USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 44
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 44
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 44
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
The subject of this review is the fifth in order of birth in a family of seven children, the others being as follows: Elizabeth, now a widow, who first married W. Dickey and after his death wedded D. Wymer; Harrison,. deceased; Sally A., wife of H. Jackson; Harriet, wife of J. Stookey; Jane, wife of T. Van Buskirk: and David, who owns the old homestead.
James S. Baker was reared to the life of a farmer and remained upon the- old homestead until his marriage in 1861. He then settled on a farm, to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted his energies for twenty years, and was next employed as a traveling salesman for the Dorsey Imple-
907
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
ment Company, of Milton, until 1885. The following three years he was with the Deering Machine Company, and with the Champion Machine Com- pany for two years, traveling in the southern states. He then traveled in the northern states in the interest of the Buckeye Implement Company for six. years, and on retiring from the road, in December 1895, established him- self in the livery business at Milton, where he now owns a large and well equipped stable and also a commodious and pleasant residence on the same block. In politics he is a Democrat, and as a public-spirited and progres- sive citizen he gave his support to all enterprises for the public good.
On the 9th of October, 1861, Mr. Baker married Miss Mary H. Wal- lace, and to them have been born three children: Kate, who is now the wife of S. Wilcox; Della, who first married James E. Gresh, an express mes- senger that was killed in a railroad wreck, and is now the wife of Elmer Weaver, a merchant of Abington, Indiana; and John C., a cigar-mannfacturer of Milton, married Grace Kemmer.
Mrs. Baker traces her ancestry back to William Wallace, who emigrated from Scotland or the north of Ireland to the colony of Virginia about 1730. and resided in Albemarle county, where his five children-John A., William, Michael, Josiah and Mrs. Hannah Woods-were born and reared. They continued to make their home in the Old Dominion, and in each generation the name of John appears. The Indiana branch of this family is descended from John Wallace, who was born in Virginia, in 1732, and had four chil- dren, John, Samuel, Laura and Alice. Of these John removed to Kentucky about 1800, and during his short residence there his wife died; and the same year, with the remainder of his family, he went to Monroe county, Ohio. His children were Hannah, Rosanna, Polly, John, Patsy, Thomas and Betsy. In 1811 his son John came to Indiana territory and entered a tract of land in what is now Washington township, Wayne county, and the follow- ing year took up his residence thereon. At that time his three children- John, Thomas and Betsy-were all single. The first summer the daughter was sent to one of the older settlements on the east fork of White river, where she made her home with the family of a Mr. Hunt. Mr. Wallace's land was only two miles from the Indian reservation and his family was constantly in danger of an Indian raid. He was a soldier of the Revolution- ary war and in religious faith a Presbyterian, and died in 1820.
John Wallace, the son of this Indiana pioneer, was the grandfather of Mrs. Baker. He wedded Mary Banks, and the marriage ceremony was per- formed by her father, Adam Banks, of Kentucky, who came to Indiana about 1814 and located in Wayne county, where he entered land and improved a farm. He also engaged in teaching school and in preaching, as a minister, first of the Baptist and later of the Christian church. He organized churches
90S
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
over a large territory and as one of the most popular ministers of those days he joined in holy wedlock many of the pioneers of this section of the state. The children born to John and Mary (Banks) Wallace were Oliver and Cyrus, residents of Washington township; Stephen, James and John, all deceased; William and Preston, both residents of Wabash, Indiana; Mrs. Sarah Wright and Richard, both deceased; Mrs. Emily Williams; and Allen R., deceased. The parents of these children were both consistent members of the Christian church.
