USA > Indiana > Rush County > Centennial history of Rush County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 27
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
JOSEPII FEY
213
HISTORY OF RUSII COUNTY
township, presiding over the Downey, Norris and David schools. Mr. Newhouse then turned his attention to farming and for a time was engaged in the cultivation of rented land in Jackson township, but eventually he bought the place where he now lives in Jackson town- ship, and which comprises ninety-one acres of fine, tillable land, and he also cultivates 120 acres of land which his wife owns. He carries on general farming and stock raising and has met with a satisfactory measure of success. His place is well improved and its general appear- ance indicates the owner to be a man of good taste and sound judg- ment. On the 2d day of November, 1893, Mr. Newhouse was mar- ried to Audit P. Gartin, a native of Jackson township and the daugh- ter of John G. and Arkansas (Porter) Gartin, and they are the par- ents of two children, Elsie, who is the wife of John Ellison, a farmer in Center township, this county, and Herschel, who is unmarried and lives at home. Politically, Mr. Newhouse is a strong supporter of the Republican party and is the present efficient trustee of Jackson town- ship. He and his wife are earnest members of the Hannegan Chris- tian Church and give their support to every worthy benevolent move- ment or other enterprise for the advancement of the best interests of the community.
WILLIAM RUSH LEE. In the death of William Rush Lee, Posey township, this county, lost one of its most valued citizens. Practically his entire life was spent here and during that period he took an active part in the general progress of the county. He took an intelligent interest in public affairs and gave his support to those movements which promised to promote the general welfare. Mr. Lee was a native son of Rush county, having been born in Posey town- ship on the 24th day of August, 1875, and he was the son of William H. and Catherine (Nelson) Lee. He received his elementary educa- tion in the common schools of his home neighborhood, and later attended two ·terms at the normal school at Danville, Ind., becom- ing a symmetrically educated man and possessing a wide fund of general information. On completing his studies he turned his atten- tion to agriculture, working on the home farm until 1895, when he began to cultivate it on his own account. After his marriage, in 1899, Mr. Lee moved onto another farm owned by his father, and there continued to reside up to the time of his death with the exception of two years' residence in Arlington. He was the owner of ninety acres of land, a part of which he inherited, and here he successfully carried on general farming and stock raising. He was up-to-date and progressive in his ideas and methods and was held in high regard by his fellow agriculturists. On August 9, 1899, Mr. Lee was married to Lorena Payne, who was born in Rushville township, Rush county, the daughter of Alvin and Martha (Megee) Payne, both of whom were also natives of Rush county, where Mr. Payne followed the vocation of farming all his active life. To Mr. and Mrs. Lee was born a daugh- ter, Alta May, born on June 3, 1901, who was graduated from the Arlington high school with the class of 1919. Politically, Mr. Lee gave his support to the Republican party, while, fraternally, he was a
214
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
member of the Modern Woodman of America, at Rushville. He was an earnest member of the Christian church at Arlington and gave his unreserved support to every worthy benevolent or charitable movement. Personally, he was genial and companionable and he enjoyed to a marked degree the friendship and good will of the entire community in which he had spent his life.
