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 92

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 92
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 92
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 92

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Politically Mr. White is a democrat, and. as such takes an active interest in the leading

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

public questions of the day. Mr. and Mrs. White are the parents of the following chil- dren : Ida A .: Perry, deceased; Frank; Lenora; Salena, deceased; Charles; Fanny, deceased; Eliza; and Zelpha, deceased. The father of Mrs. White was a farmer of Clinton county and one of its well known early settlers. He came to Indiana in 1831 and developed a farm in Ross township, and died in 1880; his wife died in 1845. The following are the names of his children : Daniel, Franklin, Eli, Susannah, Edward, Matilda, Owen, Leah and Hannah J. Henry Peters was an industrious, energetic man, and the greater part of his life was spent as a member of the Lutheran church. His father was a native of Pennsyl- vania, married a Miss Kern, and came to In- diana short after its admission to the Union, having been a pioneer of the counties of Clin- ton and Tippecanoe.

J OHN WHITEMAN, one of the old sol- diers now living in Rossville, Clinton county, Ind., springs from an old Ameri- can family, his grandfather on the ma- ternal side having been a soldier in the war of 1812. John Whiteman, grandfather of our subject, was a pioneer of Carroll county, Ind., and was the father of five children: William, Patterson, John, Lucinda and Elizabeth. Mr. Whiteman was a farmer and lived to be an old man, and died in Carroll county. William Whiteman, son of above and father of our subject, John, was a farmer and married Bar- bara, daughter of Daniel Leslie, also a soldier of the war of 1811. To Mr. and Mrs. White- man were born three children: Amaretta, John and Elizabeth. Mr. Whiteman died when twenty-six years of age.

John Whiteman, whose name opens this sketch, was born in Tippecanoe county, Ind., December 25, 1843, received a common edu-

cation, and learned to work in the woolen mills .when young. He enlisted, at the age of eighteen, at La Fayette, Ind., and was en- rolled November 2, 1863, as a private in the Tenth Indiana battery light artillery, Capt. Cox, for three years, or during the war. He was at the battle of Lookout Mountain; at Missionary Ridge the battery was held in re- serve, but was present on the field. With the Fifth Indiana battery, he was in the battles of Resaca, Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and the battle in which At- lanta fell, and in many skirmishes, and under fire for three months in this campaign. After this he returned to the Tenth Indiana battery, was on a gunboat on the Tennessee river, and was in a battle at Decatur. Ala .. and many skirmishes on the river. He was taken sick while in this service, with rheumatism, and was at Bragg's hospital, Chattanooga, when the war closed, and he was honorably dis- charged July 10, 1865, at Indianapolis. He returned home, disabled from exposure, and has never recovered his health. After the war he worked in the woolen mills a few years, and married in Warren county, Ind., Catherine, daughter of Gideon Boohee, and to Mr. and Mrs. Whiteman were born three children, who lived to maturity: Edith, Elizabeth and Bruce. His first wife died in 1889, and he married, June 16, 1890, Emma A., daughter of Matthias and Bernice (Musgrove) Weidner. To Mr. and Mrs. Matthias Weidner were born seven chil- dren, six reaching mature years: Francis M., Ida B., Mary M., Samuel (deceased at eight years), Martha Jane, Emma and Retta B. Mr. Weidner was a soldier in the Civil war, is yet living on his farm near Monitor. Tippe- canoe county, Ind., and is a respected citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Weidner are members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Weidner is a member of Elliott post, No. 60, G. A. R., at Dayton, Ind.

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

Bernice Musgrove, mother of Mrs. White- man, is the daughter of. John and Elizabeth (Kuney) Musgrove. John Musgrove, grand- father of Mrs. Whiteman, was the father of six children -- Samuel, Seldon and Jacob, who were soldiers in the Civil war, and Artemesia, Milton and Bernice. The Weidner family spring from sterling German stock and were Scotch by inter-marriage. Lewis Weidner, great-grandfather of Mrs. Whiteman, came from Germany before the war of the Revolu- tion, settled in Virginia, and moved to Tennes- see. He married in America and was a slave- owner and farmer in Grainger county. A copy of his last will and testament is in the posses- sion of Daniel Weidner, of Ross township, Clinton county; it was executed in 1807 in Grainger county, Tenn. By this will it is shown that his name was Louis Whitner, the name having been corrupted to Weidner and Widner. It also shows that he had one son, Harvey, who was made executor of his will, and five daughters: Eve Miller, Barbara De- Volt, Catherine Clark, Mary Cox, and Eliza- beth Roller. The name of his wife was Bar- bara. He left to his heirs 2,000 acres of land on the Tennessee river in Grainger county, Tenn., and he also left several negro slaves and a sum of money. He was a carpenter by trade and left his tools to his son Henry, who was the grandfather of Mrs. Whiteman, and was born in Tennessee, and married, in that state, Margaret Glick, and to them were born Matthias, Lewis, Henry, John, Roller and Michael. Henry Weidner remained in Tennes- see until he was an old man. In 1826 he sold his property and moved with three sons and one daughter-John, Michael, Roller, and Barbara-to Indiana, and settled in Ross town- ship. There were probably three other fam- ilies living in the township at that time-the families of Sol Miller, Daniel Underhill and Peter Sink. The country was a howling wil-

