USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 10
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 10
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 10
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 10
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min, who came out and selected a tract of land, and, having entered it in Cincinnati on his return to his former home, was prepared to occupy it when he arrived here with his family and household goods, in the following year. In 1818 Thomas, another brother, also canie to Indiana and settled upon the farm now owned by his son, Elwood. Benjamin Beeson was a wagon- maker and blacksmith by trade, and found much employment in these lines, besides clearing and cultivating his new land. He was extremely hospitable, and assisted many a settler to locate and start a home here in the wilderness. He was successful, and accumulated a large estate, giving each of his chil- dren a substantial start upon an independent career. His son Othneil was born in North Carolina, but his boyhood was passed in the wilds of this county. The business talents and progressive characteristics of his father were equally marked in him, and he became a leader of thought and opinion in his community. In 1854 he had the courage to leave the party with which his forefathers had been connected, and on account of his thorough dislike of the business of human slavery and the opposition he felt toward the measures of making more slave states, he took sides with the Republican party as soon as it was organized. Prior to this, however, he had served efficiently as a member of the constitutional convention of 1850. His zeal for his party and his value in the councils of state led to his being chosen to represent the people, and for four terms he was a member of the Indiana state senate. Generous and kind to the poor and afflicted, he was justly loved by all who knew of his multitudinous acts of sympathetic helpfulness. Death spared him until he had attained the ripe age of eighty-four years, his noble heart being stilled on the 10th of October, 1897. His venerable wife is still living at the old homestead, where she has dwelt for so many years. She is of German descent, and was born in Pennsylvania eighty-four years ago.
THOMAS J. FORD, M. D.
A skilled physician and surgeon of Connersville, Indiana, is Dr. Thomas J. Ford, whose knowledge of the science of medicine is broad and compre- hensive, and whose ability in applying its principles to the needs of suffering humanity has gained him an enviable prestige in professional circles. For the past ten years he has successfully engaged in practice in Connersville, making a specialty of the diseases of women and children, and his office is now located at the corner of Central avenue and Tenth street.
The Doctor was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, May 30, 1847, a son of James Ekin and Hannah J. (Beaver) Ford, the former of Irish and the latter of English descent. The paternal grandfather, George W. Ford, came to this country from county Derry, in the north of Ireland, in 1820, and settled in Coshocton county, Ohio, where he died in 1873, at the extreme
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old age of ninety-eight years. He was a successful farmer and a lifelong member of the United Presbyterian church, taking an active and prominent part in its work and serving as elder for many years. In his family were four children-one son and three daughters. James E. Ford, the Doctor's father, spent his entire life in Coshocton county, Ohio. He was a well edu- cated man, and throughout his active business life followed teaching and carpentering. He died in 1848, at the age of forty-three years, and his wife, who long survived him, passed away in 1895, at the age of seventy. To them were born four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom George W. Ford was the eldest. He enlisted in the Eightieth Ohio during the war of the Rebellion and died in the service.
Dr. Ford, the youngest of the family, attended the public schools near his boyhood home and took up the study of medicine with his uncle, Dr. Bea- ver, of Vincennes, Indiana. Later he entered the Medical University at Lou- isville, Kentucky, where he pursued a three-years course and was graduated in the spring of 1874. After a few months spent in practice at Vincennes, he opened an office in Russellville, Lawrence county, Illinois, where he remained ten years, and the following four years were spent at Laurel, Frank-
lin county, Indiana, after which he came to Connersville, in 1889. Here he has succeeded in building up a good general practice as well as along his special line. He is also examining physician for two prominent life-insurance companies, -- the National Union and the Ætna. He was pension examiner for four years during President Cleveland's last administration, and is a mem- ber of the county and state medical associations. He was also physician to the poor farm for a time, and in all his practice he has met with most excellent success.
In September, 1875. was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Ford and Miss Harriet A., daughter of Judge John Baker, of Vincennes, and to them have been born four children, nainely: Ethel, who died at the age of nineteen years; Madge and Iby H., at home; and Ekin, who died at the age of four years. Religiously the Doctor is an earnest member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and fraternally belongs to the National Union and Otonkah Tribe, No. 94, I. O. R. M., being examining physician of the last named order.
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CALEB B. JACKSON.
