Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 30

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

USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 30

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. and Mrs. Lyon are both members of the Shiloh Methodist Epis- copal church, in which his father served as a trustee, and he is presi- dent of the board. In politics he is a Democrat. Mr. Lyon shows much appreciation of history and of old relics, especially of a family nature. In his home one of the most interesting articles is an old wall or shelf clock, which was bought in 1828 by his grandfather and which is still in good repair and keeps excellent time. He also values as an heirloom a padlock that came from Ireland with his Mc Vicker ancestors, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, and is said to have been from a trunk or locker which the McVicker emigrant ancestor brought to this coun- try with him.

HENRY H. BLINN. One of the really successful and admirable young men in Marion, Indiana, is Henry H. Blinn, the assistant cashier of the Marion National Bank. He has risen to his present position through hard work and a steady application to business. Although yet in his

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forties he has had many years of practical experience and his business ability and financial training have won for him the confidence, not only of the officials of the bank but also of the general public.

Henry H. Blinn is a son of Samuel A. Blinn and Rebecca (Ray- pholtz) Blinn, both of whom were born in Grant county. His parents are still living and reside on a farm in Washington township. Henry H. Blinn was born in Franklin township, Grant county, Indiana, on the 21st of August, 1866. He received his earlier education in the public schools of Franklin and Washington townships, and after completing his preparatory work he entered Lebanon University at Lebanon, Ohio, where he remained for a time. After this he became a student in Valparaiso University, at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he took a business course. After his education was complete Mr. Blinn spent fourteen years as a teacher in Grant county, Indiana, and in Iroquois county, Illinois. It was in 1896 that Mr. Blinn entered the business world and became deputy recorder of Grant county. He served for five years in this office and then, in 1901, became a bookkeeper in the Jason Wilson and Company Exchange Bank. This bank was later merged with the Marion National Bank and Mr. Blinn remained with the latter institu- tion. He advanced from bookkeeper to higher offices and has now reached that of assistant cashier.

Mr. Blinn is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, a member of Marion Lodge No. 105. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Marion Lodge No. 96. In religious matters, both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Blinn being a steward in the same. Politically Mr. Blinn holds to the Republican faith.

Mr. Blinn was married on September 5, 1894, to Miss Martha Nice- wanger, a daughter of William H. Nicewanger of Van Buren township and a representative of one of the prominent families of Grant county .: One son, Everett W. has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blinn.

GEORGE WHITE. One of the pioneers of the past generation and one of the men who played no small part in the history of Grant county, Indiana, is George White, now deceased, but for many years a powerful factor in the business life of Marion and of Grant county. He was one of the pioneers who not only had the courage and physical endurance to face life in the wilderness, but he was also of the type that could see into the future, and he realized the structure which was to be reared in that rich middle western section and helped to lay its firm foundation.

George White was a native of Ireland, having been born in County Donegal, in 1805. His parents emigrated to America a few years after his birth, but on the way they were captured by the British, and were detained at Halifax for two years, until the War of 1812, settled for all time the question of the freedom of the United States from the yoke of Great Britain. Upon reaching the United States the family made their way westward and settled at Cadiz, Ohio, where they lived for many years, with the exception of a break of three years when they resided at Warren, Ohio. It was in 1840 that they came to Grant county and located in Marion, and here George White was to spend the remainder of his life. He first engaged in the dry goods business and for many years was one of the most successful merchants in Marion. He built the Iroquois building, one of the leading buildings of the city, and con- ducted his store in this building for many years. `He always had farm- ing interests in Grant county and although he retired from the mer- cantile business many years before his death, he personally managed his farm up to the time of his death. At one time he was county commis-

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sioner of Grant county, and he always took a keen interest in the public affairs of the county. In the religious world he was a member of the Methodist church.

