USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
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The marriage of Mr. Mikels and Mary Frances Martin was celebrated in this township, April 11; '1866. She was born in this locality, February 4, 1847, a daughter of Samuel and Caroline (Stewart) Martin. The father was a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, and the mother, born April 17, 1826, was likewise from the Buckeye state. Their children were named as follows: Mary F., Sarah E., Margaret A., Maria L., William H., Alice, Charles, George and Laura. The Martin family lived on a fine homestead of four hundred and forty acres in this township, forty acres of the place having been. originally entered by the father of Mr. Martin. The latter, who was a much respected citizen and an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church, died when but forty-four years of age.
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To the union of our subject and wife ten children were born, namely: George E., Lewis L., Clara M., Ida M., Kathleen B., Frank E., Myrtle and Mary (twins), Marion A. and Arthur C. Mary died in infancy. Mrs. Mikels adheres to her mother's religious creed, the Methodist Episcopal, and, with our subject, who is a member of the same church, is actively interested in church work, he having served as superintendent of the Sunday-school.
STEPHEN O. TAYLOR.
The popular and widely known proprietor of Taylor's Livery and Sale Stable, which is located at Nos. 10 and 12 South Third street, Lafayette, Indiana, was born in his home city March 20, 1837. His parents were Stephen O. and Elizabeth (Diltz) Taylor, the former of whom was a native of New York and the latter of Ohio, and of the eight children born to them these four are living: Nelson, of Alexandria, Louisiana; Daniel, who lives in San Antonio, Texas; Ingram, a resident of Alexandria, Louisiana; and Stephen O., our subject. The father spent his early youth in New York and then removed to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, about 1828, subsequently locating in Lafayette, where he engaged in stock-raising and later kept a hotel. He is now deceased. His wife, who was a member of the old-school Presby- terian church, is also dead. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Stephen O. Taylor, a native of Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent, who moved to New York and died there at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather was William Diltz, one of the early settlers of Ohio. The Diltz family is quite a large one and holds annual reunions in Indiana, the last one taking place at Winnamac in 1898.
Stephen O. Taylor has just completed his half century of residence in Lafayette. His father died when our subject was a boy and the latter remained at home, attending the district schools and assisting his mother until attaining manhood, when he began working for Thomas Woods, who was one of the early settlers of Lafayette and at that time held the office of postmaster, and took charge of that gentleman's omnibus line for some years. In 1856 Mr. Taylor embarked in the livery and stock business for himself, bought and sold horses and mules for many years and furnished a large num- ber to the government during the war of the Rebellion. He has one of the largest and most completely equipped stables in Tippecanoe county and here usually accommodates about sixty horses, including boarders. His trade being among the best class of people in the vicinity, Mr. Taylor has in conse- quence, the finest class of horses, the most fashionable carriages and is always ready to furnish the latest style in turnouts for parties, weddings and all similar affairs. He is a progressive and liberal-minded citizen, a member
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of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the degree of a Knight Templar, and he has a pleasant home at the corner of Eighteenth street and Indiana avenue, where he extends a cordial hospitality to his numerous friends.
Politically, Mr. Taylor is a stanch Republican and has always stood ready to serve his party whenever called upon. He was elected sheriff of Tippecanoe county for two terms, from 1878 to 1882, and was city council- man from the seventh ward for eight years.
Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Laura J. Shively, and they have four children, namely: Harry, who is in the newspaper business at Washington, District of Columbia; William, who assists his father in the livery business, and who married Miss Lida Sillsbury; Lillian M. is at home; Hervey H. is in the freight department of the Wabash Railroad, at Toledo.
HON. ELISHA LITTLE.