Cyrus Wallace, Mrs. Baker's father, early became familiar with the hard- ships incident to pioneer life, and assisted in the arduous task of clearing a new farm and making rails. He was born in Washington township. Wayne county, May 19, 1817, and remained with his father until his marriage, when he located on a small tract of heavily-timbered land, built a cabin and com- menced to improve his place. He added to his farm from time to time, until he had three hundred and eighty-five acres, which he later divided among his children, while he still retains another farm. Throughout his active life he was successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of the raising of fine horses, but is now living retired in Milton, enjoying a well-earned rest. In 1843 he married Miss Catherine Hunt, a native of Wayne county. Her father, John Hunt, a native of North Caro- lina, came to this county in 1811, and, being a gunsmith by trade, he repaired guns, not only for the white settlers, but also for the Indians, and became a great favorite with the latter. Mr. Hunt possessed the secret of welding cold steel, a process never acquired by any one else, but unfortunately the secret died with him and is lost. During the early Indian wars his services were in great demand by both parties. He died in Wayne county. His wife was a member of the Baptist church. Their children were William, Wilson, John F., Caroline, Martha, Sally, Labonia, Salina, and Catherine, mother of Mrs. Baker; Lazarus died in infancy. To Cyrus and Catherine (Hunt) Wal- lace were born two daughters: Mary, wife of our subject; and Martha, who married O. Ferguson, and died leaving two children.
WALTER S. BAKER.
Sixty years have been added to the past since Walter S. Baker, a youth of twenty years, arrived in the hamlet of Brookville. Poor, with little in the way of capital save a sound constitution, a brave heart and a sturdy deter- mination to achieve success, he began at the bottom rounds of the ladder, and gradually and persistently worked his way upward, and is truly a self- made man.
The Baker family to which our subject belongs originated in Ludwigs- burg, Baden, Germany, his paternal grandfather, Jacob Baker, having been
909
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
born there. When a child he accompanied his parents to this country, set- tling in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he resided near Olean for many years. Removing to Sunbury, Northumberland county, in the same state, prior to the opening year of this century, he spent his last days there, dying in 1828, at the advanced age of one hundred and seven years. Both he and his brother Caspar were heroes of the Revolutionary war, the latter being killed at the battle of Long Island. Jacob Baker was an earnest member of the Lutheran church, and politically was an enthusiastic Whig. He chose for his first wife a lady born in Paris, France, and six children were born to them.
Of these, our subject's father, John Baker, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1773, and removed to Sunbury, Northumber- land county, and later to Selin's Grove, dying in Northumberland, when visiting his daughter, March 14, 1834. By trade he was a carpenter and builder, taking and executing contracts of considerable importance for that day, among others, erecting the mansion of the late Governor Simon Snyder, at Selin's Grove, and a paper-mill for the same gentleman. For years he was a trustee and a leading member of the Lutheran church. At one time a
Democrat, he turned to the Whig party, which better expressed his views on many of the issues of the day. His wife, Sarah, was a daughter of John Sutor, a native of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, whence he went to Franklin county, in the same state, his death occurring there when he had passed the ninetieth anniversary of his birth. He was a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war, and after the dreadful Wyoming massacre he went with Gen- eral Sullivan's expedition through the Susquehanna valley and into New York state, in pursuit of the Indians who had committed the terrible deeds. In after years, when offered a soldier's pension, he indignantly refused it, feeling that it was an insult to his patriotism, and saying, "I was not a Hessian soldier."
Walter S. Baker, a son of John and Sarah (Sutor) Baker, was born in Selin's Grove, Union (now Snyder) county, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1819. In his youth he worked with his father, and after his father's death, at the age of seventeen, he commenced a regular apprenticeship to a carpenter, completing the trade at the end of three years. In 1839 he started for Brookville, Indiana, walking the entire distance with his gun on his shoulder, and accompanying his brothers-in-law, John B. Thurston and John Wise, and their families. The trip consumed twenty-eight days, the party reach- ing here November 3. For two years Mr. Baker worked at his trade and then branched out into the wider field of contracting, which line of enter- prise he was actively engaged in from 1841 to 1862, in this locality, building many of the best houses and business blocks here, among others, the Brook-
910
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
ville College, now used as a high school. Then for seven years he was interested in a milling business, owning a one-half interest in the Exchange Mills and from 1863 to 1882 he was a United States internal-revenue gauger for the fourth district of Indiana. For the past few years he has been practically retired from business, though he attends to his investments. From 1850 to 1869 he entered thousands of acres of government land, for himself and others, in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, and made frequent trips to Texas for the purpose of buying lands for himself and others. In addition to this, he has made investments in Chicago for himself and other parties, and has met with unusual success in the management of all of his property.
