USA > Indiana > Washington County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Harrison County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Crawford County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Clark County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Scott County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Floyd County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Jennings County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
USA > Indiana > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 62
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His mother was Elizabeth Lisman, who was the daughter of a teacher in Prussia. Her only brother was forced into the army of Napoleon Bonaparte, and served under him; while returning home he was starved to death-some of his comrades lived to re- turn home and tell the sad story.
The father of the subject of this sketch
raised a family of six children, four sons and two daughters. Michael was the youngest of the family, was raised on a farm and educated in the county schools of his time.
In 1840 he enlisted in the war with Mexico, in Capt. Sullivan's company, in the Third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. Was in all the battles of his regiment, along the Valley of the Rio Grande. At the close of the war he crossed the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, where his regiment was dis- banded.
In August, 1849, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Miles, of this county. The re- sult of this union was six sons and four daughters : Enos J., Evan, Marion, John A., Chas. F., Michael J., Mary F., Nettie, Anna and Ida.
The subject of this sketch was also in the late war for ten months and fifteen days, in the Twenty-second Regiment Indi- ana Volunteers. Entered September 22, 1864, served to the end of the war; was with Gen. Thomas at Nashville, Ten. After the close of the war he returned home and engaged in farming, especially fruit culture.
For twenty years past he has been quite successful in this line, and has now a very nice nursery. He also engaged in the fish culture a few years since, and now has a pool of fine carps on his farm.
He has raised and educated his large family, giving to them all of the benefits of schools and teaching which the country af- forded. He is a good farmer and citizen.
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JAMES H. SMITH, county surveyor, Shelby township, Jefferson county, Ind. Mr. Smith's parents were Wm. Smith and Anna M. (Tull) Smith. His father was a native of Maryland, and came to Kentucky in 1806 and was one of the pioneers of that State. He removed to Indiana and settled in Jefferson county in 1823, on a farm in Shelby township, owned at present by the subject of this sketch. He served as a county commissioner of Jefferson county for a number of years. He died August 4, 1843. The mother of James H. Smith was the daughter of Handy and Eleanor Tull; her father was a Revolution- ary soldier. Mr. James Smith was of Scotch-Irish descent.
Mr. Smith, the subject of this sketch, was born in Woodford county, Ky., Janu- ary 27, 1821, and was raised on a farm in this county. He was educated in a log school-house, having none of the modern apparatus used in education nowadays. At the age of 18 he began teaching school, and continued at that for ten years. All of this time was spent in his own county.
He was married at the age of 23 to Catherine Overturf, who was of German de- seent ; her parents came from Kentucky. They are the parents of six children : Eliza- beth A., Wm. W., Sylvanus G., Mary E., John S. and James H. All of his sons are married but one. John S. is a physician practicing in Cass county, Ind., and was a graduate of the class of '82 in the Ohio Medical College.
Mr. Smith was elected justice of the peace in 1852, and served eight years.
After that, was county school examiner for four years. Then was captain of Home Guards during the war. During the war he was elected county surveyor and has served as such ever since, except for four years, and was re-elected in the fall of 1888 for two years more.
Capt. Smith is a Mason, a member of the Blue Lodge. He is a Republican, and has been prominent in that party in this county ever since the party was organized. His father was a Whig, and was an ad- mirer and earnest supporter of Henry Clay. Capt. Smith's first vote was cast for Henry Clay.
GRANVILLE T. SMITHA, farmer, Monroe township, was born September 1, 1814, in Woodford county, Ky. He is the son of John Smitha, who was born in Penn county, Va., and removed to Kentucky in the beginning of this century ; and came from there to Indiana in 1819; settled in Jefferson county, at the head of Crooked creek, lived here some two years, then re- moved into the Woodfill neighborhood, and then moved to Ripley county; after re- maining there some time came back to Jefferson county, near Bryantsburgh, where he bought land near the Robbins' farm, in Shelby township. The boyhood of the sub- ject of this sketch was passed principally on this farm. In 1832, October 18, Gran- ville T. Smitha was married to Eliza E. Robbins, daughter of Wm. Robbins (whose
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sketch appears in this book). They had fourteen children as the result of their mar- riage : Wm. R., Jolm, Willis H., Elizabeth R., Granville T., Mary A. R., Eliza Jane, Susan A., Melissa J., James B., Jeptha, Jerusia, Albert, and an infant.
