USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
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ABSALOM R. CASE.
The Case family is one that has long been identified with Franklin county, Indiana, and few families have done more to aid in its development and advance its best interests. A worthy representative of this family is the subject of this sketch, Absalom R. Case, whose postoffice address is New Trenton.
Absalom R. Case was born at New Trenton, Franklin county, Indiana, October 25, 1823, son of John P. and Mary (Wildridge) Case, both natives of New Jersey. John P. Case was a son of John and Margaret (Bohannan) Case, both of German descent and natives of New Jersey. The senior John Case was a soldier of the Revolution. In 1811 he emigrated to the Western Reserve, making the journey in a wagon drawn by horses, and his first loca- tion in the west was near Harrison, Ohio. Soon afterward he came to Frank- lin county, Indiana, and here bought land and built a mill, four miles south of Brookville. This was one of the first mills in the county, was known as the Case inill and was patronized by the people living near and far. Grain was brought from remote portions of the county to the Case mill. In addi- tion to operating the mill Mr. Case carried on farming, and he was for years one of the best known and most active men of Franklin county. Finally he retired from milling and moved to a farm near Harrison, where he passed the evening of life, his death occurring at a ripe old age. His family con- sisted of three sons, namely: John P., father of Absalom R .; Samuel, who died in Tippecanoe county, Indiana; and George, who died in Oregon.
John P. Case was a boy at the time his parents came to what was then the frontier, Franklin county, Indiana, and here he grew up, married and passed his life. He died in 1880. His youth was spent in the mill and on the farm, assisting his father, and after he married he settled on one of his father's farms. When a young inan he learned the trade of blacksmith, and after spending a short time on the farm he removed to New Trenton and there worked at his trade for many years. The latter part of his life was devoted to farming exclusively. He owned a large farm and carried on extensive operations. He took an active interest in public affairs, affiliated with the Whig party in early life and filled a number of local offices, such as justice of the peace, township trustee and county commissioner. During the
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days of general muster he was captain of a company and took a just pride in the fact that his was the prize company in all their drills. Few of the early pioneers of his locality were more popular than he. His sterling integrity and his straightforward, upright life won him the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. For his first wife he married Hannah Wildridge. Her children all died in infancy or early childhood, and she died in the prime of early womanhood. He then married her sister, Mary Wildridge. They were daughters of Ralph and Elizabeth (Pence) Wildridge, natives of New Jersey, who came to the territory of Indiana about the year ISII. In the spring of 1812 Mr. Wildridge secured license to keep a house of entertain- ment near where New Trenton was afterward located. In 1816, the year Indiana was admitted to statehood, he and Samuel Rockafellar platted the town of New Trenton, giving it the name of New Trenton because their old home in New Jersey was near Trenton. Mr. Wildridge died about the year 1828. He was a man of prominence in the pioneer locality and before his death had accumulated a large amount of property. His children in order of birth were John, Charles, James, Ralph, Mrs. Sarah Wyatt, Mrs. Hannah Case, Mrs. Elizabeth Harper and Mrs. Mary Case. John P. Case and his second wife, Mary, became the parents of the following named chil- dren: Hannah, wife of Dr. Samuel Davis, at one time representative in the state legislature from Franklin county, died in Indianapolis, as also did her husband; Absalom R., whose naine initiates this sketch; Eleanor M., who resides at the old homestead at New Trenton; Benjamin F., deceased; Leora A., wife of B. F. Seely; and eight others who died when young. The mother of this family died in 1878.
Absalom R. Case, the direct subject of this review, has spent his whole life in the vicinity of his birthplace, New Trenton. The first few years of his married life were passed on a farm. For two years and a half he con- ducted a general merchandise store in New Trenton, and on selling that bought his present farm of four hundred and twenty acres, located half a mile west of New Trenton, on the county line, most of the land lying in Dear- born county, and the canal running through it. In the days of canal travel he built a warehouse, which was used as such until the Whitewater Valley Railroad was built, when it was converted into a station, and he was placed in charge of the same. He had charge of the railroad office here for twenty- three years. In ISSI he erected a sawmill, which he and his sons have operated here ever since, and in addition to this they have an extensive saw- mill and lumber business in West Virginia. During all these years he has also maintained a general supervision over his large farining operations, in agriculture and stock-raising. He is a stockholder and treasurer of a com- pany owning a gravel road. He has made many profitable investinents,
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branching out in various lines, and whatever he has undertaken has always, under his management, proved a success. Politically Mr. Case in a Repub- lican. During the civil war he was captain of a company of home guards.
