USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume I > Part 23
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It is hardly probable that any man has ever lived in the county who was more liberal to the poor, more hos- pitable at his home, or more popular with the people. He
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was a Whig in politics at all of the elections at which he was a candidate, and his county was Democratic, yet his popular majority never went below five hundred.
Samuel R. and Susan Cavins were the parents of twelve children, of whom four sons and four daughters grew to mature years, all of the sons entering the army at the breaking out of the Rebellion and serving with dis- tinction their full periods of enlistment, none for less than three years. John, the eldest of the family, died at the age of fifteen ; Aden G., the second in order of birth, was colonel of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, Indiana Infantry, during the late Civil war; Elizabeth, the oldest of the daughters, now deceased, was the wife of Judge Rhodes, of San Jose, California, who served as judge of the su- preme court for twenty years and of the circuit and su- perior court for several years, when he resigned at the age of eighty-four on account of defective hearing; Mrs. Sa- rah O. Hart, also deceased, was the mother of Hon. Eli- jah Hart, of the appellate court of California ; another of her sons, the late Hon. Augustus Hart, of California, was the youngest attorney general in the United States at the time of his election. Colonel E. H. C. Cavins, of Bloom- field, further mention of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume, is the fifth in succession, the next being Nancy, who died in infancy, after whom was Mrs. Mar- garet F. Burnam, whose son, Harry Burnam, a promi- nent lawyer of Nebraska, is now serving as city attorney at Omaha. Rev. Benjamin F. Cavins, the seventh, is a well known and highly esteemed Baptist minister of Texas; he served in the Fourteenth Indiana Infantry and the Third Indiana Cavalry during the Civil war and
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earned honorable mention as a brave and gallant soldier ; Samuel H. died in infancy, as did also Samuel R .; Riley W .. deceased, who served in the Fourteenth Indiana, and was also a member of a Michigan regiment, was the fa- thier of Assistant Attorney General Alexander G. Cavins, of Indianapolis; MeHenry and Susan died in infancy, Colonel E. H. C. and Rev. Benjamin F. Cavins being the only survivors of this once large and interesting family circle.
The mother of these children survived until 1907, lacking only eighteen months of being aged one hundred years.
JEREMIAH HATFIELD.
One of the best known and highly esteemed citizens of Bloomfield is Jeremiah Hatfield, a Civil war veteran and a sturdy patriot. He was born in Jackson township, this county, on January 10, 1843, being the son of George W. and Elizabeth (Snyder) Hatfield, both natives of Tennessee, having come to Indiana with their parents when still children. When George W. Hatfield came to Indiana things were still in their primitive state-the land was uncleared and the forests were full of wild game of all kinds. He cleared a tract of land in Jackson town- ship, built himself a log cabin with his own hands, and soon made a good home for himself and family.
In conjunction with the farm work, Mr. Hatfield did some gunsmithing, at which he was quite skillful. At other times he performed work as a blacksmith, being
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himself an adept in this trade. He and Mrs. Hatfield were members of the Christian church and were the par- ents of nine children. The first born, Rachel, is de- ceased; Nancy married Hiram Lamb, of Jackson town- ship; Joel is in charge of the old homestead; Jeremiah, our subject, was next in order of birth; Jasper was a member of the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and died in Texas; John is following farming in Illinois; Armsted, who followed mining, is now deceased; James is engaged in carpentry, and has his home in Lawrence county; Martha married Alonzo Jackson, of Jackson township; Martin is engaged as a farmer in this county also.
Jeremiah had but a limited education, but acquired the valuable trait of self-reliance, which has been one of his prominent characteristics. He took an active part in clearing the farm and remained under the parental roof . until his marriage in November, 1866, to Matilda Lamb, a native of Greene county and the daughter of John and Patsy (Green) Lamb, both natives of North Carolina. This union has been blessed with the following family : John A., a blacksmith of Owensburg, Indiana, and who married Ella Strosnider and has a family of six chil- dren-Stanley, Chester, Stella, Ruth, Ruby and May. The second in order of birth, Laura, became the wife of Oliver Rush, of Lawrence county, and is the mother of four children-Rollie, Earl, Kent and Wayne. The third, Marion, follows railroading and makes his home with his parents. Otto, the fourth, is also at home; Nora is the wife of Marion Dugger, of Bloomfield. Nannie is the wife of Blaine Workman, of Bloomfield, and is the mother of one child, Nora L.
