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 45
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
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
sketch of whom and the Layton family appears on another page of this volume.
Two children have been born to our subject and wife, Basil O., born June 3. 1894; and Bernice M., born August 3, 1896.
Mr. Catron has always engaged in farming, starting for himself in 1893, and he has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He is owner of a finely improved and productive farm in Warren township, which consists of two hundred and twenty-nine acres. On this well situated land stands a good set of buildings, including a substantial dwelling which Mr. Catron built himself. He handles a great deal of live stock from year to year, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle. Duroc hogs and draft horses
Politically, he is a Democrat, and he is at present a member of the advi- sory board of Warren township. He has been a member of the board for two terms and has served most faithfully, looking well to the best interests of the township.
ELWOOD AVERY.
Elwood Avery, formerly a prominent business man of Frankfort and popular official of Clinton county, since 1895 living a life of honorable retire- ment in Indianapolis, is a native of Howard county, Indiana, where his birth occurred on December 23, 1845. His father, Enoch Avery, was born in 1820 in Boone county, this state, and followed farming successfully in Michi- gan township to the time of his death, which occurred August 27, 1869. He took an active and influential part in developing the resources of his section of the country. In politics, he was a Democrat, though liberal in his views and in no sense a partisan, and in religion, the Christian church represented his creed. In 1840 he married Miss Rebecca Andrews, who was born in Asheville, North Carolina, February 6, 1815. She belonged to an old and respected Quaker family, but became a member of the Christian church. Her death occurred January 8, 1910, her husband having departed this life August 27, 1869. Enoch Avery was a Mason of high degree and a molder of opinions among his neighbors and friends. He traveled but little, never having been outside of his native state, except once when he made a brief trip to Iowa. He possessed a large and vigorous physique and was of magni- ficent proportions, being tall, well built and a splendid specimen of well- rounded, symmetrically-developed manhood.
805
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN 1.
Elwood Avery grew up on the family homestead in Michigan township. where he early became familiar with the rugged usages of farm life and learned to appreciate the value and dignity of honest toil. He received a good education for the period in which was childhood and youth were spent, as- sisted his father and engaged in teaching which, with farming, occupied his attention until his twenty-third year. He then severed home ties and in part- nership with J. E Hillis embarked in the wholesale and retail grocery busi. ness in Frankfort, building up a large and lucrative trade, which they con tinued together until 1878, when the subject disposed of his interest in the house to enter upon his duties as clerk of the Clinton county circuit court. 10 which office he was elected in that year. His efficiency and popularity as a public servant are sufficiently attested by his continuance in the above position for a period of eight years, at the expiration of which time, he became a member of the grocery firm of Avery & Gaskill, which lasted three years, doing a very satisfactory business the meanwhile.
Severing his connection with his partner at the end of the period indi- cated, Mr. Avery continued the grocery trade by himself until 1893. when, having accumulated a competency, he was enabled to retire, since which tine he has lived in Indianapolis in the enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of successful effort as a business man. Politically, he is a Democrat of the old school and as such was elected to the office referred to which he so ably and judiciously filled. Religiously, he accepts the Sacred Scriptures as his only rule of faith and practice and is now an influential member of one of the Christian (Disciples) churches in the capital city.
Miss Jennie Douglass, who became the wife of Mr. Avery, December 30, 1869, is, like himself, a native of Indiana, born in Michigantown in the year 1848. Their union has been blessed with three children, whose names are as follows : Harry W .. who is still with his parents; Daisy, who holds an important position in the circulating department of the Indianapolis Netes, and Albert E., also a resident of that city. To Elwood Avery belongs the credit of establishing in Michigan township the railway station known as Avery Station. On the 28th day of May, 1874, the first train of cars on what was known as the Frankfort and Kokomo railroad ran over the route from Frankfort to Kokomo. He also assisted materially in securing the loca- tion of the Clover Leaf shops at Frankfort.
The old Avery farm, which has never changed hands, is now owned by the eldest daughter. Mrs. Angelica West.
806
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIA.N.A.
MAJOR DAVID F. ALLEN.
