USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County Indiana : From its earliest settlement to the present time with biographical sketches and reference to biographies previously compiled, Volume II > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
William Zehring, his second born son, the father of William I. Zehr- ing and the grandfather of Dick Alford Zehring of this review, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on May 3, 1821. He received a common school education and was early instructed in the art of farming, a business which occupied his attention to the time of his death. He married Susan Feagler, a daughter of John and Susanna (Cullers) Feagler, and she was one of their seven children. After his marriage Mr. Zehring set- tled on his father's farm in Montgomery county, and in later years moved to Preble county, Ohio, where he continued until 1857 when he made his way to Indiana, locating in Deer Creek township, Miami county, and this state has since then been the home of him and his family. He purchased a quarter section of land, fifty acres of which were under cultivation, the remainder being covered with a thick timber growth. He improved this place and added to it until he finally owned two hundred and eighty acres in the township, besides an additional hundred acres in Cass county. Mr. Zehring was a man who always occupied a high place in public esteem, wherever he found himself. He was a Democrat and stood high in the party. Eight times he was elected township trustee, and he was county commissioner for six years. In 1856-7 he was a member of the state legislature; for two terms he was road commissioner of his township and was on one occasion asses- sor of his town. He was chosen as administrator for various estates, fifteen in all, and was appointed guardian for the children of two differ- ent families. Mr. Zehring was twice married. His first wife died in February, 1865, leaving six children: Josiah, William I., the father of the subject ; Benjamin F .. John, Edgar A. and Elizabeth. She was a devoted member of the Lutheran church from her earliest girlhood and a woman of the most exemplary character. On March 16, 1869, Mr. Zehring married Mrs. Lucinda (Burtner) Wilson, a widow, and their remaining years were passed in delightful companionship.
William I. Zehring was reared in Miami county, in Deer Creek town- ship, and there attended school in his boyhood days. He was trained to farm life and in his young manhood became the owner of a fine farm in his native town. He early married, Lydia MeIlwain becoming his bride, and they passed their lives in the quiet of their country home, where they reared their family and gave them such education as their means and the schools of the county afforded.
1115
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Dick Alford Zehring, the second child of his parents and a repre- sentative of the fifth generation of Zehrings since the time of Christian of that name, of Pennsylvania birth, was reared on the farm in Deer Creek township. He attended the schools of Galveston, and when his education was finished he gave his attention to teaching, and was occu- pied in that worthy work in both Cass and Howard counties for a number of years. Ten years ago Mr. Zebring decided to take up farm life, in which his family had been successful and prosperous for a number of generations, and for which he was fitted by ability and inclination, and he now has a fine farm of one hundred acres about eight miles north of Kokomo, Indiana.
Mr. Zehring was married on August 2, 1902. to Mabel Gray Camp- bell, the daughter of George Wilson and Agnes (Tyner) Campbell. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Zehiring: Margaret Janice, born December 7, 1909; Ruby Marcella, born February 25, 1913. Mr. Zehring is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and has been through all chairs in the order. The family are members of the Methodist church, and are active in the benevolent and other work of that body.
BENJAMIN B. RICHARDS. For more than thirty years a member of the bar, Mr. Richards has had a busy and influential career in Howard and Cass counties, and for the last twenty-five years has been located in practice at Galveston. Mr. Richards stands high in local citizenship, and is one of the inen whose influence is counted as important in the promotion of any local public enterprise.
Benjamin B. Richards was born in Ripley county, Indiana, September 13, 1847, a son of Benjamin and Eliza (Marquis) Richards. Benjamin Richards' father had a somewhat remarkable career. He was born January 1, 1798, in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and when fourteen years of age enlisted with the Kentucky Volunteers in the regiment under Captain Crogan for service in the War of 1812. His company marched the entire distance from the Ohio river to Detroit, where he and his comrades with other parts of the army fought for the American cause until the war closed. After the war he returned to Kentucky and at the age of twenty-five moved to Madison, Indiana, on the Ohio river. During his residence there he was a brick manufacturer, and he had the distinction of building the first railway station in Indiana at Madi- son, for the old railroad which began at Madison and which was the first piece of railway construction in this state. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, named as follows: Angeline, deceased ; David, Anna, Olive, deceased; Samuel, deceased; Benjamin B. and Morris, deceased.
