USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 33
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veneration and respect which should ever be the fitting crown of a long career of honor and usefulness.
[Since this biography was written Daniel Huff, on July 6, 1899, ripe in years and honors, died at the Old Mansion house where he had so long resided; and his body was laid to rest by the side of that of his wife in the cemetery of Fountain City. ]
OLIVER N. HUFF, M. D.
Dr. Huff is considered one of the best physicians and surgeons in this part of the state, and his practice embraces not only Fountain City and adjoining territory, but covers many outside points. He was born in Foun- tain City, Indiana, and received his primary education in the schools of that town. Later he became a student in Earlham College, from which institu- tion he began his career as a wage-earner, clerking in a store and teaching school. After working in this city and Muncie, Indiana, for some time, he took up the study of medicine, reading with Dr. John S. Harris. He then took a course at the University of Michigan, taking an extra year's work and graduating with the class of 1878. Returning to Fountain City, he practiced two years with Dr. Harris, then opened an office by himself, where he built up a good practice and remained until 1888, when he located in Chicago. In January of that year he went to Chicago, and the ten years spent in that city have been years of great benefit to him, both from a professional and financial view. He took a special course at the Chicago Clinics, and some five years after moving there was appointed chief of the medical staff at the Augustana Hospital. At the same time he was a member of the medical staff at the Cook County Hospital, and for a year and one-half had entire charge of one of the wards, in which about one hundred patients were treated. He gave lectures at the Augustana Hospital, at the nurses' training school in that institution, as well as before the Cook county medical clinics. He was appointed by Mayor Washburne as a medical inspector of Chicago, and when Mr. Swift held the office of mayor Dr. Huff was chosen assistant city physi- ·cian, to aid Dr. Cotton. During all this time he had a large private prac- tice and had made many personal friends. After a residence of ten years in that city,-years that were given almost wholly to work and study in his profession, -he found that the climate had induced severe catarrhal trouble, and he was advised by the best specialists in those diseases that he ought to change his location. Accordingly he returned to the home of his youth, where he could minister to the wants of his father, Daniel Huff, who has but recently entered into eternal rest. Here he has resumed his old practice and is meeting with the most flattering results. His efficiency as a physician is avell recognized; his experience in the Augustana Hospital placed him in the
!
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front ranks as a physician and surgeon; and in treatment of typhoid fever he is without a peer. He has made a special study of typhoid cases: in 1897 he treated thirty two patients and in 1896 fifty-five patients who had that dread disease, and experienced most gratifying results. While in Chicago he wrote a treatise on typhoid fever and its causes, in that city, which attracted widespread attention and brought him prominently before the medical world.
Dr. Huff was united in marriage, in June, 1892, to Miss Sophia R. Bogue, a daughter of Dr. Bogue, one of the most celebrated medical men of Chicago and one of the founders of the Cook County Hospital. Mrs. Huff graduated from the Chicago high school and supplemented this with a course at Wellesley. She then became a teacher in the Chicago schools, and aban- doned that field of usefulness to share life's vicissitudes with our subject. They have two bright children, Eleanor and Roswell B. Dr. Huff is a mem- ber of the Chicago Medical Society, the North Chicago Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, and the Wayne County ( Indiana, Medical Society. He has a pleasant, cheery way that wins him friends in all classes, and he is extremely popular.
MARTIN V. HOLLIDAY.
Among the families who have long been identified with Franklin county, Indiana, and! have participated in the development of its agricultural inter- ests, may be mentioned the Hollidays. A representative of this time-honored family is Martin V. Holliday, the subject of this sketch, whose postoffice address is Wynu.
