USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 99
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 99
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property in Spencer, where he now resides. He was united in marriage, in September of 1861, to Rebecca J. Taylor, daughter of Samuel and Susan Taylor, of Owen County. The issue of this union is five chil- dren. Mr. McGuire is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, has been a prominent member of the Methodist Church for many years, and politically is a Republican.
J. A. McHALEY, lumber merchant, was born in Monroe County, Ind., February 25, 1835. His parents, William and Lucinda (Rice) McHaley, were natives of Kentucky, who came to Indiana about 1823, and settled in Monroe County, in the woods, where they began to clear the wilderness. They remained there until 1838, when they removed to Greene County, where the subject of this sketch lived until he was twenty years old, when he went to farming for himself. His father died in 1856. He lived on his farm until 1864, when he came to Owen County and located at Pleasant Valley, where he went into the general merchan- dise business. In 1874, he came to Spencer and engaged in the lumber trade, at which he is now doing a good business. He was married, in 1853, to Delila Trout. They had three children. The wife died in 1862, and six years later he married Emily F. Mills, daughter of John Mills, one of Owen County's pioneers. The issue of this union was four children. Mr. McHaley is a highly respected citizen, and is a member of the K. & L. of H. and of the K. of P. Lodge.
CAPT. ROBERT McNAUGHT was born near Spencer, Owen County, Ind., July 27, 1828. His parents were Thomas and Catherine (Bartholo- mew) McNaugh, the mother being a daughter of Gen. Joseph Bar- tholomew, the old Indian fighter. They came from Clark County, Ind., to Owen County, Ind., in 1816, and located in Washington Township, where they remained until their deaths, the mother dying in 1864, the father in 1866. Capt. McNaught is the twelfth in a family of fourteen children. He lived in Owen County until twenty-two years of age. He then went to California in search of gold, but remained only a short time, and started home by way of water. At Shaker City, Isthmus of Panama, he hired himself as hunter to the company, then building a railroad across the Isthmus. While there, he took the yellow fever, and was in a hospital for seventy-three days. As soon as he was able, he started for home. He crossed the Gulf to New Orleans, and, arriving there, he purchased a new outfit, and started on the old " Belle Key " steamer. He came to St. Louis, thence up the Illinois River to Peoria, and was there detained by sickness. After recovering from his illness, he went to McLean County, Ill., and farmed for two years, when his property was destroyed by a cyclone. He then moved to Monroe County, Ind., and settled near Beanblossom Creek. Four years later, he pur- chased a farm in Greene County, to which place he removed and re- mained a short time. On June 1, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Com. pany D, Fourteenth Indiana Volunteers, under Capt. Cavens. In or- ganizing the company, he was elected Fourth Sergeant, and served in this capacity until the first battle at Winchester, when he was promoted for meritorious conduct to Orderly Sergeant. He served in this office until August, 1863, when he was promoted to First Lieutenant. The Captain being away in recruiting service, he immediately took command of the company, and continued in that office until one term of service had expired, June, 1864. He was 'then honorably discharged, after which time he returned home and farmed until 1876. He then removed to
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Spencer, where he has since resided. Capt. McNaught was united in marriage, October 9, 1852, to Sarah Puett, .a native of Monroe County. By this union there are two children. He is a conservative politician in the Republican ranks, and has been a consistent member of, as well as a prominent worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty years. He belongs to the G. A. R., is a liberal supporter of all public enter- prises and benevolent purposes, and is a worthy citizen of the com- munity.
