USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County Indiana, its people, industries and institutions > Part 58
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Fremont, Michigan. He married Ada Gripe, and they have three children. Mary, who lives at Nampa, Idaho, married Jesse Blickenstaff. They have five children. Jesse lives on his father's farm. Floyd also lives on the farm with his father and mother.
Not only has Isaac Swartz been prominent as a farmer but has been also prominent in politics. He was nominated and elected to the office of township assessor in Clay township, a position which he filled capably and satisfactorily for a period of eight years.
SAMUEL H. SMITH.
Upon the self-made men of any community, depends the leadership along certain lines of endeavor. Their success having been attained by close observation and the ambition to achieve, they become an authority on their chosen vocation, by dint of their strong courage and the ability to persevere where others fail. These leaders, whose natural ability has been fostered by the stern necessities of life, become dominant factors in the life of the communities in which they live.
Samuel H. Smith, of Burlington township, Carroll county, was born on October 7, 1866, and is the son of William and Hannah (Watenbarger) Smith, who were both natives of Indiana but whose parents were natives of Tennessee. The parents of William Smith, Leonard Smith and his wife, came to Carroll county, Indiana, in the early days, where Mr. Smith fol- lowed farming, at one time owning one hundred and sixty acres of land. Leonard Smith was a leader in the Methodist church.
William Smith purchased eighty acres of land and it was on this prop- erty that his son, Samuel. was born. This eighty acres he cultivated for many years, finally purchasing his father's farm, known as the Leonard Smith farm, where he lived until his death on March 5, 1889. His wife, Hannah Watenbarger was the daughter of Charles and Liza Watenbarger, who were natives of Tennessee and settled in Carroll county, in the early days, not far from where the Smith family had located. She passed away on May 1, 1907. By his union to Hannah Watenbarger, William Smith became the father of four children, three of whom are living. Liza, a widow who lives in Burlington township, Indiana. Her husband was Frank- lin C. McCarty. Janie died when very young. Samuel H. is a farmer of Burlington township, this county. Mansford is a farmer now living in
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Democrat township, this county. William Smith became a very influential man in Carroll county, and was elected commissioner of the county and served for two terms of four years each. He increased his holdings from the original eighty acres to one hundred and eighty acres. Mr. and Mrs. William Smith were members of the Methodist church. .
Samuel H. Smith remained at home with his parents until his mar- riage to Ada B. Parsons, on August 11, 1890. She was the daughter of Anthony Parsons, a resident of Democrat township. After his father's death, Samuel H. Smith assumed charge of the home place and finally pur- chased their shares from the other heirs and became sole owner and man- ager of same. His union to Ada B. Parsons has been blessed with two children : Maud, wife of Henry Baily, living on the home place, and Etta May, wife of Art Avery, who lives in Cutler, Democrat township, this county.
Samuel H. Smith is, at the present time, the owner of one hundred and fifteen acres of land, located between Burlington and Cutler, three and one- half miles from both of those towns. His influence has been a power for good in the progress of this section. Politically, he is a Democrat, but lends his influence at the polls for those best fitted for the offices of which they are candidates. Samuel H. Smith is an independent thinker and a man who has the courage of his convictions.
HENRY CARTER, M. D.
The medical practitioner of this day and generation must needs be more than the practitioner of half a century ago. He must be broader and more intelligent, his sympathies must be more diverse and his ideals must be higher. The doctor of years past, if he practiced his profession for any length of time, reached the limit of excellence, not of his own accord but by reason of the restriction of the science. As Dr. Paul Ehrlich, a noted German scientist, said: "More has been done and more has been discovered in the science of medicine during the past twenty years than in the past century." Specialization has become necessary. The theory of toxins and antitoxins, serums, the study of bacteriology and methods of combating these destructive forces, and many other things have made the range of science almost beyond one man's power of learning. True it is that the doctor of the past has endured more hardships, received smaller remunera-
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tion and in many other ways deserves the credit for his pioneer work, but the present physician is a specialist, an expert diagnostician, an idealist striving for the prevention of disease rather than the curing, a moral doctor as well as physical. Among the well-known physicians of Monroe town- ship, this county, is Dr. Henry Carter, of Bringhurst, who has labored long and patiently for the relief of human suffering.
