USA > Indiana > Clark County > Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana > Part 46
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Our subject was reared on the farm where he assisted with the work about the place and acquired many valuable attributes of mind and character, in the meantime attending the comon schools in that vicinity until he received enough education to enable him to begin teaching in the common schools, having taught several terms with much success.
In 1878 Mr. Britan was married to Emma Taylor, daughter of Simpson Taylor and six children have been born to this union, three of whom are living at this writing, 1909, namely : Charles D., Leroy T. and Elizabeth J., all single. Elizabeth J. is a student at Hanover College, where she is making a splendid record.
Mr. Britan is the owner of a fine farm, which he has greatly improved by hard work and careful management, carrying on general farming in a most successful manner, keeping some good stock and poultry about the place from year to year. He has a commodious and comfortable residence, surrounded by an attractive lawn. He is regarded as a wide-awake farmer, a careful manager.
The subject's wife passed to her rest October 10, 1905. Mr. Britan takes quite an active part in religious movements, also educational, being a member and an elder of the New Washington Presbyterian church. He has long been an active worker in the Sunday school, and is now vice-president of the Clark County Sunday School Association, in which he does a commendable work, making his influence felt throughout the county. He is also active in the farmers' institute work, being regarded as one of the leading spirits in that plausible movement in the county. He is held in high esteem by all who know him, for his educational ability, his integrity and industry.
THOMAS W. SAMPLE.
Among the honored veterans of the Civil war and the leading farmers of Washington township, Clark county, the subject of this sketch is numbered.
Thomas W. Sample was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, July 12, 1848, . the son of John F. and Mary ( Pender) Sample. Jacob Sample, grandfather of the subject, was a native of either Kentucky or Virginia, and he came to Jefferson county, Indiana, in an early day. He had married Racha Harber- son, and they were the parents of these children : Elizabeth, Mary, N. y, John F. and Jacob. John F., the subject's father, was born and reared, ma ried and died in Jefferson county. He was a farmer, and married Mary Pender and lived on the same farm until his death. He was born November 19. 1818, and died January 16, 1902. His wife was born October 28, 1817, and died Jan- uary 27: 1896. John F. Sample was a prosperous farmer and left some prop-
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erty. His wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a Whig and later a Republican. He enlisted in Company K, Sixth Indiana Regiment, in 1861, and served for three years. Seven children were born to the subject's parents, namely : Alex, born February 23, 1841, died February 15, 1847: Jacob, born February 8, 1843, died December 29, 1870, having served one hundred days in the One Hundred and. Thirty-seventh Indiana Regiment in the Civil war, and he re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth In- diana and served until the close of the war; Martha J. was born December 15, 1845, and died August 26, 1866; Thomas W., the subject of this sketch ; James O., born April 2, 1851, died December 21, 1872; Nancy A., born December I, 1853, died June 19, 1883 ; Jessie B., born October 13, 1857, died February 16, 1875. All these children are now deceased except Thomas W., who was reared on the old farm in Jefferson county, where he assisted with the work about the place, and where he attended the district schools, receiving as good an education as possible in those early days in the common schools. He was one of the patriotic men who followed the footsteps of his father and enlisted in Company E, Twenty-second Indiana Regiment, December 16, 1863, when only fifteen years and six months old and he served faithfully until the close of the war, having taken part in the following battles : Tunnel Hill, Georgia, May 7, 1864; Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864, where he was wounded in the right shoulder; Rome, Georgia, May 17, 1864; Dallas, Georgia, May 27 1864; Big Shanty, June 16, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864; Vining Hill, July 7, 1864; Chattahoochee River, July 12th; Peach Tree Creek, July 19th; Sandtown Road, August 7th and Sth; Jonesboro, September Ist; Savannah, December 21st, all in 1864; Black River, North Carolina, May 10, 1865; Ben- tonville, May 19, 1865. He was with Sherman in his march to the sea. He receives a pension of twenty-four dollars.
