USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 21
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
756
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
three months during the winter seasons. His father died when he was a little lad of nine years, and thereafter he helped to take care of his widowed mother and the other children. Soon after his marriage he took up his abode in Washington township, Delaware county, purchasing one hundred acres of wild and unimproved land in section 24, where he first erected a hewed log house, this continuing as the family home until the erection of their present dwelling in 1872. He has cleared all of his land with the exception of forty acres, and in addition to his general agricultural pursuits he is one of the largest stock raisers of Washington township, breeding Black Poland cattle, which he feeds and ships to Buffalo, New York, first purchasing in Chicago. At the present time he has a carload of fine cattle ready for market. He is also extensively engaged in the raising and shipping of hogs, marketing from forty to fifty carloads each year. In 1902 the Chicago Gas Company built on Mr. Harris' farm one of the largest pumping stations in the entire state of Indiana.
On the Ist of January, 1860, Mr. Harris was married to Margaret E. Broyles, who was born in Washington township, Delaware county, October 25, 1841, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Ann (Lyon) Broyles. Thomas Broyles, deceased, was born May 6, 1817, in Virginia, and when a young man came to Rush county, Indiana, and engaged in teaming, hauling goods from Cincinnati to Richmond. After his marriage he gave up that occupation and went to work on his uncle's farm by the month, thus con- tinuing for two years, when he came to Delaware county. This was in 1830, and he located near his parents' farm in Washington township, entering forty acres of wild and unimproved land. He was obliged to borrow fifty dollars with which to begin life here, but by hard work and good management he made a success of life, owning at the time of his death four hundred acres of land. He was married on the 22d of February, 1838, to Sarah Ann Lyon, who was born February 10, 1817, in Bourbon county, Kentucky, the daughter of John L. and Margaret (Sharp) Lyon, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. They came to Rush county, Indiana, in an early day and entered eighty acres of land, and Mr. Lyon, who was a carpenter, worked at his trade in connection with farming. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Broyles voted the Democratic ticket up to the beginning of the war, when he joined the Republican party and remained loyal to its principles until his death, which occurred a number of years ago, and Mrs. Broyles is also deceased. They were the parents of three children: Margaret E., the wife of Mr. Harris; Joseph W., who is also married; and John L., deceased.
Twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Harris, of whom eight are now living: Emma, the wife of J. W. Richards ; John L., who married Nettie Janney; Martha, the wife of Calvin Bookout ; Belle, the wife of Herber Thomas; Omer O., who married Iva Keefer; Murley, who married Edith Marine; Otto O., who married
757
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
Stella Sheilds; and J. Clarence, who married Irena Spence. Mr. Harris is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and has served as a supervisor of roads.
.
ASA B. SANDERS was born in Henry county, Indiana, near New Castle, December 28, 1860, a son of Arthur and Elvira ( Bogue) Sanders. The father, who was born in North Carolina in August, 1825, was brought by his parents to Indiana May 7, 1827, fifty-two days having been spent on the road, and the family located in Henry county, three and a half miles northwest of New Castle, where the little son spent his boyhood days. Attaining to young manhood he became owner of a part of his father's farm, he having previously assisted in clearing the old homestead, and in 1873 he purchased a farm near Springport. After living there for a number of years he sold his possessions and returned to a farm near the old home- stead, which he purchased, and spent the remainder of his life there, dying August 4, 1885, when past the sixtieth milestone of life. He devoted his entire business career to general agricultural pursuits, and was a Republican in his political affiliations. Near New Castle, in Henry county, Indiana, Mr. Sanders married Elvira Bogue, who was a native daughter of the Hoosier state, born in 1836, and her death occurred in 1895, at the age of sixty-one years. Six children were born to this couple: Ella, wife of Dr. Brown; Matilda, the wife of Thomas Jefferson; Mary A., the wife of Charles Cowgill; Asa B., the subject of this review ; Margaret, the widow of Holcom Wright ; and Nancy, the wife of William Cowgill.
Asa B. Sanders was reared as a farmer lad, and soon after his marriage he engaged in farming for himself in Madison county, but in the spring of 1902 he removed from there to Washington township, Delaware county. After three years spent in agricultural pursuits here he returned to Madison county, and two years later came again to Washington township, purchasing the farm where he now lives. At the present time he is remodeling his home, making it one of the attractive places of the township.
.
