USA > Indiana > Clark County > Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana > Part 39
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scription schools, His death occurred in 1847 in Washington county. His wife, who was born in Germany, came to the United States when quite young with her parents, and settled in Washington county. She was born in 1798 and died in 1852. Twelve children, four girls and eight boys, were born to them, only four of their sons, including our subject, now surviving. They are : Eli and Robert, both living in Washington county ; Thomas Benton lives in Oklahoma, and Richard J., the youngest living.
Richard J. Elrod has made his own way in the world since his eleventh year, at which period he became an orphan. In the year 1867 his marriage to Lucinda B. Walker took place. She was born in Washington county October 4, 1845, and was the daughter of William S. and Louisa Walker. To Richard and Mrs. Elrod one child, William D., was born in 1873. He married Laura Townsend ; they live in Monroe township and have two children.
When thirty-three years of age our subject came to Clark county and re- sided in Monroe township, where he still lives in section 266. As a general farmer he was successful and used to bring his farm produce to Salem, which was the nearest large market town, in order to dispose of same. His education was obtained in the common schools of Washington county, and in his early days the country round was pretty well settled. In politics he is a Democrat. He has never sought political office, devoting the greater part of his time to home and farm life. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Previous to his present marriage he married in the year 1861, Katherine Swain, who died about eighteen months afterwards leaving him a daughter, Cora, born in 1862, who married Sheridan McGrew. They live in Holton, Kansas, and have two children.
JAMES A. CLEGG.
James A. Clegg, retired farmer of Henryville, Clark county, is a well known and respected member of the community in which he has lived and a man whose family has been actively associated with the prosperity and progress of that section of the state. His father was known throughout Clark county as a lawyer of ability and reputation, and a man of honorable character. Our subject was himself a participant in the Civil war, and at the close of his term of service was discharged with honor. Since that time he has been most suc- cessful in his farming pursuits.
James A. Clegg was born on February 2, 1839, in Wood township, Clark county, and was the son of Matthew and Martha C. (Allen) Clegg. Matthew Clegg was born in the year 1799 in Pennsylvania, and came to Clark county where he located, near Utica, when he was quite young. He lived there a short time and then moved on Silver Creek, at which place his parents, who also
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came to Clark county, both died. He got little regular education, but succeed- ed in educating himself through home study in his spare time. In this manner he took up the study of law and became one of the best pioneer lawyers of his day in Clark county. He became judge of the Criminal Court and was Prose- cuting Attorney for many years. He participated in the Civil war as first lieu- tenant in Company M, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, emerging from the conflict as a captain after three years' service. Having been captured at Macon, Georgia, by the Southern troops he spent six months in Libby prison. Three sons, one of whom was our subject, served with him. James A. was in the same com- pany with his father, a brother and two nephews. The brother, whose name was Matthew, died in Andersonville prison. Returning from the war the older Clegg went back to his law practice in this part of the county, and previous to his death in 1881, lived in Henryville for many years. His first marriage to Catherine Anderson occurred about 1835. They had two children, both of whom died when young. His second wife, Martha C. Allen, was the daughter _of James and Mary ( McBride) Allen. The second Mrs. Clegg's parents were married about 1837; her mother being born about the year 1819 or 1820 and was a native of Ohio. James A. Clegg is the second of a family of fourteen children. The death of both parents occurred on the same day, the 6th of February, 1881, in Henryville. The elder Clegg was one of the best known men in Clark county and well liked by everyone.
James A. Clegg started for himself at the time of his marriage in 1860, to Martha Dietz, who was born in 1840 in Monroe township. She was the daughter of John Frederick and Sarah (Lewis) Dietz. John F. Dietz was born on the 4th of October, 1788, and died March 15, 1874; his wife was born April 23, 1806, and died on the 5th of November, 1873. John F. Dietz was a farmer and an early pioneer. He came here in the Indian days with his parents. They had to go to the scattered block-houses on several occasions for protection from Indians, and met with much hardship in consequence. John F. Dietz was also known as a large fruit grower. His parents came from Philadelphia.