Henry Carter was born in Monroe township, Carroll county, Indiana, on July 5, 1849, and is the son of Martin and Penninah (Hollowell) Carter, the former of whom was born in Tennessee, and the latter in North Caro- lina. Martin Carter came alone to Indiana when sixteen years old, having walked from Tennessee to Indiana barefooted in 1834. Penninah Hollo- well came with her parents to Indiana overland in a two-wheeled cart. Martin Carter worked in various parts of southern Indiana and finally set- tled near Burlington, where he was employed at making brick and farming. He had been married first in southern Indiana and, after coming to Carroll county, was married to Penninah Hollowell. He died when his son, Henry, was five years old, when he was thirty-nine years of age, in 1854. Martin Carter and his wife were the parents of five children, including one pair of twins. Penninah Hollowell, when nine years old, was taken ill with tuber- culosis of the knee bone. After she had been filled with whiskey, she was held by force and the limb was amputated above the knee and seared with hot irons. This was primitive surgery and it was almost the only kind of surgery known to pioneer times in which Penninah Hollowell lived.
After the death of his father, Henry Carter lived with Henry Hollo- well, an uncle, and Stephen Harmon, another uncle, for some time, while his mother lived with friends. Later the family moved into an old school house with a puncheon roof and floor in Monroe township, and here they lived for three years and then moved to the Jonathan Cunningham farm. Subsequently, Henry and his brother, Caswell, who died in 1891, began to work out among the neighboring farmers, being employed by Jonathan Cunningham for three years. The family then moved to a farm east of Flora, owned by John F. Kingery, operating this farm until the house was burned in which they lived, all their household furnishings being destroyed by the fire. They spent the following winter in a cabin on Peter Gommer's farm, northeast of Flora, Henry in the meantime attending school in Hoff's school house northeast of Flora, taught at that time by Wallace Gwinn. The next spring they removed to a farm owned by George Shirrar, and here they made a little money, Henry at this time being about eighteen years of age. The brothers then separated, Caswell going to work for Charles
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Burns, where he remained for two years, and Henry being employed by Moses Harmon at eighteen dollars a month. The next year he worked for Green Woodrum at twenty-one dollars a month. The third year he returned and worked for Moses Harmon. During all of this time he had attended school at least a part of the winter months. His teacher advised him to attend summer school and become a teacher.
At the age of twenty-one years Henry Carter started to school at Bur- lington, Indiana, his teachers being George Bass and T. H. B. Britton. He walked from Darwin to Burlington, a distance of two and one-half miles, to school, which he attended one year. He was then elected to teach the Lib- erty schools. After teaching one year he attended Howard College, at Kokomo, Indiana, after which he taught his second term at Liberty. In 1873 he was a student of the Ohio National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, after which he taught the Pleasant Valley school for a year and finally became enabled to attend the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana, after which he served for four years as principal of the Bringhurst school. In the meantime his first wife had died. In 1878 he was defeated as the Republican candidate for representative in the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly. He next taught school for two years at the Walnut Stump school, and was principal of the school in Flora for two years, later teaching at Wheeling for one year. He then bought a small farm of forty acres in Howard county, Indiana, again taught two ยท years at Pleasant Valley school. two years at Liberty, and three years at Brush College, which was his last experience in teaching.
In 1890 Henry Carter took a course of lectures on medicine at India- napolis, and in 1892 was graduated from the Cincinnati Eclectic School of Medicine, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the same year he came to Bringhurst, and has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession.
On September 16, 1876, Henry Carter was married to Virginia G. Gwinn, a daughter of Harrison and Sarah Gwinn, and two years later, in February, 1878, Mrs. Virginia Carter died. On September 3, 1881, Doctor Carter was married to Cinderella G. Pruitt, the daughter of W. A. Pruitt, and to this union three children were born, all of whom are living. Emer- son, Lloyd and Paul. Dr. Emerson Carter, the eldest son, is a graduate of the Physio-Medical College of Indianapolis, having finished the course in 1909. In 1912 he was graduated from the Chicago Polyclinic. Dr. Lloyd Carter is a graduate from the Indiana Dental College, having finished the course in 1912. Paul is a musician and is a student at the Indiana Law
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School. Mrs. Cinderella G. (Pruitt ) Carter died on August 12, 1898, and on January 1, 1899, Doctor Carter was married to Mariah Miranda Allen, and to this union one son was born, who is now deceased. Mrs. Mariah Carter died in 1901, and on February 26, 1902, Doctor Carter was married to Mariah B. Kelsey, the daughter of John B. Wingard.