Captain Caleb Bennett Jackson is prominently known as a man inter- ested in the welfare of the community, but perhaps, as proprietor of Wood- side Stock Farm, he enjoys a wider and more enviable reputation than any man of private life in the state. His fine stock needs no description, and the knowledge that an animal was bred on his farm is a sufficient guarantee of its superior quality. He was born in Center township, Wayne county, Indiana, 39
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April 16, 1830, on the site of the house now occupied by him. His parents were Caleb B. and Olive (Leonard) Jackson, the mother from North Caro- lina and the father from Grayson county, Virginia. The Jackson family were originally from England. Three brothers of that name left their native shores for America, but were shipwrecked and for many days without food. So great was their suffering that in very desperation lots were cast to see which of the sufferers should sacrifice his life for the others. The lot fell to one of the three brothers. He was bled to death and his body furnished nourishment for the others! When his body had been eaten and hunger was again goading them to desperation, lots were once more drawn and the lot this time fell to one of the remaining brothers. As he was about to be killed, one of the sailors discovered land in the distance and his life was saved! One of these brothers went farther south, while the second remained in Virginia and founded a family from which our subject is descended. This was Joseph Jackson, father of Joseph Jackson, the father of Caleb, Sr., and grandfather of our subject, Caleb B. Jackson.
Caleb B. Jackson, the father, was born December 20, 1893. He was married to Olive Leonard, who was born August 20, 1786. The maiden name of her mother was Rebecca World. Three brothers-Caleb, Thomas and Joshua -- settled in Indiana. Joshua died here leaving two children, - Joshua and Mark, -- who reside in Chicago. Thomas settled in Tipton county, `where he died. They came to the state about 1820 and settled at Nolan's "Fork, and about five years later Caleb located on a hill, now called Jackson's hill, two miles east from Centerville, and has made it his home since. He owned five or six hundred acres of land, was a stock-trader, packer, etc., and was able to give his children a good start in life. The national pike passed his house and he had the contract of cutting through the hill and grad- ing a considerable distance. The road was begun under his direction but the original contract was vetoed by President Andrew Jackson and the road was not completed until some seventeen or eighteen years later, at which time he was still a contractor. He was a stockholder in the Indiana Central Railroad, and secured the right of way for several miles of the road. He was awarded the contract for grading and laying the road for some five miles over a heavy grade. He sub-let a part of this work and graded the rest himself, working several hundred men and giving a close supervision over the entire distance. He completed the road to the laying of the track. His work was so satisfactory to the company that they named one of their engines in his honor, Caleb B. Jackson. He then became wood contractor and was actively engaged in that work until his death. He bought wood for them all along the line, and it was while thus engaged in the interest of the road that he was taken with a stroke of apoplexy and died at Greenfield, November 30,
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1854. During all these years he had also carried on extensive farming oper- ations and was one of the most successful farmers of that section. His wife survived him four years, dying April 15, 1858. He was a Whig in politics, and represented his district in the state legislature during the years 1836 and 1837. They had the following children: Miranda, born in 1812, married Joseph Shank and moved to Tipton, this state, where she died in her seven- tieth year; Joseph, deceased, was born in 1814, and lived in' Center town- ship; Melinda was born in 1816, married James D. W. King and died at the age of seventy; Sarah, born in 1818, is the widow of John P. Harvey, and is the mother of John C. Harvey, superintendent of the county farm; Caleb J. Harvey, ex-county commissioner; William, who was born in 1820 and went to Nebraska in the early days, dying there when about seventy years old; Jemima was born in 1826, married William King and resides in this town- ship, now past sixty years of age; and Caleb B., the youngest of the family, born in 1830.