George White married March 16, 1829, at Cadiz, Ohio, Miss Nancy M. Knox, who was an aunt of former Secretary of State, Philander C. Knox. Ten children were born to George and Nancy White and of these six grew to maturity. Sarah White Mather, of Marion, is now the only living child. Of the others, William White was the eldest and lived in Marion; Edgar and James also lived in Marion; Amanda was the wife of Thomas D. Thorp of Marion; and Helen married R. W. Bailey, of Marion. George White died in Marion in July, 1893, at the age of eighty-six.

Mrs. Sarah White Mather, the only living child, is one of the most popular women in Marion. She has been a resident of this city for many years and has been a leader in many ways. She was born in Cadiz, Ohio, July 26, 1836, and married Charles D. Mather. Her hus- band was born at Muncie, Indiana, February 24, 1833, but he came to Marion when he was a boy of nineteen and spent the remainder of his life here. He was first employed as a clerk in the store of his uncle, Aaron Swayzee, and after a number of years in which he gathered valu- able experience he went to the store of Goldthwaite and Company, as a clerk. He became so valuable to his employers that he was rapidly pro- moted and after a time came to have an interest in the store. Later in life he engaged in the grain business and in the agricultural implement business, and he continued in this line until he was forced to retire from business on account of ill health. He died on the 16th of December, 1907. Mr. Mather enlisted in August, 1862, in the 12th Regiment Indiana Volunteers and was in service until October, 1864, when he was dis- charged. He became first lieutenant in Company C and was later advanced to acting captain. "Onward, Christian Soldier" applies to soldiers of his class as he carried his religion with him in his defense of his country.

Mr. Mather was a member of the Methodist church and was an active member of the church. He was married to Miss Sarah White on the 20th of March, 1866, and one daughter, Helen Louise, was born of this union, also a little boy, who died at the age of six years. Mrs. Mather and her daughter reside in the home on Branson street, and Miss Mather is unusually gifted along musical lines.

LEVI MOORMAN. It is a grateful distinction to have spent three quar- ters of a century in one community, and when those years have been filled with worthy accomplishments and with that old-fashioned spirit of loving-kindness, such a career becomes one deserving of admiration and worthy of perpetuation in any history of a county in which it has been spent. Levi Moorman, now living retired in Matthews, is one of the oldest native sons of Grant county, and now lives surrounded by his son and grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. Levi Moorman has reached a patriarchal age, and his years are well set off by his dignified appearance and characteristics, reminding one of the typical southern gentleman.

The Moorman family, which has been identified with Grant county for eighty years, comes of Welsh ancestry. The grandfather of Levi was born in Wales, and with a brother emigrated to the United States more than a century ago. While the brother located either in Pennsyl- vania or Virginia, the grandfather went to South Carolina, and found a home on the Big Pee Dee River, where he passed away in the prime of life, leaving two sons and one daughter. His occupation was that of

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farming. These children were Lewis, Zacariah, who married and had a family, and the daughter married Jonathan Frazier.

Lewis Moorman, father of Levi, was a small child when his father died, and his mother, who was a native of South Carolina, in 1811 emi- grated north with her little family to Orange county, Indiana, locating near Paoli, where she remained until her death at a good old'age. She was a remarkable woman in many ways, had the physical vigor and the executive ability of the sterner sex, and in Orange county she established and developed a homestead, and was one of the early horticulturists in that vicinity, raising fine crops of peaches and other fruits. Lewis Moor- man grew up on that farm in Orange county, and in early life acquired the trade of blacksmith. On reaching his majority he removed to New- port, now Fountain City, Wayne county, Indiana, and there set up his smithy. Some time later he married in Wayne county, Sarah Thomas, who was born in North Carolina, about 1820, and was a small child when she came north to Wayne county with her parents, Stephen and Hannah (Wilcutt) Thomas. The Thomas family located in Indiana during the late twenties. Stephen Thomas was a practical mechanic and followed the trade of tinner and cabinet maker for some years, but in Wayne county, his energies were chiefly directed to the clearing up and developing of a tract of wild land, which eventually became a good farm- stead, and was the home of Stephen Thomas and wife until the end of their lives. His death occurred when about seventy years of age, while his widow was more than ninety-three years old at death. They were both Orthodox Quakers. Their children numbered six.

