USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 2 > Part 48
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
1
910
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
been added to from time to time until his hollings amount to about two hun- dred twenty-six acres of as fine farming land as the county can boast. li is. of course, greatly improved over the first conditions and now enjoys every modern improvement in the way of buildings, fencing, roads and other con- veniences.
DAVID E. DAKE.
The above named gentleman is a member of the younger generation of farmers who are operating on the land first entered or acquired by the pio- neers. It has been their duty to take up the birden where the ekler generation left off, and by applying modern, scientific processes, make farming what it ought to be. Mr. Dake is a son of the late Benjamin Dake, by His second marriage with Margaret Simpson. The two sets of children made a very numerous family, but as their father had accumulated about two thousand acres of land he was able to provide for all of them generously and start them off in life well equipped for its battles. David E. Dake was born in Moral township. Shelby county. Indiana. July 14. 1858. or just thirty years after his father's arrival in Shelby county, where he came when seven years of age with his parents, from their old home in Shenandoah Valley. Virginia. As he grew up on the farm, he attended the district scheels during the winters. but. of course, made a hand in the field during the busy seasons of summer. Life went on in this way until he had completed the twenty-third year of his age, when he began to think of looking out for himself. Marriage with most young men is the first step toward a business career, and Mr. Dake was no ex- ception to the common rule. Finding a lady to his liking in Eleanor Fields. daughter of C. Fields, the ceremony resulted in a happy and pre ductive union. They became the parents of nine children. Albert, the oldest, married a Miss Pollard. resides in Marion county and has one child. Forest : Eva died in early youth : Essie. wife of William Morgan, resides in Moral township and has two children. Cecil and Mary. The other children, all of whom remain at home, are: Dessie. Ilarrison. Theodosia. Rosa. Rossie and Nora. The mother of this family died November 28. 1905, and was laid to rest in the Dake family cemetery. She was a member of the Baptist church, and is spoken of by all who knew her as an excellent woman. Mr. Dake owns two hundred and twenty-three acres of fine farming land, which he devotes t guieral agriculture and stock raising. He is regarded as progressive and up-to-date. and one of the best of the county's younger farmers. Aside from his skill as a tiller of the soil Mr. Dake has given indications of possessing remarkable ability in a mechanical line, and is a firm advocate of the possi- bilities of cement. Recently he built a beautiful home of this material an.lis
911
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
the proud possessor of the only house of the kind in the township. He made the cement blocks from which the house is constructed himself, being a mant- facturer of this fine building material, which is growing more and more popu- lar every day. All of the blocks used in his own beautiful house were made on the place at his own manufactory, and this example is calculated to encour- age this industry by cansing many to see the advantages of cement over brick. wood or stone.
JARED MORGAN KEITH.
This retired farmer, respected citizen of Fairland. was born in Lewis county, Virginia. March 22, 1837. and is a son of William and Nancy Keith. natives of West Virginia and Virginia, respectively.
James Keith. the subject's grandfather. a Virginian by birth. came 10 Shelby county. Indiana. about 1827. In 1843 the subject's parents came to Shelby county and settled in Sugar Creek township. where they remained one year, removing at the end of that time to the township of Brandywine. and locating on eighty acres of land, which he purchased and improved and on which he lived to the end of his days. He was a man of sterling honesty. a pronounced Democrat until the party split in 1860; he then joined the ranks of the Republican party, and for many years a zealous member of the Metho- dist Protestant church. When a young man the subject's grandfather Keith married Mary Alkire, who bore him children as follows: Mrs. Nancy Collins : James, Mrs. Christina Sleet. John. William. Mr -. Margaret Ilacker, Mrs. Catharine Hacker. David. Jonathan and Mrs. Sarah Phillip.
William Keith, the third of the above children, and father of the subject of this sketch, came to Indiana in 1843 and spent the remainder of his life in Shelby county, dying on his farm in Brandywine township in 1862. He mar- ried, in his native state. Nancy Wilson, and reared a family of nine children. as follows: Mrs. Mary Ann Keith. Jane. Mrs. Sarah Hughes, James. David. Mrs. Margaret Ray. Jared M .. of this review : William G. and Mrs. Nancy C. Burch, all deceased except Jared and Mrs. Ray, who lives in Brandywine township. Mrs. Nancy Keith, mother of the above children, was a daughter of Samuel and Jennie ( Kazie ) Wilson, natives of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States many years ago and settled in Virginia, where their resper- tive deaths occurred. The Wilson family was well known in the above named state and highly esteemed. but the descendants are now scattered over the vp- rions parts of the land, the subject and his sisters with their respective chil. dren representing the family in Shelby county.
