USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
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the United Brethren church. They were the parents of ten children, named as follows: Fernandez, now of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a hero of the civil war; Mrs. Mary E. Fox, of Madison county, Indiana; Cyrus O .; Mrs. Eliza J. Welker, who died in January, 1899, in this county, and left five children; Allison, now of Anderson, Indiana; Mrs. Clara Lamott; Jesse W., of Ander- son; Roxy, wife of W. Wilson; Clarence, of Chicago; and Mrs. Emma Reed, of Anderson. The father departed this life May 11, 1868, and the mother lived until March 12, 1887.
The birth of Cyrus O. Hurst took place in Waterloo township, Fayette county, September 18, 1849. In his boyhood he received much better edu- cational privileges than had fallen to the lot of his forefathers, and he made the best of his opportunities. Needless to say that he gained a thorough knowledge of agriculture, for there were no drones among the Hursts, and every boy had his task to perform. So well did our subject succeed that he took charge of the homestead when he was seventeen, and continued to carry on the work which had been inaugurated by his father. In 1872 he settled upon a portion of the old estate, bequeathed to him in his father's will, and eight years later he purchased the rest of the homestead and removed to the brick house already mentioned. At present he owns six hundred and eighty- five acres of excellent land, and has fine investments in various concerns, besides carrying a ten-thousand-dollar life policy, and in other ways proving that he is a thorough business man of the period, far-sighted, methodical and enterprising.
Prospered as he has been, and abundantly blessed "in basket and in store," Mr. Hurst does not neglect his duties toward those less fortunate, and the needy and sorrowing. It is one of his chief pleasures to minister to these, and many a person feels deeply indebted to him for timely assistance. He is a liberal contributor to the work of the Methodist denomination, with which he and his wife are identified. Politically he is a Democrat, as were his ancestors, and has officiated as township trustee and in other local posi- tions of responsibility.
The wedding of Mr. Hurst and Miss Sarah Waymire was solernnized in this township in 1872. She is a daughter of Isam and Elizabeth A. (Taylor) Waymire, of Wayne county, this state, and Virginia, respectively. Isam was a son of Rudolph and Abigail (Fuller) Waymire, both of German descent and natives of Guilford county, North Carolina. Rudolph Waymire served in the war of 1812, and about the close of that struggle emigrated to Indiana, where, after leasing land for a few years, he obtained a soldier's warrant for forty acres, and later added thirty acres more., Two of his brothers, David and Jacob, also came to this state and owned and improved property. Rudolph Waymire and wife had eight children-Sabina, Sultana, Neely,
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Tempa, Betsey, Fanny, Isam and Mary A. Mrs. Hurst's maternal grand- parents were Haskell and Permelia (Eddings) Taylor, of Virginia. Haskell was a son of Zachariah Taylor, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. Eliza- beth A. (Taylor) Waymire was born in the Old Dominion February 23, 1827, and when ten years of age accompanied her parents to Union county, Indiana. Later they removed to Putnam county, where they died. Their children, seven in number, were named: Elizabeth A., Susan J., William, Thornton, Lorana, Ophelia and Hiram. Mrs. Hurst is the eldest of four sisters, of whom Mary is unmarried, Eliza J. is the wife of B. Miles, and Miranda is Mrs. J. Wise. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Hurst are: Cora, born January 9, 1873, and now the wife of Daniel Clevinger; Ica M., born Febru- ary 14, 1874, and now wedded to R. H. Houseworth; and Charles E., born September 22, 1878. He is unmarried and is an energetic, capable young man, upon whom has devolved much of the care of the old homestead dur- ing the last few years.
GEORGE BERRY, M. D.
No state in the Union can boast of a more heroic band of pioneers than Indiana. In their intelligence, capability and genius they were far above the pioneers of the east, and in their daring and heroism they were equal to the Missouri and California argonauts. Their privations, hardships and earnest labors have resulted in establishing one of the foremost commonwealths in America, and one which has still great possibilities before it. The material advancement of the central Mississippi states is the wonder of the world, and it has been largely secured through the sturdy and intelligent manhood of descendants of the cavaliers of Virginia, with their moral, intellectual and physical stamina; but their work is nearly complete, and every year sees more new graves filled by those who helped to build an empire, and soon, too soon, will the last of these sturdy pioneers be laid away; but their memory will forever remain green among those who lived among them and appreciated their efforts.
