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 29
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
self-sacrifice that was gradually buikling up the state. adding to its wealth and beauty, until it became one of the finest agricultural regions in the world. Mr. Coapstick was a public-spirited man in all that the term implies, was ever interested in movements tending to promote the general welfare and withheld his support from no movement for the good of the locality so long honored by his residence. His personal relations with his fellow men were ever mutually pleasant and agreeable, and he was highly regarded by all, having been obliging and straightforward in all the relations of life.
Mr. Coapstick was born in Carroll county, Indiana, April 20, 1849. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Concannon) Coapstick. The father died when the subject of this memoir was nine months old, and soon there- after the mother moved with her children to Owen township, Clinton county, where our subject lived on a farm until he was fourteen years old, then started out for himself, having had but little chance to secure an education. He began life as a farmer which vocation he followed all his life with more than or- dinary success, accumulating one of the most desirable farms in Warren township, on which he built a substantial and attractive home in 1851.
Mr. Coapstick was married November 7, 1871 to Louisa Young, who was born, February 18, 1851 in Clinton county, Indiana. She is a daughter of Dr. R. O. and Margaret N. (Robison) Young. Dr. Young was a son of Robert and Jane (Ogle) Young, bothi natives of Dauphin county, Pennsyl- vania. Their family consisted of ten children, Dr. R. O. Young having been the fifth son and sixth child. Robert Young spent his early life in Pennsyl- vania from which state he came to Ohio in 1801, and established the future home of the family. He was a tailor by trade.
Dr. Young attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, and followed the medical profession all his active life. He was very successful and prominent among the pioneers. He came to Clinton county in 1835. He and Mar- garet N. Robison were married on March 21, 1848. She was a daughter of Andrew Robison. To Dr. Young and wife five children were born. two of whom are still living, namely: Robert, born February 9, 1850, married Sarah E. Taylor, who died in April, 1885; Louisa, now the wife of Owen E. Beard, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume: Mary, born June 15, 1853, died June 11, 1886; Hulda, born May 21, 1858 (deceased), and Milton, born January 20, 1863 died April 1, 1863. The death of the mother of the above named children occurred on March 17, 1863, and Dr. Young later married Susanna Compton, on November 1, 1864. Her death occurred on March 15, 1908. Dr. Young has also been deceased some time.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
To A. H. Coapstick and wife four children were born, all now deceased, namely : Ida M., John and two who died in infancy.
Mr. Coapstick was a Democrat politically, a member of the Presbyterian church, and a member of the Free and Accepted Masons Lodge No. 304 at Middlefork. He carried the sublime precepts taught by his lodge and his church into his every day life and was therefore a highly esteemed and in- fluential man and one of our best citizens, and when he was summoned to his eternal reward on July 1. 1895, he was greatly missed from the township and county of his residence.
BERLIE E. FRIEND.
It is indeed gratifying to the biographer, in looking over such a county as Clinton, to see men so young in years as Berlie E. Friend, of Forest township, have such a splendid start as an agriculturist. It indicates that in due course of time he will rank, no doubt, among the foremost men of his line of endeavor in the locality. Many a young man starts out with the same ambition and determination as did he but desire ungratified is bad for most people; they become discouraged after a time and slacken their pace, become indifferent, do their tasks half-heartedly and begin drifting with the - current. The end is easily foretold-failure, not infrequently disgrace and ruin.
Mr. Friend was born December 10, 1888, in this township and county. He is a son of Leonard and Martha E. (Davis) Friend. They were married July 30, 1879. The father was born March 1, 1855. in Indiana, and his death occurred in 1894, March 24th. He came to Clinton county when a boy and here grew to manhood, received such educational advantages as the early-day schools afforded and here he spent the rest of his life successfully engaged in farming. His only child was our subject. A history of the Davis family may be found in the sketch of Clint Davis, also that of Mrs. Laura B. Dunn, appearing on other pages of this volume. They are half brother and half sister to our subject's mother.
Berlie E. Friend grew to manhood on his father's farm and there assisted with the work when he became of proper age. and he received his education in the common schools of his township.
On December 12, 1906, Mr. Friend married Mary Alter, who was born in Forest township, this county, June 25, 1889, and here she grew to woman-
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hood and received her education in the public schools. She is a daughter of John T. and Melissa ( Miller ) Alter, both still living. To our subject and wife one child has been born, Clifton Friend, whose birth occurred on June 5, 1908.
