USA > Indiana > Boone County > History of Boone County, Indiana : With biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families, Volume II > Part 11
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The paternal grandparents came to the United States from Germany, when advanced in years, and located in Indiana, and lived with their children in Wayne county, near Richmond, the rest of their lives, the grandfather dying in 1875, the grandmother having preceded him to the grave in 1857.
George H. Harting grew to manhood on the home farm, and he received his education in the district schools, assisting his father on the farm, until he was twenty-five years of age. April 17, 1879, he married Ida B. Endicott, of Boone county, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Williamson) Endicott,
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who came to Indiana in an early day, and were married in Boone county, July 26, 1858. Mr. Endicott was born December 10, 1816, and his wife was born October 22, 1823. The Endicott family located near the city of Kokomo in a very early day, and the Williamson family were very early settlers of Boone county. Mrs. Harting was born January 19, 1862, in Howard county, Indiana, and she received a common school education.
To our subject and wife nine children have been born, named as follows: Emma Blanche, born December 28, 1880, died November 12, 1888; Anna Bernice, born October 3. 1882, married Granville Wells, assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Jamestown, and they have one child, Herman; Willie Bennett, born April 7, 1884, married India Shockley, a native of Mis- souri ; they live in Boone county, and have three children ; Harry Blaine, born May 31, 1886, married Katie Skaggs, a native of Indiana : he is a hardware merchant at Mechanicsburg, and they have two children; Rosa Beatrice, born August 15, 1885, married Austin Headey; they live in Boone county and have two children ; Clayton Bernard, born June 9, 1890, married Iva Thomp- son, a native of Boone county ; Jennie Bernette, married Reid Budd, a native of Boone county ;; they live on the farm with our subject, and have one child, Malcolm; Earl Byron, born January 17, 1894, lives at home; Aletha Belle, born February 2, 1896, married Foster Steward, a clerk in Indianapolis.
At the time of Hiram B. Harting's death, about 1897, his son, George H. purchased the interests of the other heirs and came into possession of the old Harting homestead, which he now owns, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres. He has added forty acres more and now has a fine farm of two hundred acres. Previous to this purchase he had bought seventy acres near Lebanon at the time of his marriage. He lived there one year, then sold out and rented a year, then bought one hundred and twenty acres south of Ad- vance, where he lived until he acquired the old homestead. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, keeping his land well cultivated and well improved. The major portion of his bounteous crops are fed annually to large numbers of cattle and hogs.
Politically, Mr. Harting was formerly a Republican, but is nowt a Progressive, and is active in public affairs. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Jamestown. He belongs to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment at Jamestown. He has filled all the chairs in both lodges.
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CHARLES C. HOWARD.
Nothing is more important to a nation than to have its people well fed, and especially is this true in a nation like ours, which must depend on the wisdom, patriotism and good judgment of its people for the administration of its government and its perpetuity. We, of the cities, should be most in- tensely interested in the best methods of production, because these things determine the volume of food which we will have to eat and eating ever remains the primal necessity of man, with the field as the great source of supply. The brown stone palaces, the sky scrapers, the gilded streets of our cities cannot feed the mass of humanity struggling within their confines. These must look back to the land for sustenance. Those who eat should be more deeply concerned about better methods of farming than those who produce crops merely for the money that comes from their sale. One of the farmers of Boone county who seems to have a proper appreciation of present- day problems as relating to agriculture is Charles C. Howard, of Marion township.
Mr. Howard was born in the above-named township and county August 3. 1873. He is a son of R. W. and Frances H. (Lane) Howard, a highly re- spected old family of this locality.
Charles C. Howard grew to manhood on the home farm and there he resided, working during the summer months and attending the common schools during the winter until he was nineteen years old, then went to Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended the State Normal for four summers, teaching the meanwhile during the winter months. He followed teaching ten years successively and was regarded as a progressive and able instructor. His career was interrupted at this time by a serious illness, which left him crippled in his right leg. Since then he has never resumed teaching, turning his at- tention to general agricultural pursuits; in fact, he has been in partnership with his father since he was twenty-one years old, sharing equally in farming and stock raising, devoting much attention to raising a good grade of horses, cattle, mules and Poland-China hogs. He also owns ten acres of his own.
