USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware county, 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 70
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Wabash, where he met with serious financial reverses by going security for a friend, whose failure caused the loss of nearly all of his early possessions. Following this reverse in his fortune, Mr. Howell went to Cincinnati, where he resided for two years with a son, and later returned to Wabash county, where he lived until the death of his wife. After this sad bereavement, he traveled for a couple of years through Illinois and Missouri, and, re- turning to Indiana, again settled down in the county of Wabash, where he resided with a son until his death, which occurred January 10, 1858.
Daniel P. Howell remained with his par- ents until his fifteenth year, attending such schools as the country afforded in the mean- time, and then learned the trade of brick masonry with his brother-in-law, J. Flinn, at Muncie, with whom he remained four years. He also became proficient as a plasterer, and carried on both trades in Clinton county, Ohio, to which he had removed and where he found constant employment until the year 1852. Having purchased property in Ohio, he ex- changed the same for the piece of wood land in Mount Pleasant township, Ind., to which he at once removed, from which he has, by great industry and energy born of a determination to succeed, developed his present valuable farm, which is now justly ranked among the most beautiful places in Delaware county. Among the valuable improvements of this farm is an elegant and substantial brick residence, erected, in 1873, representing a capital of sev- eral thousand dollars, being one of the best country residences in Mount Pleasant town- ship. Mr. Howell is an intelligent farmer, gives wise attention to the proper rotation of crops, and is one of the well informed class who has succeeded in elevating agriculture to its true dignity as a science. When twenty- one years of age, Mr. Howell was married to
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Miss Mary McKinley, of Ohio, daughter of William and Sarah Mckinley, to whom the following children were born: William, de- ceased; James, deceased; Mary Ellen, wife of John Shaffer; John, Louisa, wife of William Brewer; George, Joseph, Emma, wife of Will- iam Ogle, and Samuel. Mrs. Howell died in April, 1872, and, subsequently, Mr. Howell married his second wife, Mrs. Judith Camp- bell, widow of Adam Campbell. Hr. Howell has long been a supporter of the democratic party, the principles of which he believes to be for the best interest of the country. Religi- ously, the Baptist church represents his creed, to which denomination his wife also belongs. Mrs. Howell was stricken with paralysis Au- gust 3, 1890, and had a second stroke in November, 1892, and is greatly afflicted.
EWIS JOHNSON .- The state of In- diana gave freely of her wealth and of her men to the defense of the Union when the call came from Pres. Lincoln for troops to suppress the war of the rebellion, and all over her confines you may find men living in quiet retirement who, in those stormy days, did battle and endured hardships which have often left lasting marks upon them. One of these we find in the sub- ject of this mention, Lewis Johnson. Mr. Johnson's birth occurred November 27, 1845, a son of John and Charlotta (Stevenson) John- son, the father a native of the state of Virginia and the mother of Muskingum county, Ohio. John Johnson was born in 1812 and died in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were married in Ohio, but later immigrated to Indiana and en- gaged in farming, buying 120 acres of land, where they lived until his death. He was a stanch republican all of his life and a consis- tent member of the Baptist church. Mrs.
Johnson still lives on the old farm in Henry county, is a member of the Methodist church, and is much respected for. many kind and womanly qualities.
Lewis Johnson was reared on the old farm and grew up as farmer lads usually do, en- gaging early in labor and attending such schools as the county afforded, in the mean- time. He was one of a family of eight child- ren, his brothers and sisters being as follows: Rebecca, wife of M. D Driscoll, a farmer of Delaware county; Ada, wife of William Eliot, a farmer of this county; Frank, a resident of Muncie; and Lotta; Grace; and Lilly; Fan- nie, wife of J. Humphrey.
At the outbreak of the civil war Mr. John- son left his school books, being then only a lad of eighteen years, and enlisted in company G, Ninth Indiana cavalry, for three years or dur- ing the war. He participated in the battle of Sulphur Branch, where he was captured and kept a prisoner for six months, during which period he was fed with corn meal made out of corn and ground cobs, from which coarse diet he contracted camp diarrhœa. After his re- lease he rejoined his regiment at Vicksburg and was sent, with some 2, 100 other soldiers, on a boat to go up the river. The boilers of this boat exploded and some 1,600 poor men were killed, but Mr. Johnson escaped with a wound in the side, from which he has never fully re- covered, and which entitles him to a pension of four dollars a month. He was sent to In- dianapolis, where he was honorably discharged, and came home, and soon after resumed his work on the farm.
