Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 17

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034

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The noble Christian life of Rev. John Hubert came to a peaceful close on Thursday afternoon, January 21, 1904. From his life and its work his eulogist drew some inspiring lessons, and in these he called attention to Mr. Hubert's loyalty to God. And in his loyalty he com- bined a complete absence from pretension and hypocrisy. In addition to his loyalty came second his patriotism, and none excelled him in his devotion to his country and her flag. The third point brought out in the eulogy was his Christian patience, and it was said that the longer he lived the more patient and kindly he became, so that his last years passed in weakness and suffering, were never a burden upon those who cheerfully and gladly cared for him. In the words of Rev. Arnold he could say as did the Apostle Paul at the close of his life: "I am now ready to be offered, for the time of my departure is at hand, I have

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fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, henceforth there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me."

On July 4, 1849, Rev. John Hubert was united in marriage with Caroline E. Clark. Their marriage was solemnized under the roof of her father's old home, a log house with clapboards, still standing on the farm of Mr. Hubert. Caroline F. Clark was born in Pennsylvania, September 12, 1826, and was brought to Fairmount township in Grant county, a child of eleven years in 1837. Her parents were James and Sarah E. (Simons) Clark. Her maternal grandfather, Captain Simons, served in the Revolutionary war, thus introducing another military ancestor in the family relationship of Mr. James A. Hubert. Sarah E. Simons was born March 16, 1796, in Pennsylvania, in which state her husband was born February 10, 1794. They were married in that state on the banks of the Susquehanna river. James Clark began his career as a lumber rafter, which hardy occupation he combined with the more peaceful pursuits of farming. In 1837 he and his family came west, spending one season in Ohio, and then on to Grant county, He bought one hundred and eight acres in section twelve of Fairmount township, purchasing the land from John Dilley and paying ten dollars an acre. There he lived and died and improved a home, and at his death in 1876 was owner of two hundred and sixteen acres. Turning aside for a moment from following out the family history, attention will be given to that old Clark home, now owned by James A. Hubert. The house was erected about eighty-five years ago, and was built of logs, as a frame work. Later Mr. Clark covered those logs with weatherboards, and the entire structure is still in good repair. The logs were hewed on the farm, and the boards were also sawed there. The lime for the plaster and mortar for filling in the chinks and making the plaster was burned from lime rock which was obtained on the farm. That was a pioneer species of manufacturing such as perhaps few are now familiar with. The limestone was piled upon huge heaps of logs, and then the entire pile was fired and in the intense heat thus generated, the rock was reduced to lime. The timber entering into the construction of that old home was of walnut, poplar, and white oak, and of the very finest grade, all of the trees being cut from the farm. This wood is still well preserved, and the entire house is an excellent illustration of the substantial char- acter of pioneer housebuilding. It is due to the care and veneration of Mr. Hubert for the past that this home is so well preserved. Among the articles of old-time household furniture still kept there is a very old spinning wheel once used by his Grandmother Clark. There is also her teapot of a special pattern engraved with the United States emblem, a shield and eagle and thirteen stars. There are two articles, implements used by his Grandfather Clark, one being a hand-made frow and the other a lath hatchet. On this old homestead and in the old home, Grand- father James Clark died in 1878, while his wife died in 1884. They were members of the Methodist Protestant church, and in politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican. There were ten Clark children. James Clark, Jr., now lives in Fairmount City. One of the daughters, Mrs. John O. Havens, lives in Fowlerton, Grant county, and was ninety- three years of age on the twenty-third of February, 1913.

To the marriage of Rev. John Hubert and Caroline F. Clark were born four sons and one daughter, namely: Daniel, James, William, Granville, and Rinta. William died at the age of seven, and Rinta, when eleven years of age. Daniel now lives as a retired farmer in Jonesboro, and has two sons and a daughter. Granville is a fruit farmer in the state of California, and has three daughters and one son. The mother of this family, Mrs. Caroline Hubert was a splendid Christian woman.

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MRS. DANIEL MARINE

DANIEL MARINE

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and always a great help to her husband in all his undertakings. Her death occurred September 4, 1895.