The marriage of Mr. Sanders was celebrated on the 11th of January, 1890, Miss Mary E. Johnson becoming his wife. She was born near Summitville, Madison county, Indiana, June 24, 1871, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Allen) Johnson, both of whom were also born in Indiana, the father in Randolph county, on the 16th of June, 1841, and the mother in Hancock county, August 9, 1845. They were married in Hancock county in 1861, 'and became the parents of ten children: Manson U .; Minerva, the widow of William Beeson; Jesse A., who married Laura Plackard; Daniel M .; Mary E., the wife of Mr. Sanders; Lewis W., who married Laura Cory, now deceased; Etta, the wife of Ezra Webster ; Amanda, the wife of Otis Cramner ; John C. and Della M.
Mr. Johnson, the father, was reared to years of maturity in his native county of Randolph, also following agricultural pursuits there eight years after his marriage. He then took up his abode near Summitville, in Madison
.
:58
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
county, Indiana,' where he is numbered among the leading farmers of the community, as well as one of the largest stock raisers, he having shipped large quantities of stock to the Buffalo and New York markets. He upholds the principles of the Republican party, although as a Democratic repre- sentative served in the office of township trustee for two terms. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sanders: Hallett A. and Hazel Pearl. Mr. Sanders casts .his ballot with the Republican party, and has fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 475, of Summitville, and also with the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall Lodge, No. 361, of Summitville. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Sanders holds the office of trustee.
DANIEL RICHARDS was born in Grant county, Indiana, February 18, 1839, a son of John and Effie (Roberts) Richards, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Ohio, the father born in 1806, and died in March, 1863, in Grant county, Indiana, while the mother passed away in death in 1848. They were married in Ohio, but in a very early day in its history took up their abode in Grant county, Indiana, where Mr. Richards entered govern- ment land and became a prominent factor in the early history of that com- munity. The little log cabin in which the family first resided in time gave place to the frame residence in which he spent the remainder of his life. He erected two saw mills in that county and also had the distinction of purchasing the first McCormick reaper in Grant county. He was a worthy and consistent Christian gentleman, a member of the old-school Baptist church, and he served as a minister in that denomination for many years, also donating the ground on which the church was built. He was a Jackson Democrat politically. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Richards seven are now living : Henry, a resident of Oklahoma ; L. G., who is living on the line separating Grant and Delaware counties; Abraham, Daniel, Jacob, Martha and Isaac.
The early years of Daniel Richard's life were spent on the homestead farm and in his father's saw mills, and when he had attained the age of twenty-three years he began farming for himself on eighty acres of land. His farm was then a wilderness, but in time he placed it under a fine state of cultivation, and the frame house which he first erected gave place in 1864 to his present dwelling. He carries on the general work of the farm and also raises a good grade of stock.
On the ist of August, 1863, Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Catherine E. Millspaugh, who was born on the 13th of September, 1844, and died on the 25th of November, 1878. She was the daughter of Gilbert C. and Lucy (Williams) Millspaugh, the former of whom was a minister of the old-school Baptist church, coming from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Delaware county, and his death occurred there. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Richards three are now living: Lewis E., who married Annata Cough, now deceased, and he afterward married Carrie Johnson, by whom
:
759
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
he has four children ; Addie, the wife of Simon Leach; and Clement E., who married Lillie Norton, and they have seven children.
On the 19th of November, 1879, Mr. Roberts married Susannah McCormick, who was born in Washington township, one mile west of Wheeling, September 19, 1838, the daughter of William and Susannah (Woolverton) McCormick, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born on the 27th of September, 1793, and the latter on the 22d of January, 1795, but both died in Washington township. Delaware county, Indiana, the father October 14, 1868, and the mother December 27, 1871. They came to Delaware county in 1833 and theirs were the only deaths on that farm. They were married in Preble county, Ohio, April 10, 1817,
and to them were born ten children, all of whom are now deceased, with the exception of Mrs. Richards, who was the youngest of the family. Mr. McCormick was taken to Ohio by his parents, John and Katherine McCormick, when but two years of age, attaining to years of maturity in that state, and there five of his children were also born. In February, 1832, he removed to Fayette county, Indiana, and on the 22d of March, 1833, to Delaware county, purchasing a farm of David Conner, one mile west of Wheeling, while later on he entered government land, becoming in time the owner of six hundred acres. There was a log house on the land he purchased from Mr. Conner, which contained port holes from which to shoot at the Indians. Later Mr. McCormick erected a house of hewed logs, and in the early '40s built the frame residence in which he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. He served as a judge of the county court for many years, the court house in those days having been built of logs, and for a long period he was also a minister in the old-school Baptist church, he having united with that church during his boyhood days. He was one of the most prominent factors of the early life of Delaware county, and was a Jackson Democrat in his political affiliations.