In 1868 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Hoover, daughter of D. M. and Fannie Hoover, natives of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Henry county, this state, in 1848, and engaged in farming. At this time Mr. Hoover owns 157 acres of land, upon which he and his wife now reside. Mr. Johnson is a
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large land owner, possessing a fine farm of 129 acres, all of which he has under a high state of cultivation. His improvements are among the best in Mount Pleasant township, and he has won the reputation of being one of the best farmers in the county. He is social by nature, and has testified to it by becoming a member of the Red Men, in the deliberations of which order he takes an active interest.
LFRED JONES is descended pater- nally from Virginia ancestry, his father, John Jones, having been born in the Old Dominion, on the 9th day of April, 1808. Tracing the family history back, it is learned that the remote ancestors came originally from Ireland, in which country the subject's grandfather is supposed to have been born. John Jones removed with his parents to Clinton county, Ohio, when he was three years of age, remaining in the latter state until his nineteenth year, at which time he came to Indiana, locating in Wayne county, thence five years later he removed to the county of Delaware, and purchased eighty acres of government land not far from the present site of Yorktown. In 1843 he married Lucinda Reed, who was born in Clinton county, Ohio, on the 7th day of April, 1820, daughter of James and Elizabeth Reed, both parents na- tives of Ireland. John Jones was by occupa- tion a farmer and weaver, and he and wife were for many years earnest members of the Christian church.
Alfred Jones was born March 17, 1843, and spent the days of his boyhood on the farm, working during the summer season and attend- ing school in winters. His life has been that of a farmer, and he now owns a well improved place of seventy acres in the township of Mount Pleasant, where he is widely and favor-
ably known for his many sterling qualities of manhood. In addition to farming he gives considerable attention to the raising of stock, in both of which callings his success has been gratifying. Mr. Jones was first married, at the age of twenty-one, to Miss Ann Snod- grass, who was born in Randolph county, Ind., May 3, 1844, and whose death occurred in Delaware county, January 20, 1874. Mrs. Jones was the daughter of Dr. Snodgrass, and is remembered as a devoted wife and kind mother. She was the mother of the following children: Clarissa, wife of John Ward; Laura, and Lucinda, deceased. Mr. Jones' second marriage took place July 27, 1874, to Sarah Antrim, who was born July 24, 1855, the daughter of Beardsley and Susan Antrim. On the 24th of February, 1875, Mr. Jones was again bereaved, his wife dying on that date; her body now rests by the side of his former companion in the Jones cemetery. In the year 1876, December 26, Mr. Jones and Sarah J. Hensley were united in marriage-a union blessed with the birth of one child, Sarah Jones. Mrs. Jones was the daughter of Will- iam and Elizabeth Hensley, and departed this life on the 16th day of March, 1882. Decem- ber 13, 1884, Mr. Jones married his present wife, Mrs. Cela (Childs) Reed, daughter of George and Sarah Childs, and widow of the late David C. Reed. The parents of Mrs. Jones were natives respectively of Virginia and North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are prominently identified with the Christian church, and fraternally he belongs to the Im- proved Order of Red Men.
RS. MATILDA KOONTZ is a well known and highly respected lady of Mount Pleasant township, widow of the late L. D. Koontz, who is re- membered as one of the leading citizens of
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Yorktown. Mrs. Koontz was born November 24, 1835, in the state of Maryland, and is a daughter of William and Elizabeth Green, natives of the same state, who came to Dela- ware county, Ind., as early as 1837, locating at Yorktown. William Green was by occupa- tion a mechanic, and for a number of years carried on the blacksmithing business at York- town, where he became quite successful in the accumulation of property. He was a man highly respected by all who knew him, exceed- ingly popular, and departed this life in the year 1846; his wife died the previous year, and they lie side by side in the Yorktown cemetery, where a beautiful monument marks their last resting place. Mrs. Koontz has spent the greater part of her life in the county of her adoption, and is a woman noted for her many virtues and excellent traits of character. Her marriage with L. D. Koontz took place on the 4th day of May, 1851, and the fruit of their union was the following children: Jacob M .; William J .; Mary Jane, wife of Daniel Ying- ling; Deborah Ann, wife of Orvin Moore; Mar- tha Ellen, wife of William Crawford; Albert D .; Urilla Belle; Amanda V., wife of Louis R. Steward; Josephine: Montana; and Clara Maud, the last two of whom are not living.
