USA > Indiana > Clark County > Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana > Part 29
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
HARRY DODSWORTH PEET.
Among the emigrants who came over from England in the early forties was a young girl named Elizabeth Dodsworth. Her parents located at Cin- cinnati and there she subsequently met her "fate" in the person of a young countryman who reached America from his native England about 1845 and took up his abode in Louisville. In due time they became acquainted, learned to love each other and finally became man and wife. In 1853, not a great while after their union, John Peet, and wife crossed the river into Clark county, secured land in Silver Creek township, and in time had a good farm home, where they lived in comfort and reared their children in the paths of rectitude. They had five children in all, four of whom survive. One of them, Harry D., subject of this sketch, was born at Louisville, January 29, 1852, and he was still an infant when his parents decided to become residents of Indiana. He grew up on the farm in Silver Creek township and was taught by his father the value of industry as well as principles of morality, from which he has never departed during all the years of his subsequent life. After finish- ing in the local schools Mr. Peet became a pupil in the male school at Bards- town, Kentucky, where he spent two years in acquiring the ground work of an academical education. From this seminary he went to the Indiana State University at Bloomington, where he spent two more years in earnest appli- cation to the higher branches taught at that famous seat of learning. Not as yet satisfied he took a finishing course of a more practical nature in a com- mercial college at Cincinnati. After completing his studies Mr. Peet returned to his Clark county home and entered upon the serious affairs of life. One year was spent on a farm in Wabash county, but soon deciding that the old place was the best he came back to Clark county and located on a tract of land half a mile north of New Chapel. During the next twenty years Mr. Peet met with the usual ups and downs of a farmer's life, but on the whole has prospered and has considerable to show as the result of his toil and good management. He now owns three tracts of land, one of ninety-two acres and others of fifty-two and twenty-six acres, all of which is the fine agricultural soil for which Clark county is noted. In the early part of 1907 Mr. Peet built a new residence, half a mile west of New Chapel, and here he has since made his home. It is situated in the border of a natural grove near Watson, and is one of the cosiest country homes imaginable. Everything indicates taste and love of the beautiful as well as the ornamental and an old hospitality and cordiality of greeting to friends are characteristic of this pleasant abode.
On September 26, 1876, Mr. Peet married Ella, daughter of William Lentz, and they have three children. Mary Edith, the eldest, married Herbert Fry and has four children; she resides on a farm near New Chapel. John L., the eldest son, who recently married Mamie Childers, of West Virginia, is a civil and mining engineer employed by the government in the Phillipines.
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Harry D., Jr., the youngest son, is at home with his parents, Mr. Peet is a member of the New Chapel Methodist Episcopal church and holds the posi- tion of secretary of the board of trustees, which makes him custodian of the old records that date back to early pioneer days. He has been a lifelong ab- stainer and earnest advocate of temperance, which convictions naturally made him a member of the Prohibition party, to whose cause he has devoted his best energies for years, without hope of other reward than the plaudits of a good conscience.
CHARLES EDWIN MCKINLEY.
Charles Edwin Mckinley is a well known member of the Indiana branch of the illustrious Mckinley family, and a relation of our martyred President of that name. In common with the other members of his family he boasts a Scotch-Irish line of ancestry, in which the Scotch strain predominated. The family was of Scotch Covenanter origin and as the descendants of sturdy and. religious men the family history in this country has upheld its ancient tradi- tions. He is a business man of acknowledged ability and as a citizen he has not gone without recognition.
Charles Edwin Mckinley was born at Pleasant Ridge, Wood township, four and a half miles south of Borden, in the vicinity of the old burial ground, on May 7, 1862. He was the son of William McKinley, and his wife, whose. maiden name was Nancy Bell. Our subject's grandfather, Thomas McKin- ley, was a son of the head of the Indiana branch of the Mckinley family.
Charles Edwin was educated in the public schools of Wood township and on arrival at the proper age began life as a farmer. For eighteen years. he farmed and marketed farm and dairy produce and had a large array of: private customers in New Albany. In this line he was very successful and he. still retains his farm at Pleasant Ridge. In October, 1906, he established himself as head of the well known Mckinley Hotel, at Borden, which was. started some years before by Edwin Mckinley. He also opened an adjoining store and carried on a general mercantile business. At the present time he, conducts the Mckinley Hotel, a livery stable, and a general store, on an ex -. ensive scale and in a first class manner. In addition he has been since 1907. president of the Borden State Bank.
