USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 28
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The marriage of Mr. Smith was celebrated on the 13th of September, 1890, when Mattie Sala became his wife. She was born in Henry county, Indiana, October 4, 1868, the daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Good) Sala, the father a native of Miami county, Ohio, and the mother of Henry county, Indiana. She was born on the 5th of December, 1840, and is now living in Hartford City, Indiana. The father spent his early life as a farmer's son in Ohio and finally became a minister of the German Baptist church. When a young man he came to Randolph county, Indiana, and during his life he labored in many churches, his death occurring in Black- ford county, Indiana, on the 8th of July, 1895, when he had reached the sixty-second milestone on life's journey. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sala five are now living, namely: William, who married Mrs. Sarah Underwood and is living in Wells county, Indiana; Mattie, who became the wife of Mr. Smith; . Montana, the wife of Ananias Hinecker, of Grant county, this state; John B., who married Maggie Sherrette, and
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also resides in Wells county; and Maggie, the wife of Charles Studebaker, who is living near Keystone, Indiana. Mr. Sala gave his political support to the Republican party. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Freadus, Lois, Ruth, Eunice, Dorothy and Dalton. Mr. Smith upholds the principles of the Republican party, and he and his wife are valued members of the German Baptist church in Union twonship. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one of the old clocks, which is almost a century old and belonged to Mr. Smith's grandfather, Jacob Rairigh. Mr. Smith's father was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Company I, One Hundred and Seventy-second Pennsylvania Militia, and he was a corporal when discharged. Mr. Smith has an old tent, mess spoon, fork and knife he used in camp.
ALBERT W. EVANS is a well known agriculturist of Delaware county, whose skill and ability in his chosen calling are plainly manifest in the well tilled fields and splendid appearance of his place. He was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, January 20, 1869, a son of John and Sarah (Rice) Evans. The father, a native of Ohio, was identified with the educational and farming interests of that state until his removal to Indiana in 1864, where he conducted a store in Hendricks county. He returned to his Ohio home in 1870, but came again to Hendricks county, Indiana, where he was engaged in teaching school until 1880, and in the fall of 1881 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Delaware county, spending the remainder of his life here and dying in 1901, at the age of seventy-four years. He was a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Evans passed away in death at the early age of twenty-five years, after becoming the mother of three children: Lydia, who died at the age of six years ; Albert W., the subject of this review; and the youngest child died in infancy.
When nineteen years of age Mr. Albert W. Evans entered the pro- fession of teaching, being a member of the faculty of the normal school of Eaton for two years, where he taught mathematics, and during one year he taught in Union township. Soon after his marriage he began farming on the old homestead, and in 1894 he purchased a part of the old DeLong farm, while in 1900 he became the owner of a tract of eighty acres on the north of the homestead, and at the present time he is farming about four hundred acres of rich and fertile land. He is also one of the leading men in Delaware county in breeding Poland-China hogs, of which he has a sale once a year, and he also breeds Plymouth Rock chickens, of which he is one of the largest breeders in the county. In 1892 he erected the pleasant and commodious residence in which he now resides, and his homestead with its many valuable improvements is one of the finest estates in this section of Delaware county.
The marriage of Mr. Evans was celebrated on the 25th of December, 1889, in Muncie, Indiana, when Harriet E. DeLong became his wife. She
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was born in Union township March 9, 1874, the daughter of Joseph G. and Mary A. (Karn) DeLong. The father spent his entire business career as a farmer, and his busy and useful life was ended in death at the age of forty years. He was a native son of Union township and was a member of the German Baptist church. Mrs. DeLong is still living and a resident of this township. In their family were two children, Harriet and Birdie, but the last named died in infancy. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Gladys Columbia, whose birth occurred on the 22d of June, 1902. Mr. Evans gives his political support to the Republican party, and he is a worthy and leading member of the Maple Grove Brethren church, in which he is serving as secretary.
