USA > Indiana > Boone County > History of Boone County, Indiana : With biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families, Volume II > Part 20
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Fraternally. Mr. Ritchie is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his family belong to the- Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member of the official board. He has been president of the Brotherhood and is active in all church and Sunday school work.
JESSE E. TUCKER, M. D.
Examples that impress force of character on all who study them are worthy of record, and the mission of an active, talented and conscientious worker in the world's affairs is one that is calculated to inspire a multitude of others to better efforts and higher things; so its general influence cannot be measured in metes and bounds, for it affects the lives of those with whom it comes into contact, broadening and enriching them for all time to come. By a few general observations may be conveyed some idea of the noble char- acter, the professional skill and the commendable public influence of Dr. Jesse E. Tucker, one of Boone county's most representative citizens, a well known physician of the town of Elizaville and also a prominent live stock breeder. United in his composition are so many elements of a solid and practical nature as to bring him into conspicuous notice, who, not content to hide his talents amid life's sequestered ways, by the force of will and a laud- ยท able ambition has forged to the front in one of the most exacting and im- portant of professions. His life has been one of hard study and unselfish industry, whose laborious professional duties has led to a high position in the esteem of the public, which gives evidence that the qualities which he possesses afford the means of distinction under a system of government in which places of honor and usefulness are open to all who may be found worthy of then1.
Dr. Tucker was born in Henry county, Indiana, January 6, 1870. He is a son of William A. and Lucy W. (Woodal) Tucker, the father a native of
DR. J. E. TUCKER
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Kentucky and the mother of Virginia; they both came to Indiana when young and were married in this state, in which our subject's grandparents were pioneers, the Tucker family locating in Henry county and the Woodals in Boone county. Grandfather Woodal was probably the first blacksmith in Boone county. The doctor's parents, who have devoted their lives success- fully to agricultural pursuits are living on a farm and are still active and although advanced in years are fairly hale and hearty. Grandfather Woodal died in Boone county, about forty years ago at the advanced age of eighty-two years.
Dr. Tucker grew to manhood on the home farm and assisted with the work there during crop seasons when he became of proper age, and he re- ceived his early schooling in the district schools, remaining with his parents until he was twenty-two years old. Soon after he was graduated from the high school at Knightstown, in 1889, he began the study of medicine with Dr. William D. Johns, a noted Indiana physician of that period, studying under him about a year, then entered the Physio Medical College of Indiana at Indianapolis in 1890 and was graduated from this institution in 1895, with high honors, having made a most excellent record there. On August 3d of that year he came to Elizaville, Boone county where he began the practice of his profession, which he has continued to the present time with ever in- creasing success until he now enjoys a very large and lucrative practice which extends over this part of the county and he ranks in the forefront of his pro- fessional brethren in Boone county. Ever a student he has kept well abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession.
Dr. Tucker was married in 1891 to Jessie E. Hull, who was born Janu- ary II, 1875, and whose death occurred November 17, 1898. She was a native of Hancock county, Indiana, and a daughter of a prominent family there. This union resulted in the birth of two children, namely : Russell A., born November 19, 1893; Raymond O., born August 17, 1895. On October 28, 1900, the doctor married Bessie O. Richardson, who was born in Boone county, January 8, 1883. She is a daughter of Joel and Eva (Johns) Richard- son, both natives of Indiana, the Richardsons being early settlers in Boone county. The death of Mr. Richardson occurred when he was a comparatively young man, but his widow is living in Marion township, this county. To Dr. Tucker's second marriage three children were born, namely: Olive M., born March 8, 1904; Eva Pauline, born March 4, 1906; and Lela G., born Novem-
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ber 19, 1909. These children have all been given excellent educational ad- vantages, and they are all living at home.
Politically, the doctor is a loyal Democrat and usually attends the various conventions of his party, and is well posted on current political ques- tions, and is an influential leader in his party in this section of Boone county, but he is not an office seeker, preferring to give his attention exclusively to his extensive practice and to his fine farm and live stock industry. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Improved Order of Red Men. He and his wife belong to the Baptist church. He has passed the chairs in the Woodmen lodge. He is a member of the Indiana State Medical Association and the National Med- ical Association.
