USA > Indiana > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Indiana : With historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families, Volume II > Part 18
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William Fickle was married in 1862 to Phoebe A. Thompson, who was born February 24, 1844, in Madison township. Clinton county. She is a daughter of William Thompson, who died in 1867. The mother survived until 1906.
The following children were born to . William Fickle and wife: Mrs. Tryphena Horlacher, of Madison township; Alvin T., Joseph E., of this re- view ; Charles R., Mrs. Ora Anderson, of Clark's Hill, Indiana; Floyd S., Loria L. and Elda Bennett, of Madison township.
William Fickle was owner of two farms, aggregating two hundred and eighty-five acres in the vicinity of Mt. Pleasant church. He was a member of that church for a period of forty years.
Our subject grew to manhood on the home place and there worked when a boy. He received a good common school education. When twenty-two years of age he married Pruda Akers, a daughter of Jacob G. Akers.
Mr. Fickle moved on his present farm in 1899. The place consists of eighty acres, well improved, and he has a pleasant cottage, well furnished.
Ilis family consists of four children: Edith, Otis, Harold and Mildred.
Our subject is a great Sunday school worker and has done much good in this field of work. He has a class of sixty-seven members at the local church which he teaches. He is often a delegate to Sunday school conven- tions, where he always makes his influence felt for the general good.
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!FINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.1
JAMES C. SILAW
One of the highly respected citizens of Howard county, Indiana. m a past generation was James C. Shaw. Mr. Shaw was born near Rockford, Surrey county, N. C., January 31. 1828. His parents were of English and Irish descent. In August of the same year in which he was born his parents and grandparents removed to Indiana, both families hauling their goods in one four-horse wagon. After traveling for six weeks they arrived at Economy, Wayne county, and remained there until the following spring when they removed to a settlement known as the Garner neighborhood, in the same county. In the fall of 1830 they moved from Wayne to Henry county, settling first near Millville, but two years later removing to near New Castle, where his father bought a forty acre farm. They remained here four years, when they again moved, this time going to Madison county, near Columbus. Here James remained with his parents nine years, at the expira- tion of which time he was seventeen years old, then began working for him- self. After four years of hard toil he had succeeded in accumulating quite a sumn of money for a boy in those days, which he loaned indiscriminately and unfortunately lost.
In November, 1840, Mr. Shaw married Eliza Manning. The loss of his money was quite a blow to the young husband, but he faced the matter bravely, and being young and strong he went to work clearing, making rails and cutting cord-wood for a living. The following year he took a lease of fifteen acres in the green woods and built a cabin, but owing to the severe illness of his wife he was compelled to sell all of his stock and make a new start in life. He worked out by the month and then followed riving and shaving shingles until he had again saved up enough money to begin farming.
Mr. Shaw proved his courage and patriotism when, August 10, 1862, he left his young wife and five small children and enlisted in Company K, Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served gallantly for nearly three years in the fiercest part of the war. In the summer of 1863 he was with Grant at Vicksburg, and was in the engagements at Port Gibson, Jack- son, Champion Hills and Black River. While away at the front his wife died in January, 1864. He could not obtain a furlough and come home until in the following month. When he did come he found his home broken up and his children scattered. He remained long enough to secure homes for his children and then returned to his regiment with which he remained until the close of the war, being honorably discharged in 1865. He returned to Indiana and soon thereafter on October 10, 1865, he married Margaret Fritz
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of Howard county. Hle and his second wife lived in Hancock county until the spring of 1866 when they moved to Clinton county and settled on a farm on which they spent the remainder of their lives In due course of time they established a good home and developed a productive farm, providing well for their children, rearing them in comfort and respectability and giving them proper educational advantages. Eight children were born to them, five of whom survive at this writing, namely. Christian B., Mrs. Magnolia Johnson, Monroe C., Howard, and Mrs. Letitia May Oliphant. Three of their chil- dren died in infancy.
In young manhood Mr. Shaw united with the Baptist church. In 1870 he and his wife united with the Middlefork Baptist church with which they remained until the building of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cloverdale, near their home, when they joined the latter. The death of Mr. Shaw occurred on April 11, 1901, and his widow passed away in March, 1906, at the age of sixty-nine years, six months and twenty-nine days.
