USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 45
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Daniel I. Myers served six years as trustee of Bogard township, from 1909 to 1915. During this period the schools of Bogard township made the most rapid progress during any similar period in their history. Mr.
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Myers erected the new school building at Epsom, which has been made a commissioned high school, and is a credit to any community, which is fully equipped. Mr. Myers also built a graded school at Cornettsville, in Bogard township. At the end of his term of office as trustee, the teachers presented him with a large Bible, which Mr. Myers prizes very highly. He was popu- lar as a trustee, and is much admired as a citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Myers and their family are all of strong religious inclinations. Mr. Myers is a member of the United Brethren church, and Mrs. Myers is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Myers is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. In politics he is an ardent Republican.
WILLARD E. ISENOGLE.
Among the farmers of Daviess county who believes in following twen- tieth century methods, is William E. Isenogle, of Bogard township. Mr. Isenogle comes from a splendid family and one that has been foremost for right living and industrious habits, for education and morality, as well as for all they contribute to the welfare of the commonwealth. Such people are welcome in any community for they are empire builders and as such, push the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving the green, wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beautiful with green fields. They have constituted that sterling horde which caused the great Bishop Whipple to write the memora- ble lines "Westward the course of empire takes its way."
Willard Isenogle was born on January 19, 1870, at Coshocton, Ohio. He is the son of John and Martha (Schultz) Isenogle, the former of whom was born on October 17, 1840, in Jefferson county, Ohio, and the latter born on January 7, 1848, in Coshocton county, Ohio. Mrs. Martha Isenogle was the daughter of Jacob Schultz, whose wife was a Cook, and the former of whom was a farmer and owned two hundred acres of land in the state of Ohio, and the latter a daughter of one of the pioneer families, known for their thrift and industrial tendencies. He was a valiant soldier in the Civil War. Mrs. Isenogle died on January 22, 1904, and after her death, Mr. Isenogle married Sadie McCully. No children have been born to this sec- ond marriage By the first marriage of John Isenogle, four children were born, Alonzo C., deceased; Willard E., the subject of this sketch; Lawrence Bell, deceased, and Nora Eddie, who is at present living in the state of
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California. John Isenogle is a member of the Methodist church and served three years and eight months in the Union army during the Civil War. He was with General Sherman on his memorable march to the sea and, during his service, was taken a prisoner and confined at Andersonville. After hav- ing been imprisoned for a time, he was exchanged on account of having contracted typhoid fever.
John Isenogle is the son of Jacob Isenogle, a native of Carroll county, Ohio. Jacob Isenogle married Rachel Engeling and was a farmer who came to Daviess county, during the Civil War, where he rented land for a time and was a well-known farmer. He was identified with the Democratic party. The children of Jacob and Rachel (Engeling) Isenogle were: Ste- phen, John, Abigail, Adeline, Gideon, Catherine, Rachel, Lavina, Cyrus, Adam and Jane.
Willard E. Isenogle was educated in the common schools of Daviess county, where he obtained a good common school education, and when old enough, took up farming, where he worked until the time of his marriage, March 19, 1893, to Etta McCall, who was born on August 28, 1871, in Bogard township, and who is the daughter of George W. McCall, a native of Pennsylvania who came to Indiana from that state after serving coura- geously as a Union soldier during the Civil War. He settled on a farm in Daviess county in Bogard township. He and his family were all members of the United Brethren church. He married Martha A. McCall, who was born in Veale township, Daviess county.
After his marriage, Mr. Isenogle rented his father-in-law's farm, on which he now lives and which he owns. This farm is well improved and consists of one hundred and four acres. Mr. Isenogle has been conservative in his business relations and frugal in his living, and is a modest, unassum- ing man who lays no great claim to worthy achievements.
To Willard E. and Ettie (McCall) Isenogle two children have been born, Arba, on December 9, 1898, died on January 19, 1910, and George E., on November II, 1905.
Mr. and Mrs. Isenogle are devoted members of the United Brethren church and are active both in the church and Sunday school. They con- tribute liberally of their means to the support of this church. Mr. Isenogle is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and active in the affairs of this organization. Willard Isenogle is well known in Bogard township as a substantial farmer in the community where he lives. From any stand- point he deserves to rank as a representative citizen in this section of Daviess county.
