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 62

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 62
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 62

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).

William Lewis was four times married. His first wife was Miss Mary Deming, a native of Massachusetts, who died in 1838, leaving one son, William D., of Berkshire county,

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Mass. The second Mrs. Lewis was Mrs. Eliza Mix, who - died in 1854, by whom he had a family of three children: Cornelia A., the wife of Frank M. Brown, of Lafayette, Ind .; Mary L., the wife of George Denny, of Dayton, Ohio, and Lorinda, the wife of John L. Moore, of Indianapolis, Ind. The third Mrs. Lewis was Miss Margaret Dynes, whose death oc- curred in 1865, and the present Mrs. Lewis was Miss Mary S., the daughter of Conrad Kurtz, of Greene county, Ohio. She survives her lamented husband and resides on the old homestead, a fine property of 387 acres of land in a high state of cultivation, and a commodi- ous residence erected by Mr. Lewis thirty years ago. By this marriage two children were born, Homer R. and Harriet.

Mr. William Lewis ended his life of useful- ness on the 26th of January, 1892, having been an invalid for the greater part of his life, not- withstanding which he was a man of very active habits of life. The immediate cause of his death was la grippe, followed by pneumo- nia, which ended his life after a short illness of a week. Miss Harriet Lewis was born Octo- ber 3, 1868, at Hartford, Conn. She was educated in the common schools, the high school at Selma, and later took a course of study in the Conservatory of Music at Chicago. She was married at her home June 1, 1893, to Dr. E. D. Clark, of Economy, Wayne county, Ind., where he is engaged in practice with his father, who has been in practice in this locality all his life. The family is an old and promi- nent one in Wayne county. Dr. E. D. Clark is a graduate of Bellevue college hospital of New York, and is highly regarded as an able and competent physician.

Homer Lewis was born at the family home- stead, in Liberty township, Ind., July 19, 1866, and was educated in the common schools. He now resides on the old place and attends to the great farming interests of the extensive estate

left by his father. In 1891 he was married to Miss Magnolia, the daughter of Dr. A. H. Good, whose sketch is presented in this vol- ume. Politically he is a republican, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The family is one well known and highly es- teemed in the county, and has been prominent in the affairs of Liberty township.

ILLIAM JACKSON MOORE .-- Few of the early settlers of Delaware county were as widely and favorably known as the late William Jackson Moore, a brief epitome of whose life is here- with presented. Mr. Moore was an Ohioan by birth and a descendant of a sturdy Scotch family, a number of the representatives of which became residents of the New England states at an early period of the country's his- tory. The parents, John and Nancy (Jackson) Moore, moved from their New England home to Ohio many years ago, settling in the county of Scioto, where the birth of William J. occur- ed on the 14th day of June, 1813. The sub- ject was reared a farmer, received a common school education, and on arriving at man- hood's estate began the pursuit of agriculture, to which he devoted his attention until his thirty-ninth year. In early manhood he ac- companied his parents to Delaware county, Ind., locating about three and one-half miles east of Muncie, in the townsihp of Centre, where the mother died in 1838, and the father in 1840.

After the death of his father, Mr. Moore settled the estate, and continued farming until 1852, at which time he erected a large saw mill at the town of Selma, Ind., and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. Subsequently, he opened a general mercantile business in Selma, and was also engaged for some time as

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carpenter and builder, his skill as a mechanic having been utilized in the erection of a num- ber of dwellings and other buildings in various parts of Delaware county. Shortly after moving to Delaware county, Mr. Moore was employed as a teacher at Selma and did much toward awakening an interest in matters edu- cational. Mr. Moore was married August 13, 1835, to Miss Sarah Wilcoxon, daughter of Lloyd Wilcoxon, one of the early settlers of Delaware county, and a family of four sons and four daughters were the fruits of the union: their names are as follows: Louisa, widow of Dr. Clark Skiff; Asbury, a cabinet maker of Bellefontaine, Ohio; John L., wholesale mer- chant of Indianapolis; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Burt; William R., secretary of the Delaware County Building, Saving & Loan association of Muncie; Charles R., dealer in boots and shoes, Winchester, Ind .; Sarah A., and Cyn- thia E., wife of John Clark, of Selma.

