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 54
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, INDIA VA.
he went into the show business at the county seat in the early seventies, and there he is engaged in the same today, in partnership with Charles N. Me- Clamroch, a brother of our subject. One other brother, B. F., is deceased. Mr. McClamroch is quite active in social and commercial circles of Craw- fordsville. He is a Republican, a Methodist, and a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic.
Harry C. McClamroch attended the public schools of Crawfordsville and was graduated from the local high school and from business college. lie then spent two years in Wabash College before going into the shoe business with his father. After his marriage, in 1905, Mr. McClamroch moved to this city, Frankfort. Mr. McClamroch believes in the principles of the Republi- can party, but has not been a seeker after public office. Religiously, he be- longs to the Christian church.
In 1905 Mr. McClamroch was married to Nancy V. McClamroch, the daughter of Robert C. and Elizabeth J. ( Hollcraft) McClamroch. Robert McClamroch was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 24, 1834. When four years of age he was brought by his parents to Boone county, Indiana, and there worked on the farm and went to the common schools. At the age of twenty-one he took a position with the Big Four railroad, but after four years married and went back to farming in Boone county. In 1860 he went to Indianapolis, remained there a short time, then began farming in Clinton county, purchasing a farm in Kirklin township. In 1874 he became inter- ested in the banking business, and was director and later president of the Farmers' Bank. He moved to Frankfort in order to he in closer touch with his business. On February 7, 1858, he was married to Elizabeth Hollcraft, who was born in Clinton county July 19, 1835, the daughter of Abraham and Mary Hol'craft. The following children were born of this union : Mary F., wife of Charles K. Smith, a retired farmer of this county; Charles B., living on old home place at Kirklin, and president of the First National Bank there ; Thomas ( deceased ) ; Abraham, manager of the Wallace Manu- facturing Company and stockholder and director of the Farmers Bank; James, died in 1906 : Grace L., wife of J. A. Lucas, cashier of Clinton County Bank ; and Nancy V., our subject's wife.
Robert McClamroch traces his ancestral record back to Scotland, from which country his great-grandfather came. settling in North Carolina. Ilis grandfather, James McClamroch, was a native of the state of North Caro- lina, and there married Elizabeth Cornell, who was the mother of five chil-
897
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
dren : Thomas, James, John, Mrs. Martha J. Longfellow and Mrs. Sarah Beal. Thomas MeClamroch, the father of Robert, born in August, 18os, in North Carolina, was reared in Butler county, Ohio, and there married Nancy Baldridge, who was born in Ohio, November 15, 1815. The parents of Mrs. McClamroch were Daniel and Sarah (Woods) Baldridge, natives of Ohio. Thomas MeClamroch engaged in farming in Ohio until 1838, then went to Boone county, Indiana, and there cleared and developed a tract of wild land into a good farm. He was a Democrat, a member of the Christian church, and later a Republican. His death occurred on December 15, 1859. Our subject's wife lost her father in 1900, and her mother in 1896; her grand- father Hollcraft died in 1895, and her grandmother in 1902.
MORDECAI MAISH.
It is an unquestionable fact that the biographies of enterprising men and of worthy men are valuable as incentives to the action of others. In a biograph", al work such as this volume, there are detailed the lives of men of every profession and trade, some of them successful and some of them not. Success does not mean a fortune hoarded up, but comprises that moral and intellectual success which we find so often vested in the poorest of people. Mr. Maish, of this review, has been successful in both ways, and his life has been an interesting one.
Mordecai Maish was born on November 20, 1856, in Clinton county, Center township, in a log cabin, and was the son of George and Minerva (Young) Maish. The father was born January 7, 1821, in Pennsylvania, and moved here in 1836. He died August 13, 1907. He was a farmer and a Democrat. The mother was born May 20, 1820, in Ohio, and died August 14, 1878. Both parents received limited educations in the common schools of their day.
Mordecai Maish was one of twelve children, among whom were the fol- lowing: Henry, Hannah and Sarah, twins; Keziah Johnson, George W., David (deceased), Mordecai, Emma Kent, and Mary W. (deceased).