JOHN T. REED, an enterprising farmer and substantial citizen of Rush county, who has resided for a number of years in Noble township, is a native son of the old Blue Grass state, having been born in Bracken county, Kentucky, on December 23, 1869. His par- ents, John S. and Minerva (Hamilton) Reed, were also natives of that state, the former having been born in Mason county and the latter in Bracken county. John S. Reed was reared to manhood and educated in Mason county, but about the time of attaining his major- ity he located in Bracken county, of which he was a resident during the remainder of his life. He followed the pursuit of agriculture, in which he was successful. He died in 1907 and his wife passed away in 1910. They were the parents of two children, William W. and John T. John T. Reed was reared under the parental roof and scenred his education in the common schools of Bracken county. On leaving school he went to Petra, Ky., and engaged in the mer- cantile business, in which he was successfully engaged for twenty- four years. He then disposed of his interests there and came to Indiana, in December, 1914. Locating in Noble township, Rush county, he first bought 122 acres of land, which he has since increased to 162 acres. The place is well improved and here Mr. Reed carries on general farming operations and stock raising. He usually plants about fifty acres to corn and the same amount to small grain, and he also devotes considerable attention to live stock, feeding about 150 hogs annually. Mr. Reed is practical in his methods and a good man- ager of his business interests, having attained a gratifying measure of success as a farmer. Mr. Reed was married to May M. Henry, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Henry, and they have one child, Helen Irene. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Reed was again married, Nelle Blanche (Mingle) Ruff, the daughter of Cor- nelius Mingle, becoming his wife. Politically, Mr. Reed gives his support to the Republican party, while his fraternal relations are with the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Haymakers. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
EARL F. PRIEST. Rush county has been singularly fortunate in securing for its public officials men of intelligence, ability and public spirit, who are governing its affairs in conscientious and ca- pable manner and whose services have contributed materially to the county's welfare and development. Among these men is Earl F. Priest, county assessor, and a member of a family which has been well and favorably known in the county since pioneer days. Mr. Priest was born on May 30, 1876, in Anderson township, Rush county, a son of Ezekiel and Margaret S. (Hilligoss) Priest, natives of
215
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
the same county. His grandfather, David Priest, was born in Ken- tucky, and as a young man migrated to Rush county and became one of the earliest settlers of Anderson township, where he passed the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits and established an excellent record for farming industry and good citizenship. Ezekiel Priest, after a public school education, entered upon his career as a farmer and stock buyer, callings which he followed throughout his life. He was the owner of a farm of eighty acres, and was widely known in this section as he bought stock all over the county. He died, highly respected, July 9, 1913. His wife had passed away on April 20, 1899. The only child of his parents, Earl F. Priest received his education in the public schools of Rushville and at Graham Academy, and as a youth took up farming on the home place. In addition to the home farm of eighty acres, he rented other land in the community, and gen- eral farming and stock feeding have formed his principal activities, Mr. Priest shipping about two cars of hogs to the markets each year. His operations have resulted successfully, and he is rightly accounted one of the substantial men of his locality. Mr. Priest has always taken an interest in public affairs and interested himself in civic movements. In 1914 he was the choice of his fellow-citizens for the post of assessor of Rushville township, and so capably did he dis- charge the duties of this position that in 1918 he was elected assessor of Rush county, a post which he retains. His record in this office has been a splendid one and his fellow-citizens have had no reason to regret of their choice. He is a stanch Republican in his political views, and as a fraternalist holds membership in the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has been a member of the Christian church since 1901. On December 1, 1897, Mr. Priest married Mary, daughter of Frank Cameron, of Rush county, and to this union there have been born four children, Donald, Lucile T., Loren and Earl Frank, Jr.
BERRY RUSH, a well known building contractor at Mays, this county, was born in Union township, Rush county, on the 11th day of September, 1880, and is the son of Alonzo M. and Elmyra (Moffett) Rush. Alonzo M. Rush was also born and reared in Union township and received his education in the Fairview Academy. He then spent several years in the West, mainly with the object of seeing the country, and on his return to Rush county he engaged in the opera- tion of 220 acres of land in Union township, a part of which was given him by his father and part of which he bought. He was very successful in his business affairs and exerted a large influence in the locality. To his union with Elmyra Moffett, a native of Fayette county, Indiana, were born six children, of whom the living are Ora, Alta, Robertie and Berry, while the deceased are John and Grace. Berry Rush was reared under the parental rooftree and received his educational training in the Fairview school. He remained on the home farm with his father until his marriage, in 1902, when he rented 100 acres of land in Union township and engaged in farming on his
216
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
own acount for two years. He then moved to Mays, where he has since resided and where he has been busily engaged in carpentering and contracting. He is an expert workman and has successfully handled a number of large contracts in this vicinity, earning a well-merited reputation as a careful and conscientious man in everything he does. In 1902 Mr. Rush was married to Myrtle E. Osborne, of Mays, and they are the parents of two children, Elmyra and Russell, both of whom are in school. Politically, Mr. Rush gives his support to the Democratic party, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Improved Order of Red Men.
