A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph 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 120

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

USA > Indiana > Randolph County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph 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 120
USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph 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 120

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).

0 R. LEWIS N. DAVIS, one of the leading physicians of Randolph county, Ind., and a resident of Farmland, was born in Clarke coun- ty, Ohio, May 6, 1849, and is the sixth in a

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family of ten children born to Hugh M. and Martha (Sillamon) Davis. These parents parents were married in Lawrence county, Ohio, in 1834, removing to Clarke county, in the same state, in 1848; thence to Randolph county, Ind., in 1851. From the latter place the emigrated to Saline county, Mo., in the fall of 1859. Their ten children were born in the following order: R. P., now a prominent physician of Portland, Jay county, Ind., James S., a merchant of Alexandria, Ind .; Caroline, deceased; Hugh M., deceased; Sarah J., wife of W. H. Johnson, of Saline county, Mo .; Lewis N., whose name opens this sketch; Hugh M., a farmer of Missouri; Elihu, de- ceased; Frank N., of Saline county, Mo., and Martha, a widow. The father of this family was a stone and brick mason, which trade he followed in connection with farming, and for many years taught school in winter. He was a lover of history, was a close student and ex- tensive reader; was fond of company and fluent in conversation. He held pronounced views on all current topics, and was possessed, in a remarkable degree, with personality of character. In politics he was a democrat, and in religion a Baptist. He died in Saline county, Mo., in August, 1878. He was pre- ceded to the grave by his wife, who died September 23, 1876. Their remains rest in the Fish Creek (Mo.) cemetery.

The early boyhood of Lewis N. Davis was passed in Randolph county, Ind., and Saline county, Mo. He received a very fair English education in the common schools of the latter county and high schools of Cambridge, Mo. In March 1870, he began the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. R. P. Davis, then of Red Key, Ind. In September, 1871, he entered the Miami Medical college of Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in the spring of 1873. He remained with his brother, in Red Key, until August of the same year, when he moved

to Farmland, where he soon met with favor and has ever since enjoyed a lucrative prac- tice. In May, 1882, he supplemented his col- legiate education by a clinical course in Cin- cinnati at the Good Samaritan hospital, and in 1889 took a course in the Polyclinic of New York city. He takes an active interest in the science of medicine, and believes in banding together the members of the fraternity, for the purpose of interchanging opinions and experi- ences, while his pen is by no means idle in giving to the world the results of his own practice and his observations. He is a char- ter member of the Randolph county Medical society, organized in 1876; of the Delaware District Medical society; also a member of the Indiana State Medical society, and of the American Medical association. He has con- tributed many able papers to all these bodies, and to the leading medical periodicals of the United States. Some of these papers have been translated into the German.

The marriage of the doctor was consum- mated in Delaware county, October 28, 1874, with Miss Martha F. Alegre, daughter of Eras- tus and Julia, who have been mentioned in the Delaware department of this volume. This union has been blessed by the birth of one child, Herbert P., September 17, 1876. Mrs. Davis is an accomplished lady, who possesses a talent for music and painting, and is natu- rally fond of society, being happiest when she is in the company of persons of similar tastes. In her religion she affiliates with the Method- ists. Politically the doctor affiliates with the democratic party. Dr. Davis is the owner of 160 acres of fine land in Green township, Ran- dolph county, and seventy acres in Delaware county. He has the confidence of the farming community in which he resides, and has always used his efforts to uphold and advance the in- terests of agriculture in general. He owns the residence in which he lives and is a stockholder

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and director in the Farmers & Citizens' bank of Farmland. His library compares well with any in Randolph county, and the doctor is re- garded as among the best read men within a radius of many miles. His scholarly attain- ments and professional ability are universally recognized, and his social standing is such as commands for him the undivided respect of all classes within the limits of his acquaintance.

J OSE DAVIS is the son of Martin and Mary (Haynes) Davis, who came from Ohio to Indiana in 1839, the year they were married. Jose Davis is the third of a family of seven children; he was born in Hamilton county, Ind., December 5, 1839, and is one of the two boys of the family. Of his sisters, Elizabeth became the wife of John Sexton; Mary, of William Swim; Lydia, of John E. Scott; Delilah, of Erwin Davisson. His brother, Mahlon, died in defense of his country. The father of this family was a butcher by trade, and, in 1890, died in Iowa, as also did the mother.

