USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 2 > Part 47
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John Patten. grandfather of the Patterns now living in Shelby county. was born in Belmont county. Ohio. February 27. 1796. He. like his fa- ther's children. was a birthright Quaker, and continued a member of that church until his death. January 2. 1863. He married Rebecca, daughter of Joseph and Zilpha ( Hays) Stubbs. November 27. 1816, and removed at once to the new county of Morgan and bought a part of section 26. township 10. in range 12. near the Muskingum river. Here he reared a family of ten children. Of the sixty-one grandchildren of William P'atten three of the children of John Patten are now living ( 1909). He was three times married : his first wife died November 2. 1839, and he married Mrs. Rachel Patterson. December 28, 1842: she died May 7. 1855, and July 29. 1857. he was married to Mrs. Mary Bundy, who survived him. He was a most devoted member of the Friends' church at Pennville, in Morgan county: he was an eller in the church, and for many years sat at the head of the meeting ; he is buried in the Friends' burying ground at that place. He was a useful man in his com- munity, the arbiter of disputes, the friend of all who needed his assistance. and the adviser and counselor of all who needed his counsel. His house,
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prior to the War of the Rebellion, was a station on the "Underground Rail- road." along which runaway slaves were helped to Canada. His children, all born in Morgan county, were : Abraham, born January 22. 1818; died Octo- ber 2. 1846; buried in Henry county, Indiana: left no children. Rachel B., born October 11. ISig; did Deumber 8, 1803; married David Sears: her descendants live in Iowa, Missouri and farther west. Rhoda, born March 16. 1822, died October 20, 1882, married James Bailey: her children live in Iowa and Nebraska. Joseph. born July 10, 1823, died in Brush, Colorado, in 1902, leaving children in Wisconsin, Missouri and Colorado. Sarah, born January 241. 1825: married. first. to John Talbott : second. to James Bryan ; now lives at Ellsworth, Minnesota. William, the principal name of this sketch. John Quincy, born July 13. 1829. died October 9. 1853. and was buried at Raysville, Indiana: was not married. Richard, born October 7. 1831; lives at Whittier, lowa: is a retired farmer. Isaac, born March 28. 1834: lives at Lewistown, Missouri: retired ; was a mechanic. Rebecca, born March 9. 1837 : died June 4, 1861 : married Edwin Powers ; she left no family.
William Patten ( name usually signed William L.) was born March 3. 1827. He received the limited education available in what were known as private or subscription schools, conducted a few months each year, and in 1847 he left the old home in Ohio and came to Indiana, where he lived among the Friends in Wayne and Henry counties, carning his living as farmer and carpenter for a time : then he entered the employ of the old Madison & In- dianapolis Railroad. later going with the now defunct Knightstown & Edin burg Railroad, with which he held the positions of brakeman, conductor and roadmaster. January 12. 1854. he married Eliza Jane, daughter of Seth M. and Fanny ( Warren) Cole, New England people, whose ancestor. James Cole, had settled at Plymouth in 1633. and who had themselves moved to Hanover township in 1821. She was a native of Indiana, bern January 21. 1829. A little more than a year after their marriage they removed to Wis- consin, settling on a farm in Green Lake county. Members of the Cole family had preceded them: they resided there for five years: there three of their children were born. It was a beautiful prairie country, and the fertile soil. without the labor and waste of time required to clear the forest, yielded large returns, and it was with regret that they left there. But in the spring of 186; they returned from Wisconsin and bought the southeast quarter of section 6. in township 14 north, and range 8 east. in the northeast corner of Hanover township, and here he lived until 1892, when he retired from active effort and removed to Morristown, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying August 13. 1903. His wife died January 9. 1875. and he had married Asenath G. Spencer, of Iowa, at St. Clairsville. Ohio. July 29. 1880; she died in Cedar county, Iowa. August 17, 1882. She was a cousin of Senator Windom, of Minnesota, and had for seven years been a clerk in the War De-
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partment at Washington. William and Eliza Jane Patten are buried in Han- over cemetery, where five generations of her family lie. William Patten was an upright, energetic and industrious man of frugal habits, always interested in the better things of life. He had been denied the opportunities for more than a limited education and, remembering his own lack of opportunity in that respect, he used his best endeavors to educate his children. He was born a member of the Friends' church. but was disowned for "marrying out." Late in life he joined the Methodist Episcopal church and continued a member until his death, though still adhering to the beliefs of the Friends in most things. He was a member of the Morristown Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, which he joined in 1872. Ile voted the ticket of the Free-Soil party before the organization of the Republican party, and from that date he steadily allied himself with that party. He never held or sought political office, and never failed to vote nor to attend the primaries and the conventions of his party.
