USA > Indiana > Rush County > Centennial history of Rush County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 9
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AUGUST GAIIIMER, farmer and thresher in Walker township. was born in Orange township, this county, February 20, 1871, a son of William and Kate (Leatherman) Gahimer. Both parents were born and reared in Rush county and the father has been a prosperous farmer here for many years, now owning 414 acres of good land. His children are August, Julius, George and John. August Gahimer attended the public schools in Orange township, assisted his father on the home place and all his life has been engaged in farm pursuits. Following his marriage he began farming for himself on a fifty-acre tract belonging to his father, and still lives on the same, paying grain rent. Mr. Gahimer is a thorough-going farmer, keeps everything in
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FAMILY OF MR. AND MRS. CHARLES HI. KELSO Reading from left to right: Standing-Mrs. Thomas Kelso, Rayburn Kelso, Mrs. Paul Kelso, Kenneth Kelso, Mrs. Kenneth Kelso, Charles LKJ
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good order and raises grain and as much stock as the place will support. He also owns and operates a threshing outfit. On August 18, 1895, he married Maggie Hanck, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, a daughter of Peter and Kate (Henry) Hanck. The parents of Mrs. Gahimer were born in Germany and were young when they accompanied their respective parents to the United States. Mr. Hauck was a cooper by trade and had a shop at Blue Ridge, Shelby county. Of his family of seven children four are living, Frank, Kate, Rose and Maggie. Mr. and Mrs. Gahimer have one child, Goldie E., who is the wife of Albert Lestenberger, a farmer in Shelby county, They have two children, Lawrence E. and Leland A. Mr. Gahimer and family are members of the Christian church at Manilla. He has always voted with the Democratic party.
CHARLES H. KELSO, former member of the board of county commissioners, one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Rush county, a venerable retired farmer of Richland township, who has done his full share in the development of his section of the county, which he has honored by his citizenship for more than a half century, has ever given his support to all measures for the public good and his name has been synonymous with hon- orable dealings in all the relations of life. Mr. Kelso is descended from an old pioneer family of Indiana, the Kelsos having located in Dearborn county as early as 1812, Kelso township in that county having been named in honor of this family, particularly for John Kelso, the subject's paternal grandfather. The subject's parents were Henry and Catherine (Carroll) Kelso, the former a native of Dearborn county and the latter born in Ireland. Henry Kelso was reared to manhood, secured his education and was married in Dear- born county. He followed farming and remained in that county until a few years prior to his death, from which time he made his home with his son, Charles II. He was a farmer during all his active years, owning forty acres of land. Ile and his good wife died practically at the same time and were buried on the same day. They were the parents of eight children, of which number four are now living, Hester, Elizabeth, Mary and Charles II. Charles H. Kelso received his educational training in the common schools of Dearborn county and soon after completing his studies he enlisted in defense of his country, becoming a private in Company H, Eighty-third regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Fifteenth corps of the Army of the Tennessee. Mr. Kelso took part in many of the stirring campaigns and hotly-con- tested battles of that great struggle, in which he served nearly three years, being in the battles of Chickasaw Bluff, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Jackson, Missionary Ridge and other noted bat- tles, and then was captured at Atlanta, Ga., and was confined in the notorious prison pens at Florence and Andersonville from August 1, 1864, to December, 1865. On his release, he received an honorable discharge and returned home. During the following two years Mr. Kelso was engaged in teaching school in Dearborn
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county, but in 1867 he came to Rush county and for a time was em- ployed as a farm hand. Hle then rented farm land, which he oper- ated up to 1884, when he bought the place on which he now lives, his first purchase comprising eighty acres, to which he later added until his holdings now amount to 142 acres, in Richland township. He here carried on general farming and stock raising up to the time of his retirement in 1915, since when he has rested from his labors in quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, his farm being now rented. Charles H. Kelso was married to Mary E. King, the daughter of Charles and Alvira King, and they had ten chil- dren, seven of whom are now living, namely : Kenneth, who mar- ried Ella Barber and has two children, Fred and William; Fred, who married Jessie Krammes, and has three children, Lewis, Max E. and Louise; Charles, who married Catherine McKec and has one child, Mary Alice; Seth C., who married Mrs. Effie IIill and has one child, Easter Mary ; James P., who married Ethel Simonson and has two children, Celia and Elmer; John M., who married Cornelia Inman; Thomas G., who married Blanche Ilildreth and has three children, Carter, Alma and IIubert, and Rayburn, who married Amy Harget and has one child, Robert Charles. Mr. Kelso has been a life-long supporter of the Republican party. Ile is a mem- ber of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Grand Army of the Republic. Ile and his wife are earnest members of the Chris- tian church, at Andersonville, of which Mr. Kelso is an elder. Quiet and unassuming in disposition, Mr. Kelso's life of over a half cen- tury in this community has been such as to gain for him the univer- sal confidence and esteem of all who know him. In 1904 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners from his district and by re-election served the public in that important capacity until 1911.