CLARENCE V. FICKLE.
One of the progressive men of Washington township, Clinton county is Clarence V. Fickle, owner of Elmdale Farm, which consists of ninety-five acres of choice land. He seems to be a man who possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. His close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the prosperity which is today his. He is a scion of an honored old family whose good reputation he has kept untarnished.
Mr. Fickle was born August 29. 1875. on the old Fickle homestead in Clinton county. He is a son of Robert Fickle, who was born July 8, 1841, on the old homestead, he being a son of Isaac Fickle, who was born April 2, 1815, he having been a son of William and Ann ( Thompson) Fickle, early pioneers of this county. William Fickle was born in Virginia in 1874, and his wife was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1781. The father of William Fickle was a native of Germany, and he married an English woman. The parents of Ann Thompson came to America when she was eleven years old and located in Philadelphia, but soon moved west to Perry county, O. The mother of Isaac Fickle died on September 14. 1857. On February 14, 1838, Isaac Fickle married Jane M. Miller, a daughter of Robert and Nancy ( Bell)
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Miller, natives of South Carolina, where their daughter, Jane M. was also born, the date of her birth being September 24, 1816. Her father came to Clinton county in 1524, locating in Malison township where he lived until 1841 when he sold his property and removed to Mercer county, Ill .. where both parents died. Mrs. Jane M. Fickle died December 22, 1863. leaving four children, William, Robert M., Nancy A., and Sarah E.
Isaac Fickle again married. his second wife being Sarah E. Wade, daughter of William and Nancy E. ( White) Wade. Her family came from Pennsylvania to Jackson county, O., thence removed to Kansas, where the parents died. The second wife died January 7. 1877, leaving one child, Mary E., born July 19. 1876.
To Robert Fickle and wife two children were born, Clarence V., born August 29, 1875 : and Ray C., born September 25, 1879. Robert Fickle and his father were both elders in the United Presbyterian church. Isaac Fickle came to Clinton county in 1834 and spent the rest of his life here. He held the office of supervisor and also school director,
Robert Fickle was reared on the old farm where our subject now lives, where he remained until his marriage in 1867 to Elizabeth Baird, daughter of Hugh Baird. To Robert and Ellen Fickle six children were born, four sons and two daughters: Hugh (deceased) ; Agnes J. (deceased) : Clarence V., subject of this sketch : Ray C. living in Mulberry, this county : Jenny G., and Lester. The mother of the above named children died in 1886 at the age of thirty-eight years. The death of Robert Fickle occurred in 1898 at the age of sixty-six years.
Clarence V. Fickle was reared on the home farm and educated in the common schools. On May 11, 1898 he married Isa B. Holliday, who was born in Tippecanoe county, Ind., where she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of Perry Holliday, a native of Butler county, O.
Our subject and wife have the following children: Russell C., born March 12, 1899: Otto P., born October 3, 1900; Robert D., born February 10, 1905; and Raymond D., born May 12, 191L.
Mr. Fickle has devoted his life to general farming and stock raising with more than average success, and he is now owner of the beautiful farm men- tioned in the opening paragraphs of this sketch. He always keeps a good grade of livestock. Ile has a pleasant home, neatly furnished, and a large barn and other good buildings about the place. Politically he is a Democrat and religiously is a member of the United Presbyterian church, in which he has been elder, like his father and grandfather before him.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
FRANK B. ELLIOTT.
AAn honorable retirement from labor in which to enjoy the fruits of for- mer years of toil and the enjoyment which life can offer in the serene autumn of one's years, is the fitting reward of a useful and active career, in which one, through keen discernment, indefatigable labor and honorable methods advanced steadily toward the goal of prosperity. Such, briefly stated, is the record of Frank B. Elliott, who is now living retired in the town of Mulberry. Clinton county, and who, through his long connection with agricultural in- terests, has not only carefully conducted his farm, but so managed its affairs that he acquired thereby a position among the substantial residents of the community.
