USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume II > Part 9
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namely : Reuben, who lives in Bloomfield ; Theodore also lives there; Gurtha, the wife of Newton Miller, lives in Illinois ; Walter lives in Bloomfield; Hulda is the wife of Roy Buckner, living in Greene county, Indiana ; Edwin lives in Bloomfield: William Shertzer is a member of the Methodist church and a Democrat.
The subject and wife had ten children, as follows: Rosa, wife of Elmer Taylor, living in Martin county, In- diana. They have two children, Pearl and Lloyd. Flor- ence F., the second child of the subject, is the wife of Charles Sheppard, who lives in Stockton township, Greene county ; they have three children, Rovena, Olive and Dorotha. William N., the third son of the subject. lives in Illinois on a farm, and is single : Homer E., who married Lulu Quillen, also lives on a farm in Illinois ; James I., who married Ethel McCane, also lives in Illi- nois: David E., who married Cora Killinger, lives in that state; Harley also lives there: Hazel, Leona E. and Della Marie live at home.
Henry Flory is the son of Noah and Mariah ( Mil- ler) Flory, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio with their parents while children. There they grew up and married. The grandfather of the subject, who was also named Noah Flory, died in Ohio. The subject's father came to Indiana in 1863 and settled in Richland township, Greene county. He was a school teacher and worked on a farm between terms. He was also a cooper by trade. He and his wife were members of the Church of God and he was a Democrat. They had thirteen chil- dren, namely: Catherine, the wife of James Quaken- bush, who lives in Kansas; John lives in Richland town-
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ship. Greene county ; Henry, the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, the wife of William Stalcup, lives near the old home in Greene county ; Mary, Caroline, Mariah and Ellen, all deceased; Jacob lives in Richland township; Samuel lives on a farm in Illinois; Susan, the wife of Elsworth Watson, lives in Richland township; William Thomas also lives there. Noah Flory died in Richland township. His widow is still living.
The subject and his family are members of the Church of God. He has charge of four churches, two in Clay county, one in Daviess and one in Greene county, In- diana. He is thoroughly conversant with the Scriptures, and is a convincing and forceful speaker. Many have been converted under his teachings, and he wields a great influence for good in his community, and, in fact, in the three counties in which he is known and in which he has been preaching for twenty-three years. He is an in- dependent voter and is a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows at Bloomfield, Indiana. He has a well improved farm and lives in a neat and cosy cottage.
JAMES S. JAMES.
One of the most straightforward, energetic and suc- cessful business men of Linton, Greene county, Indiana, is James Samuel James, a brief review of whose active and honorable career we are glad to give prominent position in this work. for he is public-spirited and thoroughly in- terested in whatever tends to promote the general welfare
James S. James
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of the community, and for many years he has been num- bered among the valued and highly esteemed citizens of the county, having led such a well regulated life in every respect that his influence for good has been distinctly felt. At present he is one of the best known and most suc- cessful merchants of the thriving city of Linton.
Mr. James is a native of Stockton township, this county, where he was born January 26, 1863, the son of William and Elizabeth (Sharp) James, both natives of Monroe county, Indiana. The former rendered a valu- able service to his country during its darkest days by of- fering his services in her armies, having enlisted in Com- pany C, Twenty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in Feb- ruary, 1863, and served in all the work assigned to this regiment until the close of the war. The parents of our subject raised three children, of whom James S. is the youngest. His two sisters are Mrs. Mary Osborn and Mrs. Anna Sherwood, wife of Dr. B. M. Sherwood. Mr. and Mrs. William James died in Grant township, Greene county, Indiana, neither reaching old age, the former having died when fifty-six years old and the latter at the age of forty-one.
The James family is of Welsh origin, having been long established in America. The family of the subject's father came to Indiana from Virginia. James S. James made the best possible use of his time while attending the public schools and the Greene County Normal School, in which he made excellent grades and formed habits of close ap- plication which have made for his subsequent success. After leaving school he followed teaching for a period of fifteen years in his native county and his success and
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popularity in this work are attested to by all who had oc- casion to know of it.