The name of the late Dr. George Berry was perhaps more closely associated with the earlier history of Brookville and Franklin county than any other, and his valuable counsel and the activities of his useful manhood were of great moment to the advancement of his city and county. He was a representative of an old Virginian family. His father, Henry Berry, was a native of Rockingham county, in the Old Dominion, and emigrating west- ward located on section 26, Brookville township, Franklin county, Indiana, November 7, 1816. There he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in September, 1864, in the eighty-second year of his age, his remains being interred on the old homestead. He was a blacksmith by trade, and coming
lo Berry
Ann Berry
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to Indiana established a smithy on his farm, doing business for the settlers for miles around. His shop was a favorite resort with the frontiersman of that time, and the proprietor was an artisan of the true American type. He could shoe a horse, repair a rifle, " jump an ox," renew the springs of a steel trap, discuss the political and religious topics of the day, assist the itinerant minister or do whatever else appeared to be necessary to build up a pros- perous neighborhood. He took the papers, which but few of his fellow pio- neers could afford to do, and therefore his shop was headquarters for the news of the outside world. He was a very popular man and was chosen justice of the peace and later probate judge of Franklin county, which posi- tion he filled for twenty consecutive years.
Dr. George Berry, his eldest child and the immediate subject of this: review, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, February 17, 1811, andi died in Brookville March 19, 1892, at the age of eighty-one years. In an account of his life a friend said: " Before the forests were cleared away or the meadows appeared upon the uplands, when our valleys and hills were timber clad, with no openings through the woodlands, save the little clearing of the early pioneer, the Indian trail or the emigrant's trace, he appeared upon the scene of his activities in Franklin county. Almost with the dawn of civilization in southeastern Indiana he came, and the history of his life is. to a great extent the history of our valley." Thus from its earliest develop- ment Dr. Berry had a part in the public life and progress of this locality. As. soon as old enough he began to learn the blacksmith's trade under his father's supervision, but ill health caused him to abandon that pursuit. From the newspapers for which his father was a subscriber, and from a collection of books, quite large for a frontiersman's cabin, he obtained most of his educa- tion. He, however, attended school to a limited extent, pursuing his studies for a time in the schools of Brookvi le. In 1827 he engaged in teaching near the site of Roseburg, Union county, Indiana, and in 1828 was employed as a teacher in Brookville. Subsequently he went to Butler county, Ohio, and engaged in teaching near New London, also taking up the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Thomas, who was at that time considered one of the most able surgeons of the state. When he went to Ohio he called upon School-examiner Bebb, afterward governor of that state, and desired to be examined as an applicant for a license to teach school. The examiner looked up at the stripling, and, calling attention to some figures with which he had been busy, said: "I can't get this sum; if you can, I'll give you a license without examination." Dr. Berry undertook the solution of the problem and secured both the correct result and the license.
In the spring of 1832 Dr. Berry located in Brookville and began the practice of medicine and surgery. From that time until his death he prac- 10
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ticed the healing art, and he became the loved family physician in many a household, his kindly and skillful ministrations winning him the heartfelt gratitude of hundreds. Probably no man in the county was more widely or favorably known, his professional duties bringing him into contact with almost all of the settlers of the county. On the 6th of May, 1834, he was united in marriage to Miss Ann Wright, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bardsley) Wright. They began their domestic life in the house which was their home until the death of the Doctor, and there four children were born to them, two sons and two daughters, the elder daughter dying in infancy. The younger daughter, Elizabeth, still resides in the old home, on Main street, one room of which was used as a land office in the early days. William H. is a practicing physician of Brookville, and George is now deceased.