Mr. Elliott was born in Butler county, O., November 23, 1854, the son of James Rampley Elliott, a wagon maker. The father was born in New England of a sturdy old family of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His wife, Maria Davis, was born in Butler county, O. The Elliott family moved from Butler county, O., to Madison township, Clinton county, when our subject was a small boy and here they located on a farm. 'Eight children, all of whom grew to maturity, were born to James R. Elliott and wife, namely: Almond D., a soldier during the Civil War, now living at Battle Ground, Ind .. Mrs. Nancy Blinn, living at Frankfort; John, a soldier in the Civil War, now de- ceased, leaving six children; James R., living at Elwood, Ind .; Frank B. and Orlando B. of Michigantown .. The father of these children lived to be eighty years of age. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife were Methodists. The mother of our subject reached her eighty-first year.
Frank B. Elliott was reared on the home farin and was educated in the public schools at Hamilton, Ind. He remained at home working on the farm while his brothers were fighting for the Union, he being but a lad at the time and not old enough for service. He continued to fill his accustomed place in the family circle until he was twenty-four years old. He then mar- ried Ella Steckel, a daughter of Joseph Steckel, of Mulberry, this county, she being one of the following children: Phaon, Mary, Joseph, Jr., Louise, Ella, Matilda, Methusalch and Martin.
Mr. Elliott has devoted his life to general farming and has been suc- cessful all along the line. He is now owner of a valuable farm of one hun- dred and fifteen acres near Mulberry, and another of one hundred and eight- een acres in the same township, all well improved and well cultivated. He has a splendid brick, nine-room house in the town, which residence is mod-
FRANK B. ELLIOTT
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
ern throughout and neatly furnished. Mrs. Ella Elliott was called to her rest in 1902 at the age of forty-seven years. She was the mother of two children, Joseph E. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and one who died young. Joseph E. Elliott is exceptionally talented in music, and while young in years has achieved a brilliant reputation as a musician, ranking among the best in the Middle States, according to the opinion of many who have heard his performances, which Have been given both in the East and the West. He is a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, one of the most noted in the country. He was given a musical education and is a man for whom the future is bright with promise. The mother was a good Christian woman, active in the Methodist Episcopal church.
In February, 1907. Frank B. Elliott married Mrs. Ida Wirt (nee Clark ), daughter of David Clark, deceased.
Mr. Elliott is a Republican, and has been active in local affairs. He served as county commissioner for a period of three years, during which he did much for the permanent good of the county, and was a popular official. He has been a frequent delegate to district and state conventions. Fra- ternally he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He affiliates with the Methodist church.
THOMAS NOBLE BUTLER.
Live stock business strongly rivals agriculture as a means of prosperity in Clinton county. So closely allied are the two, however, that men in- variably carry one as a side line to the other. Mr. Butler is engaged almost exclusively in stock breeding, and he operates on a large scale. Some of the best horses and stallions in the northern part of the state are in his posses- sion, which fact has given him an excellent reputation among the stock men of the state and the country.
Thomas Noble Butler was born in Edinburg, Indiana, August 12, 1862, the son of Daniel and Caroline (Flood) Butler. Daniel Butler was a native of the Buckeye state, and when but a young man he came to Johnson county, Indiana. In 1863 he moved to Lebanon, Indiana, where he entered the warehouse and distillery business and engaged in horse breeding. He died there in 1873. Mrs. Caroline Butler died in 1908. Daniel Butler was a loyal Republican, and attended the Presbyterian church. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a thirty-second degree Mason.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDLIN.A. .
Our subject received a common school education in the city of Lebanon. and in 1895 he came to Frankfort, where he began the livery business. In 1901 he sold out and moved back to Lebanon, continuing the same trade, Again, in 1904, he returned to Frankfort, where he is now located. giving his time to the breeding profession, also the grain and feed trade. Mr. But- ler owns quite a number of fine stallions, chief among them being "Carter B.," register number 6304, and "Famous," number 67028. The foriner is a black French draft stallion, and has sired nearly three hundred colts, over ninety per cent. of his services. The latter stallion is also much in demand, and is equal to "Carter B." Mr. Butler has builded a reputation on these two animals alone. The first season for "Famous" was productive of sixty colts.
Mr. Butler was married to Carrie Shaw, the daughter of John M. Shaw, of Boone county. She died in 1900. Two children were left to Mr. Butler : Ruby Cunningham, of Indianapolis, and Mary, of Lebanon. Mr. Butler was married the second time to Jane Swadner.
