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 83
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Samuel Wise is a native of Jefferson township and was born December 8, 1856. He was educated in the public schools and assisted in the work of the farm. Being the oldest of the family he was a valuable assistant in improving the little farm, which is more fully described in the father's biog- raphy on another page of this work. He appeared to have a genius for mechanics and took up that work when a boy. He remained with his father until his marriage then moved on a farm of his own which he still occupies. Here his machine shop is situated and it is supplied with lathe, forge and all the appurtenances of a first-class machine shop. He is a practical boilermaker and re- ceives most of the work from Upland and
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surrounding country, his patronage being extended and profitable. About twenty years ago he became possessed of eighty acres of land by inheritance with a mort- gage of two thousand dollars resting against it. This land was but partially improved and Mr. Wise and his good wife have made it one of the most charming spots in the township, while the indebtedness has been lifted and to-day it stands free from all in- cumbrance.
Mrs. Wise, formerly Miss Sarah E. Bole, was born in this county November 10, 1852, and attended the public schools in her girlhood. Her parents, George and Mary Ann (McKing) Bole, came from Ohio and settled in this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wise are members of the Christian church and aided materially in its erection. They have always taken a deep interest in the church and also in the cemetery and to the Wise family is to be attributed the neat appearance of both. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations. They are among the leading families of the township and their affable, pleasing address makes them wel- come in any circle.
SULLIVAN T. WAITE.
Sullivan T. Waite was born in Miami county, Indiana, August 14, 1850, and is well and favorably known in that and Grant county, in the latter of which he now resides on his farm in Jefferson township. The name of Waite has been a prominent one in the state since its earliest days, the ancestors having taken an active part in the develop- ment and first settlement of Indiana Terri-
tory. . \ second cousin of our subject, Chief Justice Waite, gained a national reputation as a member of the supreme court, while the gentleman whose name heads this article has been one of the foremost educators in this and his native counties He traces his geneal- ogy to England, some of his ancestors set- tling in Scotland, from which country his great-grandfather was driven by the relig- ious persecutors who controlled the country at that time.
Sullivan Waite, the father, was born near the city of Rochester, in the state of New York, during the year 1806, and lived only to middle age, dying in the prime of life, April 29, 1850. He was a practical stock raiser and farmer and came west to Cham- paign county, Ohio, where he married Miss Margaret A. Woods. She is a native of that county, and was born December 14, 1819. She is now in her eighty-first year, in the possession of all her faculties and of sweet, lovable disposition. She makes her home with her son, Sullivan. In 1838 soon after their marriage, they came to this state and lo- cated in Miami county, where he purchased some seven hundred acres of land before his death. They were ardent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and aided in erecting several houses of worship, one at Gilead and one at Pleasant Hill. The fa- ther was an abolitionist and abhored the in- stitution of slavery. Six children were born to them, namely : Joseph H., who served four years and five months in the Civil war as a member of Company A, Twenty-sixth Reg- iment, and took part in the siege of Vicks- burg, which lasted twenty-two days. He is an extensive landowner of Miami county, and resides in Gilead where he conducts a mercantile establishment ; Abner C. resides
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in Peru, Indiana, where he is a successful clerk. He also served two and one-half years in the same company with his brother during the war. Both of these brothers were teachers; Charles was a martyr to his country. He died from starvation and his body rests in an unmarked grave in Salis- bury, North Carolina. He was a member of Company E, Eleventh Indiana; Mary E. is the wife of W. W. Lockwood, editor and proprietor of the Peru Republican, the lead- ing paper of Miami county. Their son, George B., is private secretary to Honorable George W. Steele. Mrs. Lockwood was ed- ucated in the high school at Peru and taught in the county several years. Sullivan is the youngest member of the family, a daughter who is deceased, completing the number.
