USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 32
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An important event in the life of our subject was his marriage, on the 3d of October, 1841, to Sarah Barcus, of Blooming Grove. Of the five chil- dren born to this worthy couple all but one survive. Elizabeth is the wife of James McKeown, of Anderson, Indiana. Rebecca A. is the wife of D. W. Andre, of Connersville. Ella is the wife of Arthur Rockafeller, of Brook- ville. Albert H., the only son, is engaged in the real-estate business, as a member of the firm of John King & Son, with which concern the father also has been connected since 1890.
Since 1840 Mr. King has been very actively associated with the work of the Methodist Episcopal church, his membership in that denomination now covering a period of almost three-score years. Much .of this time he has occupied some official position in the church, and at present is a trustee and steward. Whatever other enterprises he had on hand, he has never failed to contribute liberally to the support of religious work, taking genuine inter- est and pleasure in so doing. In 1850 he became a member of the Masonic order, at Fairfield, and now belongs to Harmony Lodge. For about twenty years he has been a member of the Odd Fellows society, identified with Penn Lodge, No. 30. In his political views he is a Democrat, and has given his allegiance to that party since becoming a voter.
JOHN R. GOODWIN, M. D.
The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its rep- resentative citizens, and yields its tributes of admiration and respect for the genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and action constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride; and it is in their character, as exem-
John Goodwin
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plified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the affairs of life, that are ever afforded worthy examples for emulation and valuable lessons of incentive. No resident of Brookville has ever commanded higher regard than Dr. John R. Goodwin, who left his impress for good upon the material, social, educational and moral advancement of the state. His his- tory, therefore, forms a part of the annals of the state, and no record of this section of Indiana would be complete without a sketch of his life.
No authentic early record of the family is attainable, but tradition says the Goodwins belonged to the "F. F. V. 's." A certain Thomas Goodwin was born some time between 1730 and 1740 and owned a plantation which he operated through the labors of his slaves. He resided in the South, probably Maryland, and, it is thought, removed to Pennsylvania after his second marriage. In religious belief he was a Quaker. His son Thomas was born April 27, 1767, and about 1788 was married to Catherine Rees, who was born October 7, 1868, a daughter of David and Lydie Rees, natives of Wales. After several years' residence in Pennsylvania Thomas Goodwin, Jr., removed with his family to Cincinnati, afterward to the vicinity of Day- ton, Ohio, and later returned to Franklin, that state, whence they came to Brookville, Indiana, in 1830.
Their eldest son, Samuel Goodwin, had come to Franklin county, in 1816. He was born at what is now Brownsville, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1789, and was married in Lebanon, Ohio, to Eunice Pearson, who was born in 1796, and died in that place in 1814. On the 19th of March of the fol- lowing year Samuel Goodwin wedded Mrs. Eleanor (Wiles) Moon, and in 1816 they came to Brookville, residing in the town but owning farm lands adjoining. They were leading members of the Methodist church, and their hospitality was always extended to the traveling preachers. When the Methodists were preparing to establish the Indiana Asbury University, now De Pauw University, he purchased the first perpetual scholarship sold, and sent the first out-of-town student to the institution. He gave all of his sons a college education, and two of them became presidents of universities after- ward. Samuel Goodwin died June 26, 1851, and his wife died May 18, 1873. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, October 24, 1789, a daughter of John and Eleanor (Mckinley) Wiles. Her maternal grandparents were Rodger and Eleanor (Shaw) Mckinley, who, with the former's father, James McKin- ley, born in Ireland, in 1708, removed to Ohio, locating near Lebanon, where James McKinley died in 1812, at the advanced age of one hundred and four years.