The valuable farm owned by Dr. Tucker just west of the town of Eliza- ville, consists of forty-six acres and is one of the show places of the town- ship, being modern in every respect and under the highest possible state of improvement and cultivation. On it stands large substantial and convenient outbuildings, and here he has for some time been successfully engaged in rais- ing thoroughbred Poland-China hogs, which, owing to their superior quality, find a very ready market all over the country, many of them being shipped to remote distances, always bringing fancy prices. His registered sires are greatly admired by all who see them, being the finest obtainable. For five years he has held annual sales, selling his high-grade stock at public auction, and these sales are a great success, being attended by buyers from all over the country.
JOHN STANLEY MOORE.
When one visits the village of Mechanicsburg, Boone county, Indiana, and hears the anvil ring in the shop of John Stanley Moore, one is reminded of Longfellow's "village blacksmith under the spreading chestnut tree," not that our subject necessarily resembles the Cambridge giant. "the muscles of whose brawny arms were strong as iron bands," nor is there a patriarchal chestnut tree over our subject's forge, but yet Mr. Moore has a number of characteristics like the blacksmith that the poet knew, such as honesty, in- dustry, kind-heartedness and a desire to lead a peaceable and useful life, and
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so Mr. Moore has won friends all over this locality who repose implicit trust in him and who regard him as a good citizen. This must be true or he would not have been permitted to retain the office of postmaster at Reese Mills for over twenty years, neither would he have been selected to serve as township trustee.
Mr. Moore was born December 17, 1850, in Kentucky. He is a son of Thomas and Sarah ( Hinkle) Moore, both natives of Kentucky, where they grew up and were married and from that state they removed to Mechanics- burg, Boone county, Indiana, in 1859. The father learned the blacksmith's trade when a boy in the old Blue Grass state and this he followed all his life and was known as a most skillful workman and an honest man and good neighbor. During the Civil war he enlisted for service in the Union army in the Eleventh Cavalry, from Indiana, but being a skilled farrier he followed his trade while in the service and after his honorable discharge returned to Mechanicsburg where he reopened his shop and continued his trade here until his death in 1888. His wife died in 1891.
Our subject has two brothers living, namely : B. L. Moore, of Lebanon, and William Henry Moore, of Anderson, Indiana; the oldest son of this. family is deceased and two daughters of Thomas and Sarah Moore are also deceased.
John Stanley Moore grew to manhood in Boone county, being nine years old when his parents located at Mechanicsburg, and he received a common school education. He learned the blacksmith's trade under his brother, now deceased, and became a very skilled workman while still a young man and has followed his trade with success since 1876, or nearly forty years, and is one of the best known and most popular blacksmiths in this section of the state. He spent much of his earlier years at Reese Mills in this county and was postmaster there for a period of over twenty years, giving eminent satis- faction to both the people and the department. He was elected township trustee of Washington township in 1900 and served very creditably for four years. During his term of office he continued his vocation at his forge, which he has retained to the present time, maintaining an up-to-date and well equipped shop in Mechanicsburg.
Mr. Moore was married November 15, 1877, to Lizzie Buntin, who was born in Mechanicsburg, Indiana, January 18, 1857. She is thus fifty-six years old and has spent her life in Mechanicsburg and Mr. Moore has been
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here fifty-five years and they have thus seen many great changes here in that time, remembering when there were but a few houses in this vicinity and when the roads were often impassable, the mud being so deep, and when the country in general was little developed. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are the oldest residents of continuous residence in Mechanicsburg, are well known and highly respected, for their lives have been honorable and helpful. They have one son, Gustin O., who was reared and educated here and is now traveling out of Frankfort for a wholesale grocery firm and he makes his home in Frankfort. He married Victoria Denny and has one son, Byron Stanley Moore.