At the close of the war the subject returned to Jefferson county and re- sumed farming, also worked as a carpenter, and he gained some notoriety as a violinist, having possessed natural talent from youth. Mr. Sample was mar- ried January 1, 1874, to Delilah Montgomery, who was born in Clark county, Indiana, October 21, 1849, the daughter of Alexander and Catherine (Baker) Montgomery. The Montgomery people were pioneers of Washington town- ship where the grandfather of the subject's wife entered a large tract of land. She attended graded schools after graduating from the common schools and followed teaching for some time with success. Part of her education' was gained in the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. Jacob Baker was the grandfather of Mrs. Sample. He came here fre. .. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. William Montgomery, her grandfather, was born in Virginia. Alexander Montgomery was the son of William Montgomery, whose children are given as follows: John, born April 16, 1782; May, born December 28, 1783; Wil- liam, born September 5, 1785; James, born September 1, 1787; Robert, born July 23, 1789; Thomas, born May 21, 1791 ; Jane, born March 16, 1793 ; Ag-
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nes, born February 25, 1795; Johnson, born January 26, 1798; David, born August 1, 1800; Samuel, born October 1, 1803 : Mathew, born March 3, 1805; Alexander, born August 2, 1808.
The following children were born to Alexander Montgomery and wife: Joseph, William, Johnson, Jacob, Mary J., Nathaniel, Catherine, Alexander' and Delilah.
Jacob Baker was the grandfather of Mrs. Sample. He died September 1, 1840. His children were : Catherine, born June 2, 1807, died January, 1887; Henry, born April 27, 1809, died in 1891 ; Mary, born October 6, 1811, died in 1865; Joseph, born September 15, 1813, died November 10, 1905; Fred- erick, born January 18, 1816, died December 4, 1904; Charles, born May 14, 1818, died in 1894; Susana, born December 25, 1820; John B. was born June 19, 1823; Hannah, born January 18, 1826, and died in 1866.
When Mr. and Mrs. Sample were married they moved to Washington township in March, 1875, locating on a part of the old Montgomery home- stead, which was then in the woods. He has cleared and improved this land until he has one of the best farms in the neighborhood which yields good crops from year to year under Mr. Sampie's skillful management. He has sixty -. three acres. He is regarded as a first class mechanic and fixes all kinds of musical instruments, and is regarded by all who know him as a man of rare talent.
His children are: Sylvia B., who was born December 3, 1874, and who graduated in music, is the wife of Lambert E. Barnes, of Owensville, Indiana ; Mary A., born July 1, 1877, is a teacher in the Gibson county, Indiana, schools at Owensville; James M., born December 4, 1880, graduated in medicine at the Medical College of Louisville, Kentucky, in June, 1907, and he is married to Pearl Reed, and is located at Austin, Scott county, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Sample are members of the Universalist church. The for- mer is a member of the New Washington Lodge, No. 167, Free and Accepted Masons being past master of the same. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and Sons of Veterans. He was a social member of the Woodmen lodge. In politics he is a Republican and he served in a very able manner as postmaster of New Washington from 1898 to 1904.
JOHN L. MAGRUDER.
The subject of this sketcl: is now engaged in the banking business at New Washington, Clark county, where he has maintained his home for some time. He has been prominently identified with industrial enterprises of importance and the name which he bears has long been one which has stood for progres-
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siveness while he is a scion of an old and influential southern family, being a native of the Blue Grass state.
John Magruder, cashier of the new Washington State Bank, was born in Bullitt county, Kentucky, August 2, 1868, the son of Levi and Mary (Straney) Magruder. He was reared on the farm in that state and received his early educational training in a log school-house near his home. Later he entered the Pitt's Point Academy, where he took an academic course and made a splendid record for scholarship. Believing that the profession of teaching held peculiar advantages for him, he left that institution in 1888 and began teaching, having taught one term of school in his own town and county, when he went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked for six months, then going to Pleasureville, Kentucky, and entered a normal school, remaining there for ten months, during a part of 1889 and 1890. In June, of the latter year, he began farming and in 1891 he entered the National Normal School at Leba- non, Ohio, where he remained for two years, having graduated from the scien- tific course with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He was then principal of the schools at Smithville, Kentucky, for two years, rendering high grade services, for which he was heartily thanked by the board. He then taught with equal success for two years in New Haven, Nelson county, Kentucky ; also for two years at Lotus, that state.
