USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 68
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products of this well-known greenhouse and a wide territory is supplied from the Clark houses, shipments of the standard and best varieties being made to points as far west as Denver, as far north as Toronto and as far south as Atlanta and New Mexico. In addition to these select varieties, Mr. Clark also cultivates a general line of florist's goods and has a place which is one of the show places of the town, carrying on a business in which all the people in and about Greensburg take a very proper pride. Ira Clark & Company's greenhouses cover twelve thousand square feet of surface, com- prising eight large houses, hot water and steam heated, and are otherwise fully equipped according to all modern requirements.
Ira Clark was born on a farm near the town of Clarksburg, this county, on June 5, 1870, the son of Hezekiah E. and Catherine J. (Miller ) Clark, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1827 and died at his home in this county in 1896, and the latter of whom was born in Franklin county, this state, on June 1, 1840, and is now residing in the city of Greensburg.
Hezekiah E. Clark was the son of William Clark, who founded the town of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, in the year 1817, and who, with his brother, gave a church to the town. Just ninety-eight years later, on February 14, 1915, this historic old church was profusely decorated with flowers shipped from Greensburg by Ira and Nellie M. Clark, grandchildren of William Clark. William Clark and three brothers came to America from Scotland in the eighteenth century, one of the brothers locating in Pennsylvania, another in New Jersey and the other in South Carolina. William Clark later moved to Ohio, in which state his last days were passed. His son, Hezekiah E., came to Decatur county, Indiana, in 1854, settling in the village of Clarksburg, where he married Catherine J. Miller, who was born on June I, 1840, the daughter of Jacob and Rebecca ( Lewis) Miller, and who now is residing in Greensburg. Jacob Miller, a native of Virginia, was the second person to settle in Fugit township, this county, and was one of the men who organized the township. He came to this county about the year 1821, fol- lowing a "blazed trail," and quickly established himself here, being one of the most potent forces in the creation of a social order in the then wilderness. His wife, Rebecca Lewis, was a cousin of "Davy" Crockett, she and the inimortal hero of the Alamo having been reared children together. The Lewises and the Crocketts left Virginia together, but parted at Cinch mountain, the Crocketts going on into Tennessee and the Lewises coming to Indiana. Jacob Miller, who was born in the year 1800 and died in 1872, first settled on Salt creek, in Franklin county, this state, where he married Rebecca Lewis, later coming to this county and settling in Fugit township where he
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and his wife spent the remander of their lives. Hezekiah Clark moved from Fugit township to Clinton township, this county, and died on the farm in that township, one of the most highly respected men in the county. Both the Clarks and the Millers were of a hardy, self-respecting, upright race, stanch Methodists and firm in the expression of the courage of their con- victions. The Millers entertained John Wesley when that great apostle of Methodism made his historic tour into Virginia. These two families were ardent temperance advocates and practiced what they preached, even in a day when the drinking of strong drinks was a common practice. In the old "log rolling" days, when it came time for Jacob Miller to invite his pioneer neighbors to such a fete, he declined to furnish whisky to the par- ticipants in the arduous labors of the day, notwithstanding the time-honored custom of the period; being so strictly temperate in his own habits that he would not consent to putting the intoxicating glass to his neighbors' lips.
To Hezekiah E. and Catherine J. (Miller) Clark were born seven children, five sons and two daughters, namely: Jesse M., who died on April 9, 1898; Tillman, who lives in Howard county, Indiana; Mrs. Clara Draper, who lives on a farm east of Greensburg, in this county; Emimet, a well- known farmer of Adams township, this county; Nellie M., who is associated with her brother, Ira, in the florist's business in Greensburg; Ira, the imme- diate subject of this sketch, and A. Burl, who lives in the state of Oklahoma.
Ira Clark received his early education in the schools of Sandusky, this county, and was graduated from the school at that place. To this course of schooling he added a course in the Central Normal School, at Danville, Indiana, from which he also was graduated, after which, for ten years, he taught in the schools of Sandusky and St. Paul, this county, being the assist- ant principal in the latter school. He then, in the year 1901, engaged in the florist's business in Greensburg, he and his partner conducting the business for a year under the firm style of Hedges & Clark, the concern in 1902 becoming known as Clark & Company. The beginning of this business was on a comparatively small scale, but Mr. Clark later bought out the green- houses of Henry Bentlage, combining the two greenhouses under the present efficient management, and has been quite successful.
