USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 56
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 56
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 56
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 56
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As time passed his financial resources gradually increased, and in other business enterprises he has made judicious investments, among which was the purchase of a fine tract of land, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres lying between Logansport and the park, on either side of the electric railway. In 1865 he became connected with the Logansport National Bank as director, and in 1878 was elected president. Five years later this bank was merged into the First National Bank, Mr. Murdock still holding the position of president, which position he has since filled with marked ability and fidelity to the interests of the stockholders and the depositors. His wise administration of its affairs has made the bank one of the most reliable financial institutions of the state. He is a man of great sagacity, is rarely mistaken in his judgment of men and things, foresees with great clearness future possibilities and determines with a high degree of accuracy the out- come of present action.
In 1862 Mr. Murdock was married and his family occupies a very high position in social circles where intelligence and true worth are received as the passports of good society. Mr. Murdock is a Republican in his political views; and while he has never sought the emoluments of public office he is a stanch adherent of the party principles and is always well informed on the issues of the day. In all business transactions he has manifested scrupulous integrity and gentlemanly demeanor, and by his unassuming and pleasant bearing he has gained many friends. By reason of his large success, his unblemished character, his just and liberal life, and the universal esteem which he enjoys, Mr. Murdock might, without invidious distinction, be called one of the most honored and prominent citizens of Logansport. Modesty is one of his chief characteristics, and while he is a liberal donor to all enterprises calculated to advance the interests of the city or for the public good he is averse to making any display of it.
L IEUTENANT LEMUEL U. POWELL, of Converse, is a veteran of the great war of the Rebellion and is worthy of representation in these pages. He springs from sterling English ancestry, inheriting a good phys- 36
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ical constitution and especially a symmetrically developed mind. He was born near Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana, March 22, 1835, brought up to the active duties and heavy labors of pioneer farm life, receiving but a limited common-school education. In 1845, when he was about ten years of age, his parents emigrated to Jackson township, Miami county, Indiana, a point which was then in the wild woods, where the family resided and labored in the development of the place. After his marriage in Howard county, Indi- ana, in 1857, to Sarah A. Larrison (see sketch of her brother, David Lar- rison), he settled upon his present farm, near his father's old homestead, and has here passed the most of his life excepting a short time when he was in the sawmill business.
During the war he enlisted in the army for the Union for three years, being enrolled at Indianapolis August 12, 1862, as a private in Company I, commanded by W. V. Powell, in the Ninety-ninth Regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., May 1, 1865, when he was second lieutenant. He immediately re-enlisted as a veteran and was promoted to the position of first lieutenant of his company, and was mustered out in June following, at Indianapolis. His first promotion was at Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was granted him for faithful and meritorious services. He was engaged in the Vicksburg campaign but not under fire. He participated, however, in the battles of Jackson, Mississippi, Missionary Ridge and in all the engagements of the great Atlanta campaign (where the Union troops were under fire for more than four months), Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw mountain, before Atlanta, July 21 and 22, the day General McPherson was killed, and also in the great battles on the right of Atlanta July 28. Thus altogether Mr. Powell was under fire for several months. Besides, he was afterward engaged in the battle of Jonesboro, the last battle of the Atlanta campaign, and then in that protracted battle known in history as Sherman's grand march to the sea, taking part in the engagements at Fort McAllister and the storming of Columbia.
While on the march to the sea Lieutenant Powell was detailed in charge of a foraging expedition, which accomplished a great deal of work, assisting in the seizure of a great amount of supplies. They were under orders not to molest the people any more than necessary; that they should, on entering a house, place a guard at the door and take in a corporal as a witness, etc.,
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and take such food supplies as the country could best afford. Thus they had no trouble in obtaining all they desired. These expeditions were very dangerous, as they were liable to be cut off from the army at any moment.
Soon after leaving Atlanta . Lieutenant Powell was placed in charge of his company, which responsibility he had in hand until they reached Wash- ington, passing through Goldsboro, Raleigh and on to Petersburg and Rich- mond and finally to the capital of the United States, where they were pres- ent at the grand review, in which, like a sea after a storm, the quiet swells of blue rolled on in stately succession and uniform tread, the grandest pageant in history more on account of its magnitude and significance than gorgeous dress and clean, fresh banners. The faded, soiled and torn battle flags on this occasion elicited more applause and thrilled the spectators with more inexpressible enthusiasm than anything else could.