Mr. Mckinley married on the 17th of September, 1885, Jemima E. Bell,. he daughter of well known townsfolk. Their marriage proved very happy und they have reared a family of four sons and four daughters, namely :. Francis M., Sarah F. (known to her friends as Fannie) ; Jessie E., John H., Clarence D., Georgia E .. Harry Goebel, and Iva Mildred Mckinley. All re well educated and accomplished.
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Our subject was a member of a family composed of one girl and ten boys. In politics he is a Democrat. He is reckoned as one of the leading men of his party in Clark county. He was Trustee of Wood township from 1895 to 1900.
EDGAR I. COOMBS.
As a successful agriculturist and trusted official Mr. Coombs has dis- charged ably and conscientiously the duties devolving upon him, and his aim has ever been to measure up to the highest standard of excellence.
Edgar I. Coombs was born near his present place of residence on the Ist day of January, 1852, and his entire life has been spent within the township over which he now exercises official jurisdiction. His childhood and youth were spent amid the peaceful rural scenes of his native place and as a farmer's boy he learned the lesson of industry and the respect for moral worth which had such potent influence in forming his character, and directing his life into proper channels. At the proper age he entered the public schools and after acquiring a knowledge of the branches taught therein, later he turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits and in due time engaged in gardening, which he followed for several successive years. By industry, consecutive effort and excellent management he early laid a solid foundation for the future and so conducted his affairs as to accumulate a handsome property, owning at this time considerable valuable real estate in Utica township, and occupying a conspicuous place among the well-to-do men of his own community. After acquiring a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in independent cir- cumstances, he discontinued active pursuits and for some time past has been living practically a retired life, although still interested in agriculture and keeping in touch with the affairs of the times.
Mr. Coombs is a Democrat in politics and one of the leaders of his party in Utica township, being an able and judicious adviser in its councils and an earnest and influential worker in the ranks. He has always taken a keen in- terest in public questions and the great issues on which men and parties divide, and his opinions concerning the same, which are intelligent and well founded, carry weight and command respect. As a reward for valuable services ren- dered his party as well as by reason of his fitness for the place, he was elected in 1904, Trustee of Utica township, the duties of which office he has since discharged in an able and business like manner, creditable to himself and satisfactory to the people of his jurisdiction. An indication of his popularity is afforded by the fact of his having carried the election in the above year by the largest majority ever given a candidate in the township of Utica.
Mr. Coombs is a believer in revealed religion and for a period of twenty-
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five years has been a devoted member of the Christian church and an active worker in the congregation at Utica, in which for some years he has held the office of trustee. In his fraternal relations he is an Odd Fellow.
The domestic life of Mr. Coombs dates from December 7, 1880, when he was united in marriage with Catherine Oglesby, daughter of Thomas B. Oglesby, late of Jeffersonville township, the union being blessed with one child, a son by the name of Carl C. Coombs, a young man of high intellectual at- tainments. After completing the public school course young Coombs entered the Kentucky University at Lexington, where he made an enviable record as a student. On leaving that institution he took up the legal profession, and after a course in the law school of Louisvile was admitted, in 1906, to the Clark County Bar.
DANIEL MILBURN DOW.
It has been almost a century since the first member of the Dow family placed a foot upon the prolific soil of Wood township, Clark county. Daniel M. Dow now lives within a half mile from the spot where his eyes first opened upon the world. He is justly proud of his ancestors, who had no little part in the making of the history of this Republic, and than whom none were more closely identified with that of Southern Indiana. The blood of one who helped wrest his native land from the grasp of an oppresser surges through the veins of our subject.
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Mr. Dow was born in Wood township, in 1854, his parents being Henry D. and Elizabeth (Beggerly) Dow. The former was born within the pre- cincts of the same township in 1824, being the son of Henry and Mercy (Kin- ney) Dow, who came to Wood township in 1818. The former was born in Connecticut, May 13, 1794, his wife in the same state June 24, 1791. The grandfather of the subject died November 3, 1873, and the grandmother July 22, 1874. The death of his father occurred October 27, 1898, while his mother passed away May 25, 1902, having been born in Kentucky, September 26, 1823.