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ANDREW McCALL.
It is a well-authenticated fact that success comes as a result of legiti- mate and well-applied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance in a course of action when once decided upon. Success was never known to smile upon the idler or dreamer and never courts the loafer. Only those who have diligently sought her favors are crowned with her blessing. In tracing the history of an influential citizen of Daviess county, Indiana, now deceased, it is plainly seen that the success which he enjoyed was won by all of those commendable qualities. It was also his personal worth, which gained for him the high esteem of his neighbors and, in fact, of all the people of Daviess county, among whom he was so well known.
The late Andrew McCall was born at New Huntington, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1839, and died on March 18, 1913. He was the son of William A. and Margaret (Donaldson) McCall, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania and farmers. William A. McCall and wife moved from Pennsylvania when Andrew McCall, the subject of this sketch, was nine years old, and settled first in Illinois and then moved to Daviess county, settling in Washington township. They finally moved to Bogard township, where they purchased land. William A. McCall owned two or three hun- dred acres of land. He and his wife had seven children, Sarah, Ellen, Elizabeth, Martha, Andrew, John and Alexander.
The late Andrew McCall was educated in the common schools and throughout his life was a successful farmer. He was married on October 2, 1871, to Mary C. Peachee, who was born on January 28, 1850, and the daughter of James and Martha Ann (Allison) Peachee, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Daviess county. James Peachee was the son of Benjamin Peachee, who married Rebecca Rigdon. He was a farmer, who first lived in Kentucky and who, later in life, moved to Daviess county. Benjamin Peachee and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had eight children, Eliza, Sophia, Retha, Mirrah, James, John, Benjamin and Alfred. James Peachee, the father of Mrs. Andrew McCall, was educated in the common schools. He was a carpenter, black- smith and cooper. He was an influential member of the United Brethren church and active as an exhorter in this church. He belonged to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. His children were Sarah, deceased; Mary, C., the wife of Mr. McCall; Matilda J., deceased ; Osiah; Martha A .; Isaiah ; William and Hiram, deceased.
(31)
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The late Andrew McCall, after his marriage, settled on the farm where his widow and son now live-and where he lived until his death. Mr. and Mrs. McCall had six children, all of whom are deceased with the excep- tion of the youngest, John Austin, who is unmarried and who lives at home with his mother. The deceased children were Rose, Edward, Everett, Eva and Lula.
Altogether, the late Andrew McCall owned five hundred acres of land in Daviess county, three hundred acres of which comprised the home farm. He was a member of the United Brethren church and a very active man in local affairs, political and otherwise. Since the death of Mr. McCall. Mrs. McCall and her son, John Austin, have lived on the farm, which the son is now operating. The late Andrew McCall was a very progressive and prosperous farmer. During his life he erected the very best house and barn in his community. The farm is located about one mile south of Epsom. It is highly productive and its present splendid improvements are due to the untiring energy and unselfish devotion of the lamented husband and father, who gave his life not only in behalf of the happiness of his wife and son. but who lived in behalf of the community where his labors were performed. He is remembered as a man of generous and kind impulses, and one who enjoyed to an unaccustomed degree the confidence of all of his neighbors.
MILTON L. ALLEN.
One of the distinctive functions of this volume is to take cognizance of those citizens of Daviess county who stand eminently representative in their chosen spheres of endeavor. In this connection there can be absolute propriety in according to Milton L. Allen the consideration which is due him as one of the representative farmers of Van Buren township. He is numbered among the leaders in the agricultural life of Daviess county, and is one of its most prosperous farmers. Mr. Allen's farm in Van Buren township is kept in a splendid state of repair. which applies especially to his buildings. His land is well drained and well fenced and equipped for the operations of the progressive. up-to-date farmer.
