USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 24
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On January 23, 1882, Dr. McCain was married to Miss Gertrude E. Test, a daughter of Thaddeus and Sally (Myers) Test, her birth taking place
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in White county, Indiana. Of this union the following is the issue: Donald, Helen, Edna, Viola, Nellie, Kenneth C., Paul, Bertha, and John Coburn and Carrie Louise (twins). Mrs. McLain is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. Politically, the Doctor is a stanch Republican, and he is now serving a second term as president of the school board.
JARED BENJAMIN.
Three-score years ago Jared Benjamin came to Jasper county, thence- forth to be numbered among its pioneer citizens. As one of the prominent agriculturists and founders of this county, he well deserves a place in the records of the state of Indiana, and we are pleased that we are able to pre- sent a few facts in regard to his useful and well spent life, and to add a tribute to his sterling manhood.
It is not a matter of surprise to learn that, on both sides of his family, the patriotic and public-spirited Jared Benjamin had ancestors who fought bravely for American independence in the Revolutionary war. The founder of the Benjamin family in the New World, according to well authenticated records, was one William Benjamin, of England, who took up his abode in Connecticut long prior to the Revolution. He was the great-grandfather of our subject, and his son William, the next in the line of descent, was born in the Connecticut colony, and fought gallantly in the ranks of the American soldiery. The records show that he was under the leadership of the valiant General Schuyler in the famous campaign against Burgoyne in 1777, and that he participated in the battles that led up to the surrender of the British army, and was present on that memorable and momentous occasion. An extremely interesting fact in this connection is that he afterward owned and occupied a house which stood on this historic ground, and which was used by the British during the battle as a hospital. An English officer and family were then the occupants of this house, and subsequently the wife, a Mrs. Reidisel, wrote a very graphic account of her experiences during that trying period. One of the incidents which she related was that a British officer, who had lost a leg in the fierce battle then being waged, was brought to the house for medical care, and the American forces, not knowing the house was being used as a hospital, made it a target for their cannon. A ball entered the house and shattered the other leg of the unfortunate British officer! Such are the vicissitudes of war. William Benjamin, the Revolutionary patriot, died in the old house, which is still occupied by one of the family, January 28, 1789. His wife, Abigail, preceded him to the silent land, her death taking place May 9, 1786. Their children were Joseph, born Decem- ber 23, 1775; William, December 22, 1776; Elias, January 9, 1779; Phœbe,
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January 18, 1780; and Jared, the father of the subject of this sketch, Febru- ary 16, 1782. Phoebe married Samuel Marshall, a son of Abraham Marshall, and their son William wedded a Jane --- , who now occupies and owns the veritable old house and property on the Hudson river, which has been referred to above. The identical cannon-ball which shot off the leg of the unhappy English officer was found lodged in the wall of the house, and it is preserved in the Benjamin family as a memento of the last days of the Amer- ican struggle for liberty and independence.
Jared Benjamin, the father of our subject, was born in Egremont, Con- necticut, moved from there to Saratoga county, New York, from there to Tompkins county, and there married Mary Hemingway, and to their union five children were born. For his second wife Mr. Benjamin chose Mary Yeoman, a daughter of Stephen and Abigail (Fountain) Yeoman, and five children came to bless their union, Jared being one of the number. Stephen Yeoman was also a hero of the Revolutionary war, and was a gallant soldier in that long protracted struggle against old-world tyranny. An active partisan, he incurred the bitter enmity of the Tories, and upon one occasion, when he was peaceably plowing in the field, he was set upon by a band of Tories, who at first threatened to hang him, but finally scourged him with thongs so severely that he never thoroughly recovered from the cruel treat- ment received.
The birth of the Jared Benjamin whose name heads this sketch occurred October 10, 1820, in Fayette county, Ohio, of which locality his father was a leading pioneer. In the Buckeye state eighteen years of the life of our subject were spent in the quiet routine of agricultural pursuits. In 1838 he came to Jasper county, and for the following fifty-three years he cultivated and owned a fine homestead in Newton township. This place he reclaimed from the virgin forest, and for years he expended much labor, time and money in its development, transforming it into an ideal country home. In 1891 he sold the farm and retired to enjoy a well earned rest, after the "burden and heat of the day."