Our subject received a common school education in his youth. IIe was married February 19, 1889, to Josie Coopstick, who was born in Warren township, February 3, 1871, the daughter of James and Caroline (Young) Coopstick. Her father, who is still living, was born in Owen township, this
(57)
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
county, September 20, 1814, her mother in Warren township, November 30, IS40. Her mother died September 3. 1902. James Coopstick was a farmer and was Democrat politically. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Maish: Madge, July 29, 1800, married to Elmer Smith; Murl. August 7, 1892; Amil, May 4. 1894; Ralph. November 15, 1895, died September 14. I808: ore infant not named; Ruth. August 9, 1809; and Blanche. August 13, 1905.
Mordecai Maish moved to Michigan township when he was thirty-three years old In the spring of ISSt he went to the state of Arizona, where he remained seven year engaged in the cattle and stock business.
He owns one hundred and twenty acres of fertile land at his home and forty-three acres north of here. Of the hundred and twenty acres all is tillable but fifteen acres. The land is well tiled and fenced and most of the improvements thereon have been built by Mr. Maish himself. Mr. Maish also owns one hundred and fifth-eight and thirty-five hundreths acres a mile and a half west of Michigantown, which land is well improved. He is carry- ing on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of half breed Jersey and full blood Shorthorn cattle. Chester White and Duroc Jersey hogs, and Rhode Island Red chickens.
Mr. Maish attends the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a Democrat. At present he is on the advisory board of the county, and is serving capably.
CHARLES CHITTICK, M. D.
Perhaps in no profession or science in the world has advancement been so rapid as in that of the medicine. It has not been many years since the doctor was a man who employed the simplest remedies for our ills, nature's tonics were the antidote for everything, but he depended largely on the theory of suggestive therapeutics for his success. And so does the doctor of today. but science has greatly enlarged the ells of his knowledge: specilization has been made necessary: expert research and investigation is constantly dis- covering sources of disease, and it is indeed the wide-awake doctor who can keep abreast of the times in his science. This is the age of vaccines, specifics, and anti-toxins, and the man who desires to be modern in the practice of the profession must carefully master their proper use, and must be always a student to keep in view the ever advancing horizon of medical science. Dr.
899
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Chittick is one of the best known of the medical fraternity in Clinton county. Ile ha . succeeded in keeping to the front in all that pertains to his profession, and today is recognized as one of the most dependable and successful doctors of Clinton county.
Charles Chittick was born in Clinton county, Indiana, February 14, 1849, and is the son of Archibald and Hannah J. (Compton) Chittick. Archibald Chittick was a native of the state of New York, and was born there February 19, 1812. His parents were Archibald and Rachel (Miller) Chittick. The elder Archibald having been born in the south part of Ireland, in 1806, when about twenty-one years of age, came alone to this country. IIc resi led in the state of New York until 1819, when he moved to Butler county, Ohio, and from there came to Indiana in 1834, and farmed in Carroll county until his death, in the year of 1855. His wife departed this life in 1847.
Archibald Chittick, the father of our immediate subject, was reared on his father's farm, and resided on the old homestead until after he has passed his twenty-first year of age. In 18447 he married Hannah J. Compton and they settled in Warren township, this county, and he died here on July 2. 1891. In 1853 he made a trip to California, by way of the Isthmus of Pana- ma, and on the way he fell a victim to the dreaded yellow fever, but recor- ered, and finally reached his destination in the Golden state. Being shrewd and energetic, he made a success in mining. Of the union of Archibald and Hannah Chittick there were born seven children, in the following order : Charles, our subject : James, of Starke county, Indiana; Rachael, married to John Brookie, of Carroll county, Indiana, died March, 1913: Rebecca (de- ceased), Pauline, married to S. Weida ( deceased), now living on a farm near Bringhurst, Indiana; A. M., of Carroll county, and William, of Clinton county. The mother of this family was born in Virginia, July 22, 1822, and was the daughter of Arthur and Susanna Compton, natives, respectively, of Ireland and Virginia. Arthur Compton first located in Virginia on his arrival in America, thence moved to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1833 came to Clinton county. He lost his wife in 1858. In 1860 he removed to Delphi, Carroll county, Indiana, where he was noted as a thriving farmer and as a prominent Mason and politician. He died in the year of 1865.
