USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 102
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Such lives as that of the late Zachariah T. Riley do not go out ; they go on. In Decatur county Mr. Riley's influence was strongly impressed upon many lines of human thought and conduct, and invariably for the good. Therefore his influence persists, even though he long has been absent from the scenes which once knew him so well, and his memory long will be cherished in the community of which he once was so forceful a part.
WILLIAM THOMAS BOICOURT. .
Although Decatur county is famous throughout the great Hoosier state for its many old families, families whose ancestors have lived here for nearly a century, there is perhaps no family of prominence today in Decatur county, whose ancestors came to the great Hoosier commonwealth quite as early as the progenitors of William Thomas Boicourt, a well-known and prosperous farmer of Adams township, whose paternal ancestor, the founder of the family in America, was a soldier in General Lafayette's army and remained in this country at the close of the Revolutionary War. The grandparents of William T. Boicourt migrated from Virginia to this section about 1812, four years before Indiana Territory was admitted to the Union as a state.
William T. Boicourt was born on April 28, 1858, a mile and one-half east of Westport, the son of David and Mary (Holmes) Boicourt, the former born in June, 1822, and the latter born on October 25, 1828, both of whom died on September 25, 1898. The deaths of these worthy Hoosier pioneers occurred just thirteen minutes apart and their remains were interred in the same grave.
The late David Boicourt, who was a native of Clark county, Indiana, was the son of Felix and Anna Boicourt, natives of Virginia, who came to Indiana about 1812, thus having been among the very earliest settlers of this state. They first settled near Louisville, Kentucky, from which place they
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crossed the river to Clark county, Indiana, and subsequently, in 1831, came to Decatur county. They entered government land in the southern part of the county, built a cabin and reared their family. The remains of Felix Boi- court are buried in Horseshoe Bend cemetery, east of Westport. Felix Boi- court was of French descent, his parental ancestor having come to America as heretofore stated, as one of Lafayette's soldiers. At the age of twenty he migrated from Virginia to Pennsylvania, settling near Pittsburgh, where he married Anna Elliot, of Puritan ancestry, who had migrated from Massa- chusetts to Virginia and later to Pennsylvania. From Pennsylvania they migrated to Kentucky and in 1812 to Clark county, Indiana. After settling in Indiana, they lived in a double log cabin near Millstone creek. They were the parents of seven children, namely : Absalom, who died in White county, Indiana, in 1892, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Julia Ann Stonesifer, who died near Fredonia in 1886, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Isabella Corya, who died in Jennings county at the age of seventy-nine ; William, who died near Westport in 1904 at the age of ninety; Mrs. Christina Canfield, who died in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight ; James, who died in Missouri in 1904 at the age of seventy-six, and Ruth, who married John Holmes and died in 1881.
Of the children born to David and Mary ( Holmes) Boicourt, repre- sentatives of the second generation of the Boicourt family in Indiana, Will- iam, the subject of this sketch, is the fifth in order of birth. There were six children. four sons and two daughters, as follow: Aaron, who lives a mile and one-half southeast of Westport: Zachariah, of near Westport. who has gained a state-wide reputation in connection with the annual picnics held for sixteen years in the grove on his Decatur county farm; Mrs. Catherine Hig- gins, of Indianapolis : George, deceased, who resided one and one-half miles from Letts Corner : William T., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Rebecca Corya, who lives on the old home place one and one-half miles east of West- port.
The mother of these children was the daughter of James and Sarah Holmes, natives of Butler county, Ohio, who came to Decatur county, in 1821 and settled near Greensburg. The father helped to clear the land where the Decatur county court house now stands. After settling on a tract of land south of Greensburg, he spent his life as a farmer, principally in clearing his land. The Boicourt family were lifelong members of the United Brethren church, David having become a member in early boyhood. He was a Repub- lican in politics. For more than fifty years, he was a miller by trade and operated the Horseshoe Bend water mill'and afterwards a steam roller mill
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at Westport, which finally was destroyed by fire. He had erected a mill at Horseshoe Bend, succeeding the grist-mill, and, in partnership with his brother, George, erected the Westport mill.