Unto Samuel and Eleanor Goodwin were born ten children: Eunice, born July 20, 1817, died on the 6th of September following. Thomas Aiken, born November 2, 1818, in Brookville, was the first out-of-town student in
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Asbury University, and was graduated as valedictorian of the first class, -in 1840. He has been teacher, editor and minister, was president of the Brook- ville College and editor of the Brookville American. He is well known in church circles and has written a number of books relating to church polity. He was married September 13, 1842, at Rising Sun, Indiana, to Content Lucretia Craft, and they have resided in Rising Sun, Brookville and Indian- apolis, Indiana, for forty years. John Reeves, whose name begins this sketch, is the next child of the family of Samuel and Eleanor Goodwin. Mary, the second daughter, was born August 7, 1822, and died July 31, 1839. Eleanor, born May 13, 1824, died November 30, 1843. Martha Wiles, born March 4, 1826, married Wilson Morrow. Samuel Augustus, born July 11, 1828, died March 17, 1829. Samuel George, born February 21, 1830, resides at Indianapolis. William Rees, born July 7, 1832, married Sue A. Keely, and after her death Mrs. Mary (McAdams) Smith. Robert James, born January 29, 1834, died July 2, 1884, and was a brevet brigadier general in the civil war.
Dr. John Reeves Goodwin was born in Brookville, July 15, 1820, and spent his boyhood days under the parental roof. His primary education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by a course in De Pauw University, where he was graduated in 1845. He then entered the Ohio Medical College and was graduated from that institution. Practicing his profession in Brookville until after the inauguration of the war of the Rebel- lion, he then joined the Thirty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, as surgeon, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He was held as a prisoner of war at Huntsville, Alabama, for four months, and after the close of hostilities returned to Brookville, where he continued until his removal to Washington. He served for eight years in the department of the interior in the capital city, under Presidents Johnson and Grant, and during his residence there gained a wide acquaintance with many of the prominent men of the day and obtained great insight into the workings of our national governmental system.
After leaving office Dr. Goodwin returned to Brookville and was here engaged in the banking business until his death. It was in 1872 that he pur- chased the Brookville National Bank, which was conducted by the Doctor and his son Charles F., when it went into voluntary liquidation, and they organ- ized the present Brookville Bank and closed up the business of the National. This they conducted until the Doctor's life labors were ended, May 3, 1880. He was also interested in farming, owning five hundred acres of land four miles east of Brookville, which tract had been entered from the government by his father-in-law.
In Brookville, on the 30th of July, 1846, Rev. Thomas Aiken Goodwin
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pronounced the wedding ceremony whereby were united the destinies of Dr. John R. Goodwin and Miss Rachel Goudie. The lady was born December 28, 1826, in Brookville township, a daughter of Joseph and Pamela (Clark- son) Goudie. Unto them were born three children, but all are now deceased: Charles Francis, born November 6, 1849, is mentioned in this work; Joseph Goudie, born March 19, 1852, died on the 9th of August of the same year; and Edward R., born January 31, 1860, died February 16, 1861.
In his political views Dr. Goodwin was a stalwart Republican, laboring earnestly for the success of his party and making many campaign addresses in its interests. The cause of education ever found in him a warm friend, and he endowed a chair in De Pauw University and was serving as one of the trustees of that institution at the time of his death. For many years he was a loyal and active member of the Methodist church, and the cause of Christianity in this community was greatly promoted through his labors. So prominent was he in business, political and church life that his loss seemed an irreparable one to the community, and certainly the world is better that he lived.
CHARLES F. GOODWIN.
The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved, who has attained wealth by honorable business methods, acquired the highest reputation in his chosen calling by merit, and whose social prominence is not the less the result of an irreproachable life than of recognized natural gifts. It has been implanted in the nature of the race to respect all that is true, pure and good, and it was these qualities in Charles Francis Goodwin that won him the high esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact. For many years he was a prominent factor in financial circles in Brookville, and at all times his business reputation was unassailable; the cause of education and of the church found in him a devoted supporter; friendship was with him inviolable, and in those more sacred ties of the home -- the safeguard of the nation and of society -- his relations were ideal. Such was the character of the man who on the 12th of January, 1896, was called to the home beyond, leaving behind him a sor- rowing community, for in Brookville, where he made his home, all respected and loved him.