James A. Clegg enlisted in Company M, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, in 1862, at Jeffersonville. He joined as a private, and at the end of three years was mus- tered out as a sergeant. At the end of the war he became a farmer in Monroe township at which occupation he remained until ten years ago, when he retired and came to Henryville. He obtained his education in the subscription schools of Clark county. In politics he is a Republican and in religion he is a member of the Christian church. He is commander of. the local post No. 461 Grand Army of the Republic at Henryville. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clegg : Richard M., who was born September 19, 1861, mar- ried Ellen Cain ; they live at Cainville, Missouri, and have two children. Mary A. was born July 7, 1865, and married John Copeland; they live at Manford,
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Oklahoma, and have three children. Sarah C. Clegg was born July 28, 1868, and married Charles M. Clark; they live in Jeffersonville and have five chil- dren. John W. was born April 7, 1871, and lives in Oklahoma; Matthew S. was born May 13, 1873; he married Jessie Biggs; they live in Clark county and have four children. James A. was born on the 28th of June, 1876; he married, has one child and lives in Oklahoma, being an undertaker at Man- ford. Frank, the youngest child, was born August 3, 1879, and remains at home with his parents.
James A. Clegg, his wife and son live comfortably in their nice home at Henryville. Both the elder people are still well preserved and enjoy good health.
HON. CHARLES F. C. HANCOCK, M. D.
Though the medical profession of Southern Indiana contains a bright - galaxy of physicians, there are none better known or more highly esteemed than Doctor Hancock. Though still in the prime of life he has accomplished much in the line of his profession and has before him a still more brilliant · · future. William Hancock, his father, was a Kentuckian by birth, but came early to Indiana and still lives at Memphis. He married Catherine Smith, who was born in England, but came to America when ten years old. By this union there were five children : George W. and Edward L. are residents of Seymour, Indiana; Mrs. Patience Gournsey also lives at Seymour ; Mrs. Eu- gene Dunlevy is a resident of Memphis, and Mrs. Albert Puddell resides at Charlestown, Indiana. Dr. James N. Reynolds, a half-brother of the above mentioned, is a practicing physician at Memphis.
Charles F. C. Hancock, next to the youngest member of this family, was born at Memphis, Clark county, Indiana, February 3, 1867. He was a dili- gent pupil. In 1881 he entered the Seymour high school, and the following year became a student in. Eikosi Academy, at Salem, graduating from the latter institution in the spring of 1883. He began the study of medicine under Doctor Reynolds, and in the intervals taught two terms of school. During this period he burned much "midnight oil" in his efforts to master the con- tents of the learned books put before him, many of his nights and most of his vacation periods being devoted to fitting himself for his exacting profes- sion. In 1885 he entered the Medical Department of the University of Louis- ville, and a year later matriculated in the Medical College of Ohio at Cin- cinnati, from which he was graduated in the class of March, 1887. He formed a partnership for practice with the late Dr. E. J. Kempff, at Jasper, but one year later located at Jeffersonville, which has since been the theater of his operations. He has met with success and has steadily risen both in ex-
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tent of practice and reputation as a general practitioner. Since 1892 he has been local surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He is a member of the Clark County Medical Society and the State Medical Association. His fraternal relations embrace membership in Clark Lodge, No. 40, Free and Accepted Masons ; Horeb Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Jeffersonville Com- mandery, Knights Templar. Though wedded to his professional duties and realizing that medicine is a jealous mistress, the doctor occasionally takes an excursion into the realms of politics and proved his popularity in 1904, when he made a successful race for State Senator from this district on the Repub- lican ticket. He served out his term acceptably, which embraced two sessions of the Legislature.
On October 27, 1897, Doctor Hancock was married to Nora Clark Duffy, member of a prominent and wealthy family of Clark county. Her parents were James T. and Nora (Robinson) Duffy, the former well known for many years in the business circles of Jeffersonville. Fuller particulars concerning him will be found in the sketch of James T. Duffy, appearing elsewhere in this volume. Doctor and Mrs. Hancock have five children : James D., James R., Catherine V., William and Charles F. C., Jr. Doctor Hancock is of quiet, unostentatious manners, of a .frank and friendly nature and fond rather of his home and family than of society or any kind of display. Philantropic and kind hearted, he finds many opportunities to do favors on the quiet to his deserving and less fortunate brethren. On the whole it is not too much to pronounce him not only a skillful and successful physician, but a model citi- zen, friend and neighbor.