Politically, Mr. Moore is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order, Sylvan Lodge No. -- , the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men, in both of which he has filled the chairs and has represented both in grand lodge. He was secretary of the local lodge of Odd Fellows for a period of eighteen years continuously and he has been chief of records of the local lodge of Red Men for a period of thirteen years continuously. His long retention in these positions would indicate that his work has been most faithfully and accurately done and that he is a prominent lodge man in this locality.
CLARENCE ROBERTS.
The great task in the early years of the history of Boone county of clearing the land of its timber can scarcely be realized by the people of today. Not a crop could be planted or an orchard tree set out until the timber had been cut and removed either by fire or with horses. Even then the stumps were a great hindrance and it is doubtful if so much as a half crop could be raised until they had been eradicated in some manner. The amount of hard labor thus required to remove the timber and place the land under a high state of cultivation seems almost incredible. It was a task that never ended and all members of the family were required to assist early and late and at all seasons of the year. But the persistence in all instances brought success as the years passed and in time the bare acres were spread out before
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the sun ready to produce abundant crops as soon as the seeds were deposited and the wilderness gave way to abundant harvests and browsing herds. This was the task set before the grandfather and father of Clarence Roberts, a well known farmer of Jefferson township. This honored pioneer family came here in the days of the great forest and, setting to work with a will, cleared the land and established a good home and they have been prominent in the affairs of the community for nearly three-quarters of a century.
Clarence Roberts was born on a farm within one mile of his present home, four and one-half miles west of Lebanon, Indiana, his present home being a mile north of the Crawfordsville road and the date of his birth was September 12, 1879. He is a son of Robert W. and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Roberts. William R. Roberts, our subject's grandfather, was a native of Kentucky, where he grew up and married Emmarine Miller and when Boone county, Indiana, was a wilderness they removed here and established their home in what is now Jefferson township and by hard persistent work against the forces of nature this sturdy frontiersman cleared the land which he had secured for a small sum, drained it and developed a good farm and here the father of our subject grew to manhood and assisted his father to clear and improve the homestead and he too devoted his active life to general farming and has maintained his home in the city of Lebanon since 1885. The mother of our subject died when he was only three months old. His father later married Margaret Brooks. The mother of our subject was a native of Ken- tucky, from which state she came with her parents in an early day to Boone county, Indiana, locating in what is now Center township.
Clarence Roberts was reared by his grandparents, William R. Roberts and wife. He worked hard on the old homestead when a boy and received his education in the common schools of his vicinity. He has devoted his life to general farming and stock raising and owns a finely improved and productive farm of forty acres in Jefferson township and has a comfortable home surrounded by convenient outbuildings. On December 20, 1900, he married Mabel Coon, of Washington township, this county ; she was born, reared and educated in Clinton county, Indiana. This union has been with- out issue.
Politically, Mr. Roberts is a Democrat and has been loyal in the sup- port of his party and a worker in the same. In the spring of 1914, he was nominated for sheriff of Boone county and his selection was regarded from
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the first as a fortunate one. He was at once promised a large support, for his fitness in every respect for this important office was recognized not only by his friends but by all concerned, and his election was freely predicted He carried the county by one thousand two hundred plurality. He is well known and popular throughout the county. Fraternally, he is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose, of Lebanon. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church of Dover.
JOHN A. DUVALL.
During the past few years the farmer has come into his own as a factor in the world's affairs more than ever before, and his position among men of other vocations is recognized by all classes as one of the vastest impor- tance, and, in fact. many from various trades and professions are turning to the soil, the movement from the city to the country being now much greater than it ever was in any period of the world. One of the principal causes for the "back-to-the-farm" movement has been the publication of stories of the money that has been made in general farming and along specialized lines. A number of newspapers make it a point to publish highly colored stories of sticcess with the result that a great many good people are misled as to the possibilities of farming, stock raising and fruit growing, when not backed by experience and capital. One of the successful general farmers and stock men of Boone county is John A. Duvall, of Clinton township, formerly a successful educator in the public schools of this locality, and whose success as an agriculturist has been gained by close application and the exercise of sound judgment.