James A. Hubert grew up and was educated in Pleasant township of Grant county, where he lived until 1877. Since that time his home has been on the farm of one hundred and sixteen acres in Fairmount township, a portion of the estate owned by his Grandfather Clark. As already stated, he has a beautiful new home, an attractive dwelling house, white with dark trimmings, and in the rear stands a fine red barn. He has prospered as a farmer, is a man of vigorous enterprise in every undertaking, and has well upheld the substantial traditions of his family.

In Grant county, on October 19, 1882, Mr. Hubert married Anto- nette Hamilton. She was born in Delaware county, Indiana, December 26, 1858, and was a baby when brought to Grant county. Her parents John M. and Ann S. (Hooper) Hamilton, were both natives of Adams county, Ohio, her father born in 1826 and her mother in 1827. In that county they were married, came to Indiana in 1858, and after a year in Delaware county, moved to Green township of Grant county. John M. Hamilton had a farm, and also contributed to the industrial resources of the county by operating a shingle factory. His death occurred Sep- tember 1, 1877, in Green township. His wife died there February 13, 1872. The Hamilton family were members of the Christian church, and Mr. Hamilton was in politics a Democrat. There were eleven children of the Hamilton name, four sons and seven daughters. One son and two daughters are still living.

Mr. and Mrs. Hubert became the parents of three children. Lodesta A., born January 28, 1884, was educated in the public schools, and is the wife of Eli Carter, who lives near Jonesboro. They have one son Hubert W., born November 17, 1910. Evaline died at the age of nineteen months, while John H. died at the age of one year and twenty-three days. The wife and mother, Mrs. James A. Hubert, met a sad and untimely death on September 30, 1913, when the carriage in which she was driving was struck by a fast train at the railroad crossing at Jones- boro, and she was instantly killed. During her residence in this com- munity she grew in honor and esteem and her memory will be revered by the many friends which she drew about her. Mr. Hubert is a member of the Methodist church, as was also his wife, and he is a Republican in politics.

DANIEL MARINE. No family in Grant county stands higher in the scale of intelligence and culture than that of Daniel Marine and wife, whose beautiful country home is in section eight of Jefferson township. They are people who both come from pioneer stock, have lived long and experienced deeply of life, have done much more than make a home and pile up material prosperity for their later years, for at the same time they have looked well to those things which are of the higher and better life, and have gained a great amount of the respect and affection which are among the best rewards of living.

Concerning the name a family tradition runs that it gets its origin from some early disaster by sea, in which either some of the family were lost at sea, or were saved from a storm, an incident which created a permanent name for all subsequent generations. Daniel Marine's grandfather was Jonathan Marine, born near Fayetteville, North Caro- lina, about 1780. Of good old southern stock, and of Quaker faith he married a Quakeress, Hannah Moorman, of North Carolina. During their residence in North Carolina, most of their children were born, and in 1813 the grandparents moved north and found a home in

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Wayne county, Indiana, where so many of their Quaker brethren had preceded them. They located near Fountain City in that county, where Jonathan Marine died at the age of forty-five. His widow survived many years, and also died in that county. Their children were: John, William (Billy), Jonathan J., and Asa, and also several daughters.