Captain Jackson began the management of his father's farm when he was fifteen years old, his father being otherwise engaged, and continued it until the latter's death. In the meantime he had purchased of his father the home place, with three hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which he has since resided. He became noted for the large quantities of fine stock he put upon the market, keeping only the best to be had. For the past fifteen years he has given a great deal of attention to raising fine registered Jerseys. He keeps all of his young cattle registered and has frequent public sales, from which he has realized as much as five thousand dollars. He also raises Poland-China hogs and Shropshire sheep; and even his chickens are of superior breed. He has often placed his stock in competition with others at the various county and state fairs, and has never suffered by comparison. Probably in no line is he better known than as a breeder of Norman, Clydes- dale and Hackney horses, also of fast horses. He has raised and trained some of the very finest speed horses that ever graced the turf, and has pro- duced more of this class of animals than any other man in eastern Indiana. He was the owner and trainer of Black Frank, who won thirteen out of four- teen races in one season, and was more widely known, if possible, than his owner, who is widely known as a track man. He has on hand some fine young colts, that cost one hundred and fifty dollars, for breeding alone. His motto has always been, The best is none too good; and his strict adherence to this motto has been the means of sustaining the excellent reputation he has established. He was never a better or gambler, but has spent large sums of money to obtain first-class stock. It is a remarkable fact that he has maintained a total abstinence from whisky, ale or beer, does not know one card from another, and never bet on a horse race but once, and then
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only two dollars. He now owns three hundred and fifty acres of land, but at one time owned eight hundred acres. The house occupied by him was built by his father and since added to by the present owner.
Captain Jackson was a warm personal friend of Vice-President Morton, who had been his attorney for years and had come to know his worth. In · 1861, when a recruiting officer was needed, and one that had a strong personal influence as well as courage, to secure the much needed troops, Caleb B. Jackson was made a lieutenant by Governor Morton to recruit in various parts of the state. The governor had great confidence in his judg- ment and ability and felt that his services were more valuable in this capacity than any one else whom he knew. So great was this confidence that Lieu- tenant Jackson was promised anything in the gift of Governor Morton. He spent time and money in the faithful performance of his duties, and in 1863 went into service as captain of Company F, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Indiana Regiment, a company he had recruited from Wayne county. He received the commission of captain in Camp Wayne, joined Sherman at Pulaski, Tennessee, and was with him through the Atlanta campaign. He led his company through this memorable fight, and for over one hundred days they were under fire, suffering terribly from the enemy's shots while fully half his company died, either from disease, or wounds, or were killed outright. While on this campaign he was made assistant inspector general, and while attending to the duties of this office he was also obliged to be at the front in charge of the pickets; and the constant strain from being at work night and day soon told on his health and he was compelled to come home on a furlough. He remained there until the close of the war, when he was mustered out.
Captain Jackson was married June 19, 1851, to Miss. Vashti Crum, who was born January 19, 1831, at Milton, Wayne county. She is a daughter of John and Sarah (Lane) Crum, and is a lady who possesses many excel- lent qualities of mind and heart. Of the children born to this most worthy couple, four have grown to adult years. They are Sarah Jane, who married Samuel Brownsburg and lives in Anderson, Indiana; Thomas Edgar, a farmer of Center township; Flavius J., a farmer in Madison county, this state; Alice J., who married Charles Eliason, of this township; and Thomas, who is the presi- dent of the Centerville Creamery, organized by his father. He is also the chairman of the Republican township central committee. Besides their own family, this kindhearted couple have made homes for several other children. One of these, Maggie Adams, has been with them since she was a young girl, and was married at their house to A. W. Harris, of Centerville, Indiana; Mattie Rosa also found a home with them from her childhood until she married John Noll, of Anderson; Amanda Rigley makes her home with
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them, as she has for years; and Edward Crum has been cared for by them since he was a young lad.
Captain Jackson is a Republican and has atteded most of the conventions for years past, but has never been an aspirant for office. He has been a member of a great many societies, but takes no active part in any of them in recent years. He is a member of Frank Beitzel Post, G. A. R., at Centerville, and is highly esteemed wherever known.
O. H. BEESON.
One of the oldest and most honored families in the United States is that to which the subject of this article belongs. Generations before it was founded on the western continent it flourished in France, and later in Wales and England. ~ The immediate ancestor of the Wayne county Beesons was Edward Beeson, who with his wife, Rachel (Remington) Beeson, left Lan- cashire, England, about 1682, accompanying one of the Quaker colonies started in Pennsylvania by the celebrated William Penn. They resided in the vicinity of Nottingham, Chester county, for some time, subsequently removing to Berkeley county, Virginia, where a settlement of Quakers located. Some of the descendants afterward purchased a tract of land on the Brandywine, and upon a portion of this property the ninth ward of the city of Wilmington now stands. Edward Beeson and wife Rachel reared four sons, -- Edward, Richard, Isaac and William,-and the line is traced downward to our subject from Richard by his son Edward, grandson Henry, great-grandson Richard, great-great-grandson Henry, and Benjamin, Sr., the grandfather of O. H. Beeson.