But believing that the mercantile business offered more flattering inducements to his peculiar tastes, he formed a partnership with M. J. Aiken in 1898 in a gen- eral store, and for ten years they have continued to work in harmony, building up an excellent business and gain- ing the confidence and respect of a large number of cus- tomers throughout the township, and, in fact, from re- mote parts of the county. This firm has always tried to give its customers the best article possible at the most reasonable figure, thereby being able to hold an excellent patronage. They have a large and varied stock at all times, their trade being so brisk that no old goods are to be found on their shelves or out-of-date material in their stock. Mr. Aiken is also identified with the under- taking business.
Mr. James lives just outside the corporate limits of Linton, on the west, where he has nine acres of good land, which is used for growing fruits, vegetables and various products as well as for stock and poultry raising. Although he is a very busy man in connection with his store and other affairs, Mr. James gives a great deal of at- tention to his little farm, keeping it in first-class condition and in fine appearance.
The subject was united in marriage to Ella Osborn February 26, 1882, his wife being the daughter of David L. Osborn, whose father, William Osborn, was one of the very early pioneers of Greene county, in fact, the his- tory of this county from its earliest records down to the present time shows that the Osborn family has been
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prominently identified with it, numerous representatives now residing in Linton and vicinity.
Mr. and Mrs. James have four children living, namely : Mabel, the wife of John Shaw, of Linton; Wil- liam L. and Charles E., both employed at the mines near Linton, and Floyd O. is employed in the store under his father. Jesse and Lessie died in childhood.
The subject is associated with various fraternal or- ders, the most prominent of which are the Masonic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is the pres- ent worshipful master of Linton Lodge, No. 560, Free and Accepted Masons, this being his second term. He has been representive in the grand lodges of both the Masonic and the Odd Fellows, and a delegate to the head camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. His influence in these orders is widely felt, and he adheres to their doctrines in his daily life, as can be attested to by his wide circle of acquaintances and friends. Politically Mr. James is a Republican and an active worker in his party. He is at present ( 1898) the nominee of his party for the office of county treasurer, and his nomination is generally conceded to be a most fortunate one, owing to his popularity throughout the county and his ability to take charge of this important work. He is one of
the trustees of the First Methodist church in Linton, which church is the religious home of his family.
This happy household has long been regarded as one of the most worthy and hospitable in Linton.
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JOHN HENRY GHEEN.
John H. Gheen, a resident of Fair Play township, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, on the 5th of April, 1843. His parents, Thomas and Amy Gheen, were na- tives of Virginia, being pioneer settlers in that section of Ohio. They spent their days at farming and were members of the Christian church. They both reached advanced years, Mrs. Gheen acquiring the age of eighty- five years, while Mr. Gheen attained the remarkable age of one hundred years.
Their family consisted of the following children : William, a farmer and miner of Morgan county, Ohio, was at one time a mine superintendent ; George, who was a farmer, is now deceased; John H., our subject ; Sarah. Mary Ann, David, Emma and Charles are all living in the home county.
John received such education as the times afforded, and this consisted of the accommodations offered by the old-time school. The log school house which he at- tended had the characteristic puncheon floor and seats without backs, and the writing desk against the wall at the side of the room. He remained at home until he reached maturity, and was married on September 15, 1864, to Mary A. Thorn, a native also of Morgan county, Ohio, born March 20, 1846, and the daughter of David and Delila (Kinnison) Thorn, both natives of the Buck- eye state. David Thorn was of Welsh descent, while his wife was of English extraction. In 1865 the Thorn family came to Greene county, Indiana, and settled in
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Fair Play township. Mrs. Thorn died in 1870, having been the mother of ten children, as here enumerated : Frank, now residing at Corbin Hill, Ohio; Elizabeth, · now deceased, was the wife of William Rollison; Cath- erine, wife of John Gregg, is also deceased; William, liv- ing in Cooper county, Missouri; Lyman, now of Clinton county, Iowa; Ruby, married to Fern Harris, but both deceased ; Delilah, wife of our subject; Minerva, making her home with our subject; Nancy, now Mrs. Neidigh, of Switz City, and Maggie, is deceased.
After the death of his first wife David Thorn was united in marriage with Rebecca Getwood, who still sur- vives, and by whom he had one daughter, who married George Rollins but is now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Gheen have become the parents of five children-Eva, William, Lizzie, Margaret and Inez. These children were all educated in the home schools, and three, Eva, Margaret and Inez, have been engaged at various times in teaching. One son, James B. Smith, who was adopted into the family, is now living at Terre Haute.
