USA > Indiana > Henry County > Hazzard's history of Henry county, Indiana, 1822-1906, Volume II > Part 59
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ANCESTRY OF MRS. WILLIAM O. (BALLENGER) BARNARD.
Mary V., daughter of Nathan Hunt and Margaret (Hubbard) Ballenger, was born in Wayne Township, Henry County, Indiana, September 8, 1850, and lived with her par- ents on a farm, two miles north of Knightstown, until 1863, when the family moved to Spiceland to secure better educational advantages for the children. There she was edu- cated under the direction and care of that splendid scholar and most excellent of men, Clarkson Davis, and graduated from the Spiceland Academy in 1871. She then followed the profession of teaching for a number of years, principally as a grammar and high school teacher. Among the schools in which she taught may be noted the Spiceland Academy, from which she had graduated, the Wabash and Evansville high schools, and the New Castle Grammar School. She was an excellent teacher and imparted learning to a very large number of scholars, who to day hold her in the highest regard. She was married to William O. Barnard, at New Castle, Indiana, December 22, 1876, and that place has ever since been her home.
Mrs. Barnard, on her father's side, is descended from the Ballengers and Hunts of North Carolina, sturdy Quaker families of that State. The Ballengers emigrated from Wales and the Hunts from Scotland at an early period. On her mother's side, she is descended from the Hubbards, a Virginia family, which, according to tradition, is de- scended from Pocahontas. Her mother was a sister of the well known Charles S. Hub- bard, of Raysville, whose whole life has been one of untiring activity in the cause of his fellow men. He has been, during all of his busy life, a member of, and for a number of years, a minister in the Society of Friends. Jeremiah Hubbard, the great grand- father of Mrs. Barnard, was a renowned Qnaker preacher. Her maternal grandmother was a daughter of Dr. George Swain, of North Carolina, a man who was prominent in his day and whose ancestors were among the first settlers of Nantucket Island. Mrs. Barnard is a Friend in religious belief, inheriting her religious views from a long and distinguished line of Quaker ancestors. A complete biographical sketch of her father, Nathan Hunt Ballenger, and his family appears elsewhere in this History, to which reference should be made for further information with regard to her family.
GEORGE MURPHEY BARNARD.
(Son).
George Murphey Barnard, second son of Judge William O. and Mary V. (Ballenger) Barnard, was born in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana, June 6, 1881. There he grew to manhood and was educated in the public schools. He graduated from the New Castle High School in May, 1899, and September 21, 1900, he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in that State, and graduated from that institn-
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tion, June 21, 1903. Returning from the university to New. Castle, he there entered upon the practise of the law. He was soon afterwards appointed hy the Board of Com- missioners of Henry County as attorney for the poor and is still filling the position. On July 30, 1904, he received the special nomination for prosecuting attorney of the fifty third circuit, and was elected at the regular Presidential election in the November following. He enters upon the duties of the office January 1, 1906. He is the youngest and the only unmarried man ever nominated and elected to this responsible office in Henry County. His life up to the present time has been one largely of preparation, but in the light of the past it would seem that the future has much of encouragement and promise in store for him. He is one of the successors of his father in the office of prose- cuting attorney, which is the only instance in the county of father and son holding that office.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN MONTFORT MORRIS.
LAWYER, LEGISLATOR, JUDGE.
There came to Wayne Township, Henry County, Indiana, in 1833, Lewis Morris, the head of the family of that name, who settled on a piece of land containing fifty six acres, which he entered, situated between what are now known as the villages of Grant City and Elizabeth City. Lewis Morris was a native of Pennsylvania and his wife, Re- becca Hoskins, was a native of Virginia. After their marriage in the latter State, in 1812, they moved to Belmont County, Ohio, where they lived until 1833, when they came to Indiana, as above stated. During their residence in Ohio, they became the parents of seven children, namely: Alpheus, Nancy, Julia Ann, Isaac H., Lewis, Susannah Rachel and John, and after their removal to Indiana, two more children were born, Joshua and Rebecca.