After Lewis Moorman married he followed his trade of blacksmith for some years, but in 1833 abandoned it, and moved away from the somewhat well settled community of Wayne county to the frontier of Grant county. In this county he became one of the original land holders, getting a tract by entry, direct from the government. His location was in Union township, which was later named Fairmount township, and there he lived and followed the quiet vocation of farming, until he was past seventy-five years of age. His winters during the last years of his life were spent in the home of a daughter in Iowa, and in that state he died in 1900. His wife had passed away about ten years before aged sixty-eight. She died in the Quaker faith, but late in life Lewis Moorman joined the United Brethren Church, and died in that belief. In early life his ballot was cast in behalf of Whig candidates, and later he was a Republican. There were five sons and four daughters in the family, all of whom grew up and all married but two sons, Nathan, the oldest brother, who died unmarried at the age of twenty-five; Steven, the youngest brother, who died in army during Civil War. The living sons are: Levi and Zachariah. Zachariah is married and lives in Jewel county, Kansas. He was a gallant soldier during the Civil war and in one engage- ment within five minutes time was shot in six different places, and never afterwards has been in good health. The two sisters still living are Jane, widow of Ira Howell, whose home is in Iowa, and who has one son and three daughters, and Theresa, wife of John W. Jones, a farmer in Jeffer- son township, and they have two sons and three daughters.

Levi Moorman, who was the second son and fourth child in the family, was born in Fairmount township in Grant county, May 16, 1838. His early life was spent in that vicinity, and his recollection includes the earliest pioneer days, when log cabins were numerous as homes, when the schools were conducted under the subscription plan, long before rail- roads were any where near Grant county, and when life was a very simple matter compared with the complexity of the present. His advan- tages in the way of schools were limited by the conditions of the time,

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but he possessed a superior natural talent and intellect, and has never been seriously handicapped in his struggle with fortune. Sometime after becoming of age, he bought eighty acres of wild land, in Jefferson township, and that was the nucleus around which he built up his fortune. His eighty acres was increased under his management to one hundred and thirty-six acres, and was well improved with a large grain and stock barn, grain sheds, and a comfortable seven-room house, altogether making an attractive and valuable rural estate. Under his management prac- tically no land was allowed to go to waste, and the Moorman farm has long been regarded as almost a model in that community. In 1910 Mr. Moorman suffered a stroke of paralysis and retired to Matthews, where he has since almost entirely recovered his health and now enjoys the comforts of a good home on Seventh Street.

Mr. Moorman was married in Jefferson township, to Miss Lavina Lucas. Mrs. Moorman was born in Jefferson township, August 22, 1841, and is a sister of the present county commissioner, Thomas J. Lucas, whose family sketch elsewhere in this publication will give the details in the history of the Lucas household. Mrs. Moorman was carefully reared and educated in the public and city schools of Marion, and is a cultured and very capable wife and mother. They are the parents of one son, Albert A., who was born March 12, 1865, was educated in the public schools, and now owns and operates a fine farm of eighty acres in Jef- ferson township. Albert Moorman married Rachel Dorton, of Delaware county, and they are the parents of three children, as follows: Beatrice, living at home; Clyde, who married Grace Johnson and occupies his grandparents' farm, and they have one daughter, Delight, born August 12, 1911; and Ralph, living at home.

JOEL DULING. A life of quiet effectiveness, marked by a record of many duties well done, and many responsibilities faithfully fulfilled, was that of the late Joel Duling, who was born in Jefferson township of Grant county, April 13, 1844, spent all his career in this county, and died on his fine rural homestead in Jefferson township, June 17, 1910. In early life he was a soldier, bearing arms in defense of the Union, spent many active years as a substantial farmer, and left a record both in business and citizenship, which may well be envied and admired.

