USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume II > Part 8
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David Chandler Roach was born in Center township, Greene county, Indiana, May 29, 1858. He was edu- cated in the common and normal schools and was a teacher for several years in his native county. He was admitted to the Greene county bar in 1884 and has since practiced law there and in Illinois. He has one hundred and sixteen acres of land in Taylor township, Greene county, and seventeen acres where he now lives in Rich- land township. He has been justice of the peace eighteen years and a notary public for six years. He has always been active in Democratic politics. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America. Of the latter he is deputy head council in the Bloomfield lodge. He was ordained a min- ister in the Christian church in 1884. He has worked on public works a great deal and he is well known through- out his native county.
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Mr. Roach has been twice married. His first wife was Isadore Acton, of Johnson county, Indiana, daughter of Dr. William G. Acton, of Worthington. She died in 1888. A few years later he married Frances Cullison, the daughter of Jacob and Mary Cullison, of Center town- ship. Greene county. Her father was a native of Ohio and died in 1881. Her mother is living in Taylor town- ship. The subject had one son by his first wife, Daniel C., now in the State University at Bloomington. He is preparing for a lawyer's career and has won recognition as an orator. Mr. Roach had eight children by his sec- ond wife, namely: Vernie, Samuel. Ivan, Lexie, Edna, Olive. Leslie and Violet.
WILLIAM M. MOSS.
Perhaps no profession exacts such manifold quali- fications as that of journalism, and certainly no calling. save the ministry alone, has been such a potent factor in the upbuilding of our modern civilization.
The humble and unpretending newspaper that goes regularly into the home contributes imperceptibly, but none the less mightily, to the moral and intellectual growth of all the people therein. To continuously serve a clientele embracing the best and most intelligent thought of a large and important county for over a quarter of a century is a duty fraught with no slight responsibility. The modern newspaper molds public opinion, crystalizes sentiment and influences definite action. To properly
William In Moor.
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meet and discharge this burden of responsibility, high ideals must be maintained, requiring ofttimes the ut- most of moral courage and the frequent sacrifice of per- sonal aggrandizement, to the end that the public good may be just and adequately served. This is the office of the true journalist.
Any history of Greene county would be grievously incomplete without due credit to William, M. Moss, who stands today as the pioneer newspaper man of Greene county, and whose long, arduous and unbroken service forms an enduring monument to his rugged honesty, boundless energy and public servitude. No brief sketch can do justice to the record he has made as a newspaper man, for that record is an open book and no chaplet of words that the biographer can weave can add to or detract from the estimate of the man of those who know him.
It is the historian's duty to here record in language unbeguiled the life and labor of Honorable William Marshall Moss, editor and publisher of the Linton Daily Call, the oldest newspaper man in the point of ser- vice in southern Indiana.
Born in a little log cabin four miles northwest of the city of Linton, March 22, 1852, William M. Moss is a product of the county to which he has given lavishly of his talent and labor. He is the oldest child born to Daniel H. and Mary (Mayfield) Moss, also native born. His grandfather, Reverend Aquilla Moss, a Baptist min- ister of repute, was one of the earliest settlers of west- ern Green county. Mr. Moss attended the district schools and had the additional advantage of an academic educa-
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tion at Ascension Seminary ( now defunct), Sullivan, In- diana, from which institution he graduated in 1872. Among his classmates were Congressman John C. Chaney, of Sullivan ; the late Samuel R. Hamil, of Terre Haute, and Honorable W. Cullop, the present Democratic candidate for congress. He began life for himself as a teacher at nineteen and taught school for a number of years in Greene and Vigo counties. He taught at Riley. Indiana, as principal of the high school for four years, being the first man to hold school in the present building. As a teacher Mr. Moss was recognized as one of the best. always holding the highest license.
In 1880 Mr. Moss came to Bloomfield and in June of that year bought from W. P. Stropes the Bloomfield Democrat. The paper up to this time had never been a financial success and had only twenty subscribers. The equipment of machinery was old and wholly inadequate, a part of which was an old Washington hand press that printed the first issue of the Louisville Courier-Journal. Without previous newspaper training and with no knowl- edge of the "art preservative" Mr. Moss, with the energy of youth and a determination to succeed, soon turned the tide in his favor. He invested the mechanical department with new and modern machinery and under his brilliant editorial leadership the paper soon gained a state reputa- tion. As long as he remained at the head of the paper the Bloomfield Democrat was a power to be reckoned in all local affairs. Be it recorded here that the paper was always progressive, fighting valiantly for every pub- lic enterprise.
