USA > Indiana > Grant County > Biographical memoirs of Grant County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography with portraits of many national characters and well-known residents of Grant County, Indiana. > Part 107
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WILLIAM HENRY KELLEY.
The biographies of Grant county's pro- gressive men bring to light many hidden treasures of mind, character and fortitude well calculated to arouse local pride, and it must be a source of regret that the people are not more familiar with the personal his- tory of men of prominence to be found on the farms, in the schools, in the pulpit, and what is known as the learned professions, as
well as in merchandising, banking, railroad- ing, manufacturing and mechanical employ- ments.
The subject of the following sketch, William H. Kelley, was born in Green town- ship, Grant county, Indiana, October 19, 1858, and now resides in the township where he was born. He is the son of James and Susanna (McClain) Kelley. His grandfa- ther, Samuel Kelley, came from Ohio to Henry county, Indiana, in pioneer days, and there reared a family and died. He married Mary Holden and they had a family of eleven children, viz .: David, James, Jona- than, Samuel, Henry, Minor, William, Stephen, Abraham, Daniel and John Milton. James Kelley, the father of subject, was born March 12, 1826, and died February 20, 1887.
The paternal great-grandfather of Will- iam Henry Kelley of this review was a na- tive of Ireland, who came to America in his young manhood and became the founder of this branch of the family in the New World. They have become a very numerous family, who have been identified with the institu- tions of free America and have borne a con- spicuous part in the maintenance of the same.
The mother of William Henry Kelley is the daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Mauler ) McClain, one of the old established American families. Mrs. Kelley was born in Perry county, Ohio, on the 18th of De- cember. 1833. and is living in the town of Swayzee, in Grant county, Indiana. She has a competence wherewith to smooth her pathway down through her declining years, and is a most estimable and highly esteemed lady. She is the mother of twelve children, who represent some of the most prominent families in Grant county. The names are
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as follows: The first born died in infancy ; Elizabeth (now Mrs. Thrailkill, of Sims township), John, William H., Abraham, Samuel, Mary Ann (now Mrs. S. Martin), Della, Mrs. E. Allen, Maria (Mrs. F. Downs), James, David, and Cora B. (Mrs. G. Horine). They are all comfortably sit- uated and located in the vicinity of their old paternal home.
Mr. James Kelley, the father of William Henry Kelley, was a man prominently identi- fied with public affairs in the community where his later years were spent. He was township trustee and supervisor of Green township, a prominent member of the Church of God, and otherwise known as a progres- sive and public-spirited citizen who sustained a high standing for morality and integrity. He located in Grant county in 1845. As an evidence of the patriotic spirit of the Kelley family it may be said that five brothers of James Kelley were soldiers in the Civil war, a record seldom equalled in the history of a family. These were Samuel and William, who lost their lives in defense of their coun- try, and Jonathan, Abraham and Daniel served out their terms of enlistment and re- turned to their homes and are now honored and respected citizens of their native state.
The McClain family, as represented by the mother of these heroes, is one long es- tablished upon American soil. They are of Scotch-Irish extraction and located in New England and the eastern states in colonial days. They were identified with the coloni- zation period and fought in the early wars of the country, including the Revolutionary struggle for American independence. Like the Kelleys, they have become very nut- merous, and are thoroughly identified with American institutions. The subject of this
review was educated in the public schools of his native township and has been variously engaged in the business of life. About his first independent venture in business was in the capacity of a ditching contractor, in which he was financially successful, follow- ing that business for about eight years. He then erected a saw-mill, in connection with which he put in a tile factory, and this was his principal business for twelve years, though he still owns a portable saw-mill, which he operates as occasion requires. For five years he owned and operated a threshing machine, and in all of his varied business interests he has been measurably successful. He invested his savings in land and has also been identified with farming and stock- raising. In 1898 he was chosen to the office of township supervisor, an honorable and responsible position which he has filled to the entire satisfaction of his constituency.
On the 3d of June, 1880, Mr. Kelley chose for his life companion Miss Alabama Hooker, who bore him three children, viz. : Maudie C., born February 22, 1885 ; Goldie, born July 6, 1886; and an infant, born in July, 1888, and both mother and babe died. Maudie C. is now the wife of George Thomas.