William and Eliza Jane Patten were the parents of eight children, six of whom still live, two dying in infancy. Of these the oldest. John Quincy. was born in Morristown, January 10, 1855. He was educated in the district sch ol and at Morristown. He spent the year 1879 in Kansas. He married Maria. daughter of George and Harriet ( Steers) Bacon. September 8. ISSO, and removed to Linn county, Iowa, where they resided four years, going thence to Reno county, Kansas. There he owns a fine. well improved farm of two hundred and forty acres in the Arkansas river valley, near Hutchinson. In 1893 he was elected Sheriff of Reno county and held the office two terms. from 1893 to 1897. receiving the largest majority of any candidate or his ticket. In 1908 he removed to Hutchinson in order to educate his only child. a son, Iliram B., born August 21, 1893. He is a member of a number of fraternal societies, including several of the Masonic bodies.
Charles S. Patten was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin. April 19. 1857. He was educated in the public schools of Hanover township and Mor- ristown, and took a business course in the Bryant and Stratton Commercial College. He received practical business training as an employe of business houses in Morristown and Shelbyville, and after some time spent in farming. in 1888, he joined himself with Alexander G. Mellis in the flour milling busi- ness in Freeport. They continued as partners for several years at Freeport and in the grain business in Morristown, when James W. Buckingham be- came a member of the firm. Later A. G. Mellis severed his connection with the partnership and Joseph A. Zike soon afterward succeeded J. W. Buck- ingham. Patten and Zike now owning what was formerly the M. C. Bur! elevator, which had been purchased in 1893 by Mellis and Patten, and the grain elevator at Reedville. He is also president of the Morristown Milling Company, in which A. G. Mellis and others are stockholders; secretary of the
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Northside Gas Company: a trustee of the Citizens' Gas Company, and the owner of real estate in Morristown, in Hanover township and in Fayette county. He has never refused to perform those civic duties that demand the time and attention of someone in every community, and since his coming to Morristown in 1803 he has held some town office almost continuously. . At present he is president of the School Board and a member of the Board of Town Trustees. During his teri of service as a member of the School Board, largely through his efforts, Morristown has improved and enlarged its school property and has received a commission for its high school. lle is a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, a past master of Morristown Ma- sonic Lodge, a member of Greenfield Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, a past chancellor of Navarre Lolge of Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the Court of Honor and Modern Woodmen. He takes an active interest in politics and his affiliations are with the Republican party. He was married December 29. 1886, 10 Anna, daughter of Robert and Sarah ( Parks ) Hughes. and has two chiklren : Hughes, born November 8, 1887, and Edith, born September 12, 1891. The former graduated in the class of 1909. and the lat- ter is in the class of 1910 in the Morristown high school.
Juliet Patten was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, October 10. 1858. She attended the public schools and the Central Normal College at Danville. She was married May 6. 1885. to Frank H., son of William and Helen ( Bromwell) Young, of Carthage, Indiana. He is engaged in the lum ber business in Indianapolis and owns valuable real estate in that city. Their children are: Raymond A., born May 24, 1886, a graduate of the Manual Training high school. Bernice, born December 22, 1887. a graduate of the Manual Training high school, and now in the class of 1910 in Miami Univer- sity. Helen, born October 22, 1889. now a student in Earlham College. Marie, born February 2. 1892, and Esther. born February 14. 1893, both in Shortridge high school. Frances, born October 14. 1900. They reside at 3541 North Meridian street, Indianapolis.
