USA > Indiana > Vigo County > Terre Haute > Greater Terre Haute and Vigo County : closing the first century's history of city and county, showing the growth of their people, industries and wealth > Part 25
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Elroy B. Smith was born in Knox county, Indiana, December 20, 1862, and he remained at home with his father until he was twenty-one years of age. In addition to the conduct of his large agricultural inter- ests, he has been engaged in the buying and shipping of grain at Ells- worth since 1897, and also owns a half interest in the elevator at Lyford, Indiana. He has played a useful part in the public affairs of Otter Creek township, having served as township trustee from 1900 to 1904.
On the 7th of March. 1889, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Ella Parks, who was born in Cumberland county, Illinois, on the 5th of October. 1868, daughter of Samuel D. and Phebe ( Hardesty) Parks. Her parents were natives of Virginia, the mother born at Mount Vernon, on the IIth of October, 1820. The father's birthday was April 17, 1811, and after his marriage in the Old Dominion he migrated with his young wife to Cumberland county, Illinois, and established a home in the wilds of that frontier district. He passed the years of his active business career as a merchant, and died in Cumberland county in De- cember. 1876, his widow surviving him until the 12th of February, 1905. Five of their thirteen children are still living: George. Sarah, wife of Peter Devore, and a resident of Neoga, Illinois; Harriette, now Mrs. Samuel Rogers, living at Cape Girardeaux, Missouri, and Ella, who mar- ried Elroy B. Smith. It may also be stated that Mrs. Smith's father, Samuel D. Parks, was a member of the Soldiers' Legion and of the Masonic fraternity. The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Smith are as
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follows: Ralph E., born July 21, 1891; Nola May, born May 21, 1894: Russell E., born April 26, 1897: Nellie Gertrude, born August 12. 1899, and Ruth Helen, born July 16, 1904. Mr. Smith has a wide and leading connection with the fraternities, being a member of Elam Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 826, at Edwards: of Otterville Lodge, No. 436, Knights of Pythias, and the Cree Tribe of Red Men, No. 294, at Burnett. He has long been active in all phases of denominational and charitable work connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is an honored trustee.
JOHN E. BICKEL, an honored soldier citizen of Harrison township. has been identified with the various interests of Vigo county since the period of his early manhood, first as a saddler and hardware merchant and later as a farmer. He was born on his father's farm in Ohio, August 10, 1841, to David D. and Susan (Row) Bickel, also natives of that commonwealth, whence they removed to Owen county, Indiana, in 1857, and spent the remainder of their lives there, the father dying in 1878.
At the age of twenty-one John E. Bickel started out to do for himself, remaining with his father for one year on the farm, and then, learning the trades of saddle, harness and collar maker, joined Fred A. Ross in Terre Haute, and for four years was associated with him in the saddlery and hardware business. For fifteen years he devoted himself to the work of his trades, and for four years thereafter was a resident of Fayette township. At the close of that period he purchased twenty- three acres of land in Harrison township (this being in the year 1876) and on this little homestead he followed general farming, in connection with his trades, until twenty years ago, since which time he has devoted himself to gardening.
John E. Bickel enlisted at Gosport, Indiana. November 1, 1861. as a private in Company B, Fifty-ninth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Andrew Wilson and Col. Jesse I. Alexander, his term being for three years or during the war. The regiment was as- assigned to General Palmer's division, seventeenth corps, Army of the Tennessee, and participated in the following engagements: New Madrid (Missouri), Island No. 10. Tiptonville and siege of Corinth, Port Gib- son, Raymond, Champion Hills and Vicksburg. He was promoted from corporal to sergeant, and after his injury was taken from the field hos- pital to the convalescent hospital at Benton Barracks, Missouri, being honorably discharged at St. Louis, December 3. 1863. On February 15. 1864, he re-enlisted in Company C. Eleventh Regiment, Indiana Vet- eran Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Harry McMullen and Col. Dan
44
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McCauley, and was assigned to the second brigade, second division, nine- teenth army corps. In August and September the regiment was engaged in skirmish operations in front of the enemy's line near Winchester, and on the 19th of the latter month was regularly engaged, also participat- ing in the battle of Fisher's Hill (September 22d) and Cedar Creek, Virginia (October 19th). At the conclusion of General Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign the shattered command marched to Baltimore, where it was assigned to garrison duty at Fort McHenry. It was also detailed at Winchester and Cedar Creek to care for the wounded and bury the dead, and was finally discharged from the service July 26, 1865, at Indianapolis, Indiana.
