USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 23
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had erected a pleasant and attractive residence, and she expects to pass her declining years here. She is held in high regard by a large circle of old friends and acquaintances, some of whom have known her during most of the sixty years of her residence in this county.
CHARLES R. UNTHANK.
Charles R. Unthank, ex-soldier and prominent citizen of Richmond, Indiana, is a son of Pleasant and Sarah Ann (Pitts) Unthank, and was born in Williamsburg, Wayne county, Indiana, November 22, 1846. Shortly before the Revolution two brothers of that nanie came to the United States and settled in North Carolina. They were from England, and one brother, not content here, returned to Ireland. The other remained and founded the Unthank family in North Carolina, having settled in Guilford county.
William Unthank, the grandfather of our subject, came from there to. Fountain City, this county, in 1826, and after a few years' residence mnoved to Spiceland, Henry county, where he died. He was an agriculturist and entered a tract of government land in that county. Being a conscientious Quaker, he proved the sincerity of his religion by bringing his slaves to this state from Carolina and here freeing them. The maiden name of his wife was Anna Britton, by whom he had five children. She was of Welsh descent and a minister of the Friends' church for almost eighty years, and died at the age of ninety-six, after a life of usefulness and honor. She was twice married, her second husband being William Hobbs, the father of Barnabas C. Hobbs, state superintendent of public instruction, and a man well known in educational circles.
Pleasant Unthank, the father, was born in Guilford county, North Caro- lina, in 1804, and was twenty-two years of age when the family moved to Wayne county. He remained in Fountain City for several years in the mer- cantile business, and later for some years in Williamsburg. In 1860 he pur- chased a farm at Webster, where he died in 1882. He was known as a man in extensive mercantile business, and at the time of his death he owned a fine farm. In politics he was a Whig, an Abolitionist, and later a Repub- lican, and was one of the active participants in the " underground railway," being associated with Levi Coffin in that enterprise, and frequently shelter- ing the fugitives in his own home. He was a prominent member of the Quaker church and rendered great assistance in the management of their finances. He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Coogle, by whom he had two children, both now deceased. He was then married to Miss Sarah Ann Pitts, who bore him four children, viz .: Charles R., the subject of this sketch; James B., the president of Wilmington College, Ohio, a posi- tion he has most acceptably filled for the past twenty-three years; Alice, a
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teacher for the past eighteen years and connected with the Richmond public schools; and William H., clerk for Irven Reed & Son, hardware merchants of Richmond. Mrs. Unthank is a daughter of Cadwallader Pitts, a most exemplary member of the Friends' church in those early days. He came from Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1828, and settled in Greensboro, Henry county, this state, where he entered government land and died about the year 1856. He was a prosperous farmer and upright man. Two children were born to him, both of whom are now living: Eliza, who is the wife of Cyrus Henshaw, a prominent stock-raiser and farmer of Kennard, Henry county; and Mrs. Sarah Ann Unthank, who resides in Richmond, now in her eighty-third year. She is a woman who has through life possessed a remarkable degree of intelligence and ability, and was at one time a teacher, when our subject was a pupil in her school.
Charles R. Unthank received his education at Williamsburg and Web- ster. When fifteen years and six months old he enlisted, in June, 1862, in Company I, Eighty-fourth Indiana, and served until the close of the war, June, 1865, when he was discharged, at Nashville. He took part in the engagements at Franklin, Triune, Buzzards' Roost, Chickamauga, and all the battles of the Chattanooga campaign. Was at Lookout mountain, Tunnel Hill, Rocky Ridge, Dalton, Kingston, Resaca, Meadow creek, New Hope, Snake creek, Kenesaw mountain and many other encounters. June 23, 1864, he was captured at Kenesaw mountain and imprisoned at Andersonville, Macon, Savannah, Thomasville and Charleston, being finally paroled March 26, 1865, after being in captivity nine months and three days. He received thirty days' furlough, which was spent at home, when he rejoined his regiment and was mustered out with thetn. He then took up private life on a farm at Webster until 1867, when he moved to Richmond, where he has since lived the greater part of his time. For six years he has been engaged in the gro- cery and livery business.
