USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 105
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On December 24, 1879. John C. Black was married to Alice Parker, daughter of John G. Parker, of Sand Creek township. After his marriage Mr. Black lived for three years, one month and ten days on the Alexander farm in Jackson township, until October 25, 1883, when he located on his present farm. In 1895 he purchased this farm for forty dollars an acre. He has invested hundreds of dollars in various kinds of improvements and now has a commodious farm house, attractively painted and a large barn. This farm, which he originally purchased at forty dollars an acre, is now worth in excess of one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre.
In politics Mr. Black is a Republican but has never taken any part in the councils of his party, preferring to devote himself exclusively to farming. He is a member of Greensburg lodge No. 36. Free and Accepted Masons. Mrs. Black is a member of the Baptist church. Although Mr. Black is not a member of any church, his parents were leading Presbyterians in this section.
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JOHN W. TAYLOR.
In all of the history of Decatur county, no better citizen has ever lived within its borders than the late John W. Taylor, a successful farmer and a well-known veteran of the Civil War.
John W. Taylor was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, in 1837, the son of William T. and Maria ( Adams) Taylor, natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1784 and the latter in 1806, who were the parents of five children, of whom John W. was the eldest son.
When John W. Taylor's parents died, the family of small children were left to the mercy of a cruel and difficult existence, hence early in life John W. developed the habit of self-reliance and patient endurance. The responsi- bilities thrown upon his shoulders when a mere lad, probably had much to do with making him a strong and sturdy character.
In April, 1862. John W. Taylor answered the call of his country for help in the great struggle for the preservation of the Union, and enlisted in Company H. Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served with distinction until the close of the war, being mustered out as a corporal. In many hard-fought battles, he was a brave soldier and had a distinguished record. At the termination of his service he returned to Deca- tur county and took up the occupation of farining, in which he was quite successful.
In 1906 John W. Taylor was married to Mrs. Nancy ( McCoy) Altizer, widow of John Altizer. She was born in 1842 in Jefferson county, Indiana, the daughter of Daniel and Rachel ( Phillips) McCoy, both of whom were natives of Kentucky and who moved to Jefferson county, Indiana, when that section of the country was a wilderness. Her father was a carpenter by trade and many houses are still standing in Jefferson county as a monument to his skill and honesty. Mrs. Taylor was educated in the district schools, but her advantages for obtaining an education were limited to three months a year and she was compelled to walk two and one-half miles to school.
Mrs. John W. Taylor was first married in 1858 to John Altizer, who was born in 1840 and died in 1881. He was the son of Isaac and and Sarah Altizer, of Jefferson county, Indiana, the former of whom was a native of that county. The Altizers comprised a good old substantial family, promi- nent in the affairs of Jefferson county. Four years after the marriage of John Altizer and Nancy McCoy, the former enlisted in the Union army and served for one month, or until he was severely wounded during the battle of
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Franklin. After several months in the hospital, he was discharged for dis- ability. The wound received in his gallant service for his country caused a lingering illness from which he never fully recovered. On account of lame- ness he was unable to engage in any strenuous labor after the war. However, he took up milling and was very successful in that business, accumulating considerable property. He was the father of five children: Morton, who lives in Missouri; Ella, the wife of James Kenipp, of Illinois; Robert, of Adams, and Oscar and Gilbert, both deceased. John Altizer was a Repub- lican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The late John W. Taylor was also a Republican in politics, intensely loyal to his country and a patriot of the highest type. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in the affairs of which he took a warm and active interest. He was a member of the Methodist church at Adams at the time of his death and one of the every-day kind of Christians, widely known for the high character of his life. Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Meth- odist church at Adams, with which she became affiliated when fourteen years old. She is a woman of generous impulses, dearly loved by her children and esteemed and respected by her neighbors.
CHARLES F. RISK.
Instances are very rare in which men who have been trained to a trade in the city become successful farmers, yet Charles F. Risk, a young farmer of Sand Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, at the time of his marriage abandoned carriage trimming, a trade which he had followed in Greensburg and in Indianapolis, and having removed to the farm has become one of the successful agriculturists of the county.