Mr. Allen was born on June 15. 1843. in Van Buren township, Daviess county. Indiana. He is the son of Hiram and Keziah (Cook) Allen, who was the second wife of Hiram Allen. The former was born in Virginia and the latter in North Carolina, the daughter of William Cook, who was one
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of the earliest settlers in Daviess county. William Cook entered eighty acres of land and at the time of his death owned one hundred and forty acres. He was a member of the Baptist church. Hiram Allen was the son of James and Tabitha (Lytton) Allen, the former born in North Carolina, and married in 1794. There were ten children born to this union, four sons and six daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. James Allen was a farmer and early settler in Daviess county. He entered one hundred and twenty acres of land from the government in Bogard township and here he lived until his death. Among his ten children were Elihu, Hiram, Cyrus, Alkinah, Mahalia, Polly and Elizabeth.
Hiram Allen was educated in the common schools and was a farmer throughout his life. He owned five hundred acres of land in Van Buren township, was identified with the Whig party and active in local politics. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. His brother, Elkanah, was a Baptist minister and conducted church every two weeks in the barn owned by Hiram Allen. The first wife of Hiran Allen was Mahalia New- land and by this union there were three children, James, Eliza and Isabel, all of whom are deceased. By his second marriage, there were three chil- dren, Laura, deceased; Milton L. and Mary. Mary lives in Seattle, Waslı- ington. Hiram Allen died in October, 1844, and his wife, the mother of Milton L., died in 1895.
Milton L. Allen was educated in the common schools and reared on the farm. He was married in August, 1860, to Amanda Laytton, who was born in Daviess county, Indiana, and the daughter of Hosea Lytton, a farmer of Daviess county and a devout member of the Christian church. Seven children were born to this union, Lucetta, Gordon, Mason, Walter, Mary- ette, Florence and Susie. Only two of these children, Lucetta and Gordon, are living. Lucetta married George Coffin and lives in Indianapolis, and Gordon married a Miss Orr and lives in Toledo. They have three children.
After the death of Mrs. Amanda Allen, in 1878, Mr. Allen was mar- ried, a second time, to Susie Hinton. The marriage took place, May 28, 1895. Susie Hinton was the widow of Wallace Hinton, and had two chil- dren by her first marriage, Loueda and Forrest. Mrs. Susie Allen was Susie Gootie before her first marriage, and was a native of Martin county. By her second marriage, she has had three children, Orrin P., Roy D. and Ross, the last of whom is deceased. The other two children are at home.
Mr. Allen enlisted, August 9, 1861, in the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to Company B., in which
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company he served three years and two months and was engaged in the battles of Chancellorsville, the Battle of the Wilderness and Antietam. He was severely wounded during the war at Antietam on September 17, 1862, by a gun-shot wound in the right breast, which was of such a nature as to cause him to be sent to the hospital at West Philadelphia for six months.
Mr. Allen owns two hundred and thirty acres of land in Van Buren township and is still engaged in farming it. Mr. Allen is a Republican. He has always been active in local politics and served as constable of his town- ship at one time. Formerly, he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Christian church, while Mrs. Allen is a member of the Catholic church. The Allens are well known in Daviess county and Mr. Allen is highly respected as one of Daviess county's most enterprising farmers. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public post at Loogootee.
THOMAS G. WADSWORTH.
Farming, to which practically all of the life of Thomas G. Wadsworth, one of the well-known and highly respected citizens of Van Buren township, has been devoted, is the oldest pursuit for a livelihood known to mankind and one in which he will ever be most independent. Thomas G. Wadsworth is a native of Daviess county, having been born in Van Buren township and here has spent all of his life. His life has been largely devoted to his fellow men and Mr. Wadsworth has been untiring in his efforts to inspire a proper respect for law and order, and has been ready at all times to uplift humanity along civic and social lines.
Thomas G. Wadsworth, the subject of this sketch, was born on April II, 1863, in Van Buren township in Daviess county. He is the son of Thomas, Jr., and Elizabeth Jane (Odell) Wadsworth, the former of whom was born on June 30, 1828, in Lawrence county. He was married first to Elizabeth Jane Odell, who was born in 1832, in Indiana. She was the daughter of Emsley and Sarah (Gray) Odell, early settlers in Madison county.