Mr. Case was married in 1847 to Miss Julia A. Nye, who was born May 20, 1830, in the same house in New Trenton in which he first saw the light of day. Her parents, Zadoc A. and Kitty A. (Hinkson) Nye, were both natives of New England. Mr. Nye came with his parents to Indiana at an early day and first settled in Wayne county, whence they removed to White- water township, Franklin county, where young Nye learned the blacksmith trade. For some time he was employed at journeyman work, at different places, and finally entered the employ of Mr. Case's father, later buying him out. He married and settled permanently at New Trenton. After working at his trade for some time he turned his attention to merchandising, in which he was engaged for a number of years, having a successful career. Having accumulated a competency, he retired from business about 1855 and moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he yet resides, and at this writing (1899) he is ninety-four years of age. His first wife died August 10, 1833. His second wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca J. Wildridge, is still living. The only child of his first marriage was Julia A., wife of Mr. Case. By his second wife he has four children: Ezra, Anna E., Ralph W. and Edwin. Mr. and Mrs. Case became the parents of the following named children: Jesse F., a farmer; Ezra N., engaged in the mill and lumber business in West Virginia; Julia M., who is at home, has been prominent in the work of the Grange, serving for a number of years as secretary of Franklin County Grange, also representing the county in the State Grange, in which latter body she was also honored with official preferment; A. Allen, a dealer in and trainer of horses; and Edwin, who married Catherine Lake, and who engaged in farm- ing at the old homestead. Mrs. Case died January 13, 1895.
JOHN A. DOTY.
Among the honored pioneer families of Franklin county, Indiana, who have long been identified with its interests and have aided in its development, is the family which bears the name of Doty and of which John A. Doty, of Rockdale, is a representative.
John A. Doty was born in Highland township, Franklin county, January 19, 1850, and was reared to farm life, receiving his education in the common schools. His parents, Jeremiah and Eliza (Foster) Doty, were born in Franklin county, this state, and West Virginia, respectively. Jeremiah Doty was a son of Silas Doty, a New Yorker by birth. When a young, unmarried man Silas Doty came west with a small colony, making the trip down the Ohio river on a flatboat and landing at Cincinnati. From Cincinnati he came
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to Franklin county, Indiana, at an early day and settled in Highland town- ship. The lady whom he afterward married came down the river in the same boat with him. It was soon after their marriage that he located in Highland township, entering a large tract of land and devoting his energies during the following years to its improvement and cultivation. Here he died at the ripe age of eighty-eight years. He was a consistent and active member of the Primitive Baptist church, as also was his wife, she, too, being a native of the Empire state. Politically he was a Jackson Democrat, and while he took a commendable interest in public affairs he never aspired to office. He was in the war of 1812. His only child was Jeremiah, the father of the subject of this sketch.
Jeremiah Doty has passed his whole life in Franklin county, engaged in agricultural pursuits, having inherited his father's farm, which he still owns and occupies. He has always been a stanch Democrat, but has never aspired to official honors, preferring to give his time and attention to his farm. He married Miss Eliza Foster, a native of Virginia, who went west with her par- ents at an early day and settled in Dearborn county, Indiana. The Fosters subsequently moved still further west. Their family comprised three chil- dren, -George, Eliza and Lewis, -Eliza being the only one of the number to remain in Indiana. The children born to Jeremiah and Eliza Doty were Anna, wife of J. Story; John A., whose name heads this sketch; George, of Rockdale, this county; Silas, a resident of Missouri; and Francis, of High- land township, Franklin county. The mother of these children died and the father was subsequently married again, his second wife dying in 1883. By the second marriage there was one son, William Doty, a resident of this county. Mr. Doty is a member of the Methodist church, as also were his wives.
