USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 30
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 30
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resides, and which he has ever since cultivated. September 23, 1874, he married Mary E. Anderson, a native of Clark County, Ohio, who has borne him three children-Oliver M., Fletcher S. and Anna Lee. In politics, Mr. Virden is a Republican, and both himself and wife are consistent members of the M. E. Church.
PHILIP F. WARD was born in Kent County, Del., September 27, 1815, and is the third of the nine children born to William and Nancy (Price) Ward, both natives of Delaware, and of English and German descent respectively. The parents of this couple, John Ward and John Price, served in the Continental army all through the Revolutionary struggle-John Ward, who was in the British Army, deserting to join the Americans. William Ward was in the war of 1812 ; he was a farm- er, was married in Delaware, and in the fall of 1830 brought his family to Tippecanoe County, this State ; remained three years ; moved to Clin- ton County, entered 240 acres, developed a farm, and there died in 1854, a member of the Masonic fraternity. Philip F. Ward, at the age of seventeen, was apprenticed to carpentering, which he followed several years. In 1840, he entered forty acres in Clinton County, Ind., to which he afterward added eighty acres, and developed a farm. In 1848, he sold the place, and bought 160 acres in Tippecanoe County. Resided there till 1858 ; then sold out, came to this township, and bought a farm of 320 acres, which he still owns. In 1875, he retired to Reynolds, where he owns a handsome property. In 1845, he married Eliza Goldesbery, who bore him five children, and died in 1857, a member of the M. E. Church. In June, 1858, he married Susan De Ford, who has borne him eleven children. Of his children, there are twelve yet living-four by his first and eight by his second marriage. Mr. W. is a Democrat, and he and wife are members of the Christian Church.
JAMES H. WILLIAMS was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, Feb- ruary 18, 1828, and is the youngest of the seven children born to Elijah and Elizabeth (Hanna) Williams, natives respectively of Maine and Pennsylvania. Elijah Williams moved to Guernsey County in 1811, served as a Sergeant through the war of 1812, under Gen. Harrison, was married in his adopted county, and there died May 27, 1828, in his forty- second year, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. About two years after the death of Mr. Williams, his widow moved to Licking County, Ohio, bought 100 acres of land, resided thereon until 1866, and then made her home with her son, James H., until her death, April 6, 1874, in her eighty-seventh year, and for more than seventy years a con- sistent member of the Presbyterian Church. At the age of sixteen, James H. Williams was apprenticed for five years to a carpenter. He then worked as a journeyman in Columbus until 1851, and then in a
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saw mill until 1853. He then assisted in the survey of the route of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway through Southern Ohio, and later took a con- tract, with his brother, for building two miles of said road. In 1854, they bought 100 acres of land in Licking County, on a part of which the present town of Summit is situated, and there lived until April, 1861, our subject being employed as conductor on the Baltimore & Ohio road from 1856 to 1859. In April, 1861, Mr. Williams came to Union Town- ship, this county, and farmed until the spring of 1864, when he came to this township and purchased 200 acres of land, which he afterward traded for Western land, and bought his present farm. In 1849, he married Nancy McCray, a native of Franklin County, Ohio, who has borne him eight children, six yet living. Mr. Williams is a Democrat, and has held the office of Township Assessor ; he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and both himself and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.
THORNTON WILLIAMS was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1826, and is the elder of the two children living born to Thornton and Harriet Williams. Thornton Williams, Sr., was an officer in the war of 1812, and at one time was an extensive land-holder in Pennsylvania, but lost the greater portion of his property by going surety for his friends. At the age of five years, Thornton Williams, our subject, lost his father, and at the age of seven was compelled to seek his own living. Until sixteen, he worked at whatever he could do-chiefly teaming. He then learned carpentering, and for fifteen or sixteen years followed the trade in Penn- sylvania, Ohio and this State. In 1848, he moved from La Fayette to this county and farmed on shares in Big Creek Township for several years. Near the close of the war, he bought a farm in this township, but five years later lost it through the ravages of the cattle plague ; he then moved to Reynolds, and soon afterward engaged in hunting and trapping in connection with farming and grain shipping. In December, 1881, he moved upon his present farm in Section 34, which had been left to his wife by her father. He was married, January 13, 1849, to Mary E., Rinker, a native of Virginia, and daughter of Joshua and Louisa (Reece) Rinker. To this marriage were born ten children, seven of whom are still living. Mrs. Williams died August 20, 1872, a devoted and con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which church Mr. Williams is also a member, and has been for over thirty years.
