USA > Indiana > Brown County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Morgan County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 27
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Ind., at the advanced age of seventy-three years. The mother died in 1849. The subject was the third son and fourth child in a family of fourteen children, and was reared in his native county until fourteen years of age, removing thence to Rush County, Ind., where he taught school for two years. In 1857, he entered the ministry at the Annual Conference, held at New Albany, over which Bishop Morris presided. His first appointment was on the Poseyville Circuit, where he remained for one year, then receiving an appointment to Owensville Circuit. At the end of his first year at Owensville he was ordained "Deacon" at Bloomington, Ind., by Bishop Scott. His third appointment was Sullivan Station, where he remained for two years. After his first year at Sullivan, he was ordained "Elder" by Bishop Simpson at Rockport. He was at Greencastle, during which time he was appointed agent for the Asbury University, which position he filled for two years; for the past five months has been located in Martinsville. In 1870, the Wesleyan University conferred upon him the degree of "A. M.," and in June, 1883, the Asbury University conferred upon him the degree of "D. D." In October, 1858, he was married to Mary E. Van Sickle, daughter of Jacob Van Sickle, a pioneer of Morgan County. There was one child by this union, Luella (deceased). His wife died in 1861. August 21, 1866, he married Lucy Bowles, daughter of Henry Bowles, of Evansville, Ind. By this union there are two children, Helen and Jessie. Rev. Aaron Turner is a mem- ber of the A. F. & A. M., also of the K. of P., and is a Republican.
JOHN A. WAGNER is a native of Germany, was born July 6, 1821, and is a son of Adam F. and Wilhelmina Wagner. In 1848, he emigrated with his mother to America, his father having died in his native country in 1840. January 2, 1849, in Onondaga County, N. Y., our subject married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Adam and Hannah Ditze, and born May 6, 1824. Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Wagner moved to the State of Ohio, thence to Indianapolis, Ind., and finally, in 1865, to Morgan County, where he has since resided. Mr. Wagner is the owner of 183 acres of very excellent land, which is well improved and cultivated. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are the parents of five children-Catherine, Charlie, Frank, John and Louisa. Both are highly respected in their community.
GEORGE M. WALKER is a native of Monroe County, Va., was born October 5, 1830, and is a son of Goodlow and Rebecca (Henderson) Walker, both natives of Virginia; the former born 1800, the latter 1804. Goodlow Walker was a son of George Walker, also a native of Virginia, who married a Miss Adams, then moved to Tennessee, and finally to Madison County, Ind., where he died. He was twice married and the father of ten children. Goodlow Walker moved to Hendricks County, Ind., in 1835, and there died in 1864, the father of five children, James D., Harriet S., Clarinda J., John E. and George M. Our subject mar- ried, October 6, 1853, Mary T., daughter of John M. and Martha E. (Branch) Satterwhite, and born March 27, 1836. In 1851, Mr. Walker moved to Montgomery County, Ind., and September, 1862, enlisted in Company F, Fifty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Regiment, in which he served until December, 1863, during which time his family moved to Martins- ville, where our subject made a home after his discharge from the service. He is now serving most satisfactorily as Superintendent of the Poor. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have a family of seven children-James H., Susan M., Ida T., Louisa E., George, Nettie B. and William A.
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A. B. WALKER, eldest son of Michael and Mary (Andrews) Walker, natives of Maryland and Ohio, respectively, was born in Johnson County, Ind., October 20, 1855. His parents located in Milford, Ohio, after marriage, where the father followed his trade of cooper for a short time, removing thence to Indianapolis, where he began the manufacture of barrels. His property there being destroyed by fire, he went to Franklin, Ind., his present residence. A. B. Walker was reared in Johnson County, Ind. He received a good education in the graded schools at Franklin, and at the age of seventeen, was employed by the F. F. & M. R. R. in the office of John M. Johnson, at Franklin. Two years later, he was appointed agent at Martinsville for the same road, and is at pres- ent acting in that capacity. In 1878, he began buying timber and for two years past he has also been dealing in coal. In August, 1883, he built a factory for the manufacture of hubs, spokes and staves, and has thus far been very successful. In February, 1882, he was married to Louisa A. Clapper, daughter of W. G. and Martha Clapper, Martins- ville. Mr. Walker is a charter member of the K. of P., Anniversary Lodge, No. 89, is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Christian Church.
