USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 2 > Part 39
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After his marriage Mr. Smith rented a farm in section 21, on which he resided for nine years, and then bought the farm which is at present occupied by his widow. He ownel one hundred acres, some of which had to be im- proved before suitable for modern cultivation. After his death, which oc- curred in April, 1902. Mrs. Smith disposed of sixty acres. but still retains forty, as her homestead. Mr. Smith was widely and favorably known. es- pecially among the farming community, and was regarded by all as a good citizen, good family man, and a good neighbor. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant church and all his life a supporter of moral causes. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were the parents of fourteen children, of whom nine are living : Elmore, who married Mary Ella Boring, has four children. Amy. Glenn, Gladys and Otis: Myrtle, the second daughter, remains with her mother: Ber-
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tha, wife of Elmore Boring, is a resident of Hancock county, and has two children, Charles and Fern : Cordia. wife of William Harvey Vernon, resides in Hancock county, and has five children. Roy. Meritt. Anna, Arthur and Dorothy : Martha Elizabeth, wife of Frank Gillespie, is a resident of Green- field and has three children, Audrey. John Russell and Ruby: the other chil- dren. Kittie Lara, Clarence and Mural, remain at their mother's home.
HORACE WEAVER.
A search of the records of okl Vermont will show that the Weavers were at the front during the days that tried men's souls, in the exciting times of the "Green Mountain Boys." and participated in many of the stirring inci- dents of the great revolution. Frederick Weaver served as a soldier during the war of Independence, and shared with his brethren the undying glories of Bunker Hill. He married Mary, daughter of Catherine Morse, who gained fame as the commander of an ocean vessel and was a descendant of the Morse of colonial fame. They left a son, Noah F. Weaver, who was born in Ver- mont June 7. 1800, and was married to Lucy G. Wilkins, June 22, 1831. The parents of Mr. Weaver were Uriah and Lucy ( Green ) Wilkins, the latter a descendant of Nathaniel Green, of Revolutionary fame. The Wilkinses were natives of New Hampshire, but were married in Vermont, where Lucy was born February 28. 1815. In 1853 they emigrated to Ohio, two years later removed to Bartholomew county, Indiana. and still later went to Jasper county, where the old pioneer died October 2. 1853. After his death his widow removed to White county, where she died January 22. 1860. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Weaver were Angeline, deceased; Horace, and Charles F. Mrs. Weaver died at the home of her son Horace, in Moral town- ship, and Mr. Weaver died at his home in Johnson county.
Horace Weaver, surviving son of this pioneer couple, was born at Man- chester. Bennington county, Vermont. August 13. 1836. When he had fin- ished his nineteenth year he began work for himself as a farm laborer. con- tinted in this line for two years, and then became a renter. The Civil war stirred the Weaver bicod just as a previous call, many decades before. had set his ancestors in motion to help their country in time of need. So, on April 21. 1861. he enlisted in Company II. Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and his company was the first to leave Johnson county for the three months' service. After a few days at Camp Morton, the regiment was ordered to West Virginia and took part in the campaign, which culminated in the bat- tle of Phillipi, the first Union victory of the war. Other engagements were at Lanrel Hill. Cheat River and Garrick's Ford. After finishing its term of en-
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listment. the command was mustered out in August, and Mr. Weaver returned to Johnson county. In a short time he enlisted in Compiny G. Third Indiana Cavalry, and with this command participated in many of the bloodiest en- gagements of the war. He was with Sherman during the memorable cam- paign of 1864, and, after the fall of Atlanta, his company was consolidated with the Eighth Indiana, but happening to be on a detached duty Mr. Weaver was not transferred. He served as a scout at the headquarters of General Kilpatrick, and took part in much dangerous work, until March 9. 1865. when on the march through North Carolina he, with about two hundred of his comrades, was surprised by the enemy near Solomon's Grove, near Fayette- ville, and taken to Richmond, Virginia. After confinement for several days in varions prisons, including one night at Libby. they were paroled and sent to Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio. June IS. 1865. he was honorably discharged and made his way direct to his old home in Johnson county. He engaged for some time in farming, but eventually moved to Shelby county, and bought the farm in Moral township where he has since made his home.