Benjamin B. Richards at the age of five years accompanied his parents to Decatur county, where he was reared to manhood on a farm. In 1865 he entered Hartsville University in Bartholomew county, where he took a three years collegiate course. In the autumn of 1867 he began teaching school in Howard county, and was connected with school work there for five years. Then for two years he was engaged in the harness business at New London, and for eight years manufactured harness at Russiaville. In 1881 he was admitted to the bar after having carried on his studies in leisure intervals for several years, and after beginning
1116
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
practice, for several years he also edited the Russiaville Observer. In 1887 he removed to Kokomo, and then in the fall of 1888 came to Gal- veston, where he has since had his office for general law practice, and has also done considerable business in the settlement of estates. Mr. Richards is a Republican in politics and has served as a justice of the peace. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his church is the Methodist. He was married on May 10, 1870, to Miss Rebecca Gossett, who belonged to a Howard county family. They are the parents of two children, Ollie and John O. Ollie is the wife of W. A. King, and has two children Walter, and Lena, the latter being the wife of Chester Purdy, and the mother of one child, Benjamin R. Purdy. Walter King married Lulu, daughter of Henderson Fiekes and is assistant trainmaster in the Pennsylvania office at Richmond, Indiana. John O. married Emma Goldsberry, and they have one child Rebecca.
JAMES MOORE BUCHANAN. When James Moore Buchanan first located in Bethlehem township there were not more than ten acres of cleared land on the farm. He came to Cass county with his family from Blair county, Pennsylvania, to Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1838. and after spending one season there with his family moved on to Cass county, where the Buchanan family has ever since been represented. They arrived in Cass county on April 5, 1839, stopping on their first night in the county at a tavern located on the present site of Heppe's soap factory, then moving to Bethlehem township. The house the family occupied here was a mere cabin, built of round logs covered with a four- foot clapboard roof held down by two poles laid longitudinally across it. A cabin adjoining it was connected by a covered hallway, and in later years another cabin was built fronting the hallway. The fireplace ill each cabin was of mud and stick construction. In one of these cabins James Buchanan and his family lived, and in the other was found shelter for his hired help. The family consisted of the father and mother, and one son, James, also the grandfather, James Buchanan by name, and two unmarried sons of the elder Buchanan. Blair and Wil- liam by name. Blair Buchanan married Sarah Houck and they lived on his farm in Jefferson township until his death on October 7, 1878. Ile was a man of note in his day and served as county commissioner of Cass county for several terms. William never married. He enlisted in the Mexican war and died in the service of his country near the mouth of the Rio Grande river on September 20, 1846.
James Buchanan was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on May 4, 1784. He married Pleasant Moore, who died on May 16, 1833, and they were the parents of four sons and two daughters. He later married Mary Wilson, who died at Terre Haute, Indiana, on September 13. 1838, without issue. He was a farmer and in Pennsylvania operated a line of stage coaches and a store and hotel, and during the War of 1812 he and a brother made guns for the American government, carrying on the work in Maryland. He died on June 14, 1860. His son, James Moore Buchanan, who pioneered into Cass county in 1838, was born on November 14, 1810. He early gained prominence in his community, and for seventeen years he was the postmaster at Metea.
1117
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
On May 2, 1837, he married Mary A. D. Gourley, who was born on Feb- ruary 28, 1814, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They became the parents of five children, who grew to maturity : James, Samuel M., Martha Jane, who died young; George W., John G. and Edwin Boyd. The father, James Moore Buchanan, died on March 23, 1897, and his widow survived his passing just a month, her death occurring on April 27, of the same year. They were Presbyterians, and of Scotch ancestry, as the name plainly indicates.