The late Joel Duling was a son of Rev. Solomon and Jane (Hubert) Duling, both natives of Ohio, who after their marriage moved to In- diana, during the decade of the thirties and entered land direct from the government in Jefferson township of Grant county. There they were pioneers, did their share of work, contributing towards the develop- ment of the country, and lived blameless and upright lives. Solomon Duling made a good home for his family, and died in Jefferson township when fifty-seven years of age, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty-four. He was one of the pioneer preachers of the Methodist Protestant faith, in this section of Indiana, and a detailed record of his experiences would include much of the pioneer history, not only of his church, but of the people and community. He bore almost unnumbered hardships often exposed himself by swimming the swollen streams on horseback, and during the winter times his clothing would often freeze while riding along the lonely roads between different meetings. He was a devoted church worker, and labored earnestly for the spiritual upbuilding of his community. His death occurred in 1871. His wife was likewise a faithful member of the same church. They had eleven children, five of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, three were married and two are still living. John lives on a farm in Jefferson township, and the daughter Sina M. is the wife of Burton R. Jones, liv-

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JOEL DULING AND WIFE

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ing in Marion, and they are the parents of a son and a daughter. Three .

of the Duling household were soldiers in the Civil war, including the late Joel Duling, and also his brothers Edmund and Elijah. Edmund was shot through the knee while on a gunboat on the Mississippi river and died soon afterwards from lockjaw, caused by the wound. He was a widower, at the time of his death, and his daughter Sarah J. is married and lives in Ohio. Elijah Duling spent three years in the war, returned home, and when past thirty-five years and still a bachelor, died as a result of a train wreck.

The late Joel Duling was reared on the old farm, and at the last call for troops, enlisted before he was twenty years old in 1864, and served until the end of the struggle. His military service lasted about one year, and most of that time he was on detached duty. When the war came to an end. he had just reached his majority, and on returning home he followed the labor of the home farm until 1868. In that year his mar- riage caused him to start independently, on a tract of eighty acres given him by his father in Fairmount township. Thirteen years of manage- ment of that estate brought him considerable prosperity, and he then bought the old homestead in Jefferson township, and lived there until his death. His farm comprised two hundred and forty acres, and part of it was entered by his father from the government, and has never had any owners except the Dulings. His attention was given to general farming and stock raising, and he set an example of thrift and enter- prise in his community. The farm was well improved with buildings, and in every direction it showed the careful industry and thrift of its owner.

Joel Duling was married May 3, 1868, in Mill township, to Miss Mary C. Roush. Her family is one of the oldest and most distinguished in Grant county. Mrs. Duling herself was born in Mill township Feb- ruary 18, 1843, was reared and educated in that community, and since her marriage has devoted herself earnestly and without stint to the in- terests of her husband and household and was an important factor in making the generous prosperity that belongs to the name. In 1910, her husband's death occurred, and Mrs. Duling in September, 1911, moved to Matthews and bought a pleasant home on Eighth street, where she and her son are now living and are enjoying quiet and peaceful days. Her parents were William and Jane (McCormick) Roush. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, in 1818, and her mother in Grant county, in the pioneer year 1824, seven years before Grant county became organized with a civil government. Jane McCormick was a daughter of Robert McCormick, whose name stands conspicuous in the pioneer annals of Grant county. He entered some fifteen or sixteen hundred acres of land in this county, and at one time was the largest land owner in this sec- tion, most of his property being in Jefferson township. Robert Mc- Cormick died in Grant county, when less than sixty years of age, and his widow whose maiden name was Ann McCormick but not related, married for her second husband, John Fankboner and died when she was ninety-four years of age. William Roush came from Pennsylvania to Grant county when a young man, married in Jefferson township, became the owner of two hundred acres of good land, and spent his career in quiet industry in that township. His death occurred April 5, 1904, and his wife passed away November 12, 1907. They were of the Presbyterian faith. Mr. and Mrs. Roush had thirteen children during their married career, including one pair of twins. The following grew to maturity : Mrs. Duling; Madison, who died a bachelor at the age of sixty-four years; William, who is married and has two daughters and lives in Jonesboro; Fremont, who lives in Jonesboro, and has two daugh-

