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 108
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the times, Mr. Hummel grows such stock as will consume all the grain grown on the farm, the annual output for the markets often exceeding fifty head of hogs and other stock in proportion.
While keeping "bachelor's hall" in Kan- sas Mr. Hummel fully realized the need of a congenial companion and resolved that life's pathway would not be traveled much longer alone, the result being that on the 23d of February, 1887, he was mated to the lady of his choice, Miss Mary Lou Line, of Wabash county. Two children are the fruit of the union-Edith and Nellie. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hummel are affiliated with the Range-Line Christian church, their lives be- ing according to the precepts of the Divine Master.
Identified with the Republican party, he has held consistently to its teachings, feel- ing a perfect security in the perpetuation of tree institutions so long as the present able management is at the head of the nation. Few men in the county are more deserving of the respect and fraternal feeling that should exist between man and man.
JAMES CLOUD.
The Cloud family have been prominently identified with the growth and improvement of the state of Indiana for more than sixty years, some of its members having settled in Wells county as early as 1840, in which year two brothers-William and Joseph-brought their families from Highland county, Ohio.
The parents of these men were Thomas and Margaret (Carson) Cloud, the former dying in the old Ohio home. The latter accompanied, in 1842, two other sons-
Thomas and Noah, to Indiana, all of them : locating near William, whose home had been made on section 2 of Van Buren township, he having entered the land some years pre- viously and making the first clearing upon and erecting a cabin in the fall of 1840. Thomas Cloud was a bachelor and remained all his life with his mother, whose home adjoined that of William. Some years later he died, the mother remaining at her own home till her death, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. She was a remarkable woman, being one whose influence was felt in all the homes of her neighbors. She had been a woman of great strength of char- acter, and having a fund of information was ever a welcome visitor in the homes stricken with sickness or distress.
Noah Cloud some years afterward traded for a farm in Wells county and passed the remainder of his life in that section of the state. About ten years after the advent of the first brothers another-John-came to the state and also settled in Wells county, where he lived for many years, being widely known as a prominent and influential citi- zen. One of the first two to come-Joseph -- losing his wife in Wells county and mar- rying the second time in Grant, made his home in this vicinity thenceforth. A dis- tinct article treating more fully of him under the name of his son-John W .- is found eisewhere. William Cloud was born in Pennsylvania, his veins carrying blood de- scended from Irish. French and Dutch an- cestors. He was ten years of age at the coming of the family to Ohio. He was married in Ohio to Miss Elizabeth Sharp, and was the father of five children upon coming to Grant county. It appears that he had migrated to the state some years be-
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fore, as his son-James-was born in Tip- pecanoe county February 18, 1831. When still an infant the parents removed to Rush county and in 1840 to Grant. At that time his nearest neighbors and the only ones for some distance were Stephen Corey and Michael Rouse. William improved a val- uable little farm and passed the remainder of a busy and useful life upon it, dying at the age of eighty-seven, after two years of almost total helplessness, during which time his daughter was his constant attendant and companion. His life-long helpmate had preceded him to the "shades of the celes- tials" some four years, being at her death, March 30, 1888, seventy-nine years and twenty-three days old.
They were the parents of seven children, all of whom reached maturity and all but one are still living. Mary Ann died after having been twice married; Noah resides at Thompsonville, Michigan ; Margaret is Mrs. Samuel James, of Van Buren; David and John F. live also in Michigan; and Nancy Jane is the wife of Eli Beck, living on the old homestead.
James Cloud remained at home till at- taining his manhood, his early years being ·devoted to hard work connected with clear- ing, log rolling, etc., with quite a good deal of hunting mixed in with the labor. He would take jobs of clearing, shingle-making and other similar work, by which he was enabled to make some small accumulation, though he had but little at his marriage, March 1, 1855, to Miss Elizabeth Jane Slusher, of Wells county, and who was born in Ohio. His farm is a fine tract of fertile land, lying near his father's old home, and which he has brought into a productive con- dition by close application to the demands
of the place. While the Cloud home is void of pretentiousness, it is noted for the open- hearted hospitality, ever extended to all, no more sincere or agreeable family being met within the borders of the county. But one child-a son, John William-has been reared by this venerable couple, and he is wedded to Miss Mary L. Duckwald, and with three children-Leroy, Elbridge and Leona Mabel -resides on the home place, assisting his father in the operation of the farm.
