USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 34
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 34
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JOIIN B. BUNNELL is a son of Brazilla and Nancy S. (Riggs) Bunnell, born May 4, 1825, in Warren County, Ohio. While yet an infant, his parents removed from Warren to Montgomery County, and here remained until he was nine years of age, when he again removed with his parents to Porter County, Ind. When nineteen years old, he began life for himself, and on the 31st of January, 1844, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Lear, of Big Creek Township. To this union have been born seven children, viz .: Nancy J., Thomas J., Maria L., Mary A., Milton M., Teal and Homer E. Of these children, Teal and Homer E. are dead. In 1850, Mr. Bunnell went to California, and
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while there was engaged in mining, driving pack-mules and conducting a provision store. After two years, he returned, and has since been en- gaged in farming, merchandising, etc., and now lives in Wolcott and superintends his farm. He is a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The religious faith of Mr. Bunnell is that advo- cated by the Christian Church. Mrs. Bunnell is also a member of that church. He enlisted in June, 1862, in Company G, Sixty-third Indiana Volunteers for three years, but was discharged in February, 1863, on account of an accidental wound. He is a Republican, and an advocate of compulsory education.
WILLIAM H. CLARK, General Manager and Superintendent of the famous Wolcott farm, is a native of Liverpool, England, born May 4, 1844, and is a son of William D. and Adelia (Souls) Clark. When he was three years of age, his parents came to America and settled in Otsego County, N. Y. While in the Empire State, he received his edu- cation, which is much beyond that of the average farmer. At the age of sixteen, Mr. Clark enlisted as drummer-boy in Company H, Seventy- sixth Volunteers of New York. After the enrollment of the company, he became a regular private, and was in nineteen of the most severe en- gagements that occurred during the war. He re-enlisted February, 1864, served until the close of the struggle, and was discharged at Ball's Cross Roads, Va., July 3, 1865 ; he was Color Bearer from the time of the Gettysburg battle, in 1863, until February 4, 1864. In the fall of 1865, he came to Montgomery County, Ind., and worked on a farm, and there he remained two years and then returned to New York and re- mained one'year, and in the meantime was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Hill, of Cherry Valley, N. Y. To this union have been born three children, viz. : Lillie E., born July 29, 1874, and died October 23, 1875; Minnie A., born June 30, 1876, died December 12, 1876, and Robert W. In 1869, he came to West Point Township and rented a farm, but the next year came to Wolcott and became general manager for Hon. Anson Wolcott. This position Mr. Clark still retains ; he is a Repub- lican, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a Sovereign of the Red Star, and member of the Christian Church.
JAMES S. CLARY is a native of Greene County, Tenn., son of Zacki and Susanna (Hamden) Clary, born October 24, 1824, and was the sixth in a family of eleven children. On the 22d of November, 1845, he left home on foot for Indiana, arriving here on the 8th of December, and stopping in Prairie Township. In a few days he secured a job of making rails for Solomon McCulloch, at 50 cents per hundred. In a short time, he hired to Mr. McCulloch by the month; worked two sum- mers; then farmed one season ; and then struck out on horseback for the
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home of his childhood, and there remained two months; and then re- turned to Prairie Township, and November 9, 1848, was united in mar- riage to Miss Susanna Smelser, of Prairie Township. To them were born seven children, viz .: Joseph II., Jasper N., Sarah A., Samuel H., John M., James W. and Lucy B. Of these children, only two, the oldest and youngest, are living. In March, 1851, Mr. Clary removed to Princeton Township, and for one month lived in an old shanty that stood just west of where the cabin on his land was afterward built. This cabin, however, was torn down during Centennial year, and in its stead was erected a commodious and comfortable house. October 24, 1871, Mrs. Clary died. Mr. Clary, after remaining a widower for nine years, was married, March 13. 1880, to Mrs. Eunice Wirtman, a native of Pickaway County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Clary are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Republican.