Jose Davis remained in Hamilton county, Ind., on a farm until he was fifteen years of age, when he went back to Ohio and made his home there until 1861, when he returned to Indiana, and soon after his return married Miss Nancy Morris, daughter of Elkanah and Keziah (McVey) Morris. Soon after Mr. Da- vis's marriage he began life on a farm of forty acres, which was owned by his wife, and at the time they built their new home the land was in its primitive and untamed condition. The young people began humbly by building a small frame house, and the work of the pio- neer commenced in earnest in the clearing of the land, and the making of a home and a farm in the forest. They occupied the little frame dwelling, built at the outset of their

married lives, until 1881, when they moved from the old house into the new, which was a fine, handsome residence. Economy and good management has made it possible for Mr. Da- vis, at different times, to add to the original plat of forty acres, and his farm new consists of 154 acres, all well watered and well im- proved, and is among the finest farms of the county.

The date of his marriage was in 1862, and four children blessed this happy union, Mary J., deceased; Dory M., engaged in the timber trade; an infant deceased, and Augusta, wife of Oscar Craig. Mr. Davis possesses a good common-school education, and is a growing man intellectually, keeping step and to the front of the times. In politics he is a republi- can, a stanch and loyal one to the innermost core. He is a member of the Methodist church, in which society he is a steward. Families such as that of Mr. Davis are a credit to the state, and have aided in making it first in the Union as a state of homes, and when a state has attained this enviable notoriety there is nothing greater to seek for.

J. DAVISSON, one of the most skillful watchmakers and jewelers of Randolph county, with factory and residence at Farmland, was born in Wayne county. Ind., April 10, 1842, and is a son of Moses and Elizabeth (Hiatt) Davisson, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, but who in early life settled in Wayne county, Ind., where he followed his trade of blachsmith until the end of life. He and wife, both now deceased, were the parents of four children, viz .: Enos, deceased; Fer- nando, blacksmith of Farmland; Henry H., deceased, and W. J., whose name heads this sketch. Moses and Elizabeth were devout

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members of the Methodist church, and in poli- tics Moses was a republican, although, in the beginning, a whig. Few, if any, could com- pete with Mr. Davisson as a workman, and none could excel him, and he had the reputa- tion all through the country of being an expert in the true sense of the word.

W. J. Davisson, until · fourteen years of age, was reared in Williamsburg, Wayne county, where he received a good education at the common-schools. In 1856, he moved to Farmland, Randolph county, and served an apprenticeship at blacksmithing for four years with his brother Fernando, and in all worked six years at the trade. He then tried his hand at house painting for three years. But Mr. Davisson was possessed of a genius for mechanism of a high grade, and in 1870 opened an establishment in Farmland for the manu- facture and sale of watches, clocks, and jewelry, to which he has ever since devoted his time and attention, and in which he is now an acknowledged expert. Mr. Davisson is also the patentee of a wire fence, in the manu- facture of which he was for some time engaged at Winchester, doing business under the style of the Winchester Fence & Iron works. He has also his war experience, having enlisted August 12, 1862, in company A, Eighty-fourth Indiana volunteer infantry, and having served in West Virginia and Kentucky, but was honor- ably discharged December 24, 1862, on ac- count of disability, and now draws a pension of $8 a month.

Mr. Davisson was married, in 1863, to Rebecca E. Wilkins, who was born in Wayne county, Ind., near Newport, in 1843, the daughter of Francis and Hester (Bales) Wil- kins, and this union has resulted in the birth of three children, viz .: Zeruiah, deceased; Clyde L., deceased, and Charles Austin, in the jewelry business at Elkhart, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Davisson are strict members of the

Christian church, and he is a master Mason. He votes with the republican party, but has never had any aspiration for public office, pre- ferring to simply perform his duties as a citizen and republican at the polls. Mr. Davisson is upright in all his dealings, is industrious and thrifty, and now owns considerable real estate, while his standing with his neighbors is a most enviable one.