Soldier, statesman. gentleman, and friend- such was the lamented sub- ject of this sketch, one of the most notable men that ever lived in the city of Frankfort. His name to Frankfort and Clinton county history, even to In- diana history, is a marker in the progress of events and time. His life is consecrated by his noble deeds; his career was picturesque, romantic, and worthy; and his generosity and kindly deeds were with unlimited scope in their performance. As a soldier, Major Allen loved the red heat and smoky pall of the battlefield, because he saw the right and necessity of it, not be- cause he cared for the sacrifice of life. He abhorred the terrible reality of war, but he liked the thrill of martial combat. As a statesman, gentleman, and friend, Major Allen won hordes of friends who live today to commem- orate his name with affection ,admiration and gratitude.
Major Allen was born in the city of Frankfort on March 15, 1843, and died September 16, 1911, and spent practically all of his life, except the time he was in the field, in this city.
He was the eldest of three children, sons of John and Martha ( Runyan) Allen. The parents were both natives of Ohio. The father was a pioneer of Clinton county, where he located in 1828. The mother came here in 1829 and was married to Mr. Allen at that time. He died in 1864 and she in 1865.
At the age of eighteen Major Allen enlisted in Company C, Tenth In- diana Volunteer Infantry, in the three months service and at the expiration of that time re-enlisted in the same company for a period of three years, and served with great bravery and honor throughout the years of strife, partici- pating in most of the important battles and campaigns. At the battle of Chickamauga he was very severely wounded. His military sagacity was rec- ognized by his superiors and he won deserved promotion through the grades to the rank of second lieutenant. He also served on the staffs, as aids, of Generals Steadman, Schoefield, and Brannon. He was commissioned at one time adjutant of the Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but did not fill the rank, as his father's death interfered.
Major Allen has been called the "hero of three wars." Taking it for granted that he was a born leader of men, coupled with his inherent taste for military activities, it is not strange that he should be found at the front whenever his country was engaged in war. When President Mckinley issued his call for troops in 1898 to force the Spaniards from Cuba, Major Allen
807
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
organized a company in Frankfort, and transported them to Camp Morton at Indianapolis, where the National Guard was assembling, his company being among the first to arrive, and from here the Major reported to Gover- nor James A. Mount that he was ready for duty. The history of the war acquaints us with the reason the Indiana troops never reached Cuba. The regular army was adequate to whip the Spaniard, while the volunteers were in encampment at Chickamauga, which, by the way, was a familiar spot to Major Allen.
The company commanded by Major Allen was mustered out and they returned to Frankfort. The call was too strong, however, and Major Allen recruited another two hundred men for service in the Philippine Islands, having the distinction of being the only officer that ever served in the United States army who commanded a company made up entirely of soldiers from one county. Major Allen served two years in the Philippines, being pro- moted to the rank of Major for his gallant conduct.
Major Allen was loved and adored by the soldiers who served with him in the Civil war, the Spanish-American, and the Philippine campaign. He was a father to the boys while in that far-away land and looked after their welfare with a tenderness that won their hearts. His record as a soldier stands forth in the brightest light, and he was often complimented for his gallant service by. his superior officers.
In the business world, Major Allen also made a reputation for high efficiency. He began by driving a stage between this city and Colfax before Frankfort had a railroad, carrying the United States mail. He also engaged in the grocery business successfully, and was in the grain business, owning ยท the Columbia street elevator. He assisted in the organization of the First National Bank, and filled the office of a director and at one time filled the office of president. He was actively engaged in the securing for Frankfort of the Clover Leaf railroad, and was a director on the Frankfort and Kokomo road, which was finally merged in the Clover Leaf.
Major Allen also was noted as a politician, having been a loyal Demo- crat. While in the Philippines he was made his party's candidate for Con- gress in the Ninth district, and in 1904 he was nominated for treasurer of state. He was often mentioned for Governor, but his name was never pre- serited formally. He served as a member of the state tax board under Gov- ernor Matthews.
Major Allen was married twice. His first wife was Miss Clare Shipp,
-
808
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
and the second Miss Josephine AAlford. Two sons are living: Richard, of Frankfort, and John, of Chicago.
Major Allen was a member of the Clinton Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and the Grand Army of the Republic. He held office in the latter order.