Mr. Howard was married April 22, 1896, to Effie Crane, who was born in Boone county and here grew to womanhood and was educated. She is a daughter of Thomas and America (Howard) Crane, the father a native of
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Brown county, Ohio, and the mother of Boone county, Indiana. Her paternal grandparents were Stephen and Mary F. Crane, natives of Ohio, from which state they came to Boone county in an early day. The maternal grandparents were John and Lydia (Cox) Howard, natives of Kentucky, from which state they also came to Boone county in pioneer times, locating near what is now the town of Fayette, where they entered land from the government.
To Mr. and Mrs. Howard one son has been born, Julian N. Howard, who is at home with his parents.
Politically, Mr. Howard is a Republican. He was elected township trustee in 1908, his term of office expiring December 31, 1914. He is dis- charging the duties of this office in an able and acceptable manner. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men, No. 386, Elizaville, Onequa, Pocahontas, No. 304, of which Mrs. Howard is also a member. They are also both members of the Christian church.
MARTIN L. CLOUSER.
Conspicuous among the representative business men and public-spirited citizens of Boone county is the well-known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article. Mr. Clouser has made his influence felt for good in his community, being a man of sterling worth, whose later life has been closely interwoven with the affairs of Thorntown and whose efforts have long been for the material advancement of the same, as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow-men, and the well-regulated life he has led, thereby gaining the respect and admiration of his fellow citizens, entitle him to representation in a biographical work of the scope intended in the present volume.
Martin L. Clouser, who has for the past decade been the moving spirit in the Thorntown Co-operative Telephone Company, was born in Montgom- ery county, Indiana, May 28, 1869. He is a son of Alfred F. and Maria (Huber) Clouser, both natives of Ohio, the latter of Circleville, Pickaway county. The paternal grandparents, John and Margaret Clouser, were natives of Pennsylvania, and in that state also were born Elijah and Catherine Huber, the maternal grandparents. They were all early settlers in Montgomery
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county, Indiana. The paternal grandfather built the Clouser mill on Sugar Creek which the family continued to operate until 1875, then leased the mill, which was still run until the roller process of milling forced it and other mills of its type to close down. Alfred F. Clouser, father of our subject, first married Malinda Cory, by whom he had two sons, Simon, who lives in Mont- gomery county, and George, who died when sixteen years of age. After Alfred F. Clouser married Maria Huber he located on a farm in Mont- gomery county, where he spent the rest of his life successfully engaged in general agriculture pursuits, dying in the fall of 1907 at an advanced age, having always enjoyed the respect and good will of his neighbors and ac- quaintances. His widow still lives in Montgomery county. To these parents the following children were born: Martin L., of this review; Charles W .. who lives in Montgomery county: Boyd O., of Crawfordsville; Elijah and Daniel, both of Montgomery county; and Catherine, who is the wife of Charles Calahan of Crawfordsville.
Martin L. Clouser received his education in the district schools, later attended the State Normal at Danville for four years, then spent two years in the University of Valparaiso. He remained with his parents until his marriage on April 25, 1892, to Viola Moore, who was born in Clinton county, Indiana, and a daughter of Rev. James and Harriet (Smith) Moore. a highly respected family of that locality. After his marriage our subject located on a farm in Montgomery county and followed general agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1902, having forged to the front rank of his fellow tillers of the soil through his close application and good management. Upon leaving the farmn he removed to Thorntown, Boone county, and became manager of the Thorntown Co-operative Telephone Company, which respon- sible position he has held continuously to the present time and has been responsible for its rapid growth and ever-increasing importance. This com- pany was organized in the fall of 1900 with H. W. Huber, president; S. V. Titus, vice-president; L. D. Woodcock, secretary. At this writing S. V. Titus is president ; Dr. E. L. Brown, vice-president ; L. W. Beesley is secre- tary and treasurer ; J. E. Boyer, superintendent ; Martin L. Clouser, assistant secretary and manager. The company started with twenty-six telephones, on borrowed capital, and it had a competitor. At this writing it has over six hundred telephones, is free of all encumbrances, has bought out its com- petitor, and it is now worth twenty thousand dollars. The company has
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eighteen regular trunk lines from its office to surrounding towns, besides the main toll line to Indianapolis. Everything is modern and first-class: There are seven regular employees and there is an average of three thousand calls answered daily by its operators. Besides looking after the general management of the plant Mr. Clouser also does the bookkeeping. He em- ploys one man as wire chief. The company covers a territory of about twelve miles in extent and is well developed. Our subject is one of about three hundred stockholders.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clouser : Pauline, Mary, Gertrude, Margaret, Catherine, James, Maria and Martha, all at home.
