Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 36

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

USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 36

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JOSEPH A. HOLLOWAY. One of the most attractive and profitable of Grant county homesteads is that located in section twenty-seven of Fairmount township, and owned by Joseph A. Holloway, who is himself of a younger generation of the family in Grant county, and is an up-to- date citizen and progressive farmer, who has made agriculture a very profitable business.

The family history of the Holloways begins with three brothers, who came from England during the colonial days, and one of them located in North Carolina. Of Quaker stock, the family in subsequent genera- tions have always been devoted to that church, and the descendants of the American settlers have been noted for their thrifty, their quiet, unassuming virtues, and a fine citizenship. First to be mentioned by name among the descendants of the first settler is Abner Holloway, who married Elizabeth Stanley. They lived and died in North Carolina, were farmers and Quakers, and upright and excellent people. Their four children were Jesse, grandfather of Joseph A .; Isaac, Maria and Sarah, all of whom had families.

Jesse Holloway was born about 1805. In his native state he was married on July 2, 1826, to Eleanor Hinshaw, who was born in the same county and state, February 25, 1810. After their marriage they started to win success in the world as farmers. His wife became noted throughout a large community both in North Carolina and later in Ohio for her skill as a midwife and doctor. They lived for some years in North Carolina, and later moved to Ohio. Their children were born chiefly in the former state, but some of the younger in Ohio.

The nine children of Jesse and Eleanor Holloway are mentioned as follows: 1. Margaret, the oldest, was born September 22, 1828, and now at a very advanced age, is the widow of William Mills, and lives in Neoga, Illinois, with a younger daughter. 2. Abner, born December 6, 1830, was the father of Joseph A. and is given more space in the following paragraph. 3. Amos, born August 29, 1834, is now nearly eighty years of age, is a retired farmer in Monroe township of Grant county, and has a family of children. 4. Timothy, born May 24, 1837, now deceased, lived and died in Randolph county, Indiana, was twice married and had children by both wives. 5. Isaac, born June 29, 1840,

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now lives in Neoga, Illinois, where he is a retired merchant and retired school teacher, and had two children by his first wife. 6. Elizabeth, born June 24, 1842, married Josiah Ferguson, and lives in Marion with her family. 7. Jesse C., born December 12, 1844, died September 16, 1864, having starved to death in the Libby Prison at Richmond, Vir- ginia, while a prisoner of war. He went out to the front as a member of Company C of the Ninetieth Indiana Regiment of Cavalry. 8. Eleanora, born February 20, 1847, first married James Fleming, and next Elijah Stafford, and for her third husband took Martin Fisher, a Civil war veteran, and they now live in Montana, having one daughter by the third marriage. 9. Sarah, born September 29, 1849, is deceased and was the wife of F. A. Fleming, a farmer living in Monroe township in Grant county and having children.

Abner Holloway was born in Clinton county, Ohio, at the date already given. His parents had moved to Ohio in the early days from North Carolina, and when he was a child they moved on and settled in Grant county in Fairmount township. There in the Friends church, and with the Quaker ceremony, on May 15, 1854, Abner Holloway mar- ried Sarah Rich, who was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, October 7, 1837, and was a child when her parents came to Grant county.

Concerning the Rich family more particular history will be found under the name of Mr. Eri Rich. After his marriage Abner Holloway and wife began life on a farm in Monroe township. In 1882 they moved to Fairmount township, buying land in section twenty-seven. He pros- pered as a farmer, and eventually owned two hundred and fifty-four and a half acres of land, besides having invested interests in Fairmount. His death occurred April 1, 1903. He was a life-long member of the Friends church, and in politics a Republican, always esteemed for his upright character, and public spirited citizenship. His widow is still living, having her home with their children.