Mr. Duvall was born in Warren county, Ohio, February 21, 1857, a son of Jacob and Nancy E. (Jackson) Duvall, his father dying when our subject was a child. He spent his boyhood in his native state and was twelve years old when he came to Indiana in 1869 with Joseph Witham, with whom he made his home until he was twenty-three years of age, when he returned to Warren county, Ohio, and married Martha Ellen Witham and at once brought his bride to the farm he now occupies in Clinton township, Boone .county. In the meantime he had received a good education in the common
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schools and, applying himself assiduously to'his text-books, prepared himself for a teacher, which profession he followed with ever increasing success for a period of fifteen years, his services being in great demand and he gave eminent satisfaction as an educator, employing advanced methods and being popular with both pupils and patrons. During the summer months he worked on his farm, which was unimproved when he purchased it, and which he re- deemed from the wilderness by hard work and today his farm of one hun- dred and twenty acres is one of the best improved and most desirable in his vicinity. On it stands a cozy home, convenient outbuildings and in his fields may be seen at all seasons a good grade of live stock, his many fine cows, horses and swine of high grade quality being one of the main sources of his annual income. He is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, having started out in life a poor lad and by sheer force of character and indomitable courage forged his way to the front over obstacles that would have crushed many others and he is therefore well deserving of the title of self made man.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Duvall, five daughters and one son, all of whom survive, namely: Edith, who is the wife of Dr. C. S. Holmes, lives in Indianapolis ; Effie married George Auble and was a teacher before marriage ; Georgia also lives at home ; Roscoe married Alpha A. Smith, a graduate of Indiana University at Bloomington and lives at Forest, Indiana. He is a publisher of a paper and an electrician. They are living on a part of the home farm; Hazel married Leonard Langjahr and they live in Leb- anon, this county; Lillie married Sumner Leckrone and they also live in Lebanon. The mother of these children was called to her rest February 22, 1913. She was strong mentally, and above the average in esthetic culture. having a great love for art. She was a kind and loving woman.
Politically, Mr. Duvall is a Progressive. He was township assessor for four years and has been township trustee for the past six years, ever discharg- ing his duties as a public servant in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned, and taken an abiding interest in the welfare of Clinton township from the first, doing much for its general improvement. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Mechanicsburg, Mart Lodge No. 413. He and his chil- dren are members of the Christian church. The family has long been one of the best known and most highly esteemed in the township.
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JOSEPH M. SWOPE.
Fame may look to the clash of resounding arms for its heroes; history's pages may be filled with a record of the deeds of the so-called great who have deluged the world with blood, destroyed kingdoms, created dynasties and left their names as plague spots upon civilization's escutcheon ; the poet may embalm in deathless song the short and simple annals of the poor; but there have been comparatively few to sound the praise of the brave and sturdy pioneer who among the truly great and noble is certainly among the deserv- ing of at least a little space on the category of the immortals. To him more than to any other is civilization indebted for the brightest gem in its diadem, for it was he that blazed the way and acted as vanguard for the mighty army of progress that within the last century has conquered the wilderness and transformed it into a fair and enlightened domain. One of this hardy band. who came to Boone county, Indiana, when it was little developed and sparsely settled was Joseph M. Swope, who was a leading farmer in his day, an in- fluential citizen and a gallant soldier for the Union.
Mr. Swope was born October 10, 1842, in Boone county, Indiana. His father, Ebenezer H. Swope, was born in Estill county, Kentucky, in 1812, and there grew to manhood and in 1830 married Lucinda Robertson, who was born in 1810. She was a daughter of Jesse Robertson, who lived to be ninety-six years of age. His wife was Sarah White before her marriage. Their parents moved to Indiana in 1836, locating in Putnam county. In the spring of 1840 they changed their residence to Boone county, locating a short distance south of Elizaville. Ebenezer H. Swope was a farmer and became one of the successful men of his community, accumulating a handsome com- petence, including a well-improved and productive farm of two hundred and twenty acres besides valuable personal property. He dealt quite extensively in live stock in connection with general farming. He was a man of strict propriety, his word always being considered as good as his bond in the com- munity where he lived. He was an ardent Republican in his political faith, and his death, which occurred on September 2, 1881, was an event greatly deplored by the people of Clinton township. His widow survived until March 20, 1893, and, like her husband, was greatly missed from the com- munity in which she resided. Their family consisted of the following chil- dren: Lewis, born February 7, 1833, died in 1860; Elizabeth, born August
J. M. SWOPE.
MRS. J. M. SWOPE.