Mr. Koontz was a prominent resident of Mount Pleasant township and at one time owned a large and highly improved farm ad- joining the village of Yorktown. He was one of Delaware county's most progressive citizens, and his death, which occurred November 1, 1892, was felt to be not only an irreparable loss to his family, but a calamity to the com- munity as well. A short time prior to his death he disposed of his farm to the Western Im- provement company of West Muncie, and the city is now being invaded by the improvements of that thriving town. He was a farmer by occupation, was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity and a republican in his political faith.
J OHN LOSH is a native of Licking county, Ohio, and dates his birth from the year 1832. His parents, Adam and Elizabeth (Minick) Losh, were born in Northumberland county, Pa., and in an early day emigrated to Ohio, settling in Licking county about 1830, where the father followed the trade of carpentering for a period of twelve years, moving, at the end of that time, to Delaware county, Ind., where, in addition to his chosen calling, he was for sometime engaged in agricultural pursuits After a residence of twenty-five years in this part of the state, he removed to the county of Wayne, Ills., where he engaged in farming and where his and his wife's deaths subse- quently occurred.
John Losh passed his youth on his father's farm, with the rugged usuages of which he early became familiar, and left the parental roof at the age of eigliteen and found employ- ment on a farm in Licking county, Ohio, and lived in that part of the state until his removal to Clermont county, Ohio, where he remained for a period of three years. Going thence to Lima, Ohio, he found employment at various occupations, and subsequently removed to Delaware county, Ind., locating in Washing- ton township where he engaged in farming. In February, 1865, he entered the army, en- listing for one year, or during the war, in company D, Forty-seventh Indiana volunteer infantry, with which he served until honorably discharged August 4th of the same year. Al- though to the front but a short time, he ex- perienced, in all of its reality, many of the vicissitudes of war, having undergone some very hard service, at one time being compelled to go seven days without food, the effect of which was to render him greatly disabled. From ailments contracted while in the army, he has never entirely recovered, and like many other brave men who went forth to do
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battle for the national Union, he is now re- membered by a grateful country with a liberal pension of $30 per month.
On leaving the army, Mr. Losh returned to Indiana and engaged in blacksmithing at New Corner, the present sight of Gaston, Washington township, where he carried on the trade successfully until about 1880. During the succeeding four years he was employed in carrying the mail between different points, but for some time has been living a retired life in Camack Station, Mount Pleasant township, where he owns a pleasant home, in which his declining years are being spent in quiet and content. Mrs. Losh was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in the year 1829, and is the mother of the following children: Andrew, Joseph and Noah Losh. Religiously, Mr. Losh is a member of the church known as the Christian Connection, while the United Breth- ren denomination represents the creed in which Mrs. Losh is a firm believer. In poli- tics, Mr. Losh supports the principles of the republican party, but has never been a partisan in the sense of seeking official position. He belongs to that large and eminently respecta- ble class of people who by their actions, rather than by loud professions, have been such im- portant factors in building up and maintaining the well being of the community .
OBERT MCKINLEY .- Mount Pleas- ant township, Delaware county, Ind., deserves its beautiful name, not only on account of the finely cultivated farms within its border, but also on account of the kind and excellent people who reside here. Among these we find Mr. Robert Mckinley, a retired farmer and stock raiser. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, October 5, 1834, a son of Samuel and Sarah (Williamson) Mc- Kinley, both of whom were natives of Virginia.
The grandfather of Robert Mckinley died when his son, Samuel, the father of Robert, was a small boy, and the latter was bound out to a man by the name of Conigan until he became of age. He then came to Pickaway county, Ohio, to engage in stock buying, but as this did not prove profitable, he came to Delaware county, Ind., where he entered 320 acres of land in Mount Pleasant township, this farm now being in the possession of Robert McKinley. Here Mr. Mckinley worked on the place during the summers, and employed the winters in teaming and hauling to and from Cincinnati. He succeeded well in his business ventures, and was a man of upright character, loved and respected by all. He was a stanch democrat in his political faith. His death occurred in this county, his wife living some ten years longer, and their remains were laid to rest on the old farm.
