USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical sketches and reminiscences of Madison county, Indiana : a detailed history of the early events of the pioneer settlement of the county, and many of the happenings of recent years, as well as a complete history of each township, to which is added numerous incidents of a pleasant nature, in the way of reminiscences, and laughable occurrences > Part 13
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Dr. Chittenden was educated principally in the common schools and at Corydon Academy, attending the latter institu- tion two years, after which he began the study of medicine at
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Madison, Indiana, in the office of Dr. Benjamin Leavitt. At the expiration of three years of diligent study including a course of lectures in the medical department at Ann Arbor University, he entered the medical department of the Univer- sity of Louisville, where he graduated in 1855. He then began the practice of his profession at Milford, Decatur county, In- diana, where he remained three years when he removed (o Anderson, locating here in 1858. He at once entered upon a
DR. GEORGE F. CHITTENDEN.
successful practice which kept on increasing until May, 1861, when he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 16th Regiment, Indiana volunteers. During the following year he was pro- moted to the surgeoncy of the regiment, a position that he filled with eminent credit until the spring of 1864 when he tendered his resignation and returned home.
In 1868 Dr. Chittenden was elected Joint Representative from the counties of Madison and Henry to the Lower
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House of the State Legislature, on the Republican ticket, and served one term. Ile was honored with the position of Chairman of the Committee on Corporations and was also a member of the Committee on Benevolent Institutions, in both of which positions he served his constituency and State accept- ably. In 1878 he was elected a Commissioner of the State Hospital for the Insane, by the Legislature, and rendered able service during his term. He was twice elected to the City Council of Anderson from a Democratic ward, and during his incumbency rendered efficient service in the interest of tax payers. In 1880 he was selected as the delegate from the Ninth Congressional Republican convention to the National Republican convention at Chicago, which nominated James A. Garfield for President.
He has been a member of the Madison County Medical Society for twenty-five years, also a member of the District, State and National Medical Associations, in the affairs of which he has taken an active and prominent part.
At one time he was associated with Dr. John Hunt, re- cently deceased, in the practice of medicine, and in 1875 entered into a partnership with Dr. I. E. Jones, which continued for nineteen years, when the partnership was dissolved. The Doctor is still actively engaged in the practice and has associ- ated with him his son, Dr. Edgar W. Chittenden.
Dr. Chittenden was united in marriage to Miss Amanda B. Branham at Vernon, Jennings county, in 1858. Three chil- dren were born of this union : Carrie B., Edgar W. and Mat - tie V .. all of whom are living. Carrie is now the wife of M. M. Cronyn and resides at Indianapolis. The good mother deceased in 1889, beloved by all who knew her.
In 1891 Dr. Chittenden was married to Mrs. Catherine 1 .. Brown, a lady of many enviable graces and varied accom- plishments.
No citizen of Anderson or Madison county is held in higher esteem than Dr. Chittenden. Of irreproachable char- acter, he stands second to no man in his profession, to which he has devoted his life with untiring assuidity and eminent ability. In every sphere of endeavor in which he has taken a part, socially, politically or professionally, his unpretending bearing has elevated him in the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and while not ostentatious in the observance of the tenets of that denomination, is in the highest sense a Chris-
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tian. He enjoys a good book and loves his home, where he can always be found surrounded by its comforts when not at- tending to the duties of his profession.
GEORGE NICHOL.
The first merchants of Anderson and Madison county have long since gone to their reward. But few even of the men, engaged in mercantile pursuits no farther back than the early '50s remain. Prominent among those who still survive, however, is the subject of this sketch.
GEORGE NICHOL.
Mr. Nichol was born in Butler county, Ohio, January 11, 1830. Ilis boyhood was passed upon a farm where he enjoyed but meagre opportunities to acquire that which he so much de- sired-a superior education. A number of terms in the com- mon schools and one year at Farmer's College, near Cincin- nati, ended his school days.
