USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 30
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 30
USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 30
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 30
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Lewis P. Smith was a well known resident of Center township, Union county, and was excelled by only a few in this section of the state as a scientist. The chief delight and aim of his life was to explore yet deeper into the mysteries and secrets of nature, and for years he gave thought to little else. Born April 15, 1858, in Smithfield, Wayne county, Indiana, he attended the common schools until he was seventeen years of age, when, on account of his delicate health, he was forced to abandon his studies for some time. He was, alas! the victim of that dread disease, consumption, but it was many a year ere his iron will succumbed to its power, and few ever made a braver or more determined fight against the foe. In his youth he went to Tennessee and for three years spent each winter in sawmills, in order to escape the hard northern season of ice and snow. A great part of his future life he passed in this manner, -that is, in the south, employed at one thing or another.
October 15, 1885, Mr. Smith married Miss Mary Olive Haworth, daugh- ter of Willis C. and Mary (Rose) Haworth, a lady of fine attainments. Having graduated at the high school in Liberty, she spent the next two years in Oxford College, at Oxford, Ohio, and in Glendale College, at Glendale,
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Ohio. Subsequently she taught in the public schools for some time, and, also being accomplished as a musician, she had pupils in the musical art as well. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was blessed with four children, two of whom, Willis Stanton and Ethel, died at the ages of three and a half years and fourteen months respectively. Harold Haworth is a fine lad of ten years and Lloyd Esteb Haworth is four years old.
For about five years after their marriage the young couple lived on the old homestead belonging to Mr. Smith's father, after which they came to the old Haworth farm near Roseburg, the property now the home of Mrs. Smith. On account of his poor health, which became worse year by year, Mr. Smith was obliged to depend upon others to do the work of the farm, though he tried to exercise judicious supervision over all affairs connected therewith. During the winter seasons he continued to travel in the south, passing most of his time in Tennessee or Florida. His ever active mind required food, and he early took up the study of geology, natural history and the allied sciences, becoming thoroughly informed on these subjects. He took great interest in the collection of Indian and war relics, fossils, shells, etc., and his large, fine cabinets are filled with valuable specimens, carefully labeled and classified. Hundreds of relics of the civil war were picked up on the battlefields by himself, and in his geological cabinet he placed thousands of specimens. Besides, he secured a good collection of old family relics and heirlooms, spinning wheels, spinning jennies, etc. In his political views he was in accord with the Republican platform. His final illness was of short duration and death came to him October 25, 1896. His study of geology and science confirmed his belief in God, the Creator, and he acknowledged His wisdom and omnipotence in all things, but he could not conform to the established church creeds. He was tall and slender in physique, and his face would light up with animation and earnestness when he conversed upon things in which he was deeply interested. Of a social nature, he loved to have his friends with him, and contributed much to their enjoyment by his thoroughly entertaining conversation upon books he had read, places he had visited and affairs of general interest. He had no enemies, for his honest, kindly nature drew every one to him and made them his friends.
Mrs. Mary Olive Smith is still managing the old Haworth farm in Liberty and Center townships, two and one-half miles south of the county-seat, for- merly owned by her grandparents, Thomas and Olive (Kelly) Haworth, and later by her father, Willis Capron Haworth. The grandfather succeeded his father in the possession of the family estate. He died there at the age of fify-six years, and his wife, Olive, died a few years previously. Their chil- dren were: Willis C .; James Addison, formerly a teacher and the author of an arithmetic, and now a resident of Liberty; Marietta, who married T. J.