Asa Marine was born in North Carolina, August 3, 1803, was ten years of age when he came to Wayne county, grew up on a farm, and was married near Fountain City to Lydia Huff, who was born in North Carolina, about 1808. Her father, Jesse Huff, moved with his family to Wayne county at a very early date. That was years before railroads were built, and the Huffs and also the Marines accom- plished this long journey between the Atlantic Coast and the Middle West with wagons and teams. Jesse Huff and wife were Quakers and spent their lives . in Wayne county. After his marriage, Asa Marine continued to live in Wayne county, until 1842, when he moved to Grant county. His first purchase of land was in Fairmont township, and later he located in Jefferson, where in time he became the owner of a large estate of four hundred acres. His land was regarded and still is considered to be the finest in quality and general fertility in the northern section of the township. Its situation is along the west side of the Mississenwa River. Many years were busily employed by him in the development of that estate, and with the improvements which he introduced it became an ideal farm. Among the ways in which he increased its value and made it attractive not only for farming purposes, but also as a home was the pretentious brick house, containing ten rooms, and basement, which he had constructed in 1860. At that time there were few residences in the county that equalled it in size and equipment and furnishings. The interest in the old homestead is increased by the fact that it was mainly a home product. The lumber that entered into its construction originally grew in trees on the farm and was cut and sawed on the place, the brick was dug and burned in kilns on the land, and a limestone quarry in the same vicinity fur- nished the rock which was burned for the lime. However, the feature which gave it special distinction and set it off as an aristocratic dwelling far in advance of those in Grant county at that time, were the imported French glass windows, which were both rare and somewhat costly. Asa Marine continued to live in that home and supervise his large interests until his death in February, 1876. His wife had passed away some years previously at the age of seventy-five years. Both were birthright Quakers. The children of Asa and wife were: Keziah, who died young; Mary A., who, after her marriage to John Wise, died, leaving a son and daughter, also now deceased; Julia, who married James Ballenger, and both are deceased, leaving several children; Eliza- beth, the widow of Jacob Wise, a well known farmer in Jefferson town- ship; and Daniel.

Daniel Marine, whose family relations have thus been sketched, was born in Wayne county, near Fountain City, March 1, 1841. When he was eighteen months old his parents moved to Grant county. Here he grew to manhood, had his early training in the country schools, was trained under the supervision of his father in the management of the farm, and has always been identified with the old place, having a portion of the homestead as his present farm, including the old brick residence previously described, and which is now one of the interesting landmarks in that section of the county. It is still in a good state of repair, and a comfortable dwelling for the Marine family, whose asso- ciations and early memories all go back and center about that delightful

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old home. Besides the dwelling, Mr. Marine in his time has improved and built several new farm buildings, and keeps his place up to the highest state of efficiency as a model stock and grain farm. He raises and feeds a large number of high grade live stock.

Mr. Marine was just at the entrance to young manhood when the Civil war broke out, and he enlisted August 11, 1862, in Company I, 101st Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served until close of the war, was discharged June 24, 1865, near Louisville, Kentucky. Daniel Marine belonged to the 14th Army Corps, under Gen. George H. Thomas and later under Gen. Jeff C. Davis. He participated in thirty or more battles and engagements but was never injured or captured. He was very sick, however, for seven months, practically all this time being in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. While he was in the hospital his regiment participated in their fiercest battle, that of Chickamauga, where the regiment was practically cut to pieces. Daniel Marine was with his regiment at the Siege of Atlanta and went with Sherman on his historic March to the Sea and during that march there wasn't a day for four months that they did not hear the firing of cannon, being practi- cally under fire all that time. He was with Sherman's Army, near Raleigh, North Carolina, when General Johnson surrendered to General Sherman. Mr. Marine reached home from the war July 2, 1865. His public service did not cease with his return from the army, and he has always manifested an intelligent and progressive interest in the local welfare. His politics is Republican, and for nineteen years he served as assessor, and trustee for four years, and at the present time is chair- man of the advisory township board.

In Monroe township of this county, Mr. Marine married Miss Mary E. Wright, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, October 29, 1846. Mrs. Marine has well upheld her responsibilities of motherhood and as a homemaker, and is one of the best loved women in this part of the county. Her grandparents, Samuel and Jane (Taylor) Wright, were early settlers of Preble county, Ohio. Samuel Wright, born in Ireland, came with a brother when a young man to America, located first in Greenbrier county, in Western Virginia, and after his marriage Samuel moved to Pennsylvania, and finally to Preble county, Ohio, where he died at the age of ninety years; his wife was seventy when she passed away and both were Presbyterians. Robert Wright, father of Mrs. Marine, was born in Preble county, Ohio, January 15, 1816, was reared on a farm, and was married to Catherine Price, who was born in Preble county in 1813, and died November 28, 1885, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Cook) Price. Robert Wright and wife lived in Preble county until 1849, then came to Grant county, buying eighty acres of land in Monroe township, which was their home until they retired to the village of Upland, where Robert Wright died February 13, 1895, at the age of seventy-nine, having been born in 1816. His wife was born in the same year and died November 28, 1885. They were both Quakers in religion.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Marine are mentioned as fol- lows : Charles O., born December 16, 1868, and died November 14, 1899, married Carrie Shaw, who is living and has a son Glenn M., who mar- rier Nora Kiser, and they have one child, Ortha E. Flora C. was born March 11, 1870, and died May 7, 1890, leaving one child, now Mrs. Epha A. Miller, who has two children, Leota and Grace Etta. Henry C., born March 6, 1876, and now employed with the Big Four Railroad at Beech Grove, Indiana. He married Blanche Bole, and their two children, Delight and Lewis, are both in school. Minnie A., born August 7, 1879, educated in the grade schools, married William Bragg of Jef- Vol. II- 8

