USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 57
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
the practice and occupies a position among the members of the profession of which he may well feel proud.
Politically, Mr. Thompson is a Democrat ; religiously, he is a Presbyterian. Ile is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, believes in the principles it inculcates, and without ostentation endeavors to observe them in his intercourse with the world. He is liberal in his views and believes in enjoying life within the pale of propriety. His elegantly furnished home consequently is one of the most hospitable in Anderson. Ilis friends are always graciously received and entertained with a cordiality as sincere as it is enjoyable.
He was married on the 5th of December, 1852, to Miss Eliza J. Butler. Of this union two children have been born, Mrs. E. E. Newton and Mrs. Charles L. Sherman, both of whom are residents of Anderson.
MISS HESTER A. NEELY.
The subject of this biography is the only child of Bazil and Sarah (Suman ) Neely and was born July 4, 1835, on the Neely homestead in Union township, where she resided until June 14, 1893, sharing with her parents the trials and hard- ships incident to pioneer life. Miss Neely enjoys the dis- tinction of being the oldest maiden in the county, and is also among the oldest living natives in the county. Notwithstand-
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
ing the school facilities were meagre in her day she acquired sufficient knowledge of the elementary branches of an educa- tion to enable her in after years to take care of her large prop- erty interests without assistance. After the death of her mother, in 1856, she took charge of her father's home and looked after the household duties until she moved to Anderson in 1893, when she brought her venerable parent with her and attended to his every want until his death, in 1894. Among the lessons instilled into her mind by her father in her early years was punctuality in meeting promises and discharging obligations, and this lesson she cherishes as sacredly as she does his memory. Circumstances, together with good judg- ment and careful management, have rendered her one of the wealthiest women in the county, her property holdings in An- derson being the most desirable in the city, comprising as they do the most valuable portions of the southwest square.
Miss 'Neely lives in an elegant home on West Sixth street, which she has furnished in a manner consonant with her taste, " neat, not gaudy." She is not extravagant in her ideas of living but nevertheless seeks comfort and contentment regardless of the expenditure they may entail. While she is not a collector of the quaint and curious in the strict sense of the term, she has, perhaps, one of the most interesting private collections of rare relics and heirlooms in the county. These treasures consist of several pieces of rare chinaware, old books and quaint implements of various kinds, all of which she prizes more for the associations connected with them than for any intrinsic value they may possess.
She is not and has never been a devotee of fashion or society and takes no pleasure in them; she appreciates her friends, however, and enjoys their companionship. She is specially fond of travel and has visited many interesting local- ities including the Pacific slope. Miss Neely possesses to a degree that quality which Shakespeare regards as " an excel- lent thing in woman "-modesty. Quiet and unassuming, she has pursued the even tenor of her way, doing unto others as she would have others do unto her, and meeting the disap- pointments of life as bravely as becomes her sex.
JOHN R. THORNBURGH.
The subject of this biography was born in Richland town- ship, Madison county, Indiana, on June 7, 1864.
The Thornburghs are of Scotch-Irish descent. That 42
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
branch of the family from which our subject sprung settled originally in Guilford county, North Carolina, where his father, Jonathan Thornburgh, was born in 1814. He went to Illinois at an early day for the purpose of locating, but in passing through Indiana he was so favorably impressed with the State that in the course of a year he returned, and in 1838 purchased a farm in Richland township, Madison county, where he lived until 1869. when he was gathered to his fa- thers. He took great interest in the affairs not only of his township, but of the county, and was greatly respected by
JOHN R. THORNBURGH.