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In August, 1861, Mr. Hatfield enlisted in Company H, Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Owens- burg. He went immediately into service and took part in many of the famous conflicts of the war. He partici- pated at the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga and others, and was with Sherman on the march to the sea. At Kenesaw Moun- tain he sustained the loss of his left forearm. It was borne off by a shell and he was consigned to a hospital, being later discharged, November 29, 1864. His recov- ery was very slow, but he ultimately regained his health and became engaged in farming, continuing at this in Jackson township, this county, until 1894, at which time he removed to Bloomfield. Since then he has carried on gardening and has made some investments in rental dwellings. For a number of years he served as chief of police for the city of Bloomfield, and has taken an ac- tive part in such organizations as the Grand Army of the Republic and Odd Fellows. For a number of years Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield have been members of the Christian church, and in many ways they have contributed gener- ously to the welfare of the community.
DAVID SHARP.
Obed Sharp, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and be- came a carpenter. He married Catherine Miller, of Leb- anon county, Pennsylvania, after he had moved to Wayne
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county, Ohio, in 1840, where he worked at his trade until 1850, when he came to Greene county, Indiana, and settled in Taylor township on a farm which was only partly improved, but he finished clearing it and made a comfortable home, which he lived in until his death in 1874. He was a Republican and a member of the Ger- man Reformed church. His wife died in Kansas in 1896. They had three children : Sarah, deceased, who married twice, John Anderson being her first husband and a Mr. Pennell the second. They moved to Kansas, where they died; David, the subject; Josiah, now dead, a farmer in Kansas.
David Sharp, the subject, attended school only a short time. He enlisted on December 19, 1861, in Com- pany E, Fifty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan- try, at Bloomfield. He was with General Rosecrans in the battles of Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson, Raymond and Champion Hill; also in the skirmish at Little Rock under General Steele. He was in the Eleventh Ohio Battery for two years on detached duty, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea. He was mustered out in Wilming- ton, North Carolina, April 4, 1865. He has been partly deaf since the war, having had his right ear injured. He was sick a great deal while in service. After the war lie located in Taylor township, Green county, Indiana. He first married Mary A. Taylor, November 12, 1867. She was of Richland township and the daughter of Silas and Elizabeth Taylor. She died September 1, 1881. He married again, December 31, 1881, his second wife being Mrs. Angeline Pickard, widow of Isaac Pickard and a daughter of John and Harriet ( Peters) Smith, both na-
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tives of Guernsey county, Ohio. They came to Greene county, Indiana, in 1866 and located near Solsberry, where they farmed, then moved to Casey, Illinois. In 1875 they returned to Indiana and settled in Richland township, where he died in January, 1896. His widow is still liv- ing in Bloomfield, Indiana. They had fourteen children, nine of whom survive: Angeline, wife of the subject of this sketch; Henry L., a school teacher in Nebraska; Elizabeth, a teacher in Monticello, Illinois; Benjamin, deceased; Edna J., living in Jewell county, Kansas ; John H., a teacher, now deceased; Rosie, who lives in Bloom- field, Indiana; Charles, deceased; Jehu, a farmer, living in Windsor, Illinois; Tanny B., recruiting officer for the United States army, now located at Terre Haute, Indi- ana, after spending many years in the regular army ; Peo- ria is living in Jefferson township, Greene county, Indi- ana; Catherine A. lives in Highland township, Greene county, Indiana. The subject had three children by his first wife, one of whom is now living, William Sherman, of Highland township, Greene county. He is a farmer and married Florence Crites. They have one daughter, Mabel. Mrs. Sharp had two children by her first mar- riage. Annie is the wife of Reuben Shertzer, of Bloom- field, Indiana. He is a painter. They have two children, Ballard and Bessie. Maude, the second daughter, mar- ried Charles Gwinn, of Worthington, Indiana. She mar- ried a second time Harvey Greene, a merchant of Bloom- field, Indiana. She had one child by her first marriage, Garrett; also one child, Erma, by her second marriage.
