USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume II > Part 14
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On November 2, 1865, Mr. Dugger and Abbie Lamb, daughter of John W. and Patsy Lamb, were united in the bonds of wedlock, Mrs. Dugger dying March 26, 1904. November 2, 1906, he married his present wife, whose maiden name was Nora Hatfield, a native of Greene county, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Hatfield, for many years prominent residents of Jackson township.
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JEREMIAH HATFIELD.
Prominent among the worthy representatives of the pioneer element of Greene county is the well known gen- tleman to a review of whose life the attention of the read- er is now invited. For many years he has been a forceful factor in the growth and prosperity of Jackson township : in fact, he is the oldest man in the township save one, John R. Hudson, who was born here, and as such his name and reputation have extended beyond the limits of the locality in which so many years of his life have been spent. This picturesque character, now in the golden serenity of old age, having passed his eighty-second mile- stone, has the comforts of a cozy home, which the in- dustry of his sturdy earlier years won, and he also has the cheer of his aged and honored companion, the part- ner of his life's joys being in her seventy-ninth year. His father, Emanuel Hatfield, was a mighty hunter, being one of the few noted characters in the class with Daniel Boone. When he came in 1831 to the vicinity where the town of Owensburg, Indiana, now stands, during the fall and winter of that year, he killed two hundred deer and twenty-seven bears. The fame of his unusual skill as a huntsman spread far and wide, and he was a terror to the red man. Within a few months in that year he found time from his hunting to clear ten acres of timber land. He traded a horse for five acres of land, on which was a cabin. He entered adjoining land until he had four hundred acres. The only object he had in buying one fine tract of land was because it had a good spring on it. which to this day is called the "Emanuel Hatfield spring." This land is in Jackson township, where he and his wife,
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Nancy (Anderson) Hatfield, located when they came to this state from east Tennessee. Ale Hatfield, the grand- father of the subject, was a native of Virginia. Emanuel Hatfield and wife were the parents of fourteen children. ten of whom lived to raise families. Emanuel was twice married, his first wife having died at the age of fifty- two. His second wife was a widow Williams. The fa- ther of our subject lived to the ripe age of eighty-six years. He was active both in the Democratic party and the Baptist church.
Jeremiah Hatfield, who was born in Campbell county, Tennessee, February 8, 1826, was six years old when he was brought by his parents to Jackson township, Greene county, Indiana. He assisted in clearing the land on which they settled and attended school until he could read, write and cipher a little, remaining at home until he was twenty-one years old. He was married March 28, 1848, to Nancy Spears, who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, where her parents settled after coming to this state from Kentucky. Four children were born to Jeremiah Hatfield and wife, namely: Eliza Jane, widow of Hanagan Lewis, who lives with her parents ; Milton Howard, a farmer in Jackson township: Emanuel, Jr., a farmer living in Kansas ; Sherman, a farmer living in Washington township.
The subject, who has always been a farmer, at one time owned two hundred acres of land, but in his old age he did not care to be burdened by its management, so he has sold all his land except twenty-two acres near Owensburg, Indiana, where he now lives.
Mr. Hatfield is a typical representative of that class of loyal citizens who, when the tocsin of war sounded in
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the dark days of our country's history, sacrificed the pleasures and profits of home to defend the flag, having enlisted in Company H, Thirty-first Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His first engagement was at Fort Donelson under Grant. Later he was under Sherman and fought at Shiloh, Nashville, Stone River, Chicka- mauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Moun- tain, Resaca and Peach Tree Creek, and he saw his last service at Atlanta. After faithfully serving as a soldier for over three years he returned home in September, 1864, and resumed farming. He receives a pension from the government in recognition of his services. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, in which he served as clerk for some time. Mr. Hatfield is a Demo- crat and was a candidate for recorder of Greene county, but was defeated in the convention by only one-half a vote. He was assessor of Jackson township four times for a period of eight years. Mr. Hatfield has found time from his active life to travel and regale himself by coming in contact with the outside world. Both he and his worthy wife are highly esteemed for their honesty and in- tegrity throughout the community where they live.