all who knew him as an upright, conscientious citizen. At the time of his death, besides a family of several children, he left a widow, Mary Thornburgh, who was a daughter of Henry Miller, one of the old settlers of Delaware county, Indiana. John R. Thornburgh was but five years of age at the time of his father's death, and lived on the farm with his mother, attending school, when opportunity offered, until he was nine- teen years old, when he entered college at Oberlin, Ohio. While there he became fascinated with the study of Human Science, and after eighteen months of college work went to lecturing on phrenology and physiognomy. About two years
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
afterwards he returned to his home and subsequently spent two collegiate terms in the Central Normal college at Dan- ville, Indiana. While at Danville he met Miss Blanche Scruggs, who subsequently became his wife. She was his classmate and a member of one of the leading families of Rush county, Indiana. After leaving Danville college he taught a few terms of school and commenced the study of law while teach- ing. He afterwards entered the law office of Judge Alfred Ellison, and was admitted to the bar in 1890, being the first of the farmer boys of his native township to enter upon the profession and practice of law. He met with flattering suc- cess from the beginning of his legal career, being retained in many of the important trials in the courts of the county. Shortly after being admitted to the Madison county bar he was admitted to practice in the Supreme and Federal Courts of Indiana.
He still retains his interest in the old home farm, and his office is always open to his former neighbors and boyhood friends, whether they call on business or pleasure. Politically Mr. Thornburgh is a Populist, and in the local counsels of his party takes a prominent part. He is also an active member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and esteemed generally as a high-minded gentleman and worthy citizen.
COLONEL MILTON S. ROBINSON.
A history of Madison county without proper mention of the life, character and public services of the subject of this sketch would not only be incomplete but would subject the work and its author, or authors, to just criticism. He was one of the county's most distinguishnd citizens and enjoyed the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens to as great a degree as any man that has ever resided within its borders.
Colonel Robinson was born at Versailles, Indiana, April 20, 1882. His father, Colonel Joseph R. Robinson, was a noted lawyer and orator in his day and served as a member of the convention that formed the present constitution of In- diana.
Colonel Robinson was educated in the common schools, and under the judicious instruction of his father studied for the profession to which he devoted his life and in which he be- came so prominent. His progress in his studies was so rapid that he was regularly licensed to practice law under the old constitution of the State before he had attained his majority,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
and soon after the war was admitted to practice in the Su. preme Court of the State, and United States Circuit and Dis F trict Courts.
On November 15, 1851, he located at Anderson and com menced the practice of his profession. By his energy and ability in the discharge of his professional duties he graduall. secured a large and lucrative practice, which he retained unt = the breaking out of the Civil war, when he entered the arm
COLONEL MILTON S. ROBINSON.
as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-seventh Regiment, Ind ana Volunteers, after having twice declined a Colonel's com = 7.
mission tendered him by Governor O. P. Morton, giving az S his reason for so doing lack of experience in military affairs. He was prominently identified with the fortunes of his regi- ment until he was promoted by Governor Morton to the Colonelcy of the Seventy-Fifth Indiana Volunteers, with which regiment he remained until the close of the war, par- ticipating in the great battles of the campaigns in Kentucky, . Tennessee and Georgia. In 1865 he was breveted Brigadier-
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
General for gallant and meritorious service. He was always an active Republican, and in 1856 was chosen as a Presidential elector for the Eleventh Congressional district. In the win- ter of 1861 he was elected a director of the Northern Prison by the Indiana Legislature. In 1866 he was elected Senator from the district composed of Madison and Grant counties, and during his term was regarded as one of the leaders of his party in the Senate. In the summer of 1874 he was nominated by the Republicans of the Sixth Congressional district as their candidate for Congress. He was elected, and in 1876 was again nominated and re-elected. In March, 1891, he was appointed as one of the Judges of the Appellate Court by the late Alvin P. Hovey, Governor of Indiana, and was nomi- nated by the Republican State Convention for the same office in June, 1892, but died before the election occurred.
In January, 1873, he associated with himself John W. Lovett in the practice of the law. The firm continued in the practice under the name of Robinson & Lovett until 1888, when Sanford M. Keltner, Esq., became the junior member, and from that time on until Colonel Robinson received his appointment as a Judge of the Appellate Court the firm was known as Robinson, Lovett & Keltner.
Colonel Robinson was twice married, his first wife being Miss Almira F. Ballard, to whom he was united on July 8, 1856. She died shortly after his return from his service in the army. On the 29th of June, 1866, he was married to Miss Louise A. Branham. Of this union three children were born, of whom but one, a son, Chester Robinson, is living. Mrs. Robinson died in 1890.
