the saw-mill and lumber business and remained there until 1873, and then moved to Limehouse, Ontario, where he engaged in the lumber and lime trade, was successful financially, and still resides there. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore have been born four children-Charles, of Lancaster, Ohio, pho-

tographer; George E., whose name opens this paragraph; and Albert and Frank, at home.

George E. Moore attended the high-school in Guelph, graduated in 1886, and then for three year's was employed as clerk in the wholesale hardware store of J. M. Bond & Co .; he next entered the Ohio Dental college at Cincinnati; (the second established in the United States) October 1, 1889, and gradu- ated in March, 1892, and then engaged as an assistant in' Monroe, Mich., where he re- mained one-and-a-half years; then passed a year in Chicago, and finally came to Frank- fort, and here achieved a fine reputation and built up a lucrative practice considering the brief period he has been here. He has finely equipped rooms and makes a specialty of crown and bridge work, the highest branch of his art and the crucial test of the abilities of the art- ist. Dr. Moore is a Knight of Pythias, and is personally a most genial gentleman.

J AMES W. MOORE was born in Clin- ton county, Ind., November 23. 1848, the son of John and Mahuldah Moore, natives of Ohio and of Irish descent. John Moore was born February 28, 1813, in Hamilton county, Ohio, accompanied his par- ents to Rush county, Ind., about the year 1830, and later became a resident of the county of Clinton, where he engaged in farm- ing. His was indeed a very industrious life, and his labors were followed with well de- served reward, as he became in time one of the most prosperous farmers of Jackson township. He was married July 11, 1837, to Mahuldah Douglass, who proved indeed a true helpmate and who bore him the following children: Thomas, of Clinton county; Emily, deceased; Rachel, wife of Jacob Mckinsey; Robert, died in the army; William F., a farmer of Boone county; James W., subject of

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

this mention; Clarissa, wife of William Golds- berry; Eliza, wife of Hiram Irwin; John B., a resident of Hamilton county, Kan. ; Charles, a resident of the county of Boone; Morton L .; Alice, wife of Edward Berry; Mahuldah, deceased; and Anna, deceased. The father of these children died on the nineteenth day of January, 1890. He was a devout member of the Presbyterian church, with which, with his wife, he became identified in 1857. and in every relation of life commanded the respect of all with whom he became acquainted.

James W. Moore was reared in his native county, in the common schools of which he re- ceived his educational training, and, after re- siding under the parental roof until his twenty- fourth year, purchased a tract of land in Jack- son township, consisting of forty-four acres, and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture upon his own responsibility. To his original pur- chased he made additions from time to time, and is now the possessor of 13-7 acres of land, well improved, the buildings on the same ranking with the best in the community where he resides. Mr. Moore has always been a careful farmer and believes in the true dignity of agriculture as a science. He has given considerable attention to the raising of fine stock, particularly cattle and hogs, and in this department his success has long since been assured. Mr. Moore has been twice married; the first time on the twenty-third of April, 1872, to Charity V. Goldsberry, who was born in Ross county, Ohio, April 5, 1848, the daugh- ter of Amos and Anna Goldsberry, both par- ents natives of Ohio. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Moore resulted in the birth of the follow- ing children : An infant, born March 1, 1873, died March 21 of the same year; Ernest W., born April 23, 1876; Clifford F., born Octo- ber 14, 1878; Virgil W., born October 5, 1880, and Urcie M., born July 19, 1887, died on the twenty-ninth of September following. The

mother of these children, a most popular lady in the community and a valued member of the Presbyterian church, departed this life Septem- ber IS, 1892. On the fourth of February, 1894. Mr. Moore married his present wife, Mrs. Anna F. Truitt, the daughter of Warner and Sophia (Sill) Hayworth.

ENRY Y. MORRISON, a widely known public man, eminent lawyer, and representative citizen of Frank- fort, is a native of Adams county, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the fifteenth day of March, 1826. His father, James Mor- rison, was born in Fleming county, Ky., February 10, 1795, and was the son of John and Elizabeth (McGary) Morrison, natives of Ireland and early settlers of Kentucky. John Morrison was a farmer by occupation and pur- sued that useful calling in the above state until 1802, at which time he emigrated to Ohio, settling in Adams county, where his death subsequently occurred. He reared the follow- ing children-James, John, Henry, William, Joseph. Jane, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary. James Morrison, father of Henry Y., was born and reared a farmer, taught school in his early days, and in 1828 moved from Ohio to Fountain county, Ind., thence, in the spring of 1835, came to the county of Clinton, locating in what is now Warren township. He entered a tract of government land, to which he made additions by subsequent purchase, and resided on his home place until his death in the month of October, 1870. James Morrison was mar- ried in Adams county, Ohio, September 30, 1818, to Margaret Sphar, who was born in Washington county, Pa., July 27, 1802, the daughter of Martin and Margaret (Duncan) Sphar. The following are the names of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Morrison- John, Martin, Henry Y., Sarah J., Margaret

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

A., James and Owen. The mother of these children died July 17, 1886. James Morrison served as surveyor of Fountain county two terms of two years each, and for two terms was a member of the board of commissioners of the county of Clinton. He served as justice of peace and township assessor, and was a man of good judgment and many excellent traits of character.