Dr. Charles Chittick was reared on his father's farm, received his pre- liminary education in the district schools, and then for three years attended the Frankfort Seminary. He then taught for one year in the same school, and the next year attended the high school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, also taking a partial course in medicine, preparatory to the study for his chosen
900
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
profession. After six months additional study at home, he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati in 1873, and was graduated from that institu- tion on March 2, 1870. He at once began his practice at Burlington, Carroll county, Indiana, where he soon established a reputation for skill and built up a good practice. In November, 1890, he went into partnership with Dr. Young, of Frankfort, making a specialty of the eye and nose, diseases of women and surgery. He was president of the county and district medical societies, vice-president of the state society for two terms and has been local surgeon for the Monon railroad for the past twenty years. He is also a member of the American Medical Association and National Association of Railway Surgeons.
On July 3. 1878, at Crestline, Ohio, Doctor Chittick was united in mar- riage to Henrietta Thoman, who was born October 9, 1851, a daughter of John and Susan Thoman. To this happy union have been born three chil- dren : William (deceased), Golding, and Fred (deceased).
The Doctor and Mrs. Chittick are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally, the Doctor is a third degree Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias. In business life he has several interests. He owns a fertile and well improved farn in Carroll county, and also the Chittick block, a business building of Frankfort.
Dr. Golding Chittick, son of Dr. Charles Chittick, received his education in the schools of Frankfort and DePauw, and was graduated from the medi- cal department of Purdue University in May, 1907. Since his graduation, he has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine at Frankfort, in partnership with his father. On September 15, 1906, he was united in mar- riage to Neva L. Pilkington, of Greenfield, Indiana. Of this union two children have been born: Mary Annette and Louise. Dr. Chittick is a mem- ber of the Episcopalian church and of the Masonic order, captain of the Medical Department of the Indiana National Guard, and a member of the International Association of Military Surgeons.
ROBERT II. BOYNTON.
The gentleman of whom the hiographer writes is a young man who has risen to a position of prominence in his calling and although a resident of Frankfort but a comparatively short time, has already become one of the
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
city's popular and highly esteemed citizens. He is widely known in engmeer- ing circles, has filled several important posts in the railway and government service and is recognized as among the most efficient and reputable men of his profession. Robert II. Boynton is a native of New York by paternal descent, a New Englander, and inherits many of the sterling characteristics for which the people of the latter section of the union have long been dis- tingnished.
IIenry P. Boynton, father of the subject, was born in New Hampshire in 1840 and by occupation was for a number of years a railway engineer and later a traveling engineer which calling he followed until his death in 1902. He was a man of sturdy worth, earnest in his endeavors to promote the juter- ests of the different enterprises with which he was identified and appears to have enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. His wife, who prior to her marriage, was Miss Emma Hammond, was born in 1860, in Batavia, N. Y., and is still living in Rochester, that state. She is an intelligent lady of high character and beautiful life and deservedly popular in the social circles of the city in which she resides.
Robert H. Boynton was born in Batavia. N. Y., where he received his educational training, being graduated from the high school of that city with the class of 1903. With a fondness and exceptional aptitude for mathe- matics, he entered the University of Michigan where he received his degree as civil engineer in 1909 and shortly thereafter accepted a position with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, with which he continued until entering upon his duties as city engineer of Frankfort, Ind., in the year 1913. In the mean- time he was for several months in the employ of the government on the Mississippi river as a member of the commission on the channel survey of that stream, and while thus engaged demonstrated signal ability as an engineer and master of his profession.
Wherever employed, Mr. Boynton's services have been eminently satis- factory and he has always made every other consideration subordinate to his professional duties. As a civil engineer, thoroughly devoted to his calling, he has few equals and no superiors. Since taking charge of the work in Frank- fort his abilities have been appreciated at their true value and the concensus of opinion is that the city has never had a more capable or popular public servant in his line.