In the army Lieutenant Powell was always on the effective list, not hav- ing been captured or in hospital, and receiving only a slight wound, on two of his fingers, at the battle before Atlanta. For four or five weeks in 1864, he was in the campaign on Black river; was in all the marches, campaigns, battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged and did all his part fully, correctly and cheerfully.
After the war he returned to his farm to pursue the peaceful vocation of agriculture. For the first year he lived three miles north of his present farm, which latter he has since occupied, enjoying that prosperity that fol- lows perseverance and good judgment. " Adhesiveness " said an eminent minister, "is a great element of success. Genius has glue on its feet and will take hold of a marble slab." "Success," says another, "surely comes with conscience in the long run, other things being equal. Capacity and fidelity are commercially profitable qualities."
Naturally, Lieutenant Powell is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was one of the charter members of Sommers Post at Converse. Politically he is a Democrat. He has always been a man of industry and thoughtfulness, steady and reliable. He and his wife are members of the Disciples' church, in which he has been an elder for three years. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the lodge at Converse.
Now a few statements concerning his genealogy and family relations. By his first marriage there was but one child, who was named Hiram A. Mrs. Powell died about eighteen months after marriage, and his second
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union was formed in February, 1862, when he was united with Nancy Bundy, who was born June 13, 1841, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Bogue) Bundy; and the children by this marriage are Cynthia E., William H., Viola, Lemuel W., Lowell and Homer, besides two who died in infancy.
Thomas Powell, the grandfather of Lieutenant Powell, was a native of England, educated in London and emigrated to America when seventeen years of age. It is believed that he was from a family of wealth and posi- tion, since the father purchased for his son Thomas (grandfather of our subject) a civil commission in the colonies. During the war of the Revolu- tion he joined the Colonial army and lost an arm in battle. By profession he was a school-teacher, and emigrated from Virginia to Ohio, in which latter state he resided in Clinton and Fayette counties. His children were Will- iam, Thomas, Richard, Terry, Lemuel, Margaret and Sarah. Mr. Thomas Powell moved to Boone county, Indiana, settling near Lebanon, and there passed the remainder of his days, dying at the residence of his son Richard, in 1835, after he had reached the age of eighty-seven years, a fervent Methodist.
Lemuel Powell, his son and the father of our subject, was born in Octo- ber, 1805, in Virginia, and lived the life of a farmer. He was married in Ohio, either in Fayette or Marion county, to Sarah Miller, of German ances- try, and emigrated to this state in the early days of its settlement, residing in Boone, Clinton and Miami counties, and finally in Jackson township, How- ard county, Indiana, where Lieutenant Powell now resides. At this place, in 1849, he entered eighty acres of government land, which was then a wild forest. Here he built a cabin and cleared a portion of the land, wresting from the inhospitable forest a home worthy of the name. In his political principles he was a Democrat and a strong Union man. In his treatment of his fellow citizens he was always straightforward, considerate and careful, and in manner was cordial. His children were Mary, Eliza A., Sarah J., Hiram S., Lemuel U.,Rebecca and Elizabeth. He had two sons who served in the Civil war, - Lemuel (subject of this sketch) and Hiram S. He served three years in Company C, Eighty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was engaged in many battles.
Thomas Bundy, the father of Mrs. Powell, was an old settler of Henry county, Indiana. He was born in one of the Carolinas, where he was mar- ried to Miss Mary Bogue, and their children were Abigail, Morgan, Sarah,
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Charles, Maria, Nancy and John. All the three sons were soldiers in the Civil war, Charles being in the Thirty-fourth Indiana and participating in many battles. Mr. Bundy early emigrated to Henry county, this state, where he found himself a pioneer, and thence he moved to Howard county, where again he was a pioneer, in 1852 settling upon a farm. He was an exem- plary citizen, upright and honorable. In his religion he was first a Friend and afterward a Methodist; and in his political views he was a Repablican. He lived to reach old age, dying in Greentown.