HENRY SMITH has been identified with the agricultural interests of Delaware county during a long period, and while promoting the material welfare of the community he has also given an active and liberal support to those measures which tend to advance its intellectual and moral status. He is of German descent, for his paternal grandfather, Henry Smith, was born in the fatherland, from whence on a sailing vessel he emigrated to the United States and took up his abode in North Carolina. He lived there but a short time, however, and then removed to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer, and he was numbered among the honored pioneers of that commonwealth. He also had the distinction of serving as a minute man during the Revolutionary war. His son and the father of our subject, David Smith, was born in Miami county, Ohio, April 11, 1811, and in 1842 he came to Delaware county, Indiana, and purchased eighty acres of timber land in section 8, Union township. This locality at that time was a wilderness, and he cut the timber and built him a log house, later performing the arduous labor of clearing his land from its growth of timber, while in 1860 his little log cabin gave place to a modern and commodious residence. At the time of his arrival here there were no roads in the county, only the Indian trails, and he assisted in cutting the road through to his farm, and was numbered among the honored early pioneers of Delaware county.
In his early life Mr. Smith married Catherine Roderick, who was born on the 17th of May, 1814, a daughter of John Roderick, who was born in Maryland of German ancestry. When quite young he removed to Virginia, and a short time afterward to Pennsylvania, from whence he journeyed to Ohio. Spending a short time in that state, he came to Indiana in 1846 and established his home in Union township, Delaware county, where he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but only two are now living. Jonathan, the eldest child, lies buried in Union cemetery, while Nancy, Elizabeth and Sarah J. sleep beside their parents in the Roderick ceme- tery, and John and an infant child were buried in Miami county, Ohio. Mary A., the widow of John R. Lambert, resides in section 10, Union
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township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith spent the remainder of their lives in Union township, Delaware county, Indiana, where the father died on the 27th of March, 1874, and the mother on the 23d of November, 1904, and both lie buried in the Roderick burying ground on the old Roderick homestead in Union township, on the banks of the Mississinewa river. The father was a Jackson Democrat in his political affiliations, and was a member of the German Baptist or Dunkard church.
Henry Smith, their fifth child in order of birth, was born in Miami county, Ohio, December 3, 1839, but his educational training was received in Delaware county, Indiana, where during his boyhood days he also worked on the old home farm, working in the fields during the summer months and attending school during the winters. In 1863, by stage and rail, he made the journey to St. Joseph, Missouri, from where he started on the overland trip to Central City, Colorado, thirty-six days being spent en route, and there he was engaged in mining for about six weeks. Returning to Denver, he secured an outfit and spent forty-seven days in an overland journey to Virginia City, Idaho, which was a very rich mining country at that time, and there he spent the following three years. At the close of that period Mr. Smith resumed the overland journey to Fort Benton, down the Missouri river about twenty-three hundred miles to St. Joseph, Missouri, which consumed a period of three weeks, and thence by rail to his old home in Delaware county. Pur- chasing one hundred and sixty acres of timber land in Union township, he erected a little log cabin and began the hard and laborious work of clearing his land, while in 1881 his little cabin home was succeeded by a pleasant and commodious dwelling, and this valuable homestead is now known as Shadyside Farm. With the passing years Mr. Smith has added to his land until he now owns over four hundred acres, all of which is under an excellent state of cultivation, and he is extensively engaged in general farming and stock raising, dealing principally in Oxford sheep and the standard bred cattle and horses. He was also one of the organ- izers of the Farmers' State Bank at Eaton, in which he is a director and also a stockholder. -
The marriage of Mr. Smith was celebrated on the 22d of April, 1869, when Miss Lucinda Hedrick became his wife. She was born in Madison county, Indiana, November 24, 1850, the daughter of Daniel and Annie (Thomas) Hedrick, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Miami county, Ohio. The father was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Maryland until his removal to Madison county, Indiana, in the '40S, and in 1850 he took up his abode in Union township, Delaware county, where he passed away in death at the age of sixty-five years. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and was a Jackson Democrat in his political affiliations. Mrs. Hedrick died at the age of thirty-two years. Mrs. Smith was their only child, and by her marriage to Mr. Smith she has become the mother of four children: Robert E., who
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married Minnie Pierce and resides in Union township; Dora, the wife of Roland Landis, also of Union township; Stella, the wife of William A. Strong, an agriculturist of this township; and Carlton, at home. Mr. Smith is independent in his political affiliations, reserving his right to vote for the men whom he regards as best qualified for public positions, and during one term he served as the township trustee. His life has been spent principally in Delaware county, and he is well known among its residents and is held in uniform regard.