With such a record, it is natural that Mr. Bickel should have been long and earnestly identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. He was chosen commander by his comrades of John P. Baird Post, No. 592, for the year 1899, not missing a single meeting during the entire term of his service. For the same year James A. Sexton, of Chicago, commander-in-chief of the national organization, chose him as an aid- de-camp on his staff. Mr. Bickel has also served as aid-de-camp on the staff of the department commander, B. F. Starr, of Richmond, In- diana ; was again appointed to serve on the staff of Commander-in- Chief John C. Black, of Illinois, in 1903, and in 1906 was aid-de-camp on the staff of Department Commander E. R. Brown. He is also a member of Union Veteran Legion, Camp No. 128, Department of In- diana.
Mr. Bickel is descended from a family of soldiers, for his great- grandfather, Thomas Bickel, served in the Revolutionary war ; his grand- father, David Bickel, took part in the Indian wars, and his father, David D. Bickel, was a brave soldier of the Mexican war. The patriotic record is continued in his son, Charles E. Bickel, who enlisted July 27, 1899, for service in the Spanish-American war, joining Com- pany H, Thirty-first Regiment. United States Infantry, and receiving his discharge June 18, 1901, after nearly two years of soldierly conduct, principally in the Philippines.
On the 28th of October, 1871, Mr. Bickel married Miss Eliza Hyler, born in Putnam county, Indiana, October 4, 1847, and they have five children living: Charles E., who is married and lives in Terre Haute : John Russell, who is also married and resides in that city, and Bejamin F., Louetta and Gertrude, all, at this date (July 1, 1908), living at home.
WILLIAM D. MARKLE .- Since an early epoch in the history of In- diana the Markle family have been prominently identified with the his-
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tory of this community, and the name is inseparably interwoven with the record of its advancement. The founder of the family here was Abraham Markle, the grandfather of William D. He was a valiant soldier with the rank of major in the war of 1812, and on account of his loyalty to the American cause he lost all his land holdings in Quebec. The United States government therefore allowed him to enter seven hundred and fifty acres in Vigo county, Indiana, and in 1818 he built a flour mill in Otter Creek township. This old landmark is yet standing, a mute reminder of the early days here, and some of his lands now form a part of the city of Terre Haute.
Frederick Markle was a son of this honored old Vigo county pioneer and was born in Canada in 1809. He came to this community with his mother when a small child, and after attaining to manhood's estate be- came a stage coach builder and conducted a line of stage coaches between Terre Haute and Lafayette for a number of years, but in time became interested in the flour mill business and erected mills in Roseville, Indiana. and Kankakee, Illinois, and also owned the old Markle mill in Otter Creek township. For two terms he served his county as one of its com- missioners, and was the incumbent of the office at the time of his death in 1865. It was through the efforts of his father that the county seat was located at Terre Haute, and he took an active part in the political life of his community, voting with the Republican party. He also served the country as a soldier, having been a member of the relief committee in the Civil war, and he was a very prominent man. In Otter Creek township, Vigo county, Mr. Markle was married by the Rev. Mr. Jewett to Sarah B. Denny, who was born in Ohio, July 30, 1816, and died March 30, 1888. Of the ten children, nine sons and a daughter, born of this union, five are now living: Abraham, William D., James, Nelson and Frederick.
William D. Markle was born in Otter Creek township, Vigo county, August 20, 1841. At the age of fifteen years he entered his father's flour mill in Otter Creek township, and when he became twenty-one years of age he was admitted to the business as a partner, and was a partner in the business when his father died. In 1898 he quit milling and en- gaged in contracting and building, thus continuing until his retirement from active business life in 1906. During one term he served as the assessor of Otter Creek township, and was a member of the school board for two years. He is a Republican politically.