JOHN H. MATTIX.
Standing for upright manhood and progressive citizenship the subject of this sketch has long occupied a conspicuous place among the representatives of the great agricultural interest of Indiana, and his influence in every rela- tion of life has made for the material advancement of the community in which he resides and the moral welfare of those with whom he has been brought into contact. Mr. Mattix is descended from a family of farmers, the important principles of farming having been handed down from father to son.
John H. Mattix was born in Washington township, Clinton county, Octo- ber 6, 1857, and was the son of Robert and Phoebe (Cornelison) Mattix. Before taking up the sketch of John Mattix, it is appropriate that adequate mention should be made of his father, who was one of the early pioneers.
Robert Mattix was born in Butler county, O., March 25, 1819, and died November 30, 1890. His father, Jolin Mattix, was a native of New Jersey, where he married Anna Greer, a native of Ireland, in October, 1802. They emigrated to Butler county, O., and were among the first settlers of that county. Their family consisted of nine children.
In 1832 Robert came with his parents to Clinton county, where he re- sided the rest of his life. His father died in 1836, leaving him in charge of the family, but he, being a robust lad of seventeen, felt himself equal to the responsibility. On the sixteenth of May, 1844, he was united in marriage to Phoebe Cornelison, and ten children were born of the union. Mr. Mattix lost his mother by death in 1857.
Robert Mattix purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon which no improvements had been made, but, with the energy which was a prominent trait of his character, he began preparing his farm for cultivation. In this undertaking he met success. His land was pleasantly located on the Frankfort and Barnesville Pike, within a distance of five miles from Frank-
JOHN H. MATTIX
809
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
fort. To his original purchase he added two hundred and thirty-five acres, thus increasing his possessions to three hundred and ninety-five acres.
John H. Mattix obtained in his youth the usual common school education. and then naturally took up farming as a vocation. He continued his work in agriculture until 1908, when he was elected as sheriff, which office he retained through four years. In 1913, after his last term of office had expired, he went back to his home in Ross township. He owns one hundred and sixty acres in Ross, Union and Washington townships.
On December 18, 1879, Mr. Mattix was married to Jessie .1. Davis, who was born in Madison township, this county, on July 24, 1860, the daugh- ter of James Mac and Elizabeth Davis. Four children have been born of this union, two of whom are deceased. Those living are Nellie Hackerd of Union township and Gartha Hackerd of Ross township.
In political matters, John Mattix is a staunch Democrat, and has always upheld the principles of the party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men.
JAMES M. SIMS.
James M. Sims was born March 31, 1843. He located in Mulberry, February 13, 1873, and two years later formed a partnership with William I. Slipher in the general merchandise business. About two years later Simon S. Ohl purchased the interest of Mr. Slipher, and the firm name of Sims & Ohl from that date became familiar to every resident of Mulberry and Madi- son township as well as to almost everybody living within a distance of ten miles of the town. This partnership and business was continued for almost thirty years, until the date of the death of Mr. Ohl, in the year of 1908.
In 1893 he assisted in the organization of the Farmer's National Bank of Mulberry, and became its cashier and continued in the office until the expira- tion of the bank's charter, when he assisted in organizing the Citizens' Na- tional Bank, and then became its president. At the end of six months, on account of failing health, he retired from the presidency of the bank, but was continued as a director.
Upon entering the bank he continued his interest in the store of Sims & Ohl, which he held until the death of Mr. Ohl, at which time the store was sold to A. Weaver, of Scircleville.
On November 17, 1891, Mr. Sims was married to Miss Melinda Peters. daughter of Emanuel and Lydia Leibenguth Peters.
810
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
CYRUS DIETER.
Among the highly respected and influential citizens of Mulberry, Clinton county, is Cyrus Dieter, whose life has been one of usefulness and honor and one of more than average achievement along agricultural lines. He is, like so many of our enterprising citizens, a native of the old Keystone state. He has kept up the state's reputation for sterling citizenship and loyalty to the government. He is a man of high ideals and good principles and has done much to further the moral uplift of the community in which he has lived.