I. M. DAVIS is a native of Champaign County, Ohio, born No- vember 6, 1829; is of German, Scotch and Welsh descent, and a son of John and Isabel (Newland) Davis. The grandfather of Mr. Davis was stolen when a child by some sailors, and brought to America ; he was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and that of 1812. The father of Mr. Davis came to Ohio from Virginia when seventeen years of age, and there remained until the latter was eight years old, when he came to White County, and landed in Prairie Township November 10, 1837, and began settlement just east of where Brookston is now situated, and here he lived until his death, November 10, 1880. I. M. was fourteen years old before he knew anything about school life. The first school he at- tended was at a round-log schoolhouse that stood near the center of a district that was eight miles square. Alfred Harris was Mr. Davis' first teacher. Mr. Davis was married, August 22, 1848, to Miss Sarah A. Mahan, daughter of John and Hester Mahan, of Tippecanoe County. This union had four children born to it, viz. : John W., Hester A., Mary A. and George W. The next fall after Mr. Davis was married, he began life for himself, and moved into an old hut that stood three miles from the old homestead. The first meal in the new home consisted of forage, potatoes and butter, and the table used was an old chair. In the spring of 1849, Mr. Davis came to Princeton Township and settled in the northern part, and there remained ten years. In 1870, he purchased the farm on which he now lives. Mrs. Davis died July 21, 1856, and Mr. Davis was married, January 10, 1857, to Miss Juda A. Franklin, of Tippecanoe County. To them have been born nine children-William M., James K., Luther L., Alexander H., Griffith G., Ella J., Edward G., Lettie E. and Harry B. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Republican and a member of the Masonic Lodge at Wolcott.
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E. L. DIBELL was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, October 15, 1825, and is the son of Obed and Patine (Baldwin) Dibell. The father died in September, 1874, and the mother, who is a sister of Dr. Baldwin, of Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, Ind., still resides on the old home- stead in her eighty-ninth year. E. L. Dibell attended the common schools and then the academy at Kingsville, Ohio, and afterward farmed on the home place until he was thirty years of age, when he moved to Will County, Ill .; remained there about three years; then lived eleven years in Minnesota ; then seven years in Kendall County, Ill., and then he came to Princeton Township in January, 1875; bought 160 acres raw prairie, and developed the magnificent farm on which he now resides. He married Miss Elizabeth A., daughter of Beriah and Polly Lucella Bliss, natives of Greene County, N. Y., and to this union have been born four children-E. Burritt, Arthur B. (deceased), Edwin J. and Homer B. Mr. Dibell is a member of the Baptist Church, having joined over ten years ago, and in politics is a Republican.
EASTBURN W. FLEEGER is a native of Juniata County, Penn., born August 28, 1852, son of Robison and Isabel (Logue) Fleeger, and is of German and Irish descent. When he was but two years of age, his parents removed from the old Pennsylvania State to Princeton Township, and settled on Section 28. Here they remained until April, 1881, when they removed to Reynolds. Mr. Fleeger remained at home and worked for his father until he had attained his majority, and even after he became of age, he continued so to work by the year. Board, clothes and $150 were the consideration for which he labored until November 3, 1880, when he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Briney, daughter of Harry and Anna Briney. Mrs. Fleeger is a native of Carroll County, Ind. To this union has been born one child-Maude B. After the marriage, Mr. Fleeger began the old homestead, and still resides there. Mr. and Mrs. Fleeger are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Republican.
DR. F. A. GRANT was born in Lawrenceburgh, Ind., October 3, 1852. and is the youngest of a family of four children of R. S. and Louie A. (Bennett) Grant. At the age of five years, he moved with his father to a farm near Greensburg, Ind., and here young Grant received his first schooling. At sixteen years of age, he entered the academy at Elizabeth- town. The first fifteen years of his life were passed in working on the farm and attending school ; 1870 found Dr. Grant beginning the classical course in Hartsville University, at Hartsville, Ind., where he remained two years, and while at this institution, was ordained a pastor in the Christian Church, and preached at Elizabethtown and Brush Creek. Dr. Grant is next found as pastor of the First Christian Church at Brazil, Ind .; but
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he soon resigned, and accepted a similar position at Marshall, Ill., and there remained some time, and then entered the Northwestern Christian University at Indianapolis, and pursued his studies two years, and then quit the university to accept the pastorate of the Christian Church at Ligonier, Ind. After preaching for a time at Frazeysburg, Ohio, and Litchfield, Minn., where he edited a church paper called the Christian Visitor, he returned to Indianapolis and took a course of medical lectures, and came to Wolcott in February, 1877, and formed a partnership with Dr. M. T. Didlake in the practice of medicine. In 1879, he returned to Indianapolis and took another course of lectures. On January 31, 1876, occurred the marriage of Dr. Grant to Miss Linda Carmine, of Ligonier, Ind., and to them have been born two children-Minnie A. and Myrtle M. Dr. Grant is one of the principal physicians in White County, and for several years has been an influential and effective worker in the Dem- ocratic party.
