USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 15
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For forty years Linville Ferguson was actively engaged in the raising, buying and selling of cattle and hogs, being recognized as an expert in that line, and for some years he was connected with a flourishing pork-packing establishment in Connersville. In his early manhood he was a veritable athlete, it being his pride that he could split more rails in a day than any other man of the locality, and indeed one day he turned out one thousand rails! In 1870 he assisted in the organization of the National Bank of Cam- bride City, with which institution he was associated for twenty-three years, fifteen years of that time being president of the concern. For twenty years he was trustee of his township, ten years by election and ten years by appoint- ment; and here, as in everything which he undertook, he was found thoroughly reliable and trustworthy. In addition to this, he served most creditably for three years as one of the county commissioners, and, though nominated sev-
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eral times on the Democratic ticket for the legislature, was defeated on account of the large Republican majorities in his district. Financially he was very successful, and besides enjoying a large bank account and owning valuable property, he has divided fifteen hundred acres of land among his children. In 1883 he retired and has lived in a commodious residence which he had built upon a fine eight-acre tract of land which he purchased, the place adjoining Milton.
The wife of Linville Ferguson was Elizabeth Loder in her girlhood, her parents being John and Isabel (Ringland) Loder. He was born in Essex county, New Jersey, August 10, 1780, and she on the 31st of May, 1785. They were married in 1806, and in 1815 came to what now is Fayette county, Indiana. He voted for delegates to the first Ohio constitutional convention, and to the first similar convention in this state. He died in 1863, and his wife's death occurred five years later.
Oliver Ferguson, born in Posey township, Fayette county, February 5, 1840, is the eldest son of Linville Ferguson and wife. His youngest brother, Charley, is carrying on the old homestead, and the other brother, Elmer, died at the age of twelve years. The sisters are Mrs. Savanna Munger and Mrs. Emma Thornburg. The boyhood of our subject was spent in the usual vocations of farmer lads, a portion of his time being given to the acquisition of an education in the schools of the district. When he reached his majority he was so thoroughly reliable and successful as an agriculturist that his father allowed him to undertake the management of one of his farms. He con- tinued to devote much of his attention to farming until 1879, when he removed to Milton and engaged in the implement business, in which he had been financially interested for some years. He bought stock in the factory where these implements were manufactured and also owned a large amount of stock in the Hoosier Drill Company. After all of the Milton factories had been closed, he engaged in the sale of implements and fertilizers more extensively than ever, employing two traveling salesmen for a number of years. At present he is merely interested in the sale of fertilizers and in attending to his three finely improved farms. Formerly he was very success- ful in the raising and feeding of live stock, though he was never so exten- sively engaged in that line of business as was his father. Fraternally, he is an Odd Fellow and politically is a Democrat.
Having made a success of life from a financial point of view, Mr. Fer- guson is practically retired and enjoys his attractive home which he built in Milton. The residence is of brick, is furnished with modern improvements and luxuries, and is ever hospitably open to the reception of friends. The first marriage of Mr. Ferguson was solemnized in 1863, when Miss Martha F., daughter of Cyrus and Catherine (Hunt) Wallace, became his bride.
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The father, born May 19, 1817, was a son of John and Mary (Banks) Wallace, and was a direct descendant of William Wallace, who emigrated from Scotland to Virginia about 1730. Cyrus Wallace was a typical western pioneer, and after he came to the wilds of Indiana he developed an excellent farm and owned nearly four hundred acres at the time that he retired. He is passing his last years in Milton, where he is greatly esteemed and loved. His wife, to whom he was inarried in 1843, was a daughter of John Hunt, of North Carolina. He was a gunsmith by trade, and after he came to this state in 1811 his services were in great demand, especially by the Indians, and later by the settlers during the troubles with the red men. His children were named William, Wilson, John, Labona, Salina and Catherine. To the union of Cyrus Wallace and wife but two daughters were born: Mary, who married J. S. Baker; and Martha F. The latter, who was the wife of our subject, became the mother of two children: Luella, who is the wife of O. L. Beeson, a prosperous young farmer; and Rossie B., wife of Homer Newman, a traveling salesman. Mrs. Martha Ferguson was called to the silent land March 12, 1886.