David Sharp lived in Taylor township. Greene county, Indiana, until 1869, and then located in Highland
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township, where he lived for two years, and then moved to Richland township on the farm! where George Taylor now lives, having built a fine home there. In 1879 he moved to Newark, Indiana, where he lived until 1885, when he went to Sharkey, Indiana, conducting a store for nineteen months. Then he moved to Tulip, where he built a store house, remaining there one year. In 1888 he got a small farm in Richland township, where he now lives. He has worked at the carpenter's trade since 1869. He was for one year a justice of the peace, when he re- signed on account of his deafness. He is a Republican and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the post at Bloomfield, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are members of the Methodist Protestant church and are well known in Greene county.
JAMES FRANK WIER.
James F. Wier, one of the representative farmers of Cass township, Greene county, Indiana, was born in Washington township, Daviess county, this state, Octo- ber 18, 1843, and is the son of Henry S. and Mary ( Ball) Wier. The father of the subject is a native of Pennsyl- vania and the mother a native of Daviess county, Indiana. The father of Henry S. Wier was a farmer in Pennsyl- vania, where he spent his life. Henry S. Wier came to Daviess county early in life and followed his trade of tanner and shoemaker. He went to Washington, Indi- ana, where he remained until 1844, when he came to
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Greene county, this state, where he remained until his death in 1890. Both he and his wife were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He was a Repub- lican. Mrs. Wier died July 25. 1897. Four children were born to this union, namely : Jane, widow of Wesley Hale, who lives in Stockton, California; Henry S., fa- ther of our subject; William, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri; Margaret Eliza married Clark Hill. She died in Bloomfield.
The subject of this sketch was one year old when the family came to Greene county, Indiana. He remained at home, attending school until the war broke out in 1861, when he enlisted at Bloomfield, Indiana, in the Fifty- ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company E. He fought in the battle of Tipton, Missouri, where over six thousand Confederate soldiers were captured. He then went down the river to Memphis and was in the battle of Corinth and Missionary Ridge, Vicksburg, Mil- ligan Bend, Jackson and Raymond, Mississippi ; also at Block River. After the siege at Vicksburg, which lasted forty-one days, the regiment of which the subject was a member was sent to the relief of Rosecrans at Chatta- nooga. He was in the battles around Atlanta, later tak- ing part in the famous march to the sea. He was in the grand review in Washington, after which he was mus- tered out at Indianapolis in 1865.
Mr. Wier learned something of the tanner's trade while working with his father carly in life, but after the war he preferred to go to farming, consequently he bought a piece of land in Cass township, Greene county, Indiana, where he has since lived.
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He was married November 14, 1869, to Caroline Ketchum, who was born in Bloomington, Indiana. She was the daughter of Bland and Perlina (Finley) Ketchum. The subject's wife died April 9, 1902. Two children were born to this union-Edna, the wife of Charles Farnham, a minister of the Christian church. He and his wife live with the subject. They have two chil- dren, Thelma and Wier. The subject's second child was Joseph, who is single and living at home. The subject, wife and family have long been associated with the Christian church.
Mr .. Wier is a Republican. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge at Newberry, Indiana, having been through all the chairs. He served for five and one-half years as trustee of Cass township. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Wier has a well improved farm of three hun- dred and forty acres and modern implements needed in keeping his place up-to-date in every respect.
ANDREW JACKSON HATTABAUGH.
The subject was born in Cass township, Greene county, Indiana, August 25, 1838. He is the son of Isaac and Sarah (Ball) Hattabaugh, the former a native of Virginia and the latter a native of Greene county, Indi- ana. Isaac is the son of Andrew J. Hattabaugh, who was a native of Virginia, coming to Greene county, In- diana, in a very early day. He took up government land
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in Cass township, entering in all over four hundred acres in section 16. He was a successful farmer and also op- erated a flatboat. He died as the result of an accident on a boat while down the Mississippi River. Sarah Ball was the daughter of James Ball, early settlers in Greene county, Indiana. Isaac Hattabaugh and Sarah Ball were married in this county and spent their lives on a farm and died in, Cass township. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Isaac was formerly a Dem- ocrat, but during the Civil war changed to a Republican. They had seven children, namely: Andrew J., the sub- ject of this sketch ; Laura Ann lives in Knox county, In- diana; James B. is deceased; William W. died in Cali- fornia; Isaac died in California; Sarah J. is deceased. The last child died unnamed. Isaac was married twice, his second wife being Mrs. Sovenia Bailey (nee Sovern) a widow at the time of her marriage with Mr. Hatta- baugh. She is still living in Cass township, Greene county. Two children were born to this union-Mary, deceased, and Grant, who lives in Texas.