Charles Francis Goodwin was born in Brookville township, Franklin county, November 6, 1849, and was a son of Dr. John R. Goodwin, whose sketch precedes this. His childhood and youth were spent on the farm and his early education was acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood, but a more advanced training was accorded him and well fitted him for the practical duties of life. He was a graduate of Brookville College, of the class of 1868, and of Asbury, now De Pauw, University, of the class of 1871. The
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following year he entered the Brookville National Bank, of which his father was proprietor, and after gaining considerable practical experience in the busi- ness, in a clerical capacity, was made assistant cashier. He eventually became a partner in the enterprise and the bank was conducted under the old organiza- tion until 1879, when it went into voluntary liquidation, and the proprietors organized the present Brookville Bank. The partnership between father and son was continued until the death of Dr. Goodwin. For a year Isaac Carter, one of the leading lawyers of the state, residing at Shelbyville, and Dora Wagner, a prominent druggist of Terre Haute, assisted Charles F. Goodwin in transacting the business of the bank, and on the Ist of January, I888, John C. Shirk, who had been employed in the bank since 1881, was admit- ted to a partnership, under the firm name of Goodwin & Shirk, a connection that was continued, with mutual pleasure and profit, until the death of Mr. Goodwin, since which time his widow, who is a sister of Mr. Shirk, has retained the interest in the business. Mr. Goodwin was a most able financier, displaying great care and precision in the management of the bank, together with the greatest fidelity to the trust assigned to him. His reliability was above question and gave to the Brookville Bank a standing second to that of none in the state. The Brookville Bank building, erected in 1890, is one of the finest business blocks in the county, a fitting monument in its stability to the character of him of whom we write. In business Mr. Goodwin was unusually courteous, and, in fact, in his office, as everywhere else, his course was that of the true gentleman.
On the 17th of November, 1874, Mr. Goodwin was united in marriage to Miss Martha Shirk, the ceremony being performed by Rev. J. L. Roop. The lady was born October 16, 1854, in Springfield township, Franklin county, a daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Wright) Shirk. Unto them were born two children: Mary McKee, a graduate of De Pauw University, of the class of June, 1897; and John Pemberton, now a student in De Pauw Uni- versity. After her husband's death the mother of Mr. Goodwin became a member of his household and from her son received the utmost care and devotion that a dutiful child could bestow.
As a citizen Mr. Goodwin was most public-spirited and progressive. Whatever promised to advance the material, intellectual, aesthetic or moral interests of the town and county and state received the fullest support of his purse, his mind, his influence and his labor. He was one of the honored trustees of De Pauw University, his judgment in its varied interests always receiving the utmost deference from his co-trustees. He always wore the jewel of his college fraternal society, and despite his forty-six years, that with so many would have been an excuse for dropping the associations of youth, he eagerly looked forward to its reunions. In his brain originated the
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idea which led to the founding of the Brookville Academy of Music, an insti- tution that has done much to develop and cultivate the musical taste of Brookville's citizens. When the Scotus Gaul Picti was organized he at once entered the order, seeing in it an increased fraternal bond for his fellow citi- zens, and he was speedily made one of the Lords of the Isle, in which capacity he was the happy originator of the idea of the annual clan banquet, he urg- ing that this unrestrained social intercourse would enable the members the better to know and appreciate each other. He was also a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. For many years he was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and as one of its trustees he brought the same careful attention to detail that characterized his private affairs. Amid his many busy duties he found time to keep well abreast with all that was best in literature, science and the world's progress. He recog- nized worth as the only true nobility, and sought friendships among rich and poor alike, and without regard to religious, political or other differences or affiliations. On the morning of January 12, 1896, he attended church serv- ices as usual, and about two o'clock in the afternoon, while sitting reading, in the midst of his family, he answered to the final summons. Death came to him suddenly, but he was ready to meet it. His entire life was an upright, honorable one, over whose record there falls no shadow of wrong. It was an exemplification of practical Christianity, of good deeds quietly performed, of kind words spoken, of sympathy extended. He left to his family a hand- some competence, and, more than that, the priceless heritage of a good name.
DANIEL HUFF.