Mr. Friend has always engaged in farming and has been very success- ful. He is owner of a productive and well improved place of one hundred and twenty acres, all tillable, and he has a good home and convenient out- buildings. He keeps Jersey cows, Duroe hogs and all-purpose horses, and carries on general stock raising and farming.
Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Forest, and politically, he is a Republican.
Our subject's mother was married a second time to W. H. Wells, a farmer, now retired, and living in Russiaville. She was born June 19, 1856, and died May 20, 1906. She had no children by her second marriage.
HENRY MILTON BOZWORTH,
Such a life as has been led by Henry Milton Bozworth, a highly respected farmer of Warren township, Clinton county, merits a record of good deeds, that the debt due it may be acknowledged and that it serve as a stimulus to others to endeavor to emulate it. But his record is too familiar to the people of the locality of which this history deals to require any elaborate treat- ment here, his life work speaking for itself in stronger terms than the biographer could employ in polished periods. There is no doubt that this long continued strength of body and mind has been due to his conservative habits, wholesome living and pure thinking. He is known as a man who likes to see others succeed as well as himself, is hospitable and charitable, and un- desirous of the plaudits of his fellows. Every year finds him further ad- vanced in a material way, and with a growing list of people whom he num. bers as his friends.
Henry M. Bozworth was born on April 7, 1854 in Owen township, linton county, and was the son of William and Polly J. (Shaffer) Bozworth. William Bozworth was born on October 23, 1825, in Preble county, Ohio, and moved to the Hoosier state before his marriage, settling in Clinton county, where he is still living, in Owen township, enjoying comfort and happiness in his last years. His has been a life well spent, as he has been a man who grasped opportunities and made himself useful, not only to himself, but to
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his associates. He followed farming all of his life, and was very successful in the pursuit of the same. Politically, he was a Democrat. Our subject's mother was born April 11, 1828, in Union county, Indiana, and she died on January 23, 1877. She was the devoted mother of five children : John F., Jacob A., Mary E. Lawrence, Henry Milton and William A., all living.
After receiving the usual common school education. Henry Bozworth began teaching school, but soon gave up this vocation in order to take up farming which was to be his life work. With the exception of a few years in Carroll county, Indiana, Mr. Bozwell has tilled the soil of Clinton county, and has been identified with the commercial and civic interests of this locality. He has lived in Warren township for thirteen years. His work may ยท be described as general farming, also stock raising, including a mixed breed 'of cows, Duroc and Chester White hogs, and draft horses. Where he lives Mr. Bozworth possesses one hundred and forty acres of excellent land, all of which, but twenty-two acres, is tillable. His estate has the best im- provement, such as tiling, fencing and implements. Mr. Bozworth built his own home, which is one of the most noticeable of the country-side. In connection with his agricultural interests, Mr. Bozworth finds opportunity to 'devote his energy to outside things, being a great reader and a lover of pleasure. He enjoys the political game, and today is contented because he is with the party in power-the Democrats.
On August 8, 1878, Mr. Bozworth took as his wife Rebecca E. Haggard, the daughter of James and Elizabeth (Thacker) Haggard, and a native of Illinois, having been born there on August 22, 1858. Her father was born 'in Ross county, Ohio, on March 6, 1820, and died January 2, 1901. Mrs. Bozworth's mother was born on September 5, 1821, in the state of Virginia, married Mr. Haggard August 14, 1842, and was called to her death October 28, 1897. Mrs. Bozworth received a common school education, and for several terms taught in the Clinton county schools. Mrs. Bozworth was the mother of five children ; Ellis L., born October 1, 1879; Letitia J., born November 29, 1881, died on March 21, 1885; James W., born August 3, 1883; Martha E., born June 22, 1888, died February 2, 1891 and Earl, born January 6, 1890, died February 25, 1891. Mrs. Bozworth died on the 12th of May, 1891.