The present wife of Mr. Ferguson was formerly Miss Lucinda Dungan, who comes of one of the honored pioneer families of Fayette county. Their marriage was celebrated July 25, 1888. Mrs. Ferguson, who was born April I, 1849, is a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Chambers) Dungan, and grand- daughter of Isaac Dungan, who was one of the early settlers of Fayette county. His children, who were reared in the strict Presbyterian faith, were: Mrs. Elizabeth Petro; Mrs. Ada Reese; Wilson, of Huntington county; Joseph and Magdalene, who never married; and all of that generation have passed to their reward. Mrs. Ferguson's father was engaged in farming until he retired, some time prior to his death in 1897, and the wife and mother survived him only two weeks. She came from one of the families that first arrived in this territory, and her father often sought protection from the Indians in the block-house, one of his children, indeed, being born within the crude fortress. Three of his daughters married men by the name of Dungan, and the fourth became the wife of a Mr. Rhodes. B. F., the only son, was a farmer by occupation. The only brother of Mrs. Ferguson is William, a resident of Connersville. Her sisters are Mrs. Minerva Cline, Mrs. Margaret Smith, Mrs. Ada Thomas, Matilda, who is unmarried, Mrs. Alice Kidd, and Martha and Josephine, deceased. The parents were members of the Primi- tive Baptist church, to which Mrs. Ferguson also belongs. She is a lady of superior education, and for twenty-five years she was actively engaged in teaching, having as pupils many of the now promising young men of the counties of Fayette, Wayne and Huntington, where she had charge of. schools.
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FLORANCE R. BEESON.
Florance R. Beeson, a well known boot and shoe merchant at Conners- ville, Indiana, is descended from families which have been prominent in Indiana, in the south and in the east for many generations. He is a son of Munford G. and Louisa J. (Harvey) Beeson and was born in Wayne county, Indiana, October 5, 1857. Munford G. Beeson was a son of Hon. Othniel and Elizabeth (Wissler) Beeson. Othniel Beeson was a son of Benjamin Beeson, Jr., and his wife Dorcas, nee Starbuck. Louisa J., née Harvey, mother of F. R. Beeson, was a daughter of Benjamin and Nancy Harvey, and was born January 12, 1836. Benjamin Beeson was born in North Carolina and died in Indiana, March 1, 1852. His wife Dorcas, née Star- buck, also a native of North Carolina, died in October, 1872. Othniel Bee- son was born in North Carolina, May 7, 1813, and died at his home in Wayne county, Indiana, October 10, 1897. His wife, Elizabeth Wissler, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1815, and is yet living on the Beeson homestead. The early history and much of the gene- alogy of the families of Beeson and Harvey appear in the biographical sketch of Marquis D. Beeson, which is included in this work. The article men- tioned contains much of interest covering Benjamin Beeson, Jr., and his wife and this family. Benjamin Beeson, Jr., was a son of Richard; Richard was a son of Isaac; Isaac was a son of Richard, and this Richard was a son of Edward Beeson, who was born and reared in Lancashire, England, and was a member of the original Society of Friends founded by George Fox, and in 1682 joined the colony of William Penn in Pennsylvania.
Benjamin, Jr., first came to Indiana in 1813 and entered government land three and a half miles south of Milton. The next year he settled on it and began its improvement. Jacob and Barbara Wissler, whose daughter Elizabeth became the wife of Hon. Othniel Beeson, son of Benjamin Bee- son, Jr., came with their family from Pennsylvania, in 1825. They were of Holland, Dutch and German extraction and in religious affiliation were Mennonites. Mr. Wissler, who was a prosperous farmer, died a few years after the settlement of the family in Indiana. They had five children, named John, Jacob, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Barbara. John died at Milton, Jacob at Arcadia and Benjamin in Iowa. Barbara is living in Kansas. Elizabeth married Othniel Beeson in 1835 and is now eighty- four years old. They had four children: Munford G .; Helena (not married); Barbara, who became the wife of F. Y. Thomas, a prominent farmer and one of the commissioners of Fayette county, and died August 24, 1899; and Amanda, not married.
