USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 109
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 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
Frank S. Alexander married Elizabeth E. Pumphrey, the daughter of William and Loduska (Jewell) Pumphrey, the former of whom was a na- tive of Kentucky and the son of Andrew Pumphrey, whose family was of English origin and who came to Kentucky in pioneer times. Andrew Pumph- rey immigrated to Decatur county in pioneer times and settled in Clay township, west of where Burney is now situated. He was a successful farmer, a Democrat in politics and well respected as a citizen. He had seven children, of whom William, the father of Mrs. Alexander, was the fourth. William grew to manhood on his father's farm and began life for himself after his marriage to Loduska Jewell. They settled on a farm which William Pumphrey owned and to which he added until, at the time of his death, he owned thirteen hundred acres of land, all in Clay township. He was a very successful farmer and business man, a Democrat and a member of the Methodist church. A man of decided convictions and moral courage, he was more than the ordinary type of citizen. Generous in his
IIII
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
impulses, he had a host of friends in this county and township. He died at the age of eighty years. William and Loduska Pumphrey reared a family of ten children, eight of whom are now living, namely : James A., Francis M. and Edward P., all of whom are residents of Decatur county; William P., who is a resident of Shelby county; Doad P. and an unnamed child are deceased; Elizabeth E., who is the wife of Mr. Alexander; Fannie, who is the wife of a Mr. Miner, of Decatur county; May, who is the wife of Clyde Elliott ; and Josephine, who married Earl Littell, of Indianapolis.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Alexander have six living children, as follow : Ralph, born on June 25, 1894; Ethel, April 14, 1900; Paul, November 6, 1904; Ruth, June 28, 1909; Dennis, July 12, 1912, and Mazie E., June 6, 1915.
For many years Frank S. Alexander has been prominent in the councils of the Republican party of Decatur county and, in a measure, his services were rewarded by his party when in 1908 he was elected a member of the Decatur county board of commissioners, an office in which he served until 1912. Politics is the one diversion from his personal business which he permits himself to enjoy. One might search the length and breadth of Decatur county and not find a man, who, in the same length of time, has enjoyed a more rapid rise in farming and in business than Frank S. Alexan- der. He has been successful in life because he has applied himself assidu- ously to his business and because he is so constituted that he has not feared to take reasonable chances. In an official way he is well known to the peo- ple of this county because of his efficient record as a public officer. In a private way he is known as an estimable citizen and a prosperous farmer.
JAMES M. BOSTIC.
The Union soldier during the great war between the states builded wiser than he knew. Through four years of suffering and hardships, through the horrors of prison pens and amid the shadows of death he laid the foundation of the greatest temple ever erected and dedicated to human freedom. The world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach up a mighty arm of power and strike the chains from off the slaves, preserve the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled to the breeze the only flag that has ever made tyrants tremble. One of the noble men, now deceased, who contributed his time and effort to this honorable struggle, was James M. Bostic.
III2
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
James M. Bostic was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1846, the son of Titus and Sarah ( Jones) Bostic, both natives of Dearborn county, who removed to Decatur county in pioneer times, and here lived the balance of their lives.
After being reared to manhood on his father's home farm, James M. Bostic enlisted in 1862, in Company A. One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, a regiment which saw very hard service during the Civil War. It was attached to Grant's army of Middle Tennessee, and participated in the battle of Vicksburg, the battle of Fort Donelson and many others. James M. Bostic came through the strenuous struggle without ever receiving a wound, and without having been sick. He was a brave and efficient soldier and was actuated by the highest motives of true patriotism. He possessed a hatred of slavery and its injustice, and was willing, if necessary, to give his life to suppress the institution.
At the close of the war. James M. Bostic came home to Decatur county, and in 1867 was married to Melissa Hancock, a daughter of John and Eliza- beth ( Lemonds) Hancock, the latter of whom was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Lemonds. natives of Lawrence county. Indiana, and of English extraction. They moved to Lawrence county, Indiana, direct from North Carolina, where the first Lemonds family settled on their arrival from Eng- land in America. John Hancock was born in North Carolina and moved to Lawrence county about 1840, bringing with him his wife and two small children. After remaining in Lawrence county for some eight years, the family came to Decatur county, and settled near St. Paul, in Adams town- ship. Later they moved to Clay township, and settled near Milford. Here John Hancock lived the remainder of his life. He was a well-known, honest and respected citizen. Of his six children, Mrs. James M. Bostic was the fourth in order of birth. She was born in Lawrence county in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Bostic began life together in Milford, where Mr. Bostic followed the occupation of a farmer until some twenty-five years ago, when he retired.