Mr. Moss was elected county superintendent of
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schools of Greene county in 1888 and re-elected in 1890. He gave up this office voluntarily, as every trustee in the county had asked him in writing to be a candidate for a third term, assuring him a unamious re-election. In 1893 he was appointed by President Cleveland super- visor of United States Indian schools and served in this capacity three years, resigning in 1896. In January, 1897 he was appointed postmaster at Bloomfield but retired in September following on account of the change of national administration. He was honored by his party in 1892 as being selected as a member of the Democratic state central committee and is now an advisory mem- ber of this committee.
In 1887 Mr. Moss was a candidate for secretary of the state senate, but was defeated by one vote by Alonzo Greene Smith. In 1896 he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for congress from the second district against R. W. Miers, of Monroe county, and Charles T. Aikin, of Sullivan county. He. was de- feated by a small margin after an all day's struggle which later was found to have been accomplished by fraud prac- ticed by the chairman of one delegation. Otherwise he would have been nominated on the first ballot and a nom- ination at that time was equivalent to an election.
In 1888 Mr. Moss purchased the Linton Call. then a weekly paper of uncertain influence. March 4, 1907. he established the Linton Daily Call. the first daily paper in Greene county. This paper is now ranked among the best daily papers in the state. The office is equipped with modern machinery and the news service and general management reflect a proficiency excelled by few daily papers in Indiana.
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The subject's career as a progressive newspaper man is well exemplified by the following facts :
He was the first man in Greene county to install a cylinder printing press, the first to install a two revolution press, the first to apply steam and later a gasoline engine. He was the first to purchase a paper cutter, a newspaper folder, and the first linotype was brought into the county by him. He also established the first daily newspaper in the county and his was the first newspaper in the county to receive a regular telegraph news service. He is a firm believer in progress along definite lines, else retrogression.
Mr. Moss was married August 24. 1876, to Hannah C. Scott, daughter of Matthew W. Scott, a wealthy pio- neer citizen of Clinton, Indiana. Constituting his family are the following children : Claude S. and Clyde S., asso- ciated with their father in the management of the Daily Call, appropriate mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume: Gertrude Dexter and Mary. Two other children died in infancy.
The subject moved his family to Linton in 1904 and fraternally Mr. Moss is a member of the Encampment Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masons and the Elks. He is also a member of the Christian church, and he is not only held in high esteem for what he has done for the county through the medium of the press and his public services, but also for the honorable and upright life he has lived.
HOYT H. NICKERSON.
Born of sturdy New England stock, with a rich flow of patriotic blood coursing through his veins, the sub-
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ject of this biography, the late Hoyt H. Nickerson, is a worthy example of the strong and self-reliant American citizen.
He was born at Clarksfield, Ohio, February 15, 1838, and died at Bloomfield, Indiana, January 26, 1908, lack- ing a few days of his seventieth birthday. He was the son of William H. and Charlotte (Hill) Nickerson, both natives of New England. William H. Nickerson was a local Methodist preacher and a practicing physician. He was chaplain of the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer In- fantry during the Civil war, and while in the service suf- fered such a failure of health that he was discharged from duty. Upon returning to his home he removed to Jasper county, Illinois, and there continued the practice of med- icine until his death in February, 1867. He was an active Mason and the father of six children: Samuel died in infancy ; Hoyt H., our subject; Elizabeth, now residing at Hope, Indiana; Mariah died in childhood; William, a soldier in an Ohio regiment, died on the way home from the South at the close of the war; Joseph, a Methodist preacher, now stationed in Illinois, and Charles, deceased.