In 1864, immediately after his marriage, Mr. Gheen and his wife came to Fair Play township and bought fif- teen acres of land. On this he began business as a nurs- eryman. In 1884 he made an additional purchase of seventy-six acres, upon which he now has his home, and which he has grealy improved. He succeds in obtaining good crops of oats, corn and wheat, and manages to cul- tivate with marked success such fruits as peaches, apples and plums. In addition to this he has given careful at- tention to the raising of good stock, and takes consid- erable pride in maintaining standard breeds.
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But we should fail to make this biography complete were we not to make mention of Mr. Gheen's military record, which forms a most precious heritage for a father to leave to his children. On August 1, 1862, he enlisted in Company C of the Ninety-seventh Ohio Infantry. He was sent to Zanesville, Ohio, from there to Cincinnati, and from thence to Covington, Kentucky. After remain- ing at Covington for six weeks the company was sent on a forced march to Nashville, Tennessee, where consider- able skirmishing took place. Upon falling ill. Mr. Gheen was consigned to the hospital at Scottsville, Kentucky. and later was transferred to Bowling Green, and from there to Cincinnati. Here it became apparent that the conflict with the disease contracted in the service could not be overcome and Mr. Gheen was compelled, reluc- tantly, to return to his home. This has been one matter of regret to him in subsequent life, not that he was not willing to endure the hardships of sickness, but that he was thus deprived of the privilege of further meeting ac- tive service in the field in defense of the flag.
In civil life, however, our subject has had some part, having served as coroner for four years and also as su- pervisor for the same length of time. In both of these offices he has conducted the affairs devolving upon him with straightforwardness and with credit to himself and constituents.
HELMER HOLMES.
Among the hard-working and genial farmers of Washington township, is Helmer Holmes, who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, April 22, 1851, the son of
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Jacob and Clemintine (Riddle) Holmes. The former was born in Floyd county, Indiana, July 24, 1813, being a son of Martin Holmes, who moved to Lawrence county in an early day. Jacob's wife was born in Center town- ship, Greene county, in 1822, and died March 25, 1862. Martin Holmes, who was killed by a tree falling on him, was a native of Maryland. Jacob, who was grown when the family moved to Lawrence county, married there and spent the remainder of his life in that community, dying June 7. 1896. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had the following children: Paris, who died in the army while a member of the Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Mary was born September 15, 1844, and died November 24, 1867; Almira married Levy Butcher and died in Kansas. Frances, the wife of John Richardson, who lives in Missouri; Helmer, the subject of this sketch; Ellen is living in Lawrence county: Milford also lives in that county ; Josephine died in infancy, as did also Sigel. Jacob Holmes married the second time, his last wife being Elizabeth Dicks. They had five children, namely : Oliver, living in Illinois; Thomas and Howard are both deceased ; Laura married Everett Wilson and resides in Center township, and Isabelle married a Mr. Proctor and resides in Terre Haute.
Helmer Holmes remained at home until he was nineteen years old, when he went to Kansas, later to Colorado, where he remained three years, farming and teaming. He returned to Indiana in 1873 and remained at home three years, when he married and came to Greene county, locating on the farm he now owns, which
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he first rented and bought later. It consists of two hun- dred and thirty acres.
The subject's wife was Abby Lamb, who was born in 1845 in Jackson township, Greene county, Indiana. She was the daughter of Hiram and Nancy (Hatfield) Lamb, natives of North Carolina, who were early settlers in Greene county. The subject and wife had eleven chil- dren, as follows: Thaddeus, who married Tessie Sex- son, living in Smith township, Greene county. They have three children, Kenneth, Hester and Ralph. Walter, the subject's second child, lives at home, as do also the fol- lowing children : Lew Wallace, Dugger, Logan, Roscoe, Harvey, Lenore, Victoria, Dewey and Max.
Mr. Holmes follows mixed husbandry and stock raising, favoring high-grade Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He is a Republican. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church at Bethany, Indiana.
Mr. Holmes ranks among the better class of farm- ers. He has good buildings, his soil is well tilled and everything about him shows evidence of taste and success.
DANIEL NEIDIGH.