CHARLES G. CARNEY, one of the substantial farmers of Noble township and a worthy representative of one of the highly honored families of this county, is a native of this locality, having been born in Rushville on July 26, 1881, and is the son of H. S. and Eva G. (Downey) Carney, the former a native of Ripley county, Indiana, and the latter born and reared in Noble township, this county. H. S. Carney was brought by his parents to Rush county in his young boyhood, and was here reared and educated, and here he and his wife spent their lives, the mother dying on October 30. 1920. Mr. Carney was a veteran of the Civil war, having served his country for four years as a member of the Fifty-second regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. They became the parents of three chil- dren, those besides the subject of this sketch being Harriet, Ellen and Zora. Charles G. Carney received a good practical education in the common schools of Noble township, and after the completion of his studies he remained with his father on the home farm until his marriage, when he began farming on his own account on the place where he now lives. At the same time he rented 115 acres of land from his father, and has increased this until at present he is farming
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about 300 acres. Energetic, discriminating and of sound judgment, Mr. Carney has proven himself a man of more than ordinary caliber and is numbered among the successful farmers of Noble township. He keeps his place well improved and attractive and its general appearance reflects great credit on him. He puts in about 120 acres to corn and practically the same amount to small grain, and also gives some attention to live stock, feeding out about 100 head of hogs a year. In 1902 Mr. Carney was married to Grace Wilson, the daughter of Edward and Florence Wilson, and they are the parents of three children: Dwight W., Florence G. and H. S., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Carney are active members of the Little Flat Rock Christian Church. Fraternally, Mr. Carney is a member of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, while his political affiliations are with the Republi- cans. A man of strong and forceful individuality, Mr. Carney has stood at all times for the best interests of his community and enjoys the respect and confidence of the entire community.
JACOB H. KNEY, a well known general farmer in Walker township, was born in that township on June 19, 1864, a son of Michael and Margaret (Wissing) Kney. His parents were born in Germany and both came to the United States when young. Of their family of seven children the following are living: Minnie, Louise. Emma, Rosa and Jacob H. Jacob H. Kney lived on the home farnı until his marriage, attending district school No. 5 in boyhood and afterward helping his father with the farm industries. After mar- riage Mr. Kney rented land from his father and operated it for himself, and when his father died he inherited forty acres. Shortly afterward he bought the forty acres adjoining and since then has added until he now has 100 acres of fine land. He carries on general farming and raises some stock. 'September 27, 1888, Mr. Kney mar- ried Ella Branson, born in Shelby county, daughter of James B. and Elizabeth Branson. The father of Mrs. Kney was born in South Carolina and the mother in Kentucky. They had nine chil- dren, five of whom are living: Robert, Lawrence, Augusta, Anna and Ella. Mr. and Mrs. Kney have two children : Earl and Lavanche. The family are members of the Christian church at Manilla. In politics Mr. Kney is a Democrat.