ALFRED MILLER, one of the pioneer agriculturists of Delaware county, has long been recognized as one of her best and leading citizens, while his straightforward, manly course through life may well serve as an example to the young. He was born in Brown county, Ohio, January 16, 1820, a son of James and Sarah (Shery) Miller, the former of whom was born near Lexington, Kentucky, and the latter in Brown county, Ohio. In a very early day Mr. James Miller located in Ohio, and in 1819 he removed to Ripley county, Indiana, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of timber land and built a little log cabin in the wilderness. Later this rude structure gave place to a hewed log house and barn, but after a time he left that place and came to Delaware county, where he purchased eighty acres of John W. Studebaker in Union township, cleared the land of its dense growth of timber and spent the remainder of his life there, dying at the age of seventy-three years. His wife was eighty years of age when she was summoned to the home beyond. They were married in Brown county, Ohio, and became the parents of nine children, of whom only three are now living: Alfred, whose name introduces this review ; Mary Ann, the widow of William Brinson, and a resident' of Switzerland county, Indiana ; and Sarah, the widow of John Rarick, and a resident of Union township.
Mr. Alfred Miller was but a little babe two months old at the time of his parents' removal to Ripley county, Indiana, and during his young manhood he worked in Kentucky, near Rising Sun, cutting cordwood, which he hauled to the river and loaded on his flat boats preparatory to selling to the steamers running up and down the river. He thus continued until 1838, when he purchased of David Chery forty acres of land in Union township, Delaware county, paying one hundred dollars for the timber tract. Building a little log cabin, he brought his bride to the new home, but after clearing fourteen acres of the land he traded with Robert Buckels for eighty acres of timber land. The little log cabin which he there built was in time replaced by a groat house, which continued as his residence until he erected the house in which he now lives. He is the oldest resident of the township, both in point of years and length of resi- dence, and during a long period he has served as its trustee. He has also settled as many as twenty-six estates, has been guardian for forty-three children, and the largest bond he has ever given was for forty thousand 15
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dollars. In the early days he cast his ballot in favor of Whig principles and since the formation of the Republican party he has been a member of its ranks, taking a prominent and active part in the public affairs of his community.
On the 9th of April, 1839, Mr. Miller married Sophronia Yates, a native of Miami county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jonathan and Polly (Frazy) Yates, in whose family were six daughters and one son. Of the nine children born to this union five are now living: Becky, Mary E., John, who is living in Michigan; Jonathan, a resident of Muncie, and Joseph, who makes his home in Dakota. After the death of the wife and mother Mr. Miller married Mrs. George W. Jacobs, the wedding having been celebrated April 10, 1877. She was born March 2, 1842, at McKees- port, Pennsylvania, but was reared in Allegany county, Maryland. She bore the maiden name of Annie Wilhelm, and was first married to George W. Jacobs at Grafton, West Virginia. He was born at Morgantown, that state, was engaged in railroad work, and his death occurred at Muncie. Of the seven children born to them six are now living: Idonia, May, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Myrtle, Frank and Oteretta. Mr. Jacobs served for four years in the Civil war, enlisting on the 7th of August, 1861, in the First Regiment, West Virginia Light Artillery, and was discharged on the 14th of September, 1864. Mrs. Miller saw the body of John Brown after it had been hung at Harper's Ferry, and also saw his colored troops pass through Newburg, West Virginia. Mr. Jacobs gave his political support to the Republican party, and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Miller has given a stanch and unfaltering support to the Republican party, and prior to its formation he was identified with the Whigs. He has crossed the Missouri river fourteen times into Nebraska, has never used tobacco, or whisky as a drink, and during his long and useful career he has been identified with many of the interests that have contributed to the substantial development and improvement of Delaware county. His probity, fidelity and sterling worth have won him the unqualified confidence of his fellow citizens, and now in the evening of life his pathway is brightened by the respect and veneration which ever follow an upright career.