F. M. WARNER is second of four children born to Andrew J. and Judith (Lockhart) Warner, natives of Kentucky. He was born in this township August 3, 1842. His parents located on a farm in Morgan County after marriage, where they lived for some time, removing thence to a farm one mile south of Martinsville. Four years later, they moved to Martinsville, where the mother at present resides. F. M. Warner remained with his parents until nineteen years of age. He received his education in the graded schools at Martinsville. He was refused enlist ment in the army in 1861, being under age; he afterward entered his father's employ in a livery stable, which he purchased three years later, and is now profitably conducting. Mr. Warner is a Republican, and acted as Councilman of the Fourth Ward for two years. In October, 1878, he was married to Laura F. Bogle, of Putman County, Ind. She was a good Christian, and at the time of her death, which occurred August 15, 1879, she was a member of the Methodist Church.
WILLIAM WILLIAMS was born near Paoli, Ind., May 1, 1816, a son of Jonathan and Celia (Silcox) Williams, natives respectively of Tennessee and North Carolina. Jonathan Williams was a son of John R. Williams, of East Tennessee, who married Margaret Reed, and in the early time moved to Morgan County, Ind., where he died about 1830, the parent of ten children, seven boys-William, Lewis, John R., Isaac, Keyton, Robert and Jonathan. He was born in Tennessee February 17, 1795, came to this territory when young, and in 1820 to Morgan County, where he and wife died, the former September 15, 1845, the latter July 26, 1868. He was one of the first County Commissioners who located the city of Martinsville. He was elected Sheriff in 1834, again in 1836, and in 1838 was elected to the Legislature. He was with Gen. Jackson in his first battle, was a prominent and respected citizen, and the father of the following family: William Pleasant, John, Jona- than, David, Jackson, James, Polly and Nancy. William has resided here since he came with his parents in 1820. December 31, 1846, he married Emma, daughter of John King, to which union three children followed: Celia A., Howard (deceased) and an infant (deceased). After Mrs. Williams' death, February 25, 1849, he wedded Martha J., daughter
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of William A. Major, with an issue of seven children-Angeline (deceased), Franklin, Perry (deceased), Robert H., Dora E., Jennie (deceased), and California. Mr. Williams has served as Sheriff and is now Township Assessor.
EDWARD WOODS was born in Morgan County, Ind., July 12, 1848, and is one of the five children composing the family of Patrick and Mary (Dougherty) Woods, natives of Ireland and Ohio respectively. Patrick Woods was born in 1811, emigrated to America, and in 1843 to the State of Ohio, where he married the same year, and afterward moved to Morgan County, Ind., and settled on the identical land where our subject now resides, which was his home until his death in 1865. Mrs. Woods subsequently wedded Thomas Dougherty, and is yet living, her family comprising five in number-James, Thomas, Edward, Patrick and Catherine. Edward Woods married in this county, October 8, 1873, Miss Mary E., daughter of William and Ruth Kemp, and a native of Morgan County, born February 13, 1857. Mrs. Woods died April 15, 1881, having been the mother of six children-Rosie A., Mattie, Alice, Thomas, William (deceased) and Mary E. (deceased). Mr. Wood is much respected by his fellow-citizens.
OWEN WOODS is a native of Ireland, and was born June 24, 1814, and is the youngest of the family of James and Mary (Welch) Woods, both natives of Ireland, where they were married and died. They were the parents of four children-Thomas, Patrick, Catherine and Owen. Our subject was married while in Ireland, in 1835, to Ellen McCarugh. After emigrating to the United States, he settled in Morgan County, Ind., in the year 1848, on the farm on which he now lives, and where he is com- fortable and independently situated. Mr. and Mrs. Woods are members of the Catholic Church, and have been the parents of eight children- Mary (deceased), Catherine (deceased), Bridget (deceased), Mary, Ellen (deceased), Katie (deceased), Ann and James. Mr. and Mrs. Woods are greatly respected in the community.