The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm in Cass township, Greene county, and was educated in the old subscription schools, taught in log houses with seats hewn from logs and greased paper for window panes. He remained at home until he reached man's estate. He went to California in 1872, where he remained for ten years. He worked on a farm there and did other work, but the longing to return to his native state never wore away and he came home, resuming work on a farm, which he continued to conduct until 1905, when he re- tired and moved to Newberry, Indiana.
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The subject was married in Bloomfield to Mrs. Mary E. Ellington, nee Buskirk, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana. She was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Pierson) Buskirk. Peter Buskirk was a merchant. He and his wife were both members of the Baptist church. They are now both deceased. They were the parents of eleven children, as follows: Mary (Mrs. Hattabaugh) ; Dorothy, deceased; Eunice, Elzora, Cassie, Roscoe, Ora. The last four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Buskirk died unnamed.
The subject enlisted in defense of the flag in June, 1861, at Scotland, Indiana, and was sworn in at Terre Haute as a private in Company D, Fourteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served nearly a year and one-half. Then he was transferred to the Sixth United States Cavalry. In this organization he served out his three years' enlistment. He was in the Army of the Potomac and in the battles of Cheat Mountain, Win- chester, Antietam and Gettysburg, while in the infantry. At Gettysburg he was taken a prisoner and sent to Libby prison, where he remained but one night, when he was transferred to Belle Isle, where he was held six months, undergoing much suffering. Later he was exchanged and went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he stayed at a parole camp. While there his time expired and he cam- home in 1864 and resumed farming. He tells many in- teresting stories of his varied experiences and hardships during his career as a soldier. He likes to talk of his Grandfather Hattabaugh, who was' a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war. The subject has often seen the overcoat worn by his grandfather during that war; also the flint-
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lock musket used in the Revolutionary war, which the father of the subject owned. Andrew J. Hattabaugh and family are well known and highly respected by their neighbors and many friends in Greene county.
DAVID BROCK.
The gentleman whose name forms the heading for this review was born in Lawrence county, this state, Sep- tember 27, 1843, and was the son of Newell and Martha (Mills) Brock, natives of Tennessee. Both came to In- diana when still quite young. Newell's father, David Brock, settled with his family in Lawrence county, and later, about 1850, removed to Greene county. John Mills, maternal grandfather of our subject, came to Martin county in an early day and engaged in farming. He later removed to Lawrence county, where he finished his days. He was a veteran of the War of 1812.
Newell Brock was one of seven children, and re- mained at home on the farm until his marriage. He op- erated a flatboat for a number of years on the Mississippi, running from Bono to New Orleans. On coming to Greene county in about 1850 he took up one hundred and sixty acres of new land in Jackson township, which he cleared and improved, turning it into a good home, where he ended his days in 1871. His wife survived until 1899. They were members of the Baptist church, and stood well in the community. The family consisted of eight chil- dren, three of whom still survive. Emma is the widow
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rence county, Indiana, and daughter of Samuel and Clara Byers, natives of Pennsylvania. Samuel Byers passed to his reward while in Lawrence county in 1862, but Mrs. Byers is still living at the age of eighty-six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Brock have become the parents of ten children. Emerson, husband of Minnie Branagan, is a bookkeeper; Clara married James O. White, of Bloom- ington, Indiana; Ellis is at home and follows painting ; Grant is deceased; Fluella, also a bookkeeper, is at home; Naomi resides at Bloomington; Josephine is deceased; Lester and Earl are at home.
Mrs. Brock was one of a family of six children. Her brothers and sisters, in the order of birth, are: Sarah Ann, deceased; Clara (Mrs. Brock) ; Taylor, a carpenter at Los Angeles, California ; Marion, a farmer in Monroe county, Indiana ; George, a stock dealer and general mer- chant at Bedford, Indiana; Monroe is a merchant at Buena Vista, this county.
In 1892 Mr. Brock took up the painter's trade, and in 1904 came to Bloomfield, plying his trade there since that date. Although a Republican, he has not aspired to any political office. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and is well known in the community.