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Bostic were the parents of eight children, as . follow: George, a resident of Shelby county, Indiana ; Fannie and Carrie, residing at home with their mother; Stella, the wife of Charles Mote, of Jackson township, this county ; Emmett, living at home; Nannie. the wife of James Thornburg, a resident of Daviess county, Indiana : Isophene. the wife of Roy Herndon, lives at St. Paul, where her husband operates a saw-mill and threshing machine ; and Ora Dale, who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
James M. Bostic was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. having been affiliated with Pap Thomas Post at Greensburg. For six years.
III3
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
he served as township assessor, and was well known and well liked by the citizens of Decatur county. A Republican in politics, he was stanch and true to the principles of the party of Lincoln, and it is not too much to say that he belonged to that class of citizens of whom Decatur county may well be proud. Mrs. Bostic is a member of the Presbyterian church. Although now sixty-seven years of age, she enjoys good health. She is a woman of noble Christian instincts, and has a large eirele of friends in this township.
ANDREW WILLIAMS.
On the Columbus and Greensburg road four and one-half miles south- west of the pleasant village of Burney, in this county, there is situated a comfortable farm house within whose walls good cheer and cordial hospi- tality ever reign. Here live a delightful old couple who have made their home on that spot since their marriage in 1867 and who are known far and wide throughout that community, being held in the highest regard by all. Andrew Williams was born on that spot, his present home being a part of the original tract entered by his father from the government back in pioneer days. His wife, who was a Woodruff, also was born in this county, member of a prominent pioneer family, and the two have witnessed the development of the wilderness to its present high state of cultivation. Beginning their home life on this spot in a little log cabin, they prospered and presently their present comfortable and commodious home was erected, where they are living in peaceful content, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all who know them. M»., Williams has displayed enterprise and energy in the opera- tions of his farm and is recognized as one of the most substantial citizens thereabout. He has always been a hard worker and is now enjoying the fitting reward of his life of well-directed toil. Mrs. Williams is one of the gentlest of women, whose benignant ways have endeared her to the entire neighborhood. A woman of exceptional native ability, she has been a helpmeet indeed to her husband and shares with him the ample rewards of their life of earnest endeavor. Mrs. Williams is of the broad-minded type. charitable to all and a good Christian woman. She has the utmost reverence for the memories of the earlier days in that part of the county and delights to talk of those days, her fund of reminiscences making her a very entertain- ing conversationalist.
Andrew Williams was born on the farm on which he now lives, in
III4
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, November 16, 1844, a son of Richard and Dorcas (Dunn) Williams, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, born on July 4. 1804, son of Felix Williams, of English extrac- tion, and the latter of whom was a native of this county, a member of one of the earliest settlers in that part of the county.
Richard Williams came from Virginia to this county about the year 1825 and entered a section of land in Clay township. He then returned to Virginia, but presently returned to Decatur county and proved up his claim. He married Dorcas Dunn, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Swinney) Dunn, prominent pioneers of this region, and to this union were born nine children, namely: Mrs. Nancy McClintick, of Clay township; Mrs. Martha Evans, deceased: James, deceased; Felix, living in Hartsville: Andrew, the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Mary Mitchell, deceased : Mrs. Louisa Pumphrey, deceased : John, deceased, and Mrs. Minerva Smith, deceased; one died young. Richard Williams became one of the heavy landowners of Decatur county, adding to his original tract until he owned fifteen hundred acres of land. He was a man of strong character and one of the shrewdest farmers in the western part of the county. He was reared a Whig, but upon the dissolution of that party entered the ranks of the Democrats, and remained faithful to the principles of Jefferson and Jackson the rest of his life, his death occurring on November 16, 1882.