In 1814 Benjamin Beeson, Sr., emigrated from North Carolina, where several generations of his forefathers had dwelt, to the territory of Indiana. His brothers, Thomas and Isaac, came here at about the same period, and the numerous descendants of the three brothers have taken a very important part in the development and promotion of prosperity in this section of the state. Benjamin Beeson, Sr., entered land in Washington township, Wayne county, and thenceforth was identified with the fortunes of this locality. The farm which he improved is still in the possession of the family, it being owned by his son and namesake. He was master of the trade of wagon- making and was an excellent blacksmith, following these occupations in addition to tilling and improving his farm. To himself and wife, who was a Miss Dorcas Starbuck, eleven children were born, the two eldest ones, Bezaleel and Othniel, in North Carolina. The others were: Templeton; Mrs. John Patterson; Mrs. James Harvey; Guelma, wife of William Dick; Cin- derella, wife of William Harvey; Benjamin F., Jr .; Amanda M., wife of Thomas Emerson; Marquis D., and Charles. With the exception of the
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last mentioned, who died when young, all of the family grew to maturity, married and had children. After coming to this state the family was not associated with the Society of Friends.
Benjamin F. Beeson, Jr., was born in this township about 1825, and is yet living at the old homestead, which he assisted in clearing and improving when a boy. He early learned what it was to endure the hardships and privations of pioneer life, and acquired strength of mind and body in his struggles with wild nature. For a companion along life's journey he chose Catherine, youngest daughter of John Howard, a pioneer settler of this region. Two of her sisters married into the Waymire family, a third was Mrs. Margaret Pursnett, and a fourth Mrs. Cynthia Lowery. One brother, John, is a farmer of Hamilton county, this state, and Neill, the youngest, married a Miss Kimmel. Nine children came to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beeson, namely: William, who died at the age of twenty-one years; O. H., of this sketch; Joseph, who died when seventeen years old; Mrs. Eliza- beth E. Williams; Elmer, of Cambridge City; Sanford, who died when in his thirteenth year; Mrs. May Coyne, whose husband is a well-to-do farmer of this township; Minnie, wife of F. Flora, of Fayette county; and Ira, who died when young. The devoted mother was summoned to the silent land in June, 1874.
The birth of O. H. Beeson occurred in this township, June 12, 1853. He received much better educational advantages than had been enjoyed by his father, and for a period was privileged to attend the academy at Spice- land. After his marriage in 1875 he located upon a small tract of land which his father gave him, and from time to time bought additional property until he now owns four hundred and seventy acres. He has prospered in his transactions, and has made somewhat of a specialty of raising and handling live stock. In 1893 he branched out in another direction, in a business way, as he bought a substantial brick block in Milton, and in this building, which is centrally located upon the corner of two of the leading streets in the town, he kept a meat market for four years, also running one at Cambridge City. His own farm furnished him with beef and pork for his mnarkets, and he was quite successful in this enterprise. In 1896 he commenced raising short- horn cattle on his farm, and now is the possessor of as fine a herd as can be found in the county.
About six years ago Mr. Beeson bought his present handsome residence, situated upon twenty-seven acres of land adjoining Milton. The lady who presides over his home was formerly Miss Sarah I. Williams, who was born in this township, September 28, 1855, and became his wife at the age of twenty years. Her parents, James and Emily (Wallace) Williams, were rep- resentatives of pioneer Indiana families. The father was a son of Joseph and
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Charity (Adams) Williams, natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respect- ively. They accompanied their respective families to this state, and, living in the vicinity of Brookville, formed tlie acquaintanceship which led to their marriage. Joseph Williams' father, a strong adherent of the Quaker faith, was one of the earliest settlers in the neighborhood of Brookville, and there made his home until his death. Joseph Williams removed to Center county, this state, where he entered land and cleared it, dwelling there until his chil- dren were grown, when he sold the homestead to one of his sons and settled in Fairview, where his death occurred. He was a minister in the Methodist church and was loved and revered by a large circle of acquaintances. Wes- ley, his eldest child, resides in Hancock county, this state; William, who was ' a Methodist minister, died unmarried; Deborah first became the wife of a Mr. Pettigrew and later wedded a Mr. Hardin; Mary is Mrs. John Howard; Thomas died in this township; James was the next in order of birth; and Joseph and Mrs. Rachel Hart were the youngest of the family.