LEMUEL BOONE SEXSON,
Lemuel Boone Sexson, one of Greene county's best known citizens, lives in Switz City, being a pio- neer retired farmer. He was born in Whitley county, Kentucky, October 16, 1824, being the son of Joel
I. B. Syson 84 years
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and Abigail (Davis) Sexson, both natives of Virginia, who came to Indiana in 1827 on pack horses and set- tled in Monroe county, in the woods in a log house, where they lived on a farm until 1831, when the family came to Center township, Greene county. Joel bought government land, the land office at that time being at Vincennes, Indiana, where he made the trip partly on foot and partly on horseback.
Joel Sexson was a Whig and was elected county commissioner and later associate judge of the county. He was a public spirited man, active in politics, and he was a successful farmer. He started with nothing and accumulated rapidly all through his life. He and his wife had thirteen children, namely: Rebecca; Lemuel B., the subject; John G., Eliza L., Mary Ann, Oleva, Joel B., Benjamin S., who lives in Missouri ; Carl Speed, who died in the army ; William Alexander ; Isaac F. ; two died in childhood. Joel Sexson was born in 1800 and died in 1868, and his wife, who was born in 1805, died in 1888. They were members of the Old Line Baptist church.
Lemuel Boone Sexson was only seven years old when the family came to Greene county, and he has made his home here ever since, having attended school here in an old log house which had puncheon floors and seats. Greased paper was used for window panes. He tells many amusing and interesting stories of his early school days. After receiving a meager education he teamed or wagoned from Point Commerce to Bloomfield and New- berry, Indiana, to Louisville, Kentucky, from the time he was fourteen years old, hauling much tobacco to Louis-
4I
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ville, from which place he would bring back all kinds of goods for the home merchants. In making such trips he often camped out ; at times he had several hundred dol- lars in his possession, which had been sent by the mer- chants with which to buy goods. He also carried the mail on horseback from these towns to Terre Haute for five years, beginning in 1837, during which time he had many thrilling experiences owing to high waters and no bridges. It took a man with nerve to be a mail carried in those days, for the country was at times infested by rob- bers, but the subject managed to successfully elude them without harm to himself or the valuables with which he was intrusted. He found time to do some farming while engaged in hauling goods and carrying the mail, later conducting an old-fashioned burr flouring mill for thirty years on Indian creek. He bought his first farm in Jack- son township in 1847 and still owns the place. He cleared the land and did much hard work on it. How- ever, he hired much of the work done while he teamed. From time to time he added to his farm until it embraced three hundred and twenty acres. He lived there until 1894, a period of forty-seven years, when he moved to Switz City and retired.
In 1847 the subject married his first wife, Mary Alexander, a native of Monroe county, Indiana, who be- came the mother of four children, namely: William, who lives at Owensburg ; John S., who lives in Fair Play town- ship: Mary L., who lives in Smith township; Emma is living in Switz City. His first wife died in July, 1866, and his second marriage took place in June, 1867, to Nancy Leonard, a native of Greene county, who died in
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1868. The subject's third wife was Kate Leonard, a na- tive of Jackson township, who was a sister to the sub- ject's second wife, and a daughter of Joseph and Safrona (Lyons) Leonard, both natives of North Carolina, who were early settlers in Greene county, having moved here about 1838. They are now both deceased. The last mar- riage occurred on February 16, 1869. To this union were born four children, namely: Ida, the wife of Ovid Fields, living in Washington township on a farm, to whom three children have been born; Ethel, who married Harley Rush and who was the second child of the sub- ject's third wife, is deceased; two children died in in- fancy. The subject has given each of his children a good farm. Mr. Sexson has long been regarded as one of the most substantial as well as one of the most highly re- spected citizens of Greene county. He is a Republican and was trustee of Jackson township for many years. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church.
. DAVID ALLEN BRADFORD.
The wants of the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch have never been abnormal or er- ratic, but he has found life's chief pleasure in sustaining a good reputation and doing what he could to help his fellow man, believing that a good name is more to be de- sired among men than anything else. He was born Sep- tember 17, 1856. His father was Garrison Bradford, who was also a native of Richiland township, where he
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spent his life as a tiller of the soil. having married into the Allen family, who came from Virginia in an early day.