WALLACE LAWRENCE JACOBS.
This enterprising citizen lives in Utica township, Clark county, and is a representative of two pioneer families. His birth occurred November 7, 1874, only a short distance from his present home, and his parents, Isaac A. and Loretta (Lawrence) Jacobs, were born in the same township. Isaac A. Jacobs was a resident of Utica township all his life and he became known as a prosperous and influential farmer. The maternal grandfather of Wallace L. Jacobs, Albert Lawrence, was born in New Jersey and, coming to Indiana, settled in Clark county, where he passed his remaining years, dying at Jeffer- sonville at the age of eighty-four years. Wallace Lawrence Jacobs is the only child of his parents. He was reared as a farmer boy and received the advantages offered by the country schools, supplemented by one year in the high school at Utica. When twenty-one years of age he engaged in farming for himself and later purchased the place where he now lives, having pros- pered from the first. He owns fifty-two acres of well improved land, and the buildings thereon are such as his needs and comfort require.
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Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage with Catherine A. Smith, November 22, 1898, she being a daughter of W. W. and Nancy ( Bottorff) Smith, also natives of Utica township, Clark county. The children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs are four in number and their names are : Herbert W., Irwin A., Nanetta and Ruth R.
In politics Mr. Jacobs has supported the principles of the Republican party and both he and Mrs. Jacobs are members of the New Chapel Metho- dist Episcopal church, he being one of its trustees. This family is held in high esteem by their neighbors as a result of lives of industry, honesty and hospi- tality, causing them to rank among the township's valued citizens.
HARRY C. MONTGOMERY.
· Harry C. Montgomery was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, April 9, 1870, and while yet young in life has become Judge of the Clark Circuit Court. His father, a man of many sterling attributes, was John R. Montgomery, a captain and pilot on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers before, during and after the war between the states, whose life was brought to a close by the dread scourge of yellow fever, September 1, 1873. John R. Montgomery married Mary L. Mauzy, representative of an influential family. She is living at this writing in San Angelo, Texas, with two of her daughters, Mrs. Jessie Abbott and Mrs. May Wear. At an early age the Judge was compelled by circum- stances to make his own way, successively as a newsboy, upholster's assis- tant, musician on the Ohio river steamboats ; also as a school teacher in country schools of Clark county, and finally, in 1895, graduated from the University of Louisville, law department, as valedictorian of his class. He was admitted to the bar of Clark county and soon thereafter entered upon his chosen pro- fession. He was always a close student and an original thinker, and he allowed no opportunity to advance his education to pass in his school days. In both the grade schools and in the Jeffersonville high school he held a dis- tinctive and leading position among his classmates, and his record here and at the State University at Bloomington shows that he made a conscientious and careful application to his studies.
Judge Montgomery has never assumed the responsibilities of the married state.
The success at the bar of Judge Montgomery was instantaneous and has gradually increased. In 1896, after a practice of one year, his abilities were recognized by the citizens of this community and he was elected prose- cutor of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, in which position he very ably and con- scientiously served until 1900, in fact, it was the splendid discharge of his
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duties in this capacity, to a great extent, that made his election to the bench a certainty. In 1904 Mr. Montgomery was elected Judge of the circuit, which he had served so well in the capacity of prosecutor and he has given his con- stituents entire satisfaction in this office. Although one of the younger gener- ation of lawyers of Clark county he has discharged his duties in an eminently just and conservative manner, for he came to the bench well qualified for its exacting duties and responsibilties, and from the beginning his judicial career was characterized by such a profound knowledge of the law and an earnest and scientious desire to apply it impartially that he was not long in gaining the respect and confidence of the attorneys and litigants and earning for him- self an honorable reputation among the leading jurists of this part of the state.' The Judge has ever kept in touch with he inerests of his city and county and is an ardent advocate and liberal patron of all worthy enterprises making for their advancement and prosperity. He is active in every movement for the good of his fellow men, and his popularity is bounded only by the limits of his acquaintance. As a lawyer he is easily the peer of any of his pro- fessional brethren in this locality, and the honorable distinction already achieved at the bar is an earnest of the still higher honors to be achieved in years to come, as he is just in the prime of manhood. Behind him lay his years of toil and adversity, the formative period of his life; but before him are higher honors and larger rewards, both in public and private life, for he is not only an accomplished lawyer, a skillful advocate, an honorable and just Judge, also a genial and courteous gentleman.