James Cloud is one of the old stanch Democrats, though he has not sought the emoluments accompanying the holding of public office. His daily life is in close ac- cord with the teachings of the Master, a healthy influence extending to others largely through the association in the Baptist church. It is not amiss to say that no more honored citizen resides in the county than James Cloud.
ALBERT M. JOHNSON.
Albert M. Johnson is one of the rec- ognized up-to-date farmers of Van Buren township, Grant county, and who is con- sidered a leader in the community in all matters pertaining to the development of the neighborhood, whether along the line of business, education or the shaping of its moral tone.
For twenty-one years Mr. Johnson has been closely identified with the immediate section in which he now resides, having lo- cated upon the present farm in 1879, al- though it was some three years later that he secured it by purchase. This farm was one of the landmarks of the past, being one of the oldest places in the community and
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at the time of his purchase in a run-down and worn-out condition. The present highly improved and fertile aspect of the estate be- ing the result of the untiring and ceasless ex- ertion of the proprietor, the result, however, surpassing the fondest anticipations of any one who knew the farm twenty years back. In many respects it is the model farm of the township, few, if any, excelling it in the points to which the attention of experts would be most directed in the event they were called upon to determine the relative merits compared with several others that are entitled to great commendation. Mr. John- son is one of those who believe in bring- ing a tract to its highest fertility by the use of all the means that experience has proven beneficial, such as tiling. fertilizing, etc. While this tract is naturally well drained, being mainly rolling and extending across Black creek, he has been persistent in the laying of tile, having placed upwards of twenty-five hundred rods of such drain on the farm, not neglecting the upland and ridges as well as the level and lower fields.
Some years since a serious loss was sus- tained by the destruction of the barn and its contents, entailing a financial backset to exceed a thousand dollars. The old struc- ture was replaced in 1897 by the more mod- ern and convenient edifice, which affords abundant room and convenience for the present demands of the stock and crops, be- side adding materially to the general thrifty appearance of the whole. The considera- tion of this estate would be far from ad- equate if no mention were made of the resi- dence, which, with its handsome exterior, well-planned arrangement and light and airy rooms, makes a fitting climax to the entire demesne. Following a systematic plan in all
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his operations, his farming accords with the methods in vogue at the advanced agricult- ural colleges, the rotation of crops, coupled with the enriching of the soil by the con- stant use of clover and the phosphates, re- sulting in most satisfactory returns for the studious attention to detail and the untiring and ceaseless consideration to a business in which Mr. Johnson finds the greatest pleas- ure in life. To the lover of nature the cul- tivation of the soil affords a means of grat- ification not found in other lines of indus- try, every furrow turned, every foot of wet land reclaimed and placed in a friable state, every seed planted, every lamb or calf reared speaking with audible voice of the assistance the toiler is rendering to further the great plans of the Creator, and to him who accords his life to those wonderful principles there comes a sense of pleasure and of living close to nature's heart in every act performed in the operation of a landed estate. Beside the returns from the general operations of the farm Mr. Johnson is the recipient of a hand- some income from the product of five oil wells on the place. some of them being among the earliest developed in this wonder- ful field.
Mr. Johnson is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, where he was born June 30, 1850. His father. Lewis Johnson, brought his family when Albert was three years of age to Washington township, Grant coun- ty, and some four years later removed to McLean county, Illinois, returning in a year thereafter. The father died when A. M. had reached his eleventh year, leaving the widow and two children, one of whom- Lewis .\ .- died at twenty-six. Five years after the father's death, the mother became the wife of Lewis Landess, and we will refer
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the reader to the biography of that respected gentleman for further mention of this lady. The relationship between Mr. Landess and his step-son was of so congenial a character and the home was found so pleasant that Albert was largely free from that sense of disaffection so often apparent in similar cases, choosing to remain in the home of his mother rather than to break away from the family ties and cast his lot elsewhere; accordingly he is found working in close as- sociation with his step-father until attaining the age of twenty-eight. November 7, 1878, he was espoused to Miss Margaret E. Gard- ner, daughter of George W. and Margaret Gardner, and who was born on the old Gardner homestead north of the village of Van Buren. Here she grew to maturity, the promising spirits of youth developing into the charming graces of riper years, becom- ing one of the popular and fascinating young ladies of the neighborhood. As the passing years have deepened the serious side of her nature added lustre emphasizes the earlier traits, her personality now placing her in the forefront of the many cultured ladies of the township. As the mother, so is the only daughter, Bertha May, who has be- come a second edition, de-luxe, of the former carefully prepared volume.