The history of pioneer days in Wayne county is a familiar story to this venerable and honored man, who from an early period in the development of this section of the state has resided in the vicinity of Fountain City, where he now makes his home. All the hardships and difficulties of life on the frontier are familiar to him, the arduous task of developing new land, of clearing away the timber, of living in log cabins, and depending upon the fruits of the farm for the necessaries of life.
Daniel Huff was born in Surry county, North Carolina, November 29, 1816, and is the son of John and Mary (Burnside) Huff. His great-great- grandfather, his great-grandfather and his grandfather each bore the name of Daniel. The last mentioned was probably born in England, as were the earlier generations, but at an early period removed from New Jersey to North Carolina. His first wife was a Miss Worley, and their children were Daniel, Keziah, Jemima and Mary. His second wife was Abigail Pike, and their children were Jesse, John, Sarah and Rebecca. The eldest son became a resident of Ohio, and there the grandfather's death probably occurred.
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Jesse became a resident of New Garden township, Wayne county, Indiana. where he died when more than eighty years of age. Daniel, Jesse and John all married sisters,-Sarah, Elizabeth and Mary Burnside, respectively. Anna Huff, a sister in this family, became the wife of Edward Bond, and both she and her husband died in Webster township, Wayne county. Martha married Israel Hough and resided in New Garden township, Wayne county. He died in early life, but she survived until her eightieth year. Her last days were spent in the home of her husband's nephew, William Hough, whose wife was Keziah Huff, daughter of Jesse Huff.
John Huff, father of our subject, married Miss Mary Burnside, after a conrtship of thirteen years. In 1819 they came to Wayne county, locating a mile east of the New Garden Friends' meeting-house and a mile and a half southeast of the village of Fountain City. A part of this place is now owned by our subject. There John Huff carried on farming until his death, which occurred in 1852, when he had reached the age of eighty-one years. His wife, who was a native of Maryland, but removed with her parents to North Carolina during her girlhood, died in 1846, in her sixty-seventh year. She was a very social and talented woman, and for more than a quarter of a cen- tury served as clerk of the New Garden quarterly meeting. She also had a wide reputation as a physician, and her many admirable womanly qualities won her the love of all who knew her. In their family were nine children: James, who died at the age of thirty-seven, was a millwright by trade and made his home on the old family farmstead. He married Susan Butler, a half sister of his brother Daniel's wife, and their son, Robert B. Huff, now resides in Richmond. Christie was treasurer of Wayne county for eight years. He was killed in an explosion on a Mississippi river steamboat, while
en route for St. Louis. He was then well advanced in years. Matilla became the wife of David Maxwell, had two children and died in early womanhood. Amelia, who also died in early womanhood, was the wife of Jonathan Elliott, of Dublin, Wayne county. Daniel is the next of the fam- ily. Tamar married Moses Spray, and spent her last years near New Lon- don, Indiana, where she died at the age of fifty years. Nathan, Asa and John all died in early childhood.
Daniel Huff spent his early life upon his father's farm, and shared with the family in all the hardships and privations which fall to the lot of the pioneer. He saw the deer and heard the howling of the timber wolves in the dense forests. The home was a log cabin, with puncheon floor and clay and stick chimney, but all day long he was away from its sheltering roof. working in the clearing or in the corn-fields from early morning until dewy eve. His educational privileges were exceedingly limited. Only twice was he enabled to attend the subscription schools, -it was before the day of pub-
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lic schools,-and those were held in vacated log cabins, one end of which was almost entirely occupied by the huge fire-place, from which the smoke ascended through a chimney large enough for a bear to descend. A little circle of puncheon benches surrounded the open fire and accommodated the entire school. Some of the boys were clad in buckskin trousers and spotted- fawn vests. The teaching was very primitive, and the birch rod formed an important part of the method of instruction. One teacher announced his plans after this fashion: " If you rassle, it is a whoopen; if you clime sap- lins, it is a whoopen; if you go out of bounds, it is a whoopen; if you are off at callin' of books, it is a whoopen." Thus through a long list of rules, the pupils were informed that they would receive a " whoopen " for any infringe- ment. Mr. Huff performed his share of the farm work with a wooden pitch- fork, single-shovel plow and other rude implements, mowing and cradling by hand, hoeing corn and trampling out wheat. At the age of twenty-one he left the parental roof and engaged to work for a wagon-maker, in Fountain City, for three months, for eight dollars per month and his board. He dis- played especial aptitude in his work, his wages were raised and he decided to continue at the business. He then rented his little farm, and after two years formed a partnership with William R. Williams, with whom he was associated for five years.