For over thirty years Mr. Richards has been a prominent and worthy member of the old-school Baptist church, and he is an earnest Christian man, his path having been marked by good deeds, by honest purpose and worthy motives. His wife is a member of the same church. His political support is given to the Democratic party.
JOHN R. TUTTLE, M. D. Dr. Tuttle is one of the best known physicians of Wheeling and vicinity. He was well prepared to enter the ranks of this profession by a thorough training, which was received first in the Muncie Academy, graduating therein with the class of 1874, and with the class of 1879 he graduated in the Methodist Episcopal College at Fort Wayne, Indiana. He then pursued a course in German in the German Concordia College, after which, in 1880, he matriculated in the Medical College of Indiana, at Indianapolis. In the following year he entered upon a special course of study with Dr. Gobrecht, while in 1883 he attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati. During the intervening period from 1890
760
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
to 1894 Dr. Tuttle attended the Medical department of the Chicago Uni- versity. He was thus ably prepared to become an active practitioner in the profession which he had chosen as his life work, and on the 2d of July, 1883, he took up his abode in Wheeling, where he has ever since remained in practice with the exception of six months spent in Davenport, Iowa, and a similar period spent in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is a member of the Dis- trict and County Medical Associations.
Dr. Tuttle was born in Monroe township, Delaware county, Indiana, April 5, 1860, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth J. (Rose) Tuttle. The father, who was born in Ohio in 1829, was a farmer and local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, and his death occurred in 1900, when he had reached the age of seventy-one years. His political affiliations were with the Republican party. The mother was born in North Carolina in 1835, and is now living, aged seventy-two years. Ten children were born to this couple, four sons and six daughters-Emma, Louisa, John R., Charles M., Drusilla, Belle, William W., Effie, Clay H. and Elizabeth.
On the 20th of November, 1901, Dr. Tuttle married Zina Beuoy, who was born in Washington township, Delaware county, January 12, 1864, a daughter of Edward and Sarah (Milhollin) Beuoy. The father died on the roth of June, 1905, and for a further history of his life see the sketch of Edward Beuoy. Dr. Tuttle is a member of Wheeling Lodge No. 325, I. O. O. F., and also of the Wheeling Encampment at Mathews. His fraternal relations also connect him with the Sioux Tribe of Red Men, Lodge No. 125, at Gaston. His political affiliations are with the Republican party.
Dr. Tuttle is not only a successful physician and surgeon, but he is an original man in the way of ingenuity. His beautiful modern residence was planned by himself. It is beautifully finished in an up-to-date manner, and the interior decorations would do justice to a city home. The Doctor has a well selected library of choice literature, and every nook and corner of the pretty home betokens taste by him and his estimable wife. His grounds are laid out with flower beds and fountains, and he has his own private water works, as well as modern lighting. His barn or carriage house is a model of greatness and convenience, and it demonstrates that the genial Doctor is a busy man even when he is not pursuing his profession. His home is a haven for entertainment for his and his wife's guests, and all find a cordial welcome. His home is a credit to Wheeling as well as the township of Wash- ington.
HENRY HARRISON WILLIAMS. Numbered among the agriculturists of Washington township, Delaware county, is Henry H. Williams, whose birth occurred in Preble county, Ohio, July 26, 1840, his parents being Joseph and Lucretia (Lanier) Williams, who both claimed the commonwealth of Kentucky as the place of their nativity, the father born March 20, 1803, and died April 21, 1865, in Washington township, and the mother born June 7, 1807, died August 16, 1868. They were married in Preble county,
761
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
Ohio, and became the parents of twelve children, of whom the five now living are: Margaret, Catherine, who married Robert L. Egnew and is living in Washington township; Henry Harrison; Martha Ann, who married Samuel Rench, and makes his home in Washington township, as does also David, who married Jane Campbell. Mr. Williams, the father, was a farmer in Ohio, and from that state in 1840 he journeyed with team and wagon to Washington township, Delaware county, Indiana, purchasing eighty acres of land in section 25. The country was then a wilderness, game of all kinds, including deer, wolf, bear and wild turkey, being plentiful, and with the other brave pioneers of Delaware county he reclaimed this vast wilderness for purposes of civilization. His first home was a little log cabin, and later on he added forty acres of timber land to his first purchase, but this he lost on account of illness in 1845. He was a member of the Old School Baptist church, and was a Whig in his political affiliations.