D. A. Bradford made the best use possible of his early educational advantages, having devoted the winter months to study for a number of years until 1875. When he was twenty years old he left his paternal roof-tree and sought his fortune in Iowa, where he settled on a farm and worked there for two years, when he returned to his native community. He has devoted his subsequent life to farming and carrying on the general business incident to life on the farm, and he now owns a well managed farm of sixty acres in Richland township. His unusual ability as an agriculturist has won for him the responsible position of president of local order No. 80 of the Farmers' Educational and Co-operation Union of America, an or- ganization having as one of its main objects the regula- tion of prices on the various products raised on the farms belonging to its members, especially the prices on staple crops. Mr. Bradford takes a great interest in this work, believing that it is a worthy movement which will eventu- ally result in incalculable good to its members.
Politically the subject is a Republican, but he has never aspired to positions of honor and trust at the hands of his fellow voters, merely preferring to cast the "honest ballot that shakes the land."
The subject owes much of his success to the encour- agement of his wife, who was Sarah Warren, a native of Greene county, where she was born April 7, 1858. and reared and received a common school education. One child has survived this union from infancy, Fay, who was born November 1. 1884. She graduated from the
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Bloomfield high school and taught for three years in Richland township. She is at present (1908) attending the State Normal School, preparing herself for more re- sponsible positions in her chosen profession.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Bradford are members of the Methodist Protestant church, Allen's chapel. The sub- ject has always been active in church work and a leader in the Sunday school. He is at present trustee at Allen's chapel, and is regarded as one of the pillars of that church.
CAPTAIN ELIJAH EDINGTON.
It is the pride of the citizens of this country that, when the great Civil war closed, all the vast army of citi- zen soldiery quietly laid down their arms and returned to the pursuits of peace. It was a splendid sight, that of the great armies melting away and a reunited country in which liberty was a fact as well as a name, the soldiers returning to their farms, shops and various other vocations.
Among those sturdy sons of the North who volun- teered to fight in the defense of the nation's integrity was he whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He left the school room where he was teaching, bade adieu to his wife and three children and organized Company C, Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, August 29. 1861, and was mustered into service, infusing into his comrades something of the patriotism which he himself felt. He was elected captain and soon ordered a march
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through to Camp Vigo, from which he was ordered to the front, the company first taking part in the battle at Helena, Arkansas, later fighting at Jenkins' Ferry. On the way to Camden, that state, a portion of the regiment was captured, but Captain Edington, being on detached duty, was not taken. The prisoners who were taken were held at Tyler, Texas, for ten months, when they were ex- changed. During this time Captain Edington was doing provost duty at Little Rock. While here his term of en- listment expired and he was ordered to Indianapolis to be mustered out October 20, 1864, after serving three years and two months.
Captain Edington, who is at present a resident of Owensburg. Indiana, was born in Coshocton county. Ohio, August 12, 1831, being the sixth son of Robert and Margaret ( Hardesty) Edington. The captain comes from a military ancestry. his father having been a soldier in the war of 1812, serving under General Lewis Cass. He was taken prisoner at Hull's surrender, and his great- grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The latter was of Scotch descent, of the most honorable peo- ple, and he was a man of wealth. The Hardesty family were also money-makers and people of good morals. Captain Edington was a boy when his father died.
The subject was reared by his grandfather Hardesty, on whose farm he labored until he was seventeen years old. In 1848 the subject came to Greene county with his grandfather, who entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jackson township near the present tunnel on the Monon Route. It was in the woods and the subject helped clear the land and make a home, the land costing
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one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. The subject was a studious youth and made the best use possible of his time while in school, having prepared himself for a teacher, which work he began in 1849 and successfully continued for a period of twenty-five years except while in the United States service, during the winter months, farming in the summer. Finding the mercantile business more to his liking, he entered this field and built up a good trade at Owensburg, also at Koleen, Indiana. He left the store in 1884 and taught school during the win- ter of 1884-85, when, under Cleveland's administration, he received an appointment as railway postal clerk from Switz City to Bedford, Indiana, which position he held for four years, since which time he has made his home in Owensburg.