John A. Doty, the direct subject of this review, remained a member of his father's household until the time of his marriage, when he settled on a rented farm. About 1884 he engaged in the sawmill business in Brookville township, remaining there until 1887, when he came to Rockdale. Here he purchased his present mill site and erected a large sawmill, which he has since operated, doing a large and prosperous business. In addition to run- ning his mill he is engaged in contracting, building both houses and barns, taking the contract complete for building and material. Mr. Doty was rocked in a Democratic cradle and has affiliated with this party all his life. He was at one time elected justice of the peace, but did not qualify, and has never accepted any office.
Mrs. John A. Doty was formerly Miss Mary Berg. She was born in Franklin county, Indiana, June 26, 1853, daughter of Adam and Lucinda (Whitney) Berg, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New York
.
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state. Mr. Berg came from Germany to this country when young and set- tled in Franklin county, Indiana, where he became a tiller of the soil. He is still living, now seventy-six years of age, and is a resident of Fairfield township, Franklin county. He is politically a Democrat and religiously a Baptist. Of his family, which comprised seven members, we record that William is a farmer of Franklin county; James lives in Vermilion county, Indiana; Mary is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Josephine married a Mr. Ashby; Emma married J. Reinner; Belle married J. Schofield; and John went west some years ago and died. Mr. and Mrs. Doty became the parents of three children, namely: Iva, born October 8, 1877; Ethel, born March 28, 1883; and Nelly, born August 6, 1886. Iva is the wife of Frank Otto, a farmer of Highland township, and they have two sons, -Cecil and Virgil. Mrs. Doty died August 16, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Doty were formerly mem- bers of the Methodist church, but later, for convenience of attending worship, identified themselves with the United Brethren church, of which he is still a consistent member.
JAMES SHULTZ.
Within the span of the life of this worthy citizen of College Corner, Union county, notable changes for the better have been made in everything bearing upon the welfare of the people of this community. In place of the wilderness are fertile, well cultivated farms and thriving villages, and, per- chance, where the wigwam of the Indian once stood, a school-house or a church may be found to-day. In the grand march of civilization, in the grand result of the untiring zeal and industry of the white race, Mr. Shultz has shared, and the history of his career is that of one who has bravely fought the battle of life and has come off a victor.
Captain John Shultz, the father of the above named gentleman, was a native of Augusta county, Virginia, and in 1821 he assisted his brother-in- law, Captain William Webb, in moving his family and household effects to Indiana. Captain Webb, who had earned his title in the war of 1812, thenceforth lived in Franklin county. After his return to Virginia Captain John Shultz arranged his affairs so that he was free to come back to this state the following year, this time being accompanied by his brother Henry. Each of the young men took up eighty acres of land, in the woods, and in the extreme western part of the settled portion of Bath township. During the rest of their lives the brothers kept up the warmest interest in each other, being associated in numerous enterprises. They were both active members of Harmony Presbyterian church, which they assisted to organize in 1837, and in which Henry Shultz was an elder for years. Prior to the establish- ment of this church, however, Captain Shultz was one of the charter mem-
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bers of the Mount Carmel church, joining the congregation in IS28. Henry Shultz died at the age of seventy-seven years, and his wife lived to reach her eighty-fourth anniversary. Foremost in all local improvements, and influen- tial among his neighbors, Captain Shultz was frequently called upon to act in official positions, where he fully justified the high expectations of his friends. His title was one given him while he was at the head of a company of militia, in his younger days. At the time of his death, July 15. ISS2, he was in his eightieth year, and for almost three-score years had lived upon one farm.