Politically, Mr. Clouser is a Democrat but is not active in political affairs. He is a member of the Catholic church in Lebanon. He is an alert. broad-minded, educated, companionable and courteous gentleman and is popular with the people.
WILLIAM L. HILL.
Never before has there been so much interest taken in the best methods of farming and in the conditions of rural homes. The struggle to bring country life from the present to ideal conditions is not an easy one, nor will it be speedily accomplished. Yet there are now farms and rural homes which may be taken as models worth imitating, such as that of William L. Hill, near Thorntown, Boone county, where he maintains a model dairy and truck farm. In different localities the spirit of better things manifests itself in different ways. Sometimes it takes the form of increasing the fertility of the soil; at other places there is a demand for good roads; it is shown in the desire to keep better live stock, to have more attractive farmyard surround- ings or to grow larger crops. It is shown in rural improvement clubs, in home economic organizations, in the consolidation of rural schools, in labor- saving appliances in the home, in making the home attractive and in a general belief that farmers are entitled to as pleasant surroundings as anyone else, and that a richer, fuller life may be better developed in the country than in any other place in the world. One would be compelled to hunt far and wide to find a more up-to-date farming community than right here in Boone county
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and it is not every day that one meets a man of such progressive taste as the gentleman whose life record is briefly given in the following paragraphs.
Mr. Hill was born in Sugar Creek township, Boone county, November 15, 1862. He is a son of Joseph and Amy (Kendall) Hill, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of North Carolina. They came to Boone county, Indiana, when young and here they were married in 1840, and settled southwest of Thorntown, where they became owners of valuable land to the extent of six hundred and forty acres and were among the leading and in- fluential citizens of the western part of the county. They sold their farm in 1864 and moved to Thorntown where they bought property, later pur- chased another farm in Sugar Creek township and moved thereon, continuing general farming five years, then sold out and returned to Thorntown where the elder Hill went into the hardware business, in which he remained over two years, then sold out and retired, having accumulated a handsome com- petency through his industry and able management. His death occurred in 1887, his widow surviving until in February, 1904.
The following children were born to Joseph Hill and wife: John J., of Long Beach, California; Martha J., who married Jerry Rosenbarger, is de- ceased; Elizabeth is the wife of William P. Jester, of Colorado; Emily is the wife of Elwood Mills, of Riverside, California; Aseneth is the wife of Frank Benford, of Riverside, California; and William L., of this sketch, who is the youngest.
William L. Hill grew up on the home farm and resided with his parents until his marriage July 6, 1887 to Hettie Heaton, who was born in Decatur county, Indiana, but early in life moved to Clinton county, and there she grew to womanhood and received a good commion school education. Mr. Hill was educated in private and public school at Thorntown. Mrs. Hill is the daughter of John and Emma (Colby) Heaton, a well-known family of Clinton and Boone counties, Indiana.
After his marriage Mr. Hill lived a year in Thorntown, farming near here, then moved to Clinton county, this state where he remained a year then returned to Sugar Creek township, Boone county, on a farm consisting of thirty-one acres just west of Thorntown, which he purchased, and here he has since resided, successfully engaged in dairying and general gardening, being well equipped for both and is making a comfortable living, finding a very ready market for his products owing to their superior qualities. Every-
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thing about his place is kept in ship-shape, sanitary, attractive and convenient. He keeps a fine grade of cows and has a cozy home and well arranged out- buildings.