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Mr. Johnson is a respected member of King Lodge, No. 246, F. & A. M., at War- ren, Indiana, and while not an enthusiast has become quite interested in the workings of the fraternity, being himself one of the working craftsmen.
Being thoroughly imbued with the spirits of the free institutions of our country he has ever evinced a deep interest in the per petuity and development of such democratic factors of the nation's greatness. He is 52
often found among the leaders of his party, his counsels having no little weight with the workers and advisers. He has not as- pired to public honor, being content with the pleasure derived from the conduct of an agreeable business and the society of an amiable companion.
THOMAS DEAN DULING, JR.
Thomas Dean Duling, Jr., a leading farmer of Fairmount township, Grant coun- ty, Indiana, was born in this township Oc- tober 22, 1849, and is a son of Thomas Dean and Nancy ( Meskimen) Duling. The Duling family are of English ancestry and were among the first settlers in Virginia They were also one of the first to locate in Fairmount township, Grant county, In- diana, the father and his brother Edmond coming from Ohio on horseback and select- ing farms in the then unbroken wilderness. They cut the first trees from their land and built the walls of two rude houses in April, but before they completed the dwellings they returned to Ohio and the following fall brought their families. Their brother Sol- omon and his family had been here about four years before this. They reached here in October, 1845, stopping one day with their uncle, Thomas Dean, who was the third white man to brave the dangers of pioneer life in this township. They then moved into their log houses before the chimneys had been built or the doors hung, sleeping on the floor until the buildings could be completed.
The first trustees of Fairmount township were elected in 1856, three being chosen, namely : Thomas D. Duling, James S. Wil- son and Edmond Leach. Mr. Duling was elected secretary and the meetings of the
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board were held in his house it being large and roomy and the most convenient place at that time. He was elected to this office .a second term and had served in the same office in his old home in Coshocton county, Ohio. He was a farmer by occupation, following that vocation all his life.
He was a native of Virginia, having been born in Hampshire county. He was united in marriage to Nancy Meskimen, a native of Guernsey county, Ohio, on February 4, 1836, their union resulting in the birth of eight children, namely: William M., born May 27, 1837; Mary, born March 24, 1839, now Mrs. John C. Nottingham, of Fair- mount ; John W., born September 10, 1841, died August 24, 1872; Barbara, born No- vember 19. 1844, died July 13, 1862; Eliz- abeth, born February 3, 1847, died aged fif- teen years; Thomas D., Jr., born October 2, 1849; Joel O., born December 30, 1851 ; and George E. W., born August 15, 1854, died September 2, 1894. Mrs. Duling was a most lovable woman and trained her chil- dren to lives of honor and usefulness. Her cieath occurred January 16, 1877, while her husband survived until January 14, 1891. His residence here had been for so long and so intimately connected with the progress of the township that his taking away was a personal loss and was deeply mourned. His brother Solomon was a minister, and soon after reaching this locality established a Methodist Protestant church and organized a class that is still in existence. Mr. Duling's maternal ancestors were from Ireland, his great-great-grandfather being a brother of John and Eli Shryock, and their father a very wealthy merchant of Baltimore. His grandfather Meskimen was married in Mary- land and afterward located in Ohio.
Thomas Dean Duling, Jr., received his early education in the schools of his native (listrict. He was reared to agricultural pur- suits and in early manhood left the school- room to take up the vocation of a farmer, and such has been his perseverance and en- ergy that he is to-day nicely situated on eighty acres of rich, fertile farm land about two and one-half miles from the flourishing little village of Fairmount. This is a neat, at- tractive farm, and has been his home many years ; the buildings are of tasty design, com- fortable and commodious.