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ferson township, Grant county, and they have one child, Earl, born October 7, 1896, and a member of the Upland high school class of 1914. Arthur L., born April 29, 1882, educated at Upland, and in the Val- paraiso Normal College and an Indianapolis business college, has for a number of years been identified with banking and the loan business and now has his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He married Josephine Heland of Marion, and they have a daughter, Dorothy. Gladys C., graduated from the grade schools in 1903, and from the Upland high school in 1907, from the State University at Bloomington in 1913, and for four years taught school in Jefferson township. Mr. and Mrs. Marine are both active members of the Friends church.

ALVIN J. WILSON. Grant county, Indiana, is in a large degree agri- cultural, but its flourishing towns and villages, its large and prosperous manufactories, its modern educational institutions, prove that a vigorous life underlies every activity, although here, as in every section of the world, dependence is necessarily placed upon the products of the land and the labor of those who develop it. No matter how men may toil, or how much they may achieve in any direction, they must all be fed, and it is the agriculturist, in the background, who provides for the survival of mankind. Happily there are, in Grant county, contented owners of land who intelligently and willingly carry on the peaceful pursuits of tilling the soil and, although they do not seek such a term of approbation, are, nevertheless, benefactors of the race. They are often men of wide in- formation on many subjects, usually are qualified for offices of public service, for the proper cultivation of the soil and a realization of its utmost yield, requires knowledge on many subjects. The vital questions in farming are national. They concern the safeguarding of fertility; the increasing of yields of crops and the production of animals; the reduction of costs of production; the elimination of wastes in marketing; cooperation to guard the farmer's interests and increase his profits; the improvement of his home and community for his family. It is not always the owner of extensive tracts who is the most successful farmer, as is attested by the career of Alvin J. Wilson, of section twenty-three, Fairmount township, who, upon a tract of fifty acres, is producing crops far in advance in size and quality to those of many of his fellow-citizens in the county who have double his amount of land. Mr. Wilson has mastered his vocation in every particular, and as one of the men who are developing the best interests of his community, he is eminently deserv- ing of extended mention in a work of this nature.

Alvin J. Wilson is of Scotch-English ancestry. His grandfather, John Wilson, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, about the year 1795, and was reared in the faith of the Quakers, early engaging in agricultural pursuits. In his native county he was united in marriage with Miss Mary (Polly) Winslow, who was also born in that county, about the year 1800, and was a faithful member of the Friends' Church. After the birth of all of their children, between the years 1836 and 1838 Mr. and Mrs. Wilson left their home in the Old North State, and emi- grated with teams and wagons, in true pioneer style, to Wayne county, Indiana, there settling temporarily in the Quaker settlement in the vicinity of Richmond. Some years later they came on to Grant county, locating on a farm in section six, the south part of Fairmount township. After taking up and improving a farm from the virgin soil, they lived on that farm many years, then disposed of their property and moved to Fairmount, and here spent the remainder of their lives, the father passing away when about seventy years of age, about the time of the close of the Civil War, while his widow survived him some years and was past

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seventy years of age at the time of her demise. They became the parents of seven sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to maturity and became the heads of families, and all now deceased with the excep- tion of Samuel, who is now aged more than seventy years. All of the children were birthright Quakers.