In 1897 Ira Clark was united in marriage to Carrie Bell-Vandament, a well-known and popular teacher in the Sandusky schools, the daughter of J. C. Bell, a prominent resident of that village. To this union two children have been born. Wayne, who now is sixteen years of age, and Lewis, now twelve years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark are members of the First Methodist Episcopal
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church and are active workers in the congregation to which they are attached, Mr. Clark being one of the church stewards. Following the example of his pioneer forbears, Mr. Clark is a strong temperance advocate and is one of the leaders in all the good works of the city in which he lives. In his poli- tical views he is quite independent, believing that it is the duty of a good citizen to support the ablest and most conscientious men for positions of public trust and responsibility, regardless of the party with which candi- dates for office are affiliated. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in the affairs of these two popular fraternal orders.
Mr. Clark is an energetic business man and public-spirited citizen who has the entire confidence of the community in which he lives and he and Mrs. Clark are held in the highest regard by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.
CORNELIUS MESSLER.
Cornelius Messler, a well-known retired citizen of Greensburg, Indiana, belongs to a family which served its country most valiantly during the trying days of the Civil War. Four Messler brothers, of whom Cornelius was the second, hazarded their lives on the battlefields of the Civil War for the preservation of the American Union. It is doubtful whether there are any families in Decatur county, which can show a more patriotic record than this. A member of Company H, Third Indiana Cavalry, and in the service of his country nearly four years, a participant in at least twenty-five severe battles, including the battles of Corinth and Pittsburg Landing, Cornelius Messler was taken prisoner at Soloman's Grove, North Carolina, on March IO, and held until the latter part of 1865, a period of sixty days in all. Two brothers, James and John, were members of the One Hundredth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and one brother. Henry, was a soldier in the Eleventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. This country is enthus- iastically and reverently proud of the splendid service which was per- formed by the heroes of 1861-65. It is not only proud of the service they performed during this troubled period, but it is likewise proud to number among its citizens in these days of peace the battle-scarred veterans of that war, among whom is Cornelius Messler ..
A resident of Greensburg, Indiana, Cornelius Messler lives in a com- fortable home. and was born on September 23, 1832, in Hamilton county,
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Ohio, the son of John S. and Sabina Messler, the former of whom was a native of New Jersey, born on August 2, 1797, and who died on September 30, 1840, the latter of whom was born on April 13, 1809, and died on June II, 1849. Jolin S. Messler, who came west from Philadelphia, died in Union county, Indiana, and his wife passed away in Salt Creek town- ship, Decatur county. They had six children, William F., James, Cornelius, John R., Henry, and Mary A.
When twelve years old, Cornelius Messler was employed to drive a team along the old White Water canal, from Cincinnati to Cleavestown, and thence by the way of the Wabash & Erie canal to Toledo, a distance of three hundred and eighty miles. In 1842 the family came to Decatur county, where Cornelius lived for one year, and then returned to the state of Ohio, and was engaged as a stage-driver in that state for a period of six- teen years. In the meantime he worked at various occupations, coming to Decatur county, Indiana, to live permanently in 1897.
Mr. Messler has been twice married, the first time to Sarah A. Hannan, who was born on November 5, 1828, and who died on February 2, 1883. She was buried in Taswell county, Virginia. Slie was the mother of five children, three of whom, Mary A., John and Anna, the youngest, are now deceased. The two eldest, William, who was born, October 3, 1855, and James H., on June 8, 1859, live near Frankfort, and Hartford City, respec- tively.
