USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 25
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
In Tipton, Indiana, September 10, 1892, Mr. McCarty married Miss Marinda Lawson, a daughter of Nathaniel Lawson, of near Gaston, Indiana. A daughter, Miss Myrtle Ruby, was born to them in Muncie on the 25th of June, 1894, and she is their only child. Mrs. McCarty was born near Koko- mo, in Howard county, Indiana. The family are members of the Christian church.
TAYLOR G. GIBSON. A man who has made for himself a place in con- nection with the activities and honors of life, who has successfully sur-
$
---
Mr. and Mrs. James W. McCarty and Daughter.
799
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
mounted obstacles and who has gained recognition for intrinsic worth of character is Taylor G. Gibson, one of the leading agriculturists of Delaware county. He was born in its township of Monroe December 5, 1859, and is a representative of one of the county's earliest pioneer families. His grand- father, Robert Gibson, a native of the Carolinas, established his home in Monroe township, Delaware county, in a very early day, when this section of the state was a comparative wilderness. He built him a little cabin home, and there his son Taylor, the father of our subject, was born on the 16th of October, 1834, and there he spent his boyhood days. When he had reached the age of twenty-one years he engaged in farming for himself, following that occupation until his busy and useful life was ended in death, October 13, 1866. During the period of the Civil war he offered his services to his country and became a member of Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, enlisting at Muncie, and he was made the cap- tain of his company. He was a prominent and worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he also served as a minister of the gospel, being an efficient worker in the cause of Christianity. In the early days he supported the principles of the Whig party, and after the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks.
In Monroe township, Delaware county, on the 11th of September, 1852, Mr. Gibson married Miss Amanda Tuttle, who was born in Warren county, Ohio, April 18, 1835, and of their six children five are now living: Amelia E., who married Robert Williams and resides in Dayton, Ohio; Robert R., who married Jane Perry and lives in Muncie; Taylor G., whose name intro- duces this review ; John W., who married Christena McFail and lives in Muncie ; Thomas F., who is married and lives in Indianapolis. After the death of the husband and father Mrs. Gibson married James A. Stafford, who was born in Giles county, Virginia, October 28, 1846, and they became the parents of three children: Emery W., who married Jessie Hoover, and their home is in Hammond, Indiana; Samuel H., a resident of Dunkirk, this state; and Jennie F., the wife of William Rawson, of Shideler, Delaware county.
During his boyhood days Taylor G. Gibson, of this review, attended the public schools of Monroe township. His father died when he was a little lad of seven years, and for one year thereafter he made his home with Mr. George W. Himes, and from that time until he was twenty-two years of age his home was with William Tuttle. From the early age of sixteen years he worked as a farm hand, and there are few men who can more justly claim the proud American title of a self-made man than Taylor G. Gibson. In his twenty-second year he engaged in agricultural pursuits for himself, and farming has continued as his life work, and he has won success in the call- ing. In 1893 he erected a pleasant and commodious residence on his valuable estate, which is under an excellent state of cultivation, and in addition to his general agricultural pursuits he is also engaged in stock raising, feeding about one hundred head of hogs and about one carload of cattle each year.
800
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
The Republican party receives his active support and cooperation, and as its representative he has served in many local positions, including that of town- ship trustee, of which he was the incumbent from the 6th of November, 1900, until the Ist of January, 1905, and in the following year was elected a member of the county council, in which he is now serving.
On the 22d of February, 1882, Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Rosetta Gumpp, who was born in Union township, Delaware county, July 4, 1859. a daughter of David and Susan (Younce) Gumpp, the former of whom was born in Miami county, Ohio, December 25, 1833. The mother, who is now deceased, was a daughter of Andrew Younce, and of her four children two are now living-Rosetta, who became the wife of Mr. Gibson, and Sarah. the wife of Samuel Bassinger, of Union township. For his sec- ond wife Mr. Gumpp married Mrs. M. Younce, nee Shaffer, November 28, 1902. In the fall of 1835 Mr. Gumpp came with his parents to Delaware county, Indiana, where the father, Jacob Gumpp, entered government land in Union township, having been one of its earliest pioneers. His son David grew to years of maturity in this then frontier settlement, and he was identi- fied with agricultural pursuits until in 1902, when he laid aside the active cares of a business life and removed to Eaton. During the long period of sixteen years he served as a supervisor, representing the Republican party, and he is a member of the German Baptist church. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson has been blessed with eight children, namely: Leora, born Feb- ruary 12, 1883, married Earl Horn, and they reside in Union township; Robert H., born July 9, 1885; Leroy C., born January 28, 1886; Edith L., born September 15, 1887, died September 8, 1888; Bertha M., born April 24, 1889; Warren R., September 5, 1893; Sarah I., August 8, 1896; and Martha A., July 20, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson are members of the Christian church, in which he has served as a trustee and deacon, and in the advance- ment of whatever is for the best interest of the community his influence can be safely relied upon.