Half a century ago Mr. Benjamin and his faithful and devoted wife, for- merly Lettie Halstead, were united in the holy bonds of matrimony, the ceremony being solemnized September 10, 1848. Mrs. Benjamin is a daugh- ter of Samuel and Susan (Webster) Halstead. The following named children were born to our subject and his wife: Teresa, June 17, 1849; Mary, August 6, 1850; Martha, March 13, 1852; and Clarissa, August 8, 1853. Mary and Clar- issa both died in 1858. Martha is at home with her parents, and Teresa is the wife of John Martindale, of Newton township. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin have been active and loved members of the Church of God and now in their declining years they may look back over a well spent past,
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and look forward with confidence that the verdict of "Well done, good and faithful" will be the message that will sound in their ears as they leave this world to take their places in the heavenly mansions " prepared for the people of God."
GEORGE W. DAY.
For the past twenty-two years George W. Day has been a citizen of Benton county, and during this long period has retained the highest regard and friendship of all who know him. In 1893 he settled upon his present well cul- tivated and finely managed farm in Hickory Grove township, and has since devoted his entire time and attention to agriculture in its various departments. As a business man and financier he has displayed good judgment and made sound investments, and by industry, economy and thrift has accumulated a competence. Socially, he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, but the most of his leisure is devoted to his home and the family circle.
The birth of George W. Day took place in Claiborne county, Tennessee, April 29, 1858. His parents, Charles and Sarah Day, desiring to escape the scenes of conflict during the great civil war, removed with their children to Missouri, in which state the father died. Subsequently the widow and chil- dren returned to Tennessee, where such education as fell to the share of George W. was chiefly received. When he was a youth of eighteen years he determined to strike out for himself, and believing that the north afforded greater opportunities to a young man of ambition and energy, he came to Indiana, and soon had gained a footing among our citizens. His pluck and perseverance met with just recompense, and to-day he is influential and pros- perous, as he deserves to be.
For his companion and helpmate along the journey of life Mr. Day chose Miss Belle Keys, daughter of respected pioneers of this locality,- James H. and Letitia (Stone) Keys. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Day was celebrated at the home of the bride's parents, April 1, 1891. They have two children, namely: Miriam Leonora, born April 17, 1893; and Harvey Lynn, born July 20, 1894. Mrs. Day, a most estimable lady, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
CHARLES E. TRIPLETT, M. D.
Dr. Charles Ephraim Triplett, of Morocco, occupies a conspicuous place in the history of Newton county, and his is the honor of being the first phy- sician who was a graduate of a medical college to locate within the bounds of what is now Newton county.
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The Triplett family had its origin in England, and among its members have been men of special eminence, as the records show that some of them are buried in Westminster Abbey. The founder of the family in America was John Triplett, a great-grandfather of our subject, who came from England and settled in the colony of Virginia. John Triplett, grandfather of Charles E., was born in that state and settled in Kentucky, where he was a slave- owner and farmer, and he died at the age of eighty-seven years. Charles Triplett, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Kentucky, was a drover by occupation, and died in 1834.