There were ten children born to Abner Holloway and wife, and brief mention of them is made as follows: Margaret A. and Sarah, are both deceased, and both were married and left children. The living children are: 1. Miriam, is the wife of Sylvester McCormick, living in section twenty-seven of Fairmount township, and having children. 2. Marion married Emma Riffle, lives on a farm in Huntington county, and has three sons. 3. Mary E. is the wife of William Nelson, living in New Mexico, and the parents of four sons and two daughters. 4. Matilda J. is the wife of Elsey Mills, whose home is in New Mexico, and they are the parents of three sons and two daughters. 5. Margaret, now deceased, was the wife of William Ozenbaugh, who lives at Swayzee, and has two living sons. 6. The next in line is Joseph A. Holloway, whose career is described in the following paragraphs. 7. Sarah E., now deceased, was the wife of Burton Leas, and he lives in Upland and has three daughters. 8. Jesse C. married Lillie Corn, lives on a farm in Fairmount township, and has five children. 9. Eri is a farmer of Fairmount township, married Clara Jones, and has one son and three daughters. 10. Arthur A. is a farmer in section twenty-seven of Fair- mount township, and by his marriage to Ella Fleming has three sons and two daughters.

Mr. Joseph A. Holloway was born in Monroe township of Grant county, March 20, 1870. His early education was begun in the public schools and completed in the Fairmount Academy. Choosing farming as his vocation, he bought some property in Fairmount City and divided his time between farm work and teaching for several years. His home was in Fairmount from 1896 until 1899, and at the latter date he moved to Monroe township. In 1904 he came to his father's old farm

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in Fairmount township on section twenty-seven and there he is owner of one hundred and two acres, making a valuable and most productive farm estate. Its improvements classify it among the model places of Grant county. A fine basement barn, with ample capacity for grain and stock, is a prominent feature of the homestead, while a nicely painted white house affords the comforts of home to himself and family. As a farmer Mr. Holloway believes in sending all his products to market on the foot, and therefore feeds his corn, oats, wheat and hay to his hogs and fine short-horn cattle.

Politically he has for many years been an active Republican and has served as precinct committeeman and.in other party posts. He is now and has been since 1910, secretary of the Fairmount township advisory board. Mr. Holloway was married in Monroe township to Miss Lorana Nelson, who was born there November 1, 1875. She was educated in her native locality, and was well trained and possesses the character fitting her for her duties as housewife and mother. Her parents were Nelson H. and Mathilda (Thorp) Nelson. Her father was born in Grant county, and her mother in Ohio. For many years their home has been in Monroe township, where they are thrifty farmers and active members of the Christian church. There were six children in the Nelson family, two of whom are married. Mr. and Mrs. Holloway have the following children : Nelson A., born December 7, 1896, and now attending school; Clarence C., born March 2, 1898; Ancil D., who was born May 8, 1903; and Ernest W., born November 29, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Holloway are members of the Friends church, in which Mr. Holloway was reared.

CHARLES E. DAVIS. In the November election of 1912 the citizens of Grant county made a very happy choice for the office of county recorder. Charles E. Davis came to Marion only a few years ago to take a position in one of the local manufacturing enterprises, and by his ability as a business man, and the ready esteem and popularity which he quickly acquired among all classes of citizenship, has for several years been recognized as a citizen who deserves promotion, and is thoroughly worthy of the confidence of the voters.

Charles E. Davis was born December 6, 1873, at Oswego, New York. His parents were Richard S. and Lydia (Court) Davis, the former a native of England, and the latter of New York State. For half a cen- tury the father sailed the high seas, and visited every port on the globe. In 1888 he came to the middle west, locating in Allegan county, Michi- gan, which remained his home until his death in 1898, when he was seventy-four years old. The mother is still living there. Of their three children, two are living, and the brother of the Marion citizen is James F. Davis of Allegan county. The father was a man of unusual educa- tion, and took a very prominent part in Masonic circles.

Charles E. Davis has a career in which individual initiative and self effort have been prominent factors. Born in New York, educated there and in Allegan county in the common schools, he left Allegan county at the age of fourteen, and went to seek his fortunes first in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He got a job as ash-wheeler in a large power- house, and his willingness to work and readiness to learn were appre- ciated by several promotions until he was assistant engineer. From there he went to Chicago, and while working there came to a keen realization of the advantages of a good technical training as a prepara- tion for life. Consequently he gave up his leisure and social pleasures, entered Armour Institute of Technology and paid his way while study- ing the course in electrical engineering until his graduation in 1902.