Mr. Duling was united in the holy bonds of marriage with Miss Laney E. Dean, daughter of William G. and Charlotte (Gardner) Dean, and three daughters have blessed their union. The eldest. Malissa H., was born December 1, 1875, and mar- ried Milton A. Rich. She is the mother of three children : One infant, deceased : Doyte R., born January 14, 1898; and Earl D., born September 1, 1900. The second daugh- ter, Sina Emily, was born May 23. 1880, and Barbara Ludilla, born March 10, 1886, the youngest, died February 27, 1901. Mr. Duling has spared no pains to bring up his surviving daughters in a manner befitting their station, and they are among the most agreeable and charming ladies in their lo- cality. It was their sad misfortune to lose their kind and loving mother December 25, 1900; it was
But the folding of the hands in sleep, After a day of labor or of strife, To be awakened by the gleams of dawn, The golden dawn of an eternal life.
'Twas but the laying down of care and pain, To work and weary not in fields more fair, To know that here we did not love in vain, For Love's great heart itself receives us there.
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The hearth is desolate, but the most cherished treasures of memory's store house are fond recollections of that beloved being who has but preceded them to the better land.
DAVID PRESLEY GLASS.
David Presley Glass, son of Joseph and Eliza (Morrison) Glass, was born in Rush county, Indiana, March 15, 1849, where he received his education in the public schools. At the age of eighteen he engaged in farm- ing and has made this his vocation through life. In 1882 he came to Grant county and located on one hundred and forty acres of fine farm land in Fairmount township, where he still resides.
October 2, 1873, David P. Glass married Eliza A., daughter of James and Jane ( Hite) Tuttle, who was born in Rush coun- ty. Indiana, October 10, 1853, and by whom he has had four children, viz. : Myrton E., born August 31, 1874, and married to Addie, daughter of Joel and Serepta (McCormick) Little, February 2, 1900. He lives on the home farm with his father. Dodona, born September 22, 1875; Lowry, born October 31, 1876; and James T. born December 31, 1879.
The parents of Mr. Glass moved from Fleming county, Kentucky, to Ohio in 1832 and were among the early settlers. His paternal grandfather, George Glass, came from Ireland and located in Fleming county, Kentucky, where he died.
The father and mother of Mr. Glass were married March 17, 1825, and were the par- ents of twelve children, viz .: George D., born January 21, 1826; Martha J., January 18, 1829; Elizabeth Ellen, August 18, 1830,
died July 23, 1833; Joann, March 27, 1832, d'ed December 16, 1900; Nancy M., Septem- ber 13, 1835; Robert, April 5, 1837; Helen, February 13, 1839; James, November 15, 1840; John, March 4, 1842, died Septem- ber 18, 1886; Lowry, August 7, 1844, died January 20, 1862; and Henry, June 17, 1847. The father died February 23, 1876, and his mother September 7, 1881. She was born and reared in Maryland. Their son Lowry died in the Civil war from measles. He enlisted in Company K, Thir- ty-seventh Indiana Volunteers, and his brother in the One Hundred and Thirty- fourth Indiana Volunteers, for one hundred days.
JOHN HARPER.
John Harper, son of William and Mary ( Billingsly ) Harper, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, February 14, 1854. When he was a small boy he moved with his par- ents to Parke county and attended the pub- lic schools until the death of his mother in 1866. He then engaged in public work and for seventeen months worked in a stone quarry, after which he became a farm hand and acted in this capacity for six years. Thinking the city a better place for a young man to prosper, Mr. Harper secured a situa- tion in the timber business with William Campbell at Marion, but one year later, not fancying the work, he again resorted to the farm and is now one of the successful agri- culturists of Grant county.
Mr. Harper has been twice married, first in 1880 with Anna Vice, by whom he had three children, viz. : Charles Otis, born June 30, 1881; Mary Della, born October 28, 1882; and Maud, born in April, 1883, but
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who died in June following. Mrs. Harper, the mother of these children, died April 9, 1886, and Mr. Harper married, on February 2, 1887, Mrs. Hannah (McCoy) Lewis, daughter of Jacob and Caroline (Cottrell) McCoy, and born February 2, 1848. Her first husband was John S. D. Lewis, son of David and Nancy ( George) Lewis, by whom she had three children, viz. : James Mac, born August 24, 1871; Sarah Alice, born July 24, 1874, and married Robert Carroll, son of James HI. and Eleanor ( Martin) Car- roll; and Minnie Nancy Caroline, born Feb- ruary 24, 1876, and married James Carroll, also a son of James H. and Eleanor (Mar- tin) Carroll.