Mr. Boynton is a member of the Masonic Fraternity in which he has risen to the third degree. He is identified with the N. Y. S. C. Society of Michigan, and is an associate member of the American Society of Civil
902
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
Engineers. As a citizen he is interested in all public enterprises and pro- fessionally has already corrected many technical errors in former surveys and added much to the advancement and beauty of the city. On October 15, 1912, he was united in marriage with Miss Zua Rice, daughter of John A. and Maggie C. Rice, of Frankfort, a young lady well known and popular in social circles and noted for her estinmable qualities of mind and heart.
MARSHALL THATCHER.
The history of a county or a state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens and yields its tribute of admiration and respect to those whose works and actions constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride. Among the prominent citizens of Clinton county, who are well known because of their success in private business affairs and the part they have taken in public life, is he whose name appears at the head of this article.
Marshall Thatcher was born near Scircleville, this county, January 8, 1865, and was the son of Elijah and Sallie A. ( Hillis) Thatcher. Elijah Thatcher was born in Fayette county, Indiana, in 1836, and was the son of Harvey and Mildred Thatcher. Harvey was a native of New York and set- tled in Indiana in the later twenties, following the miller's trade all of his ' life except in later years, when he took up farming. He died late in the fifties at a ripe old age. Mrs. Thatcher died in 1885. Elijah Thatcher. dur- ing his prosperous and successful life, followed farming as an occupation. He came to Clinton county in the carly sixties, and died in 1872. Politically, he was a Democrat, in religious faith a Methodist. He married Sallie A. Hillis, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, and is still living in Tipton, Indiana, now Mrs. Sallie A. Matthews. On the mother's, side she is a de- scendant of Thomas Shores, who served with distinction during the Revolu- tionary war, and also under Gen. George Rogers Clark.
Our subject had a good preliminary education and then attended Pur- due University, taking the agricultural course. He was graduated in 1885. lle then entered the mercantile business at Scircleville and Tipton, where he stayed fifteen years, making many friends and in every way benefiting the
903
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
community. Ile ne ( came to Frankfort, where he has lived for ten years, engaging in real estate, insurance and bond business. He acts as agent for southeastern Missouri farm lands also. Ilis trade is large and increasing, and his friends are numbered by the hundreds. Mr. Thatcher is a pleasant man to meet, being genial and affable at all times. Fraternally, he is an enthusiastic member of the Masonic Order, belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council. Ile also belongs to the Knights of Pythia, and is past chancellor of that order. He belongs to the Indiana grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically, he is a Republican, and religiously, is a Methodist.
In November, 1891, he was married to May Perce, who was born near Frankfort. and is a daughter of Charles R. and Martha J. Pence, a more detailed account of whom is given in another place in this volume.
REV. GEORGE VAN DEVEER MORRIS.
The subject of the sketch here written is a man who has followed the ministerial profession with credit to himself and benefit to the people whom he has served. Not only has he served his people from the pulpit, but he has written articles and books that have carried much weight, he has delved into the educational work of the country with success, and in every under- taking with which he has been associated his influence has been for the best, and his assistance has ever been sought.
Reverend Mr. Morris was born at Bridgeton, New Jersey, on December 5, 1807, and was the son of George Kenneth and Elizabeth (Smith) Morris.
Our subject procured his early education in the common schools and then attended Dickinson College, receiving his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1889, and Master of Arts in 1892. Ile next went to the Drew Theological Semin- ary, taking the D. D. degree in 18. . In 1892 he was ordained as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, taking his first charge at the Norwood church in Cincinnati, O., and there he remained from 1891 to 1894. From 189.1 to 1897 he was at Batavia, O., and from 18o; to 1899 at Franklin, O. In 1899 he took charge of the Clifton church at Cincinnati, staying there until 1903, when he took charge of the Centenary church at Lexington, Ky. In III the Reverend Dr. Morris came to Frankfort. He was president of the Cincinnati Methodist Episcopal church while living in that city.