WILLIAM HINCHMAN is a native of Cabell County, W. Va., a son of William and Elizabeth (Symms) Hinchman ; is of English and Irish descent, and was born August 1, 1830. The father of Mr. Hinch- man was taken prisoner by the rebels in war time for expressing himself politically, and was cast in the rebel prison at Salisbury, N. C., and there remained until his death. Mr. Hinchman received such education as the common schools of Virginia were capable of bestowing. He gained the information that the Northern States were fast becoming more pros- perous than the Slave States, and consequently, on the 13th of October, 1854, came to Princeton Township and began settlement on Section 29, where he now lives and owns 270 acres of choice land. Mr. Hinchman was married, December 18, 1856, to Miss Rhoda Nordyke. Seven chil- dren have been born to them, viz., John, Elizabeth E., James, Mary, William, Anna and Albert. Mr. Hinchman, in early life, learned the carpenter's trade, and the same has since been of much service to him, as the buildings on his farm indicate. For twenty-five years he has made bee-keeping a specialty, and has become noted as one of the most extensive bee-keepers in Indiana. In 1860, he was elected Township Trustee, and served one term, and in 1877 received the nomination on the Democratic ticket for County Treasurer, but was defeated in the election.
G. W. HOLDRIDGE is a native of Monroe County, N. Y., born April 6, 1839, son of Jacob and Matilda (Heath) Holdridge, and is of German-Welsh descent. When eighteen years of age, he began the trials of life for himself. For a time he worked on a farm, and then spent almost two years traveling through Canada. In 1859, he came to White County and began working for a man by the name of Clark Johnson ; he next bought five yoke of oxen, and began breaking prairie sod. At
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this occupation he continued for five years, and then rented a farm and began farming. On the 22d of August, 1866, he married Miss Sarah Faucett, daughter of Charles Faucett, a native of Ohio. Mr. Holdridge was married, April 13, 1870, to Miss Matilda Templeton, daughter of James and Mary Templeton. To this union have been born four children, viz., Leroy D., Emma, Troop and Theron. In 1870, Mr. Holdridge came to Princeton Township and settled northeast of Seafield, and here he remained for three years, and then removed to Delphi, Carroll County, and there engaged in the butchering business ; he next moved to Monti- cello, and for awhile carried on the same kind of business, and then pur- chased a farm in West Point Township, and here the family lived nearly one year, and then removed to a farm in this township, east of Seafield, and there resided for a time, and then came to the present place of resi- dence near Wolcott. Mr. Holdridge is a Universalist, and in politics a Democrat ; has been the means of building six good dwelling houses in the county, and is one of the most extensive land owners in White County.
PROF. WILLIAM IRELAN, Principal of Wolcott Public Schools, and a pastor of the Christian Church, is a native of Greene County. Ohio, son of James and Eliza (Miller) Irelan, born July 25, 1837 ; is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and the eldest in a family of seven children ; his father died in 1855, and mother in 1881. The education of Prof. Irelan has been extensive and thorough. He first attended the common school in Ohio, and after coming to Indiana he, for a time, attended the same kind of a school. In the summer of 1846, he entered a select school at Burnettsville, taught by Prof. Hugh Knickerbocker, of Union College, New York. Prof. Irelan graduated in 1872 at Butler University, Ohio. When a mere boy, he began teaching ; he taught his first school in Jack- son Township; was afterward Principal of the Burnettsville Schools, and served many terms at that place. In 1861, he went to Minnesota and taught a select school at Belle Plaine. After teaching one term, he re- turned to White County, and on the 30th of August, 1862, enlisted in Capt. George Bowman's Company, Twelfth Indiana Volunteers, as a private, but was afterward appointed to a Corporalship. He was wounded at the battle of Missionary Ridge November 25, 1863; was discharged from the service at Indianapolis February 6, 1864. October 13, 1864, he married Miss C. E. Buesing, of Burnettsville, Ind. Mrs. Irelan is also a graduate of Butler University. To this union have been born four children, viz .: Clifford, Otto, Owen and Elmer. In 1865, he was ap- pointed Superintendent of the Public Schools of White County. This office he held three years ; he held the first County Institute in White County. In 1866, he took charge of the Monticello Schools. This po-
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sition he resigned in 1868, and accepted the pastorate of the Christian Church at Burnettsville ; he is also the organizer of the Christian so- ciety and founder of the Christian Church at Wolcott. In 1880, he took charge of the Wolcott Schools, and in this capacity remains ; he is a thorough Republican.