Of the ten children of John and Mary (Winslow) Wilson, Nathan D. Wilson, the father of Alvin J. Wilson, was the second child and was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, in 1818. He was a young man when he accompanied his parents to Indiana and resided at home until after the family came to Grant county. He was married in Fairmount township to Miss Mary Hill, who was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, in 1822, and who came to Wayne county, Indiana, as a child with her parents, Aaron and Nancy Hill. After living in Wayne county for some years the Hill family came to Grant county and located on new land on the Jonesboro and Fairmount turnpike, and there both Mr. and Mrs. Hill passed away when well advanced in years. They were devout Quakers throughout their lives, and attended meetings at all times indicated by that faith, at all hazards and at any sacrifice. They were the parents of five sons and three daughters, and all grew to be aged people, although only one child still survives, Nathan Hill, who lives in Mill township, is married and has a large family.

After his marriage, Nathan Wilson embarked in agricultural pursuits on his own account, on a farm on Fairmount township, a part of which lay within the city limits of Fairmount, while a part lay just outside. There through years of industry, perseverance and good management, he was successful in developing a handsome and valuable farm from the green woods, and at the time of his death, in February, 1881, he was known as one of the substantial men of his community. His widow survived him for many years and died November 21, 1909, at the home of her son, Alvin J. Wilson, having attained to the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Both birthright Quakers, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were ever active in the work of their faith, and both became early elders in the Fairmount Friends' Church. Before and during the war between the States, Mr. Wilson was a stalwart anti-slavery man, and for a number of years his home was an important station in the so-called Underground Railroad, which assisted fugitive slaves on their way to the North and freedom. A Republican in political matters, he took an active and influ- ential part in township affairs, although he never cared for public office. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson became the parents of five sons and eight daughters, of whom all grew to maturity with the exception of one daughter who died at the age of nine years, the other daughters all passing away after marriage. Four of the sons are still living, namely : Joseph, a prominent retired merchant of Newburg, Oregon, who is married and has two children; Henry, a sheep grower and wool dealer of Big Sandy, Montana, who has also been married but whose wife is now deceased; Alvin J .; and Thomas, editor and proprietor of the Formosa Spirit, of Formosa, Kansas, who is married and has a family.

Alvin J. Wilson was born November 20, 1859, in Grant county, Indiana, and was educated in the local schools. In his boyhood he divided his time between attendance at school and assisting his father in the work of the home farm, thus receiving early training in agricul- tural pursuits which has been of inestimable value to him in his subse- quent operations. He has always devoted himself to the tilling of, the soil, and is now the owner of fifty acres of fine land in section twenty- three, Fairmount township. On this he has erected a modern residence, painted drab, a substantial barn, well-built silo and other buildings, all substantial in character and pleasing in architectural design. Mr.

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Wilson does his own work and does it well, and although he has but fifty acres under cultivation, he produces crops that will compare favorably with those of any agriculturist of his township. He raises corn, oats, clover and alfalfa, and finds a ready market for his product. He has also been successful in his stock raising ventures, and his cattle are well-fed, sleek and content. All in all, his property has a most pleasing and pros- perous appearance, and, Mr. Wilson is to be congratulated for what he has accomplished by his conscientious endeavors.

Mr. Wilson was married in Fairmount township, to Miss Margaret R. Neal, who was born at Marion, Indiana, January 5, 1857, and there reared and educated, daughter of William Neal, a native of Ohio, and an early settler of Grant county. He spent the greater part of his life at Marion, where he was a well known educator and county official, serving for some years as surveyor and auditor, and also well known as a historian, having taken a prominent part in the compilation of a county atlas and county history in 1896. He died when past seventy years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson there have been born two sons : Chester W., who was born October 21, 1880; and Clyde N., born February 5, 1883. Chester W. Wilson was educated in the city schools of Fairmount, Fairmount Academy and Purdue University, and after his graduation from the latter institution, served one year as mechanical engineer on the con- struction of the Panama Canal. He is now chief mechanical engineer of construction work for the Guggenheims, with his home at Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Wilson married Ava Armstrong, of Indiana, and they have had two sons : Leroy, aged five years; and Frank, who is three years old. Clyde N. Wilson was given good educational advantages, and has been engaged in work of an educational nature, being at this time prin- cipal and manager of the Wisconsin Business College, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He married Miss Ila Jacobs, and they have two sons, Walter T., who is five years of age; and Richard, aged three years.

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 17

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034