Robert Mckinley lived with his parents until the time of their death, and then engaged in any kind of work that would pay him an honest dollar. In 1857 he married Miss Lora Landry, daughter of Joseph and Louisa Lan- dry, the former a native of Troy, Ohio. The father of Mrs. McKinley was a cooper by trade and worked at his chosen calling until he was sixty years of age. He came to Delaware county when he was twenty years old and en- tered twenty acres of land. Keeping on adding to this, he soon accumulated 240 acres and had over $8,000 at interest. This he earned by his own labor. Politically he was a republican, and was considered a good citizen. Although he was connected with no branch of the church, he was a moral man and cheerfully gave of his means to all churches and to all charitable in- stitutions. His death occurred in 1889, at the age of eighty-seven years, his wife having died in 1869; the former was buried in Mount Pleas- ant cemetery, but the latter was interred on the old home farm. After his marriage, Mr.
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Mckinley worked a farm for a share of the crops for a few years, and then bought eighty acres of the old farm, and has kept on adding nntil he now owns 336 acres of fine land. He has been engaged in farming and stock raising all of his life, and has been very successful in a financial way.
Mr. and Mrs. McKinley have a family of four children: Josiah, who married Miss Letta Lewis, deceased, who is a farmer of Madison county; Franklin, married Miss Flora Buskirk and lives on the home farm; Sarah Louisa, married William Stevenson and lives on the home farm, and Theodore, who died in infancy. In his politics Mr. Mckinley is a republican, and believes firmly in the principles of the grand old party. Although not connected with any religious body, he is known as a man who gives to every worthy object and is chari- table to the greatest limit. He is one of the most respected of all the farmer residents of his locality and a citizen who enjoys the re- spect and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact.
UCINDA MAHONEY .- The estima- ble lady who is the subject of this sketch was born January 17, 1833, in Clinton county, Ohio. Her mother dying when she was three months old, she was reared by her aunt, Mrs. Ellen Antrim, and lived with her up to the time of her marriage, which occurred when she was twenty-seven years of age. She came to this state when she was but nine months old, and settled with her relatives near Yorktown, and remained in Indiana ever since. Her mother was a native of Clinton county, Ohio, and she knows but little of her parents. Her father came to this county a number of years after her arrival, and from here he went to North Carolina, where he died.
Our subject married J. W. Mahoney, a native of Virginia. He came to this state when a young man, and owned sixty acres of land at the time of the marriage, this being a farm now occupied by Mrs. Mahoney. Her husband died March 18, 1889, and his remains rest in the Jones cemetery. He was a life- long democrat, and devotedly attached to that party. Three children were the fruits of this marriage, namely: Clara, wife of John Jester, of Madison township, he being a farmer; Elijah, and Elmira, wife of William Lexing- ton, a farmer living in this township.
J AMES MARTIN .- Few farmers in Mount Pleasant township are more widely and favorably known than the gentleman whose biographical sketch is herewith presented. James Martin is a na- tive of Indiana, born in the county of Dela- ware on the 29th day of December, 1864, and is a son of Andrew W. and Mary Emily (Knott) Martin. Andrew W. Martin is a na- tive of Ohio, which state he left a number of years ago, immigrating to Indiana, and at this time is a well known resident of Delaware county. James Martin early learned those " lessons of industry and frugality by which his life has been characterized, and amid the rug- ged duties of his father's farm passed the years of his youth and early manhood, attending, in the meantime, the public schools, in which he obtained a practical English education. Strictly speaking, he is not an educated man in the sense of an extensive acquaintance with litera- ture, but a practical knowledge of men and things, acquired by years of close observation, has enabled him to discharge very successfully the duties of an aetive life. He worked on the home farm until his marriage, at twenty-three years of age, which occurred on the 15th day
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of August, 1888, Miss Sarah Florence Har- man, daughter of John W. and Lavina Har- man (see sketch), becoming his wife. For a short time after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Martin resided with the latter's parents, but in the spring of 1889 they became residents of Mount Pleasant township, moving to their present farm where they now have one of the pleasant homes of the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin was born one child, Roxie H., whose birth occurred on the 21st day of May, 1891, and whose little form was laid to rest in the Mount Pleasant cemetery September 10, 1892. Mr. Martin is a public spirited citizen, and all movements having for their object the welfare of the community find in him a patron and well wisher. A republican in politics, he does not aspire to official honors, preferring to give his entire attention to his farming inter- est.