In 1833 there were but few settlements on the road cut through the forest between Knightstown and their home in the wilderness, and Knightstown was only a straggling village. When the family left Ohio and came to Indiana, they were not possessed of much of this world's goods but they had health and strength and an earnestness of pur- pose which enabled them to subdue all obstacles. They were three weeks, with a two- horse team and wagon, making the journey from Ohio to their Indiana destination. They were in the midst of what seemed to be an interminable forest which the foot of white man had thus far scarcely trod. Their first and probably most important under- taking was to cut out a cleared space whereon to build a log cabin; and next to clear away the forest and prepare the ground for cultivation. In this respect the experience of Lewis Morris and his family was in no wise different from that of hundreds of others, "who came, who saw and who conquered." The pioneers toiled from early morn to late eve; they bore with Spartan fortitude the privations and sufferings of the backwoods; but with it all, the great majority of them saw the forests disappear and the lands wet with the sweat of their brows, blossom and bloom as the rose.
It was amid such primitive conditions that the family of Lewis and Rebecca (Hos- kins) Morris grew up and from which they each went forth to his or her own destiny. William, a brother of Lewis Morris, joined the family after the removal of the former to Indiana. Lewis Morris died March 14, 1858, aged sixty eight years, ten months and twenty one days; his wife, Rebecca Morris, died May 16, 1866, aged eighty years and two months. They are buried in the Old Cemetery adjoining Glencove Cemetery, Knights- town. Of the children, three were married in Ohio prior to coming to Indiana, namely: Alpheus to Rebecca Minor; Nancy to Stephen Green; and Julia Ann to Joseph Williams. The rest of the children were married in Indiana.
JOHN MORRIS.
John Morris, the seventh child and the fourth son of Lewis and Rebecca ( Hoskins) Morris, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, April 18, 1824, and came with his parents to Henry County, Indiana, as above stated. At this time he was about nine years old and like all farmer boys of that early period, he worked manfully in assisting to clear the forest, destroy the wilderness and prepare the ground for cultivation. While thus labor- ing, he obtained a limited education in the old fashioned and oft described log cabin school house. His first teacher, according to his own recollection, was Joseph Williams, who had married Mr. Morris' sister, Julia Ann, in Ohio, and immigrated to Indiana with the Morris' family. All in all, John Morris lived the life of the real pioneer, the one who cut the first timber, helped to build the first log cabin, planted and garnered the first crop, endured all the hardships, shared all the joys, partook thankfully of the plain fare and gave praise to Him who guides and controls the destiny of all mankind.
At the age of manhood, following the custom of the period, when both men and women believed in early marriages, John Morris was united in matrimony with Hannah, a daughter of Elisha and Hannah Scovell, January 16, 1845. Elisha Scovell, born April 13, 1796, was one of the early settlers of Wayne Township, his home being situated about
John M. Morris
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two miles north of Knightstown. There he lived until near the time of his death which occurred in Knightstown about 1862. There were several of the Scovell brothers, one of whom, Ezra, also of Wayne Township, born December 19, 1798, and died March 2, 1873, left a large estate which, under the administration of John Morris, increased in value from $44,000 to $120.000. The ancestor of the Scovells was Orr Scovell, who was an early settler in Henry County. He was a Revolutionary soldier, who served in a New Jersey or Connecticut regiment. He was the great grandfather of Judge John M. Morris, now of the Henry Circuit Court. At the time of his death, he was living on what is now known as the Graham farm, near the "Old Stone Quarry Mill," in Spiceland Township. The Morris and Scovell families were justly regarded as lively, energetic and successful business men and have left their impress upon the generations following, as is plainly discernable to those who have followed the careers of their descendants.
After their marriage, John Morris and wife commenced housekeeping in a little cabin on his father's farm, where they lived for about two years. He prospered and bought land of his own and continued to add to his holdings, from time to time, until he was the possessor of a considerable estate. After his father's death, in 1858, he ac- quired the several interests of the heirs in the old homestead and improved his property until in 1874 he was the owner of two hundred and twelve acres of highly improved land, located where the family first settled in 1833. In 1874 he moved to his present beautiful home, which is situated about one mile north of and in plain view of Knights- town, and is surrounded by fifty five acres of splendid farm land, highly cultivated,
which he had purchased in 1866. It is on this latter place with its beautiful surround- ings that John Morris, now past eighty one years of age, is enjoying to the full the sun- set of life. It is here that he delights to meet his numerous descendants, his neighbors and his friends, and it is from there that he expects to go some time to that "better land" and receive the reward promised those who have "kept the faith."