Rebecca Alice Patten was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin. May 24, 1860. She was educated in the public schools and at the Central Normal College at Danville. She was a pupil of Dr. O. F. Fitch, as were all the others of the family. She was married November 14. 1888, to Garland B .. son of Garland B. and Mary Allender, of Rush county, Indiana. He died September 5. 1896. leaving his wife and one child, Warren P., born October 17. 1890. now in the class of 1910 in the Morristown high school. . After the death of her husband she and her father made their home together in Morris- town. were she still resides and owns real estate. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Iliram B. Patten was born in Shelby county, January 4. 1867. His early education was received in the public schools of Hanover township and
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Morristown: student at Central Normal College during the winters of 1883 and 1884 and the spring of 1887. graduating in the teachers' course the latter year: teacher in Hanover township. at Gwynneville, and at Morristown. 1885-8: student at DePauw University, 1888-90; principal of the school at Fountaintown, 1890-1: principal of the Morristown school, 1801-9: presi- dent Shelby County Teachers' Association, 1896; held a teacher's state li- cense; editor Morristown Sun, 1802-1: studied law while teaching, and attended Indiana Law School, graduating in 1900: has practiced law in In- dianapolis since 1900: is a past master of the Morristown Masonic Ledge. a member of Greenfield Royal Arch Chapter: a past chancellor of Indianapolis Lodge. No. 56. Knights of Pythias: treasurer and former secretary of the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the state of Indiana: a member of the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, the Indianapolis Commercial Club. the Marion Club, and the Indianapolis Alumni Club of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity : residence. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Vernon Cole Patten was born in Shelby county. December 12. 1870. He attended the public schools of Hanover township and Morristown : taught in Hanover township. 1888-9: in the lumber business in Arkansas, 1889-00: student at Butler University, 189. 1; a student at DePauw University. 1891-2: taught at Morristown. 1892-3: manager of the Ingalls Lumber Com- pany, 1893-4: a student at Kansas City Medical College. 1894-5: student. Indiana Medical College, 1895-7 : practiced medicine in Chicago, 1807-1901 : post-graduate student at the Chicago Clinical School. 1901 : physician at Morristown since 1901; joined with Dr. William M. Pierson. in 1906. in a partnership, which still exists: is secretary of the local Board of Health. a member of the Shelby County Medical Society, of the Indiana State Medical Association, and of the American Medical Association. He was married January 11, 1905. to Julia A., daughter of Henry P. and Margaret ( Iloff- man) Gordon. They have one child, Margaret Eliza, born December 7. 1006. He is the owner of real estate in Morristown: he is a member of Morristown Masonic lodge, and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
WILLIAM ELLIOTT.
Since the early forties no name has been more familiar in Shelby county than that of Elliott. Nor have there been more substantial, more influential. or more respected citizens than those who bore that name. The family is of Scottish origin. having emigrated from "Old Scotia" during the eighteenth century and settled in the state of Delaware. There James Elliott, destined to become the founder of the Indiana house of his name. was born on August
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8, 1792. Being left an orphan in childhood. he learned the trade of tanner and subsequently removed to Philadelphia. In 1816 he was married to Hannah Williamson, a native of the Quaker City, and daughter of a jeweler. In 1829 he removed to Waynesville. Warren county, Ohio, traveling across the moun- tains in a one-horse wagon with his wife and six chidiren. At night they stopped at the old-fashioned inns, where all the children were put into one bed, crossways. It took three weeks to make this trip and after arriving the father rented a flouring mill at the county seat of Warren, which he conduct- ed several years with fair success. In 1840 he came to Shelbyville and bought the water mill at the east end of town now known as the Billman Mill. Two years later he sent his sons. William and Samuel, to take charge of this mill. and in 1844 the entire family came over from Ohio for permanent residence. They carried on a cooper shop to make barrels in which to ship their flour to Edinburg and Louisville. At the latter point commission merchants loaded a flat-boat with a consignment of their flour, but it sank before reaching New Orleans. James Elliott was a thirty-third-degree Mason, and one of the old- est members of the order in Indiana. For awhile he was in the boot and shoe business at Indianapolis, and served two terms as Mayor of Shelbyville. Though reared a Quaker he was not a church member, but liberal and char- itable in all his views. In 1843 his first wife died after becoming the mother of seven children, six sons and one daughter. the latter born in Ohio. In De- cember, 1847, he was married to Olive Dillon, of Indianapolis, by whom he had one daughter. The second wife died in the spring of 1851. and a year later he was married a third time to Mrs. Pernetta Woolen, who died in 1904. having long survived her husband, who passed away August 20. 1873.