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McAvoy, and died when about forty years of age: she was a teacher and a fine writer, and was the author of a copy-book which was once used in the schools; and Angeline, who died at twenty-three, unmarried. Thomas Haworth lived and died on the old homestead mentioned above, and his next- door neighbor was his brother, Richard G., who owned the adjoining tract of land. About 1855 Thomas Haworth erected the substantially constructed frame house, with its heavy timbers and beams, which still stands, in almost perfect preservation as a monument to his handiwork. He was a member of the Friends' church at Salem, and was a strong Abolitionist and one of the conductors of the " underground railway." After his first wife's death he married Eunice Johnson, a widow, who survived him, and later became the wife of William Shanklin. Willis C. Haworth was born at Roseburg, July 30, 1835, and departed this life January 25, 1877. In 1856 he married Mary Teresa, daughter of Dr. Erasmus Rose, and in 1868 they removed to the farm which had belonged to Thomas Haworth, his father. Dr. Erasmus Rose was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, in 1824 came to Liberty, Indiana, and up to 1845 practiced medicine. His death took place at Van Wert, Ohio. Mrs. Mary T. Haworth, born October 6, 1838, died July 8, 1881. To herself and husband five children were born, namely: Kit Carson, now of Liberty; Alpheus, who died in infancy; Mary Olive (Mrs. Lewis P. Smith); Angeline, who died at twenty-one years; and Thomas Erasmus, who died in childhood.
CHARLES W. STIVERS.
Charles W. Stivers, editor of the Liberty Herald, Liberty, Indiana, was born in the village of Decatur, Adams county, Ohio, August 21, 1848, sec- ond son in the family of five children of James M. and Louisa J. (Higgins) Stivers. Through his veins flows a mixture of German and Scotch-Irish blood. His father was of German descent and his mother of Scotch-Irish, both being natives of Clermont county, Ohio, whence they removed in early life to Brown county, that state, where for the most part their lives were passed. James M. was a teacher for a period of twenty-five years, teaching in Adams, Brown and Clermont counties. Also he was a civil engineer and was elected surveyor of Brown county, a position he filled eight years. From his ninth year he was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died September 20, 1882, having survived his first wife some twenty years, leaving two sons by his second wife.
Charles W. Stivers spent the first fourteen years of his life on a farm. Then he entered the office of the Southern Ohio Argus at Georgetown, Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade. This paper afterward became the Brown County News. After leaving the Argus he was for a time on the
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Courier force at Batavia, Ohio, and from there he came to Indiana, stopping first at Connersville, where he secured employment on the Times, under W. H. Green. Later he received further education in job printing in Cincinnati. He was yet a boy in his 'teens and his only opportunity for obtaining an edu- cation had been in the district school and the printing office. In July, 1866, he came to Liberty, Indiana, and entered the employ of J. H. McClung, then proprietor of the Liberty Herald. Something over a year later, when but nineteen years of age, he purchased the paper, and with the exception of a little more than one year he has been its editor ever since, at times hav- ing associated with him his brothers, Scott and Jackson Stivers. From 1873 to 1877 he owned and published the Brookville American, and during the campaign of 1876 he owned and edited the Rushville Republican.
In connection with this sketch of Mr. Stivers and mention of the Liberty Herald it may be well to refer to William Appleton, who established the first printing office in Union county. That was at Liberty, in 1850, his office being on the corner now occupied by Mr. Howe's grocery. He was a highly educated man, a graduate of Princeton College, as also was his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Anna Croft; both were natives of Burlington, New Jersey. Mr. Appleton resided here five years, three years of that time being spent on the Joseph La Fuze farm.
The Herald has maintained throughout the years of Mr. Stivers' identity with it the reputation of being a well edited, spicy newspaper; has a large circulation, and is widely read throughout the state. He wields a facile, able and at times a vigorous pen. He is an ardent Republican, and during. the heat of campaigns he, figuratively speaking, cuts close to the line regard- less of the falling chips. Always a student, both of books and human nature, and ever wide awake to what is going on around him, he has gained a wide range of information. His increasing years have tended to broaden his views and his political articles are now less tinged with partisan point, but possess the true ring of enlightened citizenship. Personally, he is affable at all times and has the bearing of a gentleman. In 1882 he was made post- master of Liberty, being recommended by Senator-later President-Harri- son, his appointment being made by President Arthur, and he served in that position four years.
Mr. Stivers was married October 3, 1867, to Laura E., daughter of Israel Freeman, one of the early settlers of Union county. She died in March, 1897, leaving a family of three children, namely: Frank A., a gradu- ate of the law and literary departments of the State University of Michigan, and an attorney of Ann Arbor; Orion L., a graduate of Miami University and associated with his father in the publication of the Herald; and Florence E., now a student in the State University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
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JOHN F. ROBBINS.