Martin V. Holliday was born in Springfield township, Franklin county, Indiana, November 4, 1839, and was reared on a farm and educated in the comnon schools. His parents, Samuel and Mary (Isgregg) Holliday, were natives respectively of New Jersey and Kentucky. John Holliday, the father of Samuel, was born, reared and married in New Jersey. He came with his family at an early day to what was then called the Western Reserve, and made settlement at a point ten miles from Cincinnati, then a small village. There he bought a tract of land, thickly covered with forest, which he devel- oped into a fine farm and which he owned as long as he lived. Some of his children came to Franklin county, and in his declining years he came here and made his home with thein. He died in the neighborhood of Wynn. A man of sterling integrity and strong individuality, his influence was felt for good in the pioneer community in which he lived. . A number of local offices were acceptably filled by him. For many years he was a justice of the peace and for thirty years filled the office of notary public. Politically he was a Whig. and religiously both he and his wife were prominently identified with the
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Methodist church. In their family were the following named children: James, who was for years a resident of Franklin county; Samuel, father of Martin V., and of whom mention is made further on in this sketch; Eli, who died in Colorado; John, who died in Hamilton county, Ohio; Hannah, who became the wife of a Mr. Paton; Paul, who died in Illinois; Eliza, who became the wife of a Mr. Noble, of Marion county, Indiana; and Mrs. Hettie Sheldon.
Samuel Holliday was born March 17, 1809, and died October 30, 1889. He grew to manhood and married in Ohio, and in the year 1835 came to Franklin county. Here he bought a tract of land, a portion of which had been cleared and on which was a cabin, and in this frontier home, in Spring- field township, he established his family and reared his children. After liv- ing here for a number of years and having improved his farın, he sold it and bought an adjoining farm, which he also improved. Subsequently he sold a portion of this latter farm and removed to Tipton county, Indiana, where he invested in a farın and where he lived two years, selling out at the end of that time and returning to his old home in Franklin county. He spent the closing years of his life with his daughter, in Springfield township, and died here at a ripe old age. He was an intelligent, broad-minded man, upright and honorable in all his dealings, and had the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. While not identified with any church, his life was above reproach. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and was one of the leaders of his party in Franklin county. By trade he was a car- penter and millwright, and worked at both trades considerably in connection with his farming operations. His first wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died in 1876. For a second wife he married Mrs. Sarah Hayes, nie Wamsley. She had no children. His first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Isgregg, went from Kentucky to Ohio with hier parents, John and Mary Isgregg. They were of German descent, lived on a farm, and in Ohio passed the rest of their lives and died. In their family were the following named children: Mary, Mrs. Phema Dean, Mrs. Rebecca Lutz and Michael. Samuel and Mary Holliday became the parents of the following named children: Marion, deceased; Elizabeth Proctor, who died in Chicago, Illi- nois; Squire, a resident of Champaign county, Illinois; Hester, widow of Mr. G. Gant, who died in the late war, she having since resided at the old homestead in Franklin county; Martin V., whose name heads this sketch; Sarah J., deceased; John, deceased; and William, who is a veteran of the late civil war and a resident of Brookville.
Martin V. Holliday was reared in his native county and was still a mem- ber of his father's household at the time the civil war came on. He enlisted January 5, 1863, at Brookville, for a term of three years or during the war. and became a member of the Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which
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was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. With his command he bravely shared the fortunes of war until hostilities were ended, and was mustered out September 5, 1865, after which he returned to Indiana and, at Indianapolis, received an honorable discharge. During his service he was sick and in the hospital two months. Excepting that time and an interval when he was at home on a brief furlough, in 1864, he was on active duty from the time of his enlistment until the close of the war, and his whole service was character ized by true bravery. He came out of the army with two slight wounds and with a chronic disease, and is now justly entitled to, the pension which he receives.
Returning to his father's home at the close of the, war, he resumed farm- ing and assisted in the operations of the home farm until 1868, when he mar- ried; the first two years of his married life were passed in the little town of Palestine, for a few years he lived near that place, and in 1872 he bought a farm of one hundred and eight acres, which he has since owned and occu- pied. At the time of purchase only a small portion of this land had been cleared. As a result of his energy and good management it is now well improved and under a high state of cultivation.
Mrs. Holliday was formerly Miss Rebecca Eldon. She was born in Franklin county, Indiana, February 7, 1842, daughter of John and Margaret (VanCamp) Eldon, the former a native of England and the latter of New Jersey. Mr. Eldon was a bookkeeper in England, and after coming to this country was employed in that capacity for some time in Cincinnati: he was also for some time engaged in teaching school. The latter part of his life, however, was passed on a farm in Franklin county, where he died about the year 1872. His widow survives him, and at this writing is eighty-seven years old. They had three children,-Thomas, Gilbert and Rebecca, -the last named being the wife of Mr. Holliday. Mr. and Mrs. Holliday became the parents of six children, namely: Charles, a farmer; Leota, who died at the age of twenty-six years; Carabin; Mary J., who died at the age of four years; Rose and Mary.