Henry Y. Morrison was ten years old when his parents moved to Clinton county, and his only means of education was an occasional subscription school, which he attended during the winter season until his seventeenth year. He improved every opportunity offered, and having prepared himself for teaching by attend- ing a private school taught by his friend, John P. Crothers, at that time auditor of Clinton county-he began, at the age of nineteen, to teach during the winter and worked on the farm the remainder of the year. He was en- gaged in educational work each successive winter until thirty years of age, at which time, in the fall of 1856, he was elected treasurer of Clinton county. At the close of his first term he was re-elected by a majority of 507, and during the time he served as treasurer, he devoted his spare moments to the study of law. He continued his legal studies after the expiration of his official term and also served as county school examiner. In 1863, he entered the law department of the Northwestern Christian university, now Butler university, at Indianapolis, from which institution he was graduated the same year, and shortly there- after returned to Frankfort and effected a co- partnership in the practice with the Hon. R. P. Davidson. Mr. Davidson, after one year, removed to La Fayette, and Mr. Morrison then became associated with Hon. T. H. Palmer, which partnership was dissolved six years later. Subsequently Mr. Morrison entered into partnership with Hon. J. V. Kent and

Dallas Holman, and still later was associated with his sons, James W., Martin A. and John C. Morrison. He practiced successfully in the courts of Clinton and other counties of central Indiana until 1884, since which time he has not been actively engaged in the legal business. In 1867, Mr. Morrison was elected representa- tive to the state legislature from Clinton coun- ty and proved a most useful member of that body by bringing about much needed legisla- tion. Among the bills introduced by him was one known as a "law for the encouragement of the drainage of wet lands, " otherwise known as "the individual application law," under which there have been more than 500 miles of ditching done in Clinton county alone. Mr. Morrison has always been interested in the commercial, agricultural and intellectual ad-

vancement of his county. He assisted in organizing the Logansport, Crawfordsville & Terre Haute R. R. company, now known as the Vandalia, of which he was chosen a di- rector, and he spent considerable time and money in securing donations of right-of-way, etc. He also assisted in organizing the Frank- fort & Kokomo R. R. company, and was com- plimented by being elected first president of the same, and retaining the office for a number of years after its completion. He devoted several years, while in the prime of life, to secure the construction of this road, was a director of the La Fayette, Muncie & Bloomington R. R. company, and at one time was president of the Frankfort & State Line company.

Politically, Mr. Morrison has always acted with the democratic party. He served as president of the school board of Frankfort, and also as president of the Clinton county Agri- cultural society, much of the success of the latter being due to his superior management. Financially, Mr. Morrison has met with de- served success, being at this time numbered among the wealthy men of Clinton county.

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

He is proprietor and founder of the town of Forest on the Frankfort & Kokomo road, now the "Clover Leaf," and he owns valuable property throughout Clinton county and in the city of Frankfort. Mr. Morrison is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to the commandery, the mystic shrine, and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He has filled nearly every official position within the gift of his lodge, and represented his commandery in a national conclave recently held in the city of Denver, Colo. He is also an Odd Fellow; and has been a delegate to six national democratic conventions. On the twenty-ninth day of Feb- ruary, 1852, Mr. Morrison was united in mar- riage to Miss Nancy A. Campbell, daughter of William and Peninah (Denman) Campbell, who were natives of Pennsylvania among the early pioneers of Clinton county. Mrs. Mor- rison was born in Clinton county, Ind., July 30, 1832, and is the mother of the following children: James W., a well-known lawyer of Frankfort; Margaret, wife of Luther Heichert; Martin A., member of Frankfort bar: John C., an attorney-at-law and dealer in real estate; and an infant that died unnamed. Mrs. Mor- rison, by personal effort, obtained an excellent education, which was supplemented by one year's attendance at DePauw university, Green- castle, Ind., after which she taught in the com- mon schools of Clinton county for several terms. She is a lady of exceptional mental attainments and wide and varied information; a faithful wife and loving mother.

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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