Mr. Smitha was born on a farm, and raised a farmer's boy and man, and is now an old farmer. He was educated in the schools of his youth (very different from those of this day). He is an earnest sup- porter and a prominent member of the Baptist Church. He saw Indians here, and tasted of all of the hardships of a pioneer life, and is now in declining health and years, enjoying the products of his labors, both physically and socially, of early life. He owns 106 acres of land, and lives com- fortably upon it. His oldest son, Wm. R., was raised on the farm, and at the second call for volunteers enlisted in Co. C, Eighty- second Regiment Indiana Infantry Volun- teers, August 13, 1862, and was with Sher- man on his "March to the Sea," and in all of the engagements of his regiment. He was wounded twice. He lives at Edinburgh.
Albert A., the youngest son of Granville T., was born December 13, 1857; was edu- cated in the schools of his township, and married March 14, 1878, to Mollie Ander- son. They have four children : Charles, William, John and Florence. He is a young and energetic farmer and a good citizen.
CHRISTOPHER SMART, farmer, Mon- roe township, was born in Otsego county, New York, February 18, 1824. His par- ents were Abraham and Elizabeth (Abby) Smart, who were natives of England.
His father was a farmer and emigrated to America in June, 1819. He remained in New York State until 1834, when he came to Indiana, and settled in Lancaster town- ship, Jefferson county, now Monroe town- ship, where he and his wife both died (see sketch of Mrs. Matilda Willoughby).
Christopher Smart came to Jefferson county three years later, and is still living on the old homestead. He was educated in the schools of his day; his principal instructors were a Welshman, by the name of David Jones, and an Irishman by the name of Craig (see his sketch).
In 1850, on the 6th day of October, he was married to Miss Maria L. McGee, daughter of William and Margaret A. (Large) McGee. Her father came to Madi- son from Ohio in 1823, formerly from Vir- ginia, and was of Irish descent.
The children of their marriage are : Pirene, married to G. A. Valilie, living in Carroll county, Ky .; William A., died aged 17 years and 6 months; Arabella, at home; Christopher W., killed by the fall of a tree in Obion county, Tenn .; Thomas I., at home; Georgiana, a teacher of Jefferson county ; James M., teacher of Jefferson county ; and Riley L.
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Mr. Christopher Smart taught school four terms, the first three in a log school- house with split logs for seats, and one term in a stone school-house; his salary was 75 cents and $1.00 per day. His own school-day advantages were meager.
During the dark days of the late civil war he was township trustee for two years, and has held the postoffice at Big Creek ever since it has been established.
LEONARD D. SPANN. The Spann fam- ily was of English ancestry. A short time before the Revolutionary war, the liead of the American branch migrated to Ameri- ca and settled in the Colony of South Car- olina. There were four of the sons and brothers of this family engaged as soldiers in that war, on the side of the Colonies. Three of them were soldiers in the ranks, and Jesse, the youngest, born in 1756, be- ing too young for regular enlistment, acted as a scout or helper in the service. He saw and conversed with General Washing- ton.
After the war he married, and lived, until 1801, in Sumter District, South Carolina ; then moved to Garrard county, Kentucky, and in 1816 he came to Indiana, and set- tled in Lancaster township, Jefferson coun- ty, Indiana.
Moses Spann, the son of Jesse, was born June 3, 1799, in Sumter District, Southi Carolina, and came with his father to Ken-
tucky and Indiana. He was a carpenter by trade, and assisted in the log rollings of the early settlement of this county, one spring being present at thirty-three of these interesting gatherings. In those days the whole county voted at the county-seat, Madison. About forty started from Lan- caster to go to town to vote; a foot race to Madison was proposed, distance nine miles. Only four of the entire number made the race; they were Moses Spann, Solomon Spann, Miller Hall and Lacy Reynolds. Moses Spann died in 1886.
Leonard D. Spann, who furnishes this sketch, was the son of Moses, and was born May 26, 1841, in Jefferson county, Ind. His mother's name was Nahala Smith, and she was the daughter of Asa Smith, who settled at an early date on the land where Dupont now stands.
Mr. Leonard D. Spann was raised on a farm and educated in the common schools, and took a course of study at the High School at Dupont. Taught school for three years. At the breaking ont of the Rebellion he enlisted in the State service, and served there two years and six months, being in the United States service some sixty-five days.