Hon. Othniel Beeson was inured to pioneer life from childhood. His education was limited because local educational facilities were limited when
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he was of the school age as the law now defines it. But he grew up and ripened into a man of broad-minded intelligence, -a grand, honest man who did credit to the name of Beeson, which has not been sullied in the three cen- turies of its known history. After his marriage he opened up a large farm which he improved and upon which he lived during the remainder of his life- time. He was especially successful as a stockman and much of his land was devoted to grazing. Reared a Democrat, he was bitterly opposed to slavery in the United States, and when he found that he could not oppose that evil successfully in his old party he joined hands with the Republicans and was one of the early and aggressive leaders of that party in Indiana, helping it with his means and his pen, and going forth as a public speaker to do battle for the right as it was revealed to him. He was delegate to the state con- stitutional convention and later represented his district in the state senate. When he died the country lost one of the best and greatest citizens in all its history.
Hon. M. G. Beeson, oldest son of Hon. Othniel Beeson, was born in Fayette county, Indiana, January 9, 1835, and died May 16, 1883. Eight weeks later his widow died. He was reared and educated here and achieved material success as a farmer. He early became interested in questions of public moment, was an active and progressive Republican and gained great influence in his party. His voice was heard in conventions and during the active work of many campaigns. He represented his county in the legisla- ture and made a fine record which would have assured him still higher polit- ical honors had not his career been cut short by untimely death. Two chil- dren were born to him: Florance R. Beeson and his sister Lulu, wife of Dr. J. E. King, a prominent physician of Centerville, Indiana.
Florance R. Beeson, born on the old Beeson homestead, in Wayne county, Indiana, remained there until his marriage to Miss Kate Richmond, October 9, 1878, when he accepted the position of station agent at Beeson Station. Mrs. Beeson, a lady of much intelligence and many accomplish- ments, is a daughter of George A. and Jeanette C. (Warren) Richmond. Captain G. A. Richmond, youngest son of Jonathan and Mary B. Richmond, was born in Butler county, Ohio, September 29, 1825, and was educated in the common schools. In 1846 he enlisted as a private in Company H, Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, and in 1847 was commissioned captain of that company and he held the commission until the close of the Mexican war. In 1849 he was appointed by Commissioner John B. Weller assistant commissioner to establish the boundary line between the United States and Mexico. In 1852 he located in Franklin county, Indiana, where he became a dry-goods inerchant. September 10, 1853, he married Jeanette C., daugh- ter of Alexander R. and Charlotte Warren, of Franklin county, Indiana, who
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bore him three children: Kate (Mrs. F. R. Beeson); Mary E., who died in infancy; and Lottie, wife of Mark Beeson, of Wayne county, son of Bezaleel Beeson. Mark Beeson died January 25, 1888, his wife in 1879, leaving one son, George R. Beeson, who is being reared by Mrs. Richmond and is employed as salesman in the shoe store of F. R. Beeson, at Conners- ville, Indiana.
In 1855 Captain Richmond and his family removed to Burlington, Iowa, In 1857 they returned to Franklin county, Indiana, and in 1864 moved upon a farm in Wayne county, which the Captain had purchased. In 1881 he sold this farm and the family removed to another in Fayette county, which he had acquired. They remained there ten years, and in 1891 Captain Richmond retired from active business and located with his family at Con- . nersville. There he died, May 7, 1895. Mrs. Richmond is now (1899) sixty-two years old and in a physical condition favorable to longevity. She receives a pension on account of service rendered by Captain Richmond in the Mexican war. Captain Richmond was a business man of more than ordinary ability, was successful as a farmer as well, and left a good estate. For seventeen years he was station agent at Beeson Station. Politically he was a lifelong Democrat.
F. R. Beeson, who is a capable telegrapher and proved himself an active and trustworthy agent at Beeson Station, had charge of the railway interests there 1878-90, and' resigned the position to remove to Connersville, where during the ensuing year he filled a similar position in connection with the Big Four system. In 1891 he engaged in the shoe trade, in which he has been successful, and his store has grown to goodly proportions. He has profitable farming interests also, and is popularly regarded as a pushing, pro- gressive, honorable business man who has done and is doing well and has a good future. Mr. and Mrs. Beeson have had three children: Lottie, who died in infancy; Hugh R., born December 1, 1885; and A. Wayne, born August 7, 1887. Mrs. Beeson and her two sons are members of the Presby- terian church.
ALFRED BLACKLIDGE.
For just half a century Alfred Blacklidge has been engaged in business in Metamora, during which period he has materially aided in maintaining the high financial standing of this place. He enjoys a truly enviable reputation as a merchant and citizen, his honorable, straightforward course in life merit- ing the commendation of those with whom he has dealings.