Sullivan T. Waite was born, educated and reared to manhood in Miami county, re- maining there until 1888. His common school education had been so augmented by his own personal efforts that he was able to secure a teachers' certificate without trouble and for several years devoted his time to in- structing the "young idea how to shoot." Twelve years were spent in his native county, seven in the home district, showing the pop- ularity he enjoyed among his acquaintances, who are the most critical and difficult to please. The last six years his record was such that he received a two years' certificate, the highest honor the state confers on her teachers. His success was unquestioned. Added to a quick perception he had the ability of making his statements lucid and clear so that they were easily understood by the most backward, while the strict dis- cipline exercised combined to make his school noted for the rapid advancement of the students and the good order maintained.
His later life has been given to farming and stock raising, in which he has been suc- cessful.
September 28, 1876, he was joined in marriage with Miss Maria Baker, daughter of Timothy and Susan ( Messinger ) Baker. She was born February 28, 1855, in Miami county, where she grew to womanhood and was married. Her primary education was obtained in the common and select schools, supplemented by a course in the Wabash Seminary. She was a lady of high literary accomplishments and a pleasing personal- ity which was strongly felt throughout the orbit in which she moved Orderly and pre- cise in all her habits, she was an ideal home keeper, and the purity of her surroundings was but the reflection of her own sweet na- ture which scattered sunshine on all about her. Her life was filled with Christian im- pulses and good deeds and the world was better for her brief presence in it, and when her sun had set and she had entered up into the light of the eternal morning, her ex- ample remained, inspiring us to greater deeds and nobler lives. Three sons and three daughters were born, five of whom are living, one having joined the mother in the mansion on high. Lillian M., the eldest child, is a vocalist of ability and was a stu- dent in Taylor University, where she took a musical and classical course. The respon- sibility of the household rests on her as she has endeavored to take the reigns of govern- ment that dropped from the hands of the loving and self-forgetful mother; Timothy B. is a student in the high school at Mat- thews, having just graduated from the com- mon schools; Deborah E. is also a student in the high school at Matthews; Charles A. is a student, as is George Merrill.
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Since locating in Grant county in 1889, Mr. Waite has made many friends and is honored and esteemed for his many manly, noble qualities. He has been an activo worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member, and has been an important factor in the Sunday-school. He served for years as superintendant and the flourishing condition of the school is mainly due to his efforts. He is always ready to assist in any good work, counting nothing a trouble that will promote the general good or tend to upbuild the morals and stability of the community. Consistent in all his actions, he has the courage of his convictions and expresses his mind in no uncertain voice for the advancement of humanity. His sup- port is always given to the Republican party.
HENRY WISE.
The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch and who is numbered among the best known and most highly respected citi- zens of Sims township, Grant county, In- diana, was born in Centre county, Pennsyl- vania, near Madisonburg, March 25, 1838, and is a son of Daniel and Catharine (Beekle) Wise. To this union were born five children, four sons and one daughter, of whom there are two still living.
Daniel Wise, the father of our subject, was progressive and energetic, and feeling there was a better opportunity offered him in the then new country equipped a wagon with the necessary articles for comfort, if comfort it be, for overland traveling, and with his family started west, settling in Grant county on the Isaac Roush place in
Mill township, but remained there for only a few months, giving himself an opportunity for finding a permanent location, which he did by purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson township, same county. The improvements on this farm consisted of a log cabin nestled in among large forest trees; though humble, it was home, and many happy years were spent here in improving this farm. Daniel Wise was truly one of the "old pioneers," living to the advanced age of ninety-one.
Henry Wise was but ten years of age when he came with his parents to Grant county, and here he remained, assisting in the farm work and attending the district schools, which were at that time conducted in a log school-house, not equipped with the modern conveniences of to-day, but with benches for seats and puncheon boards for writing desks.
After attaining his majority Henry Wise, like the birds of spring, thought best to find a mate and begin a "nest" of his own; so January 16, 1881, he considered himself one of the fortunate in selecting for "his mate" the genial and lovable companion Miss Margaret Simmons, they beginning life's journey on the farm which is their present home. This union has been blessed with five children to gladden their hearts, three of whom are still living, viz. : Lilly, Chestie and Gladys; the other two died in infancy.