JAMES BUCHANAN, the son of James Moore and Mary A. D. (Gour- ley) Buchanan, was born in what is now Terre Haute, Indiana, on October 3, 1838, and in the year following he was brought to Cass connty where he was reared and has spent his life thus far. The pre- ceding article gives complete details concerning the early family history of the Buchanan family, and the life of the parents of the subject, so that further mention of those worthy people is unnecessary at this juncture.
Such education as James Buchanan received up to the age of ten years was given him by his mother, and it was about that time that his father and certain of the neighbors united in building the log school- house known as the Harmony school. Here the subject attended for some three or four terms, later having one term at the Logansport high school.
On December 11, 1862, he married Mary C. Buchanan, a second cousin, and following this event they took up farm life in Bethlehem township, on the farm which is to this day called the Simon Farm. Here the property was one hundred and forty feet above the level of Logansport, but it was flat and unprovided with a drainage outlet, but by persistent effort on the part of Mr. Buchanan the land was eventually drained, but not until numerous law suits had been brought. Today this land is recognized as among the most valuable in Cass county. To his original tract Mr. Buchanan added from time to time; once he owned three hundred and thirty-three acres there, but today has only two hundred and thirteen acres. In October, 1903, he moved to Logansport and has since lived a retired life.
As previously mentioned, Mr. Buchanan, in 1862, married Mary C. Buchanan, the daughter of Thomas Blair and Mary McKillip Buchanan, and they became the parents of seven children, named as follows: Martha Pleasant, is now the wife of William Randall, of Ambia, Indiana; Thomas Blair, died when one year old; Clarissa Williams, married Wil- liam Sharpe, of Wellington township, Cass county; Edward Bowman, married Hattie Brown, and is a farmer of Fulton county, Indiana ; George Chester, married Edna Peter, and they live at Burnett's Creek, Indiana; James Judson, married Frances Davis, and lives at Burnett's Creek, Indiana ; and Rea, married Lura Aline Reed, and is a practicing physician at Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mr. Buchanan is a Democrat in his political faith, and in 1882 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners. He was reelected to the office, and has served seven years in all in that capacity. He also served one full term as a member of the county council, and served by appointment one nnexpired term in the same office.
Vol. II-26
1118
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan were members of the Bethlehem Presbyterian church for forty years, but are now members of the First Presbyterian church of Logansport, and are active and prominent in the work of that body.
ALLEN PRICE. Too many men who give their earlier years to the toil and struggle incident to the acquiring of a competency find it impossible, after they have reached the goal of their ambition, to settle down and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Allen Price is not one of these. Hard work and close application to the business in hand have marked his career from its inception, but he has reached the place in life where he finds it possible to leave off the cares of business, and, with his family, he is now enjoying to the uttermost the results of his leaner years of toil. As a successful farmer and drover, he has long been prominent in Jefferson township, but the greatest and the best part of his popularity is the result of his sterling character and his kindly and genial disposition, which will always win friends for him, in whatever station in life he may find himself.
A native of the Keystone state, Allen Price was born in Bucks county, on September 2, 1847, and is the son of Smith and Harreetta (Opp) Price. These worthy people were born, reared and educated in their native state, Pennsylvania, and there they met and married and settled down to quiet rural life, ending their days in the county in which they were born. They were the parents of three children, Allen Price being the only survivor. A brother of the subject, w,". . was a veteran of the Civil war, Valentine by name, died in the Mountain Branch (Tenn.) Home for Soldiers, in 1912, and a sister died at the age of three years.
Allen Price was reared to manhood in his native state. He came to Cass county in 1872. He was twenty-five years old then, but unmar- ried, and had devoted himself to the care of his parents in the old home until that time. His only possession was cash to the amount of $150. He set himself to learn the miller's trade when a boy and was employed for about nine years at the Banta Mills. One year after his advent into Cass county he married Sarah E. Barr, and she was reared in Cass county and educated in the district schools of her native township. They have one child, Etta, who became the wife of S. C. Waters of Jeffer- son township.