Charles F. Risk was born on August 5, 1874, in Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, the son of John A. and Eliza (Flemming) Risk, the former of whom was born in 1852 in Kentucky, came to Decatur county in 1872, and now lives in Greensburg, where he moved in 1903 and where he is a well-known and successful business man. The latter was born in 1844 in Ohio. All of the six children, born to James A. and Eliza (Flemming) Risk, are still living, and are as follow : Mrs. Libbie M. Weaver, Crawfords- ville: Charles F., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Carrie Glass, of Marion township: Eva ; Frank M., of Chicago, and Della.
(68)
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In 1902 Charles F. Risk was married to Melissa Sparks, who was born in 1874 in Montgomery county, Indiana, the daughter of William O. and Lucy P. (McCracken) Sparks, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, the former of whom was born, October 27, 1844, and died, December 10, 1879, when Melissa was five years old, and the latter of whom was born, January 27, 1844, in Clinton township, the daughter of Hugh McCracken, an early settler of Decatur county, and died, September 29, 1884. William and Lucy P. (McCracken) Sparks were married in Decatur county, but immedi- ately removed to Montgomery county, and there spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are now deceased. Of the deceased children, Alvin was born September 30, 1870, and John, the youngest, born March 5, 1878, died in 1879. The three living children are as follow: Hugh, born February 15, 1872, lives in Rush county ; Melissa, born March 29. 1874 and married Charles F. Risk ; and Ellen, born Decem- ber 4, 1875. lives in Ft. Wayne.
After the death of her parents Mrs. Risk came to Sand Creek township, and made her home with Silas White and Margaret Susan (McCracken) Garrison, her uncle and aunt. The former was a son of Mary Fugit, a daugh- ter of Judge John Fugit, one of the early settlers of Decatur county, who came to Fugit township in 1818, settling one mile east of Clarksburg. John Fugit was born, October 5. 1832, and died, December 21, 1900. Silas White Garrison, a native of Decatur county, born in Clay township, was the son of David and Mary (Fugit) Garrison. His wife, who before her marriage was Susan McCracken, was born, January 29, 1839, in Clinton township, and died May 12, 1914. Silas White Garrison was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, and served one hundred days in the One Hundred and Thirty- seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
The farm of a hundred and thirty-seven acres in Sand Creek township. on which Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Risk live, was the Garrison home place, bequeathed to Mr. Risk and his wife by her uncle and aunt. They moved to this farm immediately after their marriage at which time Mr. Risk abandoned his trade and engaged in farming. He also owns eighty acres of land in Marion township. On the home place there is an attractive farm house situated on a graveled road and well shaded with magnificent trees. The farm also has good barns and other out-buildings. Mr. Risk ordinarily raises a hundred head of hogs annually, and breeds a cross between Duroc-Jerseys and Poland Chinas. He has been very successful as a farmer.
Mr. and Mrs. Risk have one child, Geneva, who was born on December 13, 1910. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Risk
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is a progressive Republican. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Letts. Although Mr. Risk has lived in Sand Creek township a compara- tively short time, he has made a host of friends since coming here and is a man who during his comparatively brief residence has won the confidence and esteem of his neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Risk are both well liked in the com- munity where they live.
LEROY A. ECKHART.
Among those conspicuous in the financial affairs of this, county as well as township, is a young man whose stalwart integrity of character won for him friends and associates soon after he entered the business circles of Letts. Although born in another state, Indiana became the home of his adoption at an early age, and this state is now proud to claim him as her own, for he has contributed loyally to her citizenship and also to her material resources. The honest, straightforward business man is an asset to any community, for the force of his integrity is felt beyond the limits of his own associates in the commercial world, and becomes a distinct moral influence. Leroy A. Eck- hart, cashier of the Letts State Bank, was born in Livingston county, Mis- souri, March 19, 1881.