The second marriage of our subject oc- curred on the 3d of September. 1888, the lady of his choice being Miss Camma Gal- way, daughter of Moore and Mary ( Hod- son) Galway. Three children have been born to this union: Dwight, born Septem- ber 20, 1890, and died August 8, 1891; Glenn, born July 16, 1892; and Guy, born September 5, 1895.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelley sustain high social rank in the community and are recognized as one of the first families in the township.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Our subject takes an active interest in po- litical affairs and is a recognized leader in local politics. He is not, however, an ag- gressive politician and in local affairs sup- ports the candidate who, in his judgment, is best qualified for the position to which he aspires regardless of party lines. On state and national affairs he supports the candi- dates of the Republican party.
Moore Galway, son of Moore and Mary ( Edgerly ) Galway, was born June 9, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was born in the Isle of Man and his mother was born near London, England. When Moore Galway was a young man his parents moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore, Maryland, and later to Rush county. Indi- ana, and still later to Indianapolis. He was a tanner by trade and was married to Mary, daughter of Samuel and Hester (Lamb) Hodson, on January 1. 1856. They had eight children: Robert E., born January 30, 1857: Sarah C., born December 22, 1858; Ida M. died young ; Nora, born March 30, 1863 ; Louella, born July 19, 1866; Ulys- ses died in infancy ; Ollie, born January 19, 1869: Camma (Mrs. William Kelley), born May 26, 1876.
.After the death of Mr. Kelley's first wife the courtship began between him and Camma Galway, who was only eleven years old, and on account of her age her parents protested. but after a short length of time he stole her away, eloped to Newport, Kentucky, where they were married, she becoming a bride of thirteen years. They returned to In- diana, settled on his little farm, and she to take the position as wife and mother to his three children. Their life has been most happy together, and before she saw her four- teenth birthday she became the mother of a
child and now is the mother of three chil- dren. She has taught herself and children , to work, and the children have the distinc- tion in their locality of being exceptionally bright.
Mr. Galway was a soldier of the Civil war. enlisting in Company I. Fifty-seventh Indiana Volunteers : he served two and one- half years at the front, and was wounded in the hand at Stone River. He later reported for duty, but the wound not being healed and causing him to be badly crippled, he was discharged from duty. He died March 15, 1894.
CHRISTIAN ECHELBARGER.
Christian Echelbarger, a prosperous ag- riculturist of Green township, Grant coun- ty, Indiana, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, is a son of John and Mary Ann ( Fos- ter ) Echelbarger, was born in Brown county, Ohio, May 4. 1841, and was educated in the subscription schools of his neighborhood. Ili 1854 he was brought to Indiana by his parents, who settled on the line of Howard and Grant counties, where they purchased a tract of land, and here Christian was reared to manhood as a farmer, which has been his vocation ever since.
In July. 1863. Mr. Echelbarger enlisted in Company E. One Hundred and Eighteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until mustered out in March, 1864. During his service he fought at Marshtown, Tennessee, Walker's Ford. Big Springs and Strawberry Plains. After serving in the army he was employed by the government in taking care of horses on the Kentucky river until the close of the war.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Politically, Mr. Echelbarger is a Repub- lican and at one time was elected township assessor, which office he held five years. Fra- ternally, he is a member of Point Isabel Lodge, No. 510, I. O. O. F., and religiously is a Methodist, being trustee and steward of the Methodist Episcopal church at Point Isabel.
November 21, 1867. Christian Echelbar- ger was united in marriage with Mary Ann, daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Ogal) Matchett, but to this union there were no children. But it is proper here to trace the lineage of Mr. Echelbarger to the founders of the family in this country and to give a record of the children born to them and their descendants up to the present time.
David Echelbarger, the paternal grand- father of Christian, whose name opens this . sketch, came from England to America in a very early day, served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution and later settled in Hamilton county, Ohio, where he married and had born to him three sons-David, John and Moses. Of these three the eldest, David, married Elizabeth Strome, who bore him six children, viz .: Elizabeth (Mrs. J. Covault ), Christina (Mrs. R. Reed), John, Michael, William and David. John Echel- barger, the eldest of the above named six, by his marriage with Mary Ann Foster be- came the father of nine children, viz. : Chris- tian, whose name stands at the head of this sketch: Michael, deceased; Rachel, now Mrs. Thomas McLain: Elizabeth, married to N. McCombs; Barbara, wife of Samuel Orine: Charity, wife of Abraham Kelley; Francis M .; Christina, now Mrs. Joseph Douning ; and Jarrett.