Mrs. Price was born in Jefferson township July 13, 1851, a daughter of William and Sarah (Gray) Barr. The mother was from Pittsburgh and the father was born in Scotland in 1800. He came to Cass county in 1840. He was a devout Christian and a very prominent old settler of the county. He died March 3, 1867.
Mr. Price, with the passing years, turned his attention to farming and gave up the milling business. He acquired some fine farming property, and is now the owner of two hundred and twenty-three acres of the most productive farm land in Jefferson township, where he makes his home. He did not confine himself to farming alone, but added sheep and cattle raising to his operations, but specialized particularly in sheep, and that branch of his activities yielded him a bigger cash return than all his other departments. He has always kept a quantity of high bred
MR. AND MRS. ALLEN PRICE AND DAUGHTER
.
1119
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
sheep on his place, and, in addition, made a practice of going up into the lower peninsula of Michigan during the winter months and buying up droves of sheep, which he would send to his farm, feed for a time and dispose of them at a nice profit. His operations have made it possible for him to accumulate a competency sufficient to permit him to retire from active business and enjoy his home and the remaining years of his life, without thought for the morrow, and his home, which is one of the finest in the township, is the center of many pleasant social events.
Mr. Price and his family are members of the Center Presbyterian church, which was erected on a portion of his farm, and he is most liberal in its continued support. Not only is he generous in the way of church matters, but he may be depended upon to give liberally to any cause or movement that has for its purpose the ultimate good of his community. His politics are those of the Progressive party, and he has served his township during two terms as trustee. It is safe to say that there are few people, if any, who enjoy to a greater extent the respect and confidence of their fellow citizens than do Mr. Price and his good wife in the community which has so long represented their home, and where they have been known all their lives.
HARVEY A. SPENCER, well known in Logansport as the proprietor of the Spencer Transfer & Storage Company was born in Harrison town- ship, on March 4, 1882. He was reared on a farm, but his boyhood was for the most part spent with his grandfather, S. M. Cogley, his mother having died when he was a boy of about eight years. He attended the district schools of Noble township, in which his grandfather had his home, and received a diploma from the school in the common branches. He thereafter attended the Logansport high school for one year, which was followed by a course in the Logansport Business College. For a number of months after he finished his schooling and started out for himself he was variously employed in Logansport, and managed to save from his earnings one hundred and fifty dollars, which he invested in a span of bronchos. He bought a wagon on his good name, and there- upon started out in the draying business, doing teaming and general hauling. His first year did not show a profit, but as he had not lost money he was emboldened to continue, and decided that by increasing his capacity by another teaming outfit he would do better. He accord- ingly did so, and the wisdom of his plan was soon apparent. Since that time the young man has added a teaming outfit to his equipmment each year. As a natural outgrowth of the draying business; he gradually drifted into the storage business and since 1907 this has been one of the principal features of the business. Mr. Spencer now has 18,600 feet of floor space, covering three floors, and the business furnishes steady employment to twelve men.
Mr. Spencer began his business career in Logansport without a dollar, and the present establishment and business of which he is now the head is the direct result of his applied business sense and all around efficient business methods. The Spencer Transfer & Storage Company does an annual business of about $30,000, and is constantly increasing and making necessary further expansion on the part of its management.
Mr. Spencer is a Republican of progressive tendencies and is a
1120
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
member of the Commercial Club of Logansport. He is a Pythian Knight, but beyond that has no fraternal affiliations.
On March 23, 1910, Mr. Spencer married Miss Martha L. Camp- bell and they have one daughter, Amy Louise Spencer.
WILLIAM A. HOLLOWAY, M. D. A resident of Logansport since 1893, during which time he has achieved marked snecess in the practice of his profession, Dr. William A. Holloway holds prestige among the medical men of his adopted city, and is fully entitled to the confidence and respect that are his. He was born in Boone county, Indiana, Septem- ber 23, 1870, and is a son of Park and Mary (Dukes) Holloway.