Mr. Eckhart, as the eighth of a family of nine children, early in life acquired those habits of self-reliance which became valuable later on in his active career. His father, John A. Eckhart, was of sturdy pioneer fibre, coming to this country from Germany where he was born on December 18, 1839. near Frankfort. When only twelve years of age he moved to DeKalb county. Indiana, and ten years later married Lucinda D. Barrett, the mar- riage taking place on April 17, 1861. His wife was a native of Lagrange county, Indiana, and was born on March 25. 1844. Mr. Eckhart was known as a successful farmer. In 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Eckhart moved to Livings- ton county, Missouri, and in the following year, the subject of this sketch was born. In 1889 the family left their Western home for Miami county, Indi- ana, and seven years later, removed to Shirley, Indiana. In 1897, they again changed their place of residence to Scott county. On October 2, 1902, John Eckhart died on his farm eight miles from Scottsburg, and was buried in Galveston, Indiana. His widow is now living in Pasadena, California.
John A. and Lucinda D. ( Barrett) Eckhart were the parents of a large family, but in spite of the hardships of pioneer days, there was no lack in parental love and care. John, the first-born of this househokl. was born on
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January 14, 1863, and died at Tribune, Kansas, on January 8, 1908. The first daughter. Elinore I. was the wife of Will Jacobs, was born on September 12. 1864, and passed away on March 15. 1915, at Coyle, Oklahoma. Cora C. Hudson was born on July 16, 1866, and now lives in Montalvo, California. Arclemena D. died in infancy. Lillie M. McCormick was born on April 16, 1870, and her present home is in Los Angeles, California. Martha A. Haynes was born on February 20, 1872, and lives near Milford. Charles Victor was born on January 4, 1874, and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Leroy A. born on March 19, 1881, the subject of this sketch. The youngest child, Grace Leonore, born on June 1, 1883, married Fred L. Thurston, and resides with her mother in Pasadena.
Leroy A. Eckhart attended the schools of Scott county, and graduated from the Seymour Business College. Like the majority of the youths who were farmers sons, he worked for a while after his school days were past, on his father's farm, but this did not prove entirely congenial, and as mathe- matics had been a favorite study, his tastes found interesting employment when he began his duties as bookkeeper of the Scott County State Bank. Later, he was engaged by the Salem Citizens' State Bank, a position he retained for four months. He left Salem to organize the State Bank of Letts, and from that time until the present, has been its leading spirit. He is now one of the directors, as well as its cashier.
On November 27, 1901, Leroy A. Eckhart married Opal E. Rice, whose ancestors were pioneers of the Hoosier state. Mrs. Eckhart was born on the Scott county farm of her parents, February 17, 1884, her father being Giles J. and her mother Rhoda A. Rice. The latter was a native of Jefferson county, and the former, of Scott county. Mrs. Eckhart is an only child. Her paternal grandfather was Ebenezer Rice, a native of North Carolina, and his father, also named Ebenezer, was an early settler of Scott county, enter- ing the land where Giles, who was born on June 29. 1845, now lives. The mother of Mrs. Eckhart was the daughter of Samuel MeCurry of North Carolina, who came to Indiana in her early history, settling in Jefferson county. Rhoda A. Rice was born on January 27, 1849. Giles J. Rice has been a successful farmer, now in possession of farm lands amounting to four hundred and eighty acres, having recently sold forty acres of his five hun- dred and twenty.
As the Letts Corner State Bank has played an important part in the life of our subject, it may be of interest to note a few facts regarding this well- known business institution. The Letts State Bank was organized by Leroy A. Eckhart on October 2, 1913, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand
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dollars and deposits amounting to forty-two thousand dollars to forty-five thousand dollars. The bank is operated in its own building, a substantial and artistic structure of brick and stone with dimensions twenty-four by fifty- four feet. The interior furnishings include a tiled floor of beautiful design, handsome office fixtures, and a fire and burglar proof iron vault and safe. The officers of the bank, are: President, Dr. J. A. Welch: vice-president, K. L. Adams: cashier, Leroy A. Eckhart. The directors are J. A. Welch, K. L. Adams, L. A. Eckhart, W. C. Marshall, A. M. Alexander. M. B. Taylor, and Delger Moor.
Mr. Eckhart's political interests have been identified with the Democratic party, and while he has not ranked as a politician, he has always stood for the measures and movements that mean good citizenship. Mr. and Mrs. Eck- hart are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which their influence has been a distinctive force for good. Mr. Eckhart believes in the beneficial effects of social organizations, and is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Deputy. Indiana. and of Lodge No. 506 at Beechwood.