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L. G. RICHARDS AND WIFE

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He followed his work as an electrical engineer in Chicago until 1907, when he came to Marion to become engineer for the Marion Handle & Manufacturing Company, a position which he has since held.

On November 8, 1894, Mr. Davis married Alice Ortman of Allegan county, Michigan, a daughter of J. H. Ortman. Their four children are Mahlon O., Lucy E., Barbara, and Charles E., Jr., all of whom are at home. Mr .. Davis was elected on November 5, 1913, recorder of Grant county on the Democratic ticket, and took office on the first of January, 1914. Fraternally he belongs to the Order of Eagles, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Crew of Neptune.

L. G. RICHARDS. Grant county owes much to the Richards family, both for the part it has performed in the development of the country from the wilderness in the early days, and also for its substantial cit- izenship and high moral influence. Mr. L. G. Richards is now nearly eighty years of age, has spent all his life in Grant county, is a product of its pioneer schools when all instruction was given in log buildings, and the curriculum was the three R's, and by a long and active career of industry and exceptional business management accumulated an es- tate which at one time was among the largest in Jefferson township.

His grandfather Henry Richards was born either in Virginia or Pennsylvania, was an early settler in the state of Ohio, where it is thought he was married. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Thom, and during their residence on a farm in Guernsey county, Ohio, their children were born. These children were: John, Daniel, Susan, Cath- erine, Jacob. Daniel, who married a Miss Lewis, was a farmer, went out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in an early day and lived and died there, leaving a family. Susan married John Ogan, a farmer, and a number of years later moved out to Kansas, where they died. Catherine married Nathan Lewis, a schoolteacher, and soon after their marriage went to Kansas, where their lives were spent on a farm. Jacob married Susan Gillispie, and they lived and died in Jefferson township of Grant county, where they were substantial farmers, and of their children some are still living.

Rev. John Richards, father of L. G. Richards, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1810 or 1811. His youth was spent on a farm in his native county, and while there he married Effie Roberts, who was born in Ohio about 1812-13. After the birth of their first son and child, Henry, in 1829 or 1830, they came with other members of the family, including their parents, to Grant county, locating in the wildwoods. All of the family obtained land in Grant county, grandfather Henry Rich- ards getting two hundred acres, and subsequently accumulating eighty acres more, so that his place consisted of two hundred and eighty acres before his death. All of the sons likewise, took up land, and became pioneer workers in the early decades of Grant county's history. Grand- father Henry Richards died when about seventy years of age, some years before the Civil war, possibly as early as 1850. His wife died even earlier.

Rev. John Richards, after moving to Grant county, acquired and improved two hundred acres of land. While a prosperous farmer, and thus providing for the material needs of himself and children, he was likewise one of the prominent leaders in the Primitive Baptist church. Largely owing to his efforts, the church known as Harmony was organ- ized at Matthews. Later he was ordained a preacher, and with saddle- bags and on horseback pursued his work as an itinerant preacher, throughout this section of the state traveling hundreds of miles, and preaching in as many as a hundred different localities. He was one of Vol. D-16

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the pioneer preachers who visited from cabin to cabin with self-denying earnestness, traveling through the unbroken forests, exhorting, counsel- ing, reproving, as occasion demanded, and was always welcome at the pioneer homes. His was the work of a real evangelist, and many classes were organized by him in this part of the state. His home in Grant county was the headquarters for a large following of primitive Baptists, and as many as one hundred and twenty-five people were entertained at the Richards place during the three days' meetings, some of them com- ing from long distances, even as much as a hundred miles, riding on horseback, and in every other pioneer conveyance. His work as a preacher went on, and was concluded only with his death. He was a Democrat in politics, and exerted much influence in civic affairs, as well as in religion. He had lived to see what he believed was the end of the Civil war, passing away early in the sixties. His wife died in middle life about 1850, and she was likewise an active worker in the Primitive Baptist church.