The captain was married twice, first in 1851 to Luti- tia Lauter, a native of Kentucky. She died in 1884, leav- ing four children, namely: Archibald, a farmer, living in Linton, Indiana; Frances, wife of John Deckard, of Lin- ton ; Sidney, a miner, also lives in that town; Margaret, the wife of Francis M. Hatfield, lives in New Mexico.
On November 22, 1884, the subject married Mrs. Mary A. Cobb, widow of Samuel Cobb and the daughter of Emanuel Hatfield, the famous hunter, whose family came from Tennessee to Jackson township, Greene coun- ty, Indiana, in 1832. No children were born to this last union. Both the subject and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in Sunday school work. Mrs. Edington was seriously injured in 1896 in a train wreck on the Santa Fe near Denver, Colorado.
Captain Edington is a Democrat and was a candi-
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date for the legislature in 1882. He was nominated and was in favor of submitting amendments to the constitu- tion to prohibit the sale of liquor in Indiana, but the party leaders became dissatisfied with this idea of the subject's and nominated another candidate and the county went Republican that year by three hundred votes and Captain Edington was defeated by sixty-four votes. Following out these principles he has become an ardent supporter of the Prohibition party and cast the first prohibition vote in his precinct.
Captain Edington is regarded by every one who knows him as an honest, upright man, firm in his con- victions and trustworthy in all his dealings with man- kind, and both he and his wife, who are now in the golden evening of their useful lives, enjoy the respect and love of a wide circle of friends about their comfortable home in Owensburg, nestled among the hills.
HENRY D. WATTS,
Familiarly known as Captain Watts, is one of the most highly respected and influential of the aged citizens of Greene county, and his home, three miles northwest of Worthington, is regarded by all as one of old-time hospitality. The subject was born in Knox county, Ohio, September 15, 1832; the son of Thomas and Rachel (Chaney) Watts, both natives of England, who settled in Baltimore, Maryland, when they first came to this country, later coming to Ohio from Maryland, where
Benny DWatto Halden Watts
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they lived until their death. Thomas Watts was a shoe- maker by trade, which he followed all his life. Both he and his wife died when the subject of this sketch was a child, having been one of nine children, all of whom lived to maturity, with one exception, the family consisting of six daughters and three sons, the subject of this sketch being the youngest of the family and the only one of the children now living.
Captain Watts attended the public schools in Ohio three months each year until he was eighteen years old. He left that state and came to Indiana in 1851. A year later he came to Worthington, working out as a farm hand. Later he worked in Worthington as an apprentice to a furniture and cabinet maker, receiving forty dollars and board for his first year's work. Out of this he fur- nished his own clothing and paid other expenses, and the second year he received fifty dollars. Then he gave up this trade and worked in Worthington at the joiner's trade, later starting a shop there, which he conducted for a number of years. He traded for a farm in Wright township in 1860, where he remained a short time, when he traded it for town property and moved back to Worth- ington, where he clerked in dry goods stores until 1862, when he enlisted in Company H, Sixth Indiana Cav- alry, engaging in his first battle at Richmond, Kentucky, serving as second lieutenant. He was commander of the company during most of the battle, the captain hav- ing been wounded early in the battle, as was also the first lieutenant. Twenty-three members of his company were killed and wounded that day. The subject was disabled from exposure, which prevented him from continuing his
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command, and he later resigned. In February, 1865, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of which he was first ser- geant, and was mustered out at the close of the war.
After the war the subject bought the farm where he now lives, consisting of eighty acres, which is underlaid with coal, which the subject is having mined. He rents his farm on the "shares," as he is himself unable to farm. "Captain" Watts was married in 1854 to Hulda Beech, ยท a native of Pennsylvania, who was brought to Indiana as a child. Ten children have been born to this union as follows: Charles E., deceased; Mary C., wife of William Barton, of Worthington, five children having been born to this union : Frederick D., who died in infancy ; Sam- uel E., who is married and has three children. He lives on a farm in Oklahoma. Luther E., who died when young, was the subject's fifth child; Eva is the wife of Ira Maudlin and the mother of five children; Nora A. is the wife of Charles E. Claywell and the mother of one child; Emma J. is the wife of James H. Hoot, living in Kansas ; James H. and William P. were twins, the for- mer is deceased: the latter is married and has one child living. Two of his children were recently burned to death ( 1908).