Mr. Bozworth was married the second time on May 28, 1893, to Elizabeth S. Wagoner, who was born' in Carroll county, Indiana, on May 29, 1851, and was the daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Troxell) Wagoner. Her father was born July 24, 1827, in the Buckeye state, and died on June 20, 1908; the mother was born October 23, 1832, also in Ohio, near Dayton, "and she is still living in Carroll county, Indiana. Mr. Wagoner was a farmer
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
all of his life, and a staunch Republican. To Mr. Bozworth's second mar- riage there has been no issue.
CHARLES E. McQUINN.
Examples of manhood that make lasting impression on the reader are worthy of record in the annals of history wherever they are found. By a few observations the biographer intends to convey in the following para- graphs, specifically, and yet without fulsome narrative, some idea of the high standing of Charles E. McQuinn, one of the well known and successful far- mers of Forest township, Clinton county. Those who know him will readily acquiesce in the statement that many elements of a solid and practical nature were, united in his composition, and have won for him material suc- cess and the high regard of his fellow men in the locality of which this volume deals his life and achievements earning for him a conspicuous place among his compeers. He is a man of kindliness and neighborly impulses, ,and he has sought to carry into his every-day life the precepts of the Golden Rule.
Charles E. McQuinn was born on the sixteenth day of December, 1878, and his birthplace was in Forest township, Clinton county, Indiana. He was the son of John T. and Sarah C. McQuinn. John T. McQuinn is a native of Johnson county, Indiana, and was born February 18, 1842. Our subject's great-grandfather, Ezekiel McQuinn, was born in Virginia on September 2, 1767. He was twice married, and to his first marriage were born six children: Ruth, Susannah, Elizabeth, Catherine, James and. Isaiah. His wife died while a resident of Virginia, and later Mr. McQuinn moved to Kentucky, where he married Elizabeth Coons, who bore him seven children: Strather, Sarah, John, Willis, Martin, Jephtha and Newton. In 1834, he moved to and settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Johnson county, Indiana, at Nineveh, and he and his wife were members of the old Baptist church society that erected their house of worship on a corner of his farm. Jephtha McQuinn, son of Ezekiel and father of John T., was born in Kentucky August 10, 1818, and at the age of sixteen years came with his father to the new home in Indiana, and in 1840 married Luzina Chappell, daughter of John and Mary (Musselman) Chappell. To this union were born the following children: John T., Mary E., and Rebecca A. The mother died when our subject was but eight years of age, and the father then mar-
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CHAS. E. McQUINN AND FAMILY
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
ried Elizabeth Musgrove, daughter of Nathan and Rebecca (Chappel) Musgrove, and the children of this marriage were William N., Newton A., Ira W., Levi and Silas H
John T. MeQuinn has been a farmer all of his life. He owns an ex- cellent farm of one hundred and eighty-three acres, in a good state of culti- vation and improved with a new dwelling of good size and convenient in all respects. Mr. MeQuinn married Sarah C. Crim, the daughter of John and Mary (Adams) Crim, natives of Boone county, Indiana. Seven children have been born of this felicitous union, and they are Oscar N., Truda B .. Mary L., Charles E., William A., Dezza B., and Annie C.
Charles E. McQuinn received a common school education in the county of his birth, and on December 25, 1900, was united in marriage with Jennie Orr, who was born in Johnson township, Clinton county, Indiana, on March II, 1878, the daughter of Curran Orr and Caroline (Scircle) Orr. Three children have been born of this union, and they are: John Owen, born December 12, 1901; Charles Oren, born December 9, 1905; and Morris Ralph, born April 18, 1912.
Mr. McQuinn has always farmed, and, though yet a young man, he owns fifty-five acres of land here, all tillable and covered with the latest improvements in equipment. In fraternal matters, Mr. MeQuinn is a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both lodges being at Forest. Religiously, he is a member of the Christian church. Politically, Mr. McQuinn has been very prominent, and in 1912 was elected by the voters to the position of county commissioner. At the present time he is discharging the duties of this office in a most acceptable manner.