On the 29th of April, 1869, Mr. Markle was married to Miss Anna Elizabeth Rogers, born in Harrison township, Vigo county. August 21, 1847, a daughter of Milton and Mary ( Simmons ) Rogers. Milton Rogers
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was born in Ohio in 1818, but in an early day in its history he accom- panied his parents, Jonathan and Nancy (Dawson) Rogers, on their overland journey with team and wagon to Harrison township, Vigo county, Indiana. He erected a log cabin in the wilderness and spent his days here, becoming a large land owner. He was a member of the Cen- tenary Episcopal church, and was a Whig politically. He died in Feb- ruary, 1877. On the 24th of December. 1844, Milton Rogers married Mary Simmons, born in Queen Anne county, Maryland, in 1824, and of their nine children four are now living: Mrs. Markle, Helen M., the wife of H. Simmons: Emma C., the widow of Morris Ray and a resi- dent of Terre Haute; Barbara, the wife of Walter H. Denney. Mrs. Rogers was a true and devout Christian, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and she sang at the dedication of the old Asby church. She was a kind mother and a devoted wife, loved and honored by all who knew her, and when death came on the 9th of February, 1860, she was happy with her family at her bedside. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Markle: Mary Helen, born March 9, 1870, died De- cember 17, 1874; Frederick, born October 8, 1871, died September 16, 1872; Herbert M., born January 4. 1873, is the cashier for the Amer- ican Express Company of Terre Haute; David, born September 7, 1875; Mabel, born January 1, 1878, married William C. Weir on January I, 1902, and to them one daughter has been born, Anna Mabel, and Charles R., born August 25, 1885.
SETH B. MELTON, M. D., has been enrolled among the members of the medical profession of Vigo county since 1877, when he opened an office at Burnett and practiced there until, wishing to still further perfect himself in his chosen profession, he entered the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis in 1880 for a one year's course. Returning at the close of that period to Burnett he practiced there until his re- moval to Fontanet in September of 1887, and since 1904 he has been one of the leading medical practitioners of Edwards.
The Doctor is the eldest child of William S. and Julia E. (Williams) Melton. The father was born in North Carolina, May 14, 1813, and in 1834 he made the journey from there on foot to Indiana, locating first in Greene county. He had learned the painter's trade in North Carolina, but after coming to Indiana he taught school one winter in Greene county, and in the following spring came to Vigo county and resumed his edu- cational labors in Nevins township. He was also a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. During the Civil war he served as a mem- ber of Company I, Forty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, enlisting
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Astor, Leno> and Tilden Foundations. 1909
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in October, 1861, for three years, but was discharged on account of sick- ness in 1862, and in the spring of 1863 returned to Otter Creek township, where he died on the 14th of June, 1872. He was both a Whig and Republican in his political affiliations. His father had served with Gen- eral Scott in his brilliant campaign in the Mexican war. On the 11th of November, 1847, William S. Melton married Julia E. Williams, who was born in Otter Creek township of Vigo county, September 19, 1821, . and died March 18, 1897. Of their seven children four are now living : Seth B., Barzilia, the postmaster of Burnett; Julia A., the wife of S. D. Humphrey, and John D.
Dr. Seth B. Melton was born in Nevins township, Vigo county, De- cember 27, 1848, and received his early elementary educational training in its district schools, while later, from 1869 to 1870, he was a student in the Garvin Commercial College at Terre Haute. In the fall of 1873 he entered upon the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Samuel Watkins, at Judson, Indiana, and remained with him until open- ing an office for himself at Burnett in 1877. He has been eminently successful in his chosen field of labor, and has faithfully labored to alle- viate the sufferings of those afflicted with the ills to which the flesh is heir.
On the 2d of September, 1885, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Ada Payne, who was born in Indiana, September 8, 1857, and died on the 18th of March, 1904, after becoming the mother of three children, but the first born died in infancy, and the remaining two are Guy and Hila. Mrs. Melton was a daughter of Mark and Phebe (Smith) Payne, both of whom were natives of Tennessee and of German origin. The father was for many years a prominent farmer in Vigo county. On the 9th of November, 1904, Dr. Melton married Mary B. (Ray) Smith, born in Parke county, Indiana, September 6, 1869, to Martin and Rhoda (Pendegrast) Ray, of English descent. The father worked at his trade of shoemaking in his young manhood, but spent most of his time in the saw mill business in Parke county. He was a Republican and a member of the Methodist church. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ray three are now living: Frederick, Mrs. Melton and Jabez E. Mrs. Melton was first married to Lewis A. Smith on the 6th of October, 1887. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, May 11, 1862, and after attending the public schools of that city he pursued a full course at the Terre Haute Commercial College and graduated in 1885. He then served as a sales- man for the Coal Bluff Mining Company at Fontanet for a number of years, and then returning to Terre Haute served in the capacity of a bill clerk with a wholesale grocery house until his death on the 13th of November, 1898. He had one son, Ray A. The parents of Mr. Smith,
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Samuel and Elizabeth A. (Lackey) Smith, were natives of Vigo county and representatives of the early pioneers on the Wabash. When the Civil war came on the father laid aside his farming to serve his country and was killed on the field of battle. During his residence at Fontanet Lewis A. Smith served the Methodist church as a trustee and as the superin- tendent of its Sunday school. He voted with the Republican party.
