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 111

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago: Bowen
Number of Pages: 1000

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 111

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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.

was then sent down the Mississippi river to the mouth of the Red river and up that river to Alexandria, Louisiana. From there they marched by way of Burrow's Ferry to Hampstead, Texas, following a part of Pierce and Taylor's command as they were marching toward Mexico. They eventually landed in Austin, Texas, where they were mustered out of service on Feb- ruary 18, 1866, the last regiment of Indiana volunteers mustered out, and received their honorable discharge at Indianapolis March 14, 1866.

Mr. Little returned home to don the civ- ilian's costume and take up the duties of a private citizen, and one year later, Janu- ary 27, 1867, formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss Susannah Fouse, who was born in Randolph county, Indiana, October 6, 1848. She was a daughter of James and Dinah (Pickett) Fouse, whose family con- sists of three sons and two daughters, all of whom are residents of this state except John, who lives in Arkansas. Both parents were natives of North Carolina, the father having been born in Orange county in 1811, and having died November 1, 1876; the mother passed to her reward in her forty- second year. They were of German descent and followed farming, emigrating to Ran- dolph county, this state, in 1832, the grand- father having entered government land there, the deed still being kept by his de- scendants. They were members of the Friends church.

Mrs. Little was a maiden of fifteen when she became a citizen of Grant county, and obtained her education in the public schools. She has been a careful, considerate wife and an able assistant in all her husband's undertakings. Their start was made on

I rented land and was in every way satisfac- tory, their crops being good and their il come sufficient to warrant them in purchas- ing seventy-three acres of land, which was bought of the other heirs. After moving on and cultivating their own ground they have continued to prosper and have accu- mulated a neat. property sufficient to permit them to spend the declining years of life in comfort and plenty. Eight sons and five daughters were sent to gladden their home and share its pleasures, four having since been transplanted to the home on high. The nine living are as follows: Winfrod, who makes his home with his parents: Flo- rence, wife of G. W. Hill, a farmer of Fair- mount township; John R., who is engaged in the vocation of agriculture in Fowlerton and is also one of the most successful teach- ers in this part of the country, having been retained as teacher in one school for seven terms. He received his diploma from the common school in 1891, and was a student of Fairmount Academy, and is a man of family; Albert is a farmer of Mill town- ship; Charles, who is a glass-blower here ; Leonard, a student of Fairmount Academy, who is preparing for the profession of teach- ing; Franklin, who is a mechanic: Grace, a student of the eighth grade ; and Robert, the youngest and a student of the sixth grade. All of the children have been given good common-school educations, and three of these received their diplomas.

In politics Mr. Little is a Republican. In religion both he and Mrs. Little are strict adherents of a branch of the Society of Friends, and have aided in the erection of this church and others in the community, contributing to all benevolences worthy of their consideration. They are honorable,

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conscientious people, whose characters will admit of the closest scrutiny under the searchlight of truth, and are held in the highest esteem by every one. Mr. Little is a charter member of Beeson Post, No. 386, G. A. R., of this place, and was junior and senior-vice and officer of the day. He is also a member of Jonesboro Lodge, No. 109, F. & A. M., of Jonesboro, and has been an active worker since being taken into the order in the spring of 1867.

Of the five children of Mr. Little's par- ents, only two are now living, viz. : Alex- ander and Thomas. All of the brothers and sisters of Mrs. Little are now living, and the youngest is fifty years old.

JOHN S. FROST.

John.S. Frost is too well known to need an introduction to the readers of this vol- ume, and yet the work would be incompleto were his biography not contained in it. He traces his lineage to England, but was born in Decatur county, Indiana, November 26, 1839, the third in a family of four children born to Selah and Sarah (Drake) Frost.

Selah Frost was born January 28, 1799, in Chemung county, New York, and was reared as a tiller of the soil. He was edu- cated in the common schools and remained in his native state until he was about forty. In September, 1830, he was united in wed- lock with Miss Sarah Drake, who was born in the same county in 1809, and died Octo- ber 14. 1868. She was an estimable woman and a kind, indulgent mother.