A. R. VANSICKEL was born at Martinsville, this county, February 27, 1842, and is one of the eight children of Jacob and Mahala (Salmon) Vansickel, natives of Sussex County, N.J. Jacob Vansickel was born in 1814, his wife in 1812, and in 1838 they moved to Henry County Ind., and thence to Morgan County, where Mr. Vansickel died in 1860, and Mrs. Vansickel twelve years later. Their family was Mercy A., Mary E., Sarah S., John D., Andrew R., Alonzo, George W. and Susan R. Our subject, August, 1861, enlisted in Company G, Twenty-Seventh Indiana Volunteers, and served until September, 1864, with much experience in many severe battles. After his discharge and return to this county, he married, November 24, 1864, Mary L., daughter of Henry and Phebe Miller, and a native of New Jersey, born February 20, 1840, which union was favored with six children-Otis H. (deceased), Sarah E., William F., Maggie A., Joseph A. and Mary E. Mr. Vansickel is a member of the Masonic order, of the G. A. R., and of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ALBERT VOYLES was born in Morgan County, Ind., August 20, 1842, and is a son of Ivan and Irena (Elgin) Voyles, natives of Indiana; the former born in 1813. Mrs. Voyles died in 1855, after which Mr. Voyles married Catherine Shireman; he died in 1880. The grandfather of our subject, Moses Voyles, was one of the earliest settlers of Wash- ington County, Ind., whence he moved to Morgan County, and there lived
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out his days; he was a soldier of the war of 1812. Albert Voyles is the youngest of the four children of his parents. August 11, 1862, he be- came a soldier of Company H, Seventieth Indiana Volunteers, in which he served until June, 1865. In October, 1868, he married Susan, daughter of Joshua and Rhoda Gilpin, and born in this county February 20, 1849, which union was cemented by two children-Mamie D. and James K. Mr. Voyles is a practical man and a respected citizen.
BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE.
GEORGE W. BASS is a native of Johnson County, Ind., and was born June 20, 1842. His parents, Josiah H. and Elizabeth (Robinson) Bass, natives of Kentucky, had seven children, of which George W. was the sixth, and with three older brothers. His youth was spent upon the farm, and his education acquired at Greenwood High School in his na- tive county. In the summer of 1862, he enrolled at Springfield, Mo., in Company I, First Missouri Calvary, and served to the close of the war. The first year of his service was spent scouting in Southwestern Missouri and Northeastern Texas; and he also participated in the battle of Prairie Grove and the Van Buren (Arkansas) raid. He was at the siege of Vicksburg as Orderly to Gen. Herron, and afterward saw service at the following places in their order: Yazoo, Miss., Baton Rouge, Carrollton, Morganza Bend, and New Orleans, La. From Brownsville, Tex., he returned to Baton Rouge, where he had charge of the division mail for some time, when he was ordered to his regiment, then at Little Rock, Ark., from which place he was honorably discharged from the serv- ice. After leaving the army, he clerked awhile in a dry goods house, a drug store, and finally, in the year 1874, settled down in the drug busi- ness at New Augusta, Ind., where he remained four years. In 1878, he removed to Mooresville, where he has since been engaged in the drug business. On November 8, 1871, he was married at Greenwood, Ind., to Mary E., daughter of W. A. Woods, Esq. By this marriage he has had born to him three children-Frank R., Charlie W. and Nellie B. The mother of these children, died March 30, 1880, and October 27, 1881, Mr. Bass was married in Morgan County to Martha T. (Turley) Bray. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Bass belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Knights of Honor, of which latter lodge he is present Financial Re- porter. He owns a small farm in Johnson County, and his residence in Mooresville, as also the business property in which he carries a lucrative drug trade.
JAMES M. BISHOP, a promising young lawyer of Mooresville, was born in Hamilton County, Ind., May 31, 1850. His parents, Joseph and Nancy (Chew) Bishop, were natives of Virginia, and of English descent. They had eight children, our subject being the seventh, with two older brothers. He grew up in Westfield, and finished his education at the Mooresville High School. In May, 1873, he began the study of law with Ford & Blair in Shelbyville, Ind., and in the year following was admitted to the bar in Indianapolis, and from there came soon afterward
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to Mooresville. As a practitioner, he is successful, and we bespeak for him a prominent place in the very front rank of his profession at no dis- tant day. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, an active Republican, a good debater, and a public speaker of much more than average ability. He made his first political speech in 1876, and has since taken an effective part in all the election campaigns. The declin- ing years of his aged mother and father are made comfortable and happy by the generosity and kind attention of an ever dutiful son.