In 1824 Captain Shultz married, in Union county, Maria, daughter of William and Isabel Crawford, of Union township. She was born in Vir- ginia and came to Indiana with her parents when she was six or eight years old. They were among the earliest settlers on Indian creek, as the date of their arrival there is, probably, 1805. The father died at the age of fifty- four years, in 1814, but the mother lived to see her ten sons and one daugh- ter grow to maturity. She died at the age of seventy-three years, on March 28, 1837, and though none of her children are now living all reached advanced years, save Maria, who died at the age of thirty-one. Left with five little motherless children, the Captain married the same year, in Sep- tember, 1837, Mrs. Catherine Cox, a former schoolmate of his in Virginia, and she survived him, dying July 31, 1898, when in her ninety-second year. All save one of the sons and daughters of the Captain are living. Those born of the first marriage are: James; Cyrus of Kirksville, Missouri; Syl- vester, of Knox county, Missouri; Henry, of Cameron, Missouri; and Eleanor, of Knox City, Missouri. The others are: George, of Preble county, Ohio; Mary, wife of Nelson Davis, of Daviess county, Indiana; Maria, wife of Amos Bowen, of Decatur, Illinois; Perry, who died on the old homestead in Frank- lin county on August 12, 1899; and Rowena, who is the wife of John Goudy, of Harlan county, Nebraska.
James Shultz was born in Bath township, Franklin county, March IS, 1826. He continued to live at home and to assist in the work of the farm until he arrived at his majority and was married, when he located upon a rented place in Springfield township, of the same county. That farm he afterward purchased of his father, and for twenty-seven years he cultivated the place, after which he removed to another homestead, in Bath township. At the end of seven years he left the place last mentioned and bought one of one hundred and sixty acres, paying therefor eighty-seven and one-half dol- lars an acre. This fertile and well-improved farm, on which stands a sub- stantial brick house, is situated along the public pike, between Oxford and Bath, and is a most desirable homestead. Mr. Shultz removed to College Corner in 1882 and rents this farm, in addition to which he owns another
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one, of one hundred and eighty acres, in Union township, Union county. For twelve years he was engaged in merchandising in College Corner, three years of this period being a dealer in furniture and the remainder of the time being the proprietor of a hardware and drug store, his stock of goods being placed in a building of his own construction.
From his childhood Mr. Shultz has been familiar with the doctrines of the Presbyterians, and since he was seventeen he has belonged to Harmony church. Active both in the church and Sunday-school, he occupied various official positions until March, 1898. He has served for thirty-four years as an elder in the church. He is a Republican, has been a trustee of Bath township and has served on the village school board for eight years or more, and was prominent in the erection of the splendid school building at College Corner. He was one of the five organizers of the College Corner Cemetery and erected one of the first and finest monuments therein.
After twenty-seven years of happy married life the first wife of our sub- ject, Mrs. Elvira (Hurd) Shultz, passed into the silent land. Two years later, in 1866, Mr. Shultz wedded Miss Charlotte Cunningham, of Springfield township, Franklin county, and their only child, Mary Winnie, is the wife of Bert Bell, who is a farmer residing about four miles west of College Corner. The young couple have one son, Wilbur E. The eldest child of our sub- ject's first marriage, John Riley, a farmer near this village, died at twenty- eight years of age, in 1879, and of his two children only Clifford E. Schultz survives. Johanna, the second child of James and Elvira Shultz, married James B. Goff, and died at the age of twenty-one, in 1872, leaving one son, Charles W. Goff, now a bookkeeper in Denver, Colorado. Clara F., the third child, is the wife of LaFayette Moore, a hardware merchant at College Corner.
JOHN W. HIMELICK.
An energetic, progressive agriculturist of Union township, Union county, is he of whom this sketch is penned. One of the native sons of Indiana, he was born in Bath township, Franklin county, August 3, 1860, and in this section of the state his whole life has been passed.
Andrew Himelick, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Virginia, but came to Indiana in the early part of its history, and seventy- three years ago settled upon the land, in Bath township, now owned by his son John, the father of John W., of this sketch. Andrew Himelick spent the rest of his days on that homestead, which he cleared and improved. He died when in his sixty-eighth year, and was survived a few years by his widow. John, their son, was born in 1824 and since he was two years old has lived at his present home. He has been fairly successful as a farmer and has given considerable attention to the breeding of good horses.
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In his early manhood John Himelick married Miss Mary E. Davis, who was born in Butler county, Ohio. They have had six children, of whom the eldest, Mary, is the wife of Jacob T. Sites, and is now living on the old homestead with her father; Marian, wife of N. J. Moore, resides in College Corner; Laura is Mrs. James A. Bake, of Bath township; Flora married Clinton Walling and died at the age of twenty-two years; and Grant is a farmer of Bath township.