In many respects Mr. Moore was much more than an ordinary man, and to him is the township of which he was an honored resident for so many years greatly indebted for much of its present prosperity. He took an active and prominent part in the building of the Big Four railroad through Delaware county, and as local agent of the same at Salem was instru- mental in developing a large business at that village and making it one of the best trading points in the county. His intelligence and superior business qualifications made him a very useful man in the community, and he was frequently consulted in the settlement of es- tates. He served as justice of the peace for several terms and proved a model dispenser of justice. In early life he united with the Methodist church, of which he was an honored and consistent communicant for over a half- century-his wife and the majority of his family also belonging to the same denomina- tion. Fraternally he was a member of the

Masonic and Odd Fellows orders, the princi- ples of which he exemplified in his every day life and conversation. He departed this life on the Ist day of September, 1893, at the ripe old age of eighty years. His wife, who had been his faithful helpmate for so many years, preceded her hushand to the grave Jan- uary 12, 1893, at the age of seventy-six.

a APT. WILLIAM H. MURRAY, ex- auditor of Delaware county, is the second son of Cornelius B. and Lu- cinda (Burroughs) Murray. The father is a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., and the mother was born near the town of Pendle- ton, Madison county, Ind. Cornelius and Lu- cinda Murray were married in the year 1836, in the county of Randolph, Ind., to which part of the state Mrs. Murray's parents had previ- ously removed. About two years later (1838) they settled upon a farm near Blountsville, Henry county, where, on the 11th day of Janu- ary, 1840, William H. Murray was born. Mrs. Murray departed this life in 1873, after which Cornelius B. Murray moved to Hagers- town, Wayne county, where he still lives, aged eighty-two years.

William Murray, grandfather of Capt. Will- iam H., was of Irish parentage and a native of Pennsylvania. His father, great-grandfather of William H., was a native of Ireland, came to America in the time of the colonies and fought valiantly in the struggle for American independence. William H. Murray was reared upon the home farm near Blountsville up to eighteen years of age, receiving the educational advantages afforded by the common schools of that period. His father having given him freedom to do for himself at the above age, he first sought higher educational attainments with the object of entering the teacher's pro-

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fession in view. For some time he was a stu- dent in the Blountsville academy, where he pursued his studies until the breaking out of the rebellion, at which time, in 1861, July 14, he laid aside his books and entered the service of his country as a member of company K, Nineteenth Indiana volunteers, with which he served during the war, re-enlisting January I, 1864. Entering the army as a private and passing up through the various grades of non- commissioned officers, Mr. Murray, on the 2d of July, 1863, was promoted second lieutenant of his company for gallant conduct at the bat- tle of Gettysburg, and the following year was commissioned a first lieutenant. By reason, however, of his regiment consolidating with the Twentieth Indiana volunteers, he was never mustered in with said rank of first lieu- tenant, but at the close of the war he received a commission as brevet captain from Gov. Morton, of Indiana.

It would far transcend the limits of a sketch of this kind to give in detail an account of Capt. Murray's military career, as he saw much active service and participated in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, among which may be mentioned Lewinsville, Rappa- hanock Station, Second battle of Manassas or Bull Run, and South Mountain. In the engagement last named he was dangerously wounded in both hips by a minie ball, disabling him to such an extent that he was compelled to remain for two months at the hospital at Middletown, Md. As soon as he was able to travel, he returned home, but after a short time rejoined his command in time to take part in the battle of Fredericksburg, fought on the 12th and 13th days of December, 1862. Subsequently, on account of his wound, he was placed on detached duty until more fully recovered, serving as clerk in the quarter- master department, in preference to again entering the hospital. Hero-like, and without