JOSEPH R. WILSON was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., October 28, 1832, and is the eighth of the eleven children born to Hugh and Nancy (Story) Wilson, both natives of Pennsylvania and of Scotch- Irish and English descent. Hugh Wilson was a farmer, and in April, 1869, on the same farm on which he was born, he died, a member of the Presbyterian Church. Joseph R. Wilson worked on the home farm till
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he was thirty-five years old, when he moved to Harrison County, Iowa, bought a farm of 1,250 acres, and engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1875, when he sold out and came to Reynolds, where he has ever since been extensively engaged in the lumber trade and the sale of agri- cultural implements. November 22, 1872, he married Clara Frame, a native of Trumbull County, Ohio. In politics, Mr. Wilson is a Repub- lican.
AARON WOOD was born in Guilford County, N. C., July 21, 1815, and is the eldest of the ten children born to Drury and Rodah (Shaw) Wood, both natives of Maryland. Drury Wood was a soldier in the war of 1812 ; he was a farmer and was married in Guilford County, where he resided until 1831, when he moved to Washington County, this State, and in the spring of 1832 to Tippecanoe County, where he bought 160 acres of wild land, which he improved, but sold in 1848, when he came to Princeton Township and bought a farm on which he ended his earthily career November 10, 1856, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Aaron Wood, at the age of sixteen, began working out by the month ; in 1840, he went to Benton County and farmed on shares until the spring of 1846, when he came to Princeton Township and opened a general store ; in 1847, he moved to Oxford, Benton County, and kept store un- til 1852, then kept store in Pine Village, Warren County, one year, re- turned to Princeton Township and engaged in farming and store-keeping until December, 1854, when he sold his farm and moved his store to Rey- nolds. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of his term of service, December, 1864. He took part in the battles of New Madrid, Riddle's Point, Fort Pillow, Memphis, St. Charles, Port Gibson, Cham- pion Hill and Vicksburg. On his return to Reynolds, he re-embarked in mercantile trade, and is now dealing in groceries and hardware. He is a Democrat, and since 1865 has been Justice of the Peace, which office he also held four years before the war; he also was Postmaster four years before and one year after the war. His first wife (Margaret Sherry) bore him three children and died in the spring of 1852; in January, 1853, he married Mahala Hooker, who also bore him three children and died in 1858 ; in April, 1865, he married Nancy Paterson, who has borne him five children.
JAMES P. WRIGHT was born in Washington County, Ind., De- cember 4, 1830, and is the son of West Lee and Nancy (Wright) Wright. The former was born in Wayne County, Ky., in 1803, and the latter in Oldham County, same State, in 1808. Mrs. Nancy Wright's father, James Wright, came to Monroe County, Ind., about 1810, and there died in his one hundred and second year ; her grandfather, Jacob Sears,
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died in Oldham County, Ky., in his one hundred and fifteenth year. William Wright, grandfather of James P., was a native of Guilford County, N. C., of English parentage; was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was noted in his day as a writer of hymns, I. O. O. F. odes and of temperance songs. In the spring of 1832, West Lee Wright moved with his family to Jackson County, Ind., and entered land one mile south of the present site of Medora, and developed a farm on which he resided until his death, in 1876. At a log schoolhouse in this wilder- ness, James P. Wright received the rudiments of his education, and un- derwent all the hardships of pioneer life, giving his cheerful ervices to his parents until 1852, when he married Miss Martha Louden, a daughter of Samuel C. Louden, of Lawrence County, Ind. Two children are the fruit of this union-Theodore J., and Lorenna, now the wife of J. J. Toles, architect. In 1857, Mr. Wright began the study of law at Me- dora; in July, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Twenty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which regiment John W. Foster, late Minister to Mexico, was a Major. Mr. Wright served until August, 1864, and when with Fremont, on the memorable march from Otterville to Spring- field, was taken ill with fever, and was left at the house of a planter, whose family and a Confederate surgeon carried him through his sickness in safety. He then was in hospital at St. Louis until the spring of 1862, when he rejoined his regiment just after the battle of Shiloh ; he took part in the siege of Corinth, the battles of Iuka, Corinth, Hatchee River and Decatur, and just after the last named was again taken sick, from the effects of which he has never entirely recovered. Soon after the battle of Corinth, he was promoted for meritorious conduct in the field, preferring a Sergeant's chevron in his own company to a commission in some other regiment. In 1866, he opened a law office in Medora, and practiced until 1872, and then moved to Indianapolis and opened an office; in the spring of 1873, he was burned out and lost his valuable library, which was uninsured ; he soon opened another office, however, and had a fair practice until the spring of 1876, when he came to Rey- nolds and entered upon his profession, and has already secured a lucrative business. Criminal and litigated cases are with him specialties, and he has a fine reputation as an advocate and also as a lecturer. In politics, he is a stanch and active Republican. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 13, A., F. & A. M., and, although a member of no church, is a zealous advocate of the cause of temperance and an earnest pleader for woman suffrage. He has also inherited somewhat of the poetical genius of his ancestor, and, during the war, composed many patriotic songs and other poems.