AMOS JOHNSON is a native of Cabell County, W. Va., born August 16, 1834, son of Epps and Ann (Derton) Johnson ; he is the eldest in a family of ten children, and his early life was spent in his na- tive State in attending school, rafting logs in high water time, and learn- ing the carpenter's trade. In March, 1855, he left the home of his childhood and came to Princeton Township, and for one year worked at carpentering with Isaac Vinson. In 1857, Mr. Johnson went to Illinois and remained a short time, and then returned to Princeton Township, and September 9, 1858, was united in marriage to Miss Mary S. Hutson, daughter of Shelby and Elizabeth Hutson, of Porter County, Ind. To Mr. Johnson and wife have been born five children-Herman S., Ida E., Andrew, Arthur S. and Grant. For a time after Mr. Johnson was mar- ried, he was engaged in saw milling at Reynolds; he owns 120 acres of choice land where he now lives, and is one of the successful farmers in Princeton Township ; he is a thorough Republican.
J. M. JOHNSON, son of Rev. R. C. and Mary (White) Johnson, born April 6, 1858, was the fifth in a family of seven children. Mr. Johnson is a Hoosier by birth, having been born on what has long since been known as the old Johnson homestead, in Princeton Township. He received a fair common school education, and afterward attended school at the Battle Ground Academy, in Tippecanoe County, at Wolcott, and at Burnettsville. When nineteen years of age, he commenced life for him- self, and herded cattle for one year, and then began clerking in his broth- er's store at Reynolds, and there remained about one year. He was mar- ried November 24, 1880, to Miss Ada M. Willey, daughter of Sylvester and Mary Willey, of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has been born one child, Robert C. He owns 160 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members of the Christian Church. He is a Republican, and one of the enterprising young farmers of Princeton Township.
J. G. KERLIN is a native of Camden, Carroll County, Ind., born February 18, 1860, and is the youngest in a family of three children born to J. L. and Amanda (Fleeger) Kerlin. He lived with his parents at Camden until he was six years of age, and then with his grandfather Kerlin in Juniata County, Penn. There the father remained a few days, and then took his departure, and since has only been heard of a few times. With his grandfather, who was in very meager circumstances, J. G. re- mained until he was twelve years old, when, imagining that there were
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more prosperous fields in life for him, he came to Princeton Township, and for awhile lived with his mother, and then went to Carroll County, near Delphi, and for five years worked on a farm. In the spring of 1877, he began clerking in C. S. Kepner's store at Seafield, and here remained three years, and then worked on a farm for G. W. Chamber- lain one summer, for 75 cents per day and board. After this, Mr. Kerlin turned his attention to merchandising, and formed a part- nership with Z. Pippenger in the grocery business ; the whole amount of capital invested was $47. This partnership existed about one year, when Mr. Kerlin purchased his partner's interest, the stock on hand in- voicing at $60. Mr. K. then put in a stock of dry goods, and is now carrying a good stock of goods. In 1879, he was commissioned Post- master at Seafield, and on the 13th of June, 1882, was appointed railway agent. On November 26, 1880, he married Miss- Josie Templeton, a daughter of James and Mary Templeton. To this union was born one child, Freddie, who died September 15, 1882. Mrs. Kerlin died Janu- ary 10, the same year. Mr. Kerlin is a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, and belongs to Orion Lodge at Walcott, No. 598. He is a Democrat, and a self-made man in all respects.
JOHN H. KINNEY is a native of Pickaway County, Ohio, born May 17, 1840, and is one of nine children born to William and Mary A. (Phebus) Kinney, who were among the first settlers of Princeton Township. The subject of this sketch is of German-English descent, and came with his parents from their Buckeye home to Princeton Township in 1851, and began settlement on Section 32. The first house in which the Kinney family lived was a miniature frame structure, 14x16 feet, with an eight- foot story. Two years afterward, an addition was erected, in dimensions the same as the first building. Mr. Kinney received a fair common school education. In 1851, he taught a winter term of school at what was known as the Kinney Schoolhouse. October 1, 1862, dates the marriage of Mr. Kinney to Miss Eliza A. Templeton, daughter of James and Rachel Templeton, who came to this county about 1849. To them have been born four children-Katie, Lucy E., William C. and John E., who died May 3, 1878. Mr. Kinney worked for and farmed on shares with his father until he was thirty years old, when he began managing for himself. In March, 1882, he purchased the old homestead, and now has two hundred acres of well-improved land. He believes in the faith advocated by the Christian Church, and Mrs. Kinney is a member of that church. He is a stanch Republican.