being reported for duty to his company, and with a musket borrowed from a disabled sol- dier, he voluntarily rejoined his regiment to help fight the great battle of Gettysburg, in which he took part from the firing of the first gun until the retreat of the enemy, displaying such praiseworthy conduct that at the instance of his lieutenant, Col. W. W. Dudley, he re- ceived his first promotion, as above noted, of second lieutenant. Subsequently he accom- panied his command throughout the opera- tions of the army, took part in a number of engagements, including the battle of the Wilderness, where he was again severely wounded in the right leg on the first day of that terrible conflict, May 5, 1864. Having been removed to Washington on account of his wound, he was furloughed home for sixty days, and at the expiration of that time was granted an extension. Finally recovering suf- ficiently, he returned to the front, joined his command near Yellow Tavern, and took part in the siege of Petersburg. He remained at his post until September 14, 1864, when, by reason of physical disability caused by his various wounds, he was honorably dis- charged from the service. Returning home, he settled in Selma, Delaware county, and on February 16, 1865, was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Orr, daughter of Hon. James Orr, of Liberty township, alternately pursuing the vocations of farming and teaching in the pub- lic scools until April, 1870, when he engaged in the mercantile business at the town of Selma, where he conducted a very successful business until October, 1878, at which time he he was elected auditor of Delaware county, discharging the duties of that position in a highly creditable manner for a period of four years. At this time Capt. Murray is living a life of retirement on his beautiful farm in Lib- erty township. He still owns business prop- erty in Selma and Muncie, and his life has

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been one of great activity. In the language of another, the following is a brief statement of his standing in the community since early boy- hood: "An industrious, studious boy; an ambitious, self educated youth; a patriotic, valiant soldier; an earnest, successful man of business, an efficient, faithful servant of the public; liberal and enterprising beyond his means; happy in his domestic relations, he is a genial associate and enjoys the esteem of a large circle of friends." Mr. and Mrs. Mur- ray are the parents of the following children: Lulu M., James O., Don P., Maggie, Arthur L., Edna K. and Robert F. Lulu M. is the wife of John E. Reed, deputy clerk of the Del- aware circuit court; James O. is a successful merchant, and Don P. recently graduated with high honors from the Medical college of Indiana, and is now a physician with. a lucra- tive practice. The other four children live at home with their parents.

ON. JAMES ORR was born near the town of Omagh, county Tyrone, Ire- land, February 25, 1815. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Jamison) Orr, both members of very large families, the ancestors of which lived in the Emerald Isle for many generations. They were protestants, and were active for many years in their oppo- sition to the prevailing church of Ireland. Mr. Orr's parents were substantial farmers, and leading members of the Presbyterian church of the town where they resided. In the year 1821, James Orr and family, consisting of the wife and six children, emigrated to the United States, taking ship at Londonderry, Ireland, for St. John, New Brunswick, thence to Balti- more by water, and from the latter place, moved in wagons to West Virginia, locating at what is known as White Sulphur Springs,

Greerbrier county. They lived in what is known as the "Tuckahoe Draft" during the winter of 1821, and the following year moved to Monroe county, the same state, where they resided for a period of five years. The life work of Mr. Orr, Sr., was that of farming, but he added to his income by teaching school, having been a man of good mental attainments and education. The family moved to Ohio in 1836. locating in Greene county, near Xenia, where they remained until 1838, at which time Mr. Orr moved to Delaware county, Ind., selecting a home in what is now the township of Delaware. As noted above, the family of James and Elizabeth Orr consisted of six children. The eldest, Joseph, married in Greene county, Ohio, Mary Hopping, and died, on his farm in Liberty township, Delaware county, Ind., in March, 1881; his wife died August 26, 1885. The second child, Margaret, married Robert Dean, a prominent citizen of Greene county, Ohio, and died there in 1859, her husband departing this life a short time previous to that date. The second son, Samuel Orr, a farmer by occupation, was lieutenant colonel of the Eighty-fourth Indiana infantry during the late war, and also represented Dela- ware county three times in the state legislature as a whig. He was twice married, his first wife having been Jane Moore, of Xenia, Ohio, and his second wife, Mrs. Jane Morrison, whom he married in Muncie, Ind. ; he died November 19, 1876. Hon. James Orr is the fourth in order of birth, after whom came Martha, wife of John Jones. She moved to Kansas with her husband many years ago, in which state they both died. The youngest member of the family, William Orr, died when a young child at the family home in Virginia.