Success has crowned the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Wise and they own two hundred and fifty acres of the best farming land in the county, located in section 2, which is all under a high state of cultivation. In con- nection with farming Mr. Wise is interested in stock-raising and is engaged largely in
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HENRY WISE-GROUP.
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buying and shipping stock, having shipped as high as twelve thousand hogs in one win- ter. He has the distinction of owning one of the finest farms in the county, which is well tiled and ditched and has a large barn, 82x42, which was built in 1888. There is also located on this farm five gas wells.
Politically, Mr. Wise is a Democrat, and while he has the interest of his party at heart his time and attention are occupied by his home and business affairs. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Noi residents of Mill township are held in more respect than they, hosts of warm personal friends attesting to the many excellencies of head and heart that distinguish them.
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LEVI MOORMAN.
Levi Moorman, a leading farmer of Jeff- erson township, Grant county, Indiana, was born May 16, 1838, his father having been a resident of the state since the early part of the century. He was one of ten children born to Lewis and Sarah (Thomas) Moor- man, and one of four surviving, of whom Jane, the widow of Ira Howell, resides in Iowa; Levi is next in order; Zachariah, a farmer and citizen of Burr Oaks, Kansas, was a soldier of the Civil war, was six times wounded and once knocked down by a shell ; Theresa, the youngest, is the wife of John IV. Jones and a resident of Jefferson town- ship.
Lewis Moorman was born in South Car- olina some time during the year 1805, and lived to the good old age of eighty-four years. When he was a child of six years his parents moved to the southern part of 40
Indiana, the mother buying land in Orange county. At the age of twelve years he was bound out to a blacksmith to learn the trade and remained with him until he was of age, when he came to Wayne county. Here he met and married Sarah Thomas, who was a native of North Carolina, and was born about 1807, and died in 1869. They were members of the Quaker Society and were people of Christian character. In middle life the father united with the United Bretlı- ren church. He was a Whig in early life and later a Republican. In 1833 he moved to Grant county to what was then known as Union township, before it had been chris- tened Fairmount, where he lived a number of years, and then went to Iowa, where he died. He had been a resident of Indiana five years before it was admitted into the Union as a state, and their first home was made of round logs, heated by the open fireplace at which the meals were prepared. Deer and wild turkey often made up part of their bill of fare, and the Indian was a frequent vis- itor. Wolves were also plentiful and used to run the dogs into the house for protection, the house being easy of access, as a quilt an- swered in lieu of a door.
The Moormans trace their ancestry to. Wales, whence some of the members came to this country and established the particular branch from which Levi has sprung. He was reared a farmer and stock raiser, all his early life being devoted to that work, ex- cept about three months each year during which he attended school. The school house, some 16x24, was made of round logs and heated by the fireplace with its dirt jamb and hearth of finely pounded mortar. The chimney, which was on the outside of the building, was made of mud and sticks, and
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the roof of clapboards held in place by was bought, although the sum he possessed weights, as nails were then one of the lux- was not sufficient to pay for the whole and . he had to go in debt for part of it. The first few years of married life he was a renter and then took possession of this property, making their home in the little cabin which stood upon it. Years passed in hard work and frugal living and they not only lifted the debt from their home but added to the num- ber of acres, buying small tracts of land as they could afford it, until they had about one hundred and thirty-seven acres which it had been their pleasure to improve in the most commendable manner, fencing and tiling the fields and building comfortable residences and barns, until they now have an ideal home free from all incumbrance, in which to pass the evening of their lives. uries. The pupils laboriously worked, with their goose quill pens, at the writing lesson, after a copy set by the master on a broad board which was held in place by pins driven into the side of the wall, and their seats, like those of the smaller pupils, were of split sap- lings supported by wooden pegs for legs, all of one height. The school was kept up by subscription and the teacher boarded round among its patrons. Marion was in her in- fancy as a village and Jonesboro could not boast of half a dozen houses, while Fair- mount was just struggling into existence. The magic wand of civilization has been waved over the county, and behold the change! Pretty brick and frame structures thickly dot the landscape where in former years a few straggling log churches and schools existed. Flourishing villages and cities have sprung up all around. The dense forests have disappeared and from the ground beneath is dug the material to fur- nish heat and light. Comfort and luxury are seen on every hand and the intelligent and still industrious sons of toil give evi- dence to the wonderful progress that has been made on every hand.