Colonel Robinson's career from the time he entered upon the practice of his profession was active and eventful. He was in every relation of life a sincere and candid man, and as such was known and appreciated by his fellow citizens. He was ever foremost in every good work, whether religious or secular, and gave unstintedly of his means for the promotion of any undertaking in which he might engage. While a strict partisan in politics he so conducted himself that he enjoyed the respect and confidence of his political opponents. Socially and religiously he was a man of liberal views and generous impulses ; always conscientious, he was fearless in the dis- charge of what he esteemed a duty.
In the practice of his profession he was a safe counsellor, painstaking and courteous, and while ambitious to succeed in
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
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seekers concluded to return home. Arriving at New York, Mr. Makepeace went to Canada on a prospecting tour, and returned to his home in Indiana by way of Niagara Falls. After his return he worked at carpentry until his father built the large flouring mill on North Central avenue, which is now owned and operated as a brewery by T. M. Norton & Sons, when he engaged in the milling business for a while. In the meantime the clouds of the great civil war were gathering
CAPT. ALONZO I. MAKEPEACE.
and casting their somber shadows over all the land. It was not long until hostilities began and the country was involved in the greatest struggle of modern times. The patriotic young men of the land responded to the call of the President for troops, and marched away to defend the flag of their country. Among the number was the subject of this biography, who enlisted July 5, 1861, in Company A. 19th Indiana volunteers. He was mustered into the service at Indianapolis on the 29th of July, and on the same day was elected second lieutenant of his company.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
On the 8th of August, the Nineteenth Indiana was ordered to Washington, and on November 11, 1861, he was promoted to the position of First Lieutenant. He was sub- sequently (February 10, 1862,) promoted to the Captaincy of his company. The Nineteenth Indiana was one of the regi- ments composing the famous Iron Brigade and suffered as much, if not more, than any regiment engaged in the war, Captain Makepeace participated, along with his company, in all of the principal battles of the south-east. He was at Lew- insville, Gainesville (lost thirty-one men out of forty-two in this battle), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, South Mount- ain, Antietam, Manassas, Cedar Mountain, and many other battles, including the battle of Gettysburg, where he was captured on the first day of that decisive engagement. This was on the 1st of July, 1863. He, with several thousand other soldiers, who were captured at the same time, was taken to Libby prison where he remained ten months, when he was transferred to Danville, Virginia, from that prison to Salis- bury, North Carolina, thence to Macon, Georgia. While en- route to the latter prison, he escaped from the train near Au- gusta, but was recaptured. After remaining in prison at Macon for a short time, he, along with three hundred other captains, was taken to Charleston, South Carolina, for the protection of that city which was being shelled by Federal gunboats. Intelligence was conveyed to the Federals of their location in the city by Union sympathisers and the presence of the prisoners did not result as anticipated. The firing was kept up by the vessels, but no shell exploded in the vicinity of the prisoners. Captain Makepeace was afterward transferred to Columbia, South Carolina, where, on November 4, 1864, he again escaped, and, in company with three others, eluded the Rebels for forty-eight days, notwithstanding they were pursued by blood-hounds a portion of the time. They traveled only at night and in that time walked over four hundred miles, encountering many dangers and suffering innumerable hard- ships. They were at one time within a few miles of the Union army, but fate was against them and they were re- captured in the Smoky Mountains, near Delonaga, Georgia. He was taken back to Columbia, and transferred thence to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he escaped again, but being sick and discouraged by his previous experience he concluded to return to prison. From Charlotte he was taken to Raleigh,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
North Carolina, thence to Wilmington, in the same State, where he was finally exchanged on the 1st of March, 1865.
Captain Makepeace was a prisoner just twenty months to a day and was transferred from time to time to nearly every prison in the Confederacy. He was discharged at Washing- ton in May, 1865, and returned home, after an experience that fell to the lot of but few men in the army. Soon after return- ing home he engaged in the hardware business as a clerk with Nichol & King, but subsequently became a member of the firm, Mr. King having retired. This firm is still in existence and does a larger business in its line than any other firm in the county.