February 26. 1857. Mr. Weaver married Lidia .A. daughter of Clark and Margaret ( Forsythe) Tucker, who died November 15. 1859, leaving one child. Luella. who is the wife of Jesse M. Duckworth, of Johnson county. October 28, 1867. Mr. Weaver married Lucy E., daughter of James and Eliza- beth (Carr) MeCasting, of Johnson county. The children of this union were Emma, wife of David Smith, who has one child, Melba, and resides at Shel- byville. Frank, a widower with four children. Clarence, Cecil. Paul and Dor- ris, is a resident of Moral township. Eddie married an Ensinger and lives in Van Buren township. Allie, wife of Harry Schlosser. resides in Moral township and has one child. Earl. Bertha, wife of Arthur Hasler, of Han- cock county, has three children. Gerald. Ralph and Margaret. Ollie, the other daughter of the family. is attending school. Mr. Weaver and wife are members of the Baptist church, of which he is a trustee and deacon. He was made a Mason in 1866 and holds membership in the lodge at Franklin. He is a charter member and past chancellor of Moral Lodge. Knights of Pythias, at London. Until the post was discontinued at Palestine he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at that place, and for several years was its commander. Ile has been a staunch Republican all his life and for awhile was a member of the Republican County Central Committee. There was none more patriotic than the Weaver family during the early days of the country. Mr. Weaver's father, Charles F. Weaver, served as a soldier in the Eighty-first Indiana Regiment. Eight of his cousins in one family and four in another were members of the Grand Army which, after four years of un- exampled hardship, succeeded in saving and restoring the Union. Mr. Weaver himself has long been recognized as one of the best farmers and most substan- tial citizens of the county.
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E. B. MILLER, M. D.
The medical profession has an able representative at Fountaintown in the person of Dr. E. B. Miller, whose career has been eminently creditable, and whose continuous success and advancement have gained for him an enviable standing among the leading physicians and surgeons of Shelby county. Doc- tor Miller was born at New Palestine. Hancock county, Indiana. November 30. 1865. and is the youngest of a family of five children whose parents. Noah and Sitha ( Boss) Miller, are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The first six years of his life were spent in his native village. but about 187t his par- ents moved to Shelby county, from which time until young manhood he as- sisted in cultivating the home farm in Van Buuren township, and at intervals attended school at Fountaintown. His early inclination for books and study was to a considerable extent gratified by close application to his school work. and while still a youth he graduated from the high school at Fountaintown, after which he entered the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, with the object in view of fitting himself for teaching.
The Doctor made a creditable record in the latter institution and at the time of his graduation in 1888 stood among the highest in his class. in point of scholarship and general efficiency. The next year he finished a business course besides doing considerable work in the scientific department, and sub- sequently turned his attention to medicine, to which he devoted two years of close study in the city of Indianapolis. With an ambition to increase his pro- fessional knowledge. he returned to the Lebanon University and took a two years' course in medicine, upon the completion of which. in 1896. he entered the Medical College of Indiana at Indianapolis, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine the year following. In the meantime he taught several terms of school and made an honorable record as an instructor and had he seen fit to devote his life to that line would doubtless have achieved distinction as an educator. His first pedagogical experience was in Van Buren township. where he taught three consecutive terms, after which he was made principal of the schools of Gwynneville, where he had as an assistant an accom- plished young lady by the name of Bertha H. Loggan, who subsequently be- came his wife.
The year in which he received his degree Doctor Miller opened an office in Fountaintown. and in due time secured a remunerative practice which has continued to grow until he now commands a very extensive and lucrative pro- fessional business, ranking, as already stated, with the leading medical men of this part of the state. He has never ceased being a student and aims to keep in touch with the trend of professional thought and familiar with the latest discoveries in the realm of medical science. He is a member of the Hancock County Medical Society, the Strite Medical Society and other or-
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ganizations of like character and is well known among the physicians and surgeons of Hancock and Shelby counties, and throughout the state his large acquaintance and personal contact with many of the eminent men of his call ing serve to arouse his ambition and keep him fully abreast of the times.