Mr. Holliday is a man whose honorable and upright life have won for him the confidence and respect of his fellows. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ISAAC KINSEY.
Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the indi- vidual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial develop- ment, it is impossible clearly to determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less interesting and profitable by reason of the existence of this uncertainty, and in the majority of cases it is found that exceptional
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ability, amounting to genius, perhaps, is the real secret of the pre-eminence which many envy. Isaac Kinsey, who was one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Milton and vicinity during much of his lifetime, won wealth and position in the legitimate channels of business, and, as he was formerly associated with numerous public enterprises of Milton, his name is indissolubly linked with its prosperity.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 19, 1821, Isaac Kinsey was the eld- est son and the fourth in order of birth of the nine children of Oliver and Sarah (Griffith) Kinsey. The mother died in 1832 and the father soon after- ward removed with his children to a farm near Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana, and there our subject grew to manhood. His education, which was started in Baltimore, was completed in the schools of Richmond, and subse- quently he devoted his time to farming, and for a few years to the manufact- ure of brick. There are still standing, in and around Richmond, houses which are constructed of brick that was made by him during that period of his life.
In 1846 Mr. Kinsey went to Cincinnati, where for six years he and his brother Thomas were successfully engaged in the produce business. In 1852 he returned to Wayne county and purchased the valuable and highly desir- able farm now known as Beechwood. It is situated about two miles south of Milton, comprising four hundred acres or more, and under the ownership of Mr. Kinsey it was greatly improved and beautified. When he was a youth he admired this homestead, then owned by Joel Hiatt, and he resolved to become its possessor some day, if possible, and it was his pride and pleasure in later years to add to the already great attractions of the place. He erected a fine residence, on an elevated site, overlooking the homestead and the Whitewater valley, and this was his home thenceforth. Success attended his efforts as an agriculturist and financier, and from time to time he invested in good farm land and town property. In 1868 he purchased the interest of Joshua Gresh (then deceased) in the Hoosier Drill Company, of Milton, be- came president of the concern, and by the liberal expenditure of money and judicious management made this plant one of the leading ones in the United States for the manufacture of agricultural implements. At the end of ten years he sold his interest in the business for eighty-three thousand dollars. He was the owner of the River Rolling Mills, of Milton, and with money and influence encouraged nearly every new manufactory or enterprise in this locality. Deeply public-spirited, he enjoyed promoting the general pros- perity in this and in every other manner, and his counsel was sought by those contemplating investments or new business ventures. In addition to other property in Milton he owned a large brick block, containing several stores, which were rented to responsible parties.
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In 1847 Mr. Kinsey married Mary Perine, daughter of Aquilla and Ann H. Jones, who had emigrated to Cincinnati about two years previously. Mrs. Kinsey was a native of Baltimore, her birth having occurred May 26, 1826, and by her marriage she became the mother of one child, Sarah Grif- fith, who died March 24, 1849.
In 1892, Mr. Kinsey and Mrs. Mary E. Griffith were united in marriage, in Cincinnati, where many of his relatives and friends reside, and from that time until his death they made their home at Beechwood. She is a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, born in 1849. Her parents, John H. and Rosa (Gibson) States, were natives of Pennsylvania and England, respectively, and their marriage took place in Zanesville, Ohio. The Gibsons settled in the vicinity of the Natural Bridge, Virginia, upon their arrival in this coun- try, and there the elder ones of the family died. Alford, a brother of Mrs. J. H. States, was a fine machinist and civil engineer, and was the inventor of a valuable device to be used upon engines. He, too, lived and died near the Natural Bridge. The three sisters, Rosa, Mrs. Rosalie Rusk and Mrs. Ruth Jones, went to Zanesville, Ohio, after the death of their parents. After residing in the town just mentioned for several years, John H. States settled in Stanton, Illinois, where he carried on a large and profitable cooperage establishment for years, later removing to Centralia, Illinois. He was a Baptist in religious faith, and his wife, though reared as a member of the Society of Friends, finally identified herself with his denomination. They have both passed to their reward, and are sleeping their last sleep in the .quiet cemetery at Centralia. Mrs. Kinsey is their eldest child, and the others are: Martha, wife of John E. Trotter, of Springfield, Illinois; Joseph, who died unmarried; Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Ford and is deceased; and Thomas, who married and went to the west, where he died soon afterward. Mrs. Kinsey was first wedded to R. Griffith, in Illinois, and they became the parents of four sons and three daughters, namely: Charles, a real-estate dealer in Oklahoma; Elmer, a train dispatcher. at Toledo, Ohio; Almon, a civil engineer in Oklahoma; Alonzo, who is engaged in farming near Topeka, Kansas; Martha; Marie, wife of H. Beeson, a farmer of this township; and Nora, who is attending school and is at home with her mother. Miss Martha is highly gifted and accomplished, and is now taking an advanced course of instruction under the direction of the well known Professor Barnabee, of Springfield, Illinois, she having previously attended the Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati, Ohio.