At no time have his own private interests, however extensive, kept Mr. Baker front the performance of his public duties, and it would be exceed- ingly difficult to find a more patriotic citizen. Undoubtedly the example o his ancestors found an echo in him, and in this connection a remarkable fact should be pointed out. As already mentioned, his paternal and maternal grandfathers were valiant soldiers in the war of the Revolution, and also a brother of the former. Moreover, Daniel Baker, an uncle of our subject, served in the war of 1812, with the rank of captain, while three of his maternal uncles, George, Henry and Daniel Sutor, were active participants in the same second war with England. During his entire life Walter S. Baker has been a stanch, fearless Whig or Republican. His first presi- dential vote was cast for Harrison, and when the Republican party was being organized he worked zealously in the cause. A strong anti-slavery man, his life was threatened while the war of the Rebellion was in progress, but he did not disguise his hatred for the system nor for the political demagogues who more or less covertly defended and protected it, nourishing treason to the government in the meantime.
The marriage of W. S. Baker and Catherine A. Thurston took place November 14, 1841. She was born at Mount Pleasant, Hamilton county, Ohio, June 30, 1824. Of their eight children, three are deceased: Sarah, who died in infancy; Martha, who died at the age of eighteen years; and Emily, at the age of three years. Winfield Scott, born February 20, 1858, graduated in the naval academy in 1870, and, after serving for a few years in the government navy, resigned, and is living at Brookville; John W. is fore- man of the wood-working department in the Brookville planing mill; Edward S., a printer by trade, is now engaged in gold-mining on the Yukon river, in Alaska; Myron C., of Chicago, is engaged in the manufacture of bicycles; and Emma, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Professor Alley, super- intendent of the Dayton (Kentucky) public schools.
Since 1840 Mr. Baker has been an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as steward, and is now a trustee.
911
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Though eighty years of age, he is well preserved in mind and body, retaining accurately the memory of the county's early history and its growth and prog- ress. In conclusion it may be appropriately noted that at this time Mr. Baker figures, in the matter of continuous residence, as the oldest male pioneer in Brookville, having lived here for sixty years. There are now liv- ing but seven ladies who were residents of Brookville when he came to the place, in 1839, at which time two of them were young ladies, two young misses, and the other three were little "tots" from two to three years of age.
PHILIP L. MULL, B. S., M. D.
The medical profession of Franklin county, Indiana, has had a valued member in the person of Philip L. Mull, B. S., M. D., of Oldenburg. Dr. Mull is a native of Indiana and claims Chestnut Hill, Washington county, as his birthplace. William Mull, his father, also a native of Indiana, was a son of Tobias Mull, who was born in North Carolina, of German par- entage. The latter emigrated from the old North state to Indiana in its pioneer days and settled in Washington county, where he passed the rest of his life and died. He left many descendants, who are now widely scattered. William Mull was born in 1826. He married Miss Mary Ann Fitzpatrick, a daughter of Irish parents, and to them were born ten children.
Philip L. Mull in his early boyhood attended the common schools, and as he grew older formed his plans for a more advanced course of literary study, and also for eventually entering the medical profession. His parents having a large family and being in moderate financial circumstances, it was necessary for him to pay his own way, by his own exertions, to a profession. Having acquired sufficient knowledge of the common branches to entitle him to a certificate, he resorted, as many other young men have done, to the occupation of teaching as a means of raising funds to enable him to accom- plish the end he had in view. He succeeded so well, teaching and attend- ing school alternately, that he was able to graduate with credit from the scientific department of the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso, in the class of 1895, receiving the degree of B. S. Entering the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, Kentucky, he graduated therefrom in 1898, receiving the degree of M. D. He had the honor of being demonstrator of anatomy at the college. He also had special experience in the hospitals, on obstetrics and diseases of women, for which he holds a certificate. After graduation Dr. Mull began the practice of his profession at Louisville, where he remained a short time, when, Oldenburg seeming to offer favorable induce- ments, he decided to remove to this place, which he did, succeeding in prac- tice Dr. F. P. Young. He soon established an excellent practice, his rides covering a radius of about twelve miles, with Oldenburg as a center. As a
912
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
physician and surgeon Dr. Mull has ever held the confidence of the com- munity and as a citizen he is held in high esteem.