Politically, Mr. Morris, when he hecame of age, allied himself with the Democratic party. He cast his first vote for Lewis Cass and his last vote as a Democrat for the "Little Giant," Stephen A. Douglas. Since that time he has as a rule acted with the Republican party. In religion he adheres to the tenets of the Presbyterian Church and he is one of the ruling elders in the presbytery at Knightstown, and is ever faithful in the discharge of his church duties. He was, during the Civil War, a warm and active sup- porter of the Government and did all he could as a citizen of the Republic to restore the authority of the nation in the seceded States. He is a charitable man and many there be, who in the hour of need have been relieved by his helping hand. His estimable wife, the proud mother of his children, after a happy wedded life of more than thirty two years, died May 31. 1877, and is buried in Glencove Cemetery, near Knightstown.
To John and Hannah (Scovell) Morris were horn the following children: Joshua Irving, born March 28, 1847, who resides in New Castle: Ann Elizabeth, born December 17, 1848, now the widow of Dayton L. Heritage, to whom she was married January 3, 1893, who lives with and keeps house for her father; Alpheus Orlando, horn January 9, 1851; Elisha Pierce, born May 25, 1853, died November 20, 1883, and is buried in Glen- cove Cemetery; Josephine, horn April 16, 1855, died August 26. 1898, and is buried in Glencove Cemetery; John Monfort, born April 22, 1857; Stephen Douglas, horn January 5, 1861; Lew Wallace, horn November 26, 1862, died October 15, 1863, and is buried in the Old Cemetery adjoining Glencove Cemetery; Rosa Belle, born February 26, 1866, died February 21, 1898, and is buried in Glencove Cemetery.
JOHN MONFORT MORRIS.
The young man, who starts out in life with the firm determination to win name and fame and who steadily and resolutely follows the path laid out for himself, has at the beginning won half of the battle. Such a course is akin to that of Ulysses S. Grant, who said on a memorable occasion during the Civil War: "1 will fight it out on this line, if it takes all Summer." It was this determination, this high resolve, which actu- ated John Monfort Morris, the principal subject of this sketch.
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John Monfort Morris was born on his father's farm in Wayne Township, Henry County, Indiana, where he remained until he was about seventeen years of age. During his early life he attended the country schools at Grant City and Elizabeth City, neigh- boring villages, and also the public schools at Knightstown for about two months during each of the years 1872, 1873 and 1874. After reaching the age of seventeen, he also clerked for a year or two in a general store owned by his father and brother, Alpheus O., in Knightstown. Early in 1876, young Morris went to Chicago, Illinois, where he attended for a short time the Bryant and Stratton Commercial Business College, after which April 19, 1876, he came to New Castle and entered at once upon the study of the law, having for his preceptors, the well known legal firm of Forkner and Bundy. He pursued his studies with unsurpassed diligence and at the end of two years, April 22, 1878, the twenty first anniversary of his birth, he was admitted to the Henry County bar, Robert Lindsey Polk at that time being the presiding judge of the circuit court. At that time the leading members of the bar were Martin L. Bundy, William Grose, Joshua H. Mellett, Thomas B. Redding, James Brown, David W. Chambers, Eugene H. Bundy, Mark E. Forkner, Joseph M. Brown, James T. Mellett, William H. Elliott and Leander P. Mitchell.
Mr. Morris at once opened an office in New Castle in the room now occupied by Judge Eugene H. Bundy, in the Elliott Block, immediately north of the courthouse. He was not overburdened with business at the start of his professional career, but he was always at his office and exhibited such tenacity of purpose that he gradually but surely obtained the recognition of his legal ability and attainments for which he had so earn- estly striven. The author of this History well remembers the advent of young Morris into New Castle and it was his pleasure to meet him often and to extend an encouraging word which is of so much value to young men.
The first official position held by Mr. Morris was as a member of the Board of Town Trustees of New Castle, he having been chosen by said hoard to succeed Thomas B. Loer, who died May 11, 1885. He was afterwards elected to succeed himself and was for a period of two years president of the board. At the Fall election of 1890, Mr. Morris was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly of Indiana and sat in the fifty sixth session, which convened in January, 1891. In the same session sat Jefferson H. Claypool, joint representative from the counties of Fayette and Henry, and William Grose, joint senator from Fayette and Henry counties. Mason J. Niblack, Democrat, was speaker of the House, the Republicans being in the minority. Mr. Morris was a member of the Judiciary Committee and of the Committee on Drains and Drainage, and did all that he could for the interests of his constituency and the State.