Politically, Mr. Hill is a Prohibitionist and is very pronounced in his views against the liquor traffic. He was born in the Quaker faith from which he has not departed.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill, named as follows: Jesse, Stella, John and Joseph are twins; Frank and Velva. They are all at home with their parents.
ALEXANDER O. SPENCER.
Many of the best farms of Boone county were made wholly by the own- ers thereof, little, if any assistance having been received from the parents of such owners. It is also true that a number of the largest farms were in- herited, wholly or in part, from their parents. It would seem at first glance that the latter holders were the ones to be congratulated, but this is not always the case, for very often they did not receive in youth the proper training as to thrift and industry that would enable them to save and properly manage their inheritance. On the contrary it may be set down as an unqualified truth that the man who, by hard knocks made all his property, beginning as a poor boy, learned at the same time how to take care of it. To know how to save money, as well as to know how to make it, is of the greatest im- portance in the rearing of a boy. Such training was received by Alexander O. Spencer, one of the best known and most highly honored pioneers of Lebanon, who, after a long, active, influential and useful life in Boone county, spent in agricultural pursuits, is now living practically retired, but although he has passed his allotted mile-post of three score and ten, is still hale and hearty as a result of a well spent life, right thinking and clean habits. He has taken an active part in the general development of this favored section of the Hoosier commonwealth whose interests he has ever had at heart since taking up his residence here considerably more than a half century ago, during which period he has noted many wonderful changes hereaways.
Mr. Spencer was born October 8, 1839 on a farm in Logan county,
A. O. SPENCER
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Ohio. He is a son of Alexander and Catherine (Workman) Spencer. The father was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, and the mother was a native of Logan county, that state. In the latter the father's death occurred when in the prime of life, and in 1859 the widow removed with her children to Center township, Boone county, Indiana and established the future home of the family. The mother married again, her last husband being Edward Crosson. Her death occurred in February, 1897.
Alexander O. Spencer was reared on the farm where he worked hard when a boy, and he received his early education in the district schools of Logan county, Ohio, and attended high school two terms in Circleville, Pick- away county, Ohio. After coming to Boone county he began farming for himself and here prospered through close application and good management. He is the owner of a valuable farm which he brought up to a high state of cultivation and improvement. It lies near the city of Lebanon and here he still resides having a comfortable residence and a good set of outbuildings. He has always kept an excellent grade of live stock of which he is a good judge.
Mr. Spencer was married December 5, 1861 to Martha C. Adair, a daughter of John and Eliza ( Hon) Adair, a highly respected family of Boone county, they having come from Carlisle county, Kentucky here in 1852.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, namely: Ida, now the wife of William Means of Lebanon; and Frank B., who is married and lives in Indianapolis. The happy home of our subject was saddened by the death of his faithful companion on July 30, 1898.
Mr. Spencer was elected county assessor in the fall of 1910 and is now serving a term of four years, discharging his duties in a most creditable and satisfactory manner, and he also finds time to oversee his farming interests in Center township. Politically, he is a Democrat and has ever been faithful in his support of the party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Encampment and the Rebekas, joining the order forty years ago, and he has passed all the chairs in both the subordinate lodges. He is deeply interested in agricultural improvement work and is an active member of the Boone County Agricultural Society. He has been a member of the Christian church since 1862 and faithful in the work of the same, having been an elder for forty years. He has also long been active in
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Sunday school work, and for a number of years was superintendent of the Sunday school. In every way he merits the respect and good will which are everywhere extended to him, and is one of the valued and representative citizens of Boone county, a plain, broad-minded and honest and hospitable gentleman whom everybody likes to meet.
ENOCH WHITELY.