The children born to Henry and Mercy (Kinney) Dow were as follows : Hannah, born in Plainfield, Connecticut ; Martha, born February 5, 1817, also in that city ; Lucy, born July 30, 1818, on the way to Clark county, Indiana : Sallie, born September 20, 1820, in Clark county ; Henry D., born April 19, 1824, Clark county ; Rhoda, born September 13, 1826, Clark county ; Lydia, born July 14, 1829, Clark county ; Rebecca, born May 24, 1832, Clark county.
The following children were those of H. D. and Elizabeth (Beggerly) Dow: Sallie Ann, born August 11, 1845, died May 30, 1849; Lydia A., born January 10, 1848, died in infancy ; Laura A., born January 22, 1850, mar-
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.BAIRD'S HISTORY OF. CLARK CO., IND.
ried to John B. Goss, living in the state of Washington, has five children ; Henry E., born June 2, 1852, died March 29, 1853 ; Daniel M. (subject), born March I, 1854; George W., born July 17, 1856, married Anna Hurst, and lives in Davis county, has five children; Alice J., born September 28, 1858, married James Pearce, and lives in Clark county ; Mary A., born May 5, 1862, married to Willard Todd, and lives in Wood township, has two children; Elizabeth C., born February II, 1864, married N. S. Martin, of Washington county, and has five children.
H. D. Dow, father of these children, was a farmer and breeder of stock. He took an active part in politics and was a hard worker on election day, but never held or sought public office. He was an adherent of the Republican party, and he belonged to the Christian church, of which he was an elder for many years.
Daniel M. Dow was married to Philena B. Walker, of Washington county, November 9, 1876, the parents of the bride being James H and Phoebe Ann Walker. The following children were born to them: Stella B., born June 25, 1878. at home; Linna M., born April 30, 1881, and married James E. Cooley, had five children, and died in 1908; Mrs. Alice G. (Dow) Miller, living in Wood township; Mary B., born August 21, 1892. living at home.
Mr. Dow was educated in the common schools of Wood township. He is a Republican and a member of the Christian church. He spends very little time in politics, devoting his entire attention to farming and stock raising. He lives in the house that his grandfather built in 1838, and which was rebuilt by his father in 1878. The grandfather manufactured the brick with which he built the structure, and at that time it was considered one of the finest dwell- ings in the county. Mr. Dow has cleared a great deal of land himself, and ยท made many improvements on his farm, which is in section 12.
Elizabeth Beggerly was the daughter of Jonathan B. and Casender Bailey. The former was born in Kentucky, August 2, 1802. The same state was the birthplace of his wife, the date thereof being April 3, 1804. Her parents emigrated to Clark county when she was but two years old. They were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth Ann, born September 26, 1823; Susan and Nancy (twins), born July 10, 1825; William P., born August 9, 1827 ; Eliza, born October 25, 1829; James O., born May 12, 1832; Isaac J., born December 29, 1833; Lewis and Melvina (twins), born August 20, 1836; Clinton, born November 29, 1839; Benona G., born April 6, 1842.
In the parlor door of the Dow home there is a notch where grandfather . Dow was hanged by the neck until nearly dead by four highwaymen to make him divulge the hiding place of his money. As it was they secured from him the sum of sixteen hundred dollars and four horses. This was during the days of the Civil war, and the robbers, supposed to be part of Morgan's band, 'were captured later, and five hundred dollars of the stolen money and the
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
horses returned to the owner. The Dows had the first grist mill in that part of Indiana, and one of the first steam mills. In the early days all of the flour was bolted by hand. An uncle of the subject was the owner of one of the first saw mills in the state.
JOHN MILTON HALLET.
The subject of this sketch lives upon the soil upon which he was born three quarters of a century ago, and in the house that his father built when John Milton Hallet was in the first year of his age. His parents penetrated the wilderness of Indiana when its trackless forests were filled with hostile Indians and when ferocious animals menaced them every step of the way, but with that dauntless courage which characterized the early settler, they had no thought of turning back, but pushed on to their journey's end.