J OHN WILLIAM ERTHER, the young and enterprising merchant of Farmland, Randolph county, Ind., was born in Yorktown, Delaware county, Ind., November 2, 1861, and is a son of John Jacob and Isabella (Daugherty) Erther of Mount Pleasant township, Delaware county, mention of whom is made in full in that division of this volume, at the proper place. It will be per- ceived that there is a variation in the spelling - of the surname by the father and son, the father adhering to the ancient German orthog- raphy, and the son having Anglicised or modernized the spelling thereof. John William Erther was reared to the earnest toil of farm life until he reached his majority, receiving his education at the town school. He then enter- ed the general store of S. P. Brundage, as clerk, and faithfully executed his duties for one year, gaining, in the meanwhile, a thorough - knowledge of the business. With $600 as his cash capital, he then opened a general store on his own account, prospered, and continued to add to his stock in trade until he now owns the largest and the best establishment of the kind in the town, carrying a stock valued at $25,000, and comprising every article likely to be needed by his customers and the public in general.

Mr. Erther was married in Bluffton, Ind., January 19, 1886, to Miss Claudia Keely, who was born in that town May 9, 1864, a daughter

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of James W. and Nettie (Morgan) Keely, natives of Indiana, the former having been an assistant paymaster in the United States navy until his death. To them one child-Frances Dorothy-was born February 9, 1893. Mrs. Erther received her education at Franklin col- lege, and is a sincere member of the Baptist church. Mr. Erther has been an Odd Fellow since 1885, and is also a member of Black Hawk lodge, No. 79, Improved Order of Red Men. In politics he is a democrat, but has never sought political preferment. He and his wife move in the best social circles and are recognized as useful members of the com- munity in which they live.

3 OHN L. FLOOD, a retired agricultur- ist, of Monroe township, Randolph county, Ind., was born in Greene coun- ty, Ohio, in 18.16. His parents, Jona- than and Mary (Low) Flood, were respectively born in Virginia and Kentucky and were mar- ried in Ohio. Jonathan was a minister in the Methodist Protestant church, as well as a tiller of the soil, and he and wife were parents of fifteen children, of whom four only survive, viz: John L .; Sarah, wife of H. B. French; Clarinda, wife of John I. French, of Randolph county, and James, of Montgomery county, Iowa. John L. Flood was reared on the farm in Greene county, Ohio, until he was nineteen years of age, when he went to Montgomery county, Ohio, and worked at farm labor until his marriage, in the same county, January 31, 1842, to Miss Sarah Prugh, a daughter of John and Rebecca (Nicodemus) Prugh, born in Preble county, Ohio, March 30, 1822.

Two years after his marriage, Mr. Flood came to Monroe township, Randolph county, Ind., and in November, 1851, purchased a farm of 160 acres at $5 per acre, on which he

resided until 1879, when he passed two years in Montgomery, Ohio; then, in 1881, came to Farmland, Monroe township, Ind .; and has since lived in retirement, honored and loved by all who know him for his upright conduct, his benevolence and his many other good qual- ities of heart and mind. Mr. and Mrs. Flood are members of the Society of Friends, he being an elder. In politics he is a stanch re- publican. His farm now comprises 175 acres, and over this he extends his experienced su- pervision, although he no longer performs any active manual labor. His children are named as follows: Florin; Mary A., wife of D. Cline of Greene county, Ohio; Jennie, wife of Dr. Smith; Bell, widow of H. Woodard; Lucinda, deceased; Sarah E., wife of Robert Woodard, of Randolph county; Huldah M., wife of H. Thornburg; Mary E., deceased; Eveline, wife of J. J. Pretlow, of Winchester; Oliver P., of Gallion, Ohio, and John P. and Alice M. (twins) deceased.

I EVI V. FORD is a native of Ran- dolph county, Ind., having been born here December 17, 1857. He is the only son of Mordecai and Sophia (Hoffman) Ford. His father came from Darke county, Ohio; his grandfather from Virginia; the great-grandfather from Scotland, and the great-grandmother from Germany. The great- grandparents were married in the Old Domin- ion and then emigrated to Darke county, Ohio, where they engaged in farming, the great- grandfather dying while there. The grand- parents were born and reared in Ohio, and were also farmers, and a successful people.

Levi V. Ford's father was born in Darke county, January 5, 1830, and grew to man- hood there, and his mother also grew to womanhood in the same place. The young

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people were united in marriage March 17, 1853, and then moved to Farmland, where he engaged in the saw-mill business for a period of five years. He purchased eighty acres of land, and then, after a time, returned to his first vocation, saw-milling, which he engaged in for three years more. He then returned to the farm, which was an unbroken tract of tim- ber. He was a good financier, and at the time of his death owned 240 acres of well im- proved land. Two children were the fruit of this union-Ida Alice, wife of Saul O. Sum- walt, and Levi V. The father left his chil- dren the legacy of a good education, both having been prepared for teachers. He died January 15, 1879, and the mother passed away December 4, 1886, and were both buried in the Hopewell cemetery. The father was a member of the Masonic order, in which fra- ternity he took great pride, and was a good and efficient worker. In politics he was a democrat, and was a stanch adherent to this time-honored party. The mother was a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a good woman in every sense of the word. A beautiful monument, erected in loving mem- ory of them, marks the silent resting place of these two estimable people.