derness, with no roads, and the Weidners cut a trail from Dayton, Ind., five miles through the woods, and lived the first winter in a log shanty with no floor. Mr. Weidner entered 160 acres of land and all his children likewise made entries. He was too old to do much work after he came to the county, but hired his land partly cleared, and remained here un- til his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-seven years. He was a typical Amer- ican pioneer, and in his last days became a member of the German Baptist church. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was wounded in the battle of Trenton and car- ried the scar on his face to his grave. Daniel Weidner, of Ross township, remembers him well. From Henry, by his son Roller, de- scends Mrs. Whiteman.

J AMES B. WISE, physician and sur- geon, was born in Auglaize county, Ohio, April 26, 1850, the son of J. M. and Nancy Wise. J. M. Wise was born in Cumberland county, Pa., February 20, 1820, and grew to maturity in Auglaize county, Ohio, accompanying his parents to their home there when sixteen years of age. He received a good education, and after a course of pre- liminary reading under the direction of a com- petent preceptor, entered the medical college at Cleveland, Ohio, from which he was gradu- ated in 1851. He entered upon the active duties of his profession that year at the town of St. Marys, Ohio, and practiced there until 1880, when he came to Frankfort, Ind., in which city he ceased from his earthly labors on the thirteenth day of July, 1885. He married in St. Marys, Ohio, in the year 1848, Miss Nancy Moore, the results of which union were eight ch"" en, of whom the following survive: Dr. J. B., William A., Harriet M., Alphonso M., Ida R., and Charles M.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Dr. James B. Wise spent the first thirty years of his life in his native county and state, . and received his educational training in the St. Marys high school, the prescribed course of which he completed in 1870.

His early inclinations leading him to choose the medical profession, he began the study of the same under the direction of his father, in whose office he remained until 1876, in which year he became a student in the Pulte medi- cal college, Cincinnati, from which he was" graduated on the fourth of March, 1880. After receiving his diploma Dr. Wise became associated in the practice with his father at St. Marys, Ohio, where he continued until October, 1880, at which time he came to Frankfort, Ind., where he has since been ac- tively attending to the many duties of his calling. The doctor belongs to the homeo- pathic school of medicine, and by diligent application and zeal in his profession, has suc- ceeded in building up a large practice in Frank- fort and throughout the county of Clinton. While familiar with general practice, he makes a specialty of the diseases of women and children, and his success in these departments has been of the most gratifying nature.

Dr. Wise is a member of the K. of P., a democrat in politics, and, with his wife, be- longs to the Christian church. He was mar- ried April 22, 1884, to Marcella Hollowell, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1846.

EVI WRATTEN, an enterprising young farmer of Michigan township. was born in Clinton county, Ind., September 14, 1858, and is of ster- ling English descent. His great-grandfather, Thomas Wratten, lived and died in Marden, Kent county, England, was a carpenter by trade, in religion a member of the Independent Chapel church, and a liberal in politics. Edward

Wratten, grandfather of Levi, was born August 17, 1809, in the same shire or county, was also a carpenter, and for some time plied his trade on the estate of Lord Cornwallis. Mary Ann Veril, his wife, died in England, and later he cameto America and married Mary A. Parson; his death took place in Westfield, N. Y. Edward Wratten, son of the above named Edward, and father of Levi, was also born in Kent county, England, in 1833, attended the common schools, mostly at night, served an apprenticeship of three years at carpentering, and also worked on the Cornwallis estate. When eighteen years old he reached America, married in Jefferson county, Ind., Nancy J. Climer, daughter of Denison Climer, and be- came the father of two children: Levi and Ed- ward, the latter dying at the age of two years. He followed his trade and did some contract- ing the greater part of his early manhood, but now resides on a farm near that of his son, Levi. In politics he is a democrat, and he and wife are members of the Christian church, in which he has been an elder for a number of years.