Our subject then turned his attention to farming, which he followed with great satisfaction for several years, and for three years engaged in trading on an extensive scale. In 1903 he sold his farm and moved to Grant county, Kentucky, and in 1904 he bought a hotel, which he ran in connection with the agency for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and Adams Express Company for four years, when he sold out and moved to Clark county, Indiana, locating in New Washington, where he at once began making preparations for the organization of the New Washington State Bank, which he succeeded in or- ganizing and forming a strong board of directors, August 17, 1907, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, with the following officers as di- rectors : H. F. Schowe, president ; A. M. Fisher, vice president ; John L. Ma- gruder, the subject, cashier ; Dr. R. S. Taggart, S. K. Pech, A. R. Miles, J. C. Bower, N. H. Linthicun, T. R. Stevens and T. N. Manaugh. Under the direc- tion of the subject this bank has become popular in the community of New Washington, and is regarded as one of the strongest institutions of its kind in the southern part of the state and it is well patronized.
The happy domestic life of Mr. Magrude began in 1900, when he mar- ried Minnie Powell, a native of Dry Ridge, Grant county, Kentucky, the representative of a well known family in that community. To this union one winsome daughter, Lucille, was born in 1902.
Mr. Magruder is a member of the Catholic church, while Mrs. Magruder attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she is a member. In his
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political relations Mr. Magruder affiliates with the Democratic party, how- ever, he has not aspired to office nor taken a very active part in his party's af- fairs, but he is interested in the political, moral and material development of his community and lends what aid he can in movements looking to such ends.
WILLIAM P. CORTNER.
There is much that is commendable in the life record of Mr. Cortner, for he has been found true to duty in every relation, whether it was in following the stars and stripes on many a sanguinary battle field of the South; or in the every day affairs of private life.
William P. Cortner was born in Oregon township, Clark county, Indiana, February 24, 1842, the son of Elias and Lucy (Amick) Cortner, the former a native of Guilford, North Carolina, where he was born in 1821. John Cort- ner, the grandfather of the subject, was also born in North Carolina. He came to Clark county, Indiana, in 1823, settling in Oregon township, where he farmed and spent the remainder of his days, and was buried at New Market. Elias Cortner was reared on the farm. When he reached his majority he married Lucy Amick, who was born in Oregon township, September 24, 1821, the daughter of Peter Amick, a native of North Carolina, and who married Margaret Black, also a native of the old Tar state, and to them the following children were born: Levi, Gideon, Riley, Alfred, Elizabeth, Polly, Peggy, Sarah, Catharine, Nancy and Lucy.
John Cortner married Elizabeth Amick and they were the parents of these children : Abraham, Daniel, George, Elias, Phama and Polly. To Elias and Lucy (Amick) Cortner the following children were born : William P., our subject and John M., who died when a small boy.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Oregon township, working on the home place and attending the district schools during the winter months, having worked on the farm until he was twenty years old, when he felt the call to serve his country during the dark days of the sixties, and he enlisted in Company G, Ninety-third Indiana Regiment, August 28, 1862. His first battle of importance was the Siege and fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863. He was in the battle at Jackson, Mississippi, July 17, 1863. He was never wound- ed but suffered from being overheated. He gets a pension. On May 10, 1864, he was disabled and he went into Missouri. Her , discharged in June, 1865. After the war he returned to Clark county and . sumed farm work.
The subject was married to Angeline D. Turner in 1866, and to this union five children were born, namely : William M., born December 1, 1867, died September 13, 1900, having been killed by an accident : Alonzo B. was
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born April 7, 1870, and he married Effie M. Carr; Clella B. was born June 24, 1872 ; Harley H. was born July 9, 1881 ; Alma M. was born November 16, 1885, and died in 1887. Mrs. Cortner passed to her rest November 15, 1903.
Mr. Cortner is a member of the Presbyterian church, being an elder in the same. In politics he is a Republican and served as Trustee of Oregon township from 1886 to 1890, having been elected when the township was sev- enty Democratic. This shows his unquestioned popularity in his own com- munity. The township was in debt when he assumed this office, but after four years and three months of service he turned the township over to his successor free from debt.