In September, 1899, Dr. Mull was called from his extensive and increas- ing practice to accept a professorship in the great Columbian School of Osteopathy, Medicine and Surgery, at Kirksville, Missouri. With many sad regrets, the Doctor bade his many tried and true friends and patients good- bye for a season, and after placing his practice in the hands of Dr. E. Prall, of Henryville, Indiana, his lifelong friend and college room-mate, went to try his fortune with those beyond the "Father of Waters." Before Dr. Mull will have seen the roses (and the thorns) of twenty-eight summers he will have made the journey from the plow to the professorship in a medical college; and he finds great comfort in saying: "I am a self-made inan and have gained my success honestly. All through life I have stood by the prop- osition that a good, honest man never fails."
He is gaining an enviable reputation as a lecturer upon scientific sub- jects and is one of Kirksville's prominent and highly respected citizens.
REV. CHARLES R. PADDACK.
The History of Nantucket says: "Finding that the people of Cape Cod had made greater proficiency in the art of whale-catching than themselves, the inhabitants, in 1690, sent thither and employed a man named Ichabod Paddack, to instruct them in the best manner of killing whales and extract- ing their oil." Thus commenced the Nantucket history of this family. We can not trace the lines from Charles R. Paddack to Ichabod. The great- grandfather of Charles, however, was Benjamin Paddack, of whom little is known. Joseph Paddack, son of Benjamin, was born in Nantucket about 1757, and died in his ninety-second year, in Center township, Union county, Indiana. He was engaged in fisheries at Nantucket and somewhat in whal- ing. He married Any Folger and they had these children, possibly others: Mary (Mrs. Joseph Whippey); Hepzibah, who was three times married, the last union being with one Webb; Phebe, twice married, the last husband being Charles Mitchell; Tristram, father of Charles R .; Eliza died single; Joseph, captain of a whaler for many years, became wealthy and lived and died at Newport. Rhode Island; Alice became the wife of Charles G. Swain, who was a local Methodist preacher, cashier of two prominent banks in Day- ton, Ohio, and judge of probate; Reuben was the youngest child. Tristram and Reuben early settled in Union county, Indiana, and passed the most of their lives there, Reuben, however, removing to Henry county and dying there, after a few years' residence, at an advanced age.
The war of 1812 reduced the people of Nantucket almost to destitution, and many families left the island for the fertile Ohio Valley. Of this num-
C. R. Paddock Cassandra E Paddock
ยท 913
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
ber was Joseph Paddack and family, who made their home in Cincinnati. Staying there but a few years, Mr. Paddack came to Union county, Indiana, which remained his home until his death in his ninety-second year; he sur- vived his wife a number of years. Both were lifelong members of the Society of Friends. Tristram Paddack, born in Nantucket, July 7, 1793, followed the fortunes of his father's family until his marriage, in Cincinnati, June 16, 1816, to Charlotte, daughter of Captain John Palmer, who was a son of Lord Palmer, of England. Commanding a British war vessel, he was defeated by an American ship, left the service and settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Mrs. Paddack was born, March 4, 1797. Her father emigrated to Chenango county, New York, lived there for a time, then in one of the western counties of the state, and from there removed to Cincinnati, where Mrs. Paddack became acquainted with her future husband. The young couple commenced housekeeping in Cincinnati, where Mr. Paddack for some time operated an "ox" sawmill. Captain Palmer and Mr. Paddack soon, however, purchased a gristmill property at Jeffersonville, Indiana, but on account of a flaw in the deed they lost the money invested, and Mr. Paddack returned to Union county, where he purchased the Caleb Wickersham farm, in Center township, where his children, Charles and Ellen, now reside. Mr. Paddack was a birthright Friend, but on his marriage to a Methodist he was disowned by the Quakers. He did not unite with any other sect, but lived by himself in accordance with the high standard of morality and purity inculcated by the Friends and was well known for his blameless life. He was once elected justice of the peace, but paid his fine rather than serve. From the time of its purchase until his death, November 4, 1870, in his eighty-fourth year, he resided on his farm, and now lies peacefully at rest in the Friends' burying ground at Salem. His wife survived hin nineteen years, dying in 1889, and was buried at the side of her husband. She was con- verted in early life and was for over seventy-five years a valued member of the Methodist church. To illustrate her sterling character we will state that after losing the mill property at Jeffersonville, her father removed to Ar- kansas, and became very wealthy and an extensive slave-owner. From her opposition to slavery she could not consent to be enriched by its profits, and in consequence received but a small part of her portion of her father's estate. To this worthy couple were born these children: The three eldest, Lydia, George and John, died in infancy; George (2d), Mary, Phebe H. and Joanna (Mrs. Samuel L. Royalty) all are now dead. Joseph H. lives near the old home in Center township; Sarah M. married first, Job Harris, an elder in the Friends Society; secondly, Elisha Bracey, and lives in Randolph county; Ellen resides on the homestead farm; and Charles R. and Benjamin F. are now residents of Randolph county.