Jared Morgan Keith was about six years of age when his parents home! to Shelby county, but he retains vivid recollections of the journey and of the
912
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO .. IND.
early experiences on the farm where he was put to work as soon as old enough to be of service. He attended, in winter months, the country schools, and re- mained at home assisting his father until the latter's death, after which he took charge of the farm and looked after his mother's interests and comfort until 1867. when she. toe. passed into the great beyond. On November 5. 1863, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Keith with Margaret Rhorer, whose birth occurred in Sugar Creek township, February 21. 18.43. being a daughter of Simon and Margaret Daniels ( Rhorer), the father born in Ohio, the mother in Kentucky.
During the three years following his marriage, Mr. Keith farmed the home place, but at the expiration of that time sold out and moved to Illinois. where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1898, residing the meanwhile in the counties of Clark. Edgar and Coles. Disposing of his interests in that state in the year indicated. he returned to Shelby county, and has since lived a retired life in Fairland, where he has a beautiful and attractive home. and is in comfortable circumstances, being well situated to enjoy the many ma- terial blessings with which his labors have been rewarded. In his political relations Mr. Keith is a Republican, earnest in the support of its principles. and believing implicitly in the great mission of his party. Though not an office seeker, his counsel and advice always command the attention and respect of his political associates. Like all intelligent and thinking men, he has devoted considerable attention to revealed religion, and the result that his confidence in his Heavenly Father never wavers. Many years ago he united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has always been a devout member and in- fluential worker in the society at Fairland. being a liberal supporter to the various lines of effort for the general good of his fellow men.
In 1861 Mr. Keith tendered his services to the government to assist in putting down the great rebellion, but on account of ill health failed to pass the examination pre-requisite for enlistment. Three years later, however, he again made the attempt with better success, having been accepted as a mem- ber of Company G. Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, which formed a part of the Army of the Cumberland. After serving with an honorable record until the close of the war and taking part in the Grand Review at Washington. he received his discharge and returned home to resume the peaceful pursuits of civil life, which he continued until retiring from active duty a few years ago. He formerly belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic in Illinois, and is now the recipient of a liberal pension from the government.
Mr. Keith experienced many of the vicissitudes of the early times in Shelby county, labored hard to clear and develop the farm on which his father settled. and bore his share in promoting the material interests of Brandywine township and making it what it is today.
Mr. and Mis. Keith have no children of their own, but their house has
913
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
ever been at the disposition of young people, in whom they have always taken a lively interest. Indeed, their doors have ever been open to their friends, ir- respective of age and all who cross the threshold are profuse in their praise of the host and hostess whose kindly welcome and generous hospitality have en- deared them to the large circle of acquaintances who are accustomed to gather beneath the hospitable roof.
Simon Rhorer, grandfather of Mrs. Keith, was a native of Germany. but with his wife came to America many years ago and settled in Ohio, where his death subsequently occurred. Later his widow and children moved to Shelby county, Indiana, and located in Sugar Creek township, where she spent the remainder of her life and was laid to rest in the old cemetery at Boggs- town. They had a family of six children, namely: Simeon, Samuel, John. Mrs. Saloma Pettyjohn. Mrs. Mary Ramsey and Simon, father of Mrs. Keith, all of whom have been gathered to their fathers.
Margaret Daniels, wife of Simon Rhorer, mother of Mrs. Keith, was a daughter of John M. and Nancy ( Bogges ) Daniels, and the oldest of a fam- ily of four children, the names of her brothers and sisters being as follows: William. Mrs. Henrietta Crosby, and Catherine, who married Martin Trist- ler. The Daniels family settled in Sugar Creek township in an carly day. but later moved to Clark county, Illinois, where the father and mother died and are buried.
Simon Rhorer and wife spent their lives in the township of Sugar Creek. and were among the highly respected people of the community in which they resided, both being members of the Presbyterian church, and noted for their religious zeal and many kindly deeds. Mr. Rhorer was a farmer by occupa- tion, and a most estimable citizen. Mrs. Keith's mother died March 1. : 843. her husband surviving her a number of years, departing this life in 18;8.