In 1839 the family started for the west- ern wilds, coming down the Allegheny river

to the Ohio, and from there on a raft to Cincinnati, taking a wagon at that point for Decatur county, this state. Mr. Frost entered eighty acres of land from the gov ernment at Jeffersonville, and in 1847 or 1848 traded this land for a farm in Jen- nings county, upon which he resided for nineteen years. The house here was of hewed logs, with shingle roof. The first house in Decatur county, Indiana, was of round logs and the roof held in place by weight poles. On April 1, 1865, he pur- chased eighty acres of land in Van Buren township, where he remained until his death, December 4, 1868, surviving his wife only, about seven weeks. He was a man of un- blemished character, firm in his convictions and of sound judgment, who enjoyed the respect of all who knew him, his opinions carrying great weight and being regarded as decisive. He acted as justice of the peace for a number of years in Jennings county, and was a most impartial official, while using great discrimination in his verdicts. A brother, John, was a solder of the war of 1812, and fought in the battle which took place at Buffalo, New York. In politics he was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and intelli- gently alive to all the issues of the day. Both he and his wife were members of the Hard-shell Baptist church, and in their death the county lost two of its best and most honorable citizens. Their death coming so close together was a great shock to those who knew them and was the cause of much sorrow. Father Frost was a good marks- man and killed many deer around their home in southern Indiana. One time he aimed at one deer and shot two. At another time as he was driving his cows and oxen home through the woods in the evening,

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he saw a large flock of wild turkeys just off the roadside, but as it was almost dark it was too late to get any that night, so he placed a brush across the road to mark the spot and went home. He cleaned up his patch rifle, got plenty of ammunition ready and at early dawn returned to the point where he had left the turkeys, killing as many as he could carry without moving out of his tracks.

John S. Frost received his earlier school- ing in Decatur county, his father being his first teacher and he was carried to school on his father's back. The school-house is indelibly engraved on his memory, and was made of round logs about eighteen by twen- ty feet in dimensions, with clapboard roof, and heated by the wide fireplace about eight feet in width. The split-sapling seats were provided with wooden pegs, but were minus backs, while a broad board did duty as a desk for the older pupils, it being supported against the side of the building by wooden pins driven into the wall. The steel pens had not yet come into use, and the children used pens made from the quill of a goose. Most of his education was received in Jen- nings county, but he has a keen perception and retentive memory, and has done much to extend his knowledge by reading good books and periodicals. And not only does he read them, but he thoroughly digests what he has read, making it a part of his very self, ready to be called up at any time.

Mr. Frost remained at home until his majority, at which time he married and started in life for himself. His father aid- edl him to a certain extent in later years. but his start was made independent of all help and with no cash capital. He was uni- ted in marriage December 16, 1860, with

Miss Amanda Huckstep, and was blessed with a family of four children, only two of whom are living, namely: George S., a mechanic of Upland, who was educated in the Fairmount schools and married Miss Olive Smith, who has presented him with two children; and Artie M., wife of Will- iam Z. Payne, a salesman of Fairmount. Mrs. Frost was born July 16, 1843, in Ver- sailles, Ripley county, this state, and was one of nine children born to John and Mary (Reed) Huckstep. Both parents were na- tives of Kentucky, the father born in 1802 and the mother in 1800. They came to Indiana at an early day and were pioneers of the state, the father dying at the age of sixty-four and the mother when about sev- enty-five. Mrs. Frost was educated in the public schools and is a genial, winsome lady whose friends are legion.

In September, 1869. they located on the farm they now occupy. It consisted of sixty acres of land covered with heavy oak tim- ber, and the house was made of logs sim- ilar to that in which he was born. It seems almost impossible that the neatly cultivated farm of to-day was at one time in the midst of a thick forest, as few of the old land- marks remain to remain the citizens of early times. Mr. Frost and his wife have one of the neatest and best-kept farms in the town- ship, the fields enclosed by good fences, with substantial residence and outbuildings in the best possible repair, and everywhere evidence of thrift and prosperity. Their property extends to the corporation lines of Fairmount, and they are regarded as a most worthy couple of strict integrity and spotless character, and both are deeply re- ligious, he being a member of the Mission+ ary Baptist church, while his wife adheres

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to the Wesleyan Methodist faith. They are charitable to a fault and are never asked in vain for the relief of the distressed. Mr. Frost is a Democrat in national issues, but in local affairs is non-partisan, supporting the man best fitted for the office regardless of his party views.