Mrs. McQuinn's father, Curran Orr, was born in Johnson township, Clinton county, on December 13, 1843. His grandfather, Matthew Orr, came from Scotland and settled in the state of New York. He was a stone cutter by trade, and became quite wealthy. He married Mary Eagles, and the two passed a greater portion of their lives in Coshocton county, Ohio. Matthew Orr, father of Curran, was born in that county, and at eleven years of age became a drover, which business he followed until reaching maturity. Later he engaged in canal boating. He came to Clinton county Indiana, in 1839, when this was a wilderness, and accumulated much property, owning at the time of his death, one thousand two hundred and forty-five acres of Johnson county land. He could have purchased Lafayette and all it included when he first came for three hundred dollars. He was a Jackson Democrat, and held the first trusteeship of Johnson township. He married Armina Shaw, the daughter of Elijah Shaw, and the following children were born
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to them: Jerry, Nathan, Thomas, James, Matthew, Curran, Alford, George, Catherine, Julia, Mary, William and John. The father died March 29, 1870.
Curran Orr was married to Caroline Scircle, the daughter of George A. . and Malinda (Ryan) Scircle. George A. Scircle was one of the first men to settle on Indian Prairie in Johnson township, and was.a large land owner. The town of Scircleville was named after him. James Ryan, Mrs. Orr's maternal grandfather, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Curran Orr and wife were the parents of the following children: James M., Della, Minnie C., Jennie, Adam C., and Eva S.
,JOHN UNGER.
In the early days the state of Indiana was a tempting field to the ener- getic, ambitious, strong-minded men, and her various counties were filled with them during the time she was struggling to a position in the sisterhood of states. There was a fascination in the open prairie and thick forest of the Middle West presented to activity and originality which attracted men from the South and East, and induced them to brave all the privations and discomforts of frontier life for the pleasure and gratification of constructing their fortunes in their own way and after their own methods. It is this class of men more than any other who gave shape, direction, and character to the community. Of the class just mentioned was the Unger family, one of the carliest to locate within the borders of the locality known now as Clinton county, and here the various members of the family have continued to play an important part in her affairs from that remote pioncer period to the present day. One of the best known members of this family is John Unger, who is a man of talent and fine personal traits of character, and for years has been one of the best known and most popular farmers of the "county.
John Unger was born April 7, 1854, in Howard county. Ind., and came `to Clinton county, with his parents when he was only six years of age. John Unger was a son of George W. and Elvira (Maggart) Unger, whose life histories are recounted at length in the sketch of M. V. Unger, a brother of John. To give a brief synopsis, however, of these worthy parents we will say that George W. Unger was the son of George and Elizabeth ( Bailey) Unger, and was born in Morgan county, West Va., on May 28, 1825, and
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died on December 20. 1892, in Clinton county, Ind. He was married to Elvira Maggart on March 1. 85t. a girl who was born January 12, 1828, and died February 28, 1806 'n .866 George Unger held the office of magistrate in this county and was honored with the position four successive terms of four years each. Ir 1886 he served on the United States jury, Fraternally, he was a memt- f the Free and Accepted Masons. Middlefork Lodge No. 304. To his wife were born nine children, namely . Sarah, John, David, Martin V., Nancy J., Calvin, Eliza E., and Oliver C.
John Unger attended the common schools of his home county when he was young, and then begar his career in agriculture, his life work, in which he has met more than the ordinary amount of success. Mr Unger's work consists of general farming, supplemented by stock raising. His stock includes Shorthorn and a few Jersey cows, Duroc hogs, English shires, and Gold Lace and Wyandotte chickens. His stock bears a reputation in Clin- ton county as being of the blue ribbon variety, and Mr. Unger is very proud of his success in this line of endeavor. He is also a successful apiarist, keep- ing about fifteen hives of bees. He owns one hundred and twenty-nine and one-half acres of fertile land here, all tillable with the exception of three acres. The land is well improved in every respect, and is lasting testimony to Mr. Unger's skill as an agriculturist. Mr. Unger built his own home on his estate, and it is a splendid example of the modern farmhouse. The visitor to the Unger homestead is always assured a cordial welcome, for our subject is imbued with that gracious hospitality which is productive of the esteem and respect of every acquaintance and friend. He is a "hail fellow well met." in all that that oft-repeated phrase connotes.