Hoyt received a common school education and de- cided to prepare himself for the practice of medicine. He accordingly attended a course of lectures with that end in view, but at this time his eyes failed him, and it be- came apparent that this would prove to be a serious han- dicap should he endeavor to continue in this profession. After due deliberation he decided to abandon the en- deavor, and turned his attention to blacksmithing. When the heavy war clouds of the rebellion began to lower over the land and it became evident that the integrity of the
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flag was to be threatened, no heart throbbed with greater patriotic fervor than that of Hoyt H. Nickerson. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the Thirty-second Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, Company E, and went immediately to the field, where for three years he fought in the forefront of the fearful conflict, baring his bosom to the storms of the shot and shell, never flinching nor wavering. Return- ing home on a furlough, he remained long enough to get married, but re-enlisted and returned to the ranks, deter- mined to see the conflict through to the finish. He re- joined the same regiment in which he had fought be- fore coming home. It will be impossible to do justice to his services in behalf of "old glory," but an enumera- tion of a few of the battles in which he took part will convey to the reader a slight suggestion of what this sery- ice involved. In the Virginias Mr. Nickerson took part in the engagements at Greenbrier, Camp Allegheny, Mc- Dowell and Harper's Ferry : in Mississippi, Port Gibson, Raymond. Jackson. Champion Hills, siege of Vicksburg, Baker's Creek and Clinton; in Georgia we find him at Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah and the famous march to the sea: in North Carolina he participated in the battles at Beau- fort, Bentonville and Fayetteville. On the march to the sea Mr. Nickerson was smitten with sunstroke, remaining unconscious for three weeks. He was many times taken prisoner, but each time was paroled.
On returning home at the close of the war he re- moved to Illinois and again took up blacksmithing, car- rying this on together with farming. In 1876 he re- turned to Washington. Indiana, and followed his trade
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there for three years, and in November, 1879, came to Bloomfield, continuing his trade here until the close of his days.
His marriage, made mention of before, occurred on March 29, 1864. He was joined to Mary Margaret Cri- der, who was born in Massillon, Ohio, December 10, 1842, being the daughter of Tobias and Mary (Kelken) Crider, both of German extraction, both being natives of Pennsylvania. They were highly respected farmers and ended their days at Mansfield, Ohio. The family consist- ed of eight children, of whom Mary M., the wife of our subject, was the eldest. The others, all living, are : John S., Elizabeth N., Adaline, Levitt, Jacob K., Laura Jane and William Martin.
Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson became the parents of four children : Mary Charlotte died in infancy; William T., living at Linton, married Inez Haywood, and has a fam- ily of five children, Hoyt H., Alba, Ruth, Arthur, Emma and Margaret ; Nellie A., the third child of our subject, died in infancy: Laura Lenore, wife of Pierce Jarrell, lives at Whitaker, Indiana, and has one son, Frank.
Mr. Nickerson, as is to be inferred, was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was also a highly esteemed Odd Fellow. This brief survey of his life is very inadequate, but it will lead us to more greatly ap- preciate the heritage we now enjoy.
JAMES HARVEY GILLILAND.
Born under the pure skies of Kentucky, we find in the records of James Harvey Gilliland some striking par-
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allels to the life of America's great emancipator, Abra- ham Lincoln. He was born, like Lincoln, in Kentucky, on February 12, 1830, of humble parentage, and emi- grated later across the Ohio River into Indiana, which became his permanent home. He was the son of Abel and Jennie (Gastenew) Gilliland, farmers and successful stock raisers. They were emigrants to America from Scotland. On a trip south with a drove of hogs, Abel Gilliland contracted that scourge of the South, yellow fever, and his life was snuffed out like a candle. His mother had died when he was still a child, and he was sent out among the neighbors to make a living. He re- ceived a fair education in the Kentucky common schools, and when nineteen years of age came to Indiana, begin- ning work here at farming. He later learned the miller's trade. A partnership with Linsey Carr was formed and together they operated the Carr mills on Indian creek in. Jackson township, Greene county. In 1856 he removed to his farm in the same township and continued there un- til his demise, December 19, 1875. His farm, consisting of unimproved land, was soon brought up to a high standard of productiveness as the result of hard work and steady application.