He was married in 1865, to Miss Laura Driggs, daughter of Lloyd Driggs, a native of Baltimore, Md., and a resident of Mad- ison, Ind., since 1820. Mr. and Mrs. Spann have eight children : Minnie L. is married to Mr. E. Bennett, and lives in New Al- bany, Ind; John E. married Miss Alice Cary Patton, and lives in New Albany ; Clara died when sixteen years of age; the
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younger children, Frank D., Harley, Lloyd, Ethel E. and Bessie L. are all at home.
Mr. Spann was for some years repre- senting the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of Madison, Ind., and is now one of the directors. He is also a director of the Jefferson County Fair.
He is a member of John A. Hendricks Post, No. 107, G. A. R. He owns eighty acres of well-improved land.
Elder ROBERT STEVENSON, preacher and farmer, Shelby township, Jefferson county, Ind., was born February 5, 1815, in Ayrshire, Scotland, and came to the United States in 1828. He is the son of Robert Stevenson, who was also born in Scotland in 1787, and was a large woolen manufacturer in that country, at Kilmanark ; came to Indiana and bought a farm in Shelby township, Jefferson county, which is still owned by the Stevenson family, and spent his remaining life there. The ancestors of this family were of the town of Kickerton. The mother of Robert, the subject of this sketch, was Jennet Wallace, of the family of Sir Wm. Wallace, and her people were of the same county, at Manchlien, on the farm Bergour. In Scotland the women retain their maiden names after marriage. She died in 1883, at the age of 88 years and 6 months.
Mr. Robert Stevenson, the subject of this sketch, was raised on the farm and
educated in Scotland, not having any ad- vantages of schooling after he came to this country. They had only boards for slates and firecoals for pencils. In this way he became able to enter the ministry. He has been an active working man all his life; has worked at carpentering, built his own house and made his own furniture, some of which is still in his possession. He is a minister of the Baptist Church, and has preached in many counties in this State, and has also preached in other States. He began his work in the ministry in 1843, and may be called one of the pioneer preachers of this State. He was engaged in a State work for one year.
He was married in 1837 to Miss Bar- bara Sterrett, who was born in Scotland, but came, when quite young, with her par- ents, to Jefferson county. Their children were James, Robert, William and Mary. His wife died April 17, 1846, and he was re-married May 4, 1847, to Sarah Rut- ledge, a native of Kentucky; her parents were of Virginia. The result of this mar- riage was five children : John, George, David, Sarah and Charles. Three of his sons were in the army : James and Robert in the Sixth Indiana Infantry, and William in the Tenth Indiana Cavalry. His sons are all of them farmers, three of them live in Jef- ferson county, one in the Far West and one in Shelby county. Both of his daughters are married. Mary lives in Ripley county and Sarah in Galveston, Ind.
Mr .. Stevenson once labored in the Long Run Mission for three years, and preached 342 days in one year.
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James was wounded at Stone River, and died from the effects of the wound; his body was brought home for interment.
ROBERT STEVENSON, JR., farmer, Shelby township, Jefferson county, Ind. He is the second son of Robert Stevenson, Sr., of same township and county. He was born May 28, 1844, and was raised on a farm, and educated in the common schools. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Co. A, Sixth Regiment Indiana Vols., and served two years and six months, when he was dis- charged for disability received at Chatta- nooga, Jan.'6, 1864. He was in the bat- tles of Shiloh, Corinth, Chickamauga and others. He was taken prisoner at Law- renceburg, Ky. Upon returning home, as soon as he had sufficiently recovered from his disability, he resumed the life of a farmer, and has followed it ever since. In 1865 he was married to Mary E. Barber, who had formerly been married to John W. Hicks (a soldier), who was the daughter of James Barber. The result of this union was four children : James W., Lucius L., Minnie E. (who died at twenty-three months of age) and Robert F. Mr. Steven- son is a prominent member of the Baptist Church.
He has never sought an office of any kind. Having felt the great need of a good education, he is endeavoring to give his
children better school advantages than he had himself. Owing to the hardships of his life in the army he is physically a wreck.
MARCUS B. SULZER, a promising young lawyer of Jefferson county, is a na- tive of Madison, Ind. He was born April 19, 1860, and is a son of Raphael R. and Rachel (Heimidingor) Sulzer, who were natives of Alsace, France.
His father came to Madison in 1854, and engaged in the merchandise business, and retired from business about six years ago.