John Milton Hallet, one of the oldest and most prosperous citizens of Wood township, Clark county, was born in Wood township, May 6, 1833, the son of Samuel and Cynthia (Geer) Hallet. His father was born August 6, 1790, in New London, Connecticut, and moved to Wood township in 1819, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was known as "Squire" Hallet, having served as Justice of the Peace for many years, and was very active in politics. He was the second postmaster of the little town of Borden, then known as New Providence. Like his father, who had fought in the War of the Revolution, he was a soldier, serving his country well throughout the War of 1812. He was a most pronounced Whig, and died in Wood township in 1852. The mother of the subject, like her husband, was a native of Connecti- cut, being the daughter of Israel and Mary (Newton) Geer. The year of her birth was 1794, and she was married in 1814. The following children were born to the parents of the subject : William S. B., born in Connecticut, April 4, 1815, died in Borden, July 31, 1860; Margaret Wood, his wife, died March 16, 1841; George W., born in Connecticut, April 4, 1840, died at Borden, September 25, 1841 ; Thomas B., born in Clark county, May 28, 1821, died in Morrilton, Arkansas, 1868; Rhoda M., his wife, died January 24, 1848; Emeline, who was born in Clark county, August 20, 1823, died in New Albany in 1885; Henry, born in Clark county, January 21, 1826, died in November, 1853; Mary Ann, born July 13, 1828, died April 28, 1855; Eliza- beth, born in Clark county, is still living near Borden, and is the wife of Robert Huston; John Milton, born May 6, 1833, still living in Wood town- ship; Norman, born May: 9, 1837, died October 28, 1841. The parents on both sides of the house had members of their families in the War of the Revo- lution and the War of 1812.
. The father of the subject, in connection with his agricultural pursuits, engaged in the nursery business and set out one of the first orchards in the
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
county, two or three of the old trees still standing upon the land upon which the subject lives. He was always foremost in school and church work, being a public-spirited man, and naturally very popular. As stated in the introduc- tory of this sketch, the house where his son, John Milton Hallet, now resides, was built by him in 1834. He purchased the land in that year, cleared and improved it until it was considered one of the best pieces of farm land in the county. Mr. Hallet burned the brick to build his dwelling upon land close to where his son now lives.
John Milton Hallet was married to Cynthia Kelly June 14, 1855, and she died March 29, 1856, a little less than one year after she had become a bride. The result of this union was one child, who was born in 1856, and died in her infancy. On October 2, 1861, the widower contracted a second alliance, marrying Louisa Martin. Their children were Edwin Stanton, born September 4, 1862, who married Emma K. Pierce and now lives in St Louis, where he is chief engineer in the government service ; Linnie E., born October 19, 1864, is living at home; Thomas B., born September 27, 1866, who is also at home, is a school teacher at Henryville, having graduated from the Mich- igan University, and has taught school for thirteen years; John M., Jr., born June 22, 1874, lives at home. The mother of these children died March 16, 1904.
Mr. Hallet started in life with a very scant education, but despite that handicap has been very successful. Besides being a farmer he is a breeder of fine Jersey cattle. He has a fine place, three miles and a half from Borden, and owns land in sections 5 and 7, living in the last named section. He is a member of the Christian church, and a Republican.
CAPTAIN JAMES T. DUFFY.
The career of the well remembered gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical memoir, was a strenuous and varied one, the dis- tinction which he attained in different spheres of activity entitling him to hon- orable mention among the leading men and representative citizens of his day and generation in the county with which his life was so closely identified, and to him is due the credit of giving prestige to the family name, an old and honored one in the Emerald Isle, and adding to the brightness of an escutcheon which shines with peculiar luster in communities long noted for the high stand- ing and distinguished achievements of its business and public men, and al- though his life record has been brought to a close by the inevitable fate that awaits all mankind, his influence still pervades the lives of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who reverence his memory.