Dr. Melton is a member of Social Lodge, No. 86, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Terre Haute; Fontanet Lodge, No. 174, Knights of Pythias, and has held all the offices in the order, and of Elem Lodge, No. 826, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Edwards. Both he and his wife are charter members of the Rebekah Friendship Lodge, No. 698, and of which she was the first noble grand. She was also a delegate to the state grand lodge in May, 1907. Both are members of the Rathbone Sisters lodge at Fontanet and of the Methodist church at Edwards. The Doctor is a Republican politically.
SAMUEL A. DANIELS .- One of the first to establish a home within the borders of Vigo county in the early pioneer days was Hartwell Daniels, who came from his Virginia home to Indiana in 1836 with team and wagon and located five miles from Greencastle in Putnam county. It was just two years later, in 1838, that he journeyed on to Terre Haute, where he established his home permanently and became one of its most influential residents. He resumed his trade of a stone and brick mason, and in 1840 he brought his family from Putnam county. He was a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. Of the seven children born to Hartwell and Lucy (Winn) Daniels only two are now living, Samuel and Jennie.
Samuel A. Daniels was born in the Old Dominion state of Virginia, March 15, 1834, but when only two years old was brought by his par- ents to Indiana and grew to manhood's estate under the parental roof in Terre Haute, assisting his father in the laying of brick and plaster- ing and attending the public schools in the winter months. Thus his boyhood days were passed, and after his marriage he came to Otter Creek township and purchased eighty-seven and a half acres in section 30. Later on he added to his landed possessions until he now owns two hundred and ninety-eight acres of excellent farming land, well improved. He follows general farming and stock raising, and in his pasture are found eleven head of horses, thirty head of cattle and one hundred hogs. When he first came to Otter Creek township with his young wife they were able to move their entire belongings on a sled, and their many valuable holdings of the present time represent their own labor and economy.
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Mr. Daniels married, December 23, 1863, Miss Elizabeth Overpeck, born in Parke county, Indiana, to George and Jane Overpeck. They came from their native state of Ohio to Indiana in an early day in its history, locating four miles south of Rockville, where the husband and father at one time owned four hundred acres of land. Ile was both a Democrat and a Methodist. Of the twelve children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Overpeck the only ones now living are Anna and Mrs. Daniels. Eight of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Daniels are living, namely: Fred, Emma, Chloe, Olla, Leatha, Edna, Maud and Pearl. Mr. Daniels enrolled his name among the honored early pioneers of Vigo county, and among other reminiscences of the early days here he could recall to mind his ride on the first railroad engine which ever ran into Vigo county. He supported the principles of the Democratic party. Mr. Daniels died March 31, 1908.
EDWARD R. CRABB .- Edward R. Crabb, a prominent business man of Vigo county, traces his ancestry to the mother country of England, from whence came Edward R. Crabb, the great-grandfather of Edward R., of this review, and the youngest of three brothers who made the voyage to this country. They had been merchants and horse dealers in their native land, and they brought with them, on the sailing ship, brick with which to erect their buildings. Edward R. Crabb married a relative of George Washington, a Mrs. Ball, and he became a prominent citizen of the Old Dominion state of Virginia, the birthplace of his son, James Crabb. The last named was reared, however, in Ohio, and for many generations the family have been prominently identified with agriculture and true and devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Edward R. Crabb (2d), a son of James, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, July 21, 1815, but in 1824 emigrated with a horse team to Indiana and located in Parke county, where he grew to manhood's estate and received a tract of eighty acres of wild timber land which his father had bought from the government. In time he became the owner of a fine estate of three hundred acres. He had to cut twenty-seven trees in order to clear a space sufficient to erect his first little log cabin, but he later built him a double house of hewed logs, in which his son Edward was born, while later this gave place to a frame residence, in which he spent the remainder of his life. He was one of the most promi- nent of the early residents of Parke county and for many years worshiped in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1860 he transferred his political allegiance from the Democratic to the Republican party. He died August 27, 1890. His first wife bore the maiden name of Liona Williams and
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was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, October 14, 1813, and died July 31, 1855. They were married in Bridgeton, Parke county, Indiana, April 7, 1835, and became the parents of eight children, but only five are now living: Lucinda, the widow of J. T. Jefferes; Nancy, the widow of Daniel Webster; James H., Peter B. and Edward R.