For almost a quarter of a century John F. Robbins has practiced at the bar of Wayne county and during that time his rise has been gradual, but he to-day occupies a leading position among the representatives of the legal profession in Richmond. His reputation has been won through earnest, honest labor, and his high standing is a merited tribute to his ability.
Born in Economy, on the 11th of June, 1853, he is a son of Dr. Rob- bins, a well-known citizen of Richmond. Liberal educational privileges were afforded him and fitted him well for the practical and responsible duties of life. He attended Earlham College, the Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, his aptitude gaining him a broad classical and literary knowledge. Prior to reading law he engaged in teach- ing schools for a few years in Economy, and then entered upon preparation for his chosen profession as a student in the office of Charles H. Burchenal, an able attorney of Richmond. Close application characterized this period of his career, and having acquired a broad general knowledge of jurisprudence he was admitted to the bar of Wayne county, in June, 1876. He has always been a student, and prepares his cases with the greatest care, as though a similar question had never before come within his notice.
The first years of his practice were such as fall to the lot of most young lawyers,-a novitiate in which he struggled to build up a business, having to compete against old and experienced lawyers, whose tested powers enabled them to secure the major share of the public patronage. Gradually, how- ever, his practice increased, as he demonstrated his ability to successfully handle the intricate problems of jurisprudence, and to-day he has a large clientage which connects hit with the leading litigated interests of the cir- cuit. For a few years he struggled on alone and gradually worked his way upward; in 1881 he formed a partnership with Judge Peelle, with whom he was associated for three years, when he was elected prosecuting attorney, in 1884. For two years he filled that position and then declined a re-election. During that time he prosecuted and convicted the second man that was ever convicted of murder in Wayne county. The other trial had occurred seventy years before, at Salisbury, the county-seat. On his retirement from office Mr. Robbins formed a partnership with Judge H. C. Fox, which was con- tinued until the latter's elevation to the appellate bench. Since that time he has been alone in practice. He served as city attorney from 1889 until 1891, but his attention has been given mostly to the private practice of law, which has now assumed extensive proportions. He is well informed on the subject of jurisprudence in its various departments, and can handle both civil and criminal cases with equal power and success. His arguments are forcible,
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his reasoning sound, his deductions logical and the aim of his eloquence is to convince. He never fails to make a strong impression upon judge and jury, and has won many notable forensic triumphs.
Within a few weeks after his admission to the bar Mr. Robbins was married, Miss Rena Gunther becoming his wife on the 2d of July, 1876. Their union has been blessed with three sons, Byram, Philip and Malcolm, aged respect- ively seventeen, twelve and eight years. In his political connection Mr. Robbins is a Republican and takes a deep interest in the political questions which affect the welfare of state and nation and mold the public policy. He is a broad-minded, progressive man and public-spirited citizen, and in all life's relations is found true to all the duties of professional and social life which the day may bring forth.
MILO CRANOR.
One of the pioneers and founders of Wayne county was the father of the subject of this sketch. Joshua Cranor, for such was the name he bore, was a native of North Carolina, his birth having occurred September 10, 1794. He was but two years of age when his father, Thomas Cranor, died, and, though it is not certainly known, it is believed that the Cranor family lived in North Carolina for several generations. The three brothers of Joshua -Thomas, Joseph and Moses-have all passed to their reward.
In his early manhood Joshua Cranor came to Wayne county, and in 1811 made a settlement in what is now known as Green township. He improved a farm situated about a mile southeast of Williamsburg, and continued to live there until his death, June 3, 1866. His reputation as a business man, citizen and neighbor was irreproachable, and every one held him in high regard. When about twenty-one years of age he married Susannah, daugh- ter of William Johnson, a pioneer of Wayne county. She was born January 27, 1797, and died at the home of her son Milo, in Williamsburg, in Decem- ber, 1887.