The subject is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 91, at Worthington, of which he has been chaplain for many years. He is a Methodist and has been an active member of the church, being a class leader and Sunday school superintendent. His wife has been a church member since she was fourteen years old. Mr. Watts is a loyal Republican.
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"Captain" Watts is a high-class citizen in every re- spect, and he was a brave soldier. His wife proved her de- votion and true nobility by staying at home and caring for herself and children while her husband was ably aiding the cause of his country when it most needed help. The fact of his having commanded a company of raw recruits who withstood the onslaught of overwhelming numbers of veteran soldiers in a forlorn hope, and of being the means of saving the entire command, even at the terrible slaughter of over one-half of his company, showed him. to be a man and a soldier of far more than ordinary nerve and ability. Such a man under such unusual circum- stances, who brought about such great results, should stand high in the list of those who served their country well, whether in a large or small capacity. He deserves as much honor as the greatest of his country's generals, for he did well what was entrusted to him to do.
Although there is a question of the righteousness of any war, yet there is an influence for good in recording the physical courage of those like our subject, who have well performed their part in any one of life's illustrious undertakings.
FREDERICK SIMON HERZOG.
Frederick S. Herzog, son of William and Fredericka Herzog, was born May 5. 1836, in Kirchheide, Germany, and came to the United States in 1857, locating in Knox county, Indiana. He was without money when he reached there and was compelled to seek employment. He soon
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hired out as a farm hand. which he followed until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in 1861 and served four and one-half years in Company B. Twenty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. having seen service in both the West and the South. being in several engagements. among which was Prairie Grove. Arkansas. Mobile Bay, siege of Vicksburg and many minor skir- mishes. At the close of the war he returned to Knox county. Indiana. and learned the cabinet maker's trade. at which he worked for a period of twelve years. after which he went into the milling business. which he suc- cessfully followed for a period of thirty years.
The subject came to Worthington. Indiana, in 1872 and worked at the cabinet maker's trade for six years. In 1884 he came to Bloomfield. Indiana. and re-entered the milling business, which he has conducted continuous- ly and successfully ever since.
Mr. Herzog was first married in 1866 to Frances Keith. a native of Knox county. Indiana. She died March 3. 1879. Four children were born to this union. three of whom are living. They are: Hubbard. who lives in Nebraska: Ollie is a teacher in Clarkstown. Washington. He is a graduate of the Worthington high school and the State Normal at Terre Haute. Iona. the third child of the subject. is deceased : Herman is a paint- er by trade. living at Marion. Indiana.
The subject's second wife was Mrs. Harriet Dean. widow of Samuel Dean. She was born in Bloomfield. Indiana. October 22. 1856. She is the mother of five children. Two daughters and one son live at home; three are graduates of the local high school.
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Mr. Herzog is a member of the Baptist church. He is also a member of Worthington Lodge. No. 137. Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Herzog is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are highly respected in their home town.
ARTHUR LOWE.
Conspicuous among the progressive business men of Worthington is Arthur Lowe, who. as a partner in a large mercantile establishment and assistant cashier of the Worthington Exchange Bank. has won recognition as a man of broad views and discreet judgment. whose experience has contributed largely to the advancement of the enterprise with which he is identified. Mr. Lowe's paternal grandfather was a native of North Carolina, but early migrated to Indiana and entered land in Monroe county, of which part of the state he is a pioneer. He reared a family of two daughters and one son. the latter. William J. Lowe, the father of our subject. William J. Lowe was three years of age when his parents moved to Indiana, and grew to manhood in the county of Monroe. where he married Lucy Ann Walker, whose father is sup- posed to have come to this state from Kentucky during the pioneer period. Mr. Lowe was a farmer and lived for a number of years in Lawrence county. but later moved to the old family homestead in Monroe county. thence some years later to a farm near Harrisburg on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying April 26.
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