The death of Mr. Kinsey occurred April 17, 1896, at his old home, Beech- wood, which he loved so well, and where he had dwelt for over two-score years. That the loss of this good and popular citizen was felt to be a public calainity, cannot be doubted, and the entire press of the county, as well as
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that of Cincinnati, paid tributes of respect to his memory, and gave reviews of his busy and useful career. Few men in this county were more generous or more charitably disposed, and the religion which was the mainspring of his character, that of the Society of Friends, found worthy exemplification in him. To relatives and friends, and to the poor and needy, he gave homes and assistance to the value of forty thousand dollars or more, and, without ostentation or the knowledge of any save those concerned, he was continually aiding the poor and unfortunate. At the time of his death he had almost completed the plans for one of the notable charities of his life, a fitting crown to a career almost ideally Christian. With the earnest co-operation and approval of his loved wife, he conferred with his lawyer and friends and arranged the preliminaries of bequeathing Beechwood, with its beautiful house and extensive homestead, to the aged poor. No monument erected to the memory of Mr. Kinsey and wife could better perpetuate their name and fame, and fair Beechwood could not be put to a nobler purpose.
Mrs. Kinsey is a lady of excellent education and much more than ordi- nary business and executive ability. Prior to her marriage to Mr. Kinsey she ·conducted a dry-goods, millinery, and gentlemen's furnishing-goods store in Milton, for some eight years. She is conducting her extensive business inter- ests with ability, carefully looking after the management of her finances and landed property. She owns some of the best property in the business part of Milton and has erected for herself and family here a handsome two-story brick house, with modern appointments. A sincere member of the Christian church, she endeavors to lead a noble life, " doing good unto all as she has opportunity."
WESLEY HANDLEY.
The representative farmers of Columbia township, Fayette county, Indiana, include among their number the subject of this sketch, Wesley Handley, a representative of one of the pioneer families of the county.
James Handley, the father of Wesley, was born in Greenbrier county, in what is now the state of West Virginia, in 1797, the son of a surveyor and large land-owner and one of the influential citizens of Greenbrier county. The Handleys are of Scotch-Irish origin. James Handley was one of a large family, five sons and several daughters, all of whom have passed away. He lived in his native state until he was about seventeen years of age, when he he came west to Hamilton county, Ohio. There, at the age of twenty-two, he married Charity Hayden, a native of Pennsylvania, who in her girlhood accompanied her parents to Kentucky and thence to Hamilton county, Ohio. Her father was Stephen Hayden. In December, 1821, James Handley came over into Indiana and settled in Jackson township, Fayette county, their home being established in a small log house in the midst of the forest. As
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the years passed by he cleared and improved his land. The cabin gave way in time to a comfortable frame residence, and this, in turn, to a modern brick house. On this farm James Handley spent forty years of his life, his death occurring November 19, 1861. His wife, who was about two years his junior, died in 1867. He was a man of broad views and generous char- ity. He did much good in assisting those less fortunate than himself in this life, and he died in the belief of universal happiness in the life to come. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to mature years. At this writing, 1899, the surviving members of the family comprise three sons and two daughters: Mrs. Jane Logan, Mrs. Mary Mason, Wesley, Oliver and James M. Those deceased were Mrs. Margaret Waggoner, Archi- bald, Mrs. Isabelle Steele, Sophia and Mrs. Charity Walling.