ELDER J. M. MATHES was born in Kentucky July 8, 1808. Ten years later his father came to Indiana, stopped one year in Washington County, and two years in Jackson County. He then came over into the " new purchase " one year before the land sale, and settled on a tract of land about one-half mile north of the present site of Gosport, removing, a short time after, to another tract, one-half mile west, where he made a settlement and remained until 1830. Here he lived with his parents, assisting his father in his wheelwright and chair-making shop, and in operating his farm. His opportunities for gaining an education were extremely limited, but his parents took great pains in teaching him to read and write; and every Sunday for two years he attended a little mis- sion Sunday school kept by a missionary family from Connecticut, where he received considerable assistance in his efforts to learn. He afterward attended a school taught by Scott W. Young, where he attained great proficiency in arithmetic, became a good grammarian and studied the first lessons in algebra. March 5, 1829, he was married to Miss Sophia Glover, a noble Christian girl, near his own age. She was a true help- mate, and much of his success through forty-four years of ministerial life is due to her sound discretion and good counsel. In October, 1828, he was taken into the church, and in May, 1831, made his first appear- ance before a Spencer audience, preaching in the old court house. He continued preaching in Owen and the adjoining counties until 1838, when, not being satisfied with his education, he entered the State University at Bloomington, remaining until 1842, after which he returned to his little farm in Owen County, and resumed his labors in his old field, and sev- eral additional points in Monroe County. In 1843, he began the publi- cation of the Christian Record, a religious monthly magazine and one of the oldest religious papers now published. In May, 1851, he removed to Indianapolis, and engaged in the book business, still continuing the publication of the Christian Record there. He also at this time became pastor of the First Church in Indianapolis, and continued to act in this capacity several years. In 1855, he removed to Lawrence County, lo- cating on a farm, where he regained his health, and in 1858 removed to New Albany, and took the pastorate of the Church of Christ there, re- maining until the breaking-out of the war. In the fall of 1861, he accepted the pastorate of the Christian Church at Bedford, Ind., where he at present resides, still continuing the publication of the Record. His wife having died in April, 1873, he was married the following November to Mrs. Abigail M. Rickoff, of Smithville, Monroe County. During his public ministry, Mr. Mathes has held some fifteen public discussions with religious opponents, and was for a number of years President of the " Bedford Male and Female College." His life has been one of inces- sant labor; his good deeds are manifold, and in Southern Indiana there is perhaps no one more widely or better known.
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S. H. H. MATHES, the eldest child of J. J. W. and Rebecca Mathes, was born February 4, 1838, in Morgan County, Ind. His moth- er died when he was but six years of age, and his father soon married again. They settled on a farm three miles south of Bloomington, Mon- roe Co., Ind. Three years later, they moved to Owen County, where our subject began to farm, and also attended school until sixteen years of age, when he went to Bedford to learn the printing business. In 1858, having attended the high school for two terms, he went to Kansas, and settled at Humboldt. Shortly before the opening of the civil war, he · entered a drug store at Medora, Ind., to learn the business, but shortly afterward enlisted in Company F, Fifteenth Indiana Volunteers, and after six months' service he joined Buell's army at Louisville, Ky. He participated in all the engagements of the "Army of the Cumberland " until July 14, 1864, when, the term of service having expired, he was honorably discharged. In August, 1864, he was united in marriage to Hester A. Rogers, a native of Bedford. After this, he worked at his trade for three years, then removed to Spencer, and published the Owen County Union for a considerable length of time. Afterward he published the Gosport Independent. From 1869 to 1875, he was mostly engaged in the lumber business, and also in a planing mill. During 1876, he published the Spencer Republican, and then sold out. In 1882, he re. sumed the publication of the same paper, and is so engaged at present. He has been very successful as a newspaper man, and is energetic, socia- ble, and a highly respected citizen. He has a son and daughter living, and two infant children dead.
WILLIAM F. MEGENHARDT, County Treasurer, is of German de- scent, and was born in Würtemberg April 2, 1827. His parents, John F. M. and Agnes (Brown) Megenhardt, were born, reared and married in Germany, where they lived until their deaths, which respectively occurred in 1872 and 1873. William is the sixth in a family of nine children. He received a good common school education in Germany, after which he learned the carpenter's trade. In October, 1856, he came to Owen County, located in Jefferson Township, and followed his trade. In 1859, he pur- chased a farm in the same township, which he highly improved, and ran in connection with his trade for several years. In March, 1865, he en- listed in the Eleventh Indiana Volunteers, under Capt. Kemper, and was stationed at Fort McHenry and Fort Marshall, in Maryland. At the close of the war (1865), he returned to Owen County, and continued to follow his trade until September 5, 1880. At that time he was elected County Treasurer on the Democratic ticket. His first term of service being satisfactory, he was re elected in 1882, without opposition. He was mar- ried, in 1852, in Germany, to Rachel Brown, daughter of highly respect- able parents. By this union there were eleven children, seven of whom are still living. Mr. Megenhardt is at present filling the office of Treas- urer of Owen County, and has the confidence as well as respect of all its citizens.