Doctor and Mrs. Carter are prominent in the work of the Methodist church, and for many years Doctor Carter served as superintendent of the Sunday schools at Darwin and at Asbury. In politics, he is a Republican, while fraternally, he is a member of Lodge No. 558, Free and Accepted Masons.
SAMUEL DOWNHAM.
Nowhere in Carroll county can be found a more liberal man than Sam- uel Downham, his property resulting principally through the loving and attentive kindness extended to his father during the latter years of his life, although Mr. Downham has added materially to his inheritance through the methods with which he handled his property. He is a gentleman utterly void of any personal narrowness and is broad in his religious views, giving liberally to churches of all denominations.
Samuel Downham was born on August 9, 1838, and is a son of Daniel and Polly (Lineman) Downham. He grew to young manhood on the farm, and obtained his education at the district schools, and, being more fortunate than most young men, his father deeded to him ninety-nine and a fraction acres of land in return for being taken care of the remainder of his life. His every need was looked after, and no wish left ungranted, all of which added much happiness to his closing years. Mr. Downham has since purchased and added to his tract forty acres more. Politically, Mr. Down- ham has always given his support to the Republican party, and has offi- ciated in some of the township offices, among them being that of township supervisor. He was the founder of the Universalist church in Deer Creek township, and the Downham school. He contributes liberally to churches of all denominations.
Daniel Downham, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Delaware, and came to Carroll county in 1837, when he entered from the United States government the farm on which Samuel Downham was born. His wife, Polly (Lineman) Downham, was a native of New York state. They were of French and English descent, respectively. She was Mr.
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Downham's third wife, by whom he had three children, Samuel being the only one now living. By his first marriage, Mr. Downham had one child, and by his second marriage he was the father of five children, only one of whom was living in 1915, Rebecca, born on October 10, 1820, living at Winamac, Indiana. She was married to John Frain, who is deceased.
Samuel Downham was united in marriage in November, 1862, with Susan Miller, daughter of John and Catherine Miller. She was born on December 22, 1846, in Cass county, Indiana, and received a good public- school education at the district schools. To this union were born five chil- dren, but four of whom were living in 1915, Ella. Alice M., Catherine G. and Harry B. Ella became the wife of Martin L. Hinkle, and lives in Washington township. Alice M. is the wife of Isaac Cohee, and also lives in Washington township. Catherine G. was married to Alonzo McZonald, and lives in Jennings county, Indiana. Harry B. was united in marriage with Rillie Yerkins, and is a resident of Washington township.
Mr. and Mrs. Downham are attentive members of the Universalist church, and his membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows has resulted in a large number of good, substantial friends.
ORLANDO McDONALD.
The most desirable history of a community is that which deals with the lives of its people, especially those who have forged to the front and who have come to be well known for their success as business men and citizens. Orlando McDonald, a well-known farmer of Carroll county, who occupies a fine residence in Delphi, has achieved a splendid success in life, especially in agriculture. Mr. McDonald is a native of Jasper county, Indiana, having been born near Medarysville on January 22, 1857. He is the son of Andrew and Mary Emeline (Haines) McDonald. Andrew Mc- Donald was born at Bellefontaine, Ohio, on April 14, 1832, the son of James McDonald, who was a native of the Buckeye state and the father of six children, William, James, Andrew, Elizabeth, Mary Ann and Rachel. James McDonald and his wife removed to Jasper county, Indiana, in pio- neer times and settled on a farm, where they lived for many years. He died at Monticello, Indiana. His first wife died early in life, and he after- ward married a widow, Mrs. Babcock, and to this second union were born five children.