Rev. John Richards and wife had six sons and one daughter, men- tioned as follows: 1. Rev. Henry, Jr., a minister of the Primitive Bap- tist church, organized a class in Coffey county, and later did work in Oklahoma, where he now lives at the venerable age of eighty-four and still active in his faith. 2. L. G. Richards is the second of the family. 3. Abraham, now living retired in Jefferson township, is seventy-seven years of age, and has a family of his own. 4. Daniel who died in 1907, was twice married, and left two sons and one daughter, who are still living. 5. Jacob, who is in active superintendence of his farm in Jeffer- son township, was twice married, and four children by his first wife are living. 6. Martha, who lives with her third husband in Albany, Indiana, has children by her first husband. 7. Isaac, occupies a farm in Jeffer- son township and has two daughters and one son, the latter being Lewis, who is an editor in the state of California.

Mr. L. G. Richards was born in Jefferson township of Grant county, October 25, 1834. The school which he attended as a boy was in many ways typical of the pioneer temples of learning. It was built of logs, had a puncheon floor, the benches were slabs supported by rough legs, and on either side of the structure a log was left out to admit the light, which came dimly into the room through greased paper. The writing desk was a broad board supported on a slant by pins driven into the walls. During his early work at home he earned enough to buy eighty acres of land, and from that start, by industry, economy, and energy, increased his holdings until at one time he was the possessor of nine hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as was to be found in Jefferson township. A part of the land lay in Delaware county. To each of his children he has given a farm, and every one is improved with excellent buildings. Mr. Richards still keeps one hundred and ninety-two acres for the home place, on section three, and the improvements there are of the best class. For many years he has grown on a large scale, the regular crops of this country, and has fed his product to hogs and cattle. Though his prosperity has been exceptional, his dealings with his com- munity have always been of the strictest honor and probity, and as an illustration of this fact it can be said that he was never engaged in a law suit, either as defendant or plaintiff, in all his life.

In the accumulation of his generous property he had a noble and thrifty woman as his helpmate. Her maiden name was Mary E. Craw. and she was born in Jefferson township, December 11, 1834. dying May 27, 1900. She was the mother of three daughters and two sons, namely : 1. Rev. J. William, a farmer, has charge as pastor of the Harmony Primitive Baptist church. He married Emma Harris, and has

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NIXON RUSH

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two sons and one daughter. 2. David L., who now owns and occupies a part of the home farm, is an official in the Matthews State Bank; he married Lois Fergus, and they have two daughters. 3. Lucina, by her marriage to Harmon Newburger, has one son. She is now the wife of Rufus Nottingham, and they have one son and three daughters. 4. Mollie died after her marriage to Frank H. Kirkwood, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in these pages. 5. Rena is the wife of John W. Himelick, a well known Grant county citizen, sketched elsewhere.

Mr. Richards for his second wife married Miss Maria Martin, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, February 18, 1837, and from four- teen years of age was reared in Delaware county, living in the city of Muncie. Her parents were Russell P. and Ida A. Martin. Her father was born in Ohio, October 26, 1807, and died March 22, 1874, while her mother was born in New Jersey, September 27, 1807, and died November 7, 1902. Both died in Delaware county. They were married in Ohio, and soon afterwards came to Fayette county, Indiana, where her father followed his regular trade of brick mason and plasterer. They belonged to the Primitive Baptist church. Mrs. Richards had three brothers, Wilson, Robert, and Maxwell, who were soldiers in the Civil war. Two of them were in a southern prison for some months and one died after leaving the battlefield stricken with illness. Mr. Richards is a leader in the Primitive Baptist church, and has long been one of its officials. In politics he is a Democrat.

REV. NIXON RUSH. The career of a just and good man, and the memory of his kindly, noble deeds, are in themselves his true biography. In the life of such an individual the observer of human character may find both precept and example. He may discover in such a life sermons that speak more eloquently and leave a more lasting impression upon the heart than any human words. Where eminent abilities and unblem- ished integrity, combined with unimpeachable virtue, derivable from the daily practice of religion and piety, contribute to adorn the character of an individual, then it is most proper to be prominently set forth as an example to those who would make themselves useful to the rest of man- kind. ' And the writer cherishes the belief that he will perform this acceptable service in giving a brief sketch of the life and work of Rev. Nixon Rush, who for half a century was known to the citizens of Grant county as an industrious and successful agriculturist, but who, perhaps, was better known as a minister of the Quaker faith, as a member of which he had preached throughout this part of Indiana for more than forty years.