WILLIAM J. LEACH.

William J. Leach is a leading and sub- stantial agriculturist of Fairmount township, Grant county, Indiana, and the village near . which he lives takes its name in honor of the family. The name is of English and Scotch origin and has been an honored one in this state for more than a century, hav- ing been closely identified with the develop- ment of this territory long before it was ad- mitted into the galaxy of the Union.

The immediate subject of these memoirs is a native of Fairmount township and was born February 2, 1840. His parents, Esom and Lucinda (Corn) Leach, were well and favorably known throughout this locality, where the mother still makes her home.

William Leach, the grandfather, blazed his way into this county and entered about six hundred and forty acres of land from the government in this township, locating in section I, although at that time the land was all included in Union township. Two of the deeds, bearing the signature of Martin Van Buren, are in the possession of Mr. Leach. There was neither school-house nor church in the entire township and William Leach and his wife were conspicuous work- ers in establishing the Harmony Baptist Society, one of the first religious organiza-

tions stated here. A church was not built until about 1849 and many times were the meetings held in the home of grandfather Leach. He was a Jacksonian Democrat and hield very decided views on the political out- look.

Esom Leach, the father, was born De- cember 8, 1816, in Franklin county, Indi- ana, where he lived until he was twenty- one years of age, when he came with his parents to Grant county, in 1837. Their first habitation was a rude log cabin built in the forest wilds, with wolves, bear and (leer for neighbors. The country offered alluring inducements to the man who was willing to take advantage of the situation, and not only did she pay him in lands and crops, but by ennobling his character, in- creasing his strength and enlarging his re- sources she eliminated the weak points and brought him to the full perfection of a per- fectly developed manhood. As gold is tried by the test of fire so was man tried by the many difficulties which beset his path, and amid trials and sufferings such as few of us would care to undergo was laid the founda- tion and corner-stone of our state.

Esom Leach was married to Miss Lu- cinda Corn, who was born in the state of Kentucky on December 15, 1823. He began his wedded life on eighty acres of land in this vicinity, was a prosperous man and accumulated about six hundred acres before his death in January, 1888. He was a Jack- son Democrat and a man of strict integrity whose decision of character made him re- spected and looked up to by his co-laborers in the township. Both he and his wife were zealous workers in the Primitive Bap- tist church. The land on which he started out was partially improved, but consisted in

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great part of swamp land and forests and the development meant hard and continued toil to bring it to anything like perfect shape for cultivation, but this was accomplished and the owner had the satisfaction of seeing fields of waving grain replace the tree and shrub, while swamp and low land became luxurious meadows in which the grazing herds became sleek and fat. The respect and prominence in which he was held continued throughout his life and made his death keen- ly felt in Fairmount township, the scene of so many years of his activity. Besides the widow, who is in her seventy-seventh year, he left a large family of children, three hav- ing entered into the great unknown. The mother has devoted her life to family and church and the precepts and example which have eminated from her will bear fruit and redound to her credit long after she has passed beyond the sunset hills of eternity. William J. Leach is the eldest child of the family. Nancy J. is the widow of William P. Osborne and resides in this township. Joseph J. occupies the old Leach homestead. Edward C. is a farmer in the near vicinity, as is his brother, John G. Mary E. mar- ried George Roberts and lives in Jefferson township. Wilson T. is a prominent agri- culturist of Madison county, this state. Ben- jamin F. is a manufacturer of Fowlerton, Indiana, and near there Reuben J. is en- gaged in farming. Simon B. is a farmer of this township and the youngest of the family.