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JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
A. B. BALLOU, M. D., was born in Orleans County, N. Y., July 29, 1831, and is the youngest of the six children, three yet living, born to Aaron and Anna (Davis) Ballou, natives of Rhode Island and Massa- chussetts, and of French extraction. The family moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., about the year 1833, and three years later moved to St. Joseph County, Mich., where they resided thirteen years on a farm, and then removed to near Mendon, where the mother died April 12, 1855, and the father May 12, 1855. A. B. Ballou was reared a farmer until nine- teen, when he entered the college at Ann Arbor. After graduating, he followed teaching for a time, and then devoted himself to the study of medicine; he located in Wolcott, and began practice in June, 1864; in 1869, he moved to Burnettsville, where he has since held a leading posi- tion. During these years of practice, he also attended lectures at the Charity Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, in the winter of 1866-67, and at the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis in 1873-74, and at the latter received his degree of M. D. He was married, December 23, 1862, to Julia R. Long, born February 1, 1836, in Saxony, Germany, the daugh- ter of Augustus and Julia Long, and a resident of this country since her infancy. Dr. Ballou has been President of the District Medical Society of White, Jasper, Benton and Newton Counties, and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
JOHN T. BARNES, of the firm of Hall, Barnes & Co., merchants, was born in Clarke County, Ohio, November 29, 1828, and is the eldest of the five children of David and Elizabeth (Gedd) Barnes, natives of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish extraction. The family moved to Carroll County, Ind., in the fall of 1834, and there Mr. Barnes was reared to farming until fifteen years old, when he was left an orphan. In 1850, he married Miss Sarah J., daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Foust) Shaver, of East Tennessee, and born in 1831. To this union there were ten children born, and of these there are five living-Henry M., George T., Matthew H., Ada M. and Charles L. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Barnes took up his residence on a forty-acre farm he had purchased in this township in 1849, but two years later exchanged for a 120-acre farm, going in debt $2,100, which was all paid off in 1860. He then engaged in merchandising at Idaville until 1864, when he moved upon a farm two miles north of town, which he had obtained in exchange for his 160-acre farm. The following year, he traded this farm for a stock of goods, and engaged again as a merchant in Idaville until 1868, when he exchanged
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his goods for a 300-acre farm. In August, 1862, he engaged in his pres- ent business. He was elected County Commissioner in the fall of 1878 ; is a Republican and an Odd Fellow, and he erected the first dwelling in Idaville.
THOMAS BARNES was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, August 22, 1799, and is one of the nine children born to Thomas and Jane (McClain) Barnes, natives of New York and Pennsylvania. He was reared a farmer, in Greene County, Ohio, and in February, 1820, married Miss Phebe Gadd, of Virginia, who bore him nine children-two now living-Eliza- beth and Eleanor. Mr. Barnes came to this township in 1843, from Car- roll County, Ind., where he had been living since 1834. He bought 143 acres of wild land, which he has converted into one of the best farms in the township. In 1845, Mrs. Barnes died at the age of forty two. Sep- tember 3, 1846, Mr. Barnes married Mary Hammil, a native of Tennes- see, who bore him six children, three of whom are yet living-John A., Mary A. and Margaret A. The second Mrs. Barnes died in January, 1855, and the following October, Mr. Barnes married Mrs. Prudence (Eldridge) Beard, of Shelby County, Ohio, who became the mother of five children, four still living-Nancy A., Levi E., Rachel Bell and Effie. Mrs. Prudence Barnes is the daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth (Gibson) Eldridge, and has a daughter-Sarah E .- by her first husband. Mr. Barnes served as Justice of the Peace in Carroll County, and has been Township Trustee in Jackson Township nine years. His son, J. Albert, in the fall of 1864, at the age of seventeen, enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are members of the United Presbyterian Church, of which he has been an Elder forty years.