E' LI STITT .- The middle period of this century was characterized by the immigration of that pioneer element who made the great state of Indi- ana what it is. These immigrants were sturdy, heroic, upright, sincere peo- ple, such as constitute the strength of a commonwealth. It scarcely appears probable that in the future history of the world another such period can occur, or indeed any period when such a solid phalanx of strong-minded men and heroic, self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country. The period to which we refer, therefore, cannot be too much or too well written up; and the only way to write it up, so far as we know, is to record accounts of the lives of these builders of the institutions of civilization, which are the only means of sustaining a great number of people within a given area and of yielding the best conditions for the highest weal. Among the prime actors in this wonderful drama is Mr. Eli Stitt, one of the oldest set- tlers of Harrison town hip, Miami county, who arrived here October 4, 1845. He is a descendant of the old Pennsylvania Dutch element of colonial times.
Samuel Stitt, his grandfather, was a farmer and blacksmith of Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, owning about six hundred acres of land. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, a member of the Presbyterian church, a man of integrity and strong character, and lived to be eighty years old. His children were John, Samuel, William, Jacob and Betsey.
The son Samuel, just mentioned, was the father of Eli, our subject. He was a native of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, a farmer by occupation, who remained in his native county and had a family, his children being Isa- bel, Jacob, Andrew, Jane, James, Eli, Samuel, Robert, Alvin, Betsey and George, -all now deceased excepting Eli. He owned three hundred acres of
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land, which he cleared and reduced to cultivation, doing pioneer work, like his father. By much hard labor he at length made a good homestead. About 1831 he moved to Ohio, settling in Athens county, in the wilderness, where he partly cleared an eighty-acre tract of land; but this farm also he disposed of and in 1843 moved to Indiana, locating in Butler township, Miami county, and taking up a claim; but he died before the land came into market. He was a typical American pioneer, a soldier in the war of 1812, a member of the Presbyterian church, a stanch Democrat and a man of stern principles and strict self-discipline.
Mr. Eli Stitt, the subject proper of this record, was born December 22, 1818, in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, and in 1831, when he was thirteen years of age, was taken by his parents to Athens county, Ohio. School facil- ities were then so limited that he received but little education. December 17, 1840, when he was about twenty-two years old, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Achsah Thorp, who was born in Pocahontas county, Vir- ginia, November 12, 1821, her mother being Margaret (Barclay) Thorp. The father died in Virginia, and his widow afterward moved to Athens county, Ohio, and thence with Mr. Stitt after his marriage, to Indiana. Her children were Mary, Joshua, Mary (2d), Eaton, Achsah, Rachel and per- haps others, whose names are not now obtainable.
After his marriage Mr. Stitt continued to reside in Athens county, Ohio, managing a farm and a sawmill for four and a half years; and then, in 1845, emigrated to Indiana, locating in Harrison township, Miami county, making the journey with horses and wagon and being two weeks on the road. Here he settled on a quarter-section of land where the Brown farm now is, making his immigrant wagon his house for two weeks, -until he could erect a cabin. Clearing a small area, he raised upon it corn and potatoes the first year. He planted this corn by dropping the grains in a crevice in the ground which he made with his ax and covering them by pressure with one of his feet. The corn "came up" nicely, was plowed with a jumping shovel and produced a good crop.
Mr. Stitt sold this claim and moved into Butler township, and soon aft- erward into Harrison township, where he bought eighty acres, and soon after fifty acres more from the Indians, -the Wanacooms, the heirs of an Indian chief of that name,-and this land he bought during the Civil war, paying eight hundred dollars for it; and he added to this by subsequent purchases
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until he had a total of one hundred and thirty-six acres, all good farming land. This land he cleared and improved, making a good farmstead. When he first located here wild game was plentiful, and he, being a good marks- man, killed many a deer and wild turkey. Deer would sometimes come up within sight of his cabin, and wild turkey even into the dooryard; and both he would shoot from his own door. It was therefore an easy matter to keep his family well supplied with the most fancy kind of fresh meat. The Indi- ans above referred to lived on the creek, were friendly, making no disturb- ances or trouble, and would trade extensively with the whites. Mr. Stitt well remembers Richardville Godfroy, Peter Bundy and Frances Slocum, the " white squaw," who had been captured by the Indians when a child; she would not tell much about her history. A number of others also, not named here, are remembered by Mr. Stitt.