JOHN W. LONG. One of the families which have been prominent in the history of Delaware county from its early days is that now worthily repre- sented by the subject of this review, Mr. John W. Long, one of the leading business men of Eaton. For many years they have occupied a distinctive place in the affairs of city and county, and in the glorious labor of transform- ing the county from a wilderness to its present high state of prosperity they have been active and zealous. Mr. Long was born on the old homestead, ,which now forms a part of the town of Eaton, April 19, 1846, a son of Wil- liam Austin and Anna (McLaughlin) Long, who were married on the 28th of October, 1841, in Delaware county, Indiana. They were respectively of Scotch and Irish descent, and the father was born in Clinton county, Ohio, November 16, 1815, and died in Delaware county in 1883, while the mother was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1823, and died at the age of forty-one years, in 1864. Seven children were born of this union, of whom five are
801
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
now living: Lucetta, who married Joseph Hinton and resides in Washing- ton township, Delaware county; America D., the wife of William Cox, of Delaware county; Martha J., who became the wife of John Morris and resides in Eaton, Indiana; Mary L., the wife of John Picksely, also of Eaton; and John W., whose name introduces this review.
It was in April, 1837, that Mr. William A. Long became a citizen of Delaware county, Indiana, making the journey hither with ox teams and in company with his father, they establishing their home in the then wilder- ness of Union township. The land was covered with a dense growth of timber, it having been necessary to clear a space sufficient to erect their little log cabin, and in 1844 the elder Mr. Long built a frame barn, forty- six by fifty-two feet in dimensions, hewing the lumber from the logs, and this building yet stands in good repair. Some of the girders in this barn are twelve by sixteen inches. Mr. William A. Long purchased one of the first McCormick reapers brought into Delaware county, and he was always among the first to adopt the new improvements and further the movements and measures which placed this county on a par with those of the older east. His path was marked by good deeds, by honest purpose, by commendable industry and worthy motives, and his name is recorded with the honored and revered pioneers of Delaware county. During his later life he became identified with the mercantile interests of Eaton, forming a partnership with his nephew, Lemon Long, in the hardware and grocery trade, but he closed out the business in June, 1880, after the death of his partner. Dur- ing the long period of forty-three years he was a worthy member of the Christian church, and in the early days he gave his political support to the Whig party, voting for William Henry Harrison in 1840. He was a promi- nent anti-slavery man and a supporter of the underground railroad. Dur- ing many years he was numbered among the leading citizens of Union township, a social, genial gentleman, with whom it was a pleasure to meet and converse.
When twenty-one years of age Mr. John W. Long engaged in agricul- tural pursuits for himself, having previously assisted his father in clear- ing the timber from the old homestead and placing the fields under culti- vation. He carried the chain used in the laying out of the town of Eaton, he being then a little lad of twelve years, and a part of this town was located on his father's first land purchase. In the spring of 1868 he made the journey by stage and rail to Omaha, thence up the Missouri river twenty-three hundred miles to Fort Benton, and from there drove a six-ox team to Helena, Montana. The country at that time was a wild and unbroken wilderness, and during the trip he saw many buffaloes and Indians, but no white men. During the summer of 1868 he worked in the gold mines of Helena, and at the close of the period made the return jour- ney with ox teams to Fort Benton. While journeying down the river to Omaha he saw a drove of many hundreds of buffalo, which they shot for meat and left the hides. In this long and perilous journey Mr. Long
802
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
passed through about twenty states and territories, and witnessed much of the western life in the early days. He now owns a farm of two hundred and seven acres of land near Eaton, while his home place consists of twenty-five acres of the old homestead and located in the town of Eaton. His pleasant and commodious residence was built in 1886. He was one of the organizers of the Eaton Oil Company, and also of the Farmers State Bank, which opened its doors for business on the 26th of December, 1894. From the time of its organization until the 7th of January, 1898, he served as the first vice president of the institution, but since that time has been its president. He was elected a member of the Advisory Board of Delaware county in 1900, serving in that position for two terms.