Mr. Unthank was joined in marriage to Miss Mary E. Whitacre, of Web- ster, on August 23, 1867. Mary E. Whitacre was the daughter of Milton and Sarah (Bakehorn) Whitacre. She was born February 2, 1849, at Webster, Wayne county, and has lived in the county all her life. Originally they came from the north of England, but have lived in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana for nearly two hundred years, Mrs. Unthank's great-grandfather and grandfather having been born in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and her father in Wayne county, Indiana. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Unthank three are living, as follows: Albert, clerk for Bell & Gregg, clothiers; Florence, the wife of Henry Sherman, who is a superintendent for the J. M. Hutton Company, of Richmond; and Pleasant, a student of the Richmond high school.
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Mr. Unthank was elected sheriff of the county in November, 1898, tak- ing his office on the 15th of that month for a term of two years. He is an active politician and has served as a delegate to conventions for years. He is an honored member of Solomon Meredith Post, G. A. R., and has been quartermaster, and post commander of Webster Lodge, No. 371, represent- ing them in the grand lodge a number of times. He is also past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, and stands high in the public esteem as well as among his brethren of the lodge.
JOSEPH C. GILMORE.
The subject of this brief sketch was born in Preble county, Ohio, December 10, 1832. He was raised on a farm near Camden, Ohio. His parents were natives of Virginia, who came to Preble county, Ohio, in 1825. His father, Dr. Eli Gilmore, was one of the pioneer physicians of the west, he being a regular practitioner, from the date of his settlement in Preble county until his death in 1856. On December 10, 1858, Mr. Gilmore was united in marriage to Miss Exira C. Larsh, a native of Preble county. Dur- ing the civil war he enlisted in the Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but served for only a short time, when he was honorably discharged on account of failing health.
In 1863 he moved to College Corner, Ohio, where he resided on the Indiana side of the state line in that town until 1895. In 1894 he was nominated by the Republican party (of which party he has been a lifelong member) as a candidate for the office of clerk of the circuit court, to which office he was duly elected. He was again elected to the same office in 1898, and his time will expire November 1, 1903. He expressed himself as feel- ing grateful to his friends for their confidence in placing him in the position which he now occupies. Since his election to the office of clerk of the court, he and his family have resided in Liberty.
JAMES C. SHOWALTER.
A leading agriculturist of Brownsville township is James C. Showalter, who is now serving a term of four years as township trustee and for ten years held the office of assessor of this township. Though he never fails in his duty as a citizen, voter and officer, he is not a politician, nor is he desirous of public office and emolument. He prefers to attend strictly to the man- agement of his farm and business affairs, giving his leisure time to his family and friends. Politically he uses his franchise for the nominees of the Demo- cratic party. He is a supporter of the Union Christian church of Browns- ville and gives liberally toward the support of all religious and benevolent enterprises.
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Joseph Showalter, the father of James C., was a native of Pennsylvania, a prosperous farmer and fine mechanic also, making a specialty of the man- ufacture of sickles many years ago. He came to Union county in a very early day and was a resident of Brownsville township for many years, until his death. He attained the ripe age of eighty-three years, while his wife like- wise was in her eighty-third year at the time of her demise. Mrs. Showalter, whose maiden name was Margaret Price, was a native of Pennsylvania. Four of the thirteen children of Joseph and Margaret Showalter, two sons and two daughters, have passed to the better land. One son, Dr. Daniel T. Sho- walter, died about fifteen years ago, when but thirty-seven years of age. He taught school in the vicinity of Brownsville for six or eight years, after which he studied medicine and for some five or six years was successfully engaged in practice in Montpelier, Indiana. He married America Swan, who after his death married Frank Coe, of Muncie, Indiana. The other son, Ephraim, who died in 1898, was a farmer of Shelby county.
James C. Showalter was born in 1850, near Brownsville, Union county, and was educated in the district schools. He early learned the various departments of farming and long since took a leading place among the farm- ers of his township. He owns a valuable homestead of seventy-nine acres, situated about a mile and a half west of Brownsville, near the county line. The place is very productive and is well improved with substantial farm buildings, fences, and modern accessories of these progressive times.