Mr. Cortner is the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of good land in grant No. 197 in Oregon township. It has been well improved by the sub- ject who is regarded as one of the leading agriculturists of this community. He has a good dwelling house, barn and other buildings, and he always keeps good stock. He is well known in Oregon and adjoining townships as an in- dustrious and straightforward citizen.
JOHN V. CLAPP.
This representative citizen of Oregon township is a native of Clark county, Indiana, and has passed here his entire life, aiding in whatever way possible in the moral, civic and material development of this community. He is the owner of a well improved farm, and he is one of the prominent man in this part of the county.
John V. Clapp was born in Oregon township, Clark county, near New Market, May 10, 1853, the son of Henry and Nancy J. (Smith) Clapp, the former a native of North Carolina, who came from that state to Oregon town- ship, settling near New Market. The subject's parents had each been married before their wedding, Nancy Smith having been married to a Mr. Jerard, by whom she became the mother of two children. Henry Clapp had been mar- ried to a Miss Amick, two children having been born to this union. Fourteen children were born to the subject's parents which made them a family of eighteen children including those they had by former marriages. Daniel and Riley were the children of Henry Clapp by his first wife. Sarah and Tilford Jerard were the children born to Mrs. Clapp by her first husband. The fol- lowing children were born to the subject's parents: James H., William P .. Elijah, Uriah, Alex, Alfred, deceased; John V., Mary J., Elizabeth, Julia, Charity, Joseph. James F. and William L. were soldiers in the Union army, and Riley died in the service. The parents of the subject finally located near Marysville, where they both died.
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
John V., the subject of this sketch, was reared on a farm and assisted his father with the work about the place, attending the district schools of Oregon township.
Our subject was married to Mrs. Mattie W. Ramsey, of Lexington, In- diana, who was born near that city, the daughter of James Pattison, of near Lexington. She is a graduate of the State Normal of Indiana. She became a competent teacher and is still following this profession in the local schools, where she is regarded as a woman of excellent attainments, and she gives en- tire satisfaction to all concerned. One child was born to her by her first mar- riage, who is named Georgia Ramsey, who married Melville Rice.
John V. Clapp has been crippled for the past twenty-five years. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church at Marysville, Indiana, the subject being one of the trustee of the same, and a member of the official board. He is a member of the Marysville Lodge No. 714, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being the organizer of the lodge here, being past noble grand, having been the first in this lodge and also the first representative to the Grand Lodge. This lodge now has one hundred members. The members own the property in which the lodge is housed and it is in good condition. In his political relations Mr. Clapp is a Democrat, having long been interested in the success of his party and was twice County Recorder, having served in this capacity in a most able and praiseworthy manner. He was elected Trustee of Oregon township and served as such from 1884 to 1888. He was postmaster of Marysville during President Cleveland's administration.
Mr. Clapp has been a successful man financially. He served as agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for nine years, having been agent at Nabb for a period of two years. This road regarded him as one of their most faithful and able employees. Mr. Clapp is one of the well known men of this section of Clark county.
ALLEN A. HUTSEL.
The subject of this review is a gentleman of high standing in Bethlehem township, Clark county, where he manages a well improved farm and to whom has not been denied a fair measure of success.
Allen A. Hutsel has spent his life in this community, being a native of Bethlehem township, Clark county, where he was born, September 4, 1863, the son of Chesterfield and Sarilda (Giltner) Hutsel, both natives of Bethle- hem township. It is believed that Jacob Hutsel, grand father of the subject, emigrated to Indiana from Virginia. The subject's parents were married in Bethlehem township, and they lived in this township until about 1878 when they moved to adjoining county of Floyd where they still reside. To them
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
eight children were born, six of whom are still living, Allen A. being the only one living in Clark county. Chesterfield Hutsel was in the saw-mill business for many years, finally his mill burnel and he lost all.
Allen A. remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, assisting him with his work and attending the common schools in the meantime until he received a fairly good education. When he was twenty- one years old the wife of his uncle, Allen H. Giltner, died and the subject went to live with him where he remained for several years.