AUGUSTUS N. WILLIAMS. Since he came to Rush county, over a half century ago, the subject of this review has been a wit- ness of very important changes in his vicinity, and his reminis- cences of the former days here are most interesting and entertain- ing. Mr. Williams first saw the light of day in Franklin county, Indiana, on the 9th day of December, 1837. His parents, John P. and Nancy (Morris) Williams, were natives, respectively, of War- ren county and Butler county, Ohio. After their marriage, which occurred in that state, they moved to Brookville, Ind., where Mr. Williams operated a pottery plant for four years. He then moved to Blooming Grove, Ind., where eight of his nine children grew up. From Blooming Grove he moved to Waterloo township, Fayette county, where he lived on a farm which he owned. After eight years of residence there he sold his farm and moved thence to Brookville, Ind., where he became engaged in pork packing and general grain business, buying and selling grain. He then moved to Wapello county, Iowa, where he again engaged in the pottery business. He died in that county on November 11, 1874. Of the nine children who blessed the union of himself and wife, the subject of this review is now the only survivor. Augustus N. Williams se- cured his educational training in the public schools of Brookville, Ind. About two years later he enlisted for service in the Civil war, serving faithfully for four years, during seven months and twenty days of which time he was confined in the notorious Ander- sonville prison pen. On his return from the army, Mr. Williams went west, stopping for about three months in the state of Iowa, but he decided that Indiana was good enough for him, and so he returned and located in Rush county. About that time he was married and at once rented a farm, to the operation of which he devoted himself during the ensuing twelve years. He then bought seventy-eight acres of land, which he still owns, but has increased his total holdings to 181 acres. Mr. Williams has put all the im- provements on the place, including buildings, fences, ditching, etc., and carries on a general system of farming. On June 24, 1866, Mr. Williams was married to Julia E. Osborn, who was born and reared in Franklin county, Indiana, the daughter of Larkin and Mary (Howell) Osborn. To this union were born seven children, of whom four are living, namely : Edwin F., who owns a fruit farm at
AUGUSTUS N. WILLIAMS
217
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
Marysville, Washington, married Martha Williams, and they have had two children, one of whom, Mary, is living ; Cortez W., who is a traveling salesman, living in Ottumwa, Iowa, married Mabel Tuttle and they have one child, Dorothy; Ethel B. became the wife of George N. Morris, a mechanic at Yazoo, Miss., and they have one child, George A .; Culver B., of Rushville. Mrs. Julia Williams died on November 3, 1885, and on August 3, 1887, Mr. Williams was married to Minnie C. Caldwell, a native of Rushville township and the daughter of William H. and Sarah (McKeehan) Caldwell, the former a native of Boone county, Indiana, and the latter of Butler county, Ohio. Mr. Caldwell was a farmer by vocation and owned eighty-five acres of land in Rush county. To him and his wife were born nine children, of whom six are living, as follows: George A., Minnie C., Anna E., Mattie M., Mary R., William A., Harriette, Clara and Frank. By his second marriage, the subject became the father of two children, Augustus N. and Mary M Augustus N. Williams, who is in the civil service at Washington, D. C., was married to Murle Olive Wildman. Mr. Williams is a lifelong supporter of the Republican party, while his religious belief is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, holding member- ship in that society at Arlington. A man of kindly manner and friendly disposition, he has long enjoyed the friendship and es- teem of the entire community.