THOMAS W. BARNES was born in Greene County, Ohio, June 27, 1814, and is the son of Alexander and Sarah (Kirkpatrick) Barnes, natives of Pennsylvania. John Barnes, father of Alexander, came from Ireland to this country previous to the Revolutionary war, in which he took part for eight years. serving as Captain. Alexander Barnes was a soldier in the war of 1812; he died in Parke County, Ind., February 16, 1830, leaving his wife with eight children. When our subject was but six months old, the family moved to Vincennes, Ind., thence to Fort Har- rison, and thence to Parke County. In the spring of 1831, the widow moved, with her children, to Carroll County, and entered land near the north line, and there died in October, 1838. In 1840, Thomas W. mar- ried Miss Cynthia Ginn, daughter of Robert and Anna Ginn, and born August 26, 1821. In 1868, Mrs. Barnes died, leaving seven children- Lovina J., Robert A., Sarah A., William A., Thomas E. (now deceased),
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Nancy Amanda and Mary M. In 1834, Mr. Barnes entered eighty acres of land near the home farm, which he subsequently sold ; then made several trades, and finally settled on 155 acres, remaining until 1848, when he sold out and purchased 140 acres of his present farm in this township, which he has increased to 166 acres, and put under a high state of cultivation. The Barnes family was the sixth to settle here, and underwent all the hard- ships of pioneer life. there being neither a road nor a bridge west of the Wabash at that time. Mr. Barnes assisted in building the first church and schoolhouse, and in laying out the first road in this section, and has always been foremost in works for the public good. He is a leading member of the United Presbyterian Church, and is a Republican.
PETER BISHOP was born in Nicholas County, Ky., July 18, 1815, and is one of the fifteen children born to Henry and Margaret Bishop, natives of Virginia. He was reared a farmer, and at the age of seventeen went to Greene County, Ohio, where he remained two years, when, in company with Mr. John Hannah, he came to this township, November 8, 1831. Here he bought a forty-acre farm, which he has since considerably enlarged. He was married in June, 1835, to Miss Margaret Hannah, who died August 3, 1845, leaving five children- Sarah, Henry, John, Mary and Margaret. Mr. Bishop was again mar- ried, in April, 1846, the bride being Jane Delzell. of Pennsylvania, who died September 29, 1858, the mother of the following children-Manda M., Miranda J. and Nancy E. In 1859, Mr. Bishop married Mrs. Jane (Whitman) Robbins, his present wife. In 1872, he removed from his farm to Idaville, and lived there three years, and then moved to his pres- ent home. He was present at the first election held in the township, and was one of the county's first jurors. He is a Democrat, and cast his first vote for Gen. Jackson. He and wife are members of the Dunkard Church.
J. M. CARSON, Assistant Postmaster at Idaville, was born in Mon- roe County, Tenn., in 1823, and is the son of William and Rosanna (McCully) Carson, natives of Tennessee and of Scotch and Irish extrac- tion. William Carson came to Carroll County, this State, in the fall of 1833, there reared a family of eight children, and died in 1852, followed by his wife in 1872. J. M. Carson was reared a farmer, and at the age of twenty-three married Miss Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Barnes, born in 1826. The children born of this marriage were Ada, Thomas W., James A., F. C., Eliza E., Perry E., Clara F. and John A. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Carson came to Union Township, this county, and farmed until ill-health compelled him to seek other employment. He engaged in merchandising at Monticello awhile, and made several changes up to 1861, when he settled in Idaville, where he has since resided, with
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the exception of two years, when he was in the dry goods trade at Monti- cello. In October, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged in July, 1865. Both he and wife are members of the United Presby- terian Church.
