USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
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Lefler, of Jasper county. Both are now dead. A large family was born to her, most of whom are living in the west. Among them are Felix, Josephine, Olive, Florence and Chauncey. Samuel Ward Dukes died Au- gust 13, 1872. He married Mary Jane Polk on June 10, 1855, and she survived him two years, dying September 12, 1874. Their children were Hettie, the wife of Samuel Branthoffer, residing in Greenville, Texas, and Ephraim, who was born May 23, 1868, and lived on the old homestead after his mother died until his own death, on January 27, 1889. Sarah Jane Dukes married Levi Benefield, by whom she had five children: Oliver, Mary, Lucy, Cassius and Clara. After the death of her husband she married his brother, Isaac Benefield, and bore him four children, namely: Ephraim, Margaret, William and Nellie. They live at Long- ton, Kansas. Rachel Dukes was married to Laban Webb Estes on June 28, 1868. She was his third wife and the mother of Len, who was born May 20, 1869, and died January 1I, 1885, and Mary, who was born July 16, 1872, and married G. F. Bouslog on August 26, 1891. Mr. Estes was born November 16, 1824, in Caldwell county, North Carolina. He came to this county in 1851 and bought a quarter section of land in Monroe town- ship of Jesse Millison, and owned at one time as high as eight hundred acres. He died May 27, 1873, and March 28, 1881, his widow was united in mar- riage to Dr. Felix Thomas. Amanda Dukes married John Allen on Septem- ber 8, 1860. Their family included Riley, Marie, Elsie, Charles (deceased), Ida (also deceased) and an infant, who died. Cordelia married George A. Warfield, a retired farmer of Winamac, on August 20, 1869. Their chil- dren are: Lewis W., who was born November 30, 1871, and who died the following March, and John, who was born August 15, 1874, and who died February 22, 1875.
Christopher Eslinger, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was born in North Carolina, moved to Tennessee, and thence to Monroe county, Indi- ana, in 1818. In 1822 he moved to Putnam county, where he lived eleven years and then located in Illinois. After a few years he crossed the line into Iowa, where he made his home for fourteen years. In 1849 he went still farther west, locating in Webster county, Missouri, where he spent the re- mainder of his life, dying in 1863 at the ripe old age of eighty years. He married Hannah Callehan, a native of Tennessee. She also reached a good old age, dying in 1859, in her eightieth year. Jane, the mother of our subject, was the elder of the two children born to them, the second being a son, Siminoe, who resided in the west. Christopher Eslinger was of German descent, and a man of unusual size, weighing three hundred and sixteen pounds, while he measured six feet and two inches. His wife was of Irish parentage.
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James Ross Dukes remained at home one year after reaching his ma- jority. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Harrison township, this county, in 1854, and he erected a house and moved there with his family the next October. The following year he returned to Cass county and worked a rented farm for one year, and then came back to his own farm in this county. In the fall of 1864 he was elected recorder and, moving to Winamac in April, 1865, he assumed the duties of his office on May 25, 1865, and by reason of re-election held that position until 1873. In July, 1873, he moved to Star City and bought the store of Matthias Little, of the firm of Samuel Adams & Little. The following year he moved the store to Winamac, and for five years thereafter conducted very profitable merchandising. The two years succeeding were spent on his farm. During this time he had been con- sidering the advisability of organizing a bank in Winamac, and the outcome was the Citizens' Bank, which was opened for business in May, 1881. The stockholders of this bank were: W. H. and G. W. Thompson, J. H. Wood and J. R. Dukes. Mr. Dukes was made president of the company and has made an excellent officer. A few months after organization the Thompsons withdrew their interests. In 1885 Mr. Wood sold his stock to R. S. Rogers, and the institution was carried on under this management until 1896, when Mr. Dukes and Mr. Rogers disposed of their interests to Baldwin, Dague & Snyder. Mr. Dukes has continued to reside in Winamac, and since October 1, 1898, has been superintendent of the water and light plant. He has always been active in any work which tended to promote the good of the community, and his judgment is considered authority on most local matters. When the war of the Rebellion broke out Mr. Dukes hastened to the support of his country and enlisted, in August, 1862, in Company E, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteers. He was with his company until October, when he had the misfortune to cut his left foot, and, erysipelas setting in, the foot was amputated, and in consequence thereof he was discharged by reason of dis- ยท ability the following March. During his service he took part in the battle of Perryville.