As an evidence of Mr. Eckhart's business ability, it may be noted that he is the owner of eighty acres of valuable land in Scott county.
It may be seen from the above brief sketch that, although its subject is a young man, his life and work have already come to occupy an important place in the economic and social affairs of the town in which he has made his home since boyhood. Although his life has not been characterized by adventure or unusual incident, it has had in some degree the elements of great- ness. It has been marked by honor and integrity in business transactions, by fidelity to high ideals, and by a uniform courtesy and kindness in associations with his fellowmen. Such a career cannot fail to be an incentive to others.
HENRY C. KIRBY.
A career of earnest and indefatigable application to the peaceful pursuits of life was that of Henry C. Kirby, a veteran of the Civil War, and for many years an honored resident of Adams township, this county. His fidelity as a soldier during the Civil War and his high patriotism as a citizen of the American union of states were distinct characteristics of his honorable life. In all his relations with his fellowmen, he gained and held the confidence and esteem of the public and at his death his loss was widely mourned by the people of .Adams township.
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Henry C. Kirby, who was born in Decatur county, Indiana, was the son of Clay Madison Kirby, a native of Kentucky, whose wife, the mother of the late H. C. Kirby, died when the latter was a small child. Some years after her death, Clay M. Kirby married, secondly, Tirza Meck, a member of one of the old and respected families of this county. H. C. Kirby grew to man- hood on his father's farm in Decatur county and when the Civil War broke out, enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving until he was taken ill and discharged for disability.
After the war, Henry C. Kirby began farming in Decatur county. He married Epsie Guthrie and after her death, about ten years later, was mar- ried, in 1881, to Ada McClerkin, the daughter of James and Martha (Meek) McClerkin, the latter of whom was the daughter of Thomas Meek, a son of Adam Meek, one of the prominent pioneer settlers of this county. James McClerkin was a native of Decatur county, a farmer by occupation and a well-known and well-respected citizen of the county. To this second union one child was born, a son, Harry M., born on March 9, 1884, in Adams township, this county.
After the second marriage of the late H. C. Kirby, lie and his wife began life in Adams township on a farm. He was an ardent Republican and patriotic citizen. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church, as is his widow, and their son was reared in that faith. Mr. Kirby died on March 19, 1905, and he was widely mourned, for he was a good man.
Among the prosperous young farmers of Adams township, Harry M. Kirby, the son of the late H. C. Kirby, takes high rank. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and ten acres, lying to the north of Adams, land of the very finest quality. Mr. Kirby is known as one of the most progressive young business men and farmers in that part of the county, specializing in pure- bred, big type Poland China hogs.
Upon completing the course in the Adams high school, Harry M. Kirby studied and mastered telegraphy. After an apprenticeship of about ten months, he was given a position with the Big Four Railroad, which he held for nine years. During the past five years, however, he has devoted his energies to the business of progressive farming, to which he intends to devote the remainder of his life. Mr. Kirby is a bright young man with a promising future before him. He is possessed naturally of a likeable personality and is so constituted that his friends predict he will win recognition in his chosen field of endeavor. He is one of the "true-blue" variety of Republicans in his political affiliation and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
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at Adams and has attained to the encampment of that order. He is also a member of the Baptist church, as is his mother. Mrs. Kirby is a woman of strong and forceful character, of grace and charming personality. Possessed of a cheerful, optimistic disposition, she is popular in a large circle of friends and especially popular in church work, to which she devotes a considerable portion of her time.
The Kirby family for two or three generations has been prominent in the agricultural, civic and political life of this township, earnest and sincere people, conscientious in giving to the world a full measure of performance in all of the duties of life.
EDWIN DOBYNS DONNELL.
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Nowhere in Indianapolis is there held out a warmer welcome on behalf of Decatur county folk than in Room II, the state house, where Edwin D. Donnell, clerk of the bureau of public printing of the state of Indiana, holds forth ; and visitors from this county are assured that the latch string of Room II ever is hanging free when they are passing through the corridors of the state capitol.