William Elliott, one of the six sons by the first marriage, was born at Philadelphia. November 11, 1821. and when seven years old was left tem- porarily in care of his grandfather Williamson. He subsequently went to school at Waynesville, Ohio, and after laying down his books learned the car- riage maker's trade and helped in the mill repairing. After reaching Shelby- ville he acquired a one-half interest in the mill on Blue river, and after the sale of this property he purchased a farm of four hundred forty acres near Marion. Removing to this place he cultivated it for three years then disposed of it by sale, and returned to Shelbyville. At one time he owned a fine farm now in the possession of Charles Major, having purchased the same from a Mr. Thayer, subsequently selling the larger part of it to Mr. Billinan. Mr. Elliott is pre-eminently what is called a solid citizen, being sound, safe and conservative, and reliable under all circumstances. His advice in business matters has always been eagerly sought, and he has been deemed a wise conn- sellor in all the affairs of life. By reason of his prudence and excellent busi- ness judgment he accumulated a large estate and has long been regarded as one of Shelby county's wealthiest men. He has been a director of the First
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National Bank for forty years and much of the success of that well managed corporation has been due to the watchful care of William Elliott. Mr. El- liott manufactured the first buggy ever made in Shelby county, and is also the father of the gravel road system, the first pike road to Marion having been constructed by him.
Originally a Whig. Mr. Elliott has been a Republican ever since the for- mation of that party, though he has neither held nor sought political office of any kind. Mr. Elliott was a soldier in the Mexican war, enlisting in 1847 as a private in Company H. Third Regiment Indiana Volunteers, under Cap- tain Conover and Col. James Lane. Returning in 1848 in a sailing schooner across the Gulf. he was discharged at New Orleans and receives a pension of twenty dollars a month for disability.
Mr. Elliott married Margaret Amelia, only daughter of Thomas H. Flen- ing. Mrs. Elliott died in 1904. leaving two children. J. Walter, the only son. who spent much of his life as editor of various newspapers, and lived for some years in southern California. His first wife was a Miss Leeiers, mem- ber of one of Shelbyville's most substantial families, and by this union there were three children. His second wife was Miss Simmons, who died without issue. Walter Elliott is now engaged in farming. Clara .A .. the only daugh- ter of William Elliott, married the late Albert J. Gorgas, at one time Clerk of Shelby county, and a very popular and successful business man. Mrs. Gorgas lives with her father and cares for him in a handsome home on North Harrison street, originally built by her husband and occupied by him only a year before his death.
THOMAS M. SMOCK.
Longfellow's "Village Blacksmith" never had a finer exemplar than he who for thirty-five years made the air resound in his shop at Pleasant View. In the pioneer days this was an important stopping place for those traveling east of west on the Michigan road, and no one is so important to travelers with vehicles as the black smith. Thomas M. Smock, who opened his shop at this place in 1854. did a thriving business from the start and kept it up until changed conditions made country blacksmithing less profitable. His smiling face, robust form and kindly greetings were familiar during more than a gen- eration of active life, and everyone who lived in Moral township or the region around, from the early fifties until the close of the century, knew Mr. Smock as a friend. Peter Smock, of Pennsylvania, after coming West in the thir- ties, married Sarah, a native ot Virginia, and one of the pioneer children of the West. They located in the eastern part of Marion county, but later moved to the west side, where the father lived until his death. Thomas M. Smock.
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son of this couple, was born in Marion county, east of Indianapolis, on the Michigan road. March 22. 1833. When twelve years of age he lost his father and three years later became an apprentice in a blacksmith shop in Bonne county. In time he mastered the trade and, of course, was ambitious to have a shop of his own. This ambition was gratified when he was able to start his bellows at Pleasant View, and from that time on, for many years, there were but few days when the sparks were not flying in Smock's smithy. Prac- tically, he monopolized all the horse-shoeing, smelting and wagon tiring in his end of the township and prosperity followed the noisy hammering in this busy mart of the western travelers and local farmers. About 1895 Mr. Smock sold out his place and purchased another shop at Brookfieldl, where he followed his trade until 1904. when he retired to take life more easily. lle owns a fine farm of sixty-two acres, just north of Brookfield, and here, sur rounded by his family and every comfort. he is enjoying existence in full, as a reward for his long and laborious life. About 1870 Mr. Smock was made a Mason in Pleasant Lodge, No. 133, at Acton, and for two years held the office of worshipful master.