Mr. James C. Showalter was married on September 16, 1875, to Miss Florence Wilson, a daughter of Hezekiah and Eliza (Thompson) Wilson. She was born in Liberty township, this county, where her father was for years a prominent citizen. Their children are, Stella E. (Mrs. Alfred Henry), Edna A., Harry W., Ruby P., and J. Forest. The eldest daughter, Mrs. Henry, was engaged in teaching in the public schools of this county for three years, and met with gratifying success. Miss Edna is now in her third year of successful teaching in the Brownsville schools.
CHARLES E. MARLATT.
For many years foreman of the blacksmith department in the shops of Gaar, Scott & Company, and well and favorably known in Richmond and the surrounding country, Mr. Marlatt is a native of the state of Indiana, having been born near Brookville, Franklin county, August 12, 1842, to James and Mary (Goodwin) Marlatt.
James Marlatt, the father, sprung from French stock, but was a native of Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). The mother was of Welsh extraction and was a native of the state of Ohio. They were married near Franklin, Ohio, May 7, 1829, coming in the following year to Brookville,
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Franklin county, where they were among the first settlers and where they both died. James Marlatt was born September 30, 1806, and in 1883 was called to his reward; his wife was born April 30, 1809, and in August, 1896, peacefully entered into her dreamless sleep. Mr. Marlatt was a contractor and builder, constructing many bridges, barns and dwellings, and employing several men to carry on his work. He was a conscientious workman and was much in demand, as the amount of work done by him plainly shows. He was a strong Democrat and a stanch supporter of Douglas. In the capacity of coroner he was a faithful servant of the county of Franklin, and both him- self and wife were honored members of the Presbyterian church. They left a family of nine children, seven of whom, five sons and two daughters, are still living.
Charles E. Marlatt was the sixth child of the family and lived in Brook- ville until he was fourteen years of age. At the age of twelve years he began to carn his own living, and when seventeen entered a blacksmith shop to learn the trade. He stayed there until he was nineteen, in the shop of Samuel Rose, a well known and well liked smith of Fairfield, and at the end of that time enlisted in Company G, Sixty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served three years and three months, until the close of the war, and dur- ing that time was never off duty. Three brothers also took up arms in defense of their government: Thomas P., a musician in the Fifth Ohio; H. R., in the Sixty-eight Indiana; and W. P., in the One Hundred and Twenty- fourth Indiana. The last named received his discharge on account of dis- ability, while the others served until the close of the war. Mr. Marlatt's company went to Nashville, Tennessee, where they joined the Fourteenth Army Corps, under General Thomas. After the battle of Chickamauga they were transferred to the Fourth Army Corps under General Howard and later under General George B. Steadman. They took part in a number of en- gagements and had been in service only about six months when he was made prisoner by General Bragg. He was in the bloody battles at Mission Ridge and Chickamauga, where, in the last named battle, sixteen thousand brave Union boys forfeited their lives. After receiving his discharge he turned once more to his trade, working at New Philadelphia, Washington county, this state, for one year. In 1866 he came to Richmond, where he has since resided and been in the employ of the firm with which he is still connected. He has been foreman of the blacksmith department for twenty-two years and has charge of a force of twenty-five men. The company at one time placed under his foremanship fifty or sixty men.