HARRIS BRAY, a pioneer of Brown Township, Morgan County, Ind., a native of Chatham County, N. C., is the sixth child and fourth son of six sons and eight daughters of William and Peggy (Brooks) Bray, na- tives of North Carolina, and of English descent, and was born December 24, 1798; came into Morgan County in the year 1822; entered from the Government a tract of land in the year 1823; settled upon it, and here as a farmer he has since lived. Until nearly twenty-one years of age, he lived with his parents in North Carolina. His education was limited to that of reading, and something of penmanship was acquired at the sub- scription schools of his native place. In September, 1819, he was mar- ried in North Carolina to Rachel Moon, by whom he had born to him ten children -- Brantley, now in Iowa; Austin, now in Iowa; Nancy, now in - Iowa; Eli, now in Kansas; Wesley, now in Iowa; Riley, now in Morgan County, Ind .; Alfred, now in Kansas; William, died in the army at Buford, S. C .; Ellen, wife of David Sheets, in Morgan County, Ind .; and Younger, died at the age of thirty-eight years. The mother of these children died in April, 1876, at the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Bray joined the Methodist Episcopal Church when about forty-five years of age, and has since lived the life of a consistent Christian. His de- ceased wife was a member of the same church many years of her life, and was noted for her purity of life and Christian conduct. Together, these two people labored as only pioneers of a new country can appre- ciate. Their home was for many years the headquarters for all immi- grants to the "new purchase," and what they had they gave freely. They inherited nothing but cheerful hearts and strong arms, and their worldly goods were acquired by their united industry. Mr. Bray en- tered from the Government from time to time in Indiana about 240 acres of land, and has put about 100 acres in cultivation. He owns now a fine farm, where he lives, of 108 acres, all in cultivation and well im- proved. He has upon this farm a magnificent quarry of blue sandstone of much value. About 1831, he erected a still-house on the East Fork of White Lick, about one mile from where Mooresville now stands, and for twelve years ran it with a capacity of about thirty gallons per day. After his conversion, he abandoned the trade in liquor. About the year 1841, he put into operation a grist mill at the confluence of the East Fork and the main White Lick Creeks, and ran it about three years. As the mill was run mostly to supply meal for his distillery, he parted with it soon after going out of the liquor business. He is a Democrat. He has been a liberal giver to both church and school.
JARVIS P. CALVERT was born in New York City June 17, 1842, and is the youngest of four children of John T. and Sarah (Reese) Cal- vert, of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania respectively, and of English ex- traction. When he was but an infant, his parents removed to Cincin- nati, Ohio, where his mother died in the year 1844, and his father in less than a year afterward. Until about ten years of age, Jarvis P. existed a
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part of the time in Louisville, Ky., and a longer period at Columbus, Ohio. From the age of ten to twenty-one years, he lived on a farm in Ohio, and attended the public schools. In the spring of 1863, he came to Indiana and stopped a few months at Plainfield, and October 26, 1863, he enrolled at Indianapolis in Company I, Sixty-third Indiana Volun- teer Infantry. From this command he was transferred to Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the spring of 1865, and was finally mustered out of the service April 10, 1866. While in the Sixty-third Regiment, he saw much hard service, and took part in some nine or ten regular battles, and any number of hot skir- mishes. With the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, his service was lighter, having been most of the time on detached duty as clerk about headquarters. He returned to Plainfield and there studied photog- raphy, and in February, 1867, opened his art gallery in Mooresville, where he has since made great progress in his profession. May 19, 1868, he married Delia Perce, by whom he has had born to him five children- Archie B., Lennetta May (deceased), Gertrude (deceased), Percy H. and Bertha Emma. Mr. Calvert is Steward and Chorister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. of H. He is a Republican in politics, and an advocate of prohibition.