The marriage of Mr. Long was celebrated on the 13th of March, 1876, when Miss Rufina Smith became his wife. She was born in Iowa on the 20th of April, 1854, a daughter of Stephen A. and Susan (Martin) Smith, both natives of Ohio, and both died in Indiana when forty-five years of age. They were the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom are now living: John, Rufina, Mary A., Clark, Stephen, Martha, Louis, Lillie, William and Walter. The father, who was a life-long agriculturist, came to Delaware county during his early manhood and was married in Muncie. He afterward moved to Iowa and lived there for some years, returning thence to Delaware county, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a Republican in his political affiliations, a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, and was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal churchi. Three sons have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Long. The eldest, Austin, died at the age of eighteen years. Harry, born July 26. 1882, mar- ried Clara Davis, and they reside in Muncie, where he is a prominent and well-known attorney. The third son, Robert W., born October 28, 1884, attended the agricultural college of Perdue University at Lafayette, and is now conducting the farm. Mr. Long is a stalwart supporter of Republican principles, and is a member of the Christian church.
JAMES M. ATKINSON, M. D. Delaware county, Indiana, has its full quota of skilled physicians and surgeons, and among them may be noted the subject of this review, Dr. James M. Atkinson. He was born in War- ren, Trumbull county, Ohio, June 18, 1863, and traces his descent to the mother country of England, from whence his paternal great-grand- father emigrated to the United States to seek freedom and liberty, but for two years was held a prisoner in the New York bay on shipboard by the English government. He emigrated to this country prior to the Revolutionary war. His son and the grandfather of the Doctor, John Atkinson, was born in Virginia August 11, 1785, and died in Ohio on the 24th of June, 1865. It was in 1832 that he became a resident of the Buckeye state, establishing his home in Trumbull county, where lie built a log cabin and cleared his land. He afterward removed to Henry county, that state, where a second time he cleared and improved a
Indiaola B. atkinson
Jamesill Getmson MR.
807
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
farm, the patent for this land having been signed by President William Henry Harrison and is still retained by the Atkinson family. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, participating under General Harrison in the battle of Monroe or Fort Meigs, and in that engagement his brother lost his life.
James Atkinson, the father of the Doctor, was born in Virginia April 16, 1825, and when seven years of age accompanied his father on his removal to Ohio. The remainder of his life was spent in Trumbull county, from whence he passed to his reward on the 18th of March, 1877. His business career was devoted to agricultural pursuits, and for a number of years he served as superintendent of the Trumbull County Infirmary. He was a great Bible student and became a local minister in his church, labor- ing faithfully and earnestly in the cause of Christianity. In Warren, Ohio, on the 14th of March, 1861, he married Lucy A. Fox, who was born in that state on the IIth of February, 1836, and is now living in Youngstown, Ohio, with her daughter, Mrs. Mildred W. Baldwin, her time being divided with her daughter and two sons. She is a daughter of George Fox, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in an early day removed with his parents to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Mary Defenbaugh, whose father was one of the first merchants in that county. Shortly after their marriage the young couple took up their abode in Trumbull county, Ohio, locating on the banks of the Mahoning river, where the country was then new and wild, Indians and game of all kinds being plentiful, but there were few white people in the community at that time. The subject of this review can well remember of his grandmother telling him of her life there, and of one story in particular when on a win- ter's day their big dog was barking on the ice on the river, and going to see why he was barking found he was guarding a large deer. Taking a butcher knife she went on the ice and killed the deer, which furnished the family with meat for some time. The last Indian which she saw in that section of the country was across the river, sitting on the bank lonely and sad, and she being alone in the cabin at the time had some fear for her safety, but he finally disappeared in the woods. She lived to the good old age of eighty-four years, and spent her last days on the old homestead. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson three are now living : James M., whose name introduces this review; Mildred W., who was born June 20, 1869, married Clayton L. Baldwin, and is living at Youngstown, ยท Ohio, where he is serving as constable; and Terry Smith, born December 7, 1874, is agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company at Girard, Ohio.