LEXANDER MILLER, a farmer and stock raiser of Mount Pleasant town- ship, was born October 12, 1838, in Delaware county, Ind., and is a son of Peter and Mary Miller, both parents natives of Virginia. Peter Miller was born in the year 1805, and at the age of twenty-two mar- ried Mary Hayes, and immediately thereafter emigrated to Indiana, settling in Henry coun- ty, of which he was one of the pioneers, and engaged in farming. After residing in that county for a period of about twenty years, he removed to the county of Delaware, and pur- chased a farm of forty acres on which he resided five or six years, and then exchanged the place for an eighty-acre tract in the town- ship of Mount Pleasant. He died in the year 1868, and was the father of the following children: Eliza, Harriet, Henry, Harrison J., Mary, deceased, Alexander, Simon, deceased, Perry and Noah.
Alexander Miller remained under the parental roof until his eighteenth year, at which time he began working for himself at different kinds of employment, making an honest dollar whenever an opportunity pre- sented itself. October 23, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Malinda Reed, and immediately thereafter engaged in farming, subsequently purchasing real estate, which he afterward sold and bought his present farm in Mount Pleasant, consisting of eighty acres. This place is under a successful state of culti- vation, and its owner is justly considered one of the intelligent and progressive farmers of the township. Mr. Miller was, for some time, engaged in merchandising in Yorktown, where he carried on a successful business from about 1864 till 1869, and for a period of sixteen months was proprietor of a hotel at the same place, which he conducted with a fair degree of success. In addition to his career as a farmer and business man, Mr. Miller has, also, a military record, having entered the army at the beginning of the war for the three months' service, being the first man to enlist in Mount Pleasant township. Owing to dis- abilities contracted while in the service, Mr. Miller has been a sufferer and is now drawing a pension from the government amounting to $12 per month. Politically, Mr. Miller is a republican, fraternally, belongs to the Grand Army post, No. 529, at Daleville, and in relig- ion is a member of the Society of Friends, with which his wife is also identified. The following are the names of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller: John H., married Mary Richmond; Allie, married to A. D. Kootz: Melvina E., deceased; Daisy and Maggie Bell, the last two of whom are still living with their parents. Mrs. Miller is a daughter of John and Nancy (Dragoo) Reed, the former born in 1809 and the latter in 1814. John Reed was by occupation a
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farmer, and a prominent resident of Mount Pleasant township, where he owned eighty acres of land, on which he resided until his death, in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Reed reared a family consisting of the following named chil- dren: George W., Elizabeth, Polly Almeta, deceased; Malinda J., Martha Ellen, deceased; John, deceased; Hannah M., Sarah, Josiah and James, deceased. The mother of Mrs. Miller died April 1, 1893, at the residence of her daughter.
R ICHARD N. MILLER is one of the well known residents of Mount Pleas- ant township, Delaware county, Ind., and was born September 9, 1845. He lived with his parents until he was nine years of age, and was then taken by his sister, Harriet Thompson, and later by his brother, Henry Miller. At the age of nineteen years he entered the army February 13, 1865, for one year, enlisting in company E, One Hun- dred and Forty-seventh regiment, Indiana volunteers, of which he was made a corporal. He was discharged at Harper's Ferry, W. Va., on the 4th day of August, 1865, and now re- ceives a pension.
Returning from the army, Mr. Miller worked for some time by the month, and at the end of one summer he married. He then rented land from a Mr. Hancock, on which farm he remained for two years; the next two years he acted as an engineer, but finally settled down again to agricultural pursuits. He has been very industrious and persevering, and is now the owner of twenty acres of fine Indiana land located in Mount Pleasant town- ship, and Mr. Miller has shown himself a very successful farmer.
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