In all the public affairs concerning the welfare of the state Dr. Berry took a deep interest, and gave his support to every measure which he believed would contribute to the public good. In 1835 he was appointed post- master of Brookville by President Jackson, and was reappointed by President VanBuren. In March, 1839, he was elected the first town clerk of Brook- ville, and for many years he was a member of the board of school trustees. In 1843 he was elected a member of the state senate, for a term of three years, and in 1846 was re-elected, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the early legislation of the state. He studied closely the issues of the day and gave an earnest support to all measures which he believed would prove of public benefit. At the breaking out of the Mexican war he was appointed surgeon of the Sixteenth Regular Infantry, U. S. A., and started for the scene of hostilities April 7, 1847. He served under General Taylor in northern Mexico during the campaign ending in the brilliant victory of Buena Vista, and receiving an honorable discharge he returned home August 8, 1848.
Immediately thereafter he resumed the practice of medicine, but his fel- low townmen were not content that he should remain long in private life, and in 1849 he was again elected to the state senate, and in 1850 was appointed a member of the state constitutional convention, becoming one of its most valued and efficient representatives. He left the imprint of his strong intel- lectuality upon the organic law of the state, and in connection with his col- leagues framed a constitution that has stood the test of almost half a century. In 1864 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for congress, and in 1870 was elected auditor of Franklin county and was re-elected in 1874.
Dr. Berry affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His petition for membership in Penn Lodge, No. 30, was one among the first pre- sented to that organization. On account of absence from home he was not intitiated when the lodge was organized, February 18, 1846, but was received on the following Wednesday. He was a charter member of Brookville
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Encampment, No. 32, which was organized December 2, 1852, and served in almost every official capacity in both lodge and encampment. He was true to his fraternal obligations, was deeply interested in the success of the order. and upon his death Penn Lodge passed resolutions of respect, in which he was spoken of " as a man endowed with many of the choicest gifts of nature. In intellect he possessed talents of a high order. He loved right and justice; he hated wrong and injustice. He was an honest man, a true brother and friend, and loved with all the ardor of his warm heart the principles of Odd- fellowship."
His practice as a physician was very extensive. For many years he was the principal surgeon of this region, and made professional visits into a part of the territory now embraced within the counties of Franklin, Union, Fayette, Decatur, Dearborn and Ripley, in Indiana, and Butler, in Ohio. His prac- tice began before the epoch of public highways and bridges. The newly cleared roads, or more frequently the bridle paths, were the only thorough- fares. He traveled on horseback and carried his supplies in his saddlebags. He practiced medicine sixty years and at the time of his death was, with one exception, the oldest practitioner in the Whitewater valley.
Throughout his life he was a very active man. His memory was phenomenal. His acquaintance with most of the historic characters, and his familiarity with the scenes of many of the occurrences of historic interest in the valley, together with his love of anecdote, for which he was noted, made him an instructive and entertaining companion. In this connection a friend wrote of him: "Certainly no other man in Franklin county was so well or so widely known as he. He was familiar with the history of all the older fami- lies of the county and with the personal history of a large part of the com- munity. His life has entered into the home life of us all. His outspoken ways, open-handed charity, well known regard for truth, his hatred of sham and great love for humanity were known to all. He had sympathy for us in our sorrows, rejoiced with us in our joys. Never did he utter an angry word in his home, and his family ties were to him a most sacred trust." He had passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey when he fell asleep. The veil was lifted to gain the new glory of a true and beautiful life when death set the seal upon his mortal lips. Any monument erected to his memory and to commemorate his virtues will have become dim and tarnished by time ere the remembrance of his noble example shall cease to exercise an influence upon the community in which he lived and labored to such goodly ends.
His wife survived him only a short time, passing away at the old home in Brookville, May 18, 1894, at the age of eighty years. One who had known her long and well wrote the following lines, which were read at the funeral: " To-day our lines have met at the end of the pathway of the life of one of
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our friends. To bear testimony to the fidelity of this pilgrim's life; to express our appreciation of faithfulness to duty; to sympathize with those with whom these life chords have been so closely woven, is our present sad privilege. A long life, full of duties well performed, is as the course of the sun. Its happy childhood as the brightness of its rising; its middle-life activities as the ener- gizing influences of its mid-day power; its close as the beauty of the even- ing,-a quiet, peaceful end.