In 1886 Captain Makepeace received without solicitation on his part the Republican nomination for Sheriff of Madison county, and was elected, overcoming an adverse majority of eight hundred. He is a member of Anderson lodge I. O. O. F., and was the first commander of Major May Post, G. A. R., but is not connected with any other organization, social, fra- ternal or religious. He was on the staff with General Veazy at the Grand Encampment of the G. A. R., at Detroit, in 1880, and has attended every encampment of that organization as well as every reunion of his old regiment for the past twelve years. Captain Makepeace was married to Miss Margaret Robinson, a sister of the late Colonel M. S. Robinson, on the 16th of September, 1858. The fruits of this union have been two children, Frank and Harriett, both of whom are married and living in Anderson. Mr. Frank Makepeace is one of the proprietors of the Anderson Daily Bulletin. Harriett is married to Mr. T. N. Stilwell, a son of Colonel Thomas N. Stilwell, deceased.
Captain Makepeace is an unpretending gentleman, not given to vaunting his achievements, and it is safe to say that but few, even of his intimate friends, are acquainted with the facts related in this sketch. Considering his military experi- ence he is remarkably active. He has a large circle of friends and has laid by a competency against old age.
SAMUEL HARDEN.
No man in Madison county, perhaps, has done more to pre- serve its early history than Samuel Harden. He has always taken great interest in the achievements of the first settlers as well as in matters generally pertaining to the pioneer period of the county and therefore honorable mention of his efforts
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
to secure from the spoiler Time the names of the first comers here, their unpretentious deeds, customs and interesting inci- dents connected with their lives, is cheerfully accorded in these pages. He wrote the first history of the county under certain disadvantages that but few can appreciate who have not en- gaged in such an undertaking. The work is not perfect by any means, and neither is this, nor any other history that has been or ever will be written of the county, but within its modest pages much is contained that would have been lost no doubt had it not been for his painstaking research.
SAMUEL HARDEN.
Mr. Harden was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, No- vember 21, 1831, and at the age of fourteen years was appren- ticed to learn the saddler's trade with an older brother. He served an apprenticeship of two years, when he took a " tramp " East as far as Ithica, New York, with a party of drovers. In 1852 he made the overland trip to California, where he engaged in mining with "varied success " until 1855, when he returned to Indiana, and after a brief residence at Huntsville, this county, married a daughter of the late J. T. Swain. Ile soon after located at Markleville, where he worked at his trade for fifteen years. In 1862 he enlisted in the Sixth-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, and was
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
wounded at the battle of Richmond, Ky. He was discharged soon after this and returned to Markleville, where he was ap- pointed postmaster.
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In 1874 he published a history of Madison county. In 1880 he commenced writing the history of Hancock county, but sold his interest in the work to J. H. Binford, who, in connection with J. K. King, completed and published it. In 1887 he published a volume entitled, " Early Times of Boone County, Indiana," and in 1888 another book entitled, "Those I Have Met, or Boys in Blue." In 1896 he published his last work, which he named " The Pioneer." All of these works contain many interesting sketches of the first settlers of Mad- ison, Hancock, Hamilton and Boone counties, as well as much valuable and important historical information. Mr. Harden's efforts are being appreciated more and more as the years roll by and after his pilgrimage is over will perpetuate his mem- ory longer than would marble or bronze. It may be said in this connection that he has one of the finest collections of In- dian and other interesting relics in the county ; in fact there are probably but few, if any, finer private collections in the State.
Mr. Harden is a resident of Anderson, where he pursues the " even tenor of his way," enjoying the esteem of all who know him.
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668 . HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
NEW COURT HOUSE. ERECTED 1882.
CHAPTER LXVI.
ADAMS TOWNSHIP.
This township derives its name from Abraham Adams, the first white man to settle within its borders, and not from the second President of the republic, as many suppose. It is situated in the extreme southeast corner of the county and has an area of thirty-five square miles. It is bounded on the north by Anderson and Union townships, on the east by Henry county, on the south by Hancock county, and on the west by Fall Creek township.