Among the representative men of Adams township, Warren county, none is held in higher regard than the gentleman whose name initiates this review. A native of his home county, he was born October 13, 1837, on a farm in section 27, now owned by Newton Little, and on which his father, George Little, who was a native of Ohio, settled in 1828. The home farm comprised one hundred and sixty acres, which was bought for one dollar and a quarter an acre, and the log cabin, which contained but one room eighteen by eighteen feet, and was the home of the family for many years, stood on the banks of the Kickapoo river. The Indians were plentiful in those days, but very seldom molested the settlers, on the whole being even good neigh- bors. On this place the parents spent the remainder of their days, the father dying in 1877, aged seventy-one years, and the mother in 1839, at the age of twenty-seven years. +
The boyhood days of our subject were spent upon the home farm and his early education was obtained in the primitive log school-house, the same being supplemented by a course of study at Thorntown Academy. On the breaking out of the civil war Mr. Little, then a young man of twenty-three, was among the first to respond to the call of President Lincoln for volunteers, and in September, 1861, enlisted as a three-years man, being assigned to Company D, Tenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He took part in many of the noted battles, among them being Mill Springs, Kentucky, Perryville, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca and Kenesaw mountain. From Mill Springs his regiment went to Atlanta and from there was sent back to Mari- etta, Georgia, and he received his honorable discharge at Indianapolis, Sep- tember 20, 1864. He was promoted to be corporal of his company, and his
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record throughout his service was that of a brave and faithful soldier. He was wounded at the battle of Mill Springs by a minie ball but escaped serious injury.
After his return home from the army Mr. Little taught school the fol- lowing winter and in 1865 moved to the farm which he now occupies and which comprises two hundred and eighty-eight acres, on sections 22 and 27. He carried on general farming and stock-raising and has been successful in his enterprises.
Mr. Little was married May 23, 1865, to Miss Mary Hargrave, who died in 1875. They had four children,-George, Annie, Carrie and Leila. George and Annie are deceased. His second wife was Miss Ella Hargrave, to whom he was married in 1876, and they have two children, -- William O, and Richard H.
Mr. Little was elected to the state legislature on the Republican ticket in the fall of 1876 and served one term. He filled the position with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Socially he is a member of Green Hill Lodge, No. 455, F. & A. M., senior warden of the Knights of Honor at Attica, Indiana, and belongs to George D. Wagner Post, No. 365, G. A. R., at Pine Village. He is a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work he takes an active part.
JOHN W. WARNER.
Mr. Warner has been serving in the capacity of justice of the peace since 1894, has frequently held other public positions of trust and responsi- bility, and is one of the honored old citizens of Lafayette, his residence here being one of almost half a century's duration. He has been actively inter- ested in whatever movements have been inaugurated here with the object of benefiting the city and adding to its desirability as a place of residence or business, and his influence is known to be ever exerted in the support of worthy enterprises.
Though his 'birthplace was in Ireland, no native son of this fair land could be more thoroughly devoted to her welfare than the subject of this narrative. During the civil war he left his young wife and his home to go to the defense of the stars and stripes, which are the emblems of the land of his adoption, and his life was very nearly sacrificed to the cause, for he was for a long time in the hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, and was fur- loughed that he might go home and die in peace with his loved ones near. He finally recovered, however, on account of a fine constitution and the excel- lent nursing and care of his devoted wife. It was in 1863 that he tendered his services to the Union, being assigned to Company A, One Hundred and
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Twenty-sixth Regiment, Eleventh Cavalry Volunteers. He was at his post of duty until the close of the conflict, when, as stated, he was given up to die, as he was so ill and run down in health and strength. He took part in numerous skirmishes, but was not in any of the most noted battles, as it happened. For some time he was the first sergeant of his company.
Both the grandfathers of our subject were natives of Ireland, and in that isle passed their whole lives. John Warner, the paternal grandfather, was a farmer, owning a good estate near the town of Bantry, on Bantry bay. He was a soldier in one of the revolutions in Ireland. The maternal grand- father, James Wright, was a merchant in the town of Skibbereen, and lived there to an advanced age. The parents of John W. Warner, of this article, were Robert S. and Jane (Wright) Warner, likewise natives of the isle of Erin. They were the parents of six children, all but one of whom survive, namely : John W .; James W .; Jane A .; Charlotte, wife of John Brown, of White county, Indiana; and William, of Whiting, Indiana. The father was a baker and confectioner by trade, plying those callings in his native land. He came to America in 1849, and the following spring commenced farming in Wabash township, ten miles northwest of Lafayette, where he bought a farm of ninety-five acres. Later, he purchased eighty acres more of prairie land and fifteen acres of timbered property. He was industrious and enterprising and developed good farms from the wilderness. Death put an end to his labors in 1891, when he had reached the ripe age of seventy-four years. His wife died many years before, in 1871, when in her sixty-fourth year. Both were devoted members of the Methodist church, in Ireland, as well as in the United States.