When but a babe of six months Henry Harrison Williams was brought to Delaware county by his parents, so that nearly his entire life has been spent within its borders and he has been prominently identified with the early and subsequent history of Washington township. When he had reached the age of twenty-nine years he began farming for himself on forty acres of timber land, first erecting the little log cabin which yet stands near his present home, which was built in 1893, and is one of the pleasant and commodious residences of the township. He is now farming sixty acres of land. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has since supported the Republican party, serving for two years as its repre- sentative in the office of road supervisor.
On the 21st of September, 1869, Mr. Williams married Jane Russell, who was born March 27, 1846, and died on the 9th of November, 1883. She was a daughter of one of the early pioneers of Delaware county, Joel Russell, who cleared and farmed one hundred and seventy acres of land and spent the remainder of his life here. He was a Jackson Democrat. For his second wife Mr. Williams married Miss Lucinda Nixon April 24, 1890. She was born in Washington township October 20, 1846, the daughter of Benjamin and Mary Ann (Iseley) Nixon. The mother was born in Preble county, Ohio, and died February 21, 1885, aged fifty-six years, while her husband was fifty-nine years of age when called to the home beyond. They were married in Mount Pleasant township, Delaware county, and became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are now living, namely : Lucinda, the wife of Mr. Williams; Lewis, who married Catherine Worls and is living in Muncie ; Jennie, the wife of George K. Lewis, of Washington township : Martha, who married Thomas Batt, of Gaston; Emily, who mar- ried John Cristy ; Alice ; George, who married Emma Jones and is living in Marion, Indiana : and Bertha, who married Henry McCreery. Mr. Nixon, the father, was another early and honored Delaware county pioneer, where he owned one hundred and thirty acres of land which he had cleared from its dense growth of timber, and the remainder of his life was spent in the
-
763
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
log house upon this land. He was a member of Wheeling Lodge, A. F. & A. M .. and affiliated with the Republican party. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams only two are now living: Francis and Louisa. The daughter married Henry Broyles, and they have three children. Francis A. wedded Miss Ella June Parkison, a member of one of the prominent fami- lies, and he resides in Washington township.
JOHN W. WILLS. A well-known and respected citizen and a practical and enterprising agriculturist of Washington township, John W. Wills is engaged in farming and stock raising to a considerable extent, and is con- tributing his full share towards developing and advancing the industrial in- terests of the community in which he resides. Energetic and observing, he never allows anything to escape his attention that might improve his methods of carrying on his work or increase the value of his land as a crop producer. He was born March 7, 1857, in Grant county, Indiana, a son of James H. Wills.
Beginning the battle of life for himself at the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Wills worked by the month for his father on the farm, the following year farming in company with his father. The next two years he farmed for himself on rented land, but desiring a change, then sold off all of his stock, machinery, etc., and went westward to Colorado, where he spent one summer. Returning as far east as Iowa, he again began working for wages, after which he carried on farming with his father for a while in Audubon county, Iowa. Marrying then, Mr. Wills farmed for himself for about four years, and then bought a home in Audubon, Iowa, where he resided a year. Coming to Delaware county, Indiana, in 1893, he bought his present farm in Washington township, and has carried on general farming in a most remunerative manner. He has one hundred and fifty-eight and one-half acres of land, which, under his intelligent care, has been highly cultivated and improved. In 1905 Mr. Wills built a. fine residence for himself and family, and his other buildings are convenient and kept in excellent repair, everything about the place bespeaking in no uncertain terms the thrift and good judgment of the proprietor.