CHARLES H. HARTON, who for thirty years or more has been engaged in business at Milroy, proprietor of a grocery and notion store, has been a resident of Rush county all his life. He was bore on a farm in Richland township on July 27, 1866, son of Joseph and Emily (Brooks) Harton, both of whom also were born in this county. members of pioneer families, and who were the parents of nine chil- dren, six of whom are still living, those besides the subject of this sketch being W. E., O. M., Margaret, Ida and Ollie. Reared on the home farm in Rushville and Anderson townships, Charles H. Harton received his schooling in the excellent schools of his home neighbor- hood and during the days of his boyhood was a valued assistant to his father in the labors of the farm. He became familiar with the butcher business and as a young man went to Rushville, where for two years he worked as a butcher. He then took up the confectionery
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line there and after a year in that line of trade located at Milroy. where he opened a confectionery store and also put in a small stock of groceries. That was about 1890. The business grew and in 1905 Mr. Harton bought the building in which he is now located, put in a larger stock of groceries, adding to his line a stock of general notions, and has since been engaged in business at that location and has done well, long having been recognized as one of the leading merchants of Milroy. His store room is 28 by 70 feet in dimensions and he carries a complete and well selected stock in the two lines. In 1892 Charles H. Harton was united in marriage to Myrtle Mansfield, who also was born in this county, daughter of Frank Mansfield, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Russell Harton, who married Leona Thomas. Mr. Harton is a Republican and takes a proper interest in local political affairs. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have ever taken an interested part in the work of the church, Mr. Harton being a member of the board of stewards of the same.
JACOB F. DOWNEY, cashier of the Arlington Bank, at Arling- ton, is a native son of Rush county, having been born in December 15, 1859, and is the son of James H. and Lucinda L. (Price) Downey, both of whom were also born and reared in Rush county. The sub- ject's paternal grandfather, Jacob Downey, was a native of Ken- tucky, but in an early day came to Rush county and entered land in what is now known as Jackson township. On this tract of eighty acres he established a comfortable home and there he reared his family of seven children, two sons and five daughters: William, James H., Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Deboralı and Rebecca. James H. Downey was educated in the Concord school of Jackson township and thereafter for some years he was successfully engaged in teaching school. Later he devoted his attention to farming, mostly in Posey township, where he owned 100 acres of land. To him and his wife were born two sons, John P. and Jacob F. Jacob F. Downey secured his elementary education in the common schools of Posey township, attending in districts Nos. 2 and 5, and then attended the normal school at Carthage, walking six miles every morning and evening in order to secure this higher training. After completing his studies. Mr. Downey engaged in teaching school, and followed that vocation for sixteen years, fifteen years in Posey township and one year in Jackson township. During this same period Mr. Downey was also engaged in farming, cultivating his land during the summer seasons and teaching during the winter months. After he quit teaching he farmed and followed the carpenter trade for about ten years, when he was selected for the position of cashier of the Arlington Bank, of which he is still the incumbent. The Arlington Bank has been an influential factor in the business prosperity of this section of Rush county. Mr. Downey is the owner of 230 acres of land in Posey township. On September 27, 1882, Mr. Downey was married to Mary I. Collins, who was born in Posey township, the daughter of William and Martha (Bentley) Collins. Mr. Collins was a successful farmer
FRANK MCCORKLE
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in Posey township, where he owned 123 acres of land. He and his wife became the parents of four children, namely: Eli B., Mary I .. Mrs. Downey, and Omer, who died at the age of eighteen years. To Mr. and Mrs. Downey have been born three children, Clarence E .. who is a bookkeeper in the Arlington Bank and also operates a part of the home farm, married Golda Hauk and they have two children : Helen and Buford C .; Blanche became the wife of George J. Carwein, a farmer in Posey township, and they have three children: Cedric L., Carl D. and Lois R .; Forest G., who is discount clerk in the Indiana National Bank at Indianapolis, Indiana, married Hazel Field and they have one child, Frederick G. Forest is a veteran of the World war, having served a year, ten months of that time overseas, as a member of the band of the Three Hundred and Ninth Engineers. Mr. Downey is an active member of the Christian church at Arlington and in politics he maintains an independent attitude, preferring to vote for the men and measures which most nearly meet with his approval. Personally, he is genial and companionable and enjoys a large following of warm and loyal friends.
