USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume II > Part 7
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Mr. Gordon has an honorable record also, and was one of the brave defenders of the Union in the Civil war. On May 2, 1864, he enlisted in Company K, One Hun- dred and Thirty-third Regiment of the Indiana Volun- teer Infantry. This regiment happened to be one of short enlistment, for it was organized for a special pur- pose, but our subject remained with it until an honorable
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discharge was made in Indianapolis, September 5. 1864. The chief event in the career of this regiment was its engagement in the raid of John Morgan through south- ern Ohio and Indiana. It followed him through almost his entire raid. This record gave him the right to show his loyalty to the Union cause, as he became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic organization.
Mr. Gordon was called to his long home in the very prime of life, much to the regret of all who knew him. He seemed to be just ready to be able to do a vast amount of good, for his influence was of that strong, sterling character capable of being felt wherever his heart and hand touched.
JOHN JONES BALLARD.
Not to know the subject of this sketch is to argue oneself unknown in Greene county, for he is one of the honored and representative citizens of this section of the state, having made his home here all his life, over the psalmist's allotted three-score years, having been prom- inently identified with the material and civic advancement and upbuilding of the county and city of Worthington, and he has ever stood for loyal and public-spirited citi- zenship, impressing his personality on the community where his activities have been confined because of the high standard of his living.
John J. Ballard was born in Greene county, Indiana, December 2, 1841, the son of Benjamin C. and Cather- ine (Stalcup) Jones. Catherine Stalcup was first married
Johng. Ballard.
BALLARD HEIGHTS, Residence of J. J. Ballard.
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to John Jones, of Greene county, and his death occurred within a few years, and to this union were born two chil- dren, Margaret J., widow of C. C. Howe, of Worthing- ton, and a daughter who died young. The former's first marriage was to Ellen Fry, of Kentucky. Col- onel James Ballard, grandfather of the subject, was one of the most prominent residents of Shelby county, Ken- tucky, for over fifty years, having served in the legisla- ture of that state. He raised the following children : Thomas, Harrison, Benjamin, father of the subject ; An- drew J., Bland and Pauline. Thomas remained single. Harrison has six children. Benjamin C., father of the subject, was born January 1, 1806, in Shelby county, Kentucky. He followed farming there until 1837, when he came to Indiana, buying land in Highland township, Greene county, rearing the following children: James F. was the eldest ; Thomas E. was a soldier in the Union army and was killed in the battle of Baton Rouge, Lou- isiana ; Benjamin H .; Susan, the widow of William Stal- cup, now of Worthington; Catherine, the wife of Lot Owen, both dead; John J., our subject, was the first child of Benjamin C. Ballard's second wife. His other child was Ellen, the wife of David H. Wiley. The father of the subject passed away October 4. 1844. Andrew J. Ballard, a brother of the subject's father, married Fan- nie Thruston and they had three sons and one daughter, namely : Charles T., a graduate of Yale; Samuel T. ; R. C. Ballard Thurston, and Abby, who was a student at Vassar, now deceased. Charles T. and Samuel T. are members of the firm of Ballard & Ballard Mills at Louis- ville, Kentucky. Bland Ballard was appointed judge of
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the federal court by President Lincoln and served until his death. He was the father of the following children : Austin, Bland, Jr., Mary, Fannie and Susan.