Levi V. Ford passed his early life on the farm, but after his father's death he was obliged to put up his books and assume the management of the homestead place. He was married at the age of twenty-five years to Miss Ella Bartmess, the accomplished daughter of Warren and Eliza (McCarty) Bartmess. She was of Irish-German descent and one of five children, Ella being the eldest. The others are named as follows: John, engaged in the railroad service; William, in the same employ- ment; Edgar, also the same; Harry, deceased. After the marriage of our subject, he located on a farm of 120 acres, which had been given him by his father, on which he has made many

handsome improvements. Mr. Ford is a sci- entific farmer and a man fully abreast of the times in his own peculiar employment, as well as otherwise. He is a great reader, a close observer, and a good practical thinker. He is a democrat, and in 1893 ran for sheriff on that ticket. No family in the country stands higher in the estimation of the peop'e than the Ford family, which is a model for any household. Mr. Ford is business all the way through, and in connection with his farming, handles farm implements and machinery. His marriage has been blessed with two children, Lester and Edith.

ENRY GARRINGER is a prosperous farmer of Monroe township, Ran- dolph county, Ind., in which town- ship he was born January 3, 1847. He is the youngest of a family of twelve chil- dren, and remained on the home farm with his parents until his marriage, in 1880, to Miss Moore, daughter of Wesley and Sarah (Hollo- way) Moore, who has borne him three chil- dren-Emma P., Jesse G., and Albert. After his marriage, Mr. Garringer sold an eighty acre tract of land, his father had given him, and purchased another tract of eighty acres in Green township, Randolph county, and on this he resided three years, when he again sold out and bought a 100 acre tract in Monroe town- ship, where he now resides. This farm is in splendid condition, being nearly cleared, and that part under cultivation being most skill- fully handled. Mr. Garringer is very industri- ous, takes great pride in properly tilling his land, and is consequently on the high road to fortune. In politics he is a republican. His social relations are of the most agreeable na- ture, he and his family being held in the high- est esteem by their friends and neighbors, and the community in general.

W. R. GROVE.

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a RIAH GARRINGER is a Hoosier by nativity, having been born and reared in Monroe township, Randolph coun- ty, March 14, 1853. He is the eleventh son of a family of twelve children. His parents were Isaac and Sarah (Boots) Garringer. His father was a native of Fay- ette county, Ohio, and in the spring of 1859 came to Fairview, where he purchased two eighty-acre lots, raised his log cabin, made his pole shed and began the hard and active life of a pioneer-by felling the heavy timber and clearing the land. He was a hardy and industrious man and well fitted for labor. He was also a famous hunter, and his reputation as such extended beyond the confines of his county. Game was very abundant and his sport was rare and exciting. He married a farmer's daughter, Sally Boots, alluded to above, in 1834, and this family of children was born to them; Simon, a grocer at Anti- och; Delilah, wife of Christian Ziegler; David, a farmer of Green township; Samuel, of Green township; Lewis, a farmer in Pike township, Jay county; Phebe, wife of William Bales, of Red Key; Isaac, farmer in Green township; John, a farmer of Monroe township ;. George, farmer of the same township; Uriah, our sub- ject; Sarah, wife of W. H. Collins; Henry, a farmer. The father of this family of boys and girls was one of the most successful farmers in the county and owned at one time a tract of 940 acres of land, of wich he gave to each of his children eighty acres. He began life with eighty acres, and the handsome remainder was all made by his industry and good financiering. He died in 1870, and the mother in 1883, both at a ripe old age, and the latter a member of the Dunkard church. His grandfather was a resident of Ohio, and died at the remarkable age of ninety-nine years; the grandmother died at the age of seventy-three; both were buried on the home farm, owned by Isaac Garringer.