"Ann, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bardsley) Wright, was born near Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, October 12, 1813, came with her parents to the United States, and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, June 1, 1820. On the 7th of April, 1825, the family came to Franklin county and located on the old home farm, three miles southeast of Brookville. Mrs. Berry was the second of eight children, five daughters and three sons. She was married, May 6, 1834, to Dr. George Berry, and within three weeks they began housekeeping in the house where she died and where she had ever since resided. Some who sit here to-day can wander back in memory's valleys to the wedding day of the one about whose body we are gathered, and from that time to this they can trace the course of her life. Together she and her husband began their new life's journey. What bright prospects, what joyful hopes were theirs. Along the morning of their married life toward its mid- day they walked together. Family cares and family blessings alike came to them. Joys and sorrows, the smooth places and the rough, were a part of their experience, but all helped in the development that made them the man and woman that they were. He became the friend of man, the man of mercy to the suffering, and his wife his helper in all,-in every- thing. They passed the noontide of their married life, and the sun started on its journey to the west. How sweet it was to see them come down the hill together. For nearly fifty-eight years, side by side, they trod life's pathway. Then their hands unclasped. One dropped by the wayside; the other con- tinued on the journey. Tired and weak, she lay down and fell asleep. She looked forward to the coming of this day when her spirit should pass from this short life into the fuller, the perfect life beyond. The rest of the right- eous is now hers."
ZACCHEUS TEST, A. M., M. D.
According to well authenticated family traditions the Tests are of Flem- ish extraction, but were residents of England fully two hundred and fifty years ago. They espoused the faith of the Society of Friends and three of them are said to have accompanied William Penn to America, settling in the eastern part of "Penn's Woods," or Pennsylvania. Thence some of them drifted to Salem, Salem county, New Jersey, and there Samuel Test, the grand-
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father of the subject of this sketch, was born, January 8, 1774. He was a hatter by trade, but made farming and milling his chief business after his removal to Indiana. On the way west he stayed for a short period at Waynesville and Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1816 arrived in Union county, this state, where he lived many years. Finally he came to Richmond and died here, in 1856. He was a strong anti-slavery man and a Whig, and was very active in the Society of Friends, of which he was a life-long and a useful member. He married Sarah Maxwell, also a native of New Jersey, 'and to them were born ten children.
The parents of Dr. Zaccheus Test were Samuel, Jr., and Hannah (Jones) Test. The father was the second child of Samuel and Sarah (Max- well) Test, and was born in Salem, New Jersey, August 6, 1798. He accom- panied the family on its removal to this state, and in the spring of 1835 he came to the vicinity of Richmond and embarked in the manufacture of woolen goods, near the well known " Test Mills." He departed this life in 1849, respected and beloved by all who knew him. He, too, was a devout and faithful Friend and aided materially in the work of the church. Of his seven sons, the Doctor is the second. The eldest, Josiah, died in 1864; William, Rufus and Oliver, all reside at present near the Test Mills; Erastus is professor of mathematics in Purdue University, at Lafayette; and Lindley M. is engaged in the insurance and real-estate business in Peru, Indiana.
Dr. Zaccheus Test was born in the village now called Quakertown, Union county, Indiana, September 13, 1828. After irregular attendance at the common schools he entered "Friends' Boarding School" (now Earl- ham College), at its opening, in 1847, and after a two-years course went to Haverford College, at Haverford, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1851. A year later he took up the study of medicine, being a student of Dr. William B. Smith, of Richmond, and graduated in the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1855. Poor health compelled him later to give up the profession. Having assisted in the organization of the institution, he became, in 1859, a member of the faculty of Earlham College, where for several years he was in charge of the classical department. In 1866 he accepted a position in Howland School, Union Springs, New York, where he remained till 1879.