90.1
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
From the year 1903 until 1911 Dr. Morris was a member of the ken- tucky Board of Education, serving well in that capacity. In literary work connected with his vocation he is an editorial staff writer for the Western Christian aldvocate, and is a terse and strong writer. In 1892, 1907, and 1911, he traveled abroad, devoting his time principally to study. A number of books have been written by him, including "A Man for A' That" in 1902, and "Polly, a Fairy Tale of Love," in 1907. Mr. Morris carned membership while in school in the scholarship fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa. Politically, he is Independent, preferring to vote for the man and not for the party.
On May 17, 1894, Reverend Mr. Morris was married to Anna Young, who was born in the town of Camden, New Jersey. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris, namely : Anna K. and George W.
MR. JOHN H. MERRITT.
John H. Merritt, deceased, was a substantial farmer of Johnson town- ship, Clinton county, where he was born June 4. 1854, and resided through- out his life. Aubrey Merritt, his great grandfather, a patriot of the Revolit- tion and of English parentage, lived and died in Hardy county, Va., where he owned a plantation and a number of slaves. Adam Merritt, son of Aubrey, was born in Hardy county, Va., and married Catherine Harris of the same state. They moved to Coshocton county, Ohio, reared a family, and then came to Indiana, and settled in Clinton county in 1845, entering a farm. He was an old-line Whig, but lived to be a staunch supporter of the Republican party. William Merritt, son of Adam and father of John H., our subject, was born in Coshocton county, O., April 2, 1824, and married Rachel Keever, daughter of John and Rachel (Drake) Keever, of Warren county, O. The children born to this marriage were in order of birth, as follows: Mary E., Erasmus M., Margaret C., John H., and Clinton. The father of this family, William Merritt, lived in Clinton county from the time of his marriage and was one of the most prominent citizens. His farm comprised two hundred and eighty-five acres, and was improved with a substantial residence, barn and all necessary farm buildings, and was in a fine state of cultivation. He was a strong Republican in his politics and in religion, his wife was a con- sistent Methodist.
John H. Merritt was married February 3, 1881, to Miss Annie Lybrook,
905
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN I.
daughter of Philip and Lyda J. (Sutton) Lybrook, the former a resident and farmer of Howard county, Ind .. and a member of the Society of Friends. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Merritt are: Fred L., Iberna D., Clyde, Earl, died when two years old, and Edith Nora, at home. Mr. Merritt died January 23, 1899, leaving a good farm, well improved, where his wife now resides. Ile carnel this property through his own thrift and industry, as- sisted by his prudent and painstaking wife. He was regarded by the citizens of the township as a man of worth and intelligence and his family is equally respected.
HARRY MITCHELL.
Another of the progressive young farmers and stockmen of Wash- ington township, Clinton county, is Harry Mitchell, who is deserving of representation here, partly because of this fact, and partly because he is a native son of this vicinity and is a representative of a well known and honored old family here.
Harry Mitchell was born February 3, 1877, on the old Mitchell home- stead in Madison township, Clinton county, and is the son of James M. Mitchell whose sketch appears in another part of this work. Our subject was reared on the home farm and it was there that he became familiar with the various phases of agricultural work. He was educated in the public schools. Mr. Mitchell was married June 16, 1901, to Elda Reser, a native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where her birth occurred July 29, 1884. She is the daughter of Reuben and Nancy ( Brelsford) Reser, both of whom were also born in Tippecanoe county. Mr. Reser's death occurred when our sub- ject's wife was only eighteen months old, but Mrs. Reser is still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are the parents of two children: Jay, born October 20, 1903, and Pearl born March 25, 1906. Mr. Mitchell began farming carly in life and is now the owner of an excellent farm of eighty acres in Washington township, which he has placed under an excellent sys- tem of improvements. In connection with his general farming operations, he is also a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, Duroc hogs, and general purpose horses. Hle also farms some of his father's land. He is the owner of a comfortable and nice home and has good buildings of every kind on his place. Ilis farm is known as Maple Lawn.
In politics, Mr. Mitchell is a Republican, but he has never aspired to public office, though always ready to support any measures looking to the general good of the community.
906
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.1.
SAMUEL RICHARD IRWIN.
The subject of this sketch, a prominent business man and representative citizen of Frankfort, is descended from staunch old colonial stock and em- bodies in his personality many of the sterling characteristics of his ancestry.
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.