James Ogal, maternal grandfather of Mrs. Christian Echelbarger, was of Irish ex-
traction and was an early settler in Vir- ginia and a patriot of the Revolutionary war. To his marriage with Hannah Brown the following named children were born : Elisha, James, Mary ( Mrs. James Shockley ), Han- nah and Thomas., The father of Mrs. Echel- barger and a brother walked all the way from Virginia to Indiana, secured work from Joseph Cory and about a year later Elisha, above mentioned, married Mary Ann, daugh- ter of the aforesaid Joseph Cory, and to this union were born eight children, .viz. : Sarah, Emma, Esther, Eli, Mary, Joseph, James B. and Elizabeth.
Daniel Matchett, father of Mrs. Echel- barger, was born in Virginia April 22, 1835, and married Hannah Ogal October 14, 1856. Hannah was born February 7, 1841, and bore her husband six children, viz. : Louis, Mary Ann, Sarah Jane, Caroline (Mrs. L. Morgan), John E., Elizabeth E. (Mrs. E. Henderson ) and Walter D. Elisha was a member of the M. E. church, was steward several times, and is greatly respected for his piety. In politics he was a Republican.
MOSES RUSH.
Moses Rush (or Resh, as the name has been sometimes spelled), a leading agricult- urist of Green township, Grant county, In- diana, is a son of Philip and Phebe (Zim- merman) Rush, and was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1836. His educational advantages were confined to the district school of his neighborhood, but he acquired sufficient "book learning" to carry him through the business affairs of life, he being naturally quick to learn and
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being possessed also of a retentive memory. His life vocation has been that of a farmer and blacksmith and he engaged in the latter for about twenty-four years after quitting school. He settled in Green township, Grant county, in 1881, having come from Pierce- ton, Indiana, and is now recognized as one of the foremost and progressive farmers of the township.
Mr. Rush was united in marriage, at . Ligonier, Indiana, on November 30, 1865, with Miss Mary E., daughter of Henry and Catherine (Willmeth) Engle, and to this union one son, Burton A., was born, Decem- ber 29, 1868. This son was reared to man- hood on his father's farm, and in Novem- ber, 1889, married, at Point Isabelle, Phebe E. Coomler, to which union have been born four children, namely: Frederick, Ray M., Roy M. and Earl.
Mr. and Mrs. Moses Rush also took to rear a young girl, Minnie M. Leedy, when she was four years old, in 1876. She is now married to Leroy Blessing.
The great-great-grandfather of this adopted child was named Baker, was a sol- (hier in the Revolutionary war, and in part payment for his services was granted a land warrant, which he entered, where the city of Philadelphia now stands and to which Minnie Leedy now lays claim as one of the heirs.
The family of Philip and Phebe (Zim- merman) Rush comprised nine children, viz .: Moses, born December 29, 1836; Amos, born November 29. 1837; AAnna, born July 10, 1842, was married to J. Gun- ter and had three children-Anna, Minnie and Lennie; Isaac, born in 1845, married Mary Bone, who bore him three children also-Alice, Clara and John: Philip, born
in 1854. died in 1883; and three infants died unnamed.
Mrs. Rush's grandfather was a German, resided in Pennsylvania and was a soldier in the Revolution, fought all through the struggle and for two years was under the immediate command of Washington. Henry Engle, father of Mrs. Rush, was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, October 9, 1807. He mar- ried Catherine Willmeth, who was born March 9, 1811, and to their union were born five children, viz .: Sarah, who was married to William Stephenson, and died May 28, 1888; Mary E. (Mrs. Rush), born March 1. 1840; Arthur C., who married Hannah Foster and has had born to him five children-Harry, Carrie Lottie, Mary M., Edward and Lucy ; Edwin, who married Lillie Alvard, and is the father of one child -Lulu; Ira H. married Mattie Baker and has one child-Foster.
Philip Rush, father of Moses, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1813, and died in 1856 in Stark county, Ohio. The Rush family, it will be seen, has been identified with Grant county and its development for many years, and the family name is consequently spoken of with pro- found respect wherever uttered. Mr. Rush's mother was born in 1812, in Pennsylvania, and died in 1867. In politics Mr. Rush is a Republican. Mrs. Rush's father was a Whig and later a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Rush are members of Point Isabel Methodist Episcopal church.