On May 22, 1868. Mr. Marlatt and Miss Ellen J. Huston, of New Phila- delphia, were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony. Five children have been the fruit of this union, viz .: Florence, wife of C. N. Judkins, express
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messenger, of Bellevue, Kentucky; and Maude A., Mary Ethel, Huston Reis, and Ruth E., all at home. The father of Mrs. Marlatt, Robert Robinson Huston, is deceased; the mother is a resident of Richmond. Although Mr. Marlatt is a Democrat in his political views, he was elected to the office of sheriff for the years 1890 to 1892, by a majority of seven hundred and sixty- two votes, in a county that had a Republican majority of from twenty-two hundred to three thousand, and he is the only Democrat who has had the honor of filling that office in a period of fifty years. He united with the Masonic order in 1867 and has served as worshipful master in Webb Lodge, No. 24, F. & A. M., first high priest in King Solomon Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M .; illustrious master of Wayne Council, No. 10; eminent commander of Richmond Commandery, No. 8, K. T., and served in the capacity of grand standard-bearer in the grand commandery of Indiana. He is also a member of the consistory of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite at Indianapolis, having taken the thirty-second degree in that branch of Masonry. He is a member of the board of St. Stephen's Hospital, of Richmond, and is a man who is devoted to the welfare of home institutions, aiding cheerfully any pro- ject that promises to be of advantage to the community.
CLARENCE P. COLBURN, M. D.
That the medical profession offers one of the noblest lines of human endeavor is a fact that needs demonstrating to but few, but not many outside the limits of the profession realize the requirements that are made of the practitioner, nor appreciate his value as he deserves. He must never yield to weariness; his time is never his own, night or day, and he must cheerfully and promptly respond to the message that summons him to the bedside of the sick and suffering, regardless of the worst storms of winter, the driving rain and flood or the exhausting heat of the mid-summer sun. His own com- fort and health must always be held secondary to the welfare of others, and whatever his personal troubles may be, they must be kept in the background, while he dispenses cheer and courage to the patient, as he realizes that this is quite as important as the medicine he administers.
Fifteen years ago Dr. Clarence P. Colburn established an office and entered upon his new work as a physician, in the pretty little city of Rich- mond, Wayne county, Indiana. During the intervening years he has stead- ily advanced in the public favor and has built up an extensive practice and a fine reputation in his profession. He keeps thoroughly in accord with the spirit of progress, taking the leading medical journals and in various ways enlarg- ing his knowledge of what is being done in the world of science, particularly in that branch which applies to the medical art.
The Doctor's father, Perry Colburn, was a native of Maryland, and at
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an early day removed to Hamilton county, Ohio, settling in the vicinity of Cincinnati, where he has since inade his home. During his active career he was a successful dry-goods merchant in that city, but is now retired, and is in the eighty-fourth year of his age. For many years he has been a promi- nent member of the Presbyterian church, and has occupied the office of elder for a long time. His wife, Lydia, who died in August, 1898, at the advanced age of four-score, was a daughter of Anthony Hilts, of New York state. As early as 1818 he came west and thenceforward made his home in Cincinnati. He was a man of wide interests and varied investments, but for the most part was engaged in the packing of pork and in agriculture. Before the days of railroads he hauled goods from Philadelphia, and carried on a large and lucrative business for that period. The three children of Perry and Lydia H. Colburn were Charles H., now of Arkansas; Virginia, a resident of Cincin- nati; and Clarence P., of this sketch.
The birth of Dr. C. P. Colburn occurred on his parental homestead near Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, February 7, 1859. He received a liberal English education and completed his classical and scientific studies in Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, Indiana, graduating in 1880, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1885 his alma mater conferred upon him the additional degree of Master of Arts, and two years prior to that event he obtained the degree of Doctor of Medicine in Miami Medical College. After he has finished the curriculum at Wabash College, in 1880, he began the study of medicine under the instruction and guidance of Dr. James F. Healy, of Glendale, Ohio, and after spending these two years in the medical college and there graduat- ing, he was ready for the active battle of life. He practiced for about one year in Glendale, and then opened his office in Richmond. For some time he has been a member of the United States board of examining surgeons,. and in July, 1897, was appointed secretary of the board. In his political views he is a strong Republican. Personally he enjoys the friendship of a large number of acquaintances, both here and elsewhere. Courteous and genial in manner, he has the happy faculty of easily making friends, and bet- ter still, he has the power to retain his friends for a life-time.
ANTHONY WATT.
Anthony Watt, of Connersville, Fayette county, is a native of the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having been born there March 23, 1823, a son of John and Edith (Rue) Watt, -the latter of French ancestry and the former a stone-cutter by trade. At the early age of twelve years young Watt entered a large commission and jobbing establishment in his native city, devoted to the importation of silks, satins, etc., and con- tinued a faithful employe there for a time, giving his earnings to the family.