JOHN D. CARTER was one of the pioneers of " the new purchase," a wealthy farmer of Brown Township, a native of Ashe County, N. C., is the son of Nathaniel and Ann (Ramsy) Carter, and was born March 1, 1811. His parents came to Indiana in 1814, and settled in Orange County, where they lived eight years, coming to Morgan County in 1822, when they located upon a small tract of land entered from the Govern- ment, and at once proceeded to erect a log cabin, upon the dirt floor of which they stowed away their little family and scant supply of household goods. Their stock, consisting of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, geese and ducks, they brought with them from Orange County. From a journal, writ- ten by the subject of this sketch, in which it faithfully recounted the many experiences of this family, we quote: "We saw hard times the first win- ter; we had to cut down green beech and sugar trees for our cattle to eat the buds; had to go from twenty to thirty miles for corn to make bread; and five to six miles for help to raise the cabin." But their experiences were but repetitions of those of hundreds of brave pioneers whose hard- ships and privations are recounted upon the pages of the early history of our country. November 26, 1834, Mr. Carter was married to Ruth Pick- ett, in the manner and form peculiar to the Friends' Society, of which they were both birthright members. This union has been blessed with ten children-George, Amos (deceased), Vincent, Sarah Ann (deceased), Mary, Ella (deceased), William P., Nathaniel, Benjamin, Harriet B. and Emma. Three of his sons, George, Vincent and Nathaniel, are promi- nent attorneys at law in the city of Indianapolis, and his son William lives in San Antonio, Tex. Mr. Carter has been one of the hardest work- ing men of the county. His children have all been thoroughly educated, and as they have arrived at the estate of men and women, have received bountifully of the world's goods from the munificent hand of an ever gen- erous parent. The declining years of his life are being happily spent upon his magnificent farm of about 350 acres, one and a half miles south- east of Mooresville, where at least once a year he'assembles around his hearthstone and at his sumptuous table his children and grandchildren, and where the merry romp and laughter of the little folks are subdued to
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breathless silence, as they listen to the tales of pioneer life, as they come from the lips of one who has been an actor in scenes that seem to their young ears fraught with wondrous impossibilities. In politics, Mr. Car- ter has always been a Republican of the most pronounced type. He is a consistent Christian gentleman, and lives supremely happy in the glori- ous anticipation of eternal life in Heaven.
NATHANIEL CARTER, native of Orange County, Ind., the sixth child and third son of Nathaniel and Ann (Ramsey) Carter, natives of North Carolina, and of Irish and Scotch extraction respectively, was born March 25, 1815. His parents came into Morgan County in 1821, and located upon land entered from the Government, and where the two old people spent the remainder of their days, and where Nathaniel has since re- sided. He attended a little at the subscription schools and learned something of reading and writing. November 23, 1837, he was married at Plainfield, Ind., to Martha, daughter of Edward Chamness, a native of North Carolina. She bore him six children-James R., Hannah, Thomas F., Mary B., Nathaniel W. and William Edgar. His son, Thomas F., was killed at the battle of Chattanooga, Tenn., on May 31, 1865. The mother of these children died October 2, 1871, at the age of fifty-four years, and February 13, 1873, subject was married at Mon- rovia, Ind., to Louisa Jane (Hubbard) Blair, daughter of George Hub- bard, deceased, native of North Carolina. Our subject and wife are birthright members of the Friends' Church. He is a Republican in pol- itics, and a strong advocate of temperance. He gave the land gratis upon which is located public school building No. 1. What Mr. Carter possesses he has toiled for, and after giving away considerable land to his children, he yet owns a nice farm of ninety scres, all in cultivation and well improved. He lived with his parents and took care of them till their death. His religious work and charities are mostly among the poor of the country, and in such labor he is endeavoring to do the will of the Everlasting Father.
MATTHEW COMER is the second son of Joseph and Hester (Comp- ton) Comer, natives of North Carolina and Ohio, and of Irish and English extraction respectively. Joseph Comer came to Indiana Territory in 1804, and located upon the site now occupied by the city of Richmond, and Matthew was born July 1, 1825. He lived twenty-one years with his parents, learned the habits of a farmer, and attended a few terms at the subscription schools. The first twelve years of his majority were devoted to the carpenter's trade, an apprenticeship to which he began a short time before. He was married in Randolph County, Ind., in November, 1846, to Adila J. Harris, who died March 27, 1881, having borne seven children-Mary Jane, Jabez S., Sarah A., Levi C., William C., Minnie H. and Mattie F., all of whom are living at this writing (December, 1883). The Comer and Harris families were of the Quaker faith, but having refused to " marry in meeting " young Comer and wife were peremptorily dismissed, and the Methodist Episcopal Church immediately gained two new mem- bers. August 13, 1862, Mr. Comer enlisted at Richmond, Ind., in Com- pany B, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, and served to the close of the war. His Company was the first to charge upon and occupy the town of Knoxville, Tenn. They also took a prominent part in the capture of the famous command of John A. Morgan. He came to Mooresville in 1865, and soon afterward embarked in the saw mill business, which he has since fol- lowed, and at which he has made considerable money. He is a strict
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