On the 24th of July, 1844, Mr. Huff was married, and then rented the old tavern and kept boarders in addition to the conduct of his wagon shop. Later he left the tavern for a time, but subsequently returned to it and kept a public house and omnibus office, and cared for the boarders and stagc horses for a long period. The place was conducted as a public house for a half cen- tury, Mr. Huff being in charge for thirty years. For a similar period he was connected with Linden Osborn in carrying on the wagon shop, his connec- tion with that business continuing from 1837 until 1891,-more than fifty years. His building then burned, entailing considerable loss of timber, tools and cash stored in the shop. He did not rebuild, but retired to private life to enjoy a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
All through the long years he found in Mrs. Huff a most faithful com- panion and helpmeet. She bore the maiden name of Emily Jane Nixon, and was a daughter of Samuel and Rhoda (Hubbard) Nixon, of Fountain City. Her father was an old Virginia farmer, and, in North Carolina, married Rhoda (Hubbard) Butler, who was then a widow and had three children. Mr. and Mrs. Nixon had four children, the eldest being Emily, who was married in the old home, where they since have lived. Martha Ann, the second daughter, married Stephen Coffin, a merchant of Williamsburg. Later he was a pork-packer of Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and subsequently went to Alabama. He finally returned north and died in Fountain City. The
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sons of the family are Dr. Oliver W. Nixon, treasurer and literary editor, and William Penn Nixon, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Inter Ocean. Samuel Nixon, the father of Mrs. Huff, came to Wayne county in 1829, and soon afterward erected the house in which our subject now resides. He died at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Huff were born four children: Rhoda Alice, wife of Sol Woody, of Fountain City; Charles Sumner, a merchant of Martinsville, Indiana; Oliver N., a practicing physician; and Atwood, a traveling sales- man. The mother died on the fifth of December, 1889, shortly after her return from the convention of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, in Chicago, where, as a guest of honor, she had occupied a seat upon the platform. She was a woman of strong intellectuality and was very active in the women's crusade movement against the saloons. She was one of the three women who entering a wholesale liquor house in Richmond to protest against the business, were locked in by the proprietor, while he went to consult the authorities as to their arrest. He was obliged, however, to return and open the door without accomplishing his purpose. Mrs. Huff was a most lovable character, and her kindly nature, upright Christian life and many admirable womanly qualities won her the high regard of many friends.
In 1840 Mr. Huff gave his political support to William Henry Harrison and the Whig party. In 1841, when a Liberty ticket was placed in the field, he recorded a protest against the evils of slavery by voting that ticket and continued an active advocate of the abolition movement until the civil war had accomplished the downfall of slavery. He voted for Fremont in 1856, for Lincoln in 1860, and continued to act with the Republican party until the temperance question was made a dominant issue, when he identified himself with the party that stands for the prohibition of the liquor traffic. He still has in his possession an old one-horse wagon which was frequently used in conveying fugitive slaves on their way to freedom. Fountain City was then one of the terminals of the famous underground railway, of which Levi Coffin was president. His old brick house, which sheltered a great number of slaves, still stands a silent reminder of those dark days. Many of the negroes were also entertained under Mr. Huff's roof and as a " conductor " on the " rail- road " he has conveyed many of them to the next " station" on their way to freedom. Mr. Huff is a member of the Society of Friends and holds to that faith in its ancient purity. At the age of twenty-two he was brought to realize his sinful condition, and after days of agitation, in which his spirit was torn by the conflict between wright and wrong. there came to his soul peace and happiness beyond expression. His life has since been that of an honor- able Christian gentleman, and now in his declining years he is accorded that
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