The early life of John J. Ballard was spent on his father's farm and in attending the common schools, where he made proper use of his time, later attending the graded schools at Point Commerce. His thirst for knowledge not being satisfied, he entered Franklin College in 1873, from which he graduated with honor in 1878, since which time he has been engaged in farming and stock raising, at which he has been eminently successful. He is in posses- sion of the valuable tract of land owned by his father. which has remained in the Ballard family for seventy years. It consists, including what the mother added after the death of her husband, of five hundred and forty acres, three hundred and fifty of which are under the plow, a large portion of the farming land being situated along the White River. The present owner has devoted much at- tention to this farm and spared no pains in keeping the soil in a high state of productiveness, using some com- mercial fertilizers, but depending largely on clover, rye and timothy, which he turns under to enrich the soil. Most all the grain raised on the place is fed by him to cat- tle and hogs. His judgment in the selection of good stock of all kinds is not excelled in Greene county. He keeps the Aberdeen Angus cattle, Poland China hogs and other good breeds. He buys some stock cattle and prepares both cattle and hogs for market and his shipment of cat- tle in 1906 topped the market at Indianapolis. Mr. Bal- lard also owns one hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as can be found in Greene county, adjoining the
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corporate limits of Worthington, where he has resided for the past seven years, and on which he has erected one of the finest residences in the state of Indiana, a portrait of which will be found in connection herewith. It is thoroughly modern both in style and workmanship, be- ing finished in fine hardwoods, wild cherry, maple and black walnut, all sawed from trees which grew on his farm, the finishing being equal to that seen in the best residences of the large cities, being the best that can be made from these fine varieties of trees. The entire house is heated by a high-grade system of hot water. A well ar- ranged cemented basement extends under the entire house, consisting of an ample coal room, a laundry, large drying room, an immense fruit room and a furnace room, con- taining a modern heating plant of the best quality. Wa- ter privileges are to be found here equal to the best in the city, every convenience being up-to-date. Ventilation has been carried to perfection in every part of the house. The spacious parlors, dining room, living room and guest chambers are models of perfection. The roof is of the best grade of slate, and, standing as it does on an emi- nence above the city, this magnificent residence is indeed imposing, and from it one may gain as beautiful a pan- orama as can be found in the state, commanding as it does a scene of miles and miles of rich and highly im- proved agricultural estates and the well laid-out city of Worthington. A fine grove of natural growth is to be seen some distance away on an elevated knoll on Mr. Bal- lard's farm, around which is the richest of prairie land, the greater part of which is covered with a luxurious growth of timothy and clover. There is also a smaller
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but not less beautiful grove just north of his residence which adds greatly both to the comfort and beauty of the place. It would be hard for one to find a pleasanter place in which to spend the declining years of one's ac- tive and useful life than that of our subject, and to know that it was obtained not through the largess of another. but by the industry of the owner, would add much to the comforts of such envied surroundings.
Mr. Ballard was happily married in 1898 to Florence Owen, the accomplished daughter of H. B. and Eliza- beth (Reid) Owen, both natives of Kentucky, who later moved to Morgan county, Indiana, where they spent their lives on a farm. Mr. Owen's people came from North Carolina to Greene county. There were two brothers in the Civil war from the Reid family. Two exceptionally bright and interesting children have added sunshine and cheer to the Ballard home. They are Florence Elizabeth, born April 16, 1900, and Wayne Owen, born January 22, 1904. Both the subject and wife are members of the Christian church. The former was greatly interested as an official of general Sunday school work for a period of ten years. Politically Mr. Ballard is a Republican, but he has never sought public office. However, he is al- ways willing to lend a helping hand to further any cause looking to the advancement of his county or the uplifting of his community. He was appointed by the commission- ers as an appraiser of real estate for one district, and was at one time on the advisory board of Highland and Jef- ferson townships.
Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are not only highly esteemed by all who know them for their upright and well ordered
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lives, but they have also won the hearts of all their neigh- bors and friends through their kindness of heart and hos- pitality, taking pride in making visitors feel at home, and dispensing good will and good cheer to every one with whom they come in contact.
ROBERT EDWARD EVELEIGH.
Happy is the man who so shapes his life that he can take a retrospective view of the whole course and find therein no blemish of noble aims and high ideals, whose courage and manliness have always been above reproach, and who, at the close of a long and eminently successful career, retires from the active arena with the affection and respect of all who know him. Such has been the simple life story of the well known gentleman and public-spir- ited citizen whose name appears above, whose influence has ever been exerted on the side of right and who, as one of the noted men of his day and generation in Bloom- field, is entitled to a conspicuous place among those who have given character and stability to the city and won for it honorable repute among the most enterprising and progressive cities of the state.