Allen A. Hutsel married Frances Burkett, a native of Harrison county, Indiana, who passed to her rest July 13, 1891. To this union one child was born who died in infancy. On November 1, 1892, Mr. Hutsel was again married, his last wife being Lillian Taff, daughter of James S. and Ellen Taff, of Washington township. No children have been born to this union.
Mr. Hutsel bought the Bohney farm of one hundred acres, which was con- siderably depleted when he took possession of it, but being an excellent man- ager and a hard worker he has built it up until the soil now produces excel- lent crops of all kinds and the place presents a fine appearance, showing that a man of excellent ability as an agriculturist has its management in hand. Mr. Hutsel is also a stock raiser, always keeping about him some excel- lent breeds, his short horn cattle being especially noted in this vicinity. He is also a breeder in Percheron horses and has an interest in a fine stallion. He also has charge of the Allan A. Giltner farm which he successfully manages.
Politically Mr. Hutsel is a strong Republican but he does not find time to take an active part in political affairs very largely, being a very busy man with his land and stock. In religious matters he is a supporter of the Chris- tian church, holding his membership at Bethel in the congregation of which he is held in high favor.
MRS. ADDIE BOWER.
Mrs. Addie Bower, of Bethlehem township, Clark county. is a woman pos- sessed of remarkable executive powers and this has been demonstrated by the way she has handled the affairs of herself and family when the two life com- panions she had chosen at different times were taken from her. Mrs. Bower comes of an old family, the McIntires, of Virginia, and, doubtless, marv of the prominent traits of character she possesse: e inherited from . a ardy Virginian source. Mrs. Bower manages her fait of one hundred and .: xty- one acres with admirable skill. She has a very anposing home in which she lives as happily as her duties and the cares which fall upon the head of a fam- ily will allow her. She is surrounded and helped by her children whose pres- ence is a source of much comfort to her.
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Mrs. Addie Bower was born in Bethlehem township in 1856, and was a daughter of Shedrick and Nancy (Brenton) McIntire. Her father was born and reared in the township, his father having come from Virginia to Indiana in the early years of Clark county. The elder McIntire reared a large family. Shedrick McIntire and Nancy Brenton married in Bethlehem township, and there they lived the greater part of their lives. Shedrick died at the age of seventy-two, and his wife at the age of seventy-four. Their marriage brought them twelve children. They were : Isabella, Harland W., Charles M., Addie, William A., Eliza, Luella, Alvira, Florence, Emma, Annie and Jesse. Nine are still living.
Addie McIntire was born within two miles of where she now resides. In her young days she attended the district school, but her education was of a limited description, as she had been needed at home. On March 1, 1881, she married Jacob Schlichter and their union resulted in the birth of three children : Jacob, Lawrence and Edith, who married William Ross, and lives in this township. Jacob Schlichter died in the year 1887. Three years afterwards the subject of our sketch married secondly William A. Bower, the marriage ceremony taking place on August 27, 1890. Her husband was born in New Washington township in 1861, and was educated in the district school of that township. Her second marriage brought her three more children: Vallie, born in 1891, Vada H., born in 1892, and Eva, in 1895.
All the members of Mrs. Addie Bower's family are members of some Protestant church, four Methodists and one a Presbyterian, and one a member of the Christian church. Her late husband was a trustee of the local church as well as a steward. William A. Bower's death occurred in Bethlehem on July 27, 1908, and was of a tragic nature, as he was killed by two men named Wilson. In politics, Mrs. Bower's late husband was a Democrat. He was a popular member of the community and his death was lamented by a large number of friends and acquaintances.
At the present time Mrs. Bower's three young daughters are at home with her. She is a hard-working woman and one who has earned the good will of all with whom she has come in contact.
THOMAS R. STEVENS.
Thomas R. Stevens is a native born resident of Bethlehem township, Clark county. He has carried on farming operations on an extensive and modern scale for the last eleven years. To his avocation he brought natural talents of a high order which had been tested, developed, and fortified by a classical and scientific education obtained in some of the best institutions in the country.
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BAIRD'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
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