Andrew Williams was reared on the home farm in Clay township, receiving such educational advantages as the somewhat limited facilities for schooling offered in those days, and grew up properly trained for a life of farming. On October 30, 1867, he was united in marriage to Eliza Wood- ruff, daughter of Enos and Susan (Bourne) Woodruff, early residents of Jackson township, this county, the former of whom was a native of Delaware and the latter of whom was a native of Massachusetts, of English and Dutch ancestry, respectively.
Enos Woodruff and his wife came to this county from Ohio at an early day in the settlement of this region, settling in Jackson township, where they prospered, having been numbered among the most substantial and influential residents of that part of the county. Enos Woodruff was born on September 22, 1822, and died in August, 1899; his wife having been born on January 8. 1824, and died on August 4, 1908. They were members of the United Brethren church and were prominent in the good works of their neighbor- hood. Mr. Woodruff was a Democrat and took an intelligent interest in the political affairs of the county.
To Andrew and Eliza (Woodruff) Williams have been born four chil-
III5
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
dren, as follow: Mrs. Lena Galbraith, born on December 30, 1868, lives southwest of the village of Burney, in this county; John Wesley, May 16, 1871, lives in Bartholomew county, thiis state; Elza Edgar, August 3, 1874, lives in Clay township, and Susan Elsie, 1890, married Clyde Thorpe, lives at Milford.
Upon their marriage, in 1867, Andrew Williams and wife settled on a part of the Williams home acres, for some time living in a log cabin thereon, but as their affairs prospered and the demand of the growing family required more room, they built a comfortable residence and are very pleasantly sit- uated. Mr. Williams is a Democrat, following the earnest convictions of his father in his political faith, and takes an earnest interest in political affairs. being much interested in good government. He has a farm of two hundred and sixty-five acres, which is under excellent cultivation, and he has been quite successful in his farming operations. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for the past thirty years.
JOHN W. TREMAIN.
It was, indeed, a rough road over which many of the earlier settlers had to travel. The wonder is that they arrived at all and not that they carried with them on their arrival especial honors ; but John W. Tremain, the subject of this sketch, not only traveled the road, but, too, arrived with especial honors, for he has succeeded from the financial standpoint, and his fellow neighbors have, again and again, elected him to some office of service as a mark of honor, the last of which he still holds, the office of county com- missioner of the third district of Decatur county.
John W. Tremain was born on June 1I, 1851, in Johnson county, Indiana. He was the son of George W. Tremain, who was a native of Decatur county, and who was born in 1830. George W. Tremain was a son of Reuben and Elizabeth ( Hardy) Tremain. Reuben Tremain was a native of New York and immigrated to Decatur county in 1823, where he, with two brothers, Homer and Simeon, entered a tract of one hundred sixty acres of land in what is known as the Robbins neighborhood three miles southeast of Greensburg. After entering this land, these brothers divided it, each build- ing a log cabin, cleared, improved and cultivated the land. Homer and Simeon died here on this land. Reuben Tremain immigrated to Johnson county, where, in 1848, his son, George W. Tremain, married Phoebe Nay,
II16
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Samuel Nay. Samuel Nay settled in Johnson county in 1832, after traveling afoot, with six companions, from Madison, Indiana. After their arrival in Johnson county they built a house with axes and saws which they had carried with them, and here Samuel Nay lived and died. Phoebe Nay was born in 1828 and died in 1901.
George W. Tremain went back to Decatur county in 1868 and bought a farm where he lived until his death, in 1903. To George W. and Phoebe (Nay) Tremain were born seven children, namely: John W., the subject of this sketch: Samuel J., deceased: Milton R., of Columbus, Indiana; George B., of Celina, Kansas; Caroline, deceased: Mary married a Mr. Munns, of Oxford, Ohio, and Martha married Louis Youman, of Bartholomew county.
John W. Tremain, like many of the earlier settlers, secured most of his education in the "School of Life Experiences." He had only three months' schooling after he was thirteen years old. He lived with his parents until his marriage. at the age of nineteen. Ile was married on August 4, 1870, to Eliza Jane Jones, the daughter of Horace Jones, one of the early settlers of Jackson township. In about 1880 John W. Tremain settled in Jackson town- ship and bought a tract of eighty acres, and here they lived until Mrs. Tre- main's death, at the age of fifty, in 1900. To this union were born five chil- dren, three of whom are now living: George L., of Greensburg, county attorney : Dr. Milton A., a practicing physician of Adams, who is the father of one child, Margaret, eight years old, and Emma, the wife of Forrest Stewart, a former teacher of near Adams and who attended the University of Chicago, and will teach at Hiram, Ohio, at a school of the Christian church of Ohio.