Mr. Dieter was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, May 21. 1858, the son of James Dieter, a farmer and cooper. Our subject's mother was known in her maidenhood as Lena Mack, both natives of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where they grew up and were married. They finally removed to Clinton county, Indiana, where they spent the rest of their lives, having located in Ross township. The father lived to the advanced age of eighty-four years and the mother died at the age of seventy-six. Their fam- ily consisted of twelve children: Cyrus, Monroe, Oscar, Alvin (deceased), Martin, Wilson, Amanda (deceased), wife of Tilghman Snyder ; Mary, wife of Walter Hauker; Sinah, Ellen, and Jane, who died in infancy. The par- ents were members of the Reformed church, in which Mr. Dieter was an elder.
Cyrus Dieter was reared on the home farm and was educated in the public schools. In 1880, when twenty-two years old, he came to Clinton county, Indiana, arriving without a dollar, and in debt eleven dollars. He was, however, a youth of grit and ambition, and he began working out by the month, which he continued for a year, then rented a farm and in this way soon had a good foothold. He saved his money, bought land which he ini- proved, then sold at a profit, first owning fifty-five acres, then one hundred and twenty acres in Carroll county. Selling out, he purchased two hundred and forty acres, which, in turn, he sold and purchased one hundred and sixty acres, two and one-half miles northeast of the town of Mulberry, Clinton county, and this he still owns. He has two good sets of buildings, a modernly furnished residence, and he has brought his place up to a high state of im- provement and cultivation, until it is deserving to rank among the most de- sirable farms in the township. He keeps good grades of live stock of all kinds and has been very successful as a business man, deserving much credit for what he had done in the face of obstacles.
811
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
On November 18, 1886, Mr. Dieter married Martha E. Peter, daughter of Joseph Peter, who was accidentally killed in 1910 by a tree falling on him. Her mother's death occurred in February, 1913.
Five children have been born to our subject and wife: Elwood, operat- ing his father's farm; Ernest, married to Edna Huffert, has two children; Pearl, married to James Ross, of Carroll county, Indiana; Maud, at home: and Dorothy, attending school.
Mr. Dieter is retired from active farming and now resides in his fine home in the village of Mulberry. IIe is superintendent of the Mulberry Light and Power Company.
. Mr. Dieter is a member of the Reformed church and active in the work of the same. He is superintendent of the Sunday school, which is one of the best known and most effective Sunday schools in the county. While living in Carroll county he was superintendent of a Sunday school for a period of seven years. He has been a deacon, also and an elder for a period of twenty years.
Mr. Dieter is a Democrat, and was supervisor for about nine years.
LINNAEUS S. BAKER.
Linnaeus S. Baker was born in Washington township, Clinton county; Indiana, on January 20, 1855, and was the son of Abner and Catherine W. (Hood) Baker.
Abner Baker was born on April 14, 1808, in Wayne township, Butler county, Ohio, and died June 24, 1895. His father, Thomas Baker, was born October 18, 1763 ; his mother, Lydia (Hand) Baker, was born December 23, 1761, and they were married January 6, 1784. They were the parents of ten children : Sarah, William, Rachael, Stephen, Thomas, Anna, James, John, Lucy and Abner. The parents were married near Trenton, New Jersey, and when George Washington fought the battle of Trenton the boom of the cannon was distinctly heard by Mrs. Baker. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Baker moved to Redstone, Pennsylvania, where they lived two or three years, then started for Butler county. Ohio, on the Big Miami river ; but hearing of danger from hostile Indians, they remained one year on the Hockhocking river below Wheeling, then went through to Cincinnati. In the year 1800 they went to Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, and since then the
-
812
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
place has been called Baker's Hill. The mother died in Preble county, Ohio, January 6, 1843, the father having died a few months previous in the same county. Thomas was a family name. The great-grandfather's name was Thomas, and several of his descendants were so named.
Thomas, the great-grandfather, born in 1707, was married in 1736, to Hannah Thompson, and settled on the Rahway river, in Essex county, New Jersey, then moved to the Passaic valley, where he bought a farm of forty acres of John Blanchard, of Elizabethtown, in March, 1738, and ninety-nine acres of William Maxwell in 1761. He also bought a small tract of land from Joseph Rolph. He died of small-pox in 1767. William Baker, second son of above and grandfather of Abner Baker, was born in 1739 and died July 4. 1787. In 1762 he married Rachael Valentine, who was born in 1742 and died in April, 1790; she had a twin sister, who died June 26, 1768. William and Rachael were the parents of six children : Thomas, Abner. Nathan, John, Hannah, and Sarah.