Uriah Garringer was a farmer's boy, and was reared on the home farm, receiving a good, substantial, common education. At the age of twenty-five he was married to Miss Libbie Goodwin, daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Euring) Goodwin. The marriage oc- curred November 1, 1873. He began married life on the farm his father gave him and after- ward added twenty acres more to it, all of which is well improved. His first house was a log one, built by Jacob Bales many years ago. Uriah, like his father, is a famous hunter, and makes annual trips to the woods of Michigan and an occasional cne to Missouri, for the purpose of pursuing his favorite sport. His farm specialty is the raising and feeding of hogs, in which he is more than ordinarily suc- cessful. His breeds are the choicest, and always demand the highest price. His home is a handsome and happy one, and he is abundantly surrounded by all the good and substantial things of life. He has made a success of his years and is now enjoying the results. He has two children-Ona May and Russell G. He is a republican in politics, and is justly proud of his farm, his home and his principles.

PILLIAM R. GROVE of Monroe township, deceased, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, March 27, 1834. He was the son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Reed) Grove, both coming from Old Dominion at an early day. The grand- father also came from old Virginia. Abraham Grove located in Clinton county, Ohio, with his father and mother, where the latter died, and the father married again. The grand- father afterward came to Randolph county, Ind., where he died in 1876.

William R. Grove spent his early manhood in Ohio, and was twenty-five years of age when

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he came to the Hoosier state, and began work- ing on a farm by the month for a man by the name of Morris. After a little time with his savings he bought fifteen acres of land and soon after purchased eighty acres more, and on this he built a small frame house, and in April, 1863, was married to Miss Mary Smith, daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (McDon- ald) Smith. This union was blessed with three children, viz .: Irene, wife of William B. Hammers; Miss Minnie, still at home; Benja- min, who was married to Minnie Anderson. This wife died May 30, 1872, and was buried in the beautiful cemetery at Muncie, Ind. The husband remained single two years, when he was married to Miss Sarah Jones, April 28, 1874. She was the daughter of Nathan and Temperance (Thomas) Jones. Her father was born February 22, 1814, in Vir- ginia. Her mother died in the seventh year of their married life-1847. The father remained single for one year and was then married to Miss Ludwick, the daughter of William and Margaret Ludwick, who were of German extraction and lived the most of their lives in Virginia, and died there. Her own father came to Delaware county, Ind., and purchased forty acres of land near Salem, on which he erected a log cabin, and began to clear the forest. After William R. Grove's second marriage, he moved with his wife im- mediately to his home, which consisted at this time of 100 acres, to which, by hard work and economy, he afterward added 100 acres more, making the fine farm of 200 acres. This is all extra well improved and under a high state of cultivation. The owner of this beautisul farm was laid to rest January 28, 1877, in the Rehoboth cemetery, where the grandfather also sleeps in the silent city of the dead. A beautiful monument marks the rest- ing place of this kind father and worthy citi- zen. He was a communicant of the Methodist

church and an active worker in this society. He was a good father and a loving husband, and the family throughout are held in high es- teem and respect by all who are so fortunate as to claim their acquaintance. Mr. Grove in politics was a thoroughgoing republican, cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and his last for Rutherford B. Hayes. He was a very suc- cessful man in business, and his financial operations were those of a clear headed, well balanced man. He was upright in his deal- ings, and every transaction was governed by a high sense of truth and honesty.

a LIAS F. HALLIDAY, of Monroe township, Randolph county, Ind., prominent as a business man, farmer and county official, is the son of Wil- liam H. aud Phebe (Freeman) Halliday, and was born in Morristown, N. J., January 17, 1824. His father was born in the state of New York in the year 1798, and his mother was born in New Jersey, 1799. They lived in Newark, N. J., until 1834, when they re- moved to this state and settled in Henry county. They lived here about ten years, when they removed to Franklin county, Ohio, where William H. died in 1862, the mother surviving until December, 1891. They were " the parents of ten children, viz: S. M., de- ceased; Elias F .; a deceased infant; George { M., Catherine, Eliza, Mary, deceased; Emma, William H. and Hannah. Elias F. was eight yeors of age when his parents came to this state. At the age of fourteen he entered the store of Mark E. Reeves, of Washington, Wayne county, Ind., where he remained for eight years in the capacity of clerk. He was married to Jane Ringo, daughter of Peter and Margaret Ringo, of Centerville, Wayne county, . Ind., 1846. After marriage he entered in the

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A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph 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 120

Author: Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474