Fraternally, Mr. Butler is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen of the World, and the Loyal Order of Moose. Re- ligiously, he attends the Christian church, and politically, is a Republican.
ARTHUR GRANT STRAESSER.
Realizing the fact that persistent industry constitutes the basis of success, Arthur G. Straesser, a well known citizen of Frankfort, this county, sought no royal road to the goals of which he dreamed when a youth, but began to work earnestly and diligently in order to advance himself, and the result is that he is now numbered among the progressive, successful and influential citizens of the county. Mr. Straesser holds distinct prestige among the business men of the city of Frankfort, and his customers have ever found his laundry a place where they were insured fair and courteous treatment. Not only that, but his patrons know that they get the best work obtainable for the money. Mr. Straesser's laundry ranks among the best equipped and most efficient in the ยท state.
Arthur G. Straesser was born in Cropsey, Illinois, November 25, 1886, and was the son of John and Elizabeth ( Kessler) Straesser, the father being a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Illinois. John Straesser was one of the first settlers in Illinois, and helped break the soil for their future
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
home. He lived the nsttal pioneer life of the time until his death in 1894. Politically, he was a Republican, and religiously, he was a member of the Methodist church. He married Elizabeth Kessler in the spring of 1880. She was born in LaSalle county, Illinois, on February 7. 1860, and is still living at Fairbury, Illinois.
Mr. Arthur Straesser received a good common school education, and then went into the laundry business at Fairbury, Illinois. He then went to the west coast and acted as assistant foreman in the Excelsior laundry at Los Angeles, California, where he learned the methods of laundering which he later used in his own establishment with good effect. He remained here five years, and in 1910 came to Frankfort, and purchased the Frankfort laundry. He is running this at the present time in the latest approved fashion. The most modern machinery is used. all of which has been installed under the direction of Mr. Straesser. Soft water alone is used. Altogether the machin- ery of the plant cost approximately ten thousand dollars. The laundry does an annual business of fifteen thousand dollars.
On May 30, 1912, Mr. Straesser was married to Ruth H. Bridges, who was born in Filmore, Indiana, on August 5, 1892. One child, Charles W., has been born to this union.
Fraternally, Mr. Straesser belongs to the Masonic order, the Blue Lodge. Chapter, Council and Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks.
ISAAC F. STEVENS.
Some people seem to forget that a fertile soil is a living, breathing thing, well fed by nature or by the hand of man, with the natural mineral elements and the organic matter necessary for the use of the soil bacteria in the manufacture of plant food, and for a delightful environment in which they can live and work. One man in Forest township who understands what it takes to keep the soil fertile and productive, not forgetting that it requires its regular feeding of the basic elements to go to make crops of all , kinds is Isaac F. Stevens, one of our local advocates of "better seed selec- tion," "better preparation of seed bed," and "better cultivation."
Mr. Stevens was born on December 5, 1847, in Rush county, Indiana. He is a son of S. B. and Margaret (Fithian)' Stevens. The father was born in Maryland, and from that state he removed to Rush county, Indiana, when a boy, he and his brothers and sisters walking nearly all the way, for
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
they had only one horse and a small wagon. The death of our subject's father occurred on September 2, 1893. The mother of our subject was born in Rush county this state, and her death occurred on August 6, 1856. S. B. Stevens spent his life on a farm, and he was a great horse trader. Politically he was first a Whig, later a Republican. Ile was twice married and he had fifteen children by the two wives, eight being by the first, who was our sub- ject's mother. Three of these are still living, namely : Ellen, Isaac F., of this sketch, and Elhanon G., George, Madora, Emily, Isabelle and Frances are all deceased.
S. B. Stevens married for a second wife Angelina Harley, and to this union seven children were born, namely: \. W., F. S., Martha (deceased), Clara, Mrs. Alzora Storms, Charles (deceased), and O. L.