The Union soldier during the great war between the states built wiser than he knew. Through four years of suffering and wasting hardships, through the horrors of prison pens and amid the shadows of death, he laid the structure of the greatest temple ever erected and dedicated to human free- dom. The world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach out the mighty arm of power and strike the chains from off the slave, preserve the country from dissolution, and to keep furled to the breeze the only flag that ever made tyrants tremble and whose majestic stripes and scintillating stars are still waving universal liberty to all the earth. For all these unmeasured deeds the living present will never repay then. Pension and political power may be thrown at their feet; art and sculpture may preserve upon canvas and in granite and bronze their unselfish deeds; history may commit to books and cold type may give to the future the tale of their sufferings and triumphs; but to the children of the generations yet unborn will it remain to accord the full measure of appreciation and undying rememberance of the immortal character carved out by the American soldiers in the dark days in the early sixties, numbered among whom was Enoch Whitely, one of the best known native-born agriculturists of Boone county, and honored scion of an early pioneer family.
Mr. Whitely was born in Jackson township, this county, March 10, 1843. He is a son of William and Mary J. (Coddington) Whitely, the father a native of Kentucky and the mother of Ohio. William Whitely was reared in his native state and from there he removed with his mother in 1832 to Boone county, Indiana, settling in Jackson township, north of Jamestown, and here he married Mary J. Coddington, who was young in years when her parents brought her to this locality, the family being also among the
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pioneer settlers of Jackson township. The father of our subject devoted his life to general farming. His death occurred in Montgomery county, this state.
Enoch Whitely grew up on the home farm where he worked hard when a boy, for in those primitive days everybody who essayed to establish a home in the country had plenty to do in clearing and developing the land. He at- tended the subscription and district schools until the commencement of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company D, Sixty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Milroy, Rush county, under Captain Annis. They remained awhile in Camp Logan at Greensburg, Indiana, then went to Indianapolis and were mustered into service August 19, 1862, and were sent to Louisville, tak- ing part in the Kentucky campaign. On September 17th of that year our subject was captured at Munfordville, with the entire garrison, but they were soon paroled and came back to Indianapolis where they remained until De- cember, when they went back to Louisville. An unusual incident occurred during the surrender at Munfordville when Col. Edward A. King took the regimental flag from the staff pole and wound it around his body under his clothing and succeeded in getting through the parole and back to Indianapolis with it, which is probably the only case of this kind on record. Mr. Whitely was again sent to Louisville for service in December, where he took a boat for Nashville in January, 1863. While on the voyage they were attacked by the Confederates, two boats being captured and burned, several were wounded, among whom was a colonel. Reaching Nashville the Federals remained in camp there until in April, doing guard duty, then were sent to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In May the division made a raid through Tennes- see, capturing many prisoners, horses and supplies. In June they went on a campaign from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga, and engaged in the battle of Hoover's Gap, also Pond's Springs, then came the great battle of Chicka- mauga, where Colonel King was killed, and his company lost twenty-two men out of a total of thirty-eight engaged, but our subject came through the two days' terrible conflict unscathed. He then went to Chattanooga and was in the siege there in November, 1863. He was in the advance that took Orchard Knob and Missionary Ridge, and he saw Hooker take Lookout Mountain. After this our subject's division was sent to Knoxville to relieve General Burnside, who was besieged there, and they campaigned through the entire winter in that section, without tents or much equipment of any kind. In
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April, 1864, they camped at Cleveland, Tennessee, but the Sixty-eighth Indi- ana was detailed to do garrison duty at Chattanooga, where they remained until discharged from the service, June 20, 1865, at Nashville. During their garrison duty many raids were made in all directions and a great deal of skirmishing was done, fighting off the Confederate raiders on the railroad forming the base of supplies for the Union army farther south. General Wheeler was especially active against this line of communication, and a battle was fought with him at Dalton, Georgia, in 1864, during Sherman's march to the sea. The Sixty-eighth Indiana was one of the regiments sent to Decatur, Alabama, to keep back General Hood, who was raiding through that section. They returned to Chattanooga until Hood approached Nashville, where he was again met by the regiment in the great battle in which Hood's army was crushed by Thomas. According to his commanding officers, Mr. Whitely proved to be a brave and faithful soldier, and he was honorably discharged.
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