FRANK McCORKLE, trustee of Anderson township, a sub- stantial landowner of this county and the local agent for the sale of the Ford automobiles at Milroy, at which place he has made his home since retiring from the active labors of the farm about ten years ago, is recognized as one of the "live wires" of that section of Rush county and during the period of his incumbency as town- ship trustee has been, able to do much in the way of advancing public improvements thereabout. Mr. McCorkle is a native son of Anderson township and has lived there all his life. IIe was born on a farm in the vicinity of Milroy on October 22, 1877, son of John H. and Mary (Young) McCorkle, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and who for the past three or four years have been living retired at Milroy. John H. McCorkle is a son of John and Jane (Howe) McCorkle, both of whom were born in Fleming county, Kentucky, who located on a farm in Anderson township, this county, shortly after their mar- riage and here spent the remainder of their days, John McCorkle dying on January 16, 1850. His widow survived him for years and continued to maintain the farm home, directing the operations of the farm with skill and energy. John McCorkle was the son of Joseph and Hannah (Scott) McCorkle, both natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was the son of James McCorkle, a native of Scotland, who had come to this country in colonial days and upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary war had joined his forces with those of the colonists and while serving as a soldier of the Revolu- tion was seriously wounded at the battle of Cowpens. Upon the creation of the republic he accepted a land grant in what then was Kentucky county, Virginia, and settled on the same, thus becoming one of the real pioneers of the commonwealth of Kentucky. John McCorkle, the grandson of this Revolutionary hero and the grand- father of the subject of this sketch, settled on a quarter of a sec-
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tion of land in Anderson township upon coming up here from Ken- tucky and that tract is now one of the most valuable thereabout. He and his wife were the parents of three children, John H. Mc- Corkle having two sisters, Sallie and America. John H. McCorkle completed his schooling at the old Richland Academy. His father having died when he was but a boy and he being the only son, he was from the days of his boyhood a mainstay of his mother in the operations of the home farm and after his marriage continued farm- ing and was so engaged until his retirement from the active labors of the farm in January, 1918, and removed to Milroy, where he and his wife are now living and where they are very comfortably situated. He has a good farm of 250 acres and is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of the Milroy neighborhood. His wife, who was Mary H. Young, also is a member of one of the old families of Rush county. They have three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Jessie, who married Cash Redmon, and Maude, wife of Hugh Cowan. . Frank MeCorkle was reared on the farm and received his schooling at Milroy and at the Richland high school. From the days of his boyhood he was trained to the ways of the farm and after his marriage at the age of twenty-three be- came engaged in farming on his own account, renting a tract of 640 acres, which he continued to operate for twelve years and on which in addition to his general farming, he gave considerable at- tention to the raising of live stock, feeding six or eight car loads of hogs a year and also going in quite extensively to the breeding of fine horses. In 1912 Mr. MeCorkle retired from the farm and moved to Milroy, on the edge of which village he bought a tract of ninety-five acres, which he later increased to 185 acres, and platted twenty acres of this to town lots, the same being known as the New Addition. Upon moving to Milroy Mr. McCorkle se- cured the local agency for the sale of Ford automobiles, his terri- tory covering Orange, Anderson, Richland, the south half of Noble and the south half of Rushville townships, and has been highly suc- cessful in the distribution of this popular car. In 1914 Mr. Mc- Corkle was elected trustee of Anderson township and so highly appreciated were his services during the first term of his incum- bency that he was re-elected and is now serving his second term. During this period of service Mr. McCorkle has done much toward the general consolidation of the schools of Anderson township and in other ways has demonstrated his interest in the betterment and development of public conditions, long having been recognized by the people of that township as "the right man in the right place." It was in the year 1900 that Frank MeCorkle was united in mar- riage to Inez M. Cowan, who also was born in this county, daughter of John A. Cowan, and to this union two children have been born : Gertrude Louise and Charles Wilbur. Mr. and Mrs. MeCorkle are members of the United Presbyterian church and take an active interest in the work of the church as well as in all local good works. Politically, Mr. McCorkle is a Republican and has long
JOHN M. BEAVER
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HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY
been recognized as among the leaders of that party in his section of the county. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, affiliated with the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Indianapolis, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple, Indianapolis, as well as a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Milroy and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Rushville, in the affairs of all of which fraternal organizations he takes an earnest interest.