Doctor Miller is a believer in secret fraternal work and belongs to sci - eral organizations with this principle as a basis, including Lodge No. 627. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Morristown: Tribe No. 385. Improved Order of Red Men. in which he holds the title of past sachem, Fountaintown Camp. No. 7097. Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has passed all the chairs, and the Court of Honor. In a financial way the Doctor's success has kept pace with his professional advancement, and he is now the possessor of a handsome competency. Since early youth he has been obliged to rely entirely on his own resources and the comfortable fortune which he has ac- cumulated is the result of a faithful application to his profession and the spirit of thrift by which his actions have largely buen governed.
Doctor Miller's marriage with Bertha Loggan was solemnized May 2. 1892. Mrs. Miller was born and reared in Van Buren township, received her education in the schools of Morristown and the National Normal University. at Lebanon, Ohio, and for several years prior to her marriage was one of the efficient and popular teachers of Shelby county. She taught three years in the schools of Morristown, and the same length of time at Gwynneville, where. as already stated, she was assistant to the gentleman whom she afterward married.
Doctor and Mrs. Miller are the parents of three children, the oldest of whom. Max H., is deceased. The others are Annabel, born February 28. 1901, and Mae, whose birth occurred on December 11, 1904. In his political fealty the Doctor is a Republican, and in religion a Methodist, holling the office of trustee in the church to which he belongs. Mrs. Miller is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a zealous worker in the same.
GEORGE W. FERRIS.
An honored veteran of the War of the Rebellion and a gentleman of high standing and sterling worth. George W. Ferris is entitled to specific notice among the representative citizens of Shelby county, enjoying as he does the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and holding distinctive pres- tige in a community which has been his home for many years. Mr. Ferris is a native of Iroquois county, Ilinois, where he was born July 6. 1841. being a son of Daniel and Sarah ( Trimble ) Ferris. On the paternal side he is de- .scended from sturdy New England ancestry, his grandfather, Bostic Ferris.
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coming from the state of Connecticut, while his mother's people belonged to an old Kentucky family which figured in the pioneer history of that common- wealth and has been represented in Shelby county, Indiana, since about the year 1824. The family of Daniel and Sarah Ferris consisted of five children. three of whom are living, viz : Seth, a farmer of Van Buren township: Justice. of Kansas, and George W., the subject of this sketch, the names of the deceased being Matilda and Ambrose. After the death of Daniel Ferris, which oc- curred in Illinois, his widow returned to Shelby county, where both had for- merly lived, and spent the remainder of her life in Van Buren township.
George W. Ferris was quite young when deprived of a father's care and guidance, and only three months old at the time of his mother's return to In- diana. He was reared in the country, experienced his first contact with the world as a laborer in the fields, and grew to maturity with a strong and vig- orous body and a mind well adapted to encounter the exigencies and vicissi- tudes of life. On the breaking out of the great rebellion he was among the first of the young men of Shelby county to sever home ties and tender his ser- vices to the Union, enlisting September. 1861, in Company 1, Fifty-first In- diana Infantry, which was mustored in at Indianapolis in October following. and shortly thereafter assigned to the Fourth Army Corps. Mr. Ferris was not long in reaching the scene of hostilities and, Juring the three years and two months his regiment was at the front he experienced all the realities of war- fare and made a record replete with duty faithfully and cheerfully performed. Among the more important actions in which he participated were the bloody battles of Shiloh and Stone River, and later, while engaged with the enemy at Day's Gap. Alabama. he was shot and taken prisoner. With a number of comrades as unfortunate as himself he was sent to Richmond, Virginia, where. until his exchange, he was incarcerated in old Libby, which has gone into history as one of the most noted as well as most dreaded prisons in the South during the war.