James Williams, who was a successful and respected agriculturist of this township, bought his father's old farm and cultivated the place until he retired from active labor in 1855. Subsequent to that date he was a citizen of Milton until he was called to his reward, May 27, 1890. He was a life- long member of the Methodist church, and in his political faith was a Dem- ocrat. His widow, who was born June 15, 1831, and to whom he was married August 29, 1850, is still making her home in Milton. Their oldest child, Mrs. Amanda Colwell, born June 16, 1851, died June 27, 1878; Wil- lard, the only son, is a prosperous farmer of this township; and Mrs. Sarah I. Beeson is the youngest. John Wallace, the father of Mrs. Williams, was a descendant of William Wallace, who emigrated from Scotland or Ireland to the colony of Virginia about 1730, settling in Albemarle county, where he reared his five children, all of whom were born there, namely: John A., William, Michael, Josiah and Mrs. Hannah Woods. John A., born in 1732, saw four of his children reach mature years, namely: John, Samuel, Laura and Alice. The son, John Wallace, ernigrated to Kentucky when that state was on the frontier, and about a year later, in 1800, crossed the Ohio river and made a settlement in Monroe county, Ohio. In 1811 he entered land in Wayne county, Indiana, and the following year brought his family here. His home being but two miles from the boundary line of the Indian reservation he deemed it expedient to send his little daughter, Betsey, to the older and safer settlement on the east fork of the Whitewater, where she was placed in charge of the Hunt family. The wife and mother had died in Kentucky, and the older girls, Hannah, Rosanna, Polly and Patsy, were married. The two sons were John and Thomas, and they shared the vicissitudes of pioneer life with their father, whose long and useful life came to an end in 1820.
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He was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, an ardent patriot, and possessed of that fortitude which was the essential element in the frontiersman. His son, John Wallace, married and reared eleven children, of whom Oliver and Cyrus are still residents of this township and active members of the Chris- tian church; Stephen, James, John. Richard and Allen R. are deceased; William and Preston are living in Wabash, Indiana; and Mrs. Sarah Wright is deceased.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Beeson has been blessed with three inter- esting children. Alice, born September 7, 1881, was graduated in the high school at Milton at the age of sixteen years and is a musician of no small ability; Ralph W., the only son, was born October 29, 1886; and Lora L. was born October 28, 1895.
His father and relatives have been active in the Democratic party, and Mr. Beeson is no exception to the rule. He has never sought nor desired public office, but has loyally endeavored to advance the best interests of the people in general. He and his wife are not identified with any denomina- tion, but their lives have been patterned after the highest ideals, and they have continually sought to help and benefit their fellow-men.
UNION COUNTY SCHOOLS AND PROFESSOR CLARENCE W. OSBORNE.
Professor Clarence W. Osborne, county superintendent of the Union county schools, was born in Union county, Indiana, near the town of Col- lege Corner, Ohio, June 5, 1853, a son of William W. and Huldah (Tucker) Osborne. His father was born in England and was the son of a prominent English silk manufacturer who with his family emigrated to Toronto, Can- ada, where he engaged extensively in the real-estate business. William W. Osborne was then but a youth. He completed an excellent education and mastered the carpenter's trade under the rigid Canadian law governing the same. While yet a young man he left Toronto and took up his residence in College Corner, Ohio, where he married Huldah Tucker. He located near the town, in Indiana, and taught school for some years in Ohio and Indiana, gaining a high reputation as an educator. In the vacation he contracted or did extra work in the line of his trade. Subsequently he purchased a farm in Union county, Indiana, and devoted his time to agricultural pursuits. He died in 1866. His widow survived him twenty-nine years and devoted her- self to the interests of her children, giving careful attention to their educa- t1011. They had two sons and four daughters, but the younger son died in childhood. The four sisters, however, survive, and all became successful teachers.
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