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21, 1835; Sarah A., born October 13, 1837, died in 1860; Jonathan, born August 1I, 1840, died in January, 1912; and Joseph M., whose name heads this memoir; Jessie, born November 16, 1844; Mrs. Mary Brinton, born January I, 1847; Mrs. Serrilda A. Perkins, born September 6, 1851, died in 1879.
The father of Ebenezer H. Swope was Joseph Swope, who was born in Virginia in 1784, and whose death occurred May 26, 1877, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. He served as an officer in the War of 1812, and married in Virginia Mary Hines, who was born July 15, 1782, in the Old Dominion. Joseph Swope and family moved to Kentucky about the year 1810, and the death of his wife occurred in that state. The following are the names of their children: Andrew William, Eliza A., Ebenezer H., Helena D. and Catherine S. After the death of the mother of the above named children Joseph Swope married for his second wife Julia A. Robertson, who was born July 27, 1801, in Kentucky, and whose death occurred at the age of eighty-three years.
Joseph M. Swope grew to manhood on the home farm in Boone county, and there he found plenty of hard work to do when he was a boy, and he received his education in the early-day schools of his community; here he was contented to spend his life, and became one of the county's leading farm- ers and stock men, owning a large and well-improved farm, on which is to be seen an attractive residence and substantial outbuildings. He prospered through good management and the exercise of sound judgment and was a man of industry.
Mr. Swope was married September 17, 1871, to Patsy Garrett, who was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, May 25, 1854. She is a daughter of Benjamin D. Garrett, who was also a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred there in the year 1838, and there he grew to manliood and was mar- ried to Sarah Gilmore, who was born in Nichols county, that state, in 1828, and there she spent her earlier years. Mrs. Swope grew up in the Blue Grass state and received a good education in the common schools.
To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Swope four children were born, namely : Orie A., born March 31, 1873; Alva D., born May 28, 1875; Edith, born February 1, 1877, died October 14, 1880; Harlan, born April 20, 1879, died August 12, 1881.
(50)
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The death of Joseph M. Swope occurred April 3, 1914, when well past his three score and ten, and the entire community feels that it has lost a good and useful citizen.
Mr. Swope was a veteran of the Civil war, having fought gallantly for the Union during its greatest crisis, and before his death his captain paid a high tribute, which is contained in the following article, which we here re- produce from a leading newspaper in Boone county :
"The story of the military experience of Joseph M. Swope, who died last Friday at his home in Clinton township, is set forth in an article written several years ago by the late Felix Shumate, captain of the company in which Mr. Swope was a member. The article, which will be of general in- terest, follows: 'Joseph M. Swope was a citizen of Elizaville, or near there, when the war of the rebellion broke out, of good family, with only a common school education, and only eighteen years of age. He was more than the average in intellect and a true type of the western soldier. Boy, as he was, he enlisted in my company-I, Tenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, Septem- ber 18, 1861, at Lebanon, Indiana, and in three days was in front of the Con- federate army in Kentucky. He remained a private soldier, preferring that to any promotions, which were offered him on several occasions. Joe, as the boys learned to call him, was honest and conscientious, and made a true soldier in every sense of the word. was never arrested, never in the hospital. and never attended sick call while in the service, made every march his com- pany made, was in every skirmish and battle his company was in, including Mill Springs, and Perryville, Kentucky; Hoover's Gap, Tennessee: Corinth, Mississippi : Chickamauga, Ringgold, Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Adairville, Kingston, New Hope Church, Chattahoochee, Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Lost Mountain, Atlanta, Utah Creek, and all the skir- mishes in Sherman's celebrated campaign in Georgia in 1864.
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