John W. Himelick passed his boyhood in the usual vocations of country lads and early mastered the duties of an agricultural life. Just after he had celebrated his arrival at his majority, he was married, on the 16th of August, 1881, to Miss Rachael Dubois, a daughter of John K, and Elizabeth Dubois, of Union township, Union county. Mrs. Dubois is still living, her home being in Bath township, Franklin county. Mrs. Himelick was born in this township, on a farin situated about two miles south of Billingsville. To John W. Himelick and wife two sons were born, namely: Loren Dwight and Ellis Ralph, now fifteen and eleven years of age, respectively. The mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In starting upon his indpendent career Mr. Himelick purchased his pres- ent farm, which has long been known as the Gobel place. The property is located four and a half miles southwest of College Corners, and is but one- third of a mile fromn the line between Union and Franklin counties. On this homestead, which comprises eighty acres, the owner has placed many valu- ble improvements, including tiling. He practices the rotation of crops and feeds his stock with grain which he raises.
Politically he is strongly in favor of Republican principles, and has fre- quently attended local, congressional and state conventions of his party in the capacity of a delegate. In 1892 he was elected to the responsible posi- tion of county commissioner, and upon the 5th of December he entered upon his duties as such. In 1894 he was re-elected for another term of three years, and has given the public general satisfaction as an official.
STANTON E. GORDIN, M. D.
Stanton E. Gordin, M. D., of Alquina, Fayette county, Indian, has been a member of the medical fraternity of this county since 1896. Dr. Gordin is a native of the Buckeye state. He was born in Greene county, Ohio, in April, 1870, only son and one of a family of five children of J. B. Gordin. In the public schools and in the well known normal school at Val- paraiso, Indiana, Dr. Gordin received his education, and for a year was engaged in educational work as a teacher. Choosing the medical profession for his life work he began the study of medicine in 1891, under the pre- ceptorship of Dr. A. A. Mathews, and later entered the College of Physicians
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& Surgeons at Chicago, where he pursued the regular course and graduated with the class of 1896. Soon after his graduation Dr. Gordin came to Alquina and opened an office and entered upon his professional career, a career which promises to be one characterized by activity and usefulness, for already he has, by his genial gentlemanly manner and the professional skill he has displayed, won the confidence and respect of the people of this com- munity.
Fraternally, Dr. Gordin is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. Young and unmarried and with a bright future, his later biographers will doubtless have other chapters to add.
JOHN DICKSON.
John Dickson, one of the respected and honored early settlers of Frank- lin county, who recently passed to his reward, is justly entitled to representa- tion in the annals of this county, as he was thoroughly associated with its development from his childhood until his death. No citizen of his commu- nity was more highly esteemed, and his bright, cheerful disposition and habit of looking on the best side of things made him a general favorite with young and old.
His parents, George and Eliza (Peterson) Dickson, were natives of Ire- land, and for a few years after their arrival in America they lived in Ontario, Canada. In 1829 they came to Franklin county and bought and improved a farm in Whitewater township. Mr. Dickson held a number of important local offices, among others that of township trustee, and was looked up to and consulted, as his broad and liberal mind, good judgment and sterling honor were never called in question. He was considered one of the pillars in the Methodist church, serving as class-leader and in other positions. John, the subject of this sketch, was his only son, but there were five daughters, Mrs. S. N. Campbell being the only daughter now living.
John Dickson was born at Kingston, Ontario, March 19, 1824, and was but five years of age at the time that the family settled in this county. He was reared on the little clearing in the midst of the forest, and had small opportunities in the way of an education. He aided his father manfully in the extremely arduous work of clearing away the heavy timber, and upon attaining his majority he started out in independent life, empty-handed. He bought a small tract of land, which he reduced to cultivation and then sold, buying the homestead, in Springfield township, now owned by his widow. He was obliged to encumber himself heavily with debt, in order to procure this home, but he met each payment as it was due, and bravely went for- ward to his next task, never faltering. Years rolled away, and he became quite prosperous, as he justly deserved. At the time of his death, June 15.
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