,
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Mary Emeline Haines was born in New Jersey on February 14, 1832, and came west with her parents to Ohio, where she married Andrew Mc- Donald. To this union were born nine children, six of whom are living: Heroine, who died in infancy; Orlando, the immediate subject of this review; . Lovancha, the twin sister of Orlando, who became the wife of Huston Felleroff, died at the age of fifty-two years, leaving her husband and one daughter, Mamie; Clara, born on April 7, 1859, first married James Prough, and after his death, was married to Theodore Hooker, of Colburn, and they have one son, Clarence; Emery, born on July 12, 1862, lives at Colburn, Indiana, and has one daughter, Mrs. Eva McDonald; Almeda, the wife of Joseph Earnest, of Monroe, Indiana, is the mother of two children, Eva and Paul; Adda is the wife of Simon Jones, of Franklin, Indiana, and has one son, Merit; Harry, who was born in Carroll county, lives in Frank- fort, where he is a policeman and had two children, one deceased, and one child, a twin of Emery, died in infancy.
Andrew McDonald and family removed from Jasper county to Tippe- canoe county, Indiana, where for many years he found employment as a cabinet-maker. He followed his trade, while his sons operated the home farm. After living in Tippecanoe county for a time the family removed to Carroll county, where he continued working at his trade, and also engaged in some contract building. Subsequently, he returned to Tippecanoe county, where his death occurred. He was a soldier in the Civil War, having enlisted in a Delphi regiment during the latter part of the struggle and serving until the close of the war. Andrew McDonald died on April 19, 1879, having survived his wife about five years, the latter's death occurring on May 28, 1874. Both were earnest and devoted members of the Christian church.
Orlando McDonald received a common-school education and lived at home with his parents while they lived. He continued to reside on the home farm until December 25, 1884, when he was married to Mary Ann Petit- gean, a daughter of Nicholas and Catherine (Buck) Petitgean. the former of whom was a native of Calais, France, who came to the United States when nineteen years old and settled near Dayton, in Tippecanoe county, Indiana. Mrs. Catherine (Buck) Petitgean was a native of Ohio, and was married to Nicholas Petitgean in Tippecanoe county, and to this union were born nine children: three daughters are living: Mary Ann, the wife of Mr. McDonald; Doris, who became the wife of Leon Riser, of San Antonio, Texas, and Delia, the wife of Doctor Carney, of Delphi. Nicholas Petit-
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gean was a farmer by occupation. His death occurred in 1912, and that of his wife in 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Orlando McDonald are the parents of two children, one of whom died in infancy. Marie is the wife of Paul Million, who lives on the old homestead and operates the farm of his father-in-law, Mr. McDon- ald, the latter owning one hundred and sixty acres of fine farming land in Deer Creek township, in section 8, north of Delphi. Mr. McDonald retired from active farm life some years ago, and now lives in a beautiful home in Delphi. Mr. McDonald has other financial interests, and is a stockholder in the Citizens Bank of Delphi.
A stanch Republican in politics, Mr. McDonald is serving as a member of the advisory board of Deer Creek township. Fraternally, he belongs to Lodge No. 80, Knights of Pythias, of Delphi. Mrs. McDonald is a devout member of the Catholic church.
HENRY LANDES.
Henry Landes, a successful farmer of Carrollton township, this county, who owns one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land situated five and one-half miles east of Flora, is a native of the township where he now lives, having been born on March 6, 1851.
Mr. Landes' father, Felix Landes, whose wife was Eleanor Quinn, was born near Zanesville, Ohio. The parents of Felix Landes, Fred and Mary (Thomas) Landes, were natives of Rockingham county, Virginia, where they grew to manhood and womanhood and where they were mar- ried. Subsequently, they emigrated to Muskingum county, Ohio, and there lived until 1838, when they emigrated to Indiana and settled in Carrollton township, Carroll county. There they purchased a large tract of land and spent the remainder of their lives. They were members of the Dunkard church. Fred Landes was identified with the Whig party. His son, Felix, who was one of ten children, was nineteen years old when the family emi- grated to Carroll county, Indiana. He grew up in Carrollton township and received a common-school education. He was married to Eleanor Quinn, a native of Butler county, Ohio, who came to Indiana in 1837. Mrs. Elea- nor Landes had received her education in the public schools of Butler county. She bore her husband nine children, three of whom, Frederick, Henry and John E., are living. Frederick is a farmer in Carrollton town-
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ship. Henry is the subject of this sketch. John E. lives on the farm where his grandfather settled.