Five sons and six daughters blessed the union of Joshna and Susannah Cranor, and at this time six of the number survive. Martha, the eldest born, married Ephraim Cates, and died May 20, 1842, when in her twenty- seventh year ; Sarah, born March 8, 1817, is the widow of Daniel Cates, and is now a resident of Iowa ; Thomas, born January 31, 1819, died many years ago ; Stephen, born in March, 1821, is living in Missouri ; Ann, born August 29, 1823, married David Pitts, and died many years ago ; William, born March 29, 1826, resides in Randolph county, Indiana ; Hannah became the wife of Edward Neal and lives in Richmond, this state ; Moses, born January 13, 1832, is a citizen of Howard county, Indiana ; Jane, born April 23, 1834, died September 7, 1839 ; Amanda, born May 31, 1837, became the wife of
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William Coggshall, and died September 23, 1886; and Milo, born September 15, 1839, completes the family.
Milo Cranor, the youngest child of his parents, was born and reared on the old homestead. He remained with them, tenderly caring for them in their declining years, and justly received the old home as his inheritance. He has never parted with the farm, to which he is attached by a thousand associations and the traditions of his forefathers, but for the past fourteen years he has made his home in Williamsburg, where he has owned and oper- ated what has long been known as the Williamsburg Mill. In his business methods he is systematic, upright and just, winning the approval of those with whom he has dealings.
On the 9th of October, 1862, Mr. Cranor married Miss Frances J. Irvin, a daughter of George Irvin, of Randolph county, Indiana. Mrs. Cranor was born in Ohio August 16, 1842, and died September 19, 1896. The only child of this worthy couple is Leonidas I., whose birth occurred March 5, 1866. On March 5, 1892, he married Lizzie Meredith, daughter of John and Melissa Meredith, residents of Williamsburg.
JOHN W. TURNER.
On the roster of Wayne county's officers appears the name of John W. Turner in connection with the position of treasurer. This is an indication of his popularity and prominence, and all who know him willingly accord him a leading place among the esteemed citizens of the community. His entire life has been passed in the county, and has been one of uniform honor in business and fidelity in places of public trust. He is therefore deserving of mention among the representative men of this section of the state, and it is with pleasure that we present his history to our readers.
A son of Robert and Maria (Thompson) Turner, he was born in New Garden township, Wayne county, on the 16th of March, 1855. His father was born in the same township in the year 1815, and spent his entire life there, his death occurring in 1870. He was a successful farmer, owning two ยท hundred and twenty acres of highly improved and richly cultivated land. He also engaged in raising, buying and selling stock, which he found to be a profitable source of income. His political support was given the Democracy, but he took no active part in the work of the party. He married Miss Maria Thompson and to them have been born two daughters and a son, but the daughters are now deceased.
John W. Turner was only six weeks old when his mother died, at which time he was taken to the home of his uncle, Benjamin Moorman, and by him was reared to manhood. He resided in Franklin township, near Bethel, and acquired his preliminary education in the district schools. Later he
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attended Amboy College, and on leaving school, when about twenty years of age, entered upon his business career as a farmer and stock dealer of Frank- lin township, Wayne county, to which industry he devoted his energies until called to public office. He owned and operated one hundred and twenty acres of arable land, and his well tilled fields yielded to him abundant harvests for the care and labor he bestowed upon them. He was also very successful in his stock dealing, shipping extensively to Buffalo, East Liberty, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, but mostly to the first named city. His system- atic business methods, his sound judgment, his enterprise and his laudable ambition all contributed to make his business career a prosperous one.
In his political affiliations Mr. Turner has always been a zealous Repub- lican, active in campaign work and laboring earnestly for the adoption of the principles which he believed would best advance good government. He was elected to the office of county treasurer in the autumn of 1896 and entered upon his duties on the 16th of November of that year, so that he is the pres- ent incumbent. He has been very efficient and faithful, making a most competent officer. He was also treasurer of the Wayne County Fair Association in 1898, and has ever been interested in this enterprise and in all movements or measures for the welfare of the agriculturists and stock dealers of the county.