Mark Williams, the father of Mrs. Crabb, built the first dam on Raccoon creek. in Parke county, and also the first mill at Bridgeton. For his second wife Mr. Crabb married Amanda ( Williams) Tyler, February 28, 1856, and their only child is Louisa E., the wife of Reuben Cox, of Parke county. Mrs. Crabb died May 12, 1857, and he wedded Mrs. Nancy Harding, March 23, 1858. She died in September, 1892.
Edward R. Crabb (3d) was born in Raccoon township, Parke county, Indiana, August 18, 1849, and in addition to his public school education he also attended for a time the Sullivan County Seminary. It was in 1887 that he came to Vigo county, locating near Burnett, in Otter Creek township, where, in 1891, he purchased a farm, but later sold his land there and bought the farm on which he lived until the Ist of Sep- tember, 1907, when he again sold and removed to Edwards. He is an excellent business man, and formerly he was engaged in the raising of full-blood Jersey cattle. He sold three full-blood cows when he disposed of his last farm. For eight years he served as deputy township assessor and then served four years, by appointment, as assessor. He is well known in the public life of his community and votes with the Repub- lican party.
On the 2d of March, 1892, Mr. Crabb married Miss Josephine Briggs, who was born in Otter Creek township, Vigo county, February 19, 1863, a daughter of Robert Briggs. He was born in England, and coming to the . United States located in Vigo county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. Two sons, Edward F. and Robert Watson, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Crabb, but the wife and mother is deceased, dying September 19, 1902. On the 14th of December, 1904, Mr. Crabb married Emma Youmans. She was born in Pike county, Indiana, November 6, 1852, a daughter of Isaac and Harriett (Scilcott) Youmans, the former of whom was born in New Jersey, June 6, 1814, and died April 6. 1869, aged fifty-four years and ten months, and the latter, born in Brown county, Ohio, March 7. 1828, died June 13, 1892. They were married in Parke county, of this state, and became the parents of seven children : Elizabeth, Emma, Margaret, Lewis E., Rachel, Robert O., Ulysses G. Mr. Youmans, the father, came when a mere child with his widowed mother and brother to Ohio. The mother later became the wife of John Burson, and they removed to Parke county,
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Indiana, where the son was reared to years of maturity and became a farmer. He in early life voted with the Whig party and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. During many years Mr. Crabb has been a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served as president of its board of trustees, as a class leader, steward and district steward and as a Sunday school superintendent.
WILLIAM A. KENDRICK, a grocery merchant and the postmaster at Edwards, was born in Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, where for many years his father, Lemuel Kendrick, was prominently identified with edu- cational and journalistic work. He was interested in newspaper work with John B. Weller, an influential citizen, and was one of the first teachers in both Ohio and Indiana. He was a Jefferson Democrat. He was born in Vermont and died in Ohio at the age of fifty-eight years. In Mount Vernon, of this state, Mr. Kendrick married Ruth Kinkade, who was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, and died at the age of sixty-six years, in 1875. Of their four children, two sons and two daughters, only two are now living, William A. and his brother Isaac, of Michigan City.
William A. Kendrick learned the flour milling business in Lafayette, Indiana, whither he moved in October, 1856, and on the 21st of March, 1861, he arrived in Terre Haute and began work in a saw mill. But in the same year, on the 15th of August, he laid aside all personal consid- erations and enlisted in the service of his country, joining Company K, Thirty-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. He was mustered in at Terre Haute on the 5th of September, and remained as a true and loyal soldier until his discharge at Bridgeport, Alabama, December 31, 1863. On the Ist of January, following, he re-enlisted as a veteran, and took part in all the skirmishes and battles in which his regiment participated with the exception of Fort Donelson, when he was sick in the hospital. Receiving his final discharge at Victoria, Texas, December 8, 1865, he returned home and entered the employ of H. S. Creal, the proprietor of a flouring mill, and later had charge of a mill for Creal & Adams. In July, 1881, he began bridge building for the Big Four Railroad Com- pany, making his home in Terre Haute, but in the following spring moved to Burnett and thereafter followed contracting and carpentering until 1901. Since that time he has been numbered among the leading grocery merchants of Edwards, conducting his store in connection with the post- office, having received his commission as a postmaster on the Ist of October, 1902.
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