Many years after the death of Mrs. Sarah A. (Hannan) Messler, Mr. Messler was married again, April 21, 1898, the second time to Sarah Eliza- beth Bell, who was born on the Bell homestead on April 11, 1840, and who is the daughter of Henson S. and Ann (Marlin) Bell, natives of Woodford county, Kentucky, and Monmouth county, New Jersey, respectively, the former of whom was the son of Daniel and Nancy Bell. Henson S. Bell. who died on November 30, 1890, at the age of eighty-one years, was a mere boy when he came from Kentucky to Indiana. For some time he and his wife lived in Laurel, but they later moved to a farm, just before the death of his wife in 1841. In 1850 he removed to Oregon, driving overland, but returned in 1873, and lived on his farm until his death. In the meantime he had traveled over Oregon. Washington. and California. He had two children, Nancy Jane, deceased, who was born in 1837, and who died in 1856. and Mrs. Cornelius Messter. Daniel Bell, the father of Henson S. Bell, died on April 28, 1875, at the age of ninety-five years. His wife, Nancy Bell, died on February 8, 1883, at the age of ninety-five. They had come to Decatur county in 1822, and homesteaded on government land. On their
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trip to Decatur county they were accompanied by their son, Henson, the father of Mrs. Messler. Before returning home they planted a patch of corn, and upon coming back to Decatur county found out that the squirrels had eaten up the corn. The ten children born to Daniel and Nancy Bell. John, Louisa. IIenson, George, Thomas, Mary, Nancy, Tarlton, James and Julia, are all deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Messler have a farm of eighty-one acres in Fugit town- ship, the old Bell homestead, although they have for several years resided in Greensburg, where. in October, 1902, they bought a home. They are known as among the most delightful people living in the city of Greensburg. Mr. Messler is a man who has enjoyed a variety of experiences. and who is rich in anecdote of former times, a charming conversationalist, a genial, broad-minded citizen, who is revered by his fellow townsmen and honored by all with whom he has ever come in contact. Mrs. Messler is a woman of most gracious personality, refined and cultured, interested in all worthy publie movements, and who for many years was a leader among her sex in this county. Eminently worthy as both Mr. and Mrs. Messler are, they well deserve the respect and esteem of the people of Greensburg and Decatur county. Mrs. Messler is now and has been a member of Mt. Carmel Methodist Episcopal church since 1855.
HARRY H. MOUNT.
Harry H. Mount, of Greensburg, Indiana, formerly a school teacher and banker, now a farmer, who owns two hundred and forty acres of land near the Shelby county line, is one of the best-known citizens of Decatur county. For several years he has been an extensive breeder of Aberdeen Angus cattle, and for the past two years has raised only registered cattle. Ilis herd consists now of forty-four head, eight of which are registered stock.
Mr. Mount was born on December 28, 1875, on a farm in Noble town- ship, Shelby county, Indiana, two miles west of Clifty, or Milford, the son of Thomas J. and Nancy (Thornburg) Mount. natives of Noble township, Shelby county, Indiana, the former of whom was born on August 24, 1846, and who died on October 10, 1910, and the latter of whom was born on July 6, 1844, and who died on September 2, 1894, many years before the death of her husband. The late Thomas J. Mount was the son of Matthias.
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and Margaret (Marsh) Mount, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in 1823, and who died in 1893. Coming to Shelby county, Indiana, with his father when a mere lad, he eventually succeeded to the land his father entered from the government, and it is this land which is now held by the Mount family. His wife, who before her marriage was Margaret Marsh, was born in 1825, and died, three years before the death of her hus- band, in 1890. They had ten children, six of whom lived to maturity, Thomas J., was the father of Harry H .; Mrs. Martha Hanks died on Feb- ruary 23, 1913 ; Amos died in March, 1894; Hannah is deceased; Sarah died in 1881 ; and Mrs. Enima Blackmore lives on the old home place.
Thomas J. Mount, a successful farmer and stockman, removed to Greensburg in November, 1884, from which place he looked after his farm- ing interests, living there until 1908, when he returned to the farin, and there died. In 1896 hie purchased a farm from Frank Butler on the Shelby and Decatur county line, a part of which was in Clay township, Decatur county, and a part of which was in Shelby county. He owned four hundred and fifty acres in all, and at one time was an extensive breeder of Poland China hogs. He exercised his right of franchise as a Republican. He and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The late Thomas J. and Nancy (Thornburg) Mount had only two children, Harry H., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Elmer E. Wooden, who lives in Greensburg. Mrs. Nancy (Thornburg) Mount was a native of Noble township, Shelby county, Indiana, and the daughter of Thomas and Maria (Berry) Thorn- burg, who were in turn natives of Pennsylvania, and Ohio, respectively. They migrated to Shelby county, Indiana, in the late thirties.