THEODORE J. DAVIS was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, January 20, 1829, and is the third son of Noah and Margaret (Miller) Davis, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The parents moved to Union County, this State, about 1830, and thence to this county in 1842, locating on part of the farm now owned by Theodore J. Here the father and mother died in 1875 and 1873, aged respectively eighty-three and seventy- three years. The father had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and of his family of nine, six sons were soldiers in the late war. Theodore J. was reared to farming, receiving the education usual at the log houses of his early days, the forty-six days of his last term being filled by his skat- ing, morning and evening, a distance of four miles. He then, at the age of seventeen, began life by farmning, laboring on public works, and boat- ing on the canal between La Fayette and Toledo. In 1851, he married Miss Martha Jay, of this county, who died in January, 1852. July 8, 1855. he married Miss Sally, daughter of Jacob J. and Hester Smith, and born in Sussex County, Del., in 1834. To this union were born six children-Ruth, Margaret, Jacob, Hester, Ike and Rachel. Soon after his marriage, he purchased forty acres of his present farm, which, through his industry and good management, he has increased to 545 acres. Mr. Davis took part in the late war from January, 1865, to the close. He is a Democrat, and has served as County Commissioner one term. His wife is a Second-Day Adventist.
W. S. DAVIS was born August 19, 1816, in Butler County, Ohio, and was the eldest of the nine children-five yet living-born to George and Catharine (Miller) Davis, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. George Davis died in Cass County, Ind., in the fall of 1844; his widow married James McDowell, and died in Carroll County, Ind., in March, 1873, aged seventy-seven years. W. S. Davis was reared a farmer, but served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade. He was married, in 1840, to Miss Margaret Thompson, of Wayne County, Ind., but a native of New Jersey. Mrs. Davis died in the fall of 1860, leav- ing three children-Catharine, Florence (deceased) and Julia. In 1840, Mr. Davis moved to this township, engaged in farming seven years ; then moved to Burnettsville, where, in 1849, he built the first frame building, which is still standing. He also assisted in building the court house at Monticello. In 1850, he opened a general store in partnership with Aaron Hicks. He was appointed Postmaster, and filled the office for
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many years. He bought out his partner's interest and conducted the business on his own account until the fall of 1875, when he moved to Idaville, where he is now doing an extensive trade. In June, 1861, he married Marilla (Imes) Shepherd, of Burnettsville, a native of Ohio, and daughter of William and Lydia Imes. Mr. Davis is a Democrat, and has served as Road Supervisor and School Trustee; he is a Freemason, and Mrs. Davis is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
L. C. DEVELIN was born in Cambridge City, Ind., August 6, 1835, and is one of the four children of George and Anna (Rains) Deve- lin, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Indiana. Mr. Develin, about his majority, began railroading as baggage-master at Cambridge; he filled the position three years and then went on as brakeman, working himself up, in two years, to the office of conductor on the Dayton & West- ern Railroad. In 1861, he engaged in the fruit and grocery trade at Chicago; then traveled for a wholesale house for awhile, and in 1863 en- gaged on the T.,L. & B., R. R., at Logansport, as traveling agent and ex- tra conductor. May 8, 1864, while instructing a new yardmaster in his duties, he had both ankles crushed by a tank wheel, which led to amputa- tion. The operation was not skillfully performed, and six weeks later a second amputation became necessary. After recovery and after pro- viding himself with artificial limbs, Mr. Develin entered the telegraph office at Cambridge City as a student, and in December, 1865, he was ap- pointed agent and operator at Burnettsville, the office being then first es- tablished, and he still holds the position. He was married, November 9, 1870, to Mary Mary Sharpe, of Kentland, Ind., and this lady has borne him three children-Mertie, May and Leo. Mr. Develin is correspond- ent for a number of journals, Florin being his nom de plume. He is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
WILLIAM H. DOWNS was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 25, 1843, and is the son of Samuel and Ann (Hines) Downs, both natives of Ohio. He came with his parents to Tippecanoe County, this State, in 1848, and to Union Township, this county, in 1852, where he resided until August 2, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, Seventy-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry ; was mustered in at South Bend and was as- signed to the Fourteenth Army Corps, under Gen. Crittenden. He fought at Chaplin's Hill, Murfreesboro, Decatur and Athens. At Mill Creek, he was accidentally injured by the fall of a stockade, from the effect of which he was confined in the hospital three weeks. In June, 1865, he was honorably discharged, and came at once to Carroll County, where he lived on rented land a number of years, and then came to this town- ship and purchased forty acres, a part of his present home, which he has since increased to ninety-nine acres, all in a good state of cultivation. In
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