W. A. NORRIS, who is the president of the New Salem State Bank and a scion of one of Rush county's old pioneer families, has spent his entire life within the borders of the county, using his influence wherever possible for the promotion of enterprises cal- culated to be a lasting benefit to his fellow men. He was born on the farm in Noble township where he now lives, on October 7, 1858, and is the son of Benjamin F. and Charlotte (Chandler) Norris, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, the mother having been born and reared in Bracken county. Benjamin F. Norris was a son of Capt. Benjamin and Priscilla Norris, natives of Kentucky who emigrated to Rush county in an early day. In the War of 1812 Capt. Benjamin Norris was in command of a gunboat, in which capacity he served throughout that conflict. Benjamin F. Norris was but twelve years of age when he was brought to Rush county by his parents, who settled in Noble township and bought eighty acres of land. Here he grew to manhood and secured his education in the common schools of the neighborhood. He followed the vocation of farming through- out his life and met with a very gratifying measure of success, becom- ing the owner of 1,200 acres of excellent farm land. Of this, he cul- tivated about 640 acres, devoting his efforts to a general line of farm- ing and stock raising. He gave special attention to the raising of mules, always having a herd of them on his place, and he also feeds large numbers of cattle and hogs. To him and his wife were born ten children, five of whom are now living, namely : Lenora, Charles, W. A., Alice and Lotta. W. A. Norris attended the public schools of
218
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
Noble township and gave his father assistance in the operation of the home farm, remaining with him until his death. After the death of the father, the subject continued to farm on his own account, and he has been more than ordinarily successful as an agriculturist. He is cultivating 310 acres of land, all of which is located in Noble town- ship, and is devoting his time and energies to general farming and stock raising. He is a successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle and feeds from 300 to 400 head of hogs each year. He has put many good improvements on his farm and it is now one of the most up-to- date farms in this section of the county. In 1886 Mr. Norris was married to Ora May MeMillin, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John T. MeMillin, and they have become the parents of five children, namely : Walter, who married Mabel Myers and has three children. William, Harold and Richard; Lowell, who married Edith King and has two children, Mary and Paul; Helen, wife of Loren Martin; Ben F. and Rema May. Mr. Norris and his family are members of the Little Flat Rock Christian Church, of which Mr. Norris is the present treasurer. Politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Norris has long had at interest the welfare of his section of the county and took an active part in the organization of the New Salem State Bank, of which he was elected president and is still serving in that capacity.
THOMAS J. ADDISON, who died at his home in this county in the fall of 1916, was an honored veteran of the Civil war and had labored diligently and well as an agriculturist of Hancock and Rush counties for many years. Mr. Addison was born in Shelby county, Indiana, November 19, 1844, a son of Thomas and Catherine (Smith) Addison, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia. Thomas J. Addison was educated in the rural districts of Shelby county, and on leaving school, his parents being agricultural people, took up farming in association with his father on the home place. When but nineteen years of age he enlisted, February 13, 1864, in the Nineteenth regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Richard T. Henderson, and had his baptism of fire in one of the most terrible struggles of the Civil war, the battle of the Wilder-
ness. The Nineteenth and Twentieth Indiana regiments were so reduced by casualties that the two were subsequently combined, and Mr. Addison continued to serve with the reconstructed organization until the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge on July 12, 1865. On his return from military service, Mr. Addison once more took up farming, securing employment as a farm hand. When he had accumulated some small capital, he bought a forty-acre tract and from that time forward his career was one of steadily increasing success. The summer before his death he gave to each of his five children a tract of forty acres, and still at the time of his death, October 19, 1916, owned 147 acres, now the property of his widow, who survives him and makes her home at Carthage. Mr. Addison was married on August 11, 1866, to Elizabeth Cathon and they became the parents of five children, all of whom survive : William A., a travel- ing salesman living at Indianapolis, Ind., who married Crilla Small
219
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
and has one child, Ruby, the wife of Leonard Hark; Delphina C., the wife of Dayton H. Gates, a farmer of Hancock county ; Orland F., a farmer of Hancock county, who married Mary A. Heller and has four children, Paul F., Elizabeth W., William E., and Thomas M .; Charles T., a farmer of Rush county, who married Beulah Collins, and has three children, Delphina M., Mary M., and Eli F .; and Ruth A., who married Thomas Lee, a farmer of Rush county, and has two chil- dren, Mabel K. and Thomas Harlan. Mr. Addison never lost his inter- est in his old comrades who had worn the blue, and was a popular member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a faithful mem- ber of the Friends Meeting at Walnut Ridge. He was appreciated for his many stable and reliable traits of character, for his unceasing devotion to the best interests of the community, and for the example which his life offered of ability, perseverance and ultimate success.