The grandfather of Thomas G. Wadsworth was also Thomas Wads- worth, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1782 and who was a farmer by occupation. After living for some time in Kentucky, he moved to Indiana, and finally located on one hundred acres of land in Van Buren township, Daviess county, where he lived until his death in 1841. He married Nancy
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Skaggs and to this union were born five children, Thomas, Peter, Silas, Joseph and Margaret.
The father of Thomas G. Wadsworth, Thomas Wadsworth, was reared on a farm and received a common-school education. He remained at home with his parents until reaching maturity and was married on April 12, 1850, to Elizabeth Jane Odell, as heretofore mentioned. To this union were born nine children, John, Emsley, Peter, Martha, William, James, Thomas, Mary and Silas. John, Martha, Mary and Silas are all deceased. The mother of these children died on December 26, 1868. She was a devoted member of the Methodist church throughout her life. After her death, Mr. Wads- worth was again married, January 2, 1870, to Sarah J. Killion, who was born in 1841, in Indiana. To this union were born two children, Bloomer and Hubert, the latter of whom is deceased. Mr. Wadsworth owned two hundred acres of land, on which, in 1882, he erected a beautiful home. He was a Republican and cast his first vote, however, for Franklin Pierce. In the Civil War he was a strong Union man and served in Company C, Ninety- first Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He fought in a number of very severe battles and was discharged in August, 1864. Thomas Wads- worth was a local Methodist preacher for more than forty years. He died on November 14, 1908.
Thomas G. Wadsworth, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools. He taught in the country schools for one year and was married on December 14, 1889, to Catherine Keck, born on November 18, 1867, the daughter of William and Harriett (Poindexter) Keck. William Keck was a native of Tennessee and a farmer there. He came to Martin county and located in Brown township. He was an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church during his life. William Keck was the son of Christian and Catherine (Yond) Keck.
To Thomas G. and Catherine (Keck) Wadsworth one son, Forest K., has been born. He was born on June 12, 1894, and is now a public school teacher.
Mrs. Wadsworth is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church as have been so many of the ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. Wads- worth before them. She is a member of the church at Raglesville. Mr. Wadsworth is a member of the Masonic lodge. He was appointed trustee at one term and served out the unexpired term. He is now engaged in the fire insurance business for the Fidelity Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, of New York, and has been for the past sixteen years. Mr. Wadsworth has built up a large and lucrative business in Van Buren township. In addition
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to his insurance business, he is also a notary public. He owns seven acres of land and a home in Raglesville.
Thomas G. Wadsworth is a pleasant man, modest and unassuming and a worthy citizen of the community wherein he lives.
HUGH MORGAN.
Daviess county, Indiana, enjoys a high reputation because of the splen- did order of her citizenship and none of her citizens occupy a more enviable position in the esteem of his fellows than Hugh Morgan, the son of well- known pioneers of Daviess county. A residence here of more than sixty years has given his fellows a full opportunity to observe him in the various walks of life in which he has been engaged and his present high standing is due solely to the honorable and upright course he has ever pursued. As a leading citizen of his community, he is eminently entitled to representa- tion in a work of this character.
Hugh Morgan was born on February 25, 1862, in Barr township, Da- viess county, in that portion of the township, however, which is now em- braced by Bogard township. He is the son of Hugh, Sr., and Margaret (McAvoy) Morgan, the former of whom was born in County Down, Ire- land, and who was a farmer in that country before coming to America. After landing at New Orleans, in this country, he came up the river to Cincinnati and then to Covington, Kentucky, where he helped construct the Covington & Lexington railroad. He also conducted a boarding-house for some of the employees engaged in the construction of this railroad. About 1850, he moved to Daviess county, and entered eighty acres of land in Barr township. On account of a revision of the township line, this land is now embraced in Bogard township. This farm is now owned by Hugh Morgan, Jr., and his two brothers, Patrick and James.
The children born to Hugh Morgan, Sr., and wife were as follow: Patrick, Hugh, Jr., James, Catherine, Anna, Mary and John. Of there children Catherine is the only one who married. She married James Healy and they live in Bogard township, Daviess county, and have one child, Hugh; James, Patrick and Hugh, Jr., live on the home farm; Anna, Mary and John are deceased. The father of these children died on August 6, 1882, at the age of seventy-five. His wife, the mother of
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these children, died on December 29, 1900, at the age of eighty years. They were members of St. Michael's Catholic church, of Bogard township.