From the time of his admission to the bar, Mr. Morris had steadily followed the practise of the law and had established a large clientage. In 1896 he formed a partner- ship with his former preceptor, Judge Eugene H. Bundy, who had just retired from the bench, and under the firm name of Bundy and Morris, they were recognized as one of the leading law firms of Henry County and Eastern Indiana. This partnership con- tinued in perfect harmony and with distinguished success until Mr. Morris was elected in 1902, for the full term of six years, Judge of the Henry Circuit Court, which alone comprises the Fifty Third Judicial District, and the firm of Bundy and Morris was then dissolved. Judge Morris is now filling the honorable position of Judge with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people of the county. In accordance with a proper and praiseworthy ambition, Judge John Monfort Morris has thus achieved a rep- utation hardly surpassed in Henry County.
Prior to coming of age and ever since, Judge Morris has been an active Republican, and in every campaign until he became a judge of the court, has given of his time and energy in support of the policies and principles of that great political organization. While thus a Republican, Judge Morris has at no time forgotten the amenities due to opposing parties, but willingly accords them the right to their honest opinions touching local, State and National affairs.
As a lawyer with full understanding of his responsibilities, Judge Morris has filled many offices of trust, especially those relating to the adjustment and settlement of estates, in which matters his efforts have given uniform satisfaction. He was one of the organizers of the Central Trust and Savings Company, of New Castle, holding several
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shares of its stock, and he is now the vice president of that thriving institution and the chairman of its finance committee. He is now and has been for some years vice president of the Citizens' State Bank, New Castle. He is also interested in the New Castle Light, Heat and Power Company as well as other corporations, and has always taken a lively interest in all that pertains to the growth and advancement of the town of New Castle and the County of Henry. Not the least of Judge Morris' duties are those connected with the management of several farms, which comprise in all about seven hundred and fifty acres, in which he has large interests and to which he necessarily gives a great deal of attention. Judge Morris is a member of the Knights of Pythias; of the Improved Order of Red Men; of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the Presbyterian Church.
On January 15, 1879, John Monfort Morris and Cora L. Heritage, daughter and only child of Daytou L. and Susan ( Lively) Heritage, were married at the home of her par- ents, Knightstown, Indiana, the ceremony being performed by the Reverend W. A. Hutch- inson, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, of that place. This event was attended by more than one hundred invited guests, many of them from New Castle and other points throughout the State. The twenty sixth anniversary of this wedding was duly celebrated January 15, 1905, by Judge and Mrs. Morris, at which were present as many of the guests at their marriage as could be called together for the occasion. Shortly after their mar- riage, Mr. and Mrs. Morris began housekeeping in their new home erected by Mr. Morris on South Fourteenth Street, New Castle, where they lived happily until their recent re- moval to their new residence, one of the finest in Eastern Indiana, on South Main Street. To their union have been born four children, namely: Jay Dayton, died in infancy; Bessie Joye, horn February 15, 1883, married to Lennard H. Mitchell, June 23, 1904; John Heritage, born January 29, 1892; and Susan Leone, born January 11, 1900.
ANCESTRY OF MRS. CORA L. ( HERITAGE) MORRIS.
Dayton L. Heritage, father of Mrs. Morris, was born at Miamisburg, Ohio, Septem- ber 13, 1836, and died at his home in Knightstown, Indiana, July 19, 1901. While a boy, he came from Miamisburg, with his parents, to Cambridge City, Wayne County, Indiana, where his father, Joseph Heritage, embarked in a small way in the grocery business. He clerked for his father a while and later entered the employ of H. M. Conklin and Com- pany, of the same place, dealers in hardware. He remained with them for several years and acquired that business acumen which distinguished him in later years. During his early career in Cambridge City, he attended the public schools of that place and ac- quired an education fully commensurate with the school facilities of that period.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1858, he married Susan Lively, daughter of George and Susan Lively, well known and highly respected citizens of near New Lisbon, Henry County, Indiana. Mr. Heritage and his wife remained at Cambridge City a few years after their marriage and then in 1866 moved to Knightstown, where he continued to reside until his death. Susan (Lively) Heritage, his wife, died January 7, 1891. Both are interred in Glencove Cemetery.