Educated in the old Patterson school house east of Westport, a famous old school which stood near his home ; later at the old Binninger school north- east of Westport and still later at the Poplar Grove school two miles north- east of Westport, William T. Boicourt's early life was spent in doing the customary work which falls to the lot of the country boy. For two years he worked for his father in the flour-mill and then operated a stone quarry near Westport for four years. In this enterprise he lost considerable money, and in 1885 rented the farm upon which he now lives and which he now owns. Later Mrs. Boicourt inherited a farm and they have since improved the farm in many ways, making it one of the most beautiful country homes to be found anywhere in this section. The farm consists of two hundred and forty-five acres. They now have a thoroughly modernized home which has recently been remodeled. Mr. Boicourt is an extensive stockman and specializes in Duroc-Jersey hogs. In 1914 he sold one hundred and thirty head for two thousand and twenty-seven dollars and in the same year sold fifty-eight head of cattle, which brought him nearly forty-one hundred dollars. Mr. Boicourt also sold five hundred bushels of wheat in 1914. This farm, which is the old Boyer homestead, the homestead of Mrs. Boicourt's maternal grandfather, lies along the river in one of the most picturesque sections of Decatur county, the scenery in that section being beautiful.
On October 10, 1883, William T. Boicourt was married to Lydia Dog- gett, who was born at Little Flatrock, one mile east of Downeyville, on Octo- ber 25, 1857, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Emily (Boyer) Doggett, the former of whom was born in 1824 and died on June 27, 1896, and the latter, born in December, 1826, and died on May 28, 1902, a daughter of Daniel Boyer, a native of Pennsylvania and an early pioneer and prominent citizen of Decatur county, who served as county commissioner for many years. Henry Doggett came to this state from Kentucky when eleven years old with his father, Henry Doggett, Sr., whose wife, who was Nancy Smith, of Virginia, was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. Henry and Margaret Emily Doggett were the parents of six children, namely : Mis. Nannie Mobley, deceased; Lydia, the wife of Mr. Boicourt; Ira, who lives in Wyoming ; Lafayette, who lives on the old Doggett homestead; Mrs. Loella Glover, deceased, and Frank, who died at the age of thirteen. It is an inter- esting fact that the first Henry Doggett mentioned in this genealogy married Nancy Smith, of Virginia, the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier.
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To William T. and Lydia ( Doggett) Boicourt have been born four chil- dren, as follow : Mrs. Vessa White, who was born on November 30, 1884, lives in North Dakota and has one child, Ethel Juanita ; Forrest Leroy, Janu- ary 9, 1887, died on May 7, 1898; Ora Hazel, November 11, 1889, who mar- ried Pleasant Redington, lives on the old home place and has one child, Walter Lavelle, and Mrs. Ethel Emily King, September 11, 1892, died on March 20, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt have adopted a son, William B., who was born on April 21, 1899, and who now lives at home with his fosterparents.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Boicourt was a candidate of his party in the campaign of 1914 for county commissioner. but was defeated with the remainder of the ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt are active members in the Baptist church and are held in high esteem in the neighborhood in which they have for years been regarded as among the leading factors, their influence ever being exerted in behalf of the general good.
SOLOMON APPLE.
Solomon Apple, who for fifty-one years has lived on a farm in Adams township, this county, and who, during that time, has established his right to be regarded as one of the successful farmers and efficient, honorable citizens of Decatur county, belongs to a family which was established here in 1849. In his declining years, Mr. Apple is surrounded with all of the comforts which the countryside affords and has the satisfaction of knowing that his two living children, a son and a daughter, are well situated with regard to the material comforts of life. Long residence in one locality will either prove or disprove one's right to the respect of his fellow citizens and it cannot be denied that during the period of his long residence in this com- munity, Solomon Apple has well earned his present enviable standing as an honored citizen.
Solomon Apple was born on October 20, 1839, in Montgomery county, Ohio, the son of Elias and Magdalena ( Slifer) Apple, and was ten years of age when brought to this county by his parents. Elias Apple, who was born on January 26, 1817, and who died in July, 1900, was a native of Ohio, who came to Decatur county in the spring of 1849 and later settled in Rush county. still later going to Waldron, in Shelby county, where he died. His wife was born in February, 1817, and died in 1895. They were married on January 4, 1837, and were the parents of eight children, three of whom, Philemon, Mrs.