In 1854 he was married to Rachael Lamb, who was born May 29, 1836, in Lawrence county, Indiana. She was the daughter of John W. and Patsy (Green) Lamb. both natives of North Carolina. They came in 1836 to Lawrence county, Indiana, and later removed to Greene county, taking up a tract of wild, unimproved land, trans- forming it into fertile fields by hard and steady work.
Mr. and Mrs. Lamb were members of the Christian
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church, and were regarded in their community as pious, upright citizens. Their family consisted of seven chil- dren : Calvin G., living on a farm in Jackson township; Hiram, also farming ; Rachael. wife of our subject ; Eliz- abeth, wife of James McDowell, an ex-Union soldier, both deceased; Abigail, deceased, was the wife of Marion Dugger; John Thomas, now living in Bloomfield; Ma- tilda, wife of Jerry Hatfield, also of Bloomfield.
Abel and Jennie Gilliland were the parents of ten children. The first five-Mary, Margaret, Nancy, Ma- hala and James H., our subject-are all deceased. Chris- topher is now making his home in Missouri; the seventh in order of birth, Catherine, is also deceased; Frank is living in Kansas, as is also Josiah, while the last, George, has his home in Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland became the parents of eight children : Josiah, deceased, was married to Martha Gas- tinew and to this union were born two children, one of whom died in infancy and the other, Othnell. is making his home with his grandmother, Mrs. Gilliland; John C. has his home in Bloomfield; Jennie, deceased, was the wife of William G. Graham, and to this union were born two children, both of whom, Francis M. and Carrie, make their home with their grandmother; Zeno, the third child of our subject, is now in the state of Washington ; Carrie became the wife of Marion Busenberg, and has her home at Jasonville ; Florence, having married Sherman Holmes, resides in Lawrence county, this state ; James H., a teleg- rapher, operates at Carlisle, Indiana: Allie, wife of George Mitchell, lives at Jasonville.
In June, 1861, James H. Gilliland enlisted in Com-
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pany F. Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served throughout the war, receiving his discharge at In- dianapolis in 1865. Having the skill of an excellent marksman, he was soon singled out from the ranks and was put to service as one of the company's sharpshooters. In this he sustained a high reputation, and during the greater part of his time in the service he was employed in that capacity. He saw many strenuous times, and took part in such engagements as Stone River. Murfreesboro, Green Brier and many other conflicts and skirmishes. He was singularly fortunate in coming through without a wound. but his clothing was frequently rent with bul- let holes.
In 1887 Mrs. Gilliland disposed of her farm and re- tired to Bloomfield, where she now occupies a neat little residence in the southern part of the city. She has won many friends as a result of her genial social spirit and her devotion to the comfort and welfare of others.
JOHN C. GILLILAND.
One of the children of James H. Gilliland, the subject of the preceding biography, was John C. Gilliland, whose home is in Bloomfield. He was born June 27, 1857. in Jackson township, Greene county, and has been closely connected with the business growth of the county.
He received his education in the schools of the county, and remained at home on the farm until reaching his majority. He then took up bookkeeping, beginning with Dugger, Whittaker & Company. After some time
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he filled a similar place with other business firms of the city, being connected at one time in a like capacity with the Farmers' and Mechanics' Building and Loan Com- pany. For six years he was secretary and treasurer of the Home Light and Water Company. These facts point strongly toward characteristics that are at once creditable and somewhat rare. Mr. Gilliland possessed the faculty of managing the records and tabulating proceedings in such an exact and methodical way that his services were highly appreciated and constantly in demand.
He won the confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen to such a degree that he was for twelve years prevailed upon to act as treasurer for the city.
He takes a genuine interest in the religious welfare of the community, being an elder in the Christian church.
On November 26, 1889, he was joined in marriage to Ella Hulse, a native of Morgan county, Indiana, a daughter of John F. and Elizabeth Hulse, both natives of this state. Their only daughter, Marguerite, died at the age of two years. He is a Republican.
PETER S. LESTER.
Among the first settlers of Bloomfield, Indiana, were Willis D. and Mary ( Tate) Lester, parents of Peter S. Lester, the subject of this sketch. Willis Lester was one of the pioneer merchants of the town, but later in life he moved to a farm, and there ended his days. He was a man of clean politics, an energetic business man and a
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successful financier. He and his wife were highly re- spected members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Lester was the mother of the following children : Elizabeth, Sa- rah, Mariah, now deceased: Emily, Peter, our deceased subject : Oliver, who met his death in the war of the re- bellion, and Reed, a farmer in Richland township.