By industry and perseverance he succeeded in making a good pioneer home. His children were Charlotte; David; Joshua; Sabina, who died at the age of eighteen months; and John, who died when twenty-one years old. David and Joshua were soldiers in the Civil war. Joshua was a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and died in the service at Knoxville, Tennessee. Mr. Eli Stitt is a Repub- lican, one of the original founders of his party in his locality, voting for John C. Fremont in 1856, and for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and 1864. As to public position we may state that he has held the office of ditch commissioner of his district.
Samuel Swingle, who married the daughter, Charlotte, was in the Thirty-ninth Regiment of Infantry for three years, and was killed in one of last hotly contested battles of the war.
David Stitt, just mentioned, was born March 22, 1843, in Athens county, Ohio, and was about two years of age when brought to Miami county by his parents in 1845. He grew up among the pioneers here, receiving a common-school education, inured to farm work, and, October 1, 1867, when about twenty-three years of age, was united in marriage with Harriet A. Lee, who was born in Ohio, August 2, 1848, a daughter of Jesse and Nancy (Bond) Lee. He served three years in the army for the Union, enlisting as a private in Harrison township, August 15, 1862, in Company I, Captain Powell, of the Ninety-ninth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served till the close of the war, being honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., June 15,
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1865. He participated in the battles of Jackson, Mississippi, Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta campaign, Dalton, Resaca, Buzzards' Roost, -in which General McPherson was killed, -Kenesaw mountain, and in front of Atlanta July 22 and 28. August 18, 1864, he was wounded in front of Atlanta, being shot through the right arm, which laid him up at the hospital at Marietta, Georgia, for three days, when he was sent home on a furlough. He rejoined his regiment at Raleigh, North Carolina, marched to Washington, and participated in the grand review. He was a brave soldier, never flinch- ing. "The best hearts are the bravest," says Sterne, an old English writer; and says a French author, " True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher."
Mr. David Stitt's children are Stella F., Leonard G., Bessie and Jesse. He is a Republican in his politics, has been township trustee two terms and was county commissioner in 1895-96. He is a gentleman of acute common sense and business ability and unswerving integrity. He still owns a good farm of two hundred acres, and is well known as a substantial and reliable citizen.
JOSEPH SHROCK. - In Liberty township, Howard county, resides a J highly-respected citizen of the name of Joseph Shrock, the son of an old settler, and springing from sturdy German ancestry in Pennsylvania.
Jacob Schrock (original spelling of the name), father of Joseph, was born in September, 1803, in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, of old Pennsyl- vania Dutch stock, and was a farmer and blacksmith. Emigrating subse- quently to Holmes county, Ohio, he was married there to Elizabeth Hoch- stetler, a native of Somerset county, that state, and as a pioneer in Holmes county he continued there as a farmer and blacksmith throughout life. His children were: Catharine, Benjamin, Jacob, Isaac, Jonas, Elizabeth, Joseph, Eli, Noah, Lydia and John, all born in Holmes county except John, who was born in Indiana.
Jacob Schrock emigrated to Indiana in its early day, settling as a pioneer in Liberty township, Howard county, about 1849, upon a quarter-section of land which he had entered from the government, and, besides clearing and developing this place, he bought other land until he at length had an aggre- gate of twelve hundred and eighty acres and he was one of the most sub-
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stantial farmers of the county. Being a zealous member of the Amish Men- nonite church, he was one of the founders of the local branch of his church in his community. He died September 6, 1857, at the age of about fifty- four years, a man highly respected, and his wife died many years afterward, in 1897, at the age of ninety-one years.