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Lucinda Pence and Elias, Jr., are deceased. The living children are : Solomon, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Susan Griffy, who lives in Rush county ; Mrs. Vandalena Isley, who lives in Illinois; Mrs. Elizabeth Lowe, of St. Omer, and Mrs. Sophia Thompson, of St. Paul, this county.
Solomon Apple, who lived at home with his parents during his youth and early manhood, was married on November 12, 1863, to Caroline Kelley, who was born in Rush county, this state, on January 27, 1843, the daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy (Ballard) Kelley, the former of whom was born on November 29, 1800, and died on August 4, 1879, and the latter ot whom was born in ISHI and died on March 24, 1877. They were married in 1827.
After his marriage, Solomon Apple gave his father one thousand dol- lars for the first eighty acres of land that he owned and immediately set to work to clear the land. For a time he and his wife lived in a one-room log cabin, but later caused to be erected a large frame house, which eventually was succeeded by the fine brick house in which they live today. After a time, they were able to buy eighty acres across the road from Mr. Apple's brother's home and this farm was later presented to Mrs. Charles Allison, a daughter, after which they purchased another eighty-acre tract and pre- sented it to their son, Daniel. At one time, therefore, they owned altogether two hundred and forty acres which has been reduced by the gifts to their two children to eighty acres of land. This farm, the original tract, is now equipped with all of the conveniences for farming, including a large bank- barn. The house may be seen from the roadside, in a beautiful location, sur- rounded by trees and shrubbery and set on a hill overlooking the roadway. On the farm is a natural gas well, from which is derived gas for light and fuel.
To Solomon and Caroline (Kelley) four children were born, namely : John W., born on April 15, 1865, and died on February 3, 1875; Daniel W., December 9, 1866, married Minnie Allison and has six children, Ethel, George, Gladys, Charles, Forrest and Caroline; Nina, December 9, 1874, inarried Dr. Charles D. Allison, of Illinois, and has four children, Nina, Mary, Charles and Caroline, and Nannie, October 28, 1877, died on March 13, 1912, married William Kelsoe and bore him one child, Russell, who has been reared by his grandparents.
Solomon Apple is a quiet and unpretentious citizen, a man who lays no particular claim to greatness and one who never boasts of his accomplish- ments or achievements. Though a Democrat, he has always been more or less independent in voting, since he believes that in this way he can best serve the purposes of good government, hence serving not only himself as a citizen
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of the government, but his neighbors as well. The only office he has ever held is that of supervisor of highways. Mr. and Mrs. Apple are members of the United Brethren church at St. Omer and have been for many years. Both are possessed of strong religious feelings and are naturally governed by these feelings in their attitude toward the church and the principles for which the church stands. To Solomon and Caroline Apple it has been granted that their lives should be spared to see their children established in their own homes and with children at their own thresholds, their satisfaction consisting in having had an affectionate and tender interest in their children's welfare.
HARRY STEWART HOPKINS, D. D. S.
The improvements made in the practice of dentistry during the past fifty years would be a matter of deep interest to our pioneer settlers, could they but return to earth and visit one of our modern dental parlors. Everything is so shining and up-to-date, they would almost be tempted to have a tooth pulled, just to see for themselves whether or not dentistry has been robbed of any of its terrors, and to prove the truth of the statement that teeth may be extracted without pain, whichi statement usually is interpreted as meaning without pain to the dentist. However, due credit must be given to the dentist of today, for he is always on the lookout for the aids that help to lessen the hurt, as well as for those that improve the appearance of his work, in which class of up-to-date dentists none is better known hereabout than Doctor Hop- kins, a popular dental surgeon at Greensburg, this county.
Harry Stewart Hopkins was born on May 30, 1874, on a farm near Kingston, this county, a son of James Burney and Susan (Stewart) Hopkins. He was reared on a farm, and attended high school, later attending the Ohio Dental College, at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1896, entering upon the practice of his profession at Greensburg, in the fall of the same year. Doctor Hopkins has been very successful, and has built up an excel- lent practice. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religion, a Presbyterian. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
James Burney Hopkins, father of Doctor Hopkins, was a native of Dear- born county. born in 1838. He died at the home of his daughter, three miles east of Greensburg, in 1901. He was a farmer all his life, and did service in the Union army, during the Civil War, spending thirty days in an effort to
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resist Morgan's raid into Indiana. His wife was born in Ohio in 1845 and died in 1890. She was a daughter of Samuel Stewart, a native of Ohio, who came to Decatur county about 1850. They were the parents of three children, Nellie, Elizabeth and Harry Stewart. Nellie married a Mr. Doles, and lives on a farm east of Greensburg. Elizabeth married Bruce McCoy and died in 1901. George Washington Hopkins, of Kentucky, Doctor Hop- kins' paternal grandfather, was one of the pioneer settlers of the Kingston neighborhood, having located in this county in 1821.