On January 7. 1875 John Unger was married to Mary K. Lucas, who was born August 16, 1854 in North Carolina, in Montgomery county. and was the daughter of Joel and Nancy (Graves) Lucas, natives of the Old North State. The father was a farmer and in politics a Republican. Mrs. Unger, accompanied by her parents, moved from North Carolina to Clay county, Ind., and later came to Boone county. Six children were born to Mr and Mrs. Unger, namely: Mattie B., born October 30, 1875, died October 3, 1880; Otis C., born April 22, 1878, married Donna Catron; George V., born July 7, 1880, married Olive Campbell; David E., born May I, 1883, died April 9, 1887; John A., born October 29, 1885, married Velma Catron; and Franklin C., born November 18, 1889, married Fern Vencill. Franklin C. Unger is a graduate of the noted school at Trenton, Missouri, with the class of 1909. Mrs. Unger died on February 16, 1913.
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Mr. Unger has acted as administrator in the successful settling up of two estates and is at present acting as guardian of a minor heir. Fraternally, he is a Mason at Middlefork. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having joined when he was thirteen years of age. Politic- ally. he is a Democrat, and was trustee of Warren township from 1900 to 1904.
Mary Katherine Unger (Lucas), daughter of Joel and Nancy Lucas, was born Angust 16, 1854, in Montgomery county, North Carolina. Died February 16, 1913, aged fifty-eight years and six months.
At the age of six years. she with her parents, thirteen brothers and sisters, came to this state, the family settling in the western part of Boone county, where she grew to young womanhood. At the age of nineteen she united with the Mount Zion Methodist Protestant church, near her home.
January 7, 1875, she was united in marriage to John Unger, who, to- gether with four sons and eleven grand children, one brother and two sisters still survive; two children, one daughter, Mattie Belle, and one son. David Edward, having preceded her to the home beyond. The sons living are Otis C., George V., John A. and Franklin C. Candace Routh and Hannah Dean, sisters, and Purdine Lucas, brother, are the only ones of the large family of brothers and sisters who still survive her.
She was a faithful wife and loving mother, a kind and obliging neigh- bor. The deepest affection was shown by her for her four sons and her love was ever concerned with their welfare.
During her last illness she requested her visiting minister to pray for her boys. Before she died she drew her husband down to her, and, with her , arms lovingly around his neck, told him that Jesus had heard her prayers and all was well, and she was ready to go.
PERRY E. STOMS.
Perry E. Stoms is one of the later generation of farmers and stock raisers of Clinton county, native and to the manner born, who form an im- portant element in the maintenance of the prosperity of the county and are helping greatly to extend its wealth. He is a son of an early pioneer of this part of Indiana who played an important part in developing the agriculutral resources of this famous region. He is a man who keeps himself thoroughly
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posted upon leading events, political, religious, business and scientific, and is a man of decided views, adhering to his convictions with the natural strength of his character.
Perry E. Stoms was born on September 1, 1878, in Warren township, Clinton county, and is the son of Isaac H. Stoms and Jemima A. (Kingery) Stoms. Isaac H. Stoms is accorded a lengthy review on another page of this work, but it is fitting that a synopsis of his useful career should be writ- ten at this time. Isaac H. Stoms was born on the 16th of August, 1825, in New Jersey, the son of William and Phoebe (Hughes) Stoms. The par- ents were natives of New Jersey, and the father was a farmer all of his life, and a Republican. Isaac H. Stoms was one of five children: Mary Jane, Isaac, Martha, Jacob and William, all deceased. After a common school education, Isaac H. Stoms moved from New Jersey to Dearborn county, Indiana, and then to Clinton county in the early forties. He died on August 16, 1887, after an unusually prosperous life as a farmer. He served in Company F, Fifty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war. His marriage to Jemima Kingery occurred on July 20, 1871, and to the union two children were born-Dora May, born May 24, 1874, died in October, 1911, the wife of John Hale, and Perry E., our subject.
Perry E. Stoms had the advantage of an education in the common schools of his home county, and having learned the agricultural art from his honored father, he embarked soon after leaving school in the occupation of farming and stcok raising. He is, at present, farming in Warren town- ship, this county, and owns two hundred acres of excellent farm land, all tillable with the exception of thirty acres. The land is well ditched and otherwise improved according to the dictates of the twentieth century. Good fences surround and subdivide the estate. Mr. Stoms owns his own home in Middlefork, and it is a commodious and substantial dwelling. Besides gen- eral farming Mr. Stoms specializes in the raising of fine Jersey cows, a general breed of hogs and draft and general purpose horses. Mr. Stoms is proud of his stock, and is a frequent exhibitor.
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