USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume I > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
THOMAS H. HOWARD.
Thomas H. Howard, of Bloomfield, Greene county, Indiana, was born at Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, Au- gust 31, 1837. He is the son of Joseph T. Howard, of Virginia, who married Mary A. Noble, of Ross county, Ohio. The father of Joseph T. Howard died in Vir- ginia. Soon afterward his widow moved with her chil- dren to Ross county, Ohio, when Joseph T. Howard was six years old. His mother died there. When he reached man's estate he married and followed the cabinet maker's trade, in connection with which he did all kinds of wood- work. He moved with his family to Greene county, In-
1
1
325
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
diana, in the spring of 1867. Both he and his wife died in Washington township, the former at the age of sev- enty and the latter a year older. They were members of the Methodist church and the former was a Whig, later a Republican. They had five children-Sarah C., now deceased; Thomas H .; James M. died in Monti- cello, Ill .; William H., also deceased, who lived in St. Clair county, Missouri; George W., who was killed in Pennsylvania in 1866 in a railroad accident. He was a member of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Regiment during the war between the states and was wounded at Missionary Ridge, being shot in the right arm.
Thomas H. Howard was educated in the schools of his native county, having remained at home until he was twenty-three years old, working on the old farm. He was married January 3, 1861, to Miss Mary Jane Shepherd, of Fayette county, Ohio. She was the daugh- ter of James Q. and Nancy Shepherd, and was born and raised on a farm in Fayette county. To this union ten children were born-Oscar T., who died in infancy; George E., now living in Bloomfield and working at the carpenter's trade; Benjamin F., now in business at Lin- . ton, Indiana; Charles and Laura, both deceased; Alfred A., telegraph operator at Bloomington, Indiana: Mrs. Mary Cunningham, who has four children, Dale, Delma, Fern and . Emeline; Abigail E., a teacher, who lives at home, and Sarah Edith, deceased.
After his marriage Mr. Howard lived in Ohio until after the war, in which he made a record that is worthy of commendation. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Com- pany D, One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer
-
-
326
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Infantry, at Washiington Court House, Fayette county, Ohio. This company was mustered in at Circleville, Ohio, and was drilled at Marietta, Ohio, soon being sent to Memphis, Tennessee, engaging in the battle of Chicka- saw Bluffs. The company was then sent into Arkansas, where it remained until the spring of 1863, then moving to Milligan's Bend and Grand Gulf. It saw service at Vicksburg, Mississippi, Magnolia Hill and Champion Hill, being in the charge on the fortifications at Vicks- burg on May 22, 1863. The company was then relieved and sent to Warrington, Mississippi, to guard the base of supplies. Later it was sent back to Vicksburg, being present when the city surrendered. Afterward the Ohio regiment was sent into Louisiana. After several raids it was sent into Texas, spending the winter along the coast. In the spring of 1864 they were ordered to New Orleans. Later the subject was in the Red River expedi- tion; then was in the battle of Asafala River, after which he was in camp all summer at Morgandy Bend. Later he was sent to Beracas, where he remained until the spring of 1865. Then he was sent across Florida and was in an engagement at Blakely, Florida. From Mobile his regiment was sent to Galveston, Texas, to take charge of some Confederate army equipage after the surrender. He was mustered out there July 30, 1865.
Mr. Howard's eyes were injured by the sand during his campaign in Texas, which have given him trouble ever since. After the war he returned to Fayette county, Ohio, and in 1866 moved to Greene county, Washington township, Indiana, where he was engaged in farming up to 1902, when he retired and moved to Bloomfield, In-
.
327
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
diana, where he has since resided. He takes much in- terest in the Grand Army of the Republic, being a mem- ber of the local post at Bloomfield. The hardships and exposures of the war permanently impaired his health and of late years he has been nearly blind. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist church. His wife, who was also a member of this church, died February 15, 1885.
REV. JAMES DANIEL CRANE.
Rev. James Daniel Crane, whose nativity was Mon- roe county, Indiana, was born February 17, 1840, the son of Nathaniel Crane, of Maryland, born May 28, 1820. His wife, Phoebe Wright, was from Monroe county, Indiana, where she was born May 20, 1820. He came with his parents to Monroe county in 1842. His father, the grandfather of our subject, was the Rev. James Crane, of Maryland, a famous preacher and ship- builder, who died in Greene county, Indiana. He bought a small farm during his residence in Monroe county and also erected a mill there, later moving to Beech Creek township, Greene county, where he bought another farm and erected a saw and grist mill combined. He was a local preacher of unusual ability and was much respected.