At the time Hugh Morgan, Sr., entered this land, it was covered with forest and no roads were to be found anywhere. Mr. Morgan, Sr., im- proved his land and transformed a wilderness into a fertile and productive farm.
Hugh Morgan, Jr., was educated in the common schools and was graduated from the Southern Indiana Normal School at Mitchell. This institution is no longer in existence. Here Mr. Morgan took both a busi- ness and teacher's course. He has taught in the common schools of Daviess county 'for thirty-one years and in Bogard township for the past twenty- three years. He is unmarried and is living on the homestead farm entered by his father and owns it in partnership with his two brothers.
Mr. Morgan is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is a de- vout and faithful member of the Catholic church, and identified with the Democratic party.
JOHN A. SIMS.
Not too often can be repeated the life-story of one who has lived hon- orably and usefully and who has attained notable distinction in the county of his residence. John A. Sims, a former assessor of Daviess county, has been a busy and useful man, not only in Van Buren township, where he lives, but in Daviess county as well. The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the pages of history the opinion of his neighbors and friends. John A. Sims occupies a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. He has always been loyal to trust imposed upon him and upright in his dealings with his fellow men. He is a representative citizen of Da- viess county, and from many standpoints is entitled to representation in this volume.
John A. Sims was born on November 1, 1872, in Van Buren township. He is the son of Zachariah and Sarah E. (Cox) Sims, the former of whom is a native of Van Buren township, and the latter of whom is a native of Bogard township, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fore) Cox. John Cox was a farmer in that township and a valiant soldier during the Civil War. He died in the hospital at Vicksburg.
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Sims was Asbury Sims, a native
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of Kentucky. Asbury Sims' father was Starlin Sims, a native of Georgia, who moved to Kentucky and later to Lawrence county, where he was a farmer and pioneer settler in that county. Asbury Sims was a member of the Christian church. He married Katurak Kilgore, and they had a num- ber of children, among whom were the following: Starlin, Abbey, Sallie, Alfred, Edward, Polly, Zachariah, Nancy, Malinda, Noah and Hiram. Asbury Sims moved with his family to Daviess county, near Raglesville, and there entered two hundred acres of land. He lived in this place until his death.
The father of John A. Sims, Zachariah Sims, was educated in the com- mon schools and lived near Raglesville in Van Buren township his entire life, where he owned one hundred acres of land. Zachariah and Sarah E. (Cox) Sims have five children, Hiram, Mary, Clara, Emma and John A. Of these children, Hiram married Susan Toon, and they live at Raglesville. He is the postmaster at Raglesville and has a general supply store; Mary married John Beasley. They live in Van Buren township and are farmers; Clara married Thomas Beasley, and they live in Bogard township; Emma mar- ried Harvey Riggins and they live in Van Buren township. Zachariah, the father of these children, died on September 15, 1891, at the age of forty-three years. He owned and lived on a part of the farm entered by his father, and the subject's grandfather. Mrs. Zachariah Sims is still living in Ragles- ville.
John A. Sims, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Van Buren township in Daviess county. He spent one year in the schools of Ellmore township, and, subsequently, attended the normal school at Odon, as well as the Central Indiana Normal College at Danville.
Mr. Sims was married on September 16, 1893, to Enola Overton, the daughter of William Overton, a farmer of Van Buren township, and a prominent member of the United Brethren church.
To Mr. and Mrs. John A. Sims five children have been born: Russell, Clarence, Valda, Alden J. and Roscoe. Mr. Sims now owns eighty acres of land, adjoining Raglesville. It is a splendid farm and well kept in every respect, which shows him to be an enterprising farmer.
Mr. Sims is a Republican. From 1907 to 1911, he was county assessor of Daviess county. He is a man well known throughout Daviess county, of good appearance, affable and courteous to all and is especially popular in the community where he lives, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all his neighbors and all of those who have come in contact with him, either socially or politically or even in a business way.
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