EDGAR V. RUBY, the owner and operator of a well-improved farm in the Carthage locality of Ripley township, was born in that township, February 14, 1870, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Stouder) Ruby, and a grandson of Jacob and Mary Ruby. Jacob Ruby the elder was born in the East, and as a young man migrated to the new country opening up in Rush county, where he secured 160 acres of land in Center township from the Government. On this land he did the preliminary work of clearing and cultivation, and subsequently passed an honorable career in the pursuits of the husbandman. He and his wife were the parents of five children. Jacob Ruby, the father of Edgar V., was born in Center township, Rush county, and was given the advantages of a public school education. His early training was acquired under the teaching of his father, and when he entered upon his independent career he was fully prepared to carry on farming in a successful manner. This was proven in his able management and operation of the 100-acre farm which he pur- chased in Ripley township, subsequently buying an eighty acre tract, and on which he spent the rest of a successful and honorable career. He and his wife were the parents of four children; Martha, who married Greeley Ewing, an agriculturist of Rush county; Frances, who married John Wolf, an agriculturist of Wayne county, Indiana; Jesse L., engaged in farming in Rush county, who married Grace Stephens, of Ripley township; and Edgar V. The eldest of his par- ents' children, Edgar V. Ruby acquired his education in Ripley town- ship, where he attended the Stinger schoolhouse, and on completing his studies took up farming with his father. On the attainment of his majority, he rented 220 acres of land, which he farmed for several years, subsequently buying a tract of forty acres, which was his home until 1916. At that time he bought the seventy-acre farm which forms his present field of activity, and on which he has made numer- ous improvements. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and in both departments has achieved marked success. On September 30, 1891, Mr. Ruby married Mary E. Butler, a native of Ripley town- ship, daughter of Levi and Martha (Taylor) Butler. To this union there have been born three children : Leonard E., a graduate of Car-
220
HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
thage high school and of the mechanical engineering department of Purdue University ; Charles L., a graduate of Carthage high school, now assisting his father on the home farm; and Mary M., who is attending school. Mr. Ruby is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Carthage, and in politics is a Prohibitionist. With his family, he belongs to the Methodist church.
GEORGE N. SPILMAN, a successful farmer of Noble town- ship and who has been in a very true sense the master of his own fortune, showing in his life such attributes of character as entitle him to the regard of all, was born in Decatur county, Indiana, on June 7, 1861, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Myers) Spilman, both of whom were born in Kentucky. William Spilman was brought to Indiana with his parents when but a boy, the fam- ily settling in Decatur county, where he was educated and reared to manhood. He followed the vocation of farming all his active years, or up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1874. He was survived many years by his widow, who passed away in 1898. They were the parents of ten children, of which number four are now living, namely : Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca and George N. The subject of this review secured his educational training in the com- mon schools of Decatur county, following which he obtained em- ployment as a farm hand, being so occupied up to the time of his marriage. He then rented and moved onto a farm in Boone county, Indiana, where he remained three years, moving at the end of that period to a rented farm in Decatur county. In 1895 Mr. Spilman came to Rush county and operated rented land for about seven years, going then to Blackford county, Indiana, where he bought a farm, to the cultivation of which he devoted himself for a year, and then he came back to Rush county and bought the farm in Noble township, on which he now lives. The tract at that time comprising eighty acres, on which was a small unpretentious cot- tage, which he replaced with a spacious and comfortable home and made other permanent and substantial improvements on the place. Ile has been prospered in the operation of this farm, and has in- creased his holdings there to 140 acres. Mr. Spilman has always carried on general farming and stock raising and is entitled to a large meed of credit for what he has accomplished, for he started out in boyhood without funds or influential friends, and solely by his own exertions and good management he has accumulated what he posseses today. Mr. Spilman was married to Etta Dugan, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Dugan, and to them have been born four children, namely: Earl, who is a veteran of the World war, having enlisted with Company B, from this county, but was later transferred to the Seventh regiment of Field Artillery, of the First Division, with which he took part in the famous engagements at Argonne, St. Mihiel and Soissons, and was poisoned by drinking gassed water; Una became the wife of Newton Gruell and they have two children, Lowell and Harold; Hubert married Jessie
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.