Henry Landes, who occupies the farm upon which his father lived for many years, was reared on the farm and educated in the district schools. He attended school until eighteen years old, but remained at home with his parents until his father's death, in 1877. His mother died in 1890.
On September 20, 1879, Henry Landes was married to Kizzie Blue, a native of Carrollton township, born on February 21, 1856, the daughter of John W. and Margaret (Moudy) Blue, the former of whom was born in Clinton county, Indiana, and the latter in Ohio. John W. Blue came to Indiana and first settled near Delphi, where he was married to Margaret Moudy. He was the son of Uriah Blue, a native of Virginia, who settled first in Ohio, later in Indiana and still later in Illinois. Late in life he returned to Indiana, and here spent his last years. Mrs. Kizzie (Blue) Landes was reared in Carrollton township and received a common-school education in the public schools of this township. To her and her husband have been born one son, Manford W., who was born on March 22, 1880. He is a graduate of the common schools and married Laura Robinson. They have one child, Max, and live on the home farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Landes are members of the Presbyterian church at Wheeling. A Republican in politics, Mr. Landes has been active in poli- tics all of his life, especially in local township and county politics. He is a man whose voice and influence carry great weight in the councils of his party.
CHARLES H. DOUGLAS.
Men who begin life without the aid of powerful friends or wealthy relatives and who succeed deserve the very greatest credit. To this class belongs Charles H. Douglas, a well-known farmer of Burlington township, who owns eighty acres of land situated two miles south and two miles west of Burlington, in Burlington township, this county.
Charles H. Douglas was born at Lewiston,' Fulton county, Illinois, April 3, 1857, and is the son of Newton Monroe and Sarah (Harrison) Douglas, the latter the daughter of Charles Harrison, a pioneer lawyer and an officer in the Black Hawk War. Charles Harrison traveled along the Michigan road from Indianapolis to the Michigan line, explaining to the settlers their rights in buying and selling the land which they had entered from the government. Newton Monroe and Sarah (Harrison) Douglas
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grew up in Franklin county, Ohio, near Columbus. After their marriage, they came to Indiana in 1854 and located near Decatur, Indiana, where they lived for one or two years. Newton M. Douglas was a minister in the Methodist church and, on account of his profession, lived in many different places. His wife died in Carroll county, Indiana, and, after her death, he went to Illinois, where he died. Both are buried at the Ball Hill cemetery. They were the parents of six children, of whom five are now living, as follow: Frank, a farmer in Burlington township; Charles, the subject of this sketch; Joseph, a retired farmer of Frankfort, Indiana; James, a farmer in Michigan, and Mary, who is married and lives in the state of Iowa.
Charles H. Douglas was reared in Illinois, Ohio and Indiana. He was educated in the common schools of Indiana and Ohio and, having begun to work on the farm at the early age of eight years, had little time to attend school. About the time he reached his majority he was working for David Grobaugh.
On October 9, 1879, Charles H. Douglas was married to Frances M. James, the daughter of E. B. James, and a native of Butler county, Ohio. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, who had very little money, first rented and then purchased forty acres of land in Burlington township, where they lived for some years. Subsequently, they sold out and moved to Frankfort, Indiana, in order that they might educate their children. After living in Frankfort for fifteen years, until 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas came back to the farm where they now live. While living at Frankfort, Mr. Douglas engaged in buying and shipping live stock.
Charles H. and Frances M. (James) Douglas have been the parents of five sons, namely : E. J., born on October 8, 1880, a graduate of the Frank- fort high school, is employed by the Clover Leaf Railroad Company at Frankfort; Roscoe, born on July 28, 1882, who is unmarried and at home, is well known as a breeder, trainer and owner of light harness and race horses; Vern, born on January 20, 1884, a graduate of the common schools, is a conductor and resides in Chicago, Illinois; Monroe, born on June 24, 1886, a graduate of the common school, is an engineer at Chicago Heights, and James, born on October 21, 1897, who is also a graduate of the com- mon school, lives at home.
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