John W. Warner was born near the town of Skibbereen, county Cork, Ireland, October 6, 1839, and spent the first ten years of his life there. He was reared upon his father's farm in Tippecanoe county, and up to the time of his marriage he assisted in the cultivation of the old homestead. He had attended the common-schools of his native land to a greater or less extent before leaving those shores, and after coming here he went to the old-time log school-house of the period. He became a practical farmer, and after his marriage he rented his father's farm until he went into the army. When he recovered from his arduous army service he resumed agricultural pursuits, and continued to reside in the neighborhood of his early home until 1870.
Removing to Lafayette in the year mentioned, Mr. Warner became deputy sheriff under David G. Smith, and then was made a member of the city police force, serving as such for about nine years, and for two years was employed in a similar capacity by the Wabash Railroad Company. Various occupations claimed his attention for the next few years, and in 1887 he was appointed bailiff of the circuit court. He served in that office under 19
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Judge Vinton for one year and under Judge Langdon for six years. Politic ally, he is a Republican. In the fraternities he belongs to Lafayette Lodge, No. 15, I. O. O. F., and is past grand and past chief patriarch of Wabash Encampment, No. 6. He is also connected with Canton No. 18, Patriarchs Militant; Columbia Lodge, No. 334, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor; Company No. I, of Indiana, Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias, and is major of the First Battalion of the Eighth Regiment of that order. In the Grand Army of the Republic he is a member of the John A. Logan Post, No. 3.
December 28, 1861, the marriage of Mr. Warner and Miss Clara W. Eklund, daughter of John and Catharine Eklund, was solemnized. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Warner. Robert E., a mail-carrier of this place, married May Davidson and has two children, Robert and Mar- garet. Catharine died at the age of eleven months, and James Franklin died when in his sixth year. Augusta is the wife of Robert E. Carr, of Wabash, Indiana, and is the mother of one son, Warner. William J., a carriage- trimmer by trade, married Annie Schible and has a little son, Vern by name. Clara M. is the wife of Theodore C. Freshour, of this place. Harry C. is a photographer in Peoria, Illinois, and Edward T. is a member of Company C, One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, stationed at Newport News. The same spirit of patriotism which animated his father and forefathers took possession of the young man when his country recently took up arms against tyrannical and oppressive Spain. The first home of our subject in Lafayette was built by him in 1871, and his present home, next door to his former residence, was erected in 1892. Both he and his wife and several of his children are members of the Methodist church, and contribute liberally of their means to the cause of Christianity and to the up- lifting and welfare of their fellow men.
GEORGE W. LOGAN.
One of the enterprising and prosperous farmers of Steuben township, Warren county, is George W. Logan, one of Indiana's native sons, his birth having occurred in Rush county, July 29, 1843. His parents, John and Mary Jane Logan, were born and reared in Kentucky, and for many years were numbered among the substantial agriculturists of this county.
The Logan family was well represented in the war of the Rebellion, on the Union side, as George W. of this sketch, and his brothers, Hugh T. and John, and his brother-in-law, William Jones, were all members of the cele- brated Eighty-eighth Indiana Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, belonging to Company D, all enlisting on the same day, July 2, 1862. Two of the brave
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boys never returned, but their lives were offered up on the altar of our country's safety and preservation. Hugh T. was killed at the fierce battle of Stone river, and John encountered death in the battle of Jonesboro, near Atlanta, Georgia. During the battle of Prairieville George W. Logan was wounded, a bullet penetrating his left arm below the elbow; and in the terri- ble conflict at Kenesaw mountain, where he was in the thickest of the fight, he was so severely wounded in the left foot that an amputation of the large toe was necessary. With his regiment he participated in many of the most important engagements of the war, including the battles of Stone river, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville and siege of Dallas. The Eighty-eighth was one of the finest and most gallant regiments which Indiana contributed to the Union, and this regiment it was that planted the stars and stripes of victory on the brow of Missionary Ridge, after the Con- federates had been driven from their position there. After the injury to his foot Mr. Logan was given honorable discharge, as he was thus incapacitated for further service.