Mr. Dukes was first married on September 23, 1852, when he was united to Marie Ann Taylor, a daughter of Homer and Deborah Taylor. She was born in this county August 1, 1831, and died October 19, 1853. He was again married on October II, 1855, when he wedded Mary Marie Rogers, widow of Richard Rogers and daughter of Samuel Ludwig McFadden. She was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 18, 1828. The children by her first marriage were Thomas Fletcher, who was born October 1, 1850, and died February 3, 1867, and Richard Steelman, born October 15, 1853. Her mar- riage to Mr. Dukes was blessed by the birth of four children, namely: Ella May, born September 12, 1857, was educated in different leading educational
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institutions in Indiana and is now traveling in England, and for the past fif- teen years has been a teacher, and for the last five years located in Salt Lake City, where she is employed in the public schools. Frank Ludwig, born July 30, 1859, is a prominent lawyer of Winamac. He was married on June 27, 1894, to Miss Dora L. Weyand, daughter of Simon Weyand, and they have one child, Mary. Rosalie Edith Dukes was born May 19, 1861, and married William A. Hawkins. He is a grocer on Seventy-ninth street, Chicago, Illi- nois, and resides at Auburn Park. Their children are Max, Don and Olive. Addie Belle, the youngest child, was born May 8, 1863, and married Charles H. Peters, an attorney, now residing in Knox, Indiana. They have one child, Glen. Mrs. Dukes died January 5, 1880, and on July 13, 1882, Mr. Dukes took as his wife Mrs. Edna Ann McDonald, widow of John McDonald and daughter of Samuel Horne. She had one child by her first marriage, Carrie, who was born March 7, 1874, and married James Patty. Her chil- dren are Frances, McDonald and Olive. Mr. Dukes is a prominent member of Winamac Lodge, No. 168, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which he has represented twice in the grand lodge, being also a member of the Encamp- ment, and of Winamac Post, No. 42, Grand Army of the Republic. In poli- tics he is a Democrat, giving the questions of the day much attentive and intelligent thought. He is an earnest Christian and takes great interest in all religious matters. He united with the Christian church when but seventeen years of age, and has been a worker in the field since that time, organizing many Sunday-schools in this county. In business matters he is shrewd and conservative in his opinions, and so highly is his opinion regarded that he is in frequent demand as an appraiser of real estate and for other responsible trusts.
JAMES WILBURN.
Loyal American citizens never weary of hearing praises of the brave soldier boys whose valor saved the Union at the time of its greatest peril- saved this fair country, which has steadily advanced from that time to the present, until it is now acknowledged as one of the great nations of the earth. We are justly proud of our native land, but it is well for us to pause sometimes, in the midst of our prosperity, and seriously consider what it means-what it has cost. In tracing the history of James Wilburn, a most worthy citizen of Idaville, White county, some faint conception of what it has cost one man may be gained.
His father, John Wilburn, was born in North Carolina, and about 1836 accompanied his parents to Henry county, Indiana, and thence went to Madison county. In that locality the grandfather of our subject, William
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Wilburn, died. John Wilburn grew to manhood with his two brothers and four sisters, of whom the only survivor to-day is Mrs. Edith Shaw, of Tipton county, Indiana. He chose for his wife Sarah Lawson, a native of Tennes- see, and they commenced housekeeping in Henry county. Later they lived in Madison county, and in 1851 they settled on a farm in Princeton town- ship. There Mr. Wilburn departed this life, and a number of years later his widow died, November 16, 1889. In the early days of his residence in this state he had ample opportunity to exercise his skill as a hunter, of which sport he was very fond, and as a result of his fine markmanship he had suffi- cient game to sell to buy his first forty-acre farm. He was a Democrat of the old school, and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. They were the parents of four sons and six daughters, of whom but three survive, namely: James; Henry, a resident of. Jackson township, this county; and Mrs. Elizabeth Gibson, of Idaville. Those who grew to mature years but have passed away are: Mrs. Virena Smith, Mrs. Ruth Cressey, Mrs. Louisa Rigby and Mrs. Melinda Rigby. Martha, Isaac and John died in childhood.