Daniel Neidigh, one of Washington township's sub- stantial farmers, was born in Richland county Ohio, Au- gust 4, 1839. He is the son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Branstetter) Neidigh, the former a native of Pennsylva- nia, the latter a native of Maryland, who were early set-
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tlers of Ohio, but came to Greene county in 1848 when the subject was a small boy, the family first settling in Highland township, but moved to Washington township in 1853 and bought a piece of land, which was unim- proved, but they soon had it transformed into a good farm, which is now owned and occupied by Marion Jack- son. The parents of the subject were members of the Lutheran church. They had the following children : Catherine, widow of Thomas Benham, living in Wash- ington township; Barbara, wife of Marion Jackson, liv- ing on the old homestead ; Susan is the widow of Andrew Miller, who lives in Washington township; Daniel, the subject of this sketch; Abraham, who lives in Arkansas : Calvin, who lives in Linton, Indiana; Mary, deceased. The parents of the subject lived on the farm they first moved to in Washington township until they died.
The subject has spent practically all his life in the county. He got only a meager education in the old-time subscription schools, having been raised on his father's ·farm, where he remained until he was twenty-eight years of age. In 1867 he married Ellen Casey, a native of Ken- tucky, who died about 1889. Six children were born to this union, namely : Albert, Lendora, Emma Jane. Wil- liam W. and two infants, all deceased. Daniel Neidigh married the second time in 1892, his last wife being Eliz- abeth Meridath, who was born in Spencer county, In- diana, November 14, 1857, the daughter of David and Mary (Ault) Meridath, both now deceased. The Meri- dath family came from Ohio to Spencer county, Indiana. in an early day and later moved to Greene county, set- tling in Washington township on a farm now owned by
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the subject of this sketch. The Meridath family consist- ed of ten children : David Meridath was twice married, first to Caroline Ralph, to whom four children were born, namely: Ananias, who was a soldier in the Civil war, now deceased ; Benjamin, who was also a soldier, lives in Owensburg, Kentucky ; Newton, a soldier of the Twenty- fifth Indiana Volunteer Regiment. Company D. died De- cember 20. 1904: William David Meridath married the second time, his last wife being Mary Ault, to whom six children were born, namely: Alice, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of the subject; John, deceased: Fidelia; Martha, deceased : Roberta. Mrs. Neidigh is a member of the Methodist church.
The farm where the subject now lives was wild and in the woods when he moved on it, but he has cleared it and made general improvements until it is a good farm of forty acres with a good house which was erected in 1907. Other modern buildings are on the place. The subject and wife have no children, but they are raising a child. They are highly respected in their neighborhood. Mr. Neidigh is a Democrat.
HENRY WIGINTON.
Henry Wiginton, colored, is an energetic farmer of Washington township, who stands well in his community. He was born so long ago that he does not know the date, having been a slave on a plantation in Nelson county, Kentucky, and his history is one of interest. He remained in slavery until freed by President Lincoln's
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Emancipation Proclamation. His mother, Nellie Wig- ington, died in Kentucky.
After the war the subject came to Indianapolis, where he lived and worked at various occupations until 1870, when he bought a piece of unimproved land in Washington township, Greene county, moving thereto immediately and has since lived there, having cleared the land and otherwise improved it until he now has a good farm on which stands a comfortable house and barn. He has been raising first-class crops for many years, and also handles a good grade of stock. He engages in gen- eral farming, his farm consisting of one hundred and ten acres.
The subject married in Kentucky, his wife being Mary Jane Hunter, a native of that state. She was a good wife and mother and a member of the Baptist church. She met death in 1907 in an unfortunate manner, being killed by a railroad train while on a visit to her daughter in Gosport, Indiana, when she was chang- · ing cars.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiginton had twelve children, name- ly : Robert, Melvina, Mary Edna, Myles, all deceased ; Fabeus lives at Bloomfield ; Elonzo, who is single, lives at home and helps take care of the place; two children died unnamed ; Caldona lives at home, keeping house for her father; Frances is the wife of William Joiner, to whom three children have been born, namely: Calvin, Addie and Lettie. Dell is the youngest child of the sub- ject. He married Bertha Allen. They have two chil- dren, Beulah and Myrtle. Dell is a farmer living in Washington township. The subject votes the Republican ticket. His boys are also Republicans.