58
914
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Charles Rollin Paddack was born on the Center township homestead, in Union county, October 22, 1839. His early life was passed on the farm, assisting in the many duties connected therewith, and his first educational acquisitions were obtained by diligent study at the fireside of the old-fash- ioned log house that was his home. He prepared for college at the Salem public school, and entered Hartsville (Indiana) College in 1862 and had its advantages for a time, but on May 24, 1864, he was mustered into the United States service as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with it was assigned to the First Brigade, First Division, Twentieth Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. This regiment had a severe baptism of blood in its by no means long period of service, suffering more severely than many older organ- izations with longer terms of service. On August 20, 1864, while in camp with his regiment near Nashville, Tennessee, a strange accident came near fracturing his spinal column. He was not only incapacitated from military service at that time, but at this day-thirty-five years later-he suffers intensely from its effects and is compelled to constantly have the support of crutches. Mustered out of service on September 2, 1864, with his regiment, he returned to his home, and for nearly a year was unfitted by his injury for any business, much of the time being confined to his bed. He then taught school for a few years, -as long as his health admitted.
Mr. Paddack has had a peculiar religious experience. He says he was "" converted " at the age of five years and from that time had a clear call to preach. When a mere child his mother asked him what he was going to do in life, and his answer was: "Stand up and tell the people." This call has always been heard by him, clear, strong and persistent. While in attend- ance at Hartsville College his religious experience was renewed. He joined the United Brethren church and commenced to preach. After relinquishing teaching, as before stated, he was "licensed," in August, 1873, by the White River annual conference, and was ordained an elder in 1878. He has filled various charges in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, working as a regular itinerant and also as an evangelist.
In politics Mr. Paddack was long a Republican. He voted for Grant for president, under protest, however, on account of prohibition. He voted the first prohibition ticket cast in Union county and organized and was made ipresident of the first Prohibition county convention, and from that time he ihas been firm in his allegiance to prohibition. A man of strong and independ- ent thought, he never blindly follows the teachings of any one, but puts all things to the test of reason enlightened by the grace of God. He has always been opposed to secret societies and for some years voted the " American " or anti-secret society ticket. He is a man who votes for men, not partisans,
mr. and Mrs. Isaac K. Lcc.
915
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
in all local issues, and may be styled an independent. In spite of his pro- hibition tendencies he was once elected justice of the peace by his Republican friends. He has ever been a diligent reader of the best literature and a close, logical reasoner.
Mr. Paddack married first, November 25, 1866, Miss Mary B. McCreary, daughter of John and Mary T. (Williams) McCreary, who was born in Center township. She died March 10, 1895. Their children were: Markwood, Otterbein and Lawrence Dillon, the last named dying in infancy. Mr. Pad- dack married secondly, on March 27, 1898, Cassandra Elina Lee, daughter of Isaac K. and Anna C. (Glidewell) Lee, a native of Salt Creek township, Franklin county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.