James Wilburn was born in Henry county, Indiana, August II, 1841, and in his boyhood he assisted in clearing his father's farm. Many a day has he driven five yoke of oxen in breaking the sod of the prairie, and all kinds of hard work entered into his daily life until he reached his majority. On the day that he celebrated his arrival at man's estate, August 11, 1862, he came forward and offered himself to his country, enlisting in Company G, Sixty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. This regiment had already seen much active service in the field, and its numbers having become reduced four new companies were recruited. Company G was one of these, and for several months it was stationed at Indianapolis, on de- tached duty. At length ordered south, it joined the regiment at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, in February, 1864, and soon proceeded to Knoxville and thence to Jonesboro. Returning to Bull's Gap, they re-enforced General Sherman just before the decisive battle of Resaca. In the severe engage- ment of May 14, 1864, while making a desperate charge on the Confederate entrenchments, and when within two or three hundred yards of the breast- works, Mr. Wilburn was shot in the left leg, a few inches above the ankle, the bones being dreadfully shattered. From ten o'clock in the morning until late in the evening he lay on the battle-field, with the contest raging hotly around him all the time. At last he was taken to the field hospital, where, three days later, it was deemed necessary to have his leg amputated. He was then sent to Chattanooga, and after two months of suffering he was removed on a mule-car to Nashville, whence he was transported to Louis- ville, Kentucky.
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Just prior to his departure from Indianapolis for the south Mr. Wilburn had been united in marriage to Miss Mary Vest, the ceremony being per- formed February II, 1864. Her brother was a comrade in the same com- pany, and thus the young couple had become acquainted. Mrs. Wilburn hastened to the bedside of her husband at Louisville, where she found him in a sad condition, as he was emaciated and worn with suffering, and had recently sustained congestive chills. With a wife's devotion she nursed him back to something of his former strength. When he had sufficiently re- covered Mr. Wilburn engaged in teaming, as he was unable to carry on a farm, and was thus employed in Indianapolis and in this county. Later he became a partner of Mr. Gibson, and contracted and built graded roads, and then he operated a farm with more or less success for some eight years. In 1897, in company with his former partner, Mr. Gibson, and Mr. Timmons, he bought the flouring-mill at Idaville, and this enterprise he is still carrying on profitably.
Socially Mr. Wilburn is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Religiously he and his estima- ble wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Wilburn, who is an own cousin of United States Senator Vest, is a daughter of Zacha- riah and Mahala Vest, who at the time of her marriage were living in Indian- apolis, but later removed to Tippecanoe county, this state. Mr. Vest died in the capital city, and Mrs. Vest passed away in this county in 1897, aged ninety-eight years. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wilburn is Edward, born in 1874, but they have opened their hearts and home to several other children, whom they have cared for as though their own. One boy they reared to manhood, and a little girl was adopted by them when she was an infant, but she died when about five years old. An adopted son, Marvin Johnson, is now sharing their home and care.
FITZ WILLIAM BEDFORD.
A prominent citizen of Rensselaer, Mr. Bedford is probably better known and more favorably than any other man in Jasper and surrounding counties. His life has been full of rich and varied experiences, and the hard knocks that the world has dealt him have but served to brush off the crude corners and bring to the surface the more kindly attributes of the man. He has been industrious and hard-working always, and whether in boating, merchandis- ing, cooperage, shipping, or whatever engaged, he has held the highest esteem of the people. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and twelve acres, adjoining the village of Rensselaer, upon which he is spending the evening of
Fity Nom Bedford
Mr . Fitz Mu Bedford -
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
life, and he has made it a model farm in all respects, bringing science to the aid of agricultural skill. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, June 8, 1828, and is a son of Elias and Maria (Scott) Bedford.
Daniel Bedford, the great-grandfather, was born in Dutchess county, New York, and was a prominent man of that state, being a judge in the court of common pleas, and in the different phases of the law having a knowl- edge that is possessed by few people. Later in life he became a minister of the gospel, developing a marked degree of eloquence. It has been impossi- ble to find in his life anything of personal reproach, moral delinquency or intellectual weakness. He had two brothers, -David, a merchant in Albany, New York, and Jonathan, a farmer of Greene county, New York.