HIRAM F. LEAR, farmer and stock-raiser, is a native of Culpeper County, Va., son of Nathan and Maria (Spicer) Lear, who was born Janu- ary 21, 1821. The grandfather of Mr. Lear was one of the three Vir-
John b. Simmons
Mrs. J. G. TIMMONS.
THE RAW WORK PUBLR LIBRARY
ASI · · ROX ANE UNDATIONS
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ginia Blues that carried Gen. Braddock from the field of battle in one of the early Indian wars. He was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and the father of Mr. Lear was a soldier of 1812. When Mr. Lear was nine years of age, his father removed from Virginia to Belmont County, Ohio, and there remained until the spring of 1838, when he came to White County and began settlement in Big Creek Township. When Mr. Lear reached his majority, he began work for himself. He rented land of Joseph Thompson, and farmed three years, and then came to Princeton Township and purchased eighty acres of land in Section 4. He now owns more than 500 acres. Here he has lived all the time, save seven years he was in the mercantile business in Monon. Mr. Lear married Miss Margaret Ann Burnes, daughter of the old pioneer, John Burnes, in Big Creek Township. To this union have been born thirteen children, viz. : John F., Charles N., Thomas A., James B., David M., Zorah M., Hiram Fayett, William W., Samuel E., Birt L., Mary J., Etna D., Hugh L. and an infant that died unnamed. In religious opinion, Mr. Lear is a liberal. He is a golden-rule kind of a man, and perhaps the greatest compromiser in White County. Many differences between neighbors have been settled through his influence, and his place in this particular could not easily be filled. Mrs. Lear is a member of the Christian Church, and he is a Republican.
WILLIAM LISK, son of Peter and Abigail (Moore) Lisk, was born June 10, 1819, near Morristown, N. J. While in his youth, his father moved to Franklin County, Ohio, and began the improvement of a farm. William remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, helping his father to clear and cultivate his land. Mr. Lisk received only such an edu- cation as the firstschools of Ohio were prepared to give. In 1844, the father removed to Ross County, and here, in 1846, William was united in mar- riage to Sarah A. Edmonds, daughter of Robert and Margaret Edmonds. Seven children have been born to this union-Mary E., John W., Ezra P., Alice J., Lafayette, Vesta J. and Anna D. Of these, Lafayette died August 12, 1860. In October, 1847, Mr. Lisk removed to Tippecanoe County, where he remained until 1854, when he went to Wapello County, Iowa, and remained there until the fall of 1860, when he returned to Tip- pecanoe County, and lived there until 1868, when he came to Princeton Township and engaged in farming. His first venture in the mercantile business was at Wolcott, in partnership with J. P. Clute, but at the end of five months the agreement was dissolved, and in the meantime Mr. Lisk had sunk $1,129 in the enterprise. After this ill luck, Mr. Lisk worked by the day for one year on the farm of A. Wolcott, but in the fall of 1869 commenced business alone on a small scale, and through his energy and enterprise has succeeded in establishing one of the best stores in White County. To-day Mr. Lisk has property worth at least $6,000.
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Mr. and Mrs. Lisk are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. Lisk was formerly a Whig, but is now a Republican.
JOHN McDONALD is of Scotch-Irish lineage, born August 15, 1806, in Mercer County, Penn., and is a son of John and Jane (Mc- Clintick) McDonald. Mr. McDonald received a very limited education, but sufficient, however, to enable him to stand in the front ranks of carpentering or millwrighting-trades that he acquired when young. In addition to these trades he followed flat-boating for a number of years. His father removed to the Buckeye commonwealth and began settlement near Zanesville, in about 1811. When but nineteen years of age, John began life for himself, and in the fall of 1852 came to Princeton Town- ship and entered 400 acres of land, southeast of where Wolcott now stands. He was married, October 22, 1829, to Miss Ellen Eckelbarger, of Zanesville, Ohio. To this relation were born nine children-Mary J., William, John, Sheldon, Julius, Charles, Hugh, Melissa and Robert S .; of these children there are but four living. Mrs. McDonald died August 4, 1879. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Church until her death. Mr. McDonald is also a member of that denomination, having joined over a half century ago. He is a Mason, and once was a member of the Amity Lodge, No. 5, at Zanesville, Ohio. Politically, he has more faith in the Greenback party than any other.
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