Among the first pioneers of Franklin county was the paternal grandfather of our subject, Jacob Blacklidge, who settled in what is now known as Blooming Grove township in 1813. He was a native of Virginia, his birth
J. Blacklige
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having occurred August 17, [770, and when he arrived at man's estate he emigrated to Kentucky, where he spent a few years, prior to his removal to this county. Here he cleared a farm in the forest and made a comfortable home for his family. A typical frontiersman, he endured hardships to which his descendants are utter strangers, yet without a murmur of complaint, and helped to pave the way for the prosperity and civilization which followed. Late in life he settled in Rush county, where his death took place December 13, 1849, and within a month his faithful wife joined him in the spirit world, her death occurring January 7, 1850, when she was nearly seventy-eight years of age. Both are sleeping their last sleep in the peaceful cemetery at Metamora. Mrs. Blacklidge was a native of Kentucky, and in her girlhood bore the name of Charlotte Laville. Of their five sons and a daughter, four were born before the removal of the family to Indiana, and all have been summoned to the silent land. They were named as follows: James, Joel, John, Harvey, Alvin and Drusilla, and each of them married and left chil- dren.
Harvey Blacklidge, the father of our subject, was the last of his par- ents' family to pass away. Born in Somerset, Kentucky, September 17, 1802, he was about eleven years of age when he came to this county, and here he grew to manhood, sharing the privations and labors necessary in a new country. After his marriage to Selina Gordon, who was born January 29, 1809, a daughter of William Gordon, he located in Metamora township, and dwelt upon one farm there until 1857. That year he removed to Decatur county, Indiana, where he resided until he was bereft of his wife, who died September 14, 1868. Returning then to Metamora, he lived with his unmar- ried daughter, Albina, until his death, February 18, 1889. Another daugh- ter, Angeline, became the wife of Peter C. Woods and died at her home in Illinois, several years ago. Albina also died a few years ago. Elizabeth, the third daughter, married William Stout and is a resident of Oklahoma. William and John are citizens of Metamora, and Milton lives in Madison county, Indiana. Henry gave his life to his country during the civil war. He enlisted as a member of the Eighteenth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was killed in the battle of Foster's Farm, near Richmond, Vir- ginia, May 10, 1864.
Alfred Blacklidge, the eldest of his parents' children, was born on the old homestead in Metamora township, October 30, 1827. Though he was reared to agricultural pursuits, he early decided to enter the mercantile field of endeavor, and obtained a position as a clerk in a Metamora store in 1848. Having become thoroughly familiar with the business and having carefully accumulated a small capital, he invested it in a stock of goods in September, 1861. Since that time, nearly two-score years, he has been one of the
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leading merchants of the town, just and fair in all his transactions, and highly esteemed by every one.
In his early manhood Mr. Blacklidge was united in marriage to Elizabeth Edgerton, a daughter of Mortimer Edgerton, who with his wife came to this state from Penn Yan, New York, being numbered among the pioneers of Laurel township, Franklin county. Four daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Blacklidge, of whom Ella is the wife of William Chidester, of Indian- apolis; and Miss Kate is at home. Mary became the wife of Dr. E. L. Pat- terson, and died at their home in Brookville, June 6, 1898. Grace died at the age of twenty-six years. Mrs. Blacklidge and daughters are active mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church.
One of the oldest Odd Fellows in Indiana, Mr. Blacklidge joined the order on the 5th of April, 1849, only ten days after the Protection Lodge was organized, that event having taken place March 24. In his political convic- tions he is a Republican. A high standard of morality and elevated princi- ples have always governed the actions of this worthy citizen, and he may well be proud of the fact that he has never tasted liquor nor tobacco in any form. His example, in every particular, might well serve as a model to the younger generation, who are soon to take the places so long and honorably filled by those of his own.