In 1897 Dr. Harry Stewart Hopkins was united in marriage to lda C. Hollensbee, daughter of Henry Hollensbee, and to this union two children have been born, Mary and Helen.
CHARLES S. TEMPLETON.
Charles S. Templeton is a well known farmer of Adams township, this county, who owns two hundred and twenty acres of land, of which eighty acres is situated in Daviess county. Representatives of the Templeton family have resided in this county since 1869, when Robert Templeton, a native of Virginia, came to this county. He died at the age of eighty-seven in this county. His wife, who before her marriage was Mary Holland, is a native of Franklin county, Indiana, and is now living on the home farni at the age of seventy-eight years. The old home farm consists now of sixty acres, but formerly comprised a tract of one hundred and sixty acres.
Charles S. Templeton was born on July 25. 1861, in Franklin county, Indiana, the son of Robert and Mary ( Holland) Templeton, being the fourth child born to his parents, and one of a family of eleven children, the others being as follow: George. who lives south of Adams, in this county, and is engaged in farming : Lillie, who died at the age of seven years; David, who lives at Spiceland, Indiana: Mrs. Anna McKee. of Adams township, this county ; Mrs. Nannie Bailey, deceased : Morton, of St. Paul, Indiana : Dora. of Hope, Indiana ; Dudley, a well-known merchant of St. Paul: Stella, who lives at home with her mother, south of St. Paul, and Roy who is a telegraph operator in Connersville.
Charles S. Templeton was educated in the public schools of this county and began farming at the age of twenty-two years on the farm owned by his father-in-law, the late James Davis. He was located there for three years, and then moved to a farm farther south where he lived for three years,
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at the end of which time he moved to Daviess county, where he lived for nine years. Returning to Decatur county, Mr. Templeton located in Adams town- ship, and after living on a farm for six years moved to Adams, where for two years he was engaged in the livery business. He then purchased his present home farm of sixty acres. In the meantime Mr. Templeton has acquired additional land until now he owns two hundred and twenty acres.
On January 15, 1882, Charles Templeton was married to Mary E. Davis. who was born in Adams township, this county, the daughter of James and Sarah E. ( Holland ) Davis, both now deceased, to which union one child has been born, Luna, who married M. T. Platt, of Adams, this county, and has one son, William Templeton.
Mrs. Charles Templeton was born in Adams township, this county, on December 10, 1861, daughter of James and Sarah E. ( Holland) Davis, the former of whom was born on April 26, 1829, and died on May 5, 1904, and the latter of whom was born in this county on January 10, 1837, and died on June 12, 1911. James Davis came to this country from County Mayo, Ire- land, in 1840, at the age of eleven years, a poor lad without friends and without resources. Settling in Adams township, this county, he lived there for many years and prospered. A good trader and financier, he became in time a very successful man, at the time of his death being the owner of nearly three thousand acres of fine land. He was a man known far and wide for his- sterling integrity and rugged honesty, his word ever being regarded to be as good as his bond. Twelve hundred acres of Mr. Davis' land was situated in Daviess county, the remainder being located in Decatur and Shelby counties. That he was recognized as an honorable and upright citizen is proved by the fact that on many occasions he was called on by the courts of different counties to administer estates, a most trustworthy and responsible position. During his life he dealt heavily in live stock, and was an extensive shipper in this section. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, as follow : Euphemia Jane, deceased ; George M. C., deceased : John H., deceased ; Mrs. Templeton : Robert J., of Clay township : James G. and Edward W. (twins). the former of whom lives on the home farm, and the latter near Milford, and Mrs. Luna Smith, of Clay township.