R. E. Eveleigh, a native of Greene county, Indiana, was born at Bloomfield, August 20, 1848, the son of Jo- seph W. and Joanna (Shaw) Eveleigh, the father a na- tive of Ireland and the mother said to have been the first white female child born in the county of Greene. Joseph Eveleigh left the Emerald Isle at the age of twenty years,
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and after a brief residence in Montreal, Canada, went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he followed the trade of sad- dler until his removal to Greene county, Indiana, a few years later. On coming to this state he started a shop in Bloomfield, where he worked at his chosen calling for a number of years, subsequently opening a house for the entertainment of the traveling public, which he conducted during the forty years ensuing, his tavern the meantime becoming widely known as a popular resort and the pro- prietor as a man possessing all the characteristics essen- tial to the makeup of a jolly, accommodating host, who spared nothing in ministering to the comfort and wel- fare of his guests. At the expiration of the period indi- cated Mr. Eveleigh disposed of his hotel and retired to property in Bloomfield, which he had previously pur- chased, where he spent the remainder of his days, depart- ing this life in the year 1898, honored and respected by all with whom he came in contact. He was married in the latter place and reared a family of five children, only two of whom are living-Mrs. Anna E. Greeves, of Bloomington, and R. E. Eveleigh, whose name furnishes the caption of this review.
The early life of the subject was spent in Bloomfield. and after completing the course of the city schools he supplemented the training thus received by entering the State University, where he prosecuted his studies and re- searches until 1869, when he was graduated with an hon- orable record as a painstaking and conscientious student. On finishing his scholastic course he engaged as a drug clerk at different places, and to this line devoted six years, during which period he became familiar with every detail
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of the business and earned an enviable repute as a skill- ful pharmacist. Meanwhile Mr. Eveleigh took an active interest in matters political and it was not long until he became one of the recognized Republican leaders in Greene county. His activity in behalf of the cause he es- poused both as a safe and reliable counselor in party deliberations and as a judicious and influential worker in the ranks, led in Grant's administration to his appoint- ment as postmaster at Bloomfield, which position he held during that administration, discharging his duties of the office in a capable and eminently satisfactory manner and earning the reputation of an accommodating and popular public servant. While holding the office he purchased a well established drug house in Bloomfield, which he con- tinued to manage until 1907, when he disposed of the business and retired from active life to enjoy the rest and quietude to which his long and strenuous career so justly entitles him.
As above indicated, Mr. Eveleigh is one of the rep- resentative Republicans of Greene county, but despite his activity and influence as a politician he has never been an aspirant for office, the postmastership coming to him in recognition of services rendered the party and not by any solicitation on his part. The only elective office he ever held was that of township trustee, in which capacity he continued four years, discharging the duties of the office with the accustomed energy and business-like man- ner characteristic of every enterprise he undertakes.
Mr. Eveleigh is a firm believer in the truths of re- vealed religion, and his life closely conforms to the teach- ings of the Presbyterian church, which represents his creed. He is an earnest and active member of the Bloom-
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field congregation, in which for ten years he has held the office of elder, and in addition thereto is a leader and teacher in the Sunday school, much of the success of which is due to his labors and self-denying consecrated efforts.
In November of the year 1888 Mr. Eveleigh entered the marriage relation with Emma Freeland, daughter of Dr. William Freeland, of Bloomfield, the union result- ing in the birth of one child, a son by the name of Carl F., who is now a freshman in the State University and a young man of fine mind who gives promise of a bright and distinguished future.
Robert E. Lyons, a nephew of the subject and son of Mr. Eveleigh's sister, is an alumnus of the State Uni- versity, is at the head of the chemical department of that institution, and is recognized as one of the ripest scholars and most thorough scientists in the list of professors within the great state of Indiana to look after the educa- tional interests of its young men and women. He is a warm friend of Dr. Blatchley, state geologist, and has been associated with that eminent scholar in prosecuting much of the scientific work for which the office calls.
The subject is a Mason and a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in the county and is secretary of the Bloomfield Building and Loan Association, is a charter member of the Phi Psi of Indiana University.
THOMAS M. RYAN.