In 1854, he located in Anderson and engaged in the hard- ware business, having for a partner the late Amos J. King. In 1855, he was married to Miss Harriett Robinson, oldest sister of the late Colonel M. S. Robinson. This estimable
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woman deceased on the 25th of May, 1896, lamented not only by her immediate relatives but by a large circle of friends. In 1861, Mr. Nichol was appointed Quartermaster of the Forty- seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, in which position he served until the regiment veteranized in 1864, when he re- turned home having been a participant in all of the severe campaigns in which his regiment was engaged up to that time. While active in business, Mr. Nichol is an ardent Republican and has devoted much of his time and means in advancing the interests of his party. In return he has been honored with various positions of prominence and trust as a partial reward for his services. He was a member of the first City Council elected in Anderson, and in 1870, was elected on the Repub- lican ticket to the office of County Auditor, being the first Republican elected in the county to that important office. This was one of the most hotly-contested elections ever held in the county, his opponent being the late Neal C. Mccullough, a man of acknowledged integrity and ability, besides having abundant resources from which to draw in such a contest. The county at that time was safely Democratic by 600 ma- jority and Mr. Nichol's success was regarded as complimen- tary in the highest degree. Ile is at the present time serving as Chairman of the Republican Central Committee of the county.
Mr. Nichol, in recent years, has been connected in an ofli- cial capacity with nearly every enterprise having for its object the promotion of Anderson's interests and development of the county. He was chosen President of the Anderson Board of Trade at the time of its organization and served acceptably as long as it was in existence.
Mr. Nichol is a member of the Presbyterian church, but not fanatical in his religious views. He is consistent in his daily walk and conversation, stands deservedly high as a busi- ness man and enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow- citizens.
BIOGRAPHY OF BAZIL NEELY.
Bazil Neely was a farmer and one of the early pioneers of Madison county. He was born in Ohio county, West Vir- ginia, August 16, 1810.' His parents were Thomas and Eliza- beth (Seamon) Neely. His grandfather was Jonah Seamon. In 1812 the parents of our subject emigrated with his family to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1816 the father returned to
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Virginia on business where he died and was buried, leaving his wife and six children, of whom Bazil was the fourth, with but little means of support. The widow removed to Fayette county, Indiana, with her children, and in 1827 Bazil, who was but seventeen years of age, started out to seek his own fortune in the primitive wilderness. He went to Delaware county where he did general farm work at three dollars a month, and occasionally made rails at twenty-five cents per hundred. Farming implements in that day were few and un- wieldy and his first plowing was done with a wooden mold-
BAZIL, NEELY.
board plow and four yoke of oxen. In 1833 Mr. Neely was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Suman. Of this union there was but one child, Miss Hester A. Neely, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work. On the 10th of July, 1883, he purchased eighty acres of land in Section 35, in Union township, Madison county, nine acres of which were cleared and improved by a hewed-log house, the remainder being cov- ered by a dense forest. On this tract of land he located, and
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not being afraid of work, in the course of time acquired an ample competency. He was resolute, persevering and ener- getic, in every way suited to the pioneer's arduous task of clearing up the wilderness. He was also fond of athletic sports and was an unerring shot with a rifle. He hunted fre- quently and in 1849, within one mile of his home, shot two deer while their horns were locked together.
In politics he was a supporter of Democratic principles, his first vote being cast for Andrew Jackson in 1832. In re- ligious belief his predilections were inclined to the Christian Church, with which he united in 1893. Without ostentation he was benevolent. It can be truly said that no man ever lived in Union township who was more attentive to the sick and distressed than Bazil Necly. He was honest and true as the day was long. His wife passed away on September 7, 1: 56, mourned by all who knew her.
Mr. Neely remained on his farm from ISTI to June 11, 1893. when he took up his residence with his daughter, Miss Hester Neely, in Anderson. During his later years his health was quite feeble, and on the Ith day of August, 1891, after a lingering illness, he went to his reward. He reposes in Mount Pleasant cemetery, Delaware county.
JUDGE JOHN F. M'CLURE.
John F. McClure' was born near Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, December 24, 1852, and is the oldest of nine 'children, five of whom are living. His father, James Mc Clure, was born in Ireland in 1818, and came to this country when he was two years old. His mother, Ann MeClure, was a daugh- ter of David McCall, one of the pioneers of Franklin county. The father is still living, but the mother recently deceased.
The subject of this sketch was reared upon a farm, where he devoted his time to the labors incident thereto until he was twenty-one years of age, when he entered De Pauw Univer- sity, taking a classical course. His career at this institution . was marked by close application to his studies and in 1879 he graduated with high honors, being selected as salutatorian of his class. Immediately after his graduation he entered the law office of Berry & Berry at Brookville, and at the expira- tion of two years came to Anderson, where he formed a part- nership for the practice of law with Isaac Carter under the firm name of Carter & McClure. This partnership lasted but a short time, however, as Mr. McClure was elected Principal
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of the Anderson High School in 1883 and taught one year, when he formed a law partnership with the Hon. F. P. Fos- ter. In 1886 he received the Republican nomination for Mayor of Anderson . and was elected.