Isaac F. Stevens grew up on the home farm and received a limited edu- cation in the common schools. He has been twice married. His first wife was Mary Collins, to whom he was wedded on January 17, 1872. She was born in Highland county, Ohio, and was a daughter of William and Sarah (Hiatt) Collins. She was called to her eternal rest on September 5, 1881. To this first union two children were born, both of whom are deceased, namely : Lorenzo E., born November 23, 1876, died October 8, 1900; Wil- liant I., born October 4. 1874, died Apirl, 1876. Mr. Stevens subsequently married Louc ia Carter, who was born on December 25, 1869, in Howard county, Indian .... She is a daughter of George W. and Loucretia. (Purvis) Carter. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in Bartholomew county, Indiana, the date of the former's birth being August 22, 1842, and that of the latter June 16, 1843. The father died in September, 1909, and the mother on July 22, 1895. The father was a veteran of the civil war, serving four years in Company G, 89th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
One child has been born to our subject and his last wife, namely : Relbue, born October 11, 1899. She is now attending school.
Mr. Stevens moved to Forest township, Clinton county, from Rush county in 1854 and settled southeast of the village of Forest, where he bought land and cleared it, developing it into a good farm on which he has made a comfortable living. He has thus lived continuously here for a period of nearly sixty years during which his reputation has remained unassailable and he is well liked by all who know him. He owns sixty acres, all tillable and well tiled, his improvements having been made by himself. He formerly specialized in raising Hereford shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs, but he now raises Duroc hogs, Norman and Clydesdale horses, White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red chickens.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDI LN.A.
Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Order at Russiaville, also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, both of Forest. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church. Polit- ically he is a Republican, but has never been especially active.
WILLIAM E. BLAIR.
It takes a farmer to succeed on a farin, just as it takes a clerical man to succeed in office work, an engineer with a locomotive, an architect in archi- tecture, or a musician in music. A man always a farmer can not move into town and make himself indispensable in an art studio, nor can the artist, the hand-organ man, the store salespeople, those from the factories or the law offices become prosperous very readily as tillers of the earth, or sales- men of its products. No greater disaster could come to the masses in cities than to thrust them unprepared into the strange situations they would en- counter in attempted farm life. Their story would be one of tragedy. One of the citizens of Forest township, Clinton county, who has ben wise enough to stick to one vocation all his life and who has therefore succeeded is William E. Blair.
Mr. Blair was born on August 2, 1857, in Decatur county, Indiana, and there he spent his earlier years and received his schooling, removing to Clin- ton county in 1879. about the time he attained his majority, and here he has lived ever since and has engaged continuously in farming. He is a son of Joseph and Nancy ( Evans ) Blair, The father was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, where he spent his early life and attended the old-time schools. He re- moved from that county to Decatur county, Indiana, in young manhood. He spent his life on a farm. Politically he was a Democrat. His death occurred in 1876. He was twice married, first in Ohio, this wife surviving but a short time. By his second wife, mother of our subject, three children were born, namely : Samuel, died in early life: William E., of this review ,and Lou, the youngest.
On August 22, 1882, William E. Blair was married to Arabella AAshpaw, a sister of Charles Ashpaw, a sketch of whom appears on an other page of this volume, where a history of the Ashpaw family will be found. Mrs. Blair grew up in her native community and received a common school educa- tion.
Five children. three of whom are still living. have been born to Mr.
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Blair and wife, namely: Mabel. born January 1, 1884. died in May, 1903; Gladys, born in 1880, died in 1911; Emma, born in 1885; Ruth, born in 1802 : James Raymond, born in 1807.
Mr. Blair's farm consists of one hundred and eighteen acres in Forest township, all tillable, but about eight acres. The place has a good natural drainage, and is also well tiled. Mr Blair has made his own splendid im- provements. He raises Jersey cows and mixed hogs, draft and Norman horses, and Plymouth Rock chickens.
Politically. he is a Democrat. and in religious matters belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee and an earnest worker.
H. N. OLIPHANT, M. D.
The medical profession in Clinton county has an able representative in Dr. H. N. Oliphant, of Forest, who, although young in years has firmly established himself in his vocation and won the confidence and esteem of the people and his professional brethren in this section of the Hoosier state. He has, unquestionably, the natural endowments that go to make up the twentieth century medical man and also the necessary training, having long been a close student, leaving no stone unturned whereby he could advance himself, and deeming it a rare privilege to be able to bring surcease for hu- manity's multiform ills. He has also shown a public spirit that is ever commendable, being always willing to do his full share in the development of the community, and has so ordered his course as to keep untarnished the honored escutcheon of a worthy old family name.
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