Mr. Sulzer was raised in Madison, and was educated in the common schools, hav- ing no money to attend the higher schools. Began to read law in 1879 with Linck & Bellamy, and was admitted to practice in 1881. He conducted many important trials before he was admitted to the bar. He made a good argument in the cases of the State vs. Cooper, and other murder cases; since coped with Jason Brown and others.
In the case of Peter Cooper for murder, he made the closing speech, and sent him up for life; Brown making the closing speech for the defense. When only 19 years of age he wrote articles pertaining to river and marine matters, which were extensively copied by leading papers of the country, which attracted the attention of Governor Williams, who appointed him, at
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19, delegate to the River Convention at Quincy, Ill., and while there he responded at a banquet for Indiana. In 1880 Gov- ernor Gray removed him for being a Re- publican, and Governor Porter re-appointed him in 1884, and he holds that position now.
In 1882 he was elected as city attorney, which place he held for two terms. Whilst in that office he revised the city ordinances and made a book of them, which is received as the standard of the laws of the city. When his term expired the Democratic Council of the city gave him a unanimous vote of thanks for the manner in which he had performed his duties.
In 1884 he was elected as prosecutor of the Fifth Circuit; re-elected in 1886 by a majority of 769. His majority, the first time (in 1884) was 256, and is the only official who ever carried both counties in this circuit.
He is a member of the I. O. O. F., has been president of local Lodge and member of Grand Lodge, being the youngest mem- ber; he has been district judge of Grand Lodge Bnai Brith. He is one of the mem- bers of the Republican State Central Com- mittee, representing the Fourth Congres- sional District, and in 1889 was elected by the Annual Convention of Indiana Re- publican Clubs to represent Indiana at the National Convention of Republican Clubs, which convened at Baltimore, Md., Feb- ruary 28 and March 1.
ROBERT H. SWAN, farmer, Hanover township, is a son of John and Mary R. (Thorn) Swan. His father was a native of Scotland, and came to the United States when a young man, and entered a farm in this county when James Monroe was Pres- ident.
He died in 1860, at the age of 66 years, leaving a widow and eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest. His mother was a native of Kentucky and died in 1868, at the age of 60 years.
Robert H. Swan was born June 15, 1849, upon the farm on which he now resides, in Hanover township, Jefferson county, Ind., and was reared there. He attended the common schools and the College at Hanover, and the Normal School at Leba- non, Ohio.
He took charge of the farm when only 17 years of age, and though almost with- out stock or farming tools, and with an in- valid mother and two sisters to support, by perseverance and energy, he succeeded in making a living and stocked his farm well and put it in a good state of cultiva- tion. His farm contains 160 acres of land well improved, and is situated four miles southwest of Hanover.
In 1875 he was married to Miss Mattie L. Arnott, daughter of Rev. Moses Arnott, who was pastor of Carmel U. P. Church for twenty-eight years. She died in 1884, leaving three children, two of whom are
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now living, one boy and one girl-Mary Prudence and Robert Arnott. In 1885 Mr. Swan married again to Miss Emma O., daughter of Wm. McDonald, a farmer of this county. There are no children by this marriage. Mr. Swan is a member of the Carmel Church, and acted as one of the trustees of that church for six years.
In 1881 he engaged in mercantile busi- ness in Hanover, where he remained in business for two and one-half years, when he sold out and went to Kansas.
He engaged in the confectionery business in Clay Centre, the county-seat of Clay county, Kan., and continued in business there for eight months, when he came back to his farm in this county, and has been there ever since.
JESSE B. THOMAS is the son of Elias Thomas, who was born in Virginia, and re- moved to Kentucky, and from there to Indiana, before the subject of our sketch was born, and was one of the pioneer settlers of the State.
Mr. Jesse B. Thomas was born in 1807 near Madison. At that time the site of Madison was almost an unbroken forest; there was only one buckeye cabin there, built by James Hall.
Mr. Thomas was raised during the trying times of the early settlers. The Indians were so troublesome at times that the set
tlers were compelled to fly to the block- house for safety.
The subject of this sketch was married, at the age of 21, to Jane Miller, a daughter of Robert Miller, who was also a pioneer.
Mr. Thomas and wife raised a family of six children : William H., Sarah E., James M., Daniel F., Henry C. and Robert P. Mrs. Thomas died in 1852. Some ten years later he married Anna Staten, who was born in Kentucky; they had no children. James and Henry C., sons of Mr. Thomas, served through the war of the Rebellion, and were at the surrender of Richmond.