It was during his incumbency that natural gas was dis- covered at Anderson and it was largely through his untiring efforts that many of the large business enterprises which now contribute to the city's importance were located. Ilis sery-
JUDGE JOHN F. WCLURE.
ices as an active, faithful official were appreciated by his fel- low-citizens and he was re-elected in INSS. Upon retiring from the office of Mayor be purchased an interest in the An- derson Herald which property he managed for one year. Dur- ing his connection with the paper he was elected Councilman from the First ward and being thoroughly acquainted with the duties of the position, on account of his previous experience as Mayor, rendered valuable service in the administration of the city's affairs. In 1894 he was elected City Attorney by the common council and served two years. He was thrice honored
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by his party by being selected as chairman of the Republican Central Committee for the county and served in that capacity for six years. In 1896 he was honored by his party with the nomination for Judge of the Circuit Court and elected, being the first Republican chosen by the people to fill this responsi- ble position since Madison county became a judicial jurisdic- tion. He has just entered upon the discharge of the duties of the office and gives promise of justifying every hope and ex- pectation indulged by his friends. Judge McClure is unas- suming both in his bearing and conversation, liberal in his views but firm as need be in matters when decision is necessary. He is candid and cordial, but under no circumstances forgets that he is a gentleman. His present ambition is to discharge the duties of his office acceptably and if conscientious endeavor will accomplish this end there is no doubt of his success. He owes no allegiance to any particular sect or religious society, but is prominent as a Knight of Pythias, having occupied the highest office to which a member can be elected in a subordi- nate lodge.
Judge McClure was married to Miss Mary Falknor Dec- ember 12, 1888, and resides on West Seventh street.
HOWELL D. THOMPSON.
The subject of this sketch was born May 6, 1822, in Center county, Pennsylvania. In 1829 his father removed to Clinton county, Ohio, and here the son passed his boyhood, attending school whenever it was possible until it became time to select a trade, when he went to work at carpentry and fol. lowed it until 1844, when he came to Indiana and began teaching school. Randolph and Grant counties were the scenes of his labors in this vocation until 1857, when he en- tered Farmers' College, near Cincinnati. Hle devoted himself assiduously to his studies and graduated from this institution in 1849. After graduating he returned to Indiana and taught a select school at Pendleton. In December, 1849, he com- menced the study of law under Judge David Kilgore and afterwards completed his preparatory course under the late Judge Ilervy Craven. In March 1851, he was admitted to the Anderson bar ; May, 1851, to the Supreme Court of the State, and in November of that year to the Circuit Court of the United States. It was also during this year that he re- moved to Marion, Indiana, where he began the practice of his profession .. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861
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he enlisted a company of which he was captain in April of that year, but being in feeble health he was compelled to resign in the following November and return home. In May, 1862, he removed to Anderson and formed a partnership in the practice of his profession with the late Judge W. R. Pierse. This firm remained in existence for many years and enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. In 1871 Mr. Thompson was elected County School Superintendent and looked after
HOWELL D. THOMPSON.
the duties of that office for two years with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the public. No citizen of the county, perhaps, takes deeper interest in the education and proper training of the young than Mr. Thompson. His influence has ' always been exerted in behalf of good schools, as it has in the interest of every enterprise having for its object the general diffusion of knowledge and the welfare of society.
For a period of thirty five years Mr. Thompson has been identified with the Madison county bar as one of the ablest and most honored members. He is still actively engaged in
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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. He 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.
Hle 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.
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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, 186 1.
The Thornburghs are of Scotch-Irish descent. That 42
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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. Ile took great interest in the affairs not only of his township, but of the county, and was greatly respected by
JOHN R. THORNBURGIL.
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. Ile 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 be 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. Ile 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, 1832. Ilis 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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and soon after the war was admitted to practice in the Su- preme Court of the State, and United States Circuit and Dis- 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 gradually secured a large and lucrative practice, which he retained until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he entered the army
COLONEL MILTON S. ROBINSON.
as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-seventh Regiment, Indi- ana Volunteers, after having twice declined a Colonel's com- mission tendered him by Governor O. P. Morton, giving as his reason for so doing lack of experience in military affairs. Hle 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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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. Ile 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 ISSS, 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.
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