Thomas M. Ryan, head of the firm of T. M. Ryan & Son, funeral directors and house furnishers, of Bloom-
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field, Indiana, traces his ancestors to Ireland, his pater- nal grandparents having lived there during their entire lives. Their son, Thomas Jefferson Ryan, was raised in New York, where he received a fairly good education and learned the saddlery trade at Bloomington, Indiana. After the death of his father he came with his mother and the rest of the children to Monroe county, Indiana, in an early day, where his mother died. Then he studied for the ministry and was confirmed in 1838. He preached in the Methodist churches for many years at Bloomfield. New Albany, in Greene county and in different places : in fact, all over southern Indiana, an old circuit rider. Later in life he practiced medicine with equal success. He was well and favorably known throughout several counties. He was a Whig and a prominent Mason, devoting much time to lodge work. He married Ann Iliff, a native of Ohio, who died in August, 1863. He survived his wife until October, 1863. They had seven children: Mar- garet was the wife of W. J. Cogswell. She died in 1907. Owen died at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1863, while a mem- ber of the Fifth Indiana Cavalry. William B., who is liv- ing in Indianapolis, is a practicing physician, and was a member of Company D, Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, serving during the war. Laura, deceased, married Cra- ven Hudson. They lived in Corydon, Indiana. He was in the Sixty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Thomas M., subject of this sketch. Mary, widow of Wesley Mo- bley, lives at Hartsville, Indiana. Alice, who married a Mr. Wiseman, is now deceased.
Thomas M. Ryan was born April 2, 1850, in Bed- ford, Indiana, where he received a common school edu-
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cation. He has quite a war record, having enlisted in February, 1863, in Company A, One Hundred and For- tieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was in the bat- tles of Franklin, Tennessee, and Fort Fisher. He took care of army supplies at the battles of Kingston, Raleigh, North Carolina, and was at the battles of Tom Creek and Nashville, and ivas in other engagements and skirmishes; also was with Sherman on his march to the sea. He was active in assisting to organize several companies before hie enlisted. He was discharged July 24, 1865, having served all through the war as a private. After the war he located in Bedford. Indiana, where he learned the cab- inet maker's trade. In 1871 he married Lillie E. El- dridge, of that place. She was the daughter of Solomon and Fannie (Beaver) Eldridge, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Benton county, Indiana. Solomon, who came to Indiana when he was twenty-one years old with his parents, was a chair maker, and lo- cated in Bedford in 1836, where he followed his trade. They were both members of the Presbyterian church. He died in 1870 and his widow in 1890. They had seven children-Daniel, Jennie, Mary, William, Alice, Emma and Lillie.
From 1869 to 1871 Thomas M. Ryan lived in Chi- cago, where he worked at his trade until he lost all his effects in the great fire of that year. He then went to Indianapolis, where he remained until 1877, when he went to Bloomfield and was foreman for E. P. Williams in a planing mill for one year. In 1878 he started a furniture store and undertaking business in Bloomfield, which busi- ness he has since conducted. In 1895 he took his son in
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as partner and started as an undertaker in Bedford in 1866. He has an extensive business. He never held of- fice, but has always been a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Bloomfield post of the Grand Army of the Republic and has held all the offices of the post, having been commander during the past two years. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1878 and has held all the offices in the lodge. He is now financial sec- retary. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and is very popular in Bloomfield.
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan have the following children : William H., a partner with his father in Bloomfield ; Louie P., a steam fitter in Duluth, Minnesota ; Frank M .. a traveling salesman in New York; Mabel and Emma are both at home.
JAMES BURCHAM.
James Burcham, of Taylor township, was born March 31, 1845, in the same county where he now resides and where he received only a limited schooling, remain- ing at home until he enlisted, November 15, 1864, in the Sixth Indiana Cavalry, later changed to Company F. He served mostly in Tennessee, and was in the battle of Nashville and did scout duty and looked after govern- ment property. He was discharged September 15, 1865. He has long been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has always voted the Republican ticket.
After the war he lived in his old community for sev-
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eral years and then moved to Taylor township, where he has since resided on a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres, over eighty acres of which are in cultiva- tion. He carries on general farming and stock raising. always keeping a number of horses, cattle and hogs.