JAMES ERNEST BURKE.
In tracing the genealogy of the well known business man of Jefferson- ville whose life record is presented in the following paragraphs the biographer finds that he is a worthy scion of sterling Irish ancestors on the paternal side, his father, James Burke, for many years a prominent contractor of this city, having been born in the Emerald Isle, and who in 1854, when a young man, immigrated to the United States, locating in Jeffersonville, Indiana, where his brother had previously settled. He was a carpenter by trade and he fol- lowed this and contracting on street work, wharves, railroad work, etc., for many years. He married Cornelia Crandle, a representative of a well estab- lished family of Troy, New York. James Burke died in Jeffersonville several years ago at the age of seventy-three years. He was an active worker in the Democratic party, and for his local services he was chosen City Treasurer, serving three terms; he also served in the City Council, proving himself to be an able exponent of the people's interests. His widow, whom he married in
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New Orleans, survived him several years, dying at the age of sixty-eight. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom grew to maturity, three living at the present writing.
James Ernest Burke, the sixth child in order of birth in his father's fam- ily, was born in the city of Jeffersonville, January 17, 1865, and was reared in his native town. He received a common school education, and later, in order to fit himself for a business career, attended the Bryant and Stratton Business College in Louisville, Kentucky. After finishing his education he remained with his father as clerk and bookkeeper for several years while they were engaged in railroad construction work. In 1883 Mr. Burke purchased a wholesale and retail coal business of A. B. Howard & Company, and he has since carried on this enterprise with success, having built up a liberal trade with the surrounding community and proving himself to be a man of energy and good judgment in business affairs. He is located at the corner of Chest- · 'nut and Wall streets.
The domestic chapter in the life of James E. Burke dates from 1893, when he was united in marriage with Bertha C. Read, a native of Jefferson- ville, the accomplished daughter of John F. and Eliza A. Read. After a brief and harmonious married life, Mrs. Burke was called to her rest in 1894.
Mr. Burke is a Democrat in his political relations, and fraternally he be- longs to Jeffersonville Lodge, No. 362, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; also the Knights of Columbus, in which he has taken a deep interest, as he has in the former been past exalted ruler of the Elks. He is a member of St. Augustine Catholic church and a liberal supporter of the same.
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JOHN A. H. OWENS.
A citizen of the United States can wear no greater badge of honor than the distinction of having served the government in the four years of war be- tween the states. One of these defenders of the nation's integrity is the gentle- man whose name appears at the head of this article, a well known citizen of Clark county, Indiana, and one of the local contributors to the history of this county.
John A. H. Owens was born in Scott county, Indiana, August 7, 1842, . the son of Charles and Sarah (Whitson) Owens. The Owens family were native Hoosiers, the father was born in Charlestown township in Clark county, August 22, 1808. His wife was born July 16th, the same year in Utica town- ship. There were eleven children in Grandfather Owens' family, the oldest having been born in 1788. They were all born in Clark county, Indiana. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
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*in 1768 and his wife was born in 1767. . They emigrated to Indiana, coming . down the Ohio river in boats. John Owens and Sarah Jackson, the subject's grandparents, married in Spring Station, Jefferson county, Kentucky, April 5, 1787. The Owens and Jacksons reached the Falls of the Ohio, or Bear Grass, as it was then known, about 1785. Here the grandparents of the sub- ject were married. The maternal great-grandparents of the subject, John and Elizabeth Jackson, who were natives of Scotland, moved from Pennsylvania to Bear Grass, Kentucky, where they lived for many years, and in 1809 set- tled in Clark county, Indiana, where they died. They were buried in an old family grave yard, four miles east of Charlestown. John and Sarah Jackson Owens were the parents of the following children : David, born in Clarksville, Indiana, in 1788; John, born in 1790; Elizabeth, born in 1792; George, born in 1795; Harvey, born in 1797; James, born in 1998; William J., born in 1799; George Clark, born in 1802; Charles was born in 1804; Rebecca was born in 1806; Charles was born in 1808.