Adams was one of the first townships organized in the county. The first comers to the township found abundant game in its unbroken forests, and a soil not only extremely fertile but well-watered, a climate neither excessively hot nor cold but a happy medium between the two, in fine the pros- pect presented to the first settlers was such as to give them assurance that they had found a pleasant land, where they could with proper effort secure homes for their families and a competency for their old age. Favorable accounts of the new country were sent back to their old homes, and soon after the coming of Abraham Adams, in 1823, the population began to increase rapidly. Mr. Adams settled near the present site of Ovid (New Columbus). About the same time Harper, Bridge, Sr., Hudson, Sawyer and Bridge, Jr., the murderers of the friendly Indians (an account of which is given else- where), settled in the township. Among others who came about this time, or a few years later, were Joseph and Moses Surber, Abraham Blake and Anthony Hill, of Ohio. The latter came in 1827, and located on what was afterwards known as the L. D. Reger farm.
During the years 1828-9, George Hudson, Sr., of Ohio, accompanied by his sons, Isaiah, Eli, George, William, Jona . than and David ; Thornton Rector, of Wayne county, In- diana ; Thomas, William and Garrett McCallister, John Gil- more, Sr., and Hugh Gilmore, Martin Brown, Samuel and L.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Reger, of Virginia, settled in the township. In the spring of 1830, Levi Brewer and Joseph Ingles, of Ohio, settled in the township, and in 1831, Colonel Thomas Bell and Heze- kiah Justice. also of Ohio, cast their lot with the early settlers of the township. Colonel Bell was afterwards elected Rep- resentative from the district of Madison and Hancock counties and served a number of terms. As an evidence of his popu- larity, it is said that at a certain election when he was a can- didate, but one vote was cast against him in the township.
In 1834-5, Samuel Huston and Jacob Evans, of Wayne county, Indiana, Isaac Cooper, of Virginia, Harvey Chase, of North Carolina, and William Prigg, of Maryland, settled in the township. Isaac Cooper located on the land where the murder of the Indians occurred. The land upon which this atrocious crime was committed is situated one mile and a half northeast of Markleville, and is now owned by Solomon Hardy.
Including the names already mentioned, the following list comprises all, or nearly all of the first settlers in the town- ship : Manly Richards, Hiram Burch, John Copman, Will- iam Sloan, Ralph Williams, Stephen and Henry Dobson, William Stanley, John Markle, David Rice, Thomas Shelton, Joseph Smith, James Collier, William Penn, Reason Sar- gent, David Ellsworth, William Nelson, Stephen Norman, James Pearson, E. Trueblood, James Peden, Caleb Biddle, Barnabas Clark and John Borman.
These are the men who cleared up the first farms in the township and prepared the way for all that has since been accomplished in the grand transformation of the wilderness to fruitful fields and meadows green. Many of them were honored by their fellow-citizens with positions of trust and honor, and all were identified with the progress and develop- ment of the county.
EARLY EVENTS.
The first house in the township was erected by Abraham Adams in 1823. It was constructed of unhewn logs and stood just east of the present site of Ovid.
The first school-house in the township was located on Section 19. It was similar in construction to all other houses of that period. The next school-house erected in the town- ship stood on the east side of the present site of Ovid, but in what year it was built is not known.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
The first school teacher in the township was a Mr. Hudson. He was followed by Reuben Wyatt, John Roberts, Hiram Burch. George Kearney, Thomas McCallister, George R. Boram and others. Mrs. Susan Justice, who is at present making her home in Anderson, went to school to Mr. Wyatt when she was a child. Mrs. Justice is seventy-four years of age.
The first orchard in the township was planted by Abra- ham Adams about the year 1829.
The first frame house erected in the township was built by Friend Brown. The farm upon which it was erected was one of the first that was " cleared up" in the county. The first brick house was erected by Morris Gilmore in 1888 on what is known as the Morris Gilmore farm. The first elections were held at the house of Abraham Adams and later at the house of Manly Richards. In 1830 New Columbus (Ovid) was designated by the County Commissioners as the perma- nent voting place, and continued the only voting precinct in the township up to 1870, when the township was divided for election purposes by the Commissioners and another precinct was established at Markleville.
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