Dr. Holloway was a small lad when he was taken by his parents to Clinton county, Indiana, and there he grew to manhood on his father's farm. After going to the usual district schools in boyhood, he com- menced attendance at the state university, at Bloomington, for two years, succeeding which he taught school for one year. Dr. Holloway read medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Joseph D. Parker, of Colfax, and in 1889 entered Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he continued his studies two years, then becoming a student in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which noted institution he was graduated in the spring of 1893, receiving there- from his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Since that time he has been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in Logansport. In 1889, he took a post-graduate course at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, and in 1912, attended a similar course at the New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital.
Dr. Holloway is a member of the Cass County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. A student, he has advanced in his profession along with the progress made in the science of medicine and surgery, subscribing to the lead- ing journals of his profession, and being greatly interested in various lecture courses. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and Knight Templar York Rite Mason, a Phythian Knight, a member of Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Like other prominent and public-spirted citizens, he has given his interested attention, and when opportunity has offered his support and co-operation, to those movements which have to do with the welfare of his community, and in all walks of life is held in the highest esteem.
On December 27, 1893, Dr. Holloway was married to Miss Myrtle Ticen, of Clinton county, Indiana. Mrs. Holloway is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
S. G. THOMAS. One of Cass county's native sons who has attained well-merited success in the vocations of farming and stock raising, and who is now a highly esteemed resident of Tipton township, is S. G. Thomas, the owner of 160 acres of good land located on the Lewisburg road, about twelve miles from Logansport. The family has been iden- tified with agriculture in Cass county for more than three-quarters of a century, and has furnished Tipton township with some of its best citizenship, men who have taken an active interest in the material growth and development of their community, and as a worthy representative of
-
1121
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the name Mr. Thomas is held in high esteem by his fellow-townsmen. He was born January 16, 1850, on the Lewis Little farm in Tipton town- ship, and is a son of W. P. and Margaret (Stafford) Thomas.
W. P. Thomas was the first white child born at New Carlisle, Clark county, Ohio, and was there educated and reared to the occupation of a farmer. In young manhood he migrated to Cass county, in 1838. But after remaining here about a year he returned to his native state and was there married. Shortly thereafter he returned to Cass county with his bride, and they continued to spend the remainder of their lives in clearing the land, cultivating the soil and making a home for their chil- dren, of whom there were seven in the family : Giles S., who now resides in Nebraska and is engaged in farming; George W., a resident of Miami county, Indiana; Martha, who is deceased; S. G; W. R., who lives on his well-kept farm in Tipton township; J. C., who is the owner of a farm in Clay township, Cass county, and Nettie, who married D. S. Bailey and resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
S. G. Thomas received his early education in the old Crossroads school in Tipton township, and like other farmers' sons of his day divided his boyhood between the farm and the schoolhouse, attending the latter during the short winter terms. He continued to work with his father until he reached his majority, at which time he determined to test the accuracy of the reports concerning the great opportunities offered in the state of Nebraska for ambitious young men. Accordingly he jour- neved to that state, but after a short period returned to Indiana and took up land in the vicinity of his birth-place, where he has continued to reside to the present time, with the exception of the seven years in which he lived in Logansport. Since his return he has devoted himself to general farming and stock raising, with what degree of success may be gathered from a visit to his well-cultivated farm, with its substantial buildings, neat fences, well-fed cattle and general air of prosperity. A firm believer in scientific methods and modern ideas, he uses the latest machinery and tills his soil in the most approved manner, constantly keeping abreast of the times in his vocation and being at all times ready to experiment with new ideas. He has not cared for public life, nor has he been affiliated with fraternal societies, his farm and his home satisfying all of his ambitions.
In 1878 Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Sarah Panabaker, and to this union there have been born two children, namely : Owen, who mar- ried Frances Miller, of Pittsburg, who have one son, Samuel G .; and Jennie, who is the wife of Charles A. Wright. With his family Mr. Thomas is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.