The father of Mr. Thomas was a noted hunter; he killed bear, deer and turkeys enough to keep the family in meat. He was one of the Rangers in Indian times.
Daniel F. Thomas, fourth son of the sub- ject of this sketch, was raised on a farm ; was born in 1840, and educated in the common schools; owns 80 acres of land, and is taking care of his father in his old age and an orphan daughter of his brother Robert. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and still votes the Republican ticket.
MARK TILTON was born in Wilming- ton, Delaware, August 22, 1822. His father was Dr. James Tilton, a native of the State of Delaware, and his mother was a Miss Fanny Gibson, a native of the eastern shore of Maryland.
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His grand-uncle, Dr. James Tilton, after whom his father was named, was the first surgeon-general appointed in the United States army, and was the first member of Congress sent from the State of Delaware. He was also a member of the Order of Cin- cinnatus, the badge of which order was presented to him by the Marquis De La Lafayette. This badge is still retained in the family and is handed down regularly to the eldest living male member of the family. It had been in the possession of Mark Tilton for many years and up to the time of his death.
In 1827 Mark Tilton's father left Dela- ware with his family, and settled in Madi- son, Jefferson county, Indiana, where he remained many years practicing his pro- fession, and about three years before his death, which occurred in 1841, he re- moved to a farm in the northern portion of the county, upon a portion of which land he located the site of the present thriving village of Dupont.
Mark Tilton, when about seventeen years of age, obtained a situation in the Branch Bank, at Madison, of the State Bank of Indiana, where he remained twenty-one years, occupying most of the time the po- sition of teller. He was married to Miss Amanda Dunn, a daughter of Judge Dunn, of Hanover, Indiana, January 4, 1848, and has but one child living, Elizabeth R. Til- ton. While in the bank he was appointed by President Lincoln, United States Pen- sion Agent for the district in which he lived. It was not long after he was ap- pointed that the business of the agency so
increased that he was obliged to resign his position in the Bank and devote his whole attention to the duties of his office. He retained the Pension Agency seventeen years and until, during the administration of President Hayes, the agency was re- moved to Indianapolis.
Mr. Tilton had the reputation of being one of the most faithful and efficient officers in the pension service. His systematic habits and thorough acquaintance with the details of the office, the neatness and cor- rectness of his accounts with the Govern- ment, and his untiring pains to accommo- date and protect the pensioned soldier and the soldier's widow from the extortion of unworthy claim against agents, made him a valuable officer to the Government and very popular with the soldier element of his district.
In 1877 he was appointed to a clerkship in the pension office in Washington, and moved his family to that city. He had not served long in the office before he was pro- moted to the position of assistant chief in one of the divisions in the Pension Bureau, and retained the position up to the time of his death, which occurred March 10, 1887.
Mark Tilton was a Knight Templar of the Masonic Order and a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. He was a good citizen, a kind husband, and an indulgent father, a faithful and warm- hearted friend; he had a heart that always responded to the wants of the needy and afflicted. His success in life was achieved by his following strictly the old adage,
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that "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well." There are few men that have gone through life with a cleaner record than Mark Tilton.
REV. JAMES W. TURNER, A. M., Pas- tor of Trinity M. E. Church, Madison, In- diana, was born August 11, 1857, in Dear- born county, Ind., and brought up in Southern Indiana. His father, being a Methodist preacher, moved around a great deal. His father, Isaac Turner, and his mother, Alice Kenyon, were natives of Eng- land, and were married there and came to the United States in 1854, and located in Southern Indiana. His father was one of the pioneer preachers of Southern . In- diana, and is still in the ministry, in act- ive work; he is now located at Paris, Jen- nings county, Ind. Mr. James W. Turner was educated in the common schools of the county, and finished his education at Moore's Hill College, spending five years at that institution, and receiving the degree of A. M. in 1876. Two years before this time, he had preached his first sermon, at Delaware, Ripley county, Ind. In 1878 he began regular work as a preacher in the Southeastern Indiana Conference of the M. E. Church, and has been engaged in that service ever since. At present he is Pastor of Trinity Church, Madison, in his second year. It is the finest church edi-
fice in the city and has a membership of 630.
He was married, July 29, 1880, to Miss Lizzie Woodfill, daughter of William S. Woodfill, of Greensburg, Indiana, of one of the oldest families of Decatur county. They have four living children: Rollin A., Sarah A., William W. and Wesley J.
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