At the expiration of his period of enlistment Mr. Ferris returned to Shel- by county and resumed the pursuit of agriculture, which he followed until ac- cumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to enable him to discontinue active life a few years ago, and spend the remainder of his days in retirement. While engaged in his chosen vocation he was energetic and enterprising. de- voted great attention to his family interests and kept abreast of the times in all things relating to the science of agriculture. He moved to his present farm in 1868, and since that time has brought his land to a high state of cultivation and made a number of substantial improvements, including good buikling's. fences. etc., and sparing neither pains nor expense to render his home beanti- ful and attractive. Hi- farm, which includes a quarter section and lies in one of the most favorable agricultural districts of Van Buren township, prosluices abundant crops of all the grains and vegetables grown in this part of Indiana. and represents a value of at least a hundred dollars per acre.
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Mr. Ferris was married August 17, 1865. to Miss Anna J. Copple, who was born August. 1842. in Shelby county, being a daughter of Daniel and Barbara ( Plummer) Copple, both parents belonging to old and well known families, who came from North Car lin to this part of Indiana when the country was a wilderness. Mr. an ! Mrs. Ferris have had nine children. viz: Oliver P., born November 17. 1866; Daniel. December 20, 1867: Seth Alvin. January 27, 1869: Esther, March 28, 1870; Ollice, March 16, 1872; Della. May 12. 1873: Matilda. December 26, 1875: Justice, March 10. 1877, and Juda, who was born on the 16th of October, 1878.
Politically Mr. Ferris votes the Republican ticket, but he is not a politi- cian, though well informed.concerning the great issues upon which the public is divided. He has always been a quiet, law-abiding citizen, interested in all that tends to promote the welfare of his fellow men and lending his active influence to the right side of every moral question. He holds membership with Dumont Post. No. 18. Grand Army of the Republic. Shelbyville. his wife being identified with the Woman's Relief Corps, of that city.
NICHOLAS A. MILLER.
Prominent among the enterprising agriculturists of Van Buren township and enjoying influential prestige as a citizen is Nicholas A. Miller, a life- long resident of Shelby county and an active participant in all that makes for the material progress and moral advancement of the community in which he lives. His father, Jacob K. Miller, was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Kern) Miller, and his mother before her marriage was Eliza Boss, whose parents were among the well known and respected people of Shelby county. Mr. Miller was born December 8. 1859. in the township of Van Buren. and. like the majority of country lads. spent his early life on a farm, and while still young became familiar with the methods required to cultivate the soil and gather the crops. During the winter months he attended the district school known as Fairview, and such was his progress that at the age of eighteen he was sufficiently advanced to obtain a license and become a teacher. After teaching two terms and realizing the necessity of still greater efficiency ere he could advance in the profession, he entered the National Normal Univer- sity at Lebanon, Ohio, where he took the teacher's course and from which he was graduated in 1883.
Leaving the above institution well qualified for the work he had in view. Mr. Miller soon attained more than local prominence as an educator, and dur- ing the sixteen years in which he devoted his attention to teaching, his services were in great demand in various parts of his own and'other counties.
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At the expiration of the period indicated he withdrew from the profession to give his entire attention to the more agreeable and more remunerative voca- tion of agriculture, which he has since pursued with encouraging financial results. Mr. Miller owns one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in the township of Van Buren which. under his efficient labor, has been brought to a high state of cultivation and otherwise well improved. and at this time his farm is one of the most productive in the locality, to say nothing of its beauty and attractiveness as a desirable place of residence. He is familiar with modern agricultural implements and skilled in all kinds of machinery used on the farm: he keeps in excellent repair everything on his place, and for a number of years he has operated a threshing machine, in which kind of work he leads all competition in his part of the country and every year does a large and lucrative business.
Eunice S. Leonard. who became the wife of Mr. Miller on the 28th day of October. 1885. was born in Hancock county, Indiana. December 7, 1867. the daughter of Rufns B. Leonard, whose father. John Leonard, a native of North Carolina, came to Indiana in an early day and was a pioneer of that part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have four children, namely : Edgar, born July 26, 1886, graduated from the common schools and married Nellie Means, being at this time a rising young farmer of Van Buren township: Harry A., born January 18, 1889. completed the common school course and later was graduated from the Shelbyville high school and is an intelligent young gentleman of progressive ideas and his father's assistant on the farm. Hattie B .. also a common school graduate and a young lady of intelligence. was born in August. 1891 : Connie M., whose birth occurred in the month of August. 1893. is well educated, a graduate of the common school course.