WILLIAM F. MERRICK is a native of Ohio, and was born, July 3, 1856. His parents, Willeston and Lorena (Hathaway) Merrick, natives of Ohio, immigrated to Indiana about ten years ago, and located at Bain- bridge, Putnam County, where they lived for some time, when they removed to Attica. Ind., and at present reside there. William is the youngest of a family of six children, and spent his early childhood days in Ohio; but when seventeen years of age came with his parents to Put-
48
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nam County, Ind., where he obtained a moderate education. After he was twenty-one years of age, he was in the livery business in Bainbridge for about three years, after which he came to Spencer and purchased a livery stable of Phillip Miller, on the northeast corner of the square, where he may be found at present. In 1880, he married Elizabeth Dyer, daughter of John and Hannah Dyer, old settlers of Greene County. Po- litically, he is a Republican.
GEORGE MILAM is a son of George and Jane (Crampton) Milam, both natives of Virginia. They moved from Virginia to Kentucky soon after their marriage, where they lived for some time, and in 1819 came to Indiana, and located in Greene County, where they entered and cleared 160 acres of land. In 1823, they came to Owen County, and located in Clay Township, where they lived until both died in 1864. George Milam, our subject, is a retired farmer. He was born in Shelby County, Ky., October 29, 1805; was there reared till sixteen years of age, when he came with his parents to Greene County, Ind., where he remained until of age. He was married, in 1826, to Mary B. Chipman, whose par- ents, Paris and Nancy Chipman, were old pioneers of Monroe County. After his marriage, he farmed for four years in Monroe County, and then removed to Greene County, purchased a farm, and lived there about three years. He then went to Bloomington, Ind., and worked at the carpen- ter's trade several years; then he came to Owen County, and bought and cleared land in Clay Township, which he farmed for twenty-six years. He then moved to Spencer, where he now resides, a sturdy pioneer, seventy-eight years old. His second marriage was to Mary Westfall, in August, 1874. She is now sixty-two years old, and has lived in Owen County for sixty years. Mr. Milam has been a most active member in the Methodist Episcopal Church for fifty-seven years. He is a stanch Republican, and has done much to build up the party in this county.
P. MILLER is a native of Carroll County, Ohio, born May 15, 1835. His parents, Andrew and Eliza (Rogers) Miller, moved from Pennsylva- nia to Ohio and settled in Carroll County, where they lived until the father's death in 1844. The mother, now seventy-two years of age, lives in Owen County, Ind. Our subject is the eldest in a family of six children, and was reared in Carroll County, Ohio. When twenty- two years of age, he married Barbara A. Study, daughter of John and Susan Study, both of whom are now living in Carroll County. By this union there are eight children. After marriage, Mr. Miller farmed for about five years in Ohio, after which he came to Owen County, Ind., and purchased a farm of 200 acres in Morgan Township. He brought 1,300 head of sheep from Ohio, and stocked his land. He remained on this farm for ten years, and in the meantime added eighty acres more, which he improved. In 1874, he came to Spencer, and went into the livery business near the depot, but finally built a barn on the square, which he sold shortly after. He next went into the milling business, and continued in it for six years, traded in real estate for some time, and in the spring of 1883 he purchased a stock of dry goods and clothing, boots, shoes, etc., and on the 13th of July, 1883, purchased a similar stock of the Levistine estate and put them together. He is at present at the old Levistine corner, doing a lucrative business. Politically, Mr. Miller is a Democrat.
ANDERSON B. MILLS was born in Halifax County, Va., July 29, 1805. He was the fourth son and child of John and Elizabeth (Bays)
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Mills, natives of Virginia. The father is a farmer, and in 1830 came to Owen County, located in Franklin Township, four miles south of Spen- cer, and has since resided there. Anderson was reared on a farm, and received a good common school education in his native county. When twenty-three years of age, he came to Owen County, Ind., located in Franklin Township, where he farmed for some length of time. He is by trade a shoe-maker. He was Coroner of Owen County for many years, and filled the unexpired term of Thomas I. Wells (deceased) as Sheriff. , He served as Supervisor of Franklin Township for seven years. He was married when young to Jane Thompson, a native of Virginia. She died in Owen County November 5, 1858. There were ten children-Sarah (deceased), Rebecca F., George W., William B., Mary J., John A., David T., Marie E., Charles and Nancy A. (deceased). Mr. Mills was married in the April following to Polly Coffey, daughter of James and Hannah Coffey. Mr. Mills has for many years been a member and Trus- tee of the Baptist Church. He is one of the most prominent members in the Democratic ranks, and cast his first vote for Jackson in Owen County in 1830. He is quite an influential and public-spirited citizen, as well as a leader in all public enterprises.