Mr. Donnell, who is a native son of Decatur county, has had an inter- esting career as a printer and newspaper man. In 1911 he was honored by the Indiana State Legislature, receiving in January of that year the appoint- ment by the Legislature to the important position of purchasing agent of the General Assembly, a position in which he displayed such a fine grasp of the state's needs in the way of public printing that the state bureau of public printing further honored him by making him clerk of the board, a position which he since has held and the duties of which he has discharged with such fidelity and with so high a regard for the state's best interest as to merit the praise of those in authority ; a meed of praise which is given as ungrudgingly as it is well deserved. During former sessions of the Legislature the alleged looseness with which affairs connected with the printing department and the furnishing of legislative supplies had been conducted amounted at times almost to an open scandal and the 1911 Legislature determined to put a stop to this loose manner of conducting affairs in that department. To this end it was decided to put the whole matter of the purchasing of supplies into the hands of an accredited agent of the General Assembly. It was a matter of general congratulation on the part of Decatur county folk when the news was given out that a Decatur county man, Edwin D. Donnell, had received
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the appointment to this highly responsible and important position. That Mr. Donnell did his work well was attested when, at the close of the session of the Legislature, the state printing board appointed him to the responsible position of clerk of the bureau of public printing. the department of state which conducts the business connected with the large amount of printed mat- ter which is required for state uses. Mr. Donnell is very popular with the Decatur county colony at the state capital and still retains the warmest inter- est in Decatur county affairs. Few native sons of this county have a wider acquaintance hereabout than he and the following biography will be read with interest by all.
Edwin Dobyns Donnell was born at Clarksburg, Decatur county, Indi- ana, November 11, 1861, son of William Addison and Mary E. (Dobyns) Donnell, the former of whom also was born in Clarksburg, a son of Luther S. and Jane Wright ( Braden) Donnell. natives of Kentucky, who came to Decatur county at an early day and settled on a farm one mile southeast of Clarksburg, becoming prominent in the pioneer life of that community. In later years they moved into the town of Greensburg, where Luther S. Don- nell died. Jane Wright Donnell, who lived to the age of ninety-two, spent her last years in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hamilton, at Clarksburg.
William Addison Donnell was reared on the paternal farm near Clarks- burg, remaining there until 1865, in which year he moved to Greensburg, this county, where he engaged in the hardware and farm implement business, later buying the Greensburg foundry, which he operated for some time. In 1878 he purchased the Decatur County Press, changing the name of the same to the Decatur News, and it was on this paper that Edwin D. Donnell received his initiation into the printing and newspaper business. In 1885 Mr. Donnell sold the Decatur News to James E. Mendenhall, present mayor of Greens- burg, who gave the paper a new name, the New Era.
In 1886 Edwin D. Donnell bought an interest in this paper, retaining the same for three years, at the end of which time he sold his interest to Mr. Mendenhall and in 1889 went to Greeley, Colorado, where for four years he published the Greeley Sun, selling the paper in 1893 to Brent Patton, another Decatur county boy. Mr. Donnell then returned to Greensburg, shortly after- ward going to Springfield, Ohio, where, from April to September, he was foreman of the mechanical department of the Springfield Republic-Times. He again returned to Greensburg and for one year was associated with Allen W. Clark in the publication of the New Era, as foreman of the composing room. At the end of this time he bought a third interest in the Greensburg Review and was thus connected with the publication of that paper for one
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year and six months. He then went to Elwood, Indiana, where, for a year, he acted as head of the advertising department of the Elwood Courier. In 1899 Mr. Donnell moved to Cincinnati, in which city he was employed in a job-printing house until the fall of 1905, at which time he went to Nash- ville, Tennessee. In January of 1906 he returned to Greensburg. taking the position of superintendent of the mechanical department of The Baptist Observer, a position which he retained for more than three years. He then was engaged for a year as foreman of the composing room of the Greensburg News and in June of 1910 went to Indianapolis, in which city he was employed as foreman of the plant of the Capitol Printing Company until January, 1911. At that time he was appointed purchasing agent of the Indi- ana Legislature, and at the close of the session of 1911 was appointed clerk of the state bureau of public printing, a position which he is still filling to the entire satisfaction of the authorities composing that important bureau of the state service.
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