Levi Moorman remained with his father until he was twenty-one, and then started out as a wage earner for himself. He worked by the month or on shares until he was twenty-six, when he was married. His ; ents moved to Kentucky, and thence to father had given him a horse, saddle and bridle when he left home and this was sold and converted into one hundred and twenty- six acres of Kansas land. This again was disposed of and fifty-two and a half acres of improved land in Grant county, Indiana,
Mr. Moorman was married, November 12, 1863, the lady of his choice being Miss Lovina S. Lucas, daughter of Thomas M. and Mary M. ( Shoemaker) Lucas. She was born in this county, August 22, 1841, and was educated in the common schools and the Marion school. She is an omniv- erous reader, a charming conversationalist and a model housewife. Her uncle, Will- iam Lucas, served through the entire Mexi- can war. Her father was born in Pennsyl- vania about 1820 and died in 1880. He was of the Pennsylvania Dutch stock that has made the state famous for its thrift and en- terprise. He was but a child when his par- Highland county, Ohio, where the greater part of his life was spent. He was a tiller of the soil and an active, busy man He came to this county and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government --- the Dan Wise farm-and added to this until
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he had two hundred acres, all in Jefferson township. He was a Democrat in politi- cal views and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Lucas was born in 1819 in the state of New Jersey, near the city of Philadelphia, and died in 1888. There were six children in the family, all of whom are residents of this county, except one brother, Albert, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a soldier in the Civil war for three years and was taken prisoner at Murfrees- boro, Tennessee. Mrs. Moorman is a mem- ber of the Protestant Methodist church. Mr. Moorman is a Democrat and cast his first vote for James Buchanan. He has fre- quently been chosen as his party's delegate to county conventions and is deeply inter- ested in the upbuilding of the best interests of the community. He was made a Mason at Jonesboro in Lodge No. 109, and is gen- erous to a fault. They have been exemplary citizens and enjoy the high esteem of those who have met them.
Albert A. Moorman, only child of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Moorman, is one of the prom- ising young men of his native county, and one in whom his parents take a justifiable pride. Like his father, he espoused the cause of Democracy and cast his first vote for Gro- ver Cleveland. He married Miss Rachel Dor- ton and has an interesting family of two sons and one daughter. Beatrice, the eld- est child, will graduate in the class of 1901 and is also remarkably apt in her music; Clyde and Ralph are both in school and are bright, wide-awake boys. Mr. and Mrs. Moorman are members of the Protestant Methodist church and represent the young- er class of citizens who will be a credit to our county and state.
L. G. W. RICHARDS.
L. G. W. Richards, of Trask, Grant county, Indiana, was born in Jefferson town- ship, September 30, 1856, and is a son of the oldest and most respected residents of the county, Jacob and Susan (Gillespie) Richards, also of Trask. Jacob Richards was a son of Henry and Elizabeth Richards and was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, January 16, 1824. Henry Richards was from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and of German parentage. He was a tiller of the soil and as the tide of emigration moved west he moved first to Ohio and later to Indiana, where he entered land in this township. He was a most conscientious and honorable man, and both he and his wife were regarded as among the most worthy pioneers.