Charles and Sarah (Whitson) Owens were married May 9, 1837, and to them three children were born, two girls and one boy, namely : Philena was born May II, 1838, and married a Mr. Johnson. She died in Potomac, Il- linois, after becoming the mother of five children; Susan, the second child of Charles and Sarah Owens, was born March 2, 1840; she became the wife of Capt. Thomas R. Mitchell. She died in Charlestown, Clark county, Indiana, in May, 1899, after becoming the mother of four children, three of whom are liv- ing at this writing. John A. H., our subject, was the third child. For some time he lived with his uncle, William Owens. He received his education in the com- mon schools of Clark county, Indiana. Although his text-book training was somewhat limited it was good for the times in which he was reared. He after- .ward entered the high school at Charlestown, and became a teacher, having taught in a very creditable manner from 1866 to 1879 in the country schools, during which time he became well known as an able educator and his services 1 were in great demand.
Feeling that it was his duty to sever home ties, give up his teaching and assist in defending his country's integrity, when the great Rebellion broke out, our subject enlisted in Company I, Eighty-first Volunteer Infantry, and was transferred to the Marine Brigade March 1, 1863, from which he was dis- charged at Vicksburg, Mississippi, January 17, 1865, after being in the ser- vice two and one-half years.
Mr. Owens was married February 1, 1872, to Eliza Riley, who was born in Clark county, Indiana, March 19, 1845. Her family came to this county before 1820, not long after Indiana entered the Union. They have two chil- dren living, Charles, who was born December 30, 1873, is a barber in Charles- town, Indiana; Bessie C., who was born August 21, 1881, is a graduate of the Charlestown schools. She is single and living at home.
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Mr. Owens devoted his life to farming after the war until 1881, when · he moved to Charlestown and entered business there, making a success of the - same, for he has always been known as a man of industry and one whom the people could trust.
In politics Mr. Owens is a Republican and he has ever taken a lively interest in political affairs and the advancement of his county's interests in *any way. He faithfully and very acceptably served the city of Charlestown as postmaster under President Benjamin Harrison. He was elected Trustee of Charlestown township, and his work elicited the hearty approval of everyone concerned. Mr. Owens stands high in the estimation of the people of Clark county.
WINNIE CLARE LEWMAN.
The Lewmans may be described as a family of contractors as several members of it have achieved success in that line, while the activities of others extended into financial and commercial subjects. Moses T. Lewman, who .. was born in Clark county, subsequently became an influential citizen of Put- nam county, where he did contracting work on a large scale and held the office of Sheriff. His first work at contracting was the construction of the Bethany Christian church on the Charlestown pike, near Charlestown. He was a successful man of affairs, and accumulated considerable property, but met an untimely death by drowning, in 1870, at a sea-side resort, near Savan- nah, Georgia. He married Naomi Lavina Conover, and became the father of a number of children, who are now located in various parts of the coun- . try. John B. and Harry L. are contractors. The former married Annabell Newman, the daughter of a Louisville plumber. Leon D., the third son, mar- ried Idoline Sparks, of Atlanta, Georgia, where he is engaged in banking and contracting. Nora, the eldest daughter, is the wife of a Mr. Moore, and re- sides at Seattle. Bessie, wife of J. R. Riggs, is a resident of Sullivan, In- diana. The wife of Harry was formerly Lelia Curtis, of California, whose mother was a member of the Holman family of Clark county.
Winnie Clare Lewman was born at Greencastle, Indiana, May 12, 1871, and received his education in the schools of his native city. After leaving Greencastle he was a student for some time at the Bardstown Male College · and also Hanover. He returned from his studies to the farm at Prather and remained at home for several years. In 1894 he engaged in the seed busi- ness at Louisville, but after following this for a year he began contracting, which he has steadily followed since then. His work which has taken him to many parts of the South has included the construction of many large public buildings. He met with success and before he reached middle life was able to
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