LIBERTY GINN. Since he came to Delaware county over seventy-five years ago Mr. Liberty Ginn has been a witness of very important changes in this vicinity, and his reminiscences of the early days here are most inter- esting and entertaining to a listener. He was born in Morgan county, Ohio, February 28, 1824, a son of John . and Isabella (Gurthery) Ginn, both natives of Ireland, where they were also married, and in their family were eight children, of whom two are now living-Liberty and Sarah. The daughter became the wife of James Hinton, now deceased, and she resides in Grant county, Indiana. In 1818, in a sailing ship, Mr. Ginn, the father, made the voyage from Ireland to the United States, spending
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six weeks on the ocean and experiencing a stormy passage. Landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he purchased a small farm near Pittsburg, that state, but after seven years he sold the place and removed to Morgan county, Ohio. There he also purchased a farm and spent six years engaged in agricultural pursuits, on the expiration of which period, in 1830, he again sold and came to Indiana, locating in what is now Union township, Delaware county, although at that time that particular division had not been organized and the county was a comparative wilderness. He was obliged to clear a space from the dense timber to erect his little log cabin, which in time gave place to a more modern and commodious residence, and there he spent the remainder of his life and died at the age of fifty-seven years on the 29th of October, 1841. His wife survived to the age of seventy- one years, also dying in Union township. Mr. Ginn gave his political support to the Whig party, and he was also a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Liberty Ginn, whose name introduces this review, was a little lad of seven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Delaware county, where he attended the district schools during the winter months and in the summers assisted his father in clearing the farm and placing it under cultivation. At that time the Indians still roamed at will over this section of the state, as did also the deer, and many a one he has killed during his boyhood days. When he had reached the age of seventeen years he engaged in farming for himself, but he continued to care for his widowed mother until she joined her husband in the home beyond. He is now the owner of eight hundred and fifty-four acres of land, six hundred and seventy of which lie in Union township and the remainder in Wash- ington township, and in addition to his general agricultural pursuits he was also extensively engaged in the raising of cattle and hogs. Mr. Ginn and Mr. Jesse Nixon were the first to deal in stock in this section of the state, they having begun in 1874 to buy and ship cattle and hogs, and continued the business during the long period of twenty-two years. In 1904 Mr. Ginn rented his farm and has since been living in quiet retire- ment, this having been made necessary by an accident which he received. from a runaway horse in Eaton.
In January, 1845, Mr. Ginn was united in marriage to Martha Ann Martin, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, and they became the parents of five children, but only two are now living-Susan and Mary. Mrs. Ginn was the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Wilson) Martin, both natives of Pennsylvania, and in their family were nine children. From Ohio the father came to Delaware county, Indiana, in 1829, securing gov- ernment land in Niles township, and he was numbered among the early pioneers of the community. He first erected a little log cabin and at once began the arduous task of clearing and cultivating his farm, continuing his labors there as an agriculturist until his busy and useful life was ended in death. He was a member of the Baptist church, and was a Whig
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in his political views. On the 14th of July, 1862, at the age of thirty-five years, three months and one day, Mrs. Ginn was called to the home beyond, and for his second wife Mr. Ginn chose Sarah Long, their wedding having been celebrated in 1884. Two children blessed their union, Dollie and William, and Mr. Ginn also has two grandchildren. He upholds the principles of the Republican party, and for eight years he served as a justice of the peace, while for a similar period he was also county com- missioner, he having been first appointed to that office for one year and was then elected for two terms. He is a man of genial temperament and genuine worth, and is respected and esteemed in all circles.