After the death of Mrs. Tremain, Mr. Tremain lived on the farm until in 1904 he sold it and bought an eighty-acre tract south of Sardinia, on which he lives at the present time. This is a highly-improved piece of land with modern buildings and a fine brick residence.
On March 30, 1905, John W. Tremain was united in marriage to Nancy (Webb) LaForge, who was the widow of John LaForge, an early settler and a native of Decatur county. Nancy Webb was born in Jackson township in 1856 and was the daughter of Jonathan and Nancy .Dilman Webb, now deceased and natives of Indiana and Ohio, respectively, who settled in the woods in Jackson township, in Decatur county, when they were first married. They were the parents of thirteen children, the following having attained maturity : Phoebe Ann. Julia Ann, Joseph Jemima, Monroe and America. now deceased, and the following are still living: John, of Columbus ; Jane. married Mr. Misner, of Franklin: Smiley, of Jennings county; Mollie, of
III7
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
Jennings county ; Anna Maria, who is the wife of Nathan Watson, of near Burney, and Emma, who is the wife of D. H. Pike, of Jackson township.
Nancy Webb LaForge was the mother of one child by her first husband, Vinnie, who married Harry Tarkington, of Bartholomew county.
In politics, John W. Tremain has always been an active and ardent Democrat. He has often been elected to offices of trust, all of which he has filled with credit and honor. For ten years he held the office of justice of the peace, he was a school director for a time, and for five years he was trustee of Jackson township, and at the present time he holds the office of county commissioner from his district. He is a stanch and active member of the Christian church.
It is, indeed, a mark of worth and a creditable example to have "hewn through the rocks of adversity" of such a rough road and to have traveled over that road, with little but self-education, with sturdy, resolute step to a place of honor and trust in the gift of his neighbors, and such is the accom- plishments of John W. Tremain.
WILLIAM H. DENISTON.
When one thinks of Scotland and its limited area of land with its dense population, in comparison to the vast area of the United States with its scat- tering population of one hundred years ago, one does not wonder that when John Deniston, in his youth, came with his parents to this country they had to "look around" before they could decide just where they wanted to go ; but after a while they decided to go to the far West, which, at that time, was In- diana, and here on December 30, 1836, William H. Deniston was born.
In Scotland almost every man has some industrial training, and so we find John Deniston, instead of taking up farming for a livelihood, going into the business of a tanner and shoemaker, while in contrast to such a business life his son, William H. Deniston, the subject of this sketch, takes as his vocation the life of a farmer.
John Deniston was born in Scotland 'in 1795 and came to this country with his parents when a child. Later in life he settled in Franklin county, Indiana, where for a time he engaged in the business of tanning leather and making shoes, removing to Butler county, Ohio, where he operated a tannery and made boots and shoes on a large scale until his death there in 1862. John Deniston married Sarah Lines, who was born in 1797 and who died in
IIIS
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
1853. They had eight children, as follow: George died in California; Martha, died in Mt. Carmel, Indiana; David, died in Kokomo, Indiana; Sarah Jane, died in infancy; James, died in White county, Illinois; Helen died in Iowa ; Frank, died on a farm near Sardinia, and William H., the sub- ject of this sketch.
William H. Deniston came, with his brother Frank, to Sardinia, March 14, 1867 and bought a tract of two hundred and nine acres of land which they operated in partnership until 1879, at which time William H. sold his interest and purchased a sixty-eight acre tract of his own. This venture proved a successful one and it was not long until he increased his holdings by the purchase of a two hundred and forty acre tract near Sardinia, and to this he has added a seventy-five-acre tract on which his son now lives. He also owns sixty acres which his son William J. operates.