Nathaniel Crane was educated in the common schools and lived at home with his parents until he at- tained his majority. In 1861 he enlisted in the Civil war, joining Company C, Forty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for one year. He came home and
-
328
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
made up Company A of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, which was in many hard-fought battles and skirmishes, and also in Sherman's march to the sea. He was in the service about four years, first as lieutenant, later as cap- tain. After his return home he first farmed in Beech Creek township, and later bought a farm in Center town- ship. It was here he received a stroke of paralysis about nine years before his death, but he was kindly and ten- derly cared for during all his last years by his wife and son, our subject. They had eight children-Rev. James D., our subject ; Mary, deceased; John, who was in the war and now living in Solsberry, Indiana, a retired doc- tor and druggist ; Sarah, now living at Worthington. In- diana. She was a teacher for a number of years and was twice married, first to John Crow; then to a Mr. Collins. They were successful in business, running stores in Freedom and Spencer, Indiana. The latter was a trav- eling salesman part of the time, but she ran the business while he was away, serving as postmistress for many years. They are now retired. Isaac, the fifth child, died in young manhood. Woodward is now living in North Platte, Nebraska. He was a music teacher and com- poser, and also a great politician, serving a term as as- sistant secretary of state. He is a Populist in politics. William, the seventh son, is a farmer in Nebraska, and Edward, who died young.
In his boyhood days our subject had very limited privileges for an education, although he later attended the State University at Bloomington for three years. He was married to Martha A. Carpenter August 24, 1861. Her mother was the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bur-
329
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ton) Carpenter. Her father came from North Carolina and settled on a large tract of land near Stanford. He was successful as blacksmith, farmer and merchant, and is well known and highly respected. They had ten chil- dren-Nancy, Jacob, William, Betsey, William, James, Phoebe, Martha, Barbara, Jonathan, all deceased except Jacob, Martha and William. Jacob Carpenter lived in Monroe county, Indiana, until 1868, when he moved to Adams county. Nebraska, where they bought a tract of wild land and were compelled, for a while, to live in sod houses. In a few years they moved to Franklin, Ne- braska, and retired, Mrs. Carpenter dying in 1905. They had thirteen children-Martha A., wife of our subject ; Sarah C. married R. D. Burton, of Franklin, Nebraska; Mary J., deceased, married to Thomas Griggs; Carolina, deceased, married to M. A. Clay ; Phœbe, deceased; Da- vid, a law student, and admitted to the bar at Hastings, Nebraska. He and his wife are both successful school teachers. He is a local preacher in the Methodist Epis- copal church and is active in church work. William, the seventh child, who after thirty years as proprietor of a hotel in Franklin, Nebraska, is retired; Maggie, a teach- er, who first married Rev. Hill, a United Brethren preacher, and then to Rev. Van Meter, also a United Brethren preacher, now living in Franklin, Nebraska ; Allen, a real estate dealer in Red Cloud, Nebraska ; Amanda, marrying Chester Rose, of Hastings, Nebraska; Henry, a farmer; Ella, who died in 1874, was married to Solomon Drake; James P., a farmer in Franklin, Ne- braska.
Rev. James D. Crane and wife had two children-
330
BIOGRAPHIICAL MEMOIRS
John Freeman, who died in infancy February 28, 1864, and Martha Eugene, who died December 4, 1866. Mrs. Crane's sister, Ella, lived and grew up with them until her marriage. On her death they took her son James, who also died when nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Crane also raised' Alma Clay, who, after her common school graduation, attended school at Greencastle, Indiana, and became a minister. They are now raising Ethel Crane, who is attending school at Bloomfield, Indiana. They also raised James McCormick, a son of Rev. Crane's sister Mary. Rev. Crane's ministerial career is not with- out honor. After his marriage he attended school at Bloomington, Indiana, three years. His wife also at- tended a year. In 1874 he entered the Methodist Epis- copal conference, being ordained deacon in 1876, and after two years was advanced to the eldership. His va- rious appointments were as follows: Bloomington, one year; Pleasantville, one year; Monrovia, one year; Wa- verly and Morgantown, three years; Putnamville, one year; Gosport, two years; Harrodsburg, two years; Bloomfield, one year; New Lebanon, two years ; Princeton, three years; Plainville, two years; Hymera, three years; Pleasantville, two years, and Owensburg, three years. In the fall of 1904 he was superannuated. Since then he has a number of times preached in a large tent in differ- ent places. He owns two farms near Solsberry. He is a Prohibitionist in politics. But few preachers are as well known in so many families as Rev: Crane, and wher- ever known he has warm friends. Not only hundreds but thousands of people will ever hold this old minister in dearest memory for the good he has done in the world and the words of comfort he has spoken.