Joseph Shrock was born on a farm in Holmes county, Ohio, April 11, 1840, received a common-school education and grew up in the study and practice of agriculture. He was nine years of age when brought by his father in 1849 to Liberty township, Howard county, settling in the " woods," and here in the wild forest he was brought up. Clearing the land and cultivating the farm constituted his main employment. After his marriage he located in Miami county, Indiana, on eighty acres of land in Harrison township, which was mostly cleared, and seven years afterward moved to his present farm of one hundred and ten acres, which also was mostly cleared, and this place he improved and made a finished farmstead, equipped with a substantial two story residence built in 1890, barn, outbuildings, etc., and a fine lawn on the premises is kept mowed and of a beautiful appearance, thereby setting an example for the neighbors.
June 11, 1865, in Liberty township, he was married to Sarah Lantz, a native of Williams county, Ohio, born February 29, 1848, a daughter of John and Susie (Lantz) Lantz, of the same name but only of distant relationship. John Lantz was a native of Wayne county, Ohio, born about 1815, lived in Knox county, Ohio, for a time and then settled in Williams county, that state, on a farm, and finally emigrated to Liberty township, Howard county, Indiana, about 1861, locating on eighty acres of land. The children of John and Susie Lantz were Nancy, Mary, Emeline, Lydia, Sarah, Eli and Susie. Mr. Lantz died in 1866, and his first wife died in Williams county, Ohio, about 1854. He afterward married Elizabeth Miller, and their children were Frank, John, George and Harmon. Mr. and Mrs. Lantz were both members of the Amish Mennonite church and were straightforward, industrious and honest people.
The children of Mr. Joseph Shrock are Mary, Emma, Susie, Angelina, Mahlon, Nettie, Laura and Elmer. Mary married Henry Gearhart, a farmer of Howard township, Howard county, and has seven children; Susie became the wife of George Reath, a resident of Marion, this state; and Angelina mar- ried Andrew Doter and occupies the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Shrock are
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intelligent members of the Amish Mennonite church, of which they have always been liberal supporters. Politically he is a Democrat and a bimet- alist. He is a man of sterling honesty, industrious and one of the most sub- stantial farmers of the township, and his excellent wife and well trained children insure the high standing the whole family enjoy in the community.
R EV. DAVID HART COOPER, pastor of the First Baptist church of Peru, was born near Jacksboro, east Tennessee, August 26, 1856. His father, Major-General Joseph A. Cooper, served as a private in the Mexican war and in the war " between the states," becoming a distinguished officer in the Union army. The grandfather, John Cooper, was a soldier from Vir- ginia in the war of 1812. Rev. David H. Cooper was converted at the age of twelve years, and united with the Baptist church, to which body his par- ents belonged. Three years later he entered Carson & Newman College, Mossy Creek, Tennessee, graduating with the honor of the class of 1875. He was well known as a student of exemplary habits, application' to and love for books, and of unfailing courtesy to all with whom he came in contact. He taught for one year in his alma mater before renewing student life, and during this time experienced a strong attraction toward the work of the min- istry.
Heredity and inclination had hitherto made him contemplate a military career, but he now yielded to the promptings of the Spirit and was soon afterward licensed to preach. In 1876 he entered the Colgate Theological Seminary at Hamilton, New York, and eighteen months later accepted a call to the church at Westville, same state, and was ordained on April 18, 1878. During the same year he was married to Lucia M. Saxton. Later he had charge of a church at Milford Center, New York, for three years, and in 1881 returned to Hamilton to complete his course. In 1883 he was gradu- ated with the degree of M. A. During the last year of his student life he supplied the church at Waterford, that state, and he continued as pastor of that fold until called to take charge of the work at Waverly, New York, which had a membership of four hundred. His next pastorate was at Lock- port, New York, one of the largest and strongest in the state, where he re- mained for five years. Having accepted a call to the First Baptist church at
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Port Huron, Michigan, he remained there in that relation for four years. Trying circumstances met him there, -dissensions within and without the membership, - but before his four years of pastoral work had expired four hundred new members were received, nearly all of whom were baptized by him, the church thoroughly united, the old debts were paid off and four mis- sion chapels were erected. The Ministerial Union of Port Huron, upon his removal thence, passed resolutions recognizing his "tireless efforts, inspiring zeal, indomitable courage and whole-souled geniality; " while his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of D. D.
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