To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Templeton have come an extraordinary meas- ure of the comforts of life, and they have lived together these many years devoted and loving companions on the pathway of life. Mr. Templeton's standing in the community. as well as his standing among the members of his own family, is adequately proved by the fact that at the death of the late James Davis, his father-in-law, he was called upon by the court and by the
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family to administer this large estate and performed the duties of that exact- ing trust not only with credit to himself, but to the entire satisfaction of the members of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Templeton are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church at Adams and active workers therein, contributing liberally of the means with which fortune has favored them to religious works. Mr. Templeton is a Republican and takes an earnest and intelligent interest in the political affairs of the county, being regarded as a leader in his community.
WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON.
The preservation of the personal annals of prominent citizens of this generation is not only a pleasing, but a most useful work; one for which the succeeding generations of those represented in the pages of such annals should be very grateful. William W. Robertson, a well-known farmer of Adams township, this county, one of several brothers who have done so inuch for the agricultural development of Adams township, for many years has stood in the front ranks of agricultural vocational life in this community. Coming from an old and respected family of Decatur county, he is naturally a man who is well known here, where his life has always been an open book, subject to the most searching scrutiny. He has responded nobly and faithfully to all the duties which citizenship in a free country impose upon a man, and has amply won his spurs in the race for success.
William W. Robertson was born on March 20, 1858, on the old Robert- son homestead, the son of Oliver Perry and Mary A. (Davis) Robertson, early settlers in Adamt township, the former of whom was born in Lawrence- burg, Dearborn county, Indiana, on August 1, 1825, the son of John and Ruth ( Ridfen) Robertson, natives of Maryland and early settlers in Dear- born county. After coming to this county, locating in Adams township in 1829, the family became quite prosperous and widely recognized as one of the leading factors in the agricultural life of the community. Mrs. Mary A. ( Davis) Robertson, who was the second wife of Oliver P., was born on June 15. 1833. the daughter of John W. and Sarah ( Forsythe) Davis, natives of New Jersey, who came to Decatur county about 1830 and settled in Adams township. Mrs. Mary A. (Davis) Robertson died on May 25, 1907. She was the mother of seven children, of whom all are living. Of these children, Josiah W., Franklin, Edward and William W. are farmers in Adams town-
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ship, this county ; Charles lives at Acton, Marion county, Indiana; Lydia is the wife of Elmer Shelhoun, and Ruth is the housekeeper for her brothers, Josiah W. and Edward. The late Oliver P. Robertson, who passed away in 1907, was first married to Nancy Edrington, who was born in 1831, and who died in June, 1852. She was the daughter of Hiram and Rhoda Edrington, natives of Kentucky and pioneers in Adams township. To that union there were born two children, Louisa L. (deceased) and Lafayette, also a farmer of Adams township, this county.
Uniti he was twenty-five years of age, William W. Robertson lived on the old homestead and in 1883 purchased his farm of one hundred and twenty acres, the farm on which he now resides and where he has lived con- tinuously for a period of thirty-two years. In 1887, four years after pur- chasing his farm, Mr. Robertson was married to Josephine Thomas Perry, who was born on October 12, 1855, near the Franklin-Decatur county line, the daughter of James and Martha (Ryan) Perry, natives of Indiana and early settlers of Decatur county. Subsequently they moved from Decatur across the line to Franklin county, and thence back to Decatur. When Mrs. Robertson was a child her parents moved to Illinois and settled in Jasper county, where the father died. The mother returned to this state and died in Seymour, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Perry were the parents of four children, namely : Sarah Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Chapman, and died in 1913; Mrs. Mary Isabelle Smith, of Rushville; Mrs. Martha Jane Terhune, of Urbana, Illinois ; and Josephine Thomas, who returned to Indiana from Illi- nois and was here married. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Robertson, but they have one foster daughter, Mrs. Lillian Leonora Hinkle, who lives in Shelby county.
William W. Robertson is a Republican and for many years has been prominent in the political life of Adams township; well known throughout the county for his political following in the section of the county in which he lives. From May 1, 1906, to January 1, 1909, he was trustee of Adams township. He and his wife have a fine home, which is reached by a driveway from the main road. Their land is fertile and highly productive and as Mr. Robertson is a good farmer, the most has been made of the opportunities thus afforded. with the result that they have prospered. Mr. Robertson's election as township trustee is an evidence of the regard in which he is held by the people of his home community and both he and his wife enjoy the highest esteem of their neighbors.
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