The maternal ancestors of Mr. Triplett were Scotch-Irish. His mother bore the maiden name of Clarissa Dockings, and she died a few days after giving birth to our subject. By her marriage to Mr. Triplett she had four children, namely: Martha Ann, who died at the age of twenty-eight years, unmarried; Mary Jane, who became the wife of David Martena, and died in Kentucky, leaving one son, Charles W., who is now a prominent physician and capitalist of Champaign, Illinois; William D., who was reared in Ohio, and when of age went to Missouri and later to Texas, married there and be- came a soldier in the Confederate army. Doctor Triplett, of this sketch, while a surgeon in the Union army, after the battle of Stone river, ampu- tated the arm of a rebel soldier who was acquainted with this brother in Texas. The Doctor then entered into correspondence with the said brother, and after the war sent him two hundred and fifty dollars to enable him and his two motherless children to come north. The latter started on his jour ney, but was never heard from after reaching Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Charles E. Triplett was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, December 13, 1834, and was only two weeks old when left an orphan. He was reared in the family of his paternal grandparents, where he lived until fourteen years of age. A year later his grandparents died, each at the age of eighty- seven years. Young Triplett was a poor boy and had to employ him- self in whatever was available. He worked for a time in a tobacco factory in Henry county, Kentucky, and at the age of seventeen he commenced the study of medicine, under the instruction of Dr. J. M. Humston, and for three years worked three days each week as a farm hand with slaves ; and it was this ambition that won for him the confidence of friends, who subsequently advanced him eight hundred dollars to secure a college education. He took his first course of lectures at Louisville, and then two courses at the Transyl- vania University (now the Kentucky School of Medicine), where he was grad- uated with the class of 1855-6.
In 1853, while he was a student in college, he met Charles Stewart, who had been a resident of Jasper county, Indiana, but who, having lost his wife, had returned to Kentucky. Mr. Stewart told the young student
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about the country in Indiana and advised him to locate there as soon as he had completed his studies. Thus, in accordance with this advice, soon after graduating, and armed with a diploma and saddle-bags filled with medicines, a few dollars in his pocket, etc., but going in debt to some extent also, he started north on horseback. At Madison, Indiana, he boarded a train for In- dianapolis, where he again took the saddle and continued his journey. At Battle Ground he met Dr. William Ball, a former classmate, finding him sick, and attended him there two weeks. After leaving Battle Ground he found the country very sparsely settled. Passing Brookston, he traveled twelve miles to the next house, which was the home of William Jorden. Nine miles further on was the home of John Alter, and the next was that of John Lyons, near the Iroquois river, which stream he forded near the pres- ent railroad bridge. He made his way to Brook, where there were a very few buildings. A mile from this place he found the home of Andrus Hesse, and near Beaver City that of James Moore, and there were a few other set- tlers near the timber.
Arriving at Morocco, his cash consisted of one twenty-dollar gold piece, and this he gave to the landlord, John Ade, as payment in advance for board, as he concluded that if he gave Mr. Ade all the money he had, and at some future time it should become necessary, Mr. Ade would trust him for board. There were but few settlers near Morocco, and very little sickness, and the first three months of professional work of our young doctor con- sisted of the extraction of one tooth. But he was not discouraged. As the country settled up, calls upon him for professional skill became frequent, and he was soon engaged in a very extensive practice, even if not lucrative. It was indeed "extensive," for it "extended" from Rensselaer, Indiana, to Watseka, Illinois, and from Momence, in the latter state, to Benton county, in the former ! There were but few roads, and all his trips had to be made on horseback, taking a "bee line " from place to place, except when water would interfere.
In 1857 Dr. Triplett was united in marriage with Alice Pulver, daugh- ter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Phinney) Pulver, and afterward stepdaughter of John Murphey. She was born near Lafayette, this state, February 23, 1840. The Doctor soon paid off his debts and also purchased a piece of land. In 1862 he entered the Union army as second assistant surgeon of the Eighty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteers; then was commissioned first assistant surgeon; later was promoted surgeon of the same regiment, in September, 1863; then was advanced to the position of brigade surgeon of the Second Brigade, and later to division surgeon of the Third Division, and served as such until the close of the war.
Returning to his family, he resumed the practice of his profession, which
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he still continues. He has also dealt in real estate. He and his family own sixteen hundred acres of land, twelve hundred of which are in Newton coun- ty; and no man in that county is better or more favorably known.
In his political principles the Doctor is a stanch Democrat, and during the administration of Grover Cleveland was a member of the board of examiners for United States pensions.
Of his eight children five died in early life and three attained their majority. Haidee Florence, born February 25, 1858, died at the age of twenty-two years; Charles E., Jr., is the subject of the next paragraph; and Hattie, born February 4, 1875, married William Kessler and resides in Morocco and has two children, Chester Lee, born in April, 1892, and Rosetta, born in October, 1894.