Among his children was John Bedford, the grandfather of our subject, who was a wealthy farmer of Montgomery county, New York. He also engaged in merchandising and milling, and was a man of ripe experience, exceptional capacity, and a thorough knowledge of business. He was also possessed of high literary powers, and was engaged several times in pleading" law cases.
Elias Bedford, father of the immediate subject of this review, was born July 13, 1793. He was a colonel in the war of 1812 and in his makeup had the composition of a hero. Twice he was taken prisoner and four times wounded. Once, at the battle of Lundy's Lane, a bayonet was thrust through him in the region of the heart ; under his direction, his soldiers took a ramrod from his gun and pushed a silk handkerchief through the hole, stanching the flow of blood and enabling him to continue the fight and main- tain the command of his regiment! After the close of the war he returned to New York, taking up his residence in Genesee county, but only for a short time ; his roving disposition made the quiet life seem irksome, and he went to Cuba and invested his entire fortune in white Havana box sugar. This would have been a most profitable venture, but unfortunately the entire con- signment was lost at sea and he was left penniless. He then went to Galena, Illinois, and opened the lead mines at that place, and subsequently managed a flatboat and traded on the Ohio river. He had an interest in the first steamboat that sailed its waters. He then came to Indiana, bought sixty acres of land, and laid out the Bedford and Cox additions to Lafayette. He manufactured brick here for some time, and by his industrious and energetic methods managed to retrieve, in a measure, his shattered fortunes. He came to the state in 1830, and died December 23, 1841, from the effects of the bayonet thrust received at Lundy's Lane thirty years before. He mar- ried Miss Mary Maria Scott, a niece of General Winfield Scott, the brave old fighter. She was a native of Kentucky, born August 9, 1798, but ended her life in Rensselaer, November 30, 1879. Eight children were born to them : 54
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORI.
Moses, born August 8, 1822, fought in the civil war from 1861 to 1865, and died in Lafayette ; Zachariah, born May 5, 1825, was for twenty years a United States detective, later a soldier in the Union army, being captain of Company K, Fifteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and is now a resident of Iowa ; Fitz William, our subject ; Millicent (Mrs. Miller), of Chicago, was born March 23, 1831; Mary Jane, born March 22, 1833, is the wife of Frederic Cole, of Lafayette : Daniel Elias, also a soldier in the Union army, was born February 28, 1835, and is now living in Iowa ; Win- field Scott, born March 15, 1837, is a silversmith of Davenport, Iowa ; and Julia, born March 18, 1839, is the wife of John Warner, a carriage-maker of Rensselaer.
Mr. Bedford was brought to Tippecanoe county in 1830, when but two years of age. But small opportunities were afforded for obtaining an educa- tion, as the school-house was located at a distance of two miles; the winter term lasted but two months, and its advantages were of the most primitive sort. His father entered his long sleep when our subject was but a lad of thirteen, and, young as he was, the duty of providing for the family and keeping them together devolved upon him. He put his shoulder to the wheel and worked bravely, shrinking from no hardships, until he had placed those depending on him in a comfortable condition. Then he felt that he was justified in doing for himself and living a more independent life. Generous, even when about to make his venture into the unknown world, he told them that he was going to leave them, but would leave everything for them, and all that he would take was one extra shirt. He first learned the trade of a cooper, and from early in the morning he worked until late at night, putting in long hours, long days and long weeks, but he sometimes realized as high as ten dollars a day from his labors. Then he began buying and shipping fruit, etc., making considerable money by the transactions. He also engaged in selling farm machinery, and introduced the first mowing machine in the county. For thirty-five years he has sold nearly all the farm machinery in this vicinity, people coming long distances to buy of him. Sometimes his sales would amount to as much as two thousand six hundred dollars' worth in a single day, when he would show and explain the goods, sell them and make out the notes and papers for the contracts himself. He certainly is a man of wonderful resource and ability, and when once he gains a customer he is sure of keeping him. The farmers far and near have almost unbounded faith in his judginent, while his advice is sought and followed by scores of people who have thereby profited.