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LEVI HANNA.
When the ancestors of the subject of this sketch came to Indiana they found the vast forests inhabited by wild beasts and red men, but they feared neither, and forced the wild lands to yield a living. That same quality of persist- ence has come down to Levi Hanna, who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, January 9, 1835, and who is now a farmer in Richland township, Greene county. He is the son of Joseph T. and Lucy ( Mitchell) Hanna, the former a native of Jackson county, Indiana, and the lat- ter a native of North Carolina, being the daughter of Levi Mitchell and Celia (Davis) Mitchell, who came from North Carolina to Lawrence county, Indiana, in the dawn of the nineteenth century, and entered the land where the town of Bedford now stands, having come to this state in wagons over the mountain trails. Joseph T. Hanna and Lucy Mithcell were married in Lawrence county, and came to Greene county about 1858, settling in Wright township, where they bought wild land and raised the following children: Ambrose; Levi, the sub- ject of this sketch; Elizabeth; Isaac and Jesse, twins ; Celia, Rebecca Jane, Lemuel, Doctor; Abraham died in the army. Joseph T. Hanna was a minister of the Regular Baptist church for many years ; also he devoted much time to farming, and died in 1884, his wife surviv- ing until 1895. Levi Mitchell was also a minister of the Regular Baptist church. Ambrose, Lemuel and Doctor, three brothers of the subject, are ministers of the Gos- pel, all Baptists. Jesse, another brother, was also a preacher.
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
When the Hanna family came to Greene county, Levi Hanna, the subject, was a small boy, and he has spent his life farming in the same community ever since, living forty-three years in Wright township, and in 1901 came to his present farm in Richland township, consisting of one hundred and forty acres. He married Elmira Bur- cham in 1856. Her father, Solomon Burcham, was a soldier in the Mexican war. She died in 1871. They had the following children: Jasper, living in Portland, Oregon ; Joseph, living in Jasonville, Indiana; Levi, who died in infancy ; Alice, wife of John Miller, of Stockton township; Schuyler, living in Jasonville. The subject's second marriage was to Sarah A. Nichalson on August 21, 1872. She was born in Daviess county, Indiana, in 1849, the daughter of Levi and Rhoda Jane (Carpenter) Nichalson, the former a native of Greene county, and the latter a native of Tennessee. Levi Nichalson was a Mex- ican war veteran, having performed gallant service all through the campaign in Mexico. He was a Repub- lican, an an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church. The Nichalson family consisted of thirteen chil- dren, namely: Sarah, Isaac, Lucinda, Timothy; Mary and Martha, twins; Abner, George, Leah; Manda and Maranda, twins; Parnelius, Levi. Mr. Nichalson died April 25. 1898. His widow is still living in Daviess county, Indiana.
The subject of this sketch and his second wife have had five children, namely : Sarah Jane, the wife of Charles Crawl, living in Worthington, Indiana; Lulu, wife of Samuel Sparks, living in Richland township: Aden, who lives on his father's farm, having married Goldie Shep-
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man; Martha, the wife of George R. Baker, living in Jasonville, Indiana.
Levi Hanna, the subject, enlisted in Company K, the Fifty-first Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Decem- ber 16, 1861, serving three years in the Third Division, Fourth Corps. He was in the following battles: Pitts- burg Landing, Savannah, Hall's Gap, Blue Ridge, Vicks- burg, Antietam, Maryville, Murfreesborough, Sequachy Valley, Franklin, and many skirmishes. He was one of the six hundred soldiers sent to Rome, Georgia, to burn the foundry. He was captured there and sent to Libby prison, where he remained seven months. He got out of prison by pretending to be a Confederate soldier. He then came home on a furlough and later guarded pris- oners at Indianapolis, after which he rejoined his regi- ment. He was discharged at Franklin, Tennessee, in 1864, and came home.
The subject is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church, and are highly respected in their neigh- borhood.
WILLIAM THATCHER STALCUP.
William Thatcher Stalcup, a modern farmer, found the old home place good enough in which to spend his life, so he never cared to try his fortune in alien fields, spending his days in Washington township, where he was was born May 15, 1841. He got a very limited education in the old-time subscription schools and worked on his
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