Returning home, the young hero of many a southern battlefield encounter with the enemy, settled down to the quiet routine of life on the farm, and industriously and perseveringly toiled to acquire a comfortable home and assured income for his little family. For his companion and helpmate along the journey of life he chose Miss Elizabeth J. Powell. They had seven chil- dren attaining maturity. Two of their elder sons, Charles and Alvah, promptly responded to their country's call (as their father had done more than a third of a century before), in the late Spanish-American war. Charles enlisted in Battery A, at Danville, Illinois, and Alvah was identified with the Second Nebraska Regiment. The younger children, named in the order of birth, are Anna, Clifford, William, Hugh and Sarah. Mrs. Logan died March 24, 1891, and Mr. Logan, on August 12, 1896, married for his second wife, Miss Cora Dell Kiser, daughter of Marion and Mary (Van Pelt) Kiser, of Steuben township. Mr. Logan is a Republican in politics.
REUBEN GROSCOST.
The blood of both the north and the south flows in the veins of Reuben Groscost, of Jordan township, Warren county; but when the war of the Rebellion came on he did not hesitate, but enrolled himself among the brave patriots who were ready to do all and dare all, that the Union might be pre- served. It fell to his lot to be in some of the most thrilling and important campaigns of the dreadful strife which ensued, but he never wavered in the discharge of his duty, and stood at his post as long as his brave spirit could hold the mastery over his mortal frame.
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Born in Columbus, Indiana, October 10, 1840, Reuben Groscost is a son of Jacob and Martha (Mitchell) Groscost, the father a native of Ohio and the mother a native of Virginia. On the 2d of August, 1862, Reuben Groscost enlisted as a member of Company A, Ninety-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years or until the close of the war. Among the numerous important campaigns and battles in which he participated were the two battles of Jackson, Mississippi, and the mem- orable siege of Vicksburg, one of the most noted sieges in the world's his- tory. It continued through a period of thirty-seven days, and for all but ten. days of this time Mr. Groscost was with his regiment in the trenches, in front of the doomed city, and he was one of those who made the brilliant and daring charge upon the enemy's works, a brilliant but unsuccessful move- ment. During the last ten days of the siege he with his regiment was stationed on the shore of Black river, where a portion of the Union forces were retained, in order to prevent General Johnston, the Confederate officer, from joining Pemberton in Vicksburg with re-enforcements. After the sur- render of Vicksburg Mr. Groscost and his comrades were sent in pursuit of General Johnston, going to Jackson, Mississippi, and thence on transports to. Memphis, Tennessee. In the last-named city the regiment was left for some time, while it was recruited, its ranks having become much depleted by the fearful battles and campaigns through which it had passed and in which it had borne a part so meritorious. Next it was sent in pursuit of Price, through Arkansas and Missouri, and when returning to St. Louis Mr. Gros- cost succumbed to severe illness and was admitted to the general hospital at Benton Barracks, there receiving his honorable discharge from the army, May 17, 1865. He had managed to escape wounds, but his health was more or less impaired for a long time.
For his companion and helpmate along life's journey Mr. Groscost chose Miss Nancy J. Hamblen, and their marriage took place February 20, 1869. Mrs. Groscost was born in Brown county, Indiana, and is a daughter of Jesse Hamblen, an early settler of that region. Five children have blessed the union of our subject and wife, namely: Martha, Effie, Bertha, Jesse and Stella.
The main occupation in which Mr. Groscost has been engaged is that of farming and stock-raising, and in this he has been quite successful. After his return from the war he lived in Bartholomew county, and subsequently in Fountain county, Indiana. In February, 1894, he removed to this county, and here he intends to make a permanent home. He has won the respect of the people of every community in which he has dwelt, and has faithfully met every requirement devolving upon him as a citizen. In his political views he holds with the Republican party.
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WILLIAM S. BAUGH.