Hon. James Orr passed his youthful years in Virginia and Ohio, and grew to manhood possessed of a vigorous constitution and great bodily strength. He was early taught the

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principles of industry, perseverance and econ- omy, which made him so successful in all his undertakings in after life; in 1836 he moved with his parents to Greene county, Ohio, thence, in October, 1837, came to Delaware county, Ind. He remained here but a short time, returning, in the fall of the above year, to his former home in Ohio, where, on the 11th day of January, 1838, he was united in mar- riage to Julia Ann L. Hopping. Within a short time after his marriage, Mr. Orr returned to Delaware county, and has been an honored resident of the same every since and one of its most substantial and well known citizens. Agriculture has been his life work, in which useful calling his success, always very en- couraging, has placed him in the front rank among the representative farmers of Delaware. He has, at different times, been called to fill prominent official positions, having been elect- ed commissioner of Delaware county in 1844, and served five years. In 1853 he was elected representative to the general assembly from this county, re-elected in 1861, and in 1871 was elected joint senator for the counties of Delaware and Madison, in which body he served two sessions. Politically, Mr. Orr was a whig until the organization of the republican party, since which time he has been a stanch supporter of the latter. In religion Mr. Orr is a member of the United Presbyterian church, in which he is highly respected and in which he has held different official positions. Mrs. Orr, who is remembered as of most excellent Christian character, departed this life on the 30th of April, 1869; she bore her husband eight children, namely: William, James D., Margaret J., Samuel, Joseph N., Charles M., Elizabeth M., and Mary R .; of these, five are yet living.

William, the eldest son, was born in Dela- ware county in the year 1838, received a liber- al education and began teaching school at the

early age of fifteen. While still young, before attaining his majority, he began taking an active interest in political matters and acquired considerable reputation as a campaign speaker. He began the study of law in 1868 with Thomas J. Sample of Muncie, finished his legal course at the Indianapolis Law school, after which he began to practice his profession in partnership with his preceptor. At the breaking out of the war he entered the army, enlisting in the Nineteenth Indiana volunteers,

-being made lieutenant of company K. He participated in a number of battles in which his command was engaged, was shot through the lungs at Antietam, the effects of which necessitated his retirement from the service for a time. After being sufficiently recovered, he rejoined his command, from which time until the close of the war he took part in a number of active campaigns and bloody battles. He was commissioned second lieutenant in July, 1861, promoted first lieutenant Angust 23, 1862, became captain of his company Septem- ber 18, 1862, was made major August 4, 1864 and upon the consolidation of the Nineteenth with the Twentieth regiment was appointed colonel Col. Orr was married November 18, 1862 to Margaret J. Small, who bore him one child, a daughter, wife of Charles P. Camp- bell of Chicago. Margaret J. Orr, married William H. Murray, who lives near Selma. James D. Orr, second son of subject, was born April 5, 1841. He was a farmer by oc- cupation, served in the late war in the One- hundred and Thirty-fourth Indiana infantry, and married December 20, 1864, Mary L. Baldridge, who bore him two children: Mary A., and Julia M. James D. Orr died in the year 1876. Samuel Orr, born November 3, 1846, married Mary Jane Goings August 6, 1868; his wife died in February, 1884; he died in 1871, Joseph N. Orr was born February 18, 1849, married Miss Mamie Simmons, who

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bore him three children: Bertha, James G. and Nellie. He is a prominent merchant of Sel- ma, where he has carried on an extensive business since 1871. Charles M. Orr was born August 3, 1850; married July 15, 1875, Kate Sayers, and is now in the United States postal service. Elizabeth M., born April 20, 1853, married Dr. Fertich of Dunkirk, Ind., and is the mother of six children. Mary R. Orr was born August 9, 1857, married Lewis S. Sparks March 30, 1875, and has three chil- dren.

Hon. James Orr married for his second wife, June 30, 1870, Miss Martha J. Camp- bell, daughter of Samuel G. and Elizabeth Campbell, old citizens of the town of Selma.

....

R. CLARK SKIFF (deceased) .- Many of the brightest minds and the leading thinkers of the last century have been found in the medical pro- fession, and in the life of Dr. Skiff could be found an example illustrating these facts in a local sense in the practice of his profession in Delaware county, Ind His birth occurred near Wilmington, in Clinton county, Ohio, January 16, 1826; son of John and Lucretia Skiff, natives of New York state. The boy- hood days of Dr. Skiff were passed upon the farm in his native commonwealth, where he was a student in the common schools. He began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Hubble, of Amelia, Ohio, at which place he practiced his profession for some time, having attended lectures and graduating from the Eclectic Medical institute, of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1854 Dr. Skiff located at Selma, Ind., where he established an extensive prac- tice and made for himself a reputation that lives beyond his death. He was a man gen- erally well appreciated, and his friends were