Mr. Miller and family are highly esteemed in their community and take a lively interest in everything calculated to arouse and keep alive an interest in the intellectual and moral advancement of their neighbors and friends. Both husband and wife are members of the Court of Honor at Fountaintown, and in matters political he gives his support to the Republican party.
SAMUEL MARTIN.
In 1837 a one-horse wagon might have been scen wending its way through the woods of northwestern Shelby county, which showed signs of rough usage, the result of a long and rough journey from beyond the Alle- ghanies. The party accompanying the crude conveyance consisted of Peter and Elitha ( Varnum) Martin, four daughters and two sons, who were com- pelled to walk most of the way during the trip of six weeks from their ok!
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home. The little party of immigrants finally located in Moral township, be- tween London and Michigan road, where they unloaded their meager effects and entered into the trying lives of pioneers. The men and boys of the party began working by the day for very small wages and made shingles during the intervals. Some years later the father died in Moral township and the mother passed away while residing in Tipton county. Their children were: Nancy, who married Sampson Hudson, both deceased ; Polly, wife of William Hughes, both dead: Charity married Gaylord Roseberry, and both are now numbered with the dead; Miriam married John Hudson, both dead : William and John are also dead, and Henry is a resident of Knightstown.
Samuel Martin, the other living son, was born in Rockingham county. North Carolina, April 1, 1825. His schooling was limited to one winter's term, as he was compelled to assist his father in the support of a large family. He worked many a day for twenty-five cents, or eight dollars per month. until he reached manhood's estate and began to look out for himself. 1lis first venture was on a small place of seventy acres, which he bought in llan- cock county and put in two years clearing, building a log cabin in the woods and suffering all the hardships incident to such an undertaking. He traded his place for some cleared land, rented a farm north of Palestine and spent two years trying to coax a living out of reluctant conditions. His next in- vestment was forty acres of swamp land in Moral township, which he cleared. ditched and improved until it made a very respectable grain farm, later buying an additional forty acres nearby, but soll the half of this which had been cleared. lle cut the timber to build a frame house, did the necessary fencing. put up needed outbuildings and in time had a comfortable home, in which he lived for thirty-five years. Eventually he disposed of all his holdings and purchased eighty-one acres where he now lives. This place was badly run down when he got it, but Mr. Martin, by ditching, clearing and erop rotating. has developed it into a very productive farm. He is now one of the oldes! citizens of the township and can truly claim to have been one of the men who made the county. No man ever rose from more humble beginnings to a posi- tion of affluence and influence among his neighbors. Well preserved and full of interesting details about the early pioneer days, he is a pleasant man to meet and is able to give valuable instruction to the rising generation.
In early manhood Mr. Martin married Elizabeth Nulliner, a native of Germany, who came here when two years old, with her father, George Nul- liner. The children by this union were: Mary, who married Jackson Wil- kins, a resident of Moral township: Nancy. wife of William Laurence, of Marion county: George, the eldest son, married a Miss Fisher and lives in Moral township. Thomas, who married a Miss Alyea, also resides in Moral township. William, who married Miss Tucker, is a citizen of Moral town- ship. Emma, wife of Nelson Downing, is a resident of Marion township.
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Elijah, who married Eliza Plummer, resides in Butler county. Kansas. The mother of these children died April 21. 1905, and was buried in Kissel ceme- tery. September 19. 1906. Mr. Martin married Mrs. Julia Vernon, who was born in North Carolina. November 29. 1847. She was the daughter of Henry and Isabel ( Wilson ) Ellington, who settled in the south part of Shelby county about 1852. In 1862 Mrs. Martin married George Vernon, who died Novem- ber 25. 1900, and is buried at Fountaintown. The children of Mrs. Martin's first marriage were Charles, a resident of Hancock county; Viola, wife of Morton Pope. of Hancock county: Henry, deceased: Jessie Belle, deceased. and George, a resident of Fountaintown.
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