Simon Rhorer, father of Mrs. Keith, was a soldier in the Mexican war. having enlisted from Indiana at the beginning of the war and remaining until the close of the same. He was never wounded. but became broken in health while in the service. Mrs. Keith's great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
NEHEMIAH MEANS.
Willian Means, a citizen of North Carolina more than a century ago. left three sons. Fountain. Alexander and Robert, all of whom caught the western fever in early manhood and became emigrants to the Northwest. Territory when it was formed into states. Alexander reached Shelby county about 1824, and Robert came in about 1828. Fountain left his Carolina home in IS20. made the overland trip to Indiana and located for a stay of four
58
914
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO .. IND.
years at Madison. In 1820 he came to Shelby county, entered eighty acres of government land in Moral township, near Brookfield, and set himself to the task of rescuing it from the primeval forest with which it was covered. Later he added one hundred and sixty acres more, put up a log calm and went through the trials and struggle- incident to life in the wilderness. When these brothers died. Fountain owned four hundred acres, while the others had one hundred acres each. Fountain married Letta Edwards, also a native of North Carolina, who shared his ventures, his failures and succeses as a devoted wife until called away by death in 1849. He survived her many years, not answering the final summons until 1865. Of their twelve children all have passed away except three : Eleanor married Thomas Parrish: Martha married Benjamin Dake: Elizabeth married James Follen : Seeley and Lu- cinda (twins) died young: Nehemiah: Emeline married Robert Brown; William: James Madison, a resident of Shelbyville: Robert resides in Van Buren township: Fountain and Hardin.
Nehemiah Means, sixth of the above list, was born in Moral township. September 13. 1830. He grew up on his father's farm, assisting in the clear- ing of the land and other hard labor. His education was limited, being re- ceived in the poorly equipped subscription schools of those days. His death occurred May 6. 1909. He was the oldest member of the East Union Baptist church, of which he was a trustee and was a deacon for nineteen years. He always took much interest in church work. after joining in 1808, was a liberal subscriber and active in all of its educational and missionary affairs. Shortly after his first marriage in 1849. he rented a farm from his father in-law. for six years, purchased the property at the expiration of his lease and later added to his holdings from time to time until he owned two hundred acres of choice farming land. When he moved upon his farm he occupied temporary quar- ters on the northeast side touching the Michigan road, where he remained eighteen years, and then erected the commodious house in which he resided until his death. All the surroundings were kept in good repair, everything indicating the presence of a goed farmer and up-to-date management. He was one of the oldest born residents of the township, as well as one of its most highly respected citizens.
October 14. 1889, he married Martha, daughter of George W. and Sarah ( Floyd ) Holmes. They had seven children, of whom five grew up: Sarah J .. wife of Archibald H .: Joyce resides in Missouri, and has the following children : Carrol, Oliver P. M .. Addison, Gertrude Essie. Iva Estel and Floyd. Margaret E., wife of Frank McDonald. resides in Sugar Creek township and has one child. Dr. Ora Holmes McDonald. Coroner of the county. John Robert and George F. are deceased : Thomas Hendricks married Anna Gra- him. resides in Missouri and has had five children. Elmer. Ora. Clarence. Floyd. deceased, and Marie. The mother died in 1862, and in 1865 Mr.
915
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
Means married Mrs. Lucinda Rouse, widow of Thompson Rouse, by whom she had three children. Her maiden name was Jackson. By his second mar riage Mr. Means had the following children: Albert P. married Margaret Cunningham. now deceased: Carey S. died in youth: Rolla married Mamie Harrison, resides in Moral township and has one child. Glenn. Anna, wife of Alva Mann. is dead : Willard .A., who married Stella House, is a resident of London, this county, and has two children. Roberta and Harold. Ezra P. is deceased. The mother dying March 17. 1880. Mr. Means was married No- vember 10, 1880. to Eliza A. Harriman, daughter of James N. and Catherine ( Judd) Harriman. The only child by this union was Roy J., who married Edith Jeffries, resides in Moral township. and has two children. Maurice and Nazoma. Mrs. Means dying. Mr. Means chose bis fourth wife in the person of Olive Rush, to whom he was married July 23. 1800. She was born in Sugar Creek township. June 0, 1859, and was a daughter of William Rush. a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.