WILLIAM M. MOORE was born near Clyde, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 15, 1818, and lived there until twenty years of age, and there received a good education. His parents were Nathaniel and Allathea (Dean) Moore, natives of Massachusetts and New York respectively. The father died in 1824, the mother in 1852. In 1838, William became pro- prietor of a hotel at Macedon Center, Wayne Co., N. Y., which he ran for one year and sold out. He then traded for about two years, after which time he went to Zanesville, Ohio, and engaged in the livery business for some time. He then returned to New York and remained for several years. In 1848, he went to Keokuk, Iowa, and conducted business in the Pioneer Hotel for sixteen years; then sold out and came to Indiana. He located at Crawfordsville, where he had a half interest in the Clifton Hotel for two years. He came to Spencer in 1870, purchased the Moffit House, changed the name to Moore's Hotel, and is at present the "worthy
host " of one of the best hotels in Southern Indiana. He was married, July 13, 1849, to Mary A. Eddy, a native of Massachusetts. They had one child, which died at four years of age. His wife died on September 26, 1864, and in July, 1869, he was married to Lizzie Smith, a native of Montgomery County, Ind. By this union there were four children, three of whom are now living. Mr. Moore is of the Christian faith. He is an active worker in the Republican party, a liberal contributor to all public enterprises, the kind of man who helps to build up, and is a credit to his community.
JOHN A. MULL, one of Spencer's best carpenters, is a native of In- diana, and was born in Clark County March 2, 1819. His parents, Daniel and Annie (Sides) Mull, both natives of North Carolina, immi- grated to Indiana in 1816, and located in Clark County. When John was one year old, they came to Owen County and settled in Washington Township, where they remained until their deaths. John Mull was the sixth child of a family of seven children, and at the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to Findley B. Johnson, a carpenter and cabinet-maker, with whom he remainad until he attained his majority, when he went to work for himself and followed his trade until 1863, at which time he pur- chased a saw mill on Rattlesnake Creek, and continued to run it for seven
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years. Two years later, he rented his property and went to his trade again. He was wagon-maker at Santa Fe, in this county, for two years. In 1881, he returned to Spencer, where he still resides and follows his trade. He was married, in 1841, to Mary A. Hooper, daughter of Isaac and Mary Hooper, pioneers of Monroe County. There have been ten chil- dren by this union, nine of whom are still living. Mr. Mull is the oldest living charter member of Spencer Lodge, No. 95, A. F. & A. M., and has been for forty-four years a consistent member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church.
M. G. MULLINIX, M. D., was the second in a family of nine chil- dren. His parents, David and Eleanor (Hurst) Mullinix, came to Indi- ana from the South in 1822, and located in Putnam County on a farm. In 1855, they removed to Illinois, where they remained for seven years, when the mother died. David Mullinix still resides with his son in Spencer. Dr. Mullinix was born in Putnam County, Ind., October 18, 1827, where he lived with his parents on the farm until he was twenty- one years of age. He had received a good education, and after one year at Greencastle, Ind., he entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. W. Brenton, of Putnam County, Ind. After two years' hard study, he at- tended a course of lectures at the Rush Medical College of Chicago during the winter of 1853-54. Upon his return home, he went into the regular practice of medicine in Owen County, and continued there until early in 1865, when he enlisted in One Hundred and Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteers, as Assistant Surgeon, and served until the close of the war. After his return from the war, he again began the practice of medicine at Spencer, and in 1868 removed to Worthington, Greene County, where he remained for five years, after which he returned to Spencer, and at present resides there, where he has a large, lucrative practice. Dr. Mul- linix was married, March 29, 1855, to Rebecca J. Allen, daughter of James and Jane Allen, of Kentucky. By this union they have nine children. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a useful citizen, has met with success in his profession, and is a public-spirited man.