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In the spring of 1844, in company with a man in the employ of the same house, he came west to Danville, Indiana, whence the same year he came to Connersville, engaging in the mercantile business, for which the first stock of goods was furnished by his employer, John Elliott. Soon Mr. Elliott started a branch store at Alquina, leaving Mr. Watt in charge; but the next year this store was moved to Harrisburg, where Mr. Watt continued in its man- agement for three years and then removed to Connersville, where he con- tinued the business for one winter. In the spring of 1848 Mr. Watt opened a store at Frost, and with his partner, Charles Frost, opened also a general store at Harrisburg. Two years afterward Mr. Watt bought out his part- ner's interest, and continued to conduct the store there until 1850. Selling out, he opened a store at Connersville and conducted it for five years.
Next he became deputy county auditor, under Auditor William H. Green, and continued to discharge the duties of that position during the remainder of Mr. Green's term. Then he was employed in the county recorder's office, in the work of compiling a set of abstract books, which he completed and which are still in use. In 1875 he was selected to take charge of the books in the office of the Connersville Gaslight & Manufacturing Company, in which J. N. Huston, United States treasurer under President Harrison, was one of the main stockholders. Mr. Watt continued with that company from its organization for twenty-one years, when it sold out. He had full charge of all the office business, handling all the money and even managing all the details of the business. He had full supervision of all the details in the installation of the electric-light works. He remained with the new company until it became thoroughly established. He is now living retired, while he still owns a farm at Harrisburg, and his present residence, generally known as the Jeff. Claypool residence, he has occupied ever since 1873.
In his political principles Mr. Watt is a Republican. In respect to religion he was reared in the Presbyterian church, of which he is still a member, being now the oldest living member of the church at Connersville. In connection with the fraternal orders Mr. Watt is eminent. He was admitted into the Odd Fellows order as early as 1845, at Cambridge City. In 1849 he and John F. Youse established the first lodge (Fayette Lodge, No. 31) in Fayette county, at Connersville, of which he was the first vice grand, and for years was its secretary. In that lodge he filled all the offices. He has also been a member of the grand lodge for a number of years, and he has been district deputy for many terms. While a resident of Harrisburg he started Harrison Lodge, No. 84, in which he retained his membership until three years ago, when he returned to Fayette Lodge, and he is the only charter member now living. He has never been delinquent and never
,
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entitled to sick-benefit dues. Indeed, during all his fifty-five years' residence in this state he has been sick but one week, and he has been a constant worker. In Encampment No. 33 the office of financial secretary was created specially for him, and he executed its duties for a number of years; and he is now the treasurer for that body. He has also been a member of Warren Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., for twenty years, taking an active part in the saine, of which he was secretary for a number of years. In Fayette Council, No. 6, he has been illustrious master and secretary; of Chapter No. 18, he has been king and scribe; of Commandery No. 6, he has been generalissimo; and since 1896 he has been a member of the Consistory of the Valley of Indianapolis, Scottish Rite Masonry. Only two other men at Connersville are members of the consistory.
Mr. Watt was married at Harrisburg, in 1852, to Miss Malinda Murphy, daughter of John Murphy, a pioneer of this state; she was a native of Harrisburg.
HARRY M. STOOPS.
Harry M. Stoops, a promising instructor of Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, was born June 16, 1866, and is a son of Robert M. Stoops, a pros- perous farmer of Brookville township. His grandfather came to this locality many years ago and settled on eighty acres of land in Brookville township, where he continued to make his home during his remaining days. At the time of his coming here the land was wild and unbroken, while the Indians roamed at will over the now fertile prairies; and woe to the unfortunate white man who fell into the hands of one of these treacherous savages when they were hostile! An exciting experience came to the grandfather of our subject when he was the object of their search, and he made good his escape only by digging a hollow in the ground into which he crawled and covered him- self over with brush. His wife was Catherine Carter, and among the chil- dren born to them was Robert M., the father of our subject.
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