JAMES ROBERT MEANS.
Anyone who wishes to hear, at first hand, what the carly pioneers went through, may do so by talking to the venerable farmer above mentioned, who. after a long and laborious life. is now enjoying the sweets of retirement. He will tell you of the overland trip from North Carolina. made in 1830 by his parents. William and Mornin ( Belton) Means. He will describe to you the wild aspect of things in eastern and central Indiana, with the interminable forests, the howling wolves and its bands of prowling Indians. His father first resided in Johnson county as a farmer, but in later years followed his calling in Shelby and Marion. In addition to agriculture, which was crude and unprofitable in those days, the old North Carolinian set up a distillery. for the products of which there was much demand among the brawny set- tlers. In the course of years this worthy couple were gathered to their fathers and headlines on old tombs in the Means cemetery indicate that they found a resting place there many years ago. They had a large family and their de- scendants would puzzle the mathematician at "okdl settlers' meetings." if not well versed in numbers. Elizabeth, the oklest. married Charles Perry, a na- tive of Kentucky, who located in Marion county. Indiana, about 1836, and died in 1872, leaving a son, Charles W., who was born January 3. 1848, and who married Martha Wilkins, resides in Moral township and has four chil- (Iren. Marshall. Clarence. Maude and Ezra. Mrs. Perry is the daughter of John W. Wilkins. now deceased. a native of North Carolina, who married Caroline Joice. Marshall Perry, who married Sarah Arnold, has five children.
916
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
Cecil, Kenneth, Gilbert, Esther and Gladys. Clarence Perry married Lena Stewart and has three children. Roy. Emmerald and Ezra. Maude Perry married Vorce Cartright. Ezra Perry married Gertrude Bartlett and has two children, Marie and Doris. The other children of William Means were: James Roberts: Mary, wife of Linville Joice, both now dead: Narcy, wife of George Wilkins, of Hancock county: Thomas P., deceased: Martha, wife of William Hickman. deceased; John. deceased: Sarah, wife of William Gra- ham: Ruth. wife of William MeCansey, and Richard.
James Robert Means, second in this list of children, was born in Rock- ingham county. North Carolina. August 3. 1827. As a boy he was right up against all the hardships of pioneer life, never saw the inside of a school-house and never knew what it was to take a vacation. He has been a farmer all his life, only stopping when the approach of old age suggested retirement. He has lived for forty years on the farm which still constitutes his home and is, perhaps, the oldest citizen in the township and one of the oldest in the county. He was married in 1848 to Elizabeth J .. daughter of A. Bailes, one of the pioneers of Shelby county, of which she herself is a native. Mr. and Mrs. Means have had five children, all of whom are living. James is a resident of Sullivan county, Indiana. William is a farmer of Moral township. Mary. wife of William Sheppard, resides at Geneva. Colorado. Charles lives in Marshall county, Indiana, and Henry, in Texas.
WILLIAM RUSH.
The subject of this biographical memoir is remembered by a large circle of acquaintances and friends as an intelligent. enterprising man, thoroughly reliable in all business relations, and his name for a long stretch of years was a synonym for honor in all the ways of life.
William Rush, one of the honored pioneers of Shelby county, Indiana. was born in Highland county, Ohio, January 13. 1815, the son of James and Barbara ( Barngrover ) Rush. He was reared in that county, remaining there until 1833, when he came to Shelby county. Indiana, settling in the northern part of Sugar Creck township, entering land from the government. He was accompanied by a sister. but after erecting a cabin and beginning a clearing in the woods, looking toward the improvement of his farm, the rest of the family came from the old home in the Buckeye state and joined them.
James Rush was a farmer all his life and a most successful one, too, for those carly times, and it was to such as he that Shelby county owes a debt of gratitude for clearing its wilderness and developing its valuable farms. He was a typical pioneer, sturdy and honest, a loyal member of the Baptist
917
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
church. He was four times married and he became the father of the follow ing children : William, subject of this sketch ; John ; Elizabeth married Miles Judkins: Mary married William Judkins: Nancy lives in Ohio: Sarah mar ried Peter Snyder: Louisa married Richard Steward; Lucinda married a Mr. Boyd.
After a long and useful fie. James Rush passed away in 1877 and he lies buried in Boggstown cemetery.