After coming to Pleasant View. Mr. Smock married Maria Louisa Hart. a native of Maryland, who came to Shelby conny in 1853. To Mr. and Mrs. Smock the following children have been born: Mary Ellen, wife of George W. Batty, is a resident of Indianapolis: Alva Nelson is deceased: llomer lives at Indianapolis: Charles F. is at home: Wilbur resides in Chicago: Fan- nie Fern, now dead, was the wife of Clarence Means: Walter 1 .. is at home: Claude Victor, of Portland, Oregon: Bertha. wife of Luis Belton, resides at Acton; Della. wife of John, live- at Indianapolis, and Loretta. Mr. and Mrs. Smock are members of the Christian church, and in politics he has al- ways been a staunch Republican, though he never would accept office.
Mr. and Mrs. Smock have been married fifty-two years, and to celebrate the event they, in July. 1909. took a trip to the state of Oregon.
JAMES II. SMITIJ.
Few men in Shelby county still live to own the land they entered from the government, and James H. Smith is one of these. He is, perhaps, the off est citizen in Moral township, and one of the oldest in the county. His mind is full of reminiscence- of the early days and he tells marvelous stories of the adventures in coming from the East, as well as experiences which befell the pioneers after they reached the western wilderness. An hour can always be pleasantly spent in talking with Mr. Smith on these subjects, and the listener always arises with the feeling that he has learned much while being delight-
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fully entertained. Men of this kind are the true local historians as they were eye-witnesses to what happened in Shelby county sixty, seventy and cighty years ago. They made the county by making possible the future development that so transformed things and it is pleasing to ste one of these patriarch -. surrounded by children. sr !! !! ren and great grandchildren, telling of the hardships and trials which it was necessary for the first settlers to go through in order that their descendants might enjoy the highly entivated farms of today, with their elegant residences, fine pike roads, telephones and rural mail delivery.
James H. Smith was born in Brook county, West Virginia. April 30. 1819. and was a son of Robert and Isabelle ( Crawford) Smith, both natives of Maryland. When he was seven years old his parents removed to Pitts- burg. Pennsylvania, where they remained two years and crossed the river into Ohio. A location was found in Richland county, and a home established. which was broken up in 1833. by the death of the mother. In 1838. Robert Smith, accompanied by his little children. three boys and three girls, started for the long trip to Missouri, carrying all his household goods in a two-horse wagon. The trip lay across Indiana, and when they arrived in Shelby county they were so much pleased with the prospects there that a decision was reached to go no farther. An entry was made of eighty acres of land in Moral township, which, after a lapse of more than seventy-one years, still re- mains in the possession of Robert Smith's son. They erected a rude log cabin. stored it with their meager effects, took possession and immediately set to work to fight the surrounding forest. At that time there were only a few cabins in Moral township, nearly all of which was covered by an unbroken stretch of magnificent timber. To cut down these trees, burn them in log heaps, make rails to build fences, grub out the underbrush, and ditch to drain off the swamp water was a herculean task, but the tale has been so often told that is hardly necessary to repeat it here. James HI. Smith, who was at that time about twenty years old, was a robust and industrious young man. Hot afraid of the hardest work, and proved a valuable assistant to his father in the trying days of the carly settlement. lle remained with his father until the latter's death and on January 22, 1843. he was married to Nancy, daughter of Uriah and Nancy ( Richmond) Emmons. both natives of New Jersey. Mrs. Smith was born in Butler county, Ohio. April 14. 1822. and when ten years old accompanied her parents to Hancock county, Indiana, where they settled and spent the balance of their days. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Smith were Jerome C .. Mary J .: Hannah, wife of Albert Alyea : James 11 .. Sidney, Nancy. Martha, Isabelle. Eliza. Diz. Emily. Fernando W., and Caro- line M. The mother died some years ago, since which time Mr. Smith has been living a retired life, surrounded by his children and enjoying the respect of the entire community. The original eighty acres, entered by his father, has
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