In the words of the Lafayette Journal, William S. Baugh, county treas- urer of Tippecanoe county, " has been all his life a conscientious, hard- working Republican, and no man in the county has struck more faithful or harder blows for its success." He is a man of the people and interested solely in the welfare of the people and in whatever makes for their happiness and prosperity. He was born and reared upon a farm, and has followed agricultural pursuits during his whole life. However, he is a man of more advanced ideas than is the average tiller of the soil, and stands as a type of the best class of progressive, enlightened, thrifty "country gentlemen," as our English cousins would say. Honorable, upright and earnest in the dis- charge of the important duties devolving upon him as the custodian of the people's finances, he is all that a treasurer should be, and merits the confi- dence which is reposed in him.
Jonathan Baugh, the father of our subject, was one of the honored pioneers of what is now Union township, Tippecanoe county, settling there about 1830. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1822, and accom- panied his mother and stepfather, John Weider, to this locality, where he grew to manhood. His father, who was of German descent, died in the Buckeye state. Jonathan Baugh married Mary Patty about 1843. She is a native of Oxford, Butler county, Ohio, and is still living in Union township, this county. Her father also died in Ohio and she came to this state with her mother and stepfather. The children born to Jonathan Baugh and wife were Mrs. Nancy E. Taylor; Mrs. Hannah Smalley; Mrs. Jennie Taylor; Alice, deceased; Fremont; William S .; and Mrs. Kate Bone, of Oklahoma. Commencing life a poor man, Jonathan Baugh became very wealthy and successful, as the result of energy and good business methods. At one time he was the owner of over eight hundred acres of fine farming land, and was known far and wide as a stockman and breeder of short-horn cattle. Few men in Union township were better liked or more thoroughly respected. He was a stanch Republican, but never aspired to public office. His death, in 1892, was felt to be a public loss, and his place in the community has not easily been filled.
William S. Baugh was born near Farmers' Institute, Tippecanoe county, November 16, 1859. He received a liberal education in the common schools and in the Valparaiso Normal, at Valparaiso, Indiana, and from his boyhood was associated with his father in the management of the home farm. After the death of the senior Mr. Baugh, the young man succeeded to the control of the property, which includes upwards of half a section of land in Union'and Wayne townships. He is a thorough, practical farmer and excellent business
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man, as was his father before him, and has made a grand success of his various undertakings. He became actively connected with political affairs about ten years ago, and in 1890 was a candidate before the convention for the office of county auditor. He was defeated by Mr. Byers, and again in 1894 the ambitious young man suffered a similar fate, the ever-popular Mr. Jamison being the successful candidate. By this time, however, Mr. Baugh had become well known to the public, who admired his many fine qualities of mind and heart, and when, in 1896, his faithful friends brought his name forward again, this time for the county treasurership, he received a majority of nearly all the votes cast on the first ballot, being nominated over four other aspirants. He was duly elected, and entered upon his new duties January 1, 1897, and in 1898 he was elected for a second term. Socially, he is a Master Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias.
In 1882 Mr. Baugh married Annie Hollingsworth, of Union township, and three interesting children bless their home-Harry, Jessie C. and Harriet.
J. FLETCHER WOOD.
One of the trustees of Pike township, Warren county, is he whose name stands at the head of this brief tribute to his worth. He now owns and man- ages the old homestead on which he was born, which property has been in possession of his family for seventy years.
Samuel Wood, the father of J. F. Wood, was born in Muskingum coun- ty, Ohio, in the year 1800, and in 1828 came to Warren county. He was then unmarried and made his home with a relative, James Ireland, whom he had accompanied to this state. Mr. Wood entered a tract of land, the iden- tical property now owned by our subject, and in 1831 he brought his bride to a humble home which he had built in the wilderness. But few settlers in- habited the country and wolves and other wild game were very plentiful, and almost unmolested by their enemy, man. The wife, Rebecca (Hopkins) Wood, whose birth had occurred, in: 1812, in Ohio, from which state she had come to Fountain county, Indiana, with her parents, was a typical fron- tiers-woman, brave and hardy, industrious and capable. She passed to her reward some years prior to the death of her husband, her death taking place in 1864, while he lived until 1883. He married a second time, but had no children by that union. Samuel Wood and wife are well remembered by the few old neighbors and associates of their pioneer days who remain, and they agree with one accord in their verdict that this honored couple were sterling characters, consistent members of the Methodist church, kind friends, loyal toward God and just toward man. By hard labor they cleared a good home- stead, and left to their posterity an unsullied name and record, more precious
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