E. R. HASTINGS.
The Hastings family, which is represented in Cambridge City, Wayne county, by the subject of this sketch, is one of the oldest in this section of Indiana. Aaron Hastings, the father of E. R. Hastings, was born near Richmond, Wayne county, in 1808, and the greater part of his life was spent within the county boundaries. He died at his home in Dublin, in 1889, inourned by a large circle of friends. His faithful, loving wife, whose maiden name had been Christina Reese, survived him a few years, dying in 1897, at the advanced age of eighty-four. She was a native of North Carolina, and her father, John Reese, was one of the early pioneers of Henry county, Indiana. He possessed considerable land there, and the original deed. signed by Andrew Jackson, now belongs to our subject, who recently trans- ferred a portion of the old estate to other parties.
The birth of E. R. Hastings occurred in 1835, in Henry county, Indiana, on the parental homestead, where his boyhood days were spent. His education was acquired in the common schools of the period, and was supplemented by private reading and study. His early manhood was devoted to agriculture, and during the four years following 1868 he carried on a farm in Washington township, Wayne county. He then engaged in the mercan- tile business in Cambridge City, and still devotes himself to this enterprise.
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He is systematic and uses excellent judgment in the management of his affairs, endeavoring to meet the wishes of his patrons, and meriting the high reputation which he bears as. a man of his word, just and reliable.
On the 3d of September, 1857, Mr. Hastings married Sarah E. Edger- ton, a daughter of William Edgerton, of Richmond, Indiana. They have had five children, a son and four daughters, namely: William E., who is in the grocery business on Main street, Richmond, Indiana; Emma, wife of Walter Smith, of Memphis, Tennessee; Anna, wife of C. T. Wright, of this place; Eva, wife of Edward Paul; and Bertha, who is at home.
ISAAC BALLINGER. 1 A native of Logan county, Ohio, born June 10, 1820, a son of Samuel and Ann (Walker) Ballinger, the subject of this article is now approaching four-score years, and is living retired in the town of Liberty, where he is an honored citizen. His father was born in Burlington county, New Jersey, and after his marriage removed to Ohio, about 1808, and lived and died on his old homestead in Logan county, his death occurring when he was nearly sev- enty-five. His father, Samuel Ballinger, Sr., a member of the Society of Friends, came from Birmingham, England, to America prior to the Revolu- tionary war. The family originated in France, whence it was banished at the time of the persecution of the Huguenots. Rev. Thomas Ballinger, a brother of Isaac, was a very popular minister of the Universalist church and " was a public speaker of high repute. At various times he held public debates, chaining the attention of his hearers and causing them to believe that few could equal him. He died in his eightieth year, in June, 1898, in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he had made his home for years.
When he was nineteen years old Isaac Ballinger left home and for two years or more worked in Preble county, Ohio. Then, coming to Union county, he engaged in threshing grain, using a machine which had a capacity of seventy-five to one hundred bushels a day, was a one-horse power and had an endless chain attached to the cylinder. The winnowing had to be done separately by hand. Having gained a start in a financial way Mr. Ballinger began farming in Harrison township, in Union county, Indiana, on the home- stead now owned by his son: coming thither in 1841 on attaining his major- ity, he resided there until twenty years ago, when he retired. He has since dealt in real estate to a limited extent. The farm was formerly the property of Robert Bennett, a native of Virginia, and father of the lady whom Mr. Ballinger married. Mr. Bennett, however, had been accidentally killed before the marriage of Mr. Ballinger, and the latter bought the farm of the heirs, and added land later, making it a fine place of two hundred and forty acres. Both farms are now owned and carried on by his sons.
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On the 15th of August, 1844, Isaac Ballinger wedded Orinda C. Ben- nett, daughter of Robert and Sarah (Welden) Bennett. She was born on the old homestead in Harrison township, and was an orphan at the time she became acquainted with her future husband. Her father was killed by a runaway team some years before her mother died in 1851. Her brother, Hon. William H. Bennett, was a representative in the Indiana legislature from Union county for several years, as a Whig. He owned a large estate in Harrison township, but had no family to inherit it. Another brother of Mrs. Ballinger, Prof. Hampton Bennett, was born February 2, 1832, and died at Carlisle, Ohio, June 6, 1898. He graduated at AAntioch College, and was a member of the signal corps (of the Union army of the civil war), for four years was a famous teacher, and for twenty-nine years was superin- tendent of the Franklin (Ohio) schools and occupied similar positions at other towns. John F. Bennett, a third.brother, was the father of General Thomas Bennett, whose sketch is printed elsewhere in this work. A sister, Maria A .. is the widow of the late Daniel Maxwell, of Liberty.
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