Abner Baker, the father of our subject, passed his early life upon his father's farm ,and when thirteen years of age met with an accident which materially changed his career. While seeking shelter from a storm he made an unfortunate jump, which so crippled him that he did not recover for sev- eral years. and for one year could not talk. At the age of sixteen he began clerking for David Holloway, at Richmond. He remained with him one year, then entered the employ of Jonathan Martin, at Middletown, Ohio, with whom he remained a year, and so faithfully did he perform his duties that Mr. Martin started him in business of his own. In March, 1828, Abner, ac- companied by two brothers, James and John, and a brother-in-law, John Cornthwait, started overland, with one four-horse and one three-horse team, for Lafayette, Indiana. After two days' travel all turned back but Abner, who pursued his way alone by boat, stopping to trade at every Indiana village, at night tying up the boat and sleeping on the banks of the river. One night Mr. Baker and Captain Wright made their bed together of coverlets that Mr. Baker had carried from home. Mr. Baker arose at daylight, and turning around saw a large timber rattlesnake lying between Captain Wright and the spot from which he had just risen. He shouted to the captain, informing him of his dangerous bed-fellow, whereupon the captain gave a sudden bound and thus escaped from his deadly foe.
It was Mr. Baker's plan to go directly to Lafayette, but when he reached Logansport he was persuaded by General Tipton to unload his goods at that point and open his store. He was the first person that sold goods there,
.
813
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
and General Tipton and his interpreter were the only settlers. After being there a few days he inquired of the interpreter what his board bill would be, and upon being informed that it would be fourteen dollars per week, he shipped his goods to Lafayette by the first boat. He rented a store from William Digby, paying four dollars a month, and boarded with Colonel Johnson for one dollar and seventy-five cents per week. Here he remained during the summer. In September he was taken ill and returned home to re- new his health.
In February, 1829. he went to Cincinnati and purchased a bill of goods, taking them himself to Jefferson, where he lived the rest of his life as a pioneer merchant, trading with the Indians, and with his proceeds buying land, which was, at that time, exceedingly cheap. Monetary troubles necessi- tated the closing up of his business finally, and when he had cleared up his . debts and other obligations, Mr. Baker had thirteen hundred dollars which he invested in land in Wabash. Kosciusko and Clinton counties. He then went to farming and until his death on June 24. 1895, he followed that occu- pation. He owned between eleven and twelve hundred acres of land.
In August, 1830, Mr. Baker was married to Catherine W. Hood, the daughter of John and Nancy Hood, and was born in Westport, Ky., in September, 1811. Mrs. Baker's ancestors were from Scotland and settled in South Carolina before the Revolution ; her father and mother were farmers. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker were born the following children : Matilda, died at the age of four weeks; Dr. Robert Fulton died April, 1890, at Davenport, Iowa, at one time a professor in a medical college; Hood S. died in Poplar Bluffs, Ind., April, 1910; Theodore died in infancy; Henry Clay also died young ; Caroline N. Todd, of Holton, Kansas; Lucy A. Burroughs, of Wabash, Ind .; Catherine Ray (deceased) ; John Q., died June 2, 1902, a farmer of this county; Knox, a farmer: and Linnaeus, our subject. Mrs. Baker died in April, 1887. Mr. Baker was married the second time at Little Rock, Ark., to Mrs. Sarah E. Stafford, who was born in Butler county, O., October 3, 1819, and was the daughter of John and Rachel (Shafer) Van- Sickle, natives of New Jersey and Kentucky. . Mrs. Baker died in April, 1913, aged ninety-one years.
Mr. Baker was a liberal Republican in politics, and for many years was a justice of the peace. He was a man with a wealth of interesting reminis- cences. He heard many of the great orators of his day, including Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Thomas Benton, Benjamin Butler, General Houston, of Texas; Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy; Thomas Cor-
814
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
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.