Mr. Deniston has not been willing to rest at the simple ownership of this fine body of land but has increased its value and usefulness by added improve- ments. until, today, he has each farm well equipped with residences, barns and granaries, having three good residence buildings and four good barns.
William H. Deniston was married on May 21, 1862 to Celeste Doty, of Butler county, whose mother was a Sheilds and whose father was John Doty. Mrs. Deniston was born in 1843 and was the mother of three children, as follow : William J., lives on one of his father's farms near Sardinia and has two daughters. Cecil Bonnie and Dale at home; Annie Maude married Will- iam Hubbard, and is the mother of one son. Lowell C .; Charles E. is married and lives on one of his father's farms, and has one son, Noble Graham.
After the death of his first wife, which occurred on October 8, 1884, William H. Deniston lived with his daughter on one of his farms. The daughter was married in 1892 and Mr. Deniston continued to make his home with her until on June 7. 1911, he was married to Sarah Elizabeth (George) Powell, widow of Charles Powell, of Indianapolis, when he left the farm and moved into Sardinia where he now lives.
Sarah Elizabeth George was the daughter of Andrew George, who left Butler county, Ohio, to settle in Henry county, Indiana.
William H. Deniston has long been one of the active "wheel horses" of the Democratic party in Decatur county. In his earlier days he filled several minor township offices with honor. Mr. Deniston is an active member of the Universalist church.
The forefathers of some of our most worthy and substantial citizens came to this country from a foreign shore, and among these might he men-
1119
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
tioned William H. Deniston, whose father, John Deniston, was brought to this country by his parents from Scotland. Surely, William H. Deniston has proven a worthy and creditable accession to our citizenship.
EDGAR EDDELMAN.
The name heading this sketch is that of a gentleman whose ancestors were of good old pioneer stock, and who could, if alive today, tell of many thrilling incidents with the Indians, and the hardships that belonged to the life in the wilderness. These stories have the same fascination for the lis- tener that the war stories of today have, provided one is not called upon to take an active part in them. It is not difficult to be brave in time of peace, and the early parents who faced the murderous Indians, with neighbors and all assistance beyond call, were made of sterner stuff than the man who faces a sixteen-inch war-gun today.
Edgar Eddelman, of Jackson township, was born on October 17, 1875, on a farm one mile north of where he now resides. He is the son of Amos Henry and Abigail (Shinault) Eddelman. His home of one hundred and forty-three acres in Jackson township is one of the most prosperous in the county, in addition to which, he owns seventy-three acres one mile north, making. in all, two hundred and sixteen acres, with two sets of buildings. Mr. Eddelman does a general farming business, and raises from fifty to seventy-five hogs annually. His political views are in harmony with the Democratic party.
Amos Henry Eddelman was born in 1850 and died in 1905, on the farm where Edgar now lives. He was a son of William H. and Rachel ( Whel- don) Eddelman, who gave him a farm one mile north. In politics he was a Democrat. He was a member of the Baptist church. Abigail Shinault, who married Amos Henry Eddelman, was born in 1849, in Jennings county, and is a daughter of George Shinault, born of German immigrant parents.
The paternal grandfather was William H. Eddelman, a native of Jef- ferson county. Indiana, and a son of Daniel Eddelman. His wife was Rachel Wheldon, also a native of Jefferson county. He was twice married, had two children by the first wife and eleven by the second.
When Kentucky was a wilderness, Daniel Eddelman, great-grand- father of Edgar Eddelman, with his mother and brother, was sheltered in a strong cabin at Bryant's Station, and while here they were attacked by
II20
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
Indians and Daniel was taken by them to near Lafayette, where he was kept until he was twelve years old, when he was returned to Kentucky and claimed by his mother. It is thought that Daniel's brother, James, was killed or burned to death by the Indians. Daniel died in Jackson county, Indiana, when ninety-eight years of age. He was a hunter and trapper, and loved hunting better than farming. He learned the Indian method of counting, which goes as follows, by using fingers: "Nequita, nesway, netheny, narro- way. nollony, cutatha, nesothy, sathaky, sockaty and metathy." and then counting up to one hundred or more by doubling the hands, etc. The Eddel- mans came to Decatur county in the early twenties, and settled in Jackson township. A log cabin was their home until it was replaced by a new house.
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.