COLONEL LEVI FELLOWS.
Colonel Levi Fellows was born in Massachusetts on February 11, 1793. From that state the family moved to Watertown, New York, some twenty miles from Sack- etts Harbor, where they lived in 1812.
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of Alfred Brooks; Ephraim, now deceased, followed car- pentry ; Josephus, deceased, was a member of Company G, Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; John and David were twins. John was a member of Company G. Ninety-seventh Indiana Regulars. He was shot at Jack- son, Mississippi, in August, 1863, and was buried at Vicksburg; James died in 1863; Bertha married W. E. Hayden and died at Owensburg, Indiana, in 1867; Ra- cine married Aaron Hennan, of Switz City, Indiana.
David received but a meager education, but took full advantage of such training as was afforded by the times. This, of course, meant the log school house with the usual equipment so well known to present-day readers. He remained at home until he enlisted in the army in July, 1862. He connected himself with Company G, Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and went into Camp Vigo for drill at Terre Haute, remaining there for three months.
Following this he was stationed consecutively at In- dianapolis, New Albany and Louisville, going from the last named point by boat to Memphis, Tennessee. He saw active service at Holly Springs, Vicksburg, Iuka, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Knoxville and Scottsboro, Alabama, where he went into winter quarters. The next spring active work in the South was again begun and in the conflicts of Atlanta Mr. Brock was wounded by a minnie ball, which passed through the right hand, causing the loss of a finger and making necessary a sixty-day furlough. He was dis- charged from the service May 19, 1865.
In 1863 he was married to Samantha Byers, of Law-
COLONEL LEVI FELLOWS.
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When the attack on the latter place was made in the War of 1812 General Jacob Brown rallied the militia of the neighborhood and drove the enemy back. Levi Fel- lows was one of these militiamen. In 1814, when he was twenty-one years of age, he went to Cincinnati and en- gaged in building mills and bridges. In 1817 he was mar- ried to Betsy Dee.
In 1818 he went to St. Louis and built the first steam mill ever built west of the Mississippi river. On the last day of July, 1819, he landed with his family on Plummer creek, where Mineral City now stands, and went to work at once to build a grist and saw-mill. The first charge of lumber on the old ledger is to Andrew Vanslyke-four hundred feet of plank two dollars, March 30, 1820.
There was preaching often at his house and it was always a home for preachers of all denominations, where they could stop and rest without charge. In a very early day he took a decided stand on the side of temperance and would not furnish whisky at log-rollings nor house-rais- ings, although it was customary and many would not help without it.
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He was colonel of the Forty-seventh Regiment of In- diana Militia and drilled the militia on muster days.
Before and after this time he served many years as associate judge of the circuit court. Mr. Fellows lived at the old home and run the mills for forty-eight years, then moved to Terre Haute, where he lived about two years and died January 5, 1869. His honored remains were brought back to Mineral City and laid by the side of Betsy Dee, his devoted wife, to await and have part in the first resurrection.
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HOWARD R. LOWDER, M. D.
This widely known and popular professional gentle- man, whose life and energies have been devoted to the noble work of alleviating human suffering in his chosen sphere of endeavor, and as a neighbor and citizen also occupies a prominent place among his fellow men. Dr. Howard R. Lowder is a representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of Lawrence county, Indiana, and traces his genealogy to an early period in the history of North Carolina, of which state his grandfather, Ralph Lowder, was a native. The ancestors came to Indiana in pioneer times and settled near Springville, Lawrence county, where he purchased land, developed a farm and became one of the substantial citizens of the community. He spent the greater part of his life on the farm he re- deemed from the wilderness and died at a good old age in the year 1873. The doctor's father, Milton Lowder, was born and reared in the county of Lawrence and fol- lowed farming for a livelihood. In young manhood he married Anne Storm, who was born January 12, 1818, on what was known several years ago as the Pink East farm on Indian creek, in the eastern part of Greene county. Indiana. Her father was John Storm, a Revolutionary soldier and a native of Virginia. During the latter years of the eighteenth century he settled with his family in what is now known as Washington county, and from there moved to Greene county. At that time his nearest neighbors were ten miles away and lie cleared. devel- oped and tended his farm alone. He was a brave man and knew naught of fear. When the Indians were hos-
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