Rev. Nixon Rush traces his ancestry back to Colonial days, when it was founded in this country by five brothers, early settlers of Culpeper county, Virginia, possibly about the year 1700. The early generations resided in that locality, but the first definite data to be found is that concerning one Crawford, or Clifford Rush, who was born in that county about the year 1720. He became a large plantation owner, had many slaves and spent his entire life in his native county as did his wife Mary. Among their children was Benjamin Rush, who was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, April 19, 1752. When about of age he migrated to Randolph county, North Carolina, and there was married in 1772 to Dorcas Vickery, a native of the Old North State. They settled down as farming people and accumulated and improved a large property not far from Shepherd Mountain. There they spent their entire lives, dying in the faith of the Methodist church. It may have been that they were slave-holders. Their six sons and two daughters all grew to maturity and lived to advanced years, being large, portly people, and all had

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homes of their own and reared large families. The sons were all slave- holders, and were prominent in politics, being for the greater part Demo- crats. The members of this family were noted for their hospitality.

Of the above eight children, Azel Rush, the grandfather of Rev. Nixon Rush, was born August 8, 1780. He grew up a farmer, and in 1806 was married to Elizabeth Beckerdite, who was born in Randolph county, and she died in 1818. Mr. Rush had joined the Friends Church, the only one of the family to do so, and later his wife joined and died in that faith. He was married a second time to a Miss White, a member of an old North Carolina family of Randolph county, and she died there prior to 1836. She left a family, but her descendants all reside in North Carolina. Mr. Rush was married a third time, and in 1846 came to Fair- mount township, Grant county, settling on undeveloped land, which they reclaimed from the wilderness, and here spent the balance of their lives. They were life-long Quakers and remained true to the teachings of that faith. They had a family of four children: Dorinda, Iredell, Dorcas and Nancy, all of whom married and all spent their entire lives in Grant county.

Iredell Rush, the father of Rev. Nixon Rush, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, January 14, 1807, as a birthright Quaker. He was married in his native county to Miss Elizabeth Bogue, who was born February 7, 1808, in southern North Carolina, the ceremony taking place in 1829, and being performed after the custom of the Friends Church. They commenced in a humble manner, securing a horse and small wagon, and two weeks after their marriage bid a final farewell to a large circle of friends and, with Mr. Rush's unele, Mathew Winslow, set out north far over the mountains for the wilderness of Indiana. After a long and tedious journey, replete with dangers and exciting experiences, the young couple reached the Friends' settlements at Derby, Wayne county, there renting a small farm. The neighbors, in the kindly, encouraging way that always marked those of this faith in the early days and has con- tinued to do so to the present time, assisted them to start house, giving them various articles needed, as well as chickens and young pigs to raise for their own. Amid these pioneer surroundings they remained until March, 1831, when they pushed on to Grant county, Mr. Rush securing forty acres of government land, the deed for which was signed by Andrew Jackson. Here he cut a space 18x20 feet, in the timber, on which was erected a rude log cabin, with the under boards held down by poles, the floor made of slabs, and the stick and mortar chimney serving all pur- poses. It was some time before the quilt used as a door covering was replaced by a wooden door, and not one nail was used in the entire con- struction of this pioneer home.

This was the first home to be erected between this section and Alex- andria, Madison county. Game was plentiful and kept the family table well supplied; the tasks that otherwise would have seemed onerous and distasteful were made light in the atmosphere of love that hovered over the little home; and although riches and plenty came in later years, Mr. and Mrs. Rush both stated in later life that the first ten years of their married life had been their happiest ones. Industry and economy, thrift and perseverance, soon placed Mr. and Mrs. Rush in a position where they could afford a finer home. When this had been erected, they added to their acres, their stock and their equipment, and finally became known as one of the substantial families of this section of the county, owning 160 acres here and 400 acres in another part of the State. Mr. Rush passed away May 29, 1853, while his wife survived him until April 12, 1877, both dying in the faith of the Quaker church in which they had been lifelong members and active workers. They assisted in building the

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 36

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

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