On March 17, 1887, Mr. Wills married Alice A. Lacher, who was born in Marengo, Iowa, February 17, 1862, a daughter of John A. Lacher. Mr. Lacher was born in 1823, in Baden, Germany, and there lived until after his marriage, in 1851, to Eva C. Castner, also a native of Baden. Soon after his marriage, accompanied by his bride, he left the Fatherland and came across the ocean to the United States in a sailing vessel, being thirty-three days on the water. Landing in New York city, he remained there four years, and then with the pioneers of 1855 migrated to Iowa, locating in Marengo. Following his trade, he worked at shoemaking for a number of years, at the same time being engaged in the grocery business. In order to buy the leather needed in making shoes, Mr. Lacher had to make fre- quent trips to Iowa City, eighteen miles away, and usually walked there and
763
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
back, carrying his stock home on his back. Subsequently investing his money in land, he bought one hundred and sixty acres and into the three- room frame house which he erected moved with his family. He succeeded well in farming, and after a while built him a fine frame house, one of the best in the neighborhood, and there carried on general farming for several seasons. Returning after a time to Marengo he was there engaged in mer- cantile pursuits for five years, when, his health failing, he returned to his farm, and there spent his remaining years, dying in 1894. He was a man of honest integrity, a Democrat in politics, and a member of the German Lutheran church. His wife, now a woman of eighty-two years, is still enjoy- ing life, being bright and active physically and mentally. She bore him ten children, of whom seven are living, as follows : Charles, John, Sophia, Lucy, Mrs. Alice A. Wills, Henry and Albert. Mr. and Mrs. Wills have had six children, namely : Harry H., who died in infancy ; Bessie M., S. Eva, L. Gladys, L. Ernest and C. Dewey.
JAMES A. BRYAN. The name of James A. Bryan is inseparably associ- ated with the history of Washington township, for here he passed nearly his entire life and was prominently identified with its farming and stock-raising interests. He was born, however, in the commonwealth of Virginia, April 27, 1831, a son of George and Nancy (Jones) Bryan, who were numbered among the earliest pioneers of Washington township. They came to this community during a very early epoch in its history, and they lived in their wagon until their little cabin home was erected. They were also among the first members of the Methodist Episcopal church here, and they lived lives of usefulness and helpfulness. They were both born in the old Dominion state of Virginia, and the father gave his political support to the Whig party.
James A. Bryan was a lad of nineteen years when he suffered the loss of his father by death, and throughout his entire business career he was engaged in farming and stock-raising, breeding Jersey hogs and Polled An- gus cattle. He was numbered among the prominent business men of Wash- ington township, and when his busy and useful life was ended in death, October 17, 1900, the community mourned the loss of one of its truest and best citizens. He was a worthy and acceptable member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Wheeling, in which he served as a trustee for many years, and was one of the pillars of the church. His political support was given to the Republican party.
Mrs. Bryan bore the maiden name of Sarah C. Hale. She was born in Delaware county, Indiana, south of Muncie, May 10, 1853, a daughter of John T. and Mary E. (Olum) Hale. The father was born in Ohio January 25, 1829, but during his boyhood days he came to Delaware county, Indiana, and was here married, December 25, 1848, to Mary E. Olum, who was born in Ohio November 31, 1831. Their two children are Sarah C. and Peter. The son married Viola Mitchell, and is living in Washington township. The
764
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
parents died on their old homestead farm in Delaware county, the father on the 6th of January, 1856, and the mother on the 29th of March, 1907. Mrs. Bryan has been twice married. On the Sth of April, 1876, she wedded Jacob Swain, who was born in Washington township, Delaware county, and his death occurred July 8, 1879, at the age of forty-three years. Two chil- dren were born of that union, Charles and Katy Ann. On the 28th of August, 1880, Mrs. Swain gave her hand in marriage to James A. Bryan. He had also been previously married, Rebecca Ginn becoming his wife, and they had eight children, of whom four are now living-Nancy J., Rachel A., Mary M. and Julia E. The wife and mother was born March 29, 1836, and her death occurred on the 2d of October, 1877. Her marriage was celebrated on the 20th of September, 1855. Three children were born t. Mr. Bryan by his second marriage: Carl E., born in 1881; Minnie A., born November 19, 1885, and Aralı, born January 19, 1891, and died August 29 of the same year. Mr. Bryan was a lover of music, and he seems to have imparted this love to his children. His son Carl is serving as the organist in the Methodist Episcopal church at Wheeling, having served in that posi- tion for about eight or nine years, and the daughter Minnie A. has been the organist of the Baptist church during a similar period. Mrs. Bryan has four of the old patent deeds, one executed under the date of March 3, 1853, by President Buchanan, and three executed April 24, 1820, under the hand of President Martin VanBuren, relics of the early settlement of Delaware county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.