JOHN M. BEAVER, who died at his home in Union township in the fall of 1918 and whose widow is still living there, was for years one of the well known and influential men of the Glenwood . neighborhood and at his passing there were many expressions of regret on the part of his hosts of friends. It is therefore but fitting that in this volume of biography relating to the old families of Rush county some modest tribute should be paid to his memory, for the Beavers are one of the real pioneer families of the county, hav- ing been represented here since the year Indiana was admitted to statehood and five years before Rush county was erected a separ- ate unit among the counties of the Hoosier state. The first of the name to come here was Michael Beaver, who left his home in the vicinity of Georgetown, Ky., in 1816 and with his family came up into Indiana, later "entering" a tract of land in what afterward became Noble township in Rush county, where he established his home in the then wilderness, one of the first permanent settlers in that vicinity. His son, Elijah Beaver, father of the late John M. Beaver, was born in the Georgetown neighborhood in 1808 and was thus but eight years of age when he came here with his parents in 1816. He "grew up" on the pioneer farm in Noble township and in due time became a farmer on his own account and a man of substance, the owner of an excellent farm and living in a way that gave him a position of influence in the community. In 1831 there came into that community in Noble township the Rhodes family from Virginia, John and Margaret (Knox) Rhodes and their chil- dren, who had left their home in the Old Dominion and had come down the Ohio with their belongings on the flatboats of that period, stopping at Cincinnati, whence they outfitted with teams and wagons and came on up into Indiana, settling in Noble township, this county. One of the children of this Virginia family was Ann Elizabeth Rhodes, who was born in 1816 and was thus a girl of fifteen when she came here with her parents. Not long after her arrival she and Elijah Beaver met and it was not long until there was mutual recognition of the romance that had come into their lives through this meeting. They presently were married and after their marriage established their home on a farm in Noble township, where they reared their family and spent the remainder of their lives, both living to a "ripe old age," Elijah Beaver having been a resident of this county eighty years at the time of his death. The late John M. Beaver, son of Elijah and Ann Elizabeth (Rhodes) Beaver, was born on the farm in Noble township above referred to,
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on January 19, 1842, and there grew to manhood. Ile received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained at home assist- ing his father in the development of the home farm until his mar- riage at the age of twenty-five years. For a year after his mar- riage he made his home in Wabash county, this state, and then moved down into Fayette county, locating on a farm in Fairview township in that county, where he remained until 1876 when he returned to Rush county with his family and located on the farm on which his widow is still living in Union township and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on October 31, 1918, he then being in his seventy-seventh year. In addition to the farm of eighty acres in Union township of which he died possessed, Mr. Beaver owned a farm of eighty acres over in Fayette county. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Glenwood, as is his widow, had served for some time as a member of the board of trustees of the church and was generally active in community good works. Mr. Beaver's first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln and he remained an ardent Republican, ever interested in the success of the party to which his youthful allegiance had been given, an allegiance which continued steadfast throughout his life. It was on October 23, 1867, that John M. Beaver was united in mar- riage to Mary E. Stewart, who was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, and to this union were born four children, namely: Orphia E., whe married O. J. Cook, and has four children, Willard, Wallace, Emma and Evalyn; Ilugh, who married Adaline Gray ; Chester, who married Blanche Murphy, and has five children, Lu- cille, Belva, Hall, Calvin and Mary Elizabeth; and Raymond, who married Edna Tinder, and has three children, Robert, Margaret and Marjorie. Besides her twelve grandchildren here enumerated, Mrs. Beaver has one great-grandchild, her granddaughter, Emma Cook, who married Ray Compton, having one child, a daughter, Mary Estelle. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Beaver has continued to make her home on the place where she has resided for forty-five years and where she expects to continue to reside. This house is located on R. F. D. No. 1 out of Glenwood and is very pleasantly situated. Mrs. Beaver also is a member of a pioncer family in Indiana, the Stewarts having come over here from Ohio about the year 1829. She is a daughter of James and Ann Elizabeth (Waites) Stewart, the latter of whom was born in Missouri. James Stewart was born at what is now known as Goshen, Ohio, in 1817, and was twelve years of age when he came with his father, Samuel Stewart, to Indiana, the family settling in Franklin county near Mt. Carmel. James Stewart's mother, who was a MeClearney, died in Ohio and his father later married Margaret Earheart. James Stewart grew to manhood in Franklin county and was there married to Ann Eliza- beth Waites, who was born in the vicinity of Lexington, Mo., and who was left an orphan at the age of twelve years. In 1855 James Stewart moved with his family to Wabash county and the rest of his life was spent there, his death occurring in 1888. His widow
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