Dr. James M. Atkinson pursued the literary course in the Grand River Institute at Austinburg, Ohio, and graduated on the 4th of June, 1885, and he later entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he completed the course with the class of 1893. On the 14th of September of the same year he came to Eaton, Indiana, and engaged
808
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
in the practice of medicine. Here he has gained an eminent place among the medical practitioners, and has been accorded a large and representative patronage. On the Ist of February, 1894, the Doctor was united in mar- riage to Indiaola Cross, who was born in Winslow, New Jersey, April 16, 1864, the daughter of Samuel R. and Annie M. (Kichenbauer) Cross. Her great-grandmother, Rebecca Lee, was a cousin of the celebrated Gen- eral Robert E. Lee. Samuel R. Cross was born in Hammonton, New Jer- sey, December 2, 1839, and his death occurred in Muncie, Indiana, May 12, 1901, while the mother was born at Bates Mills, New Jersey, January II, 1844, and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. R. P. Allaman, in Dayton, Ohio. They were married on the 14th of July, 1863, and became the parents of six children, of whom four are now living: Indiaola, the wife of Dr. Atkinson; Ardana, the wife of F. C. Runyon, of Glendive, Montana ; Decla, the wife of R. P. Allaman, of Dayton, Ohio; and Her- bert, who married Jaknia Racer and lives in Utica, Ohio. Mr. Cross, the father, remained on the farm with his parents until the time of his mar- riage, when he learned the glass cutter's trade and followed that occupation until four years of the time of his death. He was one of the village fathers of the borough of Cleveland, New York, where he lived for many years. In 1892 he came to Blackford county, Indiana, and in 1895 took up his abode in Muncie. His fraternal relations were with the Odd Fellows and the Masonic orders. He affiliated with Cleveland Lodge, No. 613, A. F. & A. M., but after his removal to Muncie he demitted from that lodge and became a member of Delaware Lodge, A. F. & A. M., receiving the honors of a Masonic burial at the time of his death. He was a stanch Republican in his political affiliations. Two children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Atkinson, Indiaola, born April 24, 1895, and James M., Jr., born August 13, 1897.
Dr. Atkinson has membership relations with the following medical societies : the County, District, State and National, and he is also a charter member of Eaton Lodge, No. 606, A. F. & A. M. He joined the order at Hartford City and was demitted to the Eaton Lodge. He was one of the organizers of the Modern Woodmen of America in this city, of which he served as medical examiner, was also surgeon for the Indiana Union Traction lines, and has been medical examiner for a number of insurance companies. The Doctor is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a valued factor in church, fraternal, professional and busi- ness circles, while his upright life and genial temperament have gained him many friends.
THOMAS LEAIRD. Noteworthy for his good citizenship and many excellent traits of character, Thomas Leaird is prosperously engaged in general farming and stock raising in Union township, Delaware county, on the homestead where his birth occurred February 26, 1866, being a son of the late William M. Leaird. He comes of pioneer stock, his grandparents,
-
809
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
Ephraim and Rebecca Leaird, having come from Ohio to Indiana at an early period of its statehood and here spent their remaining years, the grandmother dying February 9, 1855, in the fifty-fifth year of her age, and the grandfather on February 15, 1862, at the age of sixty-three years and five months.
William H. Leaird was born March 5, 1836, in Ohio, and died August 7, 1877, in Union township, this county, on the farm which he had cleared from the wilderness. A small boy when brought by his parents to Indiana, while growing to man's estate he was well trained in habits of industry, economy and thrift. Starting out in life for himself as an agriculturist, he bought one hundred and twenty acres of wild land lying in Union town- ship and began its improvement. Bears, deer, wolves and other beasts of the forest roamed unmolested at the time he began the arduous task of constructing a home for himself and family. Ambitious, persevering and hard-working, he succeeded in his efforts, and was here employed in profit- ably tilling the soil until his death. He was a highly respected man, a Whig in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married, in Washington township, this county, Louisa M. Beuoy, who was born in the place August 19, 1836, and died on the home farm April 4, 1877. Of the five children born to them but two are living: Mattie, wife of Albert Dorton, and Thomas, of whom we write.