Levi Wratten received a good common- school education, and has always farmed, ex- cepting two years, when he was sheriff of Clinton county. October 28, 1879, he mar- ried Miss Delilah C. Cohee, daughter of Wil- son and Susanna (Douglass) Cohee, and the children born to this union are named Effie C., Gracie M., Harvey W., and Perry E. Mrs. Wratten's grandfather, Benjamin Cohee, was a native of Delaware, but a pioneer of Clinton county, Ind., where he died; her father was a prominent farmer of Michigan township, a strong republican and an active Methodist. His children were narred Eliza C., Martha A., John W., Henry M., Delilah C., Rebecca F. and Manda M. When first married, Mr. and Mrs. Wratten settled on a part of the farm belonging to Mrs. Wratten's father, and this

Lorvi Orallen

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

farm in Boone county, near Colfax, George E. Young, also a farmer near Colfax, and Mrs. L. W. Loveless of La Fayette. When he was only three years of age Mr. Young's parents moved to Clinton county, Ind., and located on a farm about two and one-half miles north- west of Colfax. Here he lived and worked on the farm, attended the district school until young manhood, when he attended the Frank- fort high school, which was then under the superintendency of Hon. E. H. Staley.

July 19, 1871, Mr. Young was married to Miss Angeline S. Carver, of Perry township, Clinton county, Ind. She is a daughter of Miles A. Carver, and was born in Ohio, Janu- ary 28, 1850. Her father was born November 7, 1816, in Chenango county, N. Y., and is de- scended from Gov. John Carver of Massachu- setts. After his marriage Mr. Young lived on the farm until he was twenty-eight years of age. During his residence on the farm he read law for years and formed that comprehen- sive idea of its practice he has found so useful since. To Mr. and Mrs. Young there have been born five children, Mary D., Ida F., Nel- lie B., Edith O. and George L., all of whom are living except Ida F., who died when but six months old.

In October, 1874. Mr. Young was elected trustee on the republican ticket, and re-elect- ed on the same ticket in the fall of 1876, and served until the end of the term for which he was elected, two years. While trustee of his township he was instrumental in establishing the graded school in the town of Colfax, which school is the pride of the community. He continued to live in Perry township until the summer of 1879, when in July of that year he bought of Aaron H. Southard the five acre tract of land upon which he yet lives lying across Clinton and Walnut streets, just east of the city limits, paying therefor $700, and erected thereon a neat cottage, to which place

he moved on the 9th day of October of that year. At that time it was "out in the country" so far that one could scarcely see the town. The streets and sidewalks now run to bis home, which is situated in a beautiful sugar tree grove.

In the spring of 1880 he formed a law partnership with William E. Ross, and opened an office on the south side of the square, over the J. H. Paris dry-goods store. Their part- nership continued until February 18. 1881, when the firm was merged into the partnership of Hockman, Ross & Young, Messrs. Ross and Young having bought the two-thirds interest in the abstract of titles to the lands of Clinton county, then owned by Mr. Hockman. This partnership continued until the twenty-first day of October, 1882, when Mr. Hockman retired, leaving the business to Ross & Young. In the spring of 1884 Mr. Ross retired, and was suc- ceeded by William R. Hines in his interest in the firm, books and business, since which time this latter partnership has continued under the firm name of Young & Hines, being conducted principally, however, by Mr. Young, Mr. Hines being one of the principal contractors in the country, and giving most of his attention thereto. The abstract record is kept in per- fect condition by Mr. Young, who employs two lady clerks to assist him in his rapidly increas- ing business. This abstract of title is com- piled with all the care and skill known to that branch of the legal profession, Mr. Young giv- ing it his personal supervision. Every deed, mortgage and other written evidence of title recorded in the Recorder's office of Clinton county having been carefully copied and trans- ferred to their abstract record, all the work is then verified. The abstracts of title pre- pared by Mr. Young are well known all over the county to be correct and reliable, no man ever having lost a cent or being misled in the least on account of inaccuracies. Socially,

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

parcel Mr. Wratten has increased to eighty- four acres, and improved with a new modern farm residence and all the necessary farm buildings. Mr. Wratten is a democrat and was elected sheriff of Clinton county for two years, in a campaign in which most of the democratic ticket was defeated. Mr. Wratten rents land on a large scale, and this year has raised 2,416 bushels of wheat and 658 bushels of oats, and is altogether an energetic and en- terprising young farmer.