Peter was born in Bloomfield on March 28, 1839, and received his education in the schools of that town, applying himself diligently as the opportunity offered. He came up on the farm with his parents, as mentioned above, and continued there until he reached his majority.
On April 1, 1858, he was married to Nancy Lyons, a native of Ohio and the daughter of Joseph and Mar- garet (Herbert) Lyons, also of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Ly- ons came to Indiana in 1841, settling upon a farm in Richland township, consisting of the virgin soil, uncleared and uncultivated, where they spent the remainder of their days, Mr. Lyons passing to his rest in 1872 and his wife in 1852. They were people of sterling integrity and im- pressed their personality upon all who knew them. They affiliated with the Presbyterian church. Joseph Lyons was a Democrat of the most reliable stamp, and took a lively interest in the questions of the day, whether local, state or national. He had the confidence of neighbors and friends, and was called upon by them to fill the of- fice of county treasurer. This he did with pronounced success, bringing satisfaction to all his constituents for loyal and trustworthy service. Eight children were born into this family-Franklin, deceased; Daniel, who met his death during service in the rebellion; Matthew, de- ceased ; William, who also fell a victim of the carnage
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of war; Nancy, widow of our subject; Margaret, de- ceased; Mary, widow of John Hunt, having her pres- ent residence in Kokomo; Ellen forms the last.
Our subject and wife were the parents of eight chil- dren also-Franklin died in childhood; Elizabeth, de- ceased ; Joseph and Charles, farmers in Taylor township; Margaret, wife of Henry Fields, having their home at Lyons, Indiana ; Mary, wife of Newton Jeffries, a farmer of Greene county; Guy and Ross, who are making their home with their mother in Bloomfield.
Peter Lester was a conscientious workman, who won the fullest confidence and esteem of neighbors and friends. He was also a pious gentleman, being a mem- ber of the Methodist denomination. He did not make any display of himself, but preferred to keep in the back- ground rather than to try to appear conspicuous. In pol- itics he was a Democrat, but stood first of all for a correct and economical management of public affairs. He died July 4, 1869.
After Mr. Lister's death Mrs. Lister removed with her family to her present neat little home on South Wash- ington street. She also is a member of the Methodist church, to which she is strongly attached. She has proved to be a most admirable character, and her quiet demeanor as well as genuine social spirit have won for her an ever- widening circle of friends, who hope that many years may yet be open to her for greater usefulness and wider opportunities. She owns two hundred acres in Taylor township and one acre in Bloomfield upon which she makes her home.
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REV. HENRY FLORY.
Rev. Henry Flory, one of the most useful men of Richland township, Greene county, Indiana, is both a farmer and a minister, a man who is vigilant in regard to the moral uplift of his community. He was born February 26, 1852, and was ten years old when his fam- ily brought him to Greene county from Wayne county, Ohio. After attending the common schools he began to hire out when only eleven years old, and continued to work by the month on various farms until he was mar- ried : then he rented a farm which he worked for several years, having purchased his present farm of eighty acres in Richland township in 1902. His marriage occurred in 1872 to Mary Ann Shertzer, who was raised in the community where the subject now lives. She is the daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Black) Shertzer, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Greene coun- ty, Indiana, in 1856, settling in Richland township, where they farmed. William Shertzer was three times married, first to Elizabeth Bowers, who died, leaving one child, John, living at Bloomfield, Indiana ; his second wife was Elizabeth Black. and seven children were born to this union, namely: Ellen, who lives in Richland township. Greene county, the wife of Franklin Chipman : Mary Ann, wife of the subject of this sketch : Samuel, who lives in Bloomfield ; William, who lives in Richland township ; Ida, the wife of Wilson Trent, living in Highland town- ship : Margaret lives in the state of Washington, the wife of William Pope: David also lives in the state of Wash- ington. The third marriage of William Shertzer was to Elizabeth Blaker. Six children were born to this union,
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