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ters; Isaac, who died in March, 1863, in a hospital at Memphis, Tennes- see, after a year's service in the Union army, being unmarried at the time; John, who lives on a farm in Clark county, Indiana, and is mar- ried but has no children.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Duling are mentioned as follows: Ada, who is the wife of Charles B. Hook, and lives on a part of the old Duling homestead in Jefferson township, is the mother of five children: Virgil D., Nondas M., Paul Joel, Raymond I., and Hubert Mc. Allie died when sixteen years of age. William Solomon, who is a bachelor, lives with his mother in Matthews, and owns and operates a part of the old homestead. Virgil B., is a successful farmer; owns eighty acres in Fairmount township, and by his marriage to Olive Himelick, has one daughter, Mary. Winnie F., died when nearly eighteen years of age. Clara B. died in infancy. Mrs. Duling, as was her husband, is an active member of the Methodist Protestant church. Their married companion- ship lasted for forty-two years, and was one of utmost harmony and ef- fective cooperation; they provided well for their family of children, laid up a competence for their own comfort, contributed liberally to the community and to the church, and are the class of people upon which the progress of any state or nation must chiefly depend. The late Mr. Duling was an active Republican in politics. As an old soldier he had affiliations with the New Cumberland Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Duling's father, William Roush was at the time of his death the oldest member of the Masonic Order in Grant county, and very prominent in the different Masonic bodies.

CHARLES F. MARLEY. The results of youthful energy and enterprise are no where to be seen more clearly than on Indiana farms, where the younger generation have caught the spirit of scientific agriculture and have changed the old half-hearted conditions into an efficient, business- like management. Of this younger generation of Grant county agri- culturists, Mr. Charles F. Marley is one of the best representatives. His home is in section eight of Jefferson township, though his farm opera- tions extend to two adjacent sections, and altogether several hundred acres of land are under his supervision. Mr. and Mrs. Marley are young people who move in the best social set of Grant county, and are not only prosperous farming people, but leaders in community life.

Charles F. Marley was born in Licking township, Blackford county, Indiana, September 17, 1886. His native township was the scene of his early youth, and while growing up he acquired an education in the district schools. His parents were Joseph and Sarah (Foy) Marley. Joseph Marley was born at Hartford City, Indiana, August 2, 1857, and died near Upland in Grant county, November 26, 1912. The Marleys settled in Blackford county in the pioneer days. Joseph C. Marley was married in Hartford City, February 10, 1882 to Miss Sarah Foy, who , was born December 18, 1861, near Galveston in Cass county, but was reared and educated in Blackford county. She now lives with her younger son near Upland, and is a woman of much refinement and intelligence. Her parents were Fantley R. and Mary (Townsend) Foy. Her father was born in Ohio, and her mother in New York State, and came as young people to Blackford county, where they were married. Mr. Foy was a farmer, and also operated a threshing machine for some years. His death occurred in Jefferson township of Grant county, June 30, 1911, and his wife passed away at Hartford City in 1881. Mr. Foy was a Democrat, and his wife was a devout-member of the Methodist church. Mrs. Sarah Marley is one of three daughters and two sons, and she also adheres to the Methodist Doctrine. Joseph C. Marley, whose

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father died in young manhood in Blackford county, in 1861, and who was a blacksmith at Hartford City, spent all his career as a farmer. His mother was married again after his father's death. The brothers of Joseph C. Marley were Frank, George, Calvin, and William, all of whom were married, and George and William are still living. Frank was well known in musical circles, and William was a carpenter and builder and also had musical talent.

Charles F. Marley was the second child and first son in a family, the other members of which are mentioned as follows: Nora, the wife of Sylvester S. Smith, living on the Marley farm, and they are the parents of five children; Fred, a resident at Upland and section foreman for the Pennsylvania Railroad, who married Ethel Ballinger, a daughter of Webster Ballenger; Lee, lives at home with his mother in Jefferson township, and belongs to the Upland high school class of 1915.

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 30

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

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