Mr. Bedford was married September 15, 1857, to Mrs. Elizabeth War- ner, a daughter of John Phillips. She was from Preble county, Ohio, and died September 5, 1898, in her eighty-second year, after almost a half cent-
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ury of happy married life. She was a woman of many excellent qualities and was dearly beloved by a large circle of acquaintances. She was for many years a member of the Christian church, and at the time of her death was united with the Church of God, at Rensselaer. She was born in Preble county, Ohio, August 29, 1816, moved to Rush county, Indiana, when nine years old, to Connecticut in 1837, to Cincinnati in 1843, and to this county in 1850. Her first husband was Kellog Warner, to whom she bore nine children, three of whom died in early childhood. The others were: Nor- man, in the hardware business here; Martin, who was in the civil war and was wounded and made a prisoner in the famous Andersonville prison, is now a resident of Idaho; John, also a soldier, likewise resides in this village; Lucy, deceased; Sarah, also deceased; and Marshall, of Rensselaer. Mr. Bedford is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a past grand, and member of the encampment. He erected a substantial three- story building in the village and fitted up the third floor for lodge purposes, making a home for the order when they were poor and needed it. Politically he is a Republican, cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison, and has voted for each presidential candidate on that ticket since. He is a strong temperance man, and has taken an active part in the work of temperance organizations, many men of the county giving him the credit of saving them from the drink habit.
SAMUEL B. BYERS.
This highly esteemed citizen of Benton county was born in West Leba- non, Warren county, Indiana, February 12, 1848, and is a son of Margaret and Jacob Byers. His father, Jacob Byers, was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, September 25, 1824, to Samuel S. and Nancy (Bowers) Byers. Samuel Byers fought for American independence in the Revolution. When Jacob was fifteen years of age his parents moved to Noble county, Indiana, where his father entered one hundred and sixty acres of land near Wolf Lake. This he afterward sold and he moved with his family to Fountain county, and later to Warren county, both in this state. He entered sixty-eight acres of land near West Lebanon, which is now covered by the site of part of the village. In 1869 he disposed of this property and went to Missouri, buying eight hundred acres there. He sold this and again, in 1876, came to the state of Indiana and bought eighty acres near Marshfield, where he died at the age of seventy-four years, and his wife at the age of seventy-five years. Jacob Byers resides on a farm near Bismarck, Illinois. He was married to Margaret Williams, who was born in Gallia county, Ohio, February 4, 1826. Her parents were John and Mary (White) Williams, her father serving in the
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war of 1812, and drawing a pension until his death, at the age of eighty-four years. She was but twelve years old when her parents moved to Portland, Indiana, and she was married at West Lebanon, this state, March 13, 1847. She died January 18, 1898, at the good old age of seventy-two years.
Mr. Byers, our subject, attended school until 1862, first in West Leb- anon and later in the country west of there. At the breaking out of the rebellion he enlisted in the Seventy-second Indiana Infantry, Company F, as a private, and took part in many of the fiercest battles of the campaign. He fought in the battles of the Atlanta campaign, serving under Generals Thomas, Grant and Wilson, and was mustered out at Indianapolis, September 25, 1865. He has been successful in securing a pension of twelve dollars a month since 1889.
After the war he was employed in the government survey in Kansas for some time, and in 1869 located in Lewistown, Missouri, and conducted the same business. Next he was manager and buyer for Daniel Gregg, at Lewis- town. Two years later he came to Talbot to accept a similar position in the elevator here, and in 1896 was given charge of the engine.
Mr. Byers has been twice married, first to Miss Mary Shankland at West Lebanon, on December 20, 1880. She was born in Maysville, Ken- tucky, in 1852, and was a daughter of John and Miranda (Loch) Shankland, of that place. She died February 19, 1889, at Talbot, leaving two children: Edward, who was born September 5, 1881; and Ernest, born November 29, 1886. Mr. Byers then led to the altar Miss Fannie Johnston, a daughter of Adam Johnston, of Wilson county, Kansas, formerly of Brown connty, Ohio, and she died March 26, 1899. Mr. Byers has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for fifteen years and an Odd Fellow for eight years. He has filled all the offices in the Knights of Pythias, and is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is an attendant of and contributor to the Methodist Episcopal church, and a Republican in politics.
NEVILLE I. THROCKMORTON.
The well known gentleman whose name heads this sketch, for a time the recorder of Tippecanoe county, is a native of this county and has resided here all his life, with the exception of eleven years spent in Lawrence county, Indiana. He is self-educated and has made his own way in the world from the time he was fifteen years old. Briefly, the history of his life and ancestry is as follows:
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