WILLIAM CROW. Among the best citizens of Delaware county, esteemed alike for his sterling worth of character and his activity in the business world, is Mr. William Crow, a worthy representative of one of its earliest pioneer families. In a very early day in its history the family home was established in Noble county, Ohio, Michael Crow, the grandfather of the subject of this review, having been but three weeks old when they settled there. When he was a little lad of four or five years he was left alone in a deserted cabin in the depths of a dark forest while his two brothers with a company of men were in search of savage Indians who had murdered a man near their home. At night the little fellow would raise a puncheon of the floor, wrap himself in a blanket, and creeping under, manage to replace the puncheon. He thus felt secure from the wolves, and if the Indians found his hiding place he could crawl out and run away. During the day he would go to a moss-covered rock and quietly lie there watching for friends or foe. One of the most terrible murders ever perpetrated in that vicinity occurred in this family. Four of Michael Crow's sisters. Elizabeth. Susanna, Christina and Katherine, from ten to sixteen years of age, set out for pleasure, intending to visit the family of a friend. While amusing them- selves looking at the beauties of nature, a heartless man by the name of Spicer, whom the Indians had captured and raised, and two hideous sav- ages emerged from behind a large flat rock, which still stands some fifty feet from the banks of Wheeling creek. They led the captives hurriedly up the hillside a distance of six hundred yards to a secluded ravine. After making inquiries in regard to the location of the settlement, one of the Indians took a hand of each of two of the girls in one of his and with uplifted tomahawk prepared to deal the death blow. Christina, the young- est, had formed a resolution to make a break for liberty at the first oppor- tunity. Suddenly she gave a jerk and releasing herself from his grasp ran down the hillside. The Indian pursued, and when in reach he struck her with the muzzle of his gun. Thinking he had disabled her, he returned to aid in the bloody work. Looking back, Christina saw the Indian's retreating form, and speeding away with marvelous speed escaped to tell the awful story. The next morning a company repaired to the place of death. There lay two of the girls, literally butchered, but the third sister.
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Katherine, was not there. Traced by stains of blood, she was soon found near the creek, where she had crept for water. Reviving somewhat, she related what she remembered of the terrible affair, and after three days of terrible agony the gentle spirit took its flight. A grave was prepared and lined with puncheons, and in this rude casket the three sisters were laid side by side. When John, another child and favorite son, had been cruelly murdered by the red men, the home of Jacob Crow, the father of Michael, was truly a house of mourning.
William Crow, whose name introduces this review, was born in Wash- ington township, Delaware county, Indiana, near Wheeling, October 25, 1841, a son of John and Nancy ( Johnson) Crow, the former a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, born January 15, 1813, and the latter of Guernsey county, Ohio, born January 31, 1817. They were married in the latter county on the Ist of September, 1836, and became the parents of ten children, four of whom are now living: William, of this review; Mary A., the widow of W. C. Braddock, of Muncie; John, a resident of Cali- fornia ; and Jane, the wife of Frederick Wilhelm, of Grant county, Indiana. The father came to Delaware county the year following his marriage, in 1837, purchasing of Mr. Johnson one hundred and sixty acres of wild timber land near Wheeling, while later he bought a tract of four hundred and eighty acres and still later a tract of eighty acres. Delaware county at the time of his arrival was a wilderness, and he was numbered among its earliest and most honored pioneers. Building a little log cabin on his land, it continued as the family home for a number of years, finally giving place to a large and attractive frame residence. Game was plentiful in those early days, and the wolves proved very troublesome by killing their smaller stock. Mr. Crow subsequently purchased a farm near Cumberland, where he spent the remainder of his life and died on the 19th of July, 1891, his wife having preceded him in death, for she passed away on the 9th of December, 1887. They had the privilege of celebrating their fiftieth anniversary with their children, friends and neighbors. She united with the Presbyterian church at the age of twenty years and lived a consistent Christian life for a half century. Her home was ever a place of family and secret prayer, a place where the minister of the Gospel was always welcome, and her suffering at the last, though protracted and severe, was endured with patience and res- ignation to the Master's will. Mr. Crow united with the Presbyterian church when quite young, and was one of the organizers of the church of his denomination in Elizabethtown, under the pastorate of Rev. Robert Irvin. He gave his political support to the Whig party.
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