ROBERT J. SWINNEY.
The subject of this review is a native of Bedford county, Virginia, where he was born September 24, 1837. He is a son of Robert H. and Jane E. (Archbald) Swin-
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ney, who were natives of Rockbridge coun- ty, Virginia, the mother being born in Rich- mond, Virginia, and lived in their native county until after their marriage, when they located in Bedford county. After a few years spent there they returned to Rock- bridge county, and from there came to Rush county, Indiana, when our subject was a lad of fifteen. There they spent the balance of their lives. They had a family of three sons, viz .: Henry A., Robert J. and Alonzo T. The latter is deceased. Our subject was educated principally in Rockbridge county, Virginia, though he attended school for a time after the family located in Rush coun- ty, Indiana. On the 22d of October, 1883, he located on a farm in Green township, Grant county, Indiana, and has been a resi- dent of the township since. He purchased the farm upon which he still lives and where he has been prosperous, and is one of the leading agriculturists of the township. Mr. Swinney has always been an industrious and frugal citizen, and his present possessions and high financial standing are wholly the result of his own unaided efforts. For forty- two years he has annually operated a thresh- ing machine, a most laborous task, but with- all a quite profitable business in its season. The Swinney family comes of old Revolu- tionary stock and have been a race of patriots who promptly responded to the country's call in the hour of need. Not the least among them is the subject of this sketch. On the 5th of September, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Company I, Third Indiana Cav- alry, also known as the Forty-fifth Regi- ment, enlisting from the Hoosier state in the Civil war. In 1862 he was promoted to duty sergeant and in February, 1864, to quartermaster's sergeant. He served his full
term of three years at the front. The list of battles and skirmishes in which he par- ticipated is a very long one, and his military record in the service of his country is an event in his life history of which he and his posterity have just cause to be proud. A treacherous memory, after the lapse of nearly forty years, prevents giving a list of the battles in chronological order.
Suffice to say that Mr. Swinney per- formed his whole duty as a valiant soldier for the Union and national liberty, and to such as he is the present generation indebted for the existence of the most popular, wealthy and honored nation upon the globe.
Among the principal battles in which Mr. Swinney participated are Stone River, Chick_ amauga, Atlanta Campaign and the begin- ning of the "March to the Sea." At the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, on the 10th of April, 1863, he received two severe wounds. He was taken prisoner at Squatchie Valley about October 1, 1863. Being allowed to ride his horse, and while enroute to Ander- sonville prison, he succeeded in making his escape by a bold and fearless dash. He had been a prisoner forty-eight hours and his guards had relaxed their vigilance slightly. when, being a superb horseman and having a good mount, he suddenly turned his horse aside and gave him the spur. The shower of missiles which followed this bold defiance of Confederate authority passed by harm- lessly and he and his noble horse were soon beyond the range of rifles or carbines. How- ever, it required a great deal of strategy to avoid straggling bands of Rebels, with whom he was liable to come in contact at any moment. But he effected his escape and was soon with his own command under the protecting folds of "Old Glory."
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Mr. Swinney was discharged from the service at Cartersville, Georgia, October 27, 1864, having served nearly two months over his term of enlistment. On the HIth of No- vember he reached home and laid aside the implements of war and engaged in the peace- ful avocation of a farmer.
May 5, 1872, Mr. Swinney chose for his life companion Miss Armilda Stephens, daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Newhouse) Stephens. Mrs. Swinney was born February 23. 1852, and is a native of Rush county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Swinney are the parents of seven children, named as follows : Francis M., born February 10, 1873; Min- nie F., born December 1, 1874, and is now the wife of Charles Hamilton ; Laura A. was born October 31, 1876, and is now Mrs. A. H. Townsend; Clara A., born May 11. 1880: Alvia E., born April 22, 1885 ; Pearly M., born July 25, 1888; and Nancy J. was born November 25, 1890.