He was married to Isabelle Coppin, a native of In- diana, and a daughter of Joseph and Sarah Coppin, na- tives of Ohio, who came to Greene county in 1861 and lo- cated in Richland township on a farm where they both died. The subject has five children living and two dead. They were: Lolo and Georgie, both deceased: Rollin, who married Alma Carroll on September 22, 1894. They live in Taylor township and have the following children ; Mary, Brantley, Goldie, James, Minnie and Bales. He is a farmer and works the old homestead for his father. Frank, the fourth son, lives at home ; Joseph also lives at home; Almina is the wife of Harley Bucker, of Taylor township : Viola is a teacher, living at home.
The subject is the son of Robert and Sarah (Roach) Burcham, the former of North Carolina and the latter of East Tennessee. Robert came west with his father, James Burcham, in 1818, when the former was only six years old. They secured one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Greene county, Indiana, where James lived until his death.
The father of the subject first married Miss Dob- bins. They had four children, namely: John died in infancy; Almins, deceased, who married Levi Hanna : Joseph, who was in Company H, Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving as second lieutenant. He died at Evansville, Indiana ; William J. was in the same
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company with his brother. He was in prison for nearly a year in Tyler, Texas. He returned home and died there. The following are the names of the children by Solomon Burcham's second wife: John died in infancy ; James, subject of this sketch; Andrew, contractor and builder at Kelso, Washington; Frances, who married Robert Coppin, of Richland township; Rollin, a farmer, living in Butler county, Arkansas; Henry, a farmer, liv- ing near the old homestead; Emily Jane, who is living near her brother Henry; Josephine, who married David Ockerman, of Richland township; Morton, a real estate dealer in Kelso, Oklahoma.
DAVID CHANDLER ROACH.
There were only three houses in Indianapolis and Indians and wild animals infested the dense forests where the present city stands when Sarah (Waller) Messenger. the grandmother of the subject of this sketch, came to Indiana with her parents from Pennsylvania, and others of his ancestors located in the state while it was yet inhabited principally by the red men and denizens of the uncut forests. Our subject's maternal grandfa- ther, David C. Messenger, a native of Maryland, went to Pennsylvania when a young man and there married Sarah Waller. They first went to Coshocton county, Ohio, and to Greene county, Indiana, in 1829, where he took up unimproved land and worked at farming, also following his trade as carpenter and cooper. Both he and
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his wife lived there until their death. He was a Repub- lican. They were members of the separate Baptist church. They had nine children, namely: Henry, Da- vid, Eli, John, Elisha, Hannah, Rachael, Mary and Mariah.
The subject's paternal grandfather was Joshua Roach, a native of North Carolina, who married Mar- garet Goad, a native of Tennessee. In 1829 they came to Greene county, Indiana, and settled in Richland town- ship, where they bought wild land, cleared it and made such a pleasant home that they spent the remainder of their lives there. He was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. They had three sons and five.daughters.
The subject's father was Henry Roach. He was born in Tennessee, August 10, 1828. Although he re- ceived a very limited education in the pioneer schools of those days, he studied at home and was able to teach school. He had an excellent war record, having enlisted in the United States army when he was seventeen years old for the purpose of taking part in the Mexican war. He served during part of the campaign in Mexico, but was taken sick and came home. He had a Mexican land grant and in 1852 secured one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jasper county, Illinois. In 1857 he came back to his old home in Indiana, where he worked on a farm until August, 1861, when he enlisted in Company C. Forty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was commissioned first lieutenant, and was in several hard battles. He was badly hurt by a fall and was discharged for disability in 1865. After the war he lived in Taylor
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township, Greene county, Indiana, where he farmed until his death, February 1, 1897. He was a Democrat and later a Republican. Both he and his wife were members of the Church of God. They were highly esteemed in their neighborhood. She died July 4, 1899. To them were born the following children: David C., the subject of this sketch ; Joshua died in boyhood ; Margaret J., who married Thomas Acton, of Jasonville, Indiana ; John Lin- coln, a farmer in Jackson township, Greene county, In- diana, who married America Boaz; Samuel S., who was one of the best school teachers in Greene county, died in 1906; Mary Frances married William Ruth, a farmer of Taylor township, Greene county ; Alma married Edgar Clark and died in Taylor township; Henry Hayes at- tended the State University and is a teacher.
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