EWTON W. WRIGHT, who owns and operates a good farm of 150 acres in Warren township, Clinton county, Ind., is one of the self-made men, who, by well directed and earnest efforts, has worked his way upward from a humble position to one of affluence. He was born in Augusta county, Va., September 16, 1848, and is a son of Absalom and Sophronia (Irwin) Wright, both of whom were also natives of Augusta county, and were of Scotch and Irish descent respectively. The father was born in 1793, and during his early manhood followed school-teaching. He afterward learned the carpenter's trade, which he carried on during the greater part of his life. His death occur- red in 1862, and his wife passed away just two weeks previously, dying at the same hour. They were the parents of eleven children- Erasmus J. and James A., both deceased; Wil- liam A .; Caroline A .; John H., who was a captain in the Southern army and is now de- ceased; Eliza J., of Kansas; Elizabeth M .; Marion A., deceased; Newton W .; Maria J., and one who died in infancy.

Mr. Wright remained at home until the death of his parents, but was left an orphan at the early age of thirteen years, and fromn that time was forced to make his own way in the world. He engaged in any labor which would

yield him a livelihood, and in 1868 came to Indiana, locating in Boone county. In 1873, he came to Clinton county, where he purchas- ed a small tract of land with his hard-earned savings. In 1880, he bought forty acres of his present farm, to which he has since added until he now owns a valuable tract of 150 acres under a high state of cultivation and well improved. Mr. Wright was married Decem- ber 27, 1877, to Miss Amanda, daughter of Joseph S. and Clarissa A. (Taylor) Nunemak- er, both of whom were natives of Ohio, and were of German and Irish lineage. The father was born February 16, 1821, and on the Ist of October, 1846, married Miss Taylor. His death occurred January 28, 1874, but his wife still resides in Kansas. Ten children graced their union, namely: Lavina J. and Elizabeth, both deceased; Clarissa A., wife of John M. Clark; Daniel; John T., deceased; Mrs. Wright; Joseph S .; Rachel, deceased; George W., and Martha A., wife of Michael Layman. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright were born four children-Cora A., born October 2, 1878; Augustus W., born May 26, 1880; Orrill G., born December 24, 18SI; and Russell D., born October 31, 1883. The mother of this family was born September 14, 1855. She is a member of the Methodist church, and a most estimable lady. Mr. Wright votes with the democracy, but has never been an office seek- er, preferring to give his entire time and atten- tion to his business interests, in which he has met with a good and well merited success.

3 OHN L. YOUNG was born in Jessa- mine county, Ky., February 15, 1849, being one of the family of five children of George P. and Nancy Young, both of whom are now dead. The other children of the family are William H. Young of La Fayette, Decalvius K. Young, who lives on a

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OF CLINTON COUNTY.

Mr. Young is a pleasant man to meet, but he is a firm believer in the old maxim, "Business first, pleasure afterwards " He is a fine ex- ample of what close application and indomi- table energy will bring-success.

Ephraim January, the father of Ann (Janu- ary) Young, who was the mother of George P. Young and the grandmother of John L. Young, was born in Pennsylvania, and was the grand- son of a French Huguenot. The persecution which drove the emigrant from his native land confiscated his estate, which was said to be very large. Ephraim January married Sarah McConnell, near McConnellstown, Pa., while they were both very young. In 1780 they emigrated to Kentucky, and, passing down the Ohio river with several other families, in small flat boats fitted up to resist the attacks of the Indians, landed safely at Louisville in the spring. They took their little property to a small fort called Spring Station, six miles from Louisville, and remained there six months. They then removed to the fort at Harrodsburg, Ky., where they lived twelve months, and afterward to the fort at Lexington, and re- mained there till the fall of 1783. Such was the unsettled condition of the country at that period, and the character of the savage war- fare waged by the Indians, that a family was only safe when inside of a fortification.