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Capt. James T. Duffy was born in Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland, in 1844, the son of Thomas and Ellen (Clark) Duffy, both natives of Ireland, where they were reared and married, and in which country the latter died about 1846, after becoming the mother of five children, four boys and one girl, of whom James T. was the youngest. Thomas Duffy was a druggist in the northern part of Ireland, maintaining in connection with his brother, a drug store in Cootehill, County Cavan. The latter came to New York about 1845, and a year later, after the death of his wife, Thomas Duffy came to the United States bringing his children to join their relative in the new world. They landed in New Orleans and ascended the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, intending to go to New York, but Thomas Duffy was stricken with typhoid fever and died in Cincinnati, leaving five orphan children, practically penni- less and among strangers. The oldest child, Michael, who was then nineteen years of age, finally located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he secured work and became a very successful business man, eventually carrying on an extensive coal business. James T., the youngest of the children, lived in Cin- cinnati and later in Pittsburg with his brother, until he reached the age of sixteen years, having worked in the coal mines. When the war between the states came on he espoused the Union cause and showed his patriotism for his adopted country by enlisting in a Pennsylvania regiment, in which he faithfully served until the close of the war, proving himself a soldier of in- trepid courage and gallantry although a mere youth. He was a bugler, but was found in the thickest of many sanguinary engagements, always ready to obey the orders of his commanding officer. He saved all his wages during these years, and appropriated the same to the laudable undertaking of securing an education to which he directed his attention after being mustered out of the army. That he possessed a great amount of fortitude and a spirit which- no obstacle could daunt, is shown in his efforts to obtain a mental training that would guide him to subsequent success in later years. Devoting ten hours a day to the arduous duties that befall the lot of a miner, he gave but five hours to sleep, spending the remainder of the twenty-four in study. This careful application to miscellaneous subjects, coupled with an innate capacity for obersvation and assimilation, rendered him a well educated man, and his conversation was at once learned and interesting.
Having made trips to Jeffersonville on tow boats in connection with the movement of coal he observed the splendid advantages here of future business possibilities, and in 1866 in partnership with Patrick Bonner, he established a coal business in Jeffersonville. They engaged in shipping coal and holding quantities on the river for the local market. Being far-sighted, able to see with remarkable accuracy the outcome of commercial transactions, Mr. Duffy saw the advantages of obtaining possession of landings along the river and as soon as practicable bought different ones. The business of this firm grew to
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
extensive proportions, owing principally to the careful management and wise discretion exercised by Mr. Duffy, this firm handling practically all the coal that came down the Ohio river for distribution in this locality. They also en- gaged in towing on the river, which necessitated the ownership of many boats, some of which they purchased, but constructed the major part themselves and became very wealthy in due course of time. In 1881 Mr. Duffy purchased the landing known as the "Pumpkin Patch," which extends quite a distance along the water front, about two miles above Port Fulton. At that time Mr. Duffy also purchased about one hundred acres of land at this point, on which he made his home, later buying more land, developing a very fine farm of over two hundred acres. Everything about the place showed thrift and prosperity, being highly improved and under an excellent state of cultivation. Much stock of fine quality and variety was to be found here, and a magnificent dwell- ing was erected in the midst of attractive surroundings, one of the most at- tractive country homes in the state. It is modern in every detail, commo- dious, commanding a beautiful view of the Ohio river and it has always been a place where the numerous friends of the family delighted to gather, where free hospitality and good cheer ever prevailed and culture and refinement ever centered.
Besides his extensive farming and coal interests Captain Duffy also man- aged other large enterprises with that soundness of judgment and wise fore- sight that stamped him as no mediocre man of affairs, but truly a wizard of finance, with remarkable ability as an organizer and promoter. In the year Igor he established the sand business at Louisville, now carried on by his sons in a manner which stamps them as worthy descendants of their father and men to whom the future augurs many notable achievements in the world of business. This industry grew to extensive proportions, and Captain Duffy acquired considerable property in Louisville, owning a number of business blocks in connection with other property and becoming well known to busi- ness circles on both sides of the river, by whom he was regarded as a most ex- traordinary business man, very frugal, but generous toward his fellows. He extended a helping hand to many and had never a word of criticism for any- one, in fact, he often did favors for those who had shown him no quarter in his earlier years of business struggles. He was a great home man. During business hours the captain was deeply absorbed in whatever he had in hand, but he left his business cares and worries behind when he closed his office and after reaching his cozy home enjoyed to the utmost the seclusion and quiet of his family and home environment, which was always harmonious and con- genial.
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