Jacob Richards has passed almost his en- tire life in this locality, as he was but nine years old when his parents came here. He began as a wage earner at the age of six- teen and has shown a remarkable business ability ever since his youth. Wages in the early days were small and while the cost of living was light. it was necessary to prac- tice rigid economy in order to save enough for a start. He was married March 23, 1848, to Susan Gillespie and together they struggled and saved until their industry and perseverance was rewarded by the accumu- lation of three hundred and forty acres of land, and they are able to take the remain- ing days in ease and comfort. Mrs. Rich- ards was born in Fairfield, Ohio, January 25, 1827, and was ten years of age when her parents moved to this county. Five chil- dren are living, namely : James H., L. G. W., Hester S. Leach, Isabel Harrison, and
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Lucy Ann Patterson, all residents of the county. They have given to each of the chil- dren a tract of land as a start in life, retain- ing one hundred and forty acres as their home. Although past three score years and ten, they are both in good health and hearty and might well be mistaken for much younger. The passing years have set light- ly on their brow and they are as active and energetic to-day as many people who have not yet reached the prime of life. They are members of the Baptist church, in which Mr. Richards has served as pastor for over twenty-seven years. The same earnestness which has characterized his business life is noticeable in his preaching, and his elucida- tion of the scriptures has been fraught with great good. He is a forcible and eloquent speaker and inspires in the hearts of his licarers a desire for a better and purer life.
I. G. W. Richards attended the public schools during his boyhood and remained with his parents until he was twenty-one. He has been brought up to regard honest work as something of which to be proud and as a road leading to honorable inde- pendence. Reared a farmer he has made that his life work and is regarded as one of the most practical and progressive agri- culturists of the county. On September 18, 1879. he was married to Miss Clara M. McCormack, by whom he has three sons, Harvey. Frank and Mark. The elder children have shown a partiality for farming and are a valuable aid to their father in his work, although they are still in school. Mrs. Richards was born October 8, 1858, and is a daughter of Newton and Mary Jane ( Carey ) McCormack of the adjoining coun- tv -- Delaware. The young couple began housekeeping on the estate of the eller
Richards, remaining there two years, when they moved about one-quarter of a mile north on eighty-one acres of land, situated on the Jonesville and Muncie pike. All the improvements on this farm have been placed there by the industry of the subject and his amiable wife, the large barn and modest residence having been erected some ten years ago. This land is very productive, being a clay sub-soil and is well adapted to the raising of cereals and stock-raising, in which Mr. Richards is engaged. He keeps only the best grade of stock and his farm is the model farm of the community and the neat- est. Besides this land they have eighty acres of valuable land in this township, about two and one-half miles from Matthews, which was received by Mrs. Richards from her fa- ther. They are members of the Baptist church, an organization composed of the best citizens of the township and presided over by the elder Richards. Mr. Richards is an active Democrat and has frequently been selected in county and congressional conventions to look after his party's inter- ests. He occupies an enviable place in the county, not only on account of his ante- cedents, but for his own honorable, upright life.
REV. JACOB RICHARDS.
Rev. Jacob Richards needs no introduc- tion to the residents of Grant county, Indi- ana, as he has been a citizen of Trask for almost three score years and ten and is known and respected far and wide. He is an agriculturist and his example has been most salubrious in inciting others to re- newed industry in their business and in his
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upright, Christian life. He was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, January 16, 1824, and is the youngest and only surviving child of Henry and Elizabeth (Fan) Richards.
Henry Richards was born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, where he em- barked in the agricultural business. His parents came from Germany and settled in the Keystone state. In 1815 he emigrated to the state of Ohio and entered land from the government while that country was yet in its infancy. In 1833 he entered four tracts of land in Jefferson township, receiv- ing his patent therefor under the hand and seal of President Van Buren, and some of these old parchment deeds are now in the hands of our subject. The Indians passed by their little log home but offered no harm to its inmates. Deer abounded in the vi- cinity and so did the wolves whose howls made the night hideous at times. Henry Richards was a. Whig and a man of ex- emplary character. His wife was from the same state as himself and a woman of strong Christian character who was a member of the Methodist church and a faithful observer of its teachings. Both parents departed this life in Jefferson township and passed on to the better world, leaving behind them a rec- ord of upright, honorable conduct that has caused them to be enrolled among Grant county's most worthy and honored citizens.
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