331
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
HARVEY L. DONEY.
A leader in the coal industry of Greene county, and a business man of wide experience and high standing, Harvey L. Doney occupies a commanding position among his fellow citizens, and the tribute of his sterling worth in the following lines has been well earned. Mr. Doney was born April 16, 1859, in Taylor township, Greene county, and is one of a family of thirteen children whose parents, Harvey and Eliza (Howell) Doney, were na- tives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. Harvey Doney, senior, was born July 27, 1811, came to Indi- ana in an early day and followed carpentry and argicul- ture for a livelihood, meeting with fair success in these occupations. He improved a farm in this county, on which he passed the greater part of his life, and died at his home in Taylor township in the seventy-seventh year of his life. Eliza Howell, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, May 14, 1819, married Mr. Doney in Coshocton county, that state, January 1, 1835, and departed this life at the home of her eldest daughter, Mrs. Pugh, in Greene coun- ty, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. Of the thirteen children, five only, are living, namely: Susan, wife of William Pugh; Isaac N. and Elizabeth, who are twins, the latter the wife of E. W. Seed; Phoebe A., widow of William W. Hannah, and Harvey L. The eight chil- dren deceased are: Harvey, died in infancy; Mary, wife of Samuel Clark; John W. died in Andersonville prison, a member of the Fourteenth Indiana Infantry; Rebecca, died in childhood; Samuel died young also; Celestia died at the age of twenty-two years; Benjamin F. was twenty
332
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
years old when called away, and one died in infancy, un- named.
The early life of Harvey L. Doney was very much the same as that of most country lads, having been spent at labor in the fields during the spring and summer months, and in the public schools in winter months. After finishing the common schools he attended the normal institute at Bloomfield, where he obtained knowledge of the higher branches of learning, and at the early age of eighteen began teaching, which profession he followed during the fourteen years ensuing, meeting with encour- aging success as an instructor. During the time he was engaged in farming in his native township until lie was elected county auditor, in November, 1894, which office he held eight years and six weeks. Then he engaged in the coal business, since which time he has carried on the latter industry with a large measure of success, being now one of the largest producers and shippers of this part of the state.
Mr. Doney is the secretary and treasurer of the Letsinger Coal Mining Company, which was incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and which operates at Jasonville, Greene county, giving em- ployment to an average of one hundred men, and pro- ducing from eight hundred to ten hundred tons per day. The stockholders of the company are H. W. Letsinger, John W. Graham, John E. Mclaughlin, L. E. Letsinger, L. J. Faucett, R. E. Eveleigh, T. T. Pringle, J. R. Lester, Emma Weatherwax, W. L. Cavins, Robert E. Lyons and H. L. Doney, the last named owning a fifth interest and devoting his entire time to the enterprise.
333
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
While residing in Taylor township 'Mr. Doney was elected in 1886 township assessor, which office he filled during the five years following. He has always taken a lively interest in public and political matters, being one of the Republican leaders in Greene county, and has ren- dered his party yeoman service in a number of campaigns, both as chairman of the county central committee and worker in the ranks.
In recognition of his service he was elected, in No- vember, 1894, auditor of Greene county, and discharged the duties of the position with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the public until January 1, 1903, hav- ing been re-elected in the year 1898. Mr. Doney is a member of the Bloomfield Lodge, No. 457, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has been honored with various official trusts, holding at the present time the title of past grand. He is a firm believer in the truths of revealed religion and lives a consistent Chris- tian life, being an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church and an active worker in the Sunday school and corresponding member of the Young Men's Christian Association at Bloomfield. Mr. Doney has never taken upon himself the duties and responsibilities of the married state, being content to live a life of sin- gle blessedness, at peace with the world and with his Maker.