Charles E. Triplett, Jr., M. D., was born in Morocco, Indiana, July 5, 1862, and here grew to manhood and obtained his education in the public schools of the place, and he also attended school at Battle Ground, this state. December 14, 1881, he was united in marriage with Eva Carpen- ter, a daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Foster) Carpenter. She was born at Delphi, this state, May 17, 1863, and was residing there at the time of her marriage, although she had been living with the family at Morocco for a time. Joseph Carpenter was a blacksmith, and was in business at Delphi and Morocco. His death occurred at the last named place, and his widow subsequently removed to Michigan, where she now resides.
After marriage Dr. Triplett was engaged in the raising of live stock and in dealing in the same. His wife died June 12, 1892, leaving three children: Lora Ethel, born October 26, 1883; William Earl, August 12, 1887; and Charles Clarence, June 5, 1892. Mrs. Triplett was a highly respected Christian woman, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. After her death Dr. Triplett took up the study of medicine under the professional guidance of his father, and afterward attended lectures at Rush Medical Col- lege, at Chicago, at which institution he was graduated with the class of 1895. For about eighteen months after that he practiced his chosen profes- sion at St. Mary's, Illinois, and then returned to Morocco, where he has since been associated with his father. Socially, he is a Royal Arch Mason, and in politics is a Democrat.
JAMES T. RANDLE.
This well known representative of one of the pioneer families of Jasper county is prominent and active in business life, and in 1883 he erected his comfortable and attractive house at the corner of Cullen and Susan streets,
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Rensselaer. For sixty-five years he has dwelt in this county, his career marked by strict honesty, uprightness and fair dealing, and the high esteem of all who know him has always been given to him in liberal measure.
The paternal grandparents of our subject were James T. and Mary (Shields) Randle, natives of New Jersey. They removed to Virginia in early life and there spent their remaining days. Their son, Thomas, father of James T,, was born in Hampshire county, in that portion of the Old Domin- ion now included in West Virginia, January 9, 1798, he being one of six children. He married Nancy Culp, whose birth had occurred in the same county, October 27, 1812. In the fall of 1832 Thomas Randle, with his wife and children and his brother-in-law, George Culp, came to Indiana, and temporarily located on the Wabash, about four and a half miles below Del- phi, renting land until they should decide upon a suitable place to make a permanent home. By illness and other hindrances they were delayed in re- moving to the spot they concluded to make a settlement upon until the fol- lowing year, 1835. Having erected two log cabins the families commenced keeping house in their new homes in the wilderness, and to them is due the honor of having been the first white settlers of Barkley township. At the time of his coming here Thomas Randle had but two children, James T. and Mary, the latter born at the temporary home of the family on the Wabash, and nine other children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Randle in this county. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their humble house and means were always at the service of the pioneer circuit- rider or local minister, as they were, indeed, to any neighbor or passer-by. A typical pioneer, hard-working, industrious, courageous, strong of body and soul-such a man was Thomas Randle. He was a Jackson Democrat of the old school, -a man who had the strictest regard for his word, fulfilling his agreements to the letter, and striving to rear his children to be noble, good- principled men and women. He was summoned to his reward December 1I, 1870, by which time many of the important changes in the civilization and development of this section of Indiana had taken place, and he was enabled to forsee the wonderful prosperity which would descend as an inheritance to his children and to posterity in general, he having been an important factor in the grand result. Three sons and a daughter, of the once large family circle which gathered around the old-fashioned fire-place in the cabin of Thomas Randle, are all that survive. Isabel, the daughter, is the wife of Walter Clark, of Camden, Carroll county, Indiana; William Henry is a resi- dent of Barkley township; and Nelson lives in Rensselaer.