JOHN H. MURPHY is the second son and fifth child of Thomas and Phebe (Faulkner) Murphy, natives of New Jersey and Ohio respectively, and of Irish and Scotch extraction. They were married in Ohio, where they lived for three years, and then came to Indiana. They remained for a short time in Indianapolis, removing thence to Hendricks County, where the father followed wagon and carriage making for twenty-six years. After this they went to Greencastle, where the father died in 1860. The mother died in 1870. John H. Murphy was born in Hen- dricks County July 1, 1848, and when less than fourteen years of age left his home for the army, acting as call-boy to Capt. E. J. Hawn. He served in this capacity for one year, and then enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Hawn. After two years' service in this company, he served in the Indi- ana Heavy Artillery. In January, 1866, he returned to Greencastle, and was apprenticed to a harness-maker, with whom he remained about three years. In 1869, he moved to Quincy, Owen County, purchased a shop, and carried on his trade for some time. He next came to Spencer and opened a harness shop, which, in 1873, was destroyed by fire, and then, until 1880, he carried on his trade in Indianapolis. He is now in Spen- cer and doing a lucrative business. Mr. Murphy is a member of the I.
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O. O. F., and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. He is a stanch Republican. April 9, 1871, he was united in marriage to Alice R. Patrick, daughter of Chauncey B. Patrick, of Spencer. They have had three children-Charles, Paul (deceased), and Gertrude (deceased).
JOHN MYERS was born April 18, 1862, in Owen County, Ind. His parents, Frederick and Rosa (Copper) Myers, came to Owen County in an early day, and located near Marion Mills. In 1862, the father en- listed in Company K, Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteers, under Capt. J. Meek, of Owen County, and in the fall of 1863 he was drowned while crossing a pontoon bridge. In 1865, the mother married John Schabel, and they at present reside in Spencer. Subject is the only child born to Frederick and Rosa Myers, and was reared in Owen, Greene and Mon- roe Counties. He attended school at Bloomfield, Greene County, at Bloomington, Monroe County, also at Ellettsville, Monroe County, and at Gosport, Owen County. He learned the butcher trade with his step- father when he was very young, and since he was sixteen years of age has supported a family of seven. It was a great undertaking for a boy of his age, and one in which but few would have been successful. In December of 1881, he purchased a shop in Spencer, where he now car- ries on his business, and is doing well. He is industrious, intelligent, and genial, and is one of the promising young men of Spencer.
ANDREW J. NEWSOM is a son of Henry and Luella (Walls) New- som, natives of North Carolina. His parents were married in 1841, in Greene County, Ind., and located there on a farm, where they lived for several years, happy and prosperons. There the father died in 1878, and the mother has since resided there. Andrew was born in that coun- ty April 14, 1847, and was reared on the farm until of an age to be left to his own devices. He was employed as clerk by a physician and drug- gist of Worthington, Ind. During his three years' clerkship, he studied medicine most of the time. From there he came to Spencer, and for two years clerked in a general merchandise store, at the end of which time he purchased one-half interest in the store. and conducted business under the firm name of Beem & Newsom. On March 15, 1871, he was married to Fannie Beem, a daughter of John S. Beem, the Rev. F. Culmer offi- ciating. By this union there were six children-Otis T., Grace, Winifred, Lula E., Nellie B. (deceased), and Earl. Mr. Newsom is a member of the I. O. O. F., Hoba Lodge, No. 323, and of the Royal Arcanum. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is in politics a Republican.
CAPT. CHAUNCEY B. PATRICK, a native of Indiana, was born in Salem November 30, 1819. His parents, Ebenezer and Sarah (Hatta- bough) Patrick, were natives, the former of Vermont and the latter of Delaware. The father was a Methodist minister, and one of the first in the county. His profession called him to various parts of the country, and his death occurred at Princeton, Ind., August 16, 1844. The mother died in Spencer September 17, 1863. Chauncey B. Patrick was the eldest child in a family of nine children, and lived with his parents until fourteen years of age, when he began learning the carpenter's trade in Salem, Ind. He followed his trade there until 1843, when he moved to Bainbridge, Ind. In 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Nineteenth Indiana Infantry, under Capt. J. H. Johnson, and served for nine months as Sergeant, when he was promoted to be First Lieutenant, and soon after
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