Wesley Handley was born at the homestead referred to, in Jackson township, February 10, 1835, and when he grew old enough assisted in the farm work. His educational advantages were such as the common schools of that time afforded. He has occupied his present farm in Columbia town- ship since 1881. Prior to that time he lived at the old homestead, a portion of which he inherited and which he still owns. Politically Mr. Handley har- monizes with the Republican party.
In November, 1862, Mr. Handley married Miss Rebecca M. Boyd, a daughter of Arthur James and Eliza Ann (Cook) Boyd, both of whom were born and reared in Indiana. Mrs. Handley is a native of Fayette county. born May 24, 1841. Their union has been blessed in the birth of six chil- dren, five of whom are living. The eldest, James Arwin Handley, died in Colorado, January 24, 1899, leaving a wife and one child. The names of the others are: Mrs. Lorena B. Elliott, Mrs. Cora E. Thomas, Miss Ethel Boyd Handley, Ernest Walton Handley and Emery Roy Handley.
CLEMENT R. CORY.
Clement R. Cory, of Fairfield township, Franklin county, is a well known citizen and a representative of one of the early families of this part of the state. He was born near the town of Fairfield, just across the line in Union county, January 28, 1834. Like many of the early settlers of this vicinity, the parents of Mr. Cory were natives of New Jersey. His father, Clement R. Cory, Sr., was born November 1, 1789, and came from an old New Jersey family. By trade he was a blacksmith. He married Miss Han- nah Schriner, and about 1830 he emigrated with his wife and five children to Indiana, locating at Fairfield, in Franklin county, where he engaged in work at his trade. Clement R., the subject of this sketch, was the only one of the family born in Indiana. Not long after coming to this state the senior Mr. Cory bought a tract of land north of Fairfield, in Union county, to.
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which he removed his family, and where he lived till his death, which occurred February 13, 1865. His wife passed away July 19, 1869. Of the five children they brought with them to Indiana, only one, a daughter, is now living. The eldest of the family, Rachel, became the wife of Stephen Skinner; Catherine married Henry Remy; Joseph, the eldest son, enlisted for service in the war with Mexico, and his fate is unknown, though he is sup- posed to have lost his life in that war; Charles F. was a civil engineer; Eliz- abeth married Sarah McCready, who served as a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and died a number of years ago at his home in Kansas, where his widow still lives.
Clement R. Cory was reared a farmer. He had good educational advan- tages in his youth, and was for four years a student at Asbury University, and after leaving college turned his attention to teaching. Soon he became one of the leading educators in this part of the state. He was the first superin- tendent of schools in Franklin county, serving in that capacity, beginning with 1873, for seven years. He read law and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced that profession. Mr. Cory formerly took a prominent part in politics, and served several terms in the legislature of his state, having been elected to that body in 1867, 1869 and 1895. He also served as read- ing clerk in the senate in the legislature of 1871. When he first becaine interested in politics he gave his support to the Democratic party, but he now affiliates with the Republicans.
Mr. Cory has been twice married. His first wife was a Miss Johnston, daughter of A. N. Johnston; and the fruits of their union are children as follows: Rosa B., wife of John R. Goudy; Adelia, wife of Maynard H. Irwin; Alexander; Mrs. Maud C. Smolley, M. D .; and Lenora, wife of Harry Feicht, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Cory's present wife was Mrs. Harriet Logan, widow of Winfield Scott Logan. She is a daughter of Robert G. Hubbard, who was born in Fairfield township, Franklin county, and he was a son of Samuel and Jane Hubbard. In 1843 he married Mary A. Dennelsheck, daughter of Jacob Dennelsheck. Mr. Hubbard came to Franklin county from New Jersey when a young man. The parents of Mrs. Cory removed from Franklin county to Missouri, where she was born in 1858. She had two sons by her first marriage, namely: Worth Hubbard Logan and Robert W. Logan. Her father was a Union soldier in the war between the states, he being one of one hundred and seven Union men who voted for Mr. Lincoln for president from Andrew county, Missouri. He entered the Union army as a private in the Twelfth Missouri Cavalry, which responded to the first call of President Lincoln for troops. His faithfulness and his popularity soon gained for him the rank of captain. Later he was discharged from the service on account of disability, but on recovering his 52
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