James T. Randle was born at the old homestead in Virginia October 10, 1831, and was thus a small child when the family removed to this county. Although he was so young he retains a faint memory of the notable journey
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to Jasper county, and the incidents of his boyhood are indelibly printed on the tablets of his mind. The Indians had not yet gone to western reserva- tions, and game of various kinds, especially wolves and deer, was plentiful. The love of hunting was not inborn in James T., and upon only one occasion did he indulge in the so-called noble sport of shooting a deer. Three beauti- ful deer were grazing in the edge of the forest one day, when the youth espied them, and the sudden impulse to capture one filled his soul. Hastily procuring a gun from the house of a neighbor near by, he cautiously returned and, as the keen-eared creatures lifted up their heads, listening intently, he aimed at the largest one, a fine buck, which, an instant later, lay on the ground, mortally wounded, at the feet of the proud young marksman.
Public schools were not instituted in this county for many years after James T. Randle had need of them, and his only educational advantages were a few months' attendance at a subscription school. By reading and by friction with the world he has gained sufficient general knowledge to carry him through his career creditably, though he has often felt the lack of the advantages which the children of this age accept as matters of course, and too often neglect. From his boyhood Mr. Randle determined to follow in his father's footsteps and to give his time and energies to agriculture. Frugal and industrious, he early accumulated a snug little property, and as his means increased year by year he invested the proceeds judiciously and in time was well-to-do. He dealt more or less in cattle, and in this manner made large sums. Soon after his father's death he purchased the old home- stead, and at various periods he owned several hundred acres of farm land, in addition to other property. He has been retired for some time now, enjoying the fruits of his former toil, and since 1883 he has lived in the com- modious brick residence which he built in Rensselaer. He uses his ballot on behalf of the party nominees whom he thinks are best suited for office.
When he was twenty years of age Mr. Randle lost his loved mother, who passed to the better land October 22, 1851. The young man was mar- ried in 1854 to Miss Mary E. Overton, a native of Rush county, Indiana, her father, James Overton, being one of the pioneers of that locality. Mrs. Randle died August 14, 1877, and left five children, namely: Robert, Thomas, John, Emeline E. (wife of B. S. Makeever) and Edward J. The second wife of our subject was Mrs. Ruth Harris, née Benjamin, whose death occurred January 24, 1897. The present wife of Mr. Randle was Julia A. Enslen prior to their marriage.
In his religious views Mr. Randle is a zealous and devoted worker of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which denomination he is identified as a member. He has always contributed liberally to the support of religious and charitable enterprises and is interested in every great work of progress
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and advancement. He has been a stockholder in the Commercial State Bank of Rensselaer since its organization, April 2, 1895, and is now one of its directors.
ANTHONY TAYLOR.
A self made man and industrious agriculturist of White county, Mr. Taylor is a native of the north of England, where he was born March 29, 1835, a son of Thomas and Agnes (Bowman) Taylor. His father came to America in 1845, landing at New York, whence he came direct to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later moved to Kosciusko county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he farmed until his death, that event occurring in 1849, when he was aged sixty-five years. His wife, who also was born in England, where she was married, came to this country with her husband and died in Kosciusko county, in 1850. The following children were born to this couple: Thomas, who remained in England; William lives in Kosciusko county, Indiana; Mary died in childhood; Edward, deceased; Richard, a farmer living twenty-eight miles west of St. Louis, Missouri; John, deceased; Jonathan, a farmer in Kosciusko county; James, deceased; Anthony, our subject; Jane, the wife of William Thomas, a farmer residing in Elkhart, Indiana; and Joe and Robert, who are living on farms near Chalmers, Indiana. The paternal grandfather was Thomas Taylor, a native of England, and the maternal grandfather was Richard Bowman, also of England, both of whom were farmers by occupation.
Anthony Taylor came to America with his parents when ten years old, and five years later he was left an orphan, his parents having died within a year of each other. He remained on the home place for three years, and then, in 1852, he came to White county, where he worked on the New Albany & Salem Railroad (now the Monon), during that fall and winter, and was then employed by various farmers in Princeton township, among whom was John Alkire. He returned to Kosciusko for one year and then came to Brookston, where he worked for Jackson Alkire, and later ran a threshing machine for a couple of years. Mr. Taylor is the owner of two hundred acres of land, which he superintends himself, and which is located five miles northwest of Wolcott, and the most of which he has broken, having added valuable im- provements, the most important of which is a ditch, which now drains the major part of his land.
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