During all these years the Doctor was closely occupied in study, espe- cially in the line of the history and systems of philosophy. In 1861 or 1862, Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In 1874-5 it was his privilege to spend a year abroad, mostly at the University of Tubingen, southern Germany, occupying the vacations more or less in European travel. Returning by way of England, he was appointed, in 1879, supervisor of German in the public schools of
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Richmond and served in that capacity up to thé close of 1898. As an edu- cator he has met with encouraging success. His heart and mind have been wholly in the great work, and he seems especially gifted by nature and train- ing to lead and develop the mental faculties of the young.
In 1879 Dr. Test became a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and a year later was ordained a deacon. In 1883 he was admitted to the priesthood and for three years was the rector of the Connersville church. For fourteen years he has been the honorary assistant of St. Paul's parish in Richmond. Into religious work, as into everything else which he undertakes, he puts his whole soul and talents, and by the strength of his noble personality wields an influence for good that cannot be estimated.
In 1857 Dr. Test married Miss Elizabeth M. Pray, of Dublin, Wayne county, who died in 1870. Their two living children are Alice T. and Mrs. W. W. Gilford. Miss Alice is a graduate of the State University and of the State Normal School, and for several years has been a successful teacher in the schools of Richmond. In 1876 the Doctor married Miss Sarah Anthony, of Union Springs, New York, his present wife, a cousin of Miss Susan B. Anthony.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DEAL.
The life of a good man exerts a far-reaching influence, not only over his immediate associates, but, it may be, over the minds and lives of multitudes who have not directly enjoyed his companionship. It is when recalling the career of such a man as Benjamin F. Deal that one is reminded of the beau- tiful words of the poet, who speaks of
" Those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence, live In pulses stirred to generosity, In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn For miserable aims that end with self."
The parents of Benjamin F. Deal, George and Mary (Morgan) Deal, were natives of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and spent their entire lives in that state, their attention being given to agriculture. The father had one brother who won fame as a statesman, and at one time was a member of congress from Pennsylvania. The mother's nephew, Senator John Sessney, was in the senate during President Lincoln's administration.
Born on the old homestead near Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 30, 1830, our subject passed his youth in the quiet pursuits of a country lad, and received his preliminary education in the common schools. Subse- quently it was his privilege to attend the university at Lewisburg, where he completed his higher studies, and soon afterward he engaged in teaching. In 1854 he came to Indiana and, settling in Boston township, Wayne county,
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he there conducted a general store for two or three years. Then, selling out, he came to Richmond, where he found employment as a clerk, and ultimately embarked in the grocery business on his own account, carrying on a store for about five years. From the time that he disposed of that business until his death he was actively and extensively engaged in the buying, pack- ing and shipping of produce, in wholesale and retail quantities, his market for the same being chiefly in the east. He was a man of pronounced busi- ness ability, and by his energy, correct methods and absolute integrity and reliability, he won the high regard of all with whom he had financial deal- ings. He took an intelligent interest in public affairs, and was an ally of the Democratic party, though in no sense an office-seeker or politician. Relig- iously, he was a Baptist, and for years was an earnest worker in the First church of this city. He held various official positions in the congregation and was a zealous helper in the Sunday-school. He was summoned to his reward January 27, 1887, when he was still in his prime and ere the powers of his keen mind had suffered in the slightest degree from the inroads of old age. His memory is tenderly cherished in the hearts of his innumerable friends, whom he endeared to himself by many a deed of kindness and sym- pathy.
On the 30th of November, 1856, Mr. Deal married Miss Lucinda Will- iams, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (Bennett) Williams, of Wayne county, Indiana. The father was a native of North Carolina, and in the early history of Indiana he accompanied John Williams, his father, to this state, settling near Albington, where he engaged in farming. He was suc- cessful and enterprising, and at the time of his death, in 1846, though he was then but forty-four years of age, he was the owner of two large and val- uable farms. Six weeks, perhaps, covered the whole time of his school days, yet by study and persistent practice he became an exceptionally fine mathe- matician and penman and was well posted in the sciences and in general matters. He was an old-line Whig, and in religion was a consistent Meth- odist. His wife was an aunt of General Thomas Bennett, a well known mil- itary personage in the annals of this section. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, three sons and eight daughters. His maternal grandfather Philips was a Revolutionary soldier.
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