On the 23d of September, 1876, Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Josephine, daughter of Nathan Harlan, of Bethel. Socially he is con- nected with Bethlehem Lodge, No. 250, F. & A. M., Hollandsburg Lodge, No. 476, K. P., and Hokendauqua, No. 94, Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of the Christian church, and while his life has not been characterized by thrilling incidents, his record is that of a man who has ever been true to himself, his neighbors and his country. He enjoys the regard of his fellow men, and is very widely and favorably known in Richmond and Wayne county.
CHARLES G. SWAIN.
Charles G. Swain, clerk of the circuit court of Wayne county and an esteemed resident of Richmond, is numbered among the native sons of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in the city of Dayton, September 29, 1849. The family is of English descent, and was founded at an early day, on Nantucket island, off the coast of Massachusetts, representatives of the name being among the original purchasers of land there in colonial days. The grandfather of our subject, Charles G. Swain, Sr., was a native of Nan- tucket island, whence he removed to Hamilton county, Ohio, and thence to Dayton, where he settled in the early '20s. There he made his home until his death, which occurred in 1867, when he had attained the age of seventy- five years. For a number of years he served as judge of the probate court of
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Montgomery county, Ohio, and was a prominent and influential citizen, taking an active part in molding the public policy. He served for two terms as a member of the state legislature, from Montgomery county, and in his political associations was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. While in the east he had served as captain of a whaling vessel. Very active in church work, he served as a local Methodist minister in Dayton, Ohio, and at Wesley chapel, and built the Davison chapel in Miami City. His wife bore the maiden name of Alice Paddock, and of their marriage were born seven children, four sons and three daughters.
One of the number, Thomas H. Swain, was the father of our subject. He was born in Dayton, and there spent his entire life. In his youth he learned the cabinetmaker's trade, and afterward carried on business along that line in Dayton and in Chicago and Cincinnati. He married Miss Lydia B. Broderick, of Dayton, and to them were born two daughters and a son. The father died in 1892, at the age of sixty-five years.
Charles G. Swain spent the first nineteen years of his life in Dayton, Ohio, and during that period acquired a good education in the public schools of the city. He then came to Richmond, in 1869, and has since made his home in Wayne county, with the exception of about three years. In the city of his nativity he devoted two years to mastering the molder's trade, with the firm of Brownell & Company, and completed his apprenticeship with Robinson & Company, of Richmond. He obtained employment with the Hoosier Drill Company in 1880 and continued with that company until 1887, being one of their most trusted and efficient employes. In the year men- tioned he was chosen for public service, being elected to the office of city clerk, on the Republican ticket. He filled that position for three terms, or seven years, and in 1894 was elected clerk of the circuit court, assuming the duties of the office October 30, 1896, his term to cover a period of four years. He is very prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties, and his service has received high commendation from the bench and bar of the. Wayne circuit.
Mr. Swain is quite an active factor in political circles and was secretary of the Republican county central committee, which position he filled for a number of years. In January, 1898, he was elected chairman of the com- mittee for a two-years term, and his able management and sound judgment have already proven important factors in the political interests of the county. He studies closely the questions of the day and gives to Republican princi- ples an intelligent support. He belongs to the United Presbyterian church, and is a very prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite in Indianapolis Consistory, S. P. R. S. He also belongs to Iola Lodge, No. 53, Knights of Pythias; to Whitewater Lodge, No. 41,
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Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he was secretary for eight years; and Osceola Tribe, No. 15, Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Swain has been twice married. On the 14th of September, 1871, he wedded Miss Clara E. Samuels, of Richmond, and they had four children, of whom three are living: William G., Louie E. and George C. The mother died February 17, 1891, and on the 11th of April, 1892, Mr. Swain married Mrs. Mary E. Prescott, of Richmond. Both are widely and favor- ably known in this city, and enjoy the friendship of many of Richmond's. best people. Mr. Swain is an intelligent and popular official, systematic and careful in the discharge of his duties, courteous to all, and no man connected with the courts of Wayne county has a greater number of warm friends than has he.
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