Dayton L. Heritage, after his removal to Knightstown, became one of its most prominent business men and at the time of his death was regarded as one of Henry County's wealthy men. He was a shrewd business man, economical and saving. His will bearing date November 3v, 1900, and witnessed by Mark M. Morris and George D. Forkner, disposed of his property, having made provision for his surviving widow, as follows: "To my sister, Mary A. Lackey, I bequeath $500; to my granddaughter, Bessie Joye Morris, $10,000; to my grandson, John Heritage Morris, $10,000; to my grand- daughter, Susan Leone Morris, $10,000; to my son-in-law, John M. Morris, $1,000, and to my daughter, Cora (Heritage) Morris, all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal." Mrs. Cora (Heritage) Morris was constituted the sole execu- trix of her father's estate, with full authority to sell real estate, without the order of the court.
Susan ( Lively ) Heritage, the first wife of Dayton L. Heritage and the mother of his only child, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1835, and when
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but two years old came with her parents to Springfield, Ohio; thence, a few years later, they moved to Henry County, Indiana, settling on a farm near New Lisbon. There she grew to young womanhood under the loving care of her parents and was thus prepared to assume the responsibilities of life. She was a noble, Christian woman, devoted to her family and especially kind to her many friends and neighbors. It is worthy of mention that Mrs. John M. Morris, as a memorial to her father and mother, presented to the Pres- byterian Church of New Castle the fine, handsome pipe organ now in use in that church, which was Dedicated Thanksgiving Night, 1901, the eminent organist, Professor Charles T. Hanson, of Indianapolis, officiating. The church in a fitting manner expressed its full appreciation of Mrs. Morris' generosity.
BROTHERS OF JOHN M. MORRIS.
Of the brothers of Judge John M. Morris, the eldest, Joshua Irving, remained at the parental home until he reached his eighteenth year when he became a clerk in a store at Ladoga, Indiana, where he remained until the Fall of 1865. In March, 1869, he formed a partnership with his father in the grocery business at Knightstown. In 1874 Joshua I. entered business in Indianapolis and was succeeded in the partnership hy his brother, Alpheus O., the style of the firm heing "John Morris and Son." This partner- ship continued until 1877. when Alpheus O. went to Rushville, Indiana, to engage in the same business at that point and was succeeded in the firm by Joshua I., who had in the meantime returned from Indianapolis to Knightstown and engaged in the dry goods business. At this time the father, John Morris, also retired from the firm in favor of his son, Elisha P., and the style of the firm was changed to "Morris Brothers." The two brothers continued in partnership until January 1, 1883, when Joshua I. sold his interest to his brother, Elisha P., and in June, 1883, moved to New Castle. Elisha P. continued the business alone until his death, November 20, 1883. In the meantime, at the Novem- ber election, 1882, Joshua I. Morris was elected Auditor of Henry County, the duties of which position he assumed November 1, 1883, serving the full term of four years so acceptably that he was re-elected for another term. On November 18, 1868, he was mar- ried to Kate, daughter of John and Agnes Slack, natives of Ohio. To them were horn two children: Leone, who married Robert H. McIntyre, but has since died and is buried in Glencove Cemetery, Knightstown; and Blanche, who resides with her parents in New Castle. Mr. and Mrs. Morris and their surviving daughter are members of the Presby- terian Church. Mr. Morris is a member of the several Masonic Orders, Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter, Knights Templar, and is also a Thirty Second Degree or Scottish Rite Mason. He is an active Republican, a good neighbor and a good citizen.
Alpheus Orlando Morris, at one time a partner in the above mentioned firm of John Morris and Son, but who had withdrawn from the firm and started in business at Rush- ville, returned to Knightstown from that place in 1879 and there again entered the grocery business on his own account and has continued in the same line down to the present time. From a small beginning, the business has so expanded that his annual sales now amount to nearly $150,000. He was married January 30, 1878, to Augusta Virginia Welborn, daughter of Peter C. and Eliza (Scott) Welhorn, of the well known family of that name in southwestern Henry County.
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