JAMES M. HUDSON.
One of the most successful and best known of the younger attorneys of Bloomfield, Indiana, is James M. Hudson, who was born in Center township, Greene coun-
.
334
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ty, this state, April 17, 1876. He is the son of Henry and Amanda ( Hatfield) Hudson, both having been born and reared in Greene county, the former in Center and the latter in Jackson township. James Hudson, grand- father of the subject, was a native of Kentucky, having been born about forty miles from Louisville in 1818. He was brought to Indiana by Starling Hudson, his father, and the great-grandfather of the subject. Starling Hud- son settled near Marco, Greene county, where he spent the remainder of his life. Henry Hudson received a com- mon school education and devoted his life to farming. He died when forty-eight years old. Henry Hudson was the father of ten children. James, the subject of this sketch, is the oldest. The children are all living in Greene county, Indiana, except A. M. Hudson, who is a captain in the Idaho National Guard. He served three years in the Philippines with the United States regular army.
The Hatfield family, of which the mother of the subject is a representative, is one of the oldest and best established families in Greene county, one of the first settlers of Jackson township having been Ale Hatfield, who came from Tennessee. They were true types of the hardy pioneers and braved the dangers and welcomed the hardships and disadvantages of a new and sparsely set- tled country. It is such people as these that laid the foundation of our hardy western life and made possible the immense advantages of the present civilization which their descendants enjoy.
James M. Hudson, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived his early education in the common schools of Cen- ter township, completing the regular common school course, graduating at the age of fifteen years. He at- tended the normal school at Bloomfield, Indiana. dur-
335
GREENE COUNTY,. INDIANA.
ing the summer, and taught in the country schools dur- ing the winter months. He taught six terms in the dis- trict schools of Center township, two terms in Koleen, Jackson township, and was principal of the Owensburg schools for a period of two years. He attended the law school at the University of Indiana at Bloomington be- tween terms and was admitted to the bar of Greene county in 1903, since which time he has been practicing in Bloomfield.
The subject was first married to Altona Westmor- land, a native of Center township, Greene county, In- diana, April 1, 1896. She died October 1, 1899. She was the first person buried. in Greene county after the law requiring burial permits went into effect. Two chil- dren were born to this union-Wendell L. and Marie C. The subject was married again on June 7, 1903, to Ma- mie Dye, a daughter of W. S. Dye, of Owensburg, In- diana. She is the sister of Hon. E. K. Dye, formerly a prominent attorney of Bedford, Indiana. They have two children-Mary A. and Naoma V.
The subject is a member of Hobbieville Lodge No. 567, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Owensburg, Indiana, and a member of the Red Men's Lodge, No. 253, at Owensburg. He is an active worker in the Democratic party and was a candidate for prose- cuting attorney in 1906, after serving three years as deputy prosecuting attorney. He is in much demand for public speeches and is well and favorably known, and received the nomination for prosecuting attorney for the district composed of Sullivan and Greene counties, in the spring of 1908.
.
336
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
JOB FREEMAN.
No country presents so many incentives to laudable ambition as the United States of America. Under the liberal and equalizing policy of our institutions obscurity of birth is no bar to the attainment of any distinction for which the head and heart are qualified. They encourage talent to venture on a career of emulation and insure to merit a rich and ample reward. Here are found no fa- vored classes, no privileged few with greatness thrust upon them. Titles, distinction and name come not by blood of birth. The contest for honor and power, as well as the place, is open to all whom philanthropy or patriot- ism or glory may prompt to participate. No royal munifi- cence dispenses its patents of nobility or. entwines the lau- rel wreath around skulls of emptiness. No feudal char- ter here makes kings or peers. Ours is the nobility of merit, the offspring of talent, the result of labor and hon- orable endeavor. Its only patent is the seal of worth, its only patronage the suffrage of freemen. In glancing over the biographical history of our country, especially the great middle west, any man who has not maturely thought upon the tendencies of our popular institution will be as- tonished at the number of men holding positions of honor and trust who have raised themselves from obscurity to the places they occupy by their own energies, or, in other words, who have become the "architects of their own fu- tures." Very forcibly is this idea illustrated by the career of the subject of this sketch, to whom in youth no ances- tral fortune unlocked the treasures of knowledge, for him no ancestral name secured the favor and society of the
Bob. freeman
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 337
learned, the opulent or the great, relieving the way to suc- cess of half of its ruggedness and depriving him of the motive and discipline which made his struggle of value. By an energy and genius exclusively his own he has dem- onstrated that to the deserving alone success is due, to at- tain which end persevering endeavor as well as eternal vigilance is the only safe and reliable rule.