Being left fatherless when but six years old Thomas Leaird was taken into the home of Benoni Beuoy, with whom he remained until twenty-one years old. Taking affairs then into his own hands, he went to Wyoming, where he spent eighteen months on a cattle ranch. Returning to Wash- ington township, this county, he lived there a few months, and then made another trip to the West, going to Colorado, where he lived eight months with his sister Lizzie. During the following year Mr. Leaird; who married on his return from Colorado, remained in Washington township. Taking possession then of the homestead farm on which he was born, he has since resided here, carrying on farming and stock raising after the most approved modern methods. His farm contains seventy acres of as good and pro- ductive land as can be found in the neighborhood, and under his wise care and management yields harvests of the grains and fruits common to this region. He is constantly adding to the value of his estate by improve- ments of a high character, in 1897 having put up a substantially built and comfortable house, this, with the other buildings, giving an air of thrift and prosperity of which any farmer might well be proud.
Mr. Leaird has been twice married. He married first, March 27, 1893, Mrs. Minnie Heath, nee Shaffer, who was born in Hamilton township, this county, in 1862, a daughter of Amos Shaffer. She died in early woman- hood, January 15, 1897, leaving two children, Wave and Mattie. On May 30, 1898, Mr. Leaird married for his second wife Mary Cox, who was born in Howard county, Indiana, September 11, 1866, a daughter of Zimri and Cornelia (Jackson) Cox. A life-long resident of Indiana, Mr. Cox was
810
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
born August 10, 1818, in Hamilton county, and died August 23, 1869, in Howard county. He followed the trade of a blacksmith in his native county during his earlier life, but subsequently established a smithy in Howard county, and there spent his remaining days. He was a member of the Friends church, and was a Whig in politics until 1856, when he cast his presidential vote for the Republican candidate, John C. Fremont. Mr. Cox married, in Wayne county, Indiana, Cornelia Cox, who was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, August 16, 1828, and died in Delaware county, Indiana, May 6, 1895. She bore him five children, as follows : Laurinda, wife of L. Study; Ellen M., wife of Joseph M. Stafford, of whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this work; Charles; William B., deceased, married Belle Miller ; and Mary, wife of Mr. Leaird. Mr. and Mrs. Leaird have a family of six bright and interesting children, namely: Esther, Margaret, William T., Helen, Dorothea N. and Maxine. Politi- cally Mr. Leaird uniformly supports the principles of the Republican party, and religiously both he and Mrs. Leaird are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
DAVID BRANDT. Although the town of Eaton, Indiana, is but a small part of the county of Delaware, it has more than its portion of successful business men, and among these the gentleman for whom this sketch is written was well and favorably known. He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, July 3, 1815, a son of David and Martha ( Hamilton) Brandt, the former born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, October 22, 1776, and the latter near Shippensburg, of the same state, July 27, 1775. The mother was called to the home beyond on the 17th of July, 1847, her husband surviving her about two years, and they became the parents of thirteen children : Adam, Barbara, Eve, Francis, Mary, John, George, David, Ruth, Samuel, Jacob, Martin and Isaac. During the early years of his life Mr. Brandt, the father, was connected with educational interests as a teacher, while at the same time he was engaged in the making of saddles and in farming, his interests being many and varied, and his name became well known in the professional and business circles of the community in which he made his home. When seventy-eight years of age he moved to DeKalb county, Indiana, and took charge of the postoffice there, con- tinuing to attend to his official duties until within two weeks of the time of his death. He was a German Baptist in his religious belief and was very devout in his Christian duties. His declaration to his sons that he would leave them a legacy of an unblemished life was carried out, and his memory is honored and revered by his descendants and all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. In early life he voted with the Whigs, and on the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks and remained true to its principles during the remainder of his life. Mrs. Brandt was a member of the Christian church and she, too, was an active worker in the cause of Christianity until her busy and useful life was ended in death.
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.