Andrew McConnell, the grandfather of Ann (January) Young, was killed at the battle of the Blue Licks, which occurred in the summer of 1782. Although that battle resulted disas- trously to the emigrants, additional forces pressed upon the Indians and drove them out of Kentucky, and an increase of emigration in the course of a year so checked the incursions of the Indians that families were justified in making locations of their own in the neighbor- hood of Lexington and some other parts of the territory. Ephraim January accordingly ob- tained a pre-emption to 1,000 acres of land in

the county of Jessamine, built a small log cabin on it in the midst of the forest, and moved his family, consisting of his wife and two young children, into it in the year 1783. His nearest neighbor was six miles distant. There he raised a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, and there the father and mother lived and died, he in 1823, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, she in 1850, in her eighty-sev- enth year. They were both persons of ardent piety, belonging to the Associate Reformed, a branch of the Presbyterian church, and gave great care to the religious training of their chil- dren. The family was large, and the father unable to provide capital to set.up his sons in business. They all remained at home and worked on the farm until they were seventeen or eighteen years old. Each was then suffered to select some mechanical branch of business.

Ann January was born January 31, 1788, and was married three times, her first marriage being with John Fowler, and from this mar- riage there were two children born, William A., and Eliza Jane, the latter having died in early life, and the former in an early day located with his family in Clinton county. Ind., and became one of its most prominent citizens. Ann (January) Fowler, after the death of her former husband, was married to William Young, of Jessamine county, Ky., and from this marriage there were born five children, to- wit: Ephraim J., George P., Andrew M., Haydon R., and Ann. William Young, the father, died in the year 1826, and the mother was married to Alex. Blair. From this union there were no children. She died June 11, 1862, and was buried in the cemetery of her native county, at the small town of Keene.

George P. Young was born on the twelfth day of November, 1817, in Jessamine county, Ky. When he was about nine years old he lost his father, and was left to care for him- self. He was, however, possessed of a large

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amont of courage and went to the field at meager wages. At this time slave labor was about the only kind of labor known in Ken- tucky, but he continued to work beside the black man until he was possessed of sufficient judgment to become an overseer, to which business he was called while a young man and continued to follow for several years. He was married to Nancy Lancaster of Jessamine county, Ky., on the eleventh day of April, 1839. To this marriage were born five chil- dren, viz : Mary E. S., William H., Decalvi- us K., John L. and George E., all of whom are now living. In religion he was a Method- ist and his wife a Baptist in belief. He moved with his family to Clinton county, Ind., and located on a farm about two and one-half miles northwest of Colfax, on the twenty-third day of September, 1852. Here he lived and reared his family, and here he died on the tenth day of January, 1875. Nancy (Young) Lancaster was the daughter of John and Hannah Lancaster. She was born in Jessamine county, Ky., on the twenty- fourth day of December, 1814, and died on the twenty-sixth day of April, 1886, and was one of a family of ten children, to-wit : Susan M., Sarah, Polly, Patsey, Samuel C., Mason S., Levi, Nancy, Jane, and John N. Lancas- ter. Her father, John Lancaster, came to Kentucky in an early day from England. He was born on the twenty-fourth day of January, 1774. He was married to Hannah Singleton, and settled in Jessamine county about eight miles from Lexington, and was the owner of considerable real estate. The stone house that he erected on his farm in 18II is still standing. He and his wife in re- ligious belief were Baptists. He died on the twenty-seventh day of April, 1862, and was buried on his farm. Hannah (Lancaster) Singleton was the daughter of Manoah Single- ton, who came to Jessamine county, Ky., from

Virginia. She was born on the eighth day of February, 1778, and died on the twenty-eighth day of July, 1862, and was buried beside her husband.

R OBERT O. YOUNG, M. D., of Warren township, Clinton county, Ind. who for many years was suc- cessfully engaged in the practice of medicine, but is now living retired, was born on the twelfth of May, 1814, in Butler county, Ohio, and is a son of Robert and Jane (Ogle) Young. The parents were both natives of Dauphin county, Pa., but the father came of an old English family, and the mother was of Irish descent. By trade, Robert Young was a tailor, but on emigrating westward to Butler county, Ohio, in 1801, he entered 160 acres of land and turned his attention to farm- ing. This property he continued to cultivate and improve until his death, which occurred in 1878. In an early day he did all the car- pentering and shoemaking for himself and family. His wife was called to her final rest in 1876. This worthy couple were the par- ents of ten children, but the doctor is the only one now living. The others were Andrew W., Alexander P., Sarah, James, John, Jane, Nancy, Mary and Howard. Mrs. Young was a cousin of Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat.

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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