The Swinney family is descended from Scotch-Irish ancestors, established in the American colonies prior to the Revolution. The paternal great-grandfather, Henry Swinney, fought under General Washington and bore his share in the tortures of Valley Forge during the memorable winter begin- ning the struggle for national independence. This patriot had a son, John P. Swinney, who was born in 1775. After he grew to years of maturity he located in the south and married Miss Pumphrey in Tennessee. They had one child. His second wife lived but two months and in 1800 he married his third wife, who was Miss McGeorge, a na- tive of Scotland. They had eight children. and these are probably the ancestors of the now numerous family bearing the name of Swinney. These were named as follows:
Robert H., James, Ann, Elizabeth, Thomas. John, Margaret and Francis M. The father of our subject is the eldest of this family.
The maternal grandfather was Robert Archibald, a seafaring man, who wedded Miss Elizabeth E. Cox. a native of Virginia. This is the first definite knowledge of the Archibald family as represented by the mother of our subject. Robert Archibald was a soldier in the war of 1812. The sub- ject of this review is permanently identified with the religious interests of the community in which he lives. His religious home is in the Christian or Disciple church, in which he has been a prominent official for a num- ber of years. He is an earnest advocate of temperance and sobriety, of purity and hon- esty in public affairs, of domestic tranquil- lity and congeniality in all affairs of the home and its surroundings. He abhors strife and contentions of every nature and believes in the doctrine that it is "better to suffer wrong than to do wrong." Though he takes an active interest in political affairs he has never been an office seeker. preferring to devote his time to his own personal interests, in which he has been successful even beyond his highest ambition.
MORTON S. HUMMEL.
Among the progressive farmers of Van Buren township. Grant county, Indiana, and one whose unaided efforts have enabled him to assume an important place among his fellows is Morton S. Hummel, who is, as well. the present most conspicuous repre- sentative of one of the oldest families of the county.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
His own birth occurred in Washington township, Grant county, on the 19th of Au- gust, 1862, his parents being Marion and Amanda ( Minnick) Hummel, who were also probably born in the same community. He is a son of John and Sarah (Dusenberry ) Hummel, who had come from Ohio to the wilds of Grant county. The Hummel family are of German origin, though they are traced far back in the annals of Ohio. When Mor- ton was but a lad of eight years he was bereft of his father's counsel and support, his death occurring in Pleasant township at the age of thirty-six. Less than two years there- after the mother was also taken from the four children, Morton being the eldest. The means of the family being extremely limited, it was found impossible to keep the children together, and they were separated, and from that time they never realized the benefits of home companionship. Sylvester, the next younger than Morton, is now a farmer of Wabash county ; Frank is a popular com- mercial salesman of Broad-Ripple, Indiana, and Levi resides in the new territory of Oklahoma.
A home was found for Morton in the family of his father's cousin, Con Hummel. in Washington township, and here he re- mained for some four years until the death of this relative's wife, when he was thrown upon the mercies of the world, having no means of subsistence but what he might earn by unaided efforts. He secured employ- ment at farm labor and being strong and willing had no difficulty in retaining posi- tions. Wishing to see some of the great world of which he had heard so much, he set his face to the west, spending about a year in the state of Nebraska when he was about nineteen. Upon the attainment of his
majority he received some six hundred dol- lars from his grandfather's estate, but more than one-half of this was required to pay a cloctor bill contracted while sick in Nebras- ka. However, with this small amount, slightly augmented by the earnings of a year's farm labor, he went to Kansas in March of 1886 and entered government land in the then wilds of Clark county. He erected a "shack" and lived in the rude man- ner of the plains for two years, proving up title according to the demands of the depart- ment. Having a desire to return to what seemed more like civilization and having an opportunity to exchange, he secured the pres- ent tract of land in Van Buren township, as- suming an indebtedness in excess of a thou- sand dollars. The entire eighty acres was in the woods except some fifteen acres par- tially cleared, but with no buildings. In less than twelve years he has accomplished a marvelous transformation, converting the wilderness into fertile fields, where immense crops of waving wheat and corn are grown, the return from the acreage repaying tenfold the labor and effort bestowed upon them. More than 600 rods of tile have been laid beneath the surface, much of it being several inches in diameter, thus affording ample drainage to the entire farm, nearly all of the tract now being in cultivation. Several acres were originally of a worthless condition, owing to there being deep ponds covering a wide area, but this has now become the most valuable, the greatest growth of cereals be- ing now produced in what was a few years since but swamp and quagmire. A neat and tasty residence has been built, which, sur- rounded by ample barns and other outbuild- ings, gives to the whole a most thrifty and interesting appearance. Keeping abreast of
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