numerous. The practice of medicine, which he loved, he continued until forced, by failing health, to abandon it. He was an active member of the Medical association; kept fully abreast of the profession, and was always re- garded as a true physician. In politics, Dr. Skiff was an earnest republican, and a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies. His first marriage was with Miss Catherine Smith, of Clinton county, Ohio. Mrs. Skiff died in 1853, leaving a son, John Skiff, now of Lebanon, Ind. November 18, 1855, Miss Louisa Moore became the wife of Dr. Skiff. To this marriage relation, there is one son, Charles Eberle, an enterprising farmer of Lib- erty township, this county. Mrs. 'Skiff is the daughter of William J. Moore (one of the early settlers of Delaware county), and was born in Liberty township, this county, Janu- ary 13, 1837. She resides at Selma, and has a comfortable home. Mrs. Skiff is a promi- nent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is regarded as a woman of rare worth throughout the community. Dr. Skiff united with the Methodist Episcopal church in 1880 and lived a devoted christian the remain- der of his life, an untiring worker in the church. The death of Dr. Skiff occurred October 12, 1888.

ILLIAM HENRY WILLIAMS, township trustee and leading citizen of the town of Selma, is the son of the late gallant Col. Samuel J. Williams, who was killed in the late war while leading his regiment, the Nineteenth Indiana, in the battle of the Wilderness. Col. Will- iams was born in Montgomery county, Va., and while quite young, was brought by his parents to Delaware county, Ind., where he grew to manhood. Reared on a farm, his

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early educational training embraced the studies usually taught in the common schools of that period, but he obtained his principal knowledge of books by private study and wide reading after attaining his majority. At the early age of eighteen, he was united in marriage with Lorena Davis, who at that time was but seventeen years old, to which union one child, Lorena, wife of Luther Harris, of Muncie, was born. Mrs. Williams dying, Col. Williams afterward, when twenty-two years of age, was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Shroyer of Delaware county, who bore him five chil- dren, the subject of this mention being the oldest in point of birth. The next oldest child, Parthena, was born in 1854 and married W. P. Dunkle, a carpenter and builder of Selma; Mary E., was born in 1856, married A. C. Martin, and is the mother of six chil- dren, five of whom are living; her husband died in January, 1891; Samuel J., the next in order of birth, is general freight agent of the M., K. & T. R. R., with headquarters at Par- sons, Kansas. The youngest member of the family, Cassius, was born in 1860, and de- parted this life in the year 1874.

In 1855 Col. Williams located in the town of Selma after the completion of the railroad, and engaged in the warehouse and stock ship- ping business, continuing the same until the breaking out of the great rebellion, when he recruited company K, Ninteenth Indiana vol- unteers, and entered the service of the country as captain of the same. For gallant and meri- torious conduct en a number of different bat- tle fields, he passed through different grades of promotion, including that of major and lieu- tenant colonel, and finally became colonel of the Nineteenth, and as such fell, as already noted, at the head of his men in the battle of

the Wilderness. Col. Williams was a brave and gallant soldier, and in the civil walks of life was honored and respected by all who knew him. Williams post, No. 78, G. A. R., of Muncie, Ind., was named in his honor, also Col. S. J. Williams post, No. 267,G. A. R., of Selma, Ind. He was an active member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities, and originally supported the democratic party, cast- ing his first presidential ballot for Franklin Pierce. He was always opposed to the insti- tution of slavery, however, in consequence of which he changed his political views and be- came a republican on the organization of that party, and supported its principles until his death.

William Henry Williams was born in Del- aware county, Ind., August 3, 1853. He married March 12, 1872, Joanna Fielder, who has borne him six children, namely: Myrtle, Willie, Samuel Claude, Iva Pearl, Anna Fern and Pansy. Mr. Williams has always been a citizen of Liberty township, and for some years followed agricultural pursuits in connec- tion with the manufacture of brick, in both of which occupations he was very successful. During President Arthur's administration he was in the United States mail service for thir- teen months. He is now in the employ of J. N. Orr, of Selma. He was elected trustee of Liberty township in 1891, since which date he has discharged the duties of the position with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people of his township, irrespective of party. Politically, he is a republican, and fraternally is identified with the I. O. O. F., belonging to lodge No. 189, Selma. The Methodist church represents his religious creed, of which denom- ination both he and wife are active mem- bers.

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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 62

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