William J. Leach remained with his par- ents, overseeing the farm until his twenty- second year and in the meantime had ac- quired a common-school education. The schoolhouse had formerly done service as a residence and was made of logs. It was made

with clapboard roof and puncheon floor, and in order to make it available for school purposes seats of split sapling with wooden legs were placed in it, and a broad poplar board was fixed to the side of the wall for a writing desk. This board rested on wooden pins driven in the wall and furnished a rest for the copybook, wherein the pupil followed the master's copy with the goose- quill pen. The room was heated by the fireplace which was constructed of mud and sticks, the sticks sometimes cathching on fire and threatening destruction to the entire building until the blaze was happily extin- guished. Mrs. Leach was also an attendant of this school, which was kept by subscription. Mr. Leach improved his time by reading and study, appreciating the wisdom of add- ing a little every day to his store of knowl- edge, and realizing that it is not what is read but what is retained that makes the wise man. Knowledge is not gained in a minute, but little by little. an item at a time, and it was not long before his self-imposed tasks began to have an appreciable effect upon him, and he was called upon to take charge of a school, which he taught one term.

When he turned to agriculture as his oc- cupation it was as a renter on the home- stead and later he purchased ninety-seven acres of swamp land, which was almost worthless and which was afterward sold. He then purchased a tract of one hundred and five acres, selling his last horse to make the first payment on it. The outlook was not encouraging and to a great many it would have meant complete failure, but not so with Mr. Leach. Instead of waiting, Micawber like. for something to turn up, he set about making his opportunities and how well he succeeded is shown by the fact that

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he accumulated almost six hundred acres of land. He is an honored citizen of Grant county, where his entire life has been spent and where his word is considered as good as gold.

He was married October 26, 1862, to Miss Sarah E. Haven, a lady whose natural endowment of head and heart made her uni- versally loved and respected. Her death, on April 17, 1888, occasioned acute sorrow in the entire neighborhood as well as in the home circle. She was the mother of two sons and four daughters, two of whom pre- ceded her to the spirit land. Those surviv- ing her as follows: Lucinda, who married John Scott, a farmer of Jefferson township, by whom she had four children; Anna, wife of Chalmer Kerr, an agriculturist of Dela- ware county, and the mother of one child ; Charles E., who is an agriculturist and grain dealer of Fowlerton, is married to Miss Minnie Payne and has two children; and Martha C., who was educated in the common schools and received a musical education. She lives at home. On March 16, 1890, Mr. Leach led to the altar Miss Jennie Wood, whose kindly nature and womanly qualities have made her an ideal wife and mother. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Smith) Wood and was born in Rip- ley county, this state, January 12, 1851, but ciuring her infancy her parents moved to Allen county, thence to Bluffton, where she was educated and lived for twenty-two years. She is a devout member of the Harmony Baptist church, as are her husband and daughter Martha. Mr. Leach worked zeal- ously for the erection of the pretty structure in which they now worship, and has been foremost in all movements which are con - ducive to public good. He standis high in the

community and will leave to his children a heritage far preferable to lands and gold- a good name. He is a Democrat and cast his first vote for George B. McClellan.

WILLIAM F. BELL.

William F. Bell was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, February 14, 1832, but for the past twenty years has been an honored resident of Fairmount township, where he has been successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is the eldest of five children born to Joseph and Eleanor (Bell) Bell, three of whom are living. They are William F .; Murphy A. M., an ex-sol- dier of the Civil war and a citizen of Sum- mitville; and Henry, who lives at Knights- town and is engaged in agricultural pur- suits. Mr. Bell may well be called a self- made man, having worked hard to reach the eminence on which he now stands and receiving many hard knocks on the way. He received a common-school education and at the age of twenty-one was without cash, bis manly spirit and insistent will compris- ing his only capital.

On February 28, 1856, he was married to Miss Nancy M. Ferguson, and became the father of five children. Four are liv- ing, viz .: James M., who is married and lives on the homestead with his father ; Mary M., who is married to Alvin Free, a farmer of Bethel, Indiana ; Sarah E., wife of Hirani Harvey, who resides on his farm in Liberty township; and Julia, wife of Elwood Town- send, a paperhanger and painter of Marion. This family were each given good practical educations and have been well fitted for

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the lives of usefulness they fill. Mrs. Bell was born April 30, 1830, in North Carolina, in the same neighborhood as her husband, and is a daughter of lliram and Mary ( Boone) Ferguson. She traces her ancestry to the Scotch and her mother was a near relative of the famous scout and Indian fighter, Daniel Boone. She is a lady of happy disposition and keeps the home cheer- ful with her never failing fund of good humor.