William Rush, our subject, assisted with the work on the farm, doing what he could in clearing and developing it. consequently he carly knew what hard work meant, Int it gave him the grit that caused him to succeed when he became old enough to fight the battle of life for himself ; however, his early youth was spent in Ohio, where conditions were not so primitive as they were in the Hoosier state at that time, and it was in the Buckeye state that he received what education he obtained in the old-time subscription schools.
On January 3. 1838. Mr. Rush was united in marriage with Permelia Wharton, who was born in Kentucky. February 28. 1819. the daughter of William Wharton. (A sketch of the Wharton family is to be found else- where in this volume. )
L'pon coming to Shelby county William Rush entered land, which he improved into a very valuable farm, on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying September 17, 1891. His wife died April 25. 1855. leaving the following children : Francis, who married B. Clayton, lived in Moral town- ship: Paulina, who married Michael E. Crum, of this township: James, who lives in Greenwood. Indiana: Mary. deceased. Mrs. William Rush was a faithful member of the Baptist church. She and her husband are sleeping the sleep of the just in Boggstown cemetery.
William Rush in later years became a member of and an active worker in the New Light church. He was twice married. his last wife being Eliza- beth Imel. daughter of George Imel, this wedding occurring August 19. 1858. and to this union the following children were born: Olive, who married Nehemiah Means, and they are living in Moral township: Luella, who mar- ried Lewis Means, lives in Indianapolis : Robert lives in Cass county, Indiana : Alfred, who is living in Indianapolis; Harriet, who married Newton F. William, is the mother of five children, namely: Margaret Elizabeth, who married Scott Fox, living in Fairland: Carl. Edith. Meredith and French Leo are the other children of Mrs. Harriet Williams. Earl P., the sixth child of Mr. and Mrs. William Rush, lives in Indianapolis; Carrie, who married Bert Norvell. lives near Bay City, Texas: Myrtle, who married Harry Taylor. lives in Edwards, Indiana.
Mrs. Rush is still living in Fairland, this township, being regarded by all who know her as one of the grand old women of the county, possess- ing many praiseworthy attributes, kind. generous and evincing beautiful
918
CHADWICK'S HISTORY OF SHELBY CO., IND.
Christian faith, so that she is an inspiration to all who come in contact with her. It is, indeed, interesting to hear her tell of the early days of this locality in which her family and that of her noble husband, who has gone on before. played such an important part in its development.
CAPT. THOMAS L. HAYMOND.
Waldron is one of the prettiest and thriftiest villages in Shelby county. and the country immediately surrounding the village is one of the many charming and fertile sections of the county. This delightful country at- tracted the very earliest settlers of the county in 1820 to 1825. The pioneers of our western civilization, seeking homes on the frontier, found in this favored spot so many of the conditions which charm and satisfy, that very soon a pioneer home was established upon every "eighty" or upon every "quarter-section" in what is now known as the Waldron country. These homes were simple and unadorned. as pioneer homes, per force, must be, but they were the abodes of cheer and comfort. nevertheless, and in them dwelt a sturdy race of men and women, esteemed and honored in their day and gen- eration.
Among the early settlers in this Waldron country came John Haymond and his family of sons and daughters, a family that grew to be of command ing influence in the young commonwealth. not only because of the large num- ber who composed it. but because of a rare endowment of intelligence and energy and thrift as well. That man may be pardoned a large measure of self-felicitation who can trace his ancestry back through more than a century of resolute and progressive men. In this fortunate category of men may be numbered Capt. Thomas L. Haymond. The Haymond family, in the male line. is of English extraction. John Haymond. of English birth, is the first or head of the Haymond family in America. It has been handed down from generation to generation in this Haymond family, and now established as a matter of veritable history, that the first John Haymond was English born ; but of what county or shire in England his immediate family were, there is now apparent no way of knowing. It is a family tradition, verified from one gen- eration to another, that he was induced to emigrate to America, with a com- pany of English people. in the early part of the eighteenth century, and that he was solicited to become a member of this company because of his mechani- cal and artistic skill. No chronicles are found as to his parentage, date or place of birth, or marriage, or whether he was married before he came to America, or not. It is known that his wife's name was Margaret, and that a large tract of land was patented to him in 1734. in what is now Montgomery
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.