Mrs. Harper's parents were both born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, the fa- ther on April 6, 1820, and died February 22, 1875, and the mother March 13, 1825, and ched May 8, 1888. Her father was of Scotch parentage and her maternal grand- parents were English and German.
Mr. Harper's father was born in Vir- ginia and came to Putnam county, Indiana, when young and was one of its early set- tlers. This family is one of the oldest in America, has been prominent in the early development of the country and in various business enterprises, and it is thought to be of the same lineage as the well-known publishers.
Mrs. Harper's first husband was born April 1, 1843, and died October 2, 1877. Ile was a soldier of the Civil war and under lus first enlistment served one year ; later, in 1864, he went as a substitute for Ira Car- ter and served to the end of the war. He was justice of the peace of Jefferson town- ship one year. Mrs. Harper's father was also a soklier of the Civil war, was taken
sick after undergoing many hardships, and after nine months' service was honorably discharged, but never regained his health. Mrs. Harper is a lady of refinement and has a large circle of friends. She is a good con- versationalist and strives to keep herself well informed on all topics of general interest.
John Harper's people were of large stature, with clear-cut features and were of the southern type of mountaineers, full of energy and possessed of great endurance. His father, who was a farm-hand for a great many years for the Hammond family, near the present site of Richmond, Indiana, was considered a wonder in the vocation which he followed and was a man of great strength. Although addicted to the drinking habit, he made many friends and was very popular.
Mr. Harper's schooling was very meager, as his parents were poor. He was com- pelled to begin the battle of life for himself when very young, and it is claimed that he has cleared more lands than any other man in the section in which he lived. His wife, Mary Billingsly, was a woman of exceptional beauty and was considered for years, even after her marriage with Mr. Harper, as be- ing the belle of the county, and during her younger days had a great many admirers and suitors, and after death had laid claim to her was pronounced by physicians and people at large as being the most handsome woman in death that had ever been seen by them.
WILLIAM A. FRIERMOOD.
William A. Friermood, an enterprising and prosperous young farmer of Sims town- ship. Grant county, Indiana, is a native of
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this county and was born January 13, 1866, a son of William and Catherine (Baker) Friermood. William A. attended the dis- ' tiict or common schools of his township un- til nineteen years of age, and was a diligent and industrious student, who availed him- self of all the scool advantages set before him. After quitting school he at once en- gaged in the prosecution of the calling he liad fixed upon as his vocation for life, that of agriculture, and to this he has steadily adhered, winning the reward that invariably awaits industry and well-directed and skill- ful efforts, and now, when just entering upon the prime of life, has secured a standing among his fellow farmers that any man might well feel proud of.
May 28, 1887, Mr. Friermood was united in marriage with Miss Ruannah Pence, the amiable daughter of Darius and Mary (Ma- rine) Pence, and this happy marriage has been crowned and blessed with two children, viz .: Bertha Fern, born October 7, 1888, and Georgiana, born July 25, 1891.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Friermood is a member of Swayzee Lodge, No. 625, I. O. O. F., in which lodge he has held the office of guardian since February, 1900, and being still a young man and an ardent and faithful member there can be no doubt but the other chairs of his lodge will be open to him in due rotation. The social standing of Mr. and Mrs. Friermood is with the best residents of Sims township and Mrs. Frier- mood worships at the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which they con- tribute liberally of their means. In politics Mr. Friermood is a Republican, but has never exhibited any desire for office holding, as he prefers to devote his undivided atten-
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tion to the cultivation of his farm, which is as neat and well-cared for as any of its dimensions in Grant county.
JOHN SMITH PENCE.
John Smith Pence, a life-long farmer and a resident of Sims township, Grant county, Indiana, since he was a mere babe, was born in Champaign county, Ohio,. July 9, 1846, a son of David and Anna (Smith) Pence, who came to Grant county when the subject of this sketch was but eighteen months old and settled on a farm in Sims township, where they passed the remainder of their years.
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