In 1865 Mr. Bell came with his family to Henry county, this state, where he re- mained for a number of years engaged in farming on rented ground and later pur- chased fifty-eight acres of land. This was sold in 1881, when he moved to Grant coun- ty, purchasing eighty acres of fine farm land in Fairmount township, where he has since resided. They have met with a goodly meas- ure of success and have a nice, comfortable home, with pleasant surroundings, the re- sult of their own efforts. They are people of high .Christian character who have been active in good works, and not only has the Friends' society, to which they belong, been benefited by their generous spirit, but many charitable deeds have been performed, in which the left hand knew not what the right hand gave. They are modest and un- pretentious, preferring quiet giving to osten- tatious display. The beautiful brick struc- ture in which the Friends hold their meet- ings, as well as the academy, in which the entire township takes a pardonable pride, have been the recipients of their bounty, and no citizen enjoys a higher degree of esteem than this worthy couple.

Mr. Bell is a strong Prohibitionist, be- lieving that the greater part of the ills and sufferings of life are to be traced to the

drink habit as the primary cause, and he has the temerity not only to advocate tem- perance but to vote for it. It is men of Mr. Bell's stamp that give vigor to the im- portant issues of the day and are the real safeguards of our country.

THOMAS W. NEWBY.

Thomas W. Newby is one of the most prosperous and influential agriculturists of Grant county, Indiana, and resides in Fair- mount township, which has been his home for more than sixty years. He is one of the pioneers of the county and a man whose sterling worth has given him a high stand- ing. He is of English ancestry but knows little of his antecedents, as his father died when the subject was a child of two years. The father was a farmer of Randolph coun- ty, North Carolina, where Thomas W. New- by was born May 7, 1824. There were but two children, the younger being Eleanor, widow of Daniel Thomas and a resident of this township. The mother, Mary (Winslow) Newby, was also a native of Randolph county, North Carolina, her family being prominent people of the south. She was a member of the Friends' church in her younger years and died in her eightieth year.

Thomas W. Newby received his educa- tion in the log school-house about eighteen feet square, heated by the fireplace and lighted by means of greased paper placed in the opening made by leaving a log out of the side of the building. The seats were of puncheons, with wooden legs and no backs, the desk of the same material, being sup- ported by pins driven into the wall, and the pens were made of goose-quills.

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MANZ

THOS. W. NEWBY FAMILY GROUP.

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Mr. Newby came to this state when about twelve years of age, the journey being made by wagon and a stop made each night to camp out. The first location was in Henry county, where he remained two years and in 1839 he came to Grant county, where he settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land in Liberty township, consisting of tim- ber land. His first home was a log house with the regulation mud and clay chimney and fireplace, with Indians for neighbors. He spent the years of youth in clearing for- est land and the prosperity that has attended him is entirely due to his own efforts and industrious habits. On May 21, 1846, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Hill according to the services of the Friends' church. Three sons and three daughters were the fruit of this union and five of these are still living, namely: Mary, wife of William P. Newson a prosperous agricult- urist of Rush county ; Eleazar, a farmer of Mills township; Aaron, who farms the first land settled by his parents; Joseph, a well- to-do resident of this township; and Nancy, wife of James P. Cox, a farmer of Mills township. All of the children have received good educations and are in good circum- stances.

Mrs. Sarah Newby was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, December 7, 1824, and is a daughter of Aaron and Nancy (Winslow) Hill. Six of the twelve children which composed the family are yet living and all are residents of this state except Benona, whose home is in Kansas. Aaron Hill was of English ancestry but was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, and was a strict Quaker in religion. Mrs. Newby was a chill of three years when her parents brought her to this state, the journey con-

suming seven weeks, and she will never for- get crossing the Blue Rilge mountains as she made the trip, lying meanwhile in the horses' feed trough. They lived in Ran- dolph county, Indiana, for two years and then came to Grant county, settling in Mills township on land which had been previously, entered by her grandfather. She was edu- cated in the log school-house similar to that attended by her husband.

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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 111

Author: Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago: Bowen Number of Pages: 1000

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago: Bowen
Number of Pages: 1000