The history of the thriving city of Linton during the past two decades is a story of industrial progress initiated and carried into effect by men of celar brain, sound judg- ment and the will to dare, without due credit to whom in the individual capacities which have made present condi- tions possible the story would be deprived of half its in- terest and charm. Pre-eminent among the leaders of en- terprise to whom belongs the honor of making Linton, winning for it the title of "the Pittsburg of the West," is Job Freeman, a name prominent in business circles, and whose success has been so inseparably interwoven with the recent progress of the city that the two are pretty much one and the same thing.
Distinctively one of the most progressive men of Greene county, and combining the qualities that enter into the makeup of the broad-minded, far-seeing American business man of today, he represents the spirit of enter- prise manifest in the recent phenomenal advancement of the city in which he resides and affords conspicuous ex- ample of the successful, self-made man of the times. Born and reared amid humble surroundings and beginning life in the capacity of a common laborer in the mines, he was nevertheless the possessor of a rare combination of intel- · ligence, energy and tact, which at a comparatively early
22
338
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
age enabled him to emerge from his obscure environment and surmount the obstacles in his pathway, until, step by step, he gradually rose to the commanding position which he now occupies and became a leader of industry and a recognized power in the business affairs of his city and state. Although intensely American in his tastes and an ardent admirer of the free institutions under which he was largely reared and the influence of which made pos- sible the signal success which he has achieved. Mr. Free- man is not of American birth, being a native of Stafford- shire, England, where he first saw the light of day Oc- tober 4, 1844. His parents, Joseph and Susan ( Manley) Freeman, immigrated to the United States when their son was five years of age and settled at Youngstown, Ohio, where the father died five years later, the mother subse- quently removing to the town of East Liverpool, where her death occurred in 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were the parents of six children, namely: Edward, deceased ; Richard, who lives at Bicknell, Indiana ; Jethro, who lives in Ellsworth, Pennsylvania; Joseph, deceased; Martha, wife of John Wilson, of Bicknell, Indiana, and Job, the subject of this review, who is the third in order of birth.
The early life of Job Freeman was spent in Youngs- town, Ohio, where he received only the rudiments of an education, the death of his father when the lad was but ten years old throwing much of the responsibility of the family's support on his shoulders, in consequence of which he was compelled to forego further study and turn his hands to any kind of honest labor he could find to do. During the years that followed he discharged his filial re- sponsibilities as became a dutiful son, sparing no effort in
1.
339
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
contributing to the maintenance of the family and doing all within his power to minister to the comfort of his mother, over whose interests he continued to watch with zealous care during the remainder of her life. When twenty-two years old he left Ohio, and, locating at Wash- ington, Indiana, accepted employment as a coal miner, in which capacity he continued until becoming a mine boss .at Edwardsport, Knox county, a few years later. Mean- time he husbanded his earnings with the object in view of engaging in some line of business for himself, which laudable purpose he was afterwards enabled to carry into effect at the latter place, where in due time he became pro- prietor of a mercantile establishment, in connection with which he also became a partner in the Edwardsport and Indian Creek Coal Company, retaining this interest until 1886.
After a residence of thirteen years at Edwardsport Mr. Freeman disposed of his interests there and re- moved to Vincennes, having been an active participant in public affairs and an influential factor in the political circles of Knox county. In recognition of valuable serv- ices rendered the Republican party, with which he affil- iated, as well as by reason of his great personal poput- larity, regardless of political alignment, he was nomi- nated for the office of county auditor, and his elec- tion to that position in the face of an overwhelming Democratic majority was signalized as an important event in the political history of that part of the state, he being the first and only Republican thus honored since Knox county became an independent jurisdiction.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.