Educated in the country schools of Decatur county and in the Greens- burg high school, Harry H. Mount attended the State University at Bloom- ington, Indiana, pursuing his studies in the scientific course. After teaching school for two years in Clay township at the Hiner and Brown schools, he resigned in 1899 to take a position as bookkeeper in the Third National Bank, and from December 1, 1899, to May 1, 1912, a period of thirteen years, he was bookkeeper and teller at this institution. Since 1912 Mr. Mount has been devoting all of his attention in directing the work on his two-hundred- and-forty-acre farm on the Shelby county line.
On June 7, 1905, Harry H. Mount was married to Daisy E. Gartin, of Hartford City, Indiana, who is the daughter of Griffith and Laura E. (Templeton) Gartin, formerly residents of Decatur county, Indiana. The father now lives in Muncie. Mrs. Mount was born on September 27. 1876, in Decatur county. Her father, who was born in this county on October
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26, 1854. is the son of Griffith Gartin, Sr., a native of Virginia, and an early settler in Decatur county. Her mother, who before her marriage was Laura E. Templeton, was born on February 13, 1853, and died on June 25, 1882, in Franklin county. She was the daughter of John Templeton, who came to Decatur county in an carly day. Mrs. Mount is the only child born to her father's first marriage.
A Republican in party politics, Harry H. Mount is a member of the Greensburg city council, and is giving efficient service to his fellow towns- men as a public official and an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Mount are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 148, at Greensburg, and for seven years has been keeper of records and seal. Mr. and Mrs. Mount live in a modern home, and both are well educated and highly refined. Mrs. Mount is treasurer of the Department Club at Greensburg, and both take an active part in the social life of the city.
SAMUEL H. STEWART.
The Stewart family in Decatur county was founded by Adam L. Stew- art, a native of South Carolina, born in 1811, and who died in 1896. From South Carolina, he immigrated with his father, James Stewart, to Ohio, and it was here that he was reared. From Ohio he came to Rush county about 1834, and one year later moved to Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, where he settled. Here he married Isabella Hood, the daughter of Samuel and Isabella ( Lee) Hood, whose grandfather, John Carson, of Virginia, was a soldier in the American Revolution. Isabella Hood was born in Ken- tucky in 1816 and died in 1888. She was brought to Decatur county by her father, Samuel Ilood, who came in 1827. In 1852 Adam L. and Isabella (flood ) Stewart moved to a farm in Clinton township, consisting of eighty acres and here they lived until their deaths.
Samuel II. Stewart, who is one of eight children born to Adam L. and Isabella Stewart, and who is a prominent stock dealer and farmer of Greens- burg, now living retired, is the subject of this sketch. Samuel H. Stewart was born on January 26, 1837, in Fugit township. He was the eldest child born to his parents, the others being James, who died at the age of thirteen ; Mrs. Sophia Weed, deceased; Eliza, who died in 1868; Mrs. Nancy Amanda Foley, a widow who lives in Greensburg: John, of Kansas City; Margaret, who died in April, 1914, and Mary, who died at the age of two years.
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Samuel H. Stewart, who responded to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, enlisted in Company FF, Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1861 and served three months, being mustered out in July, 1861. He was in the first battle of the Civil War at Philippi, Virginia, and also served throughout the Cheat river campaign.
On November 9, 1865, Mr. Stewart was married to Hannah Donnell, who was born on August 9, 1837, in Fugit township, and who is the daugh- ter of Samuel Addison and Mary (Lowe ) Donnell, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in 1808 and died in 1870 and the latter born in 1810 and died in 1858. Samuel Donnell, whose wife was Hannah Quiett of Kentucky, settled in Decatur county in 1823. He was the son of James Donnell, a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer settler in Kentucky. James Donnell married Catherine Gibson, a native of Virginia. Six children were born to Samuel A. and Mary ( Lowe) Donnell, as follow : Mrs. Hester Jane Rankin, of Greensburg; Luther, who died in Fugit township; Hannah; Seth, deceased; Thomas R., of Greensburg, and Mrs. Rebecca Angelina Miller, of Franklin, Indiana. The Donnell family is a very large one in this section of the country. Mrs. Mary (Lowe ) Donnell, the mother of these children, was a daughter of Seth and Rebecca ( Ryan) Lowe, the latter of Virginia. He was the first settler in the Kingston neighborhood, the Hamiltons and Mc- Coys coming in 1823. he preceding them by two years. Although a member of the Baptist church, he attended the Presbyterian church and was a man of charitable and benevolent disposition. He reared several children beside his own family, and was known during his day and generation as a noble character.
After Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were married, they settled in Clinton town- ship and in 1871 moved to Greensburg, where he engaged permanently in the live stock business. This business, however, he had really begun in 1855. During his life, Mr. Stewart has bought and sold thousands of cattle and hogs. In the early days he shipped from three to fifteen carloads of cat- tle and the same number of carloads of hogs, at one time. He shipped to Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, principally. Although Mr. Stewart has owned as high as two hundred and fifty acres of land. he now owns only sixty acres in Clinton township. His farm of two hundred acres which he owns, three miles south of Greensburg, he is now selling off from time to- time. After selling the farm, Mr. Stewart leased it for a period of twenty years.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel H. Stewart have been the parents of four chil- dren, Mary, who is the wife of Charles J. Erdmann, of Greensburg ; Edna.
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who is employed by the State Life Insurance Company, at Indianapolis ; Anna, who is employed on the Greensburg Reviews and who was formerly a school teacher, and Kate, who lives at home.
An independent Republican in politics, Mr. Stewart is a great admirer of President Wilson. Religiously, he is a member of the Presbyterian church as is Mrs. Stewart also. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Pap Thomas Post No. 5. Grand Army of the Republic.
REV. JOHN ADAM URICH.
Decatur county has been the home and the scene of the labors of many men whose lives should serve as a lesson and an inspiration to those who follow them upon the stage of life's activities-men who have been of larger usefulness to the community than in clearing the wilderness or amassing great personal fortune. The honored and esteemed Rev. John Adam Urich, pastor of St. Mary's church at Millhousen in Marion town- ship for the past eleven years, is a man of well-rounded character, sincere, devoted and loyal. Standing as he does today at the head of one of the more important Catholic churches in Decatur county, it is fitting that a brief summary of his life and work be given in this volume.
Born on February 16, 1863, at St. Joe, Vanderburg county, Indiana, he is the son of Bernard and Barbara (Wiedner) Urich, the former of whom was born January 1, 1818, and who died on April 5, 1887, and the latter of whom was born in 1820 and died on June 27, 1909. Both were natives of Hambach, Bavaria, Germany, and were born, reared and married in their native land. With their children, Barbara, Mary and Peter, they came to America in 1854, locating in the Catholic settlement at St. Joe, near German. township, Vanderburg county, Indiana, a distinct German emigrant neighbor- hood. The father became a well-to-do citizen, who owned one hundred and eighty acres of land and who died in good circumstances in his old home in Vanderburg county. A brother of his wife, having urged him to locate in America, he and his wife being of sickly natures, on their doctor's advice, came to Indiana. They had seven children, of whom John Adam was the youngest. The other children were: Mrs. Barbara Nurenbern, of Vanderburg county ; Mrs. Mary Rallet, of Evansville; Peter, who lives on the old home place: Joseph, of Vanderburg county; Mrs. Margaret Cztel- ler, deceased : Regina Czteller, of Evansville.
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After having studied at Tentopolis College in Illinois for two years, the Rev. John Adam Urich entered St. Meinrad College, in Spencer county, Indi- ana, where he remained for eight years, finishing the theological seminary course. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Francis S. Chatard, at Ferdi- nand, Indiana, on June 19, 1886, and was assigned the pastorate of St. Anne's church in Jennings county, where he remained until June 15, 1904, when he was placed in charge of St. Mary's church at Millhousen.
During the Rev. John Adam Urich's pastorate of St. Mary's church all of the parish buildings, including the church, school house, the priest's house and the sisters' house, have been painted and reroofed. Three altars, costing two thousand dollars, have been purchased. The interior of the priest's house and the sisters' residence have been renovated, cement walks have been installed, school grounds have been graded, and a wire fence has been erected around the entire property. Gas lights have been installed inside and outside of the church and many other minor improvements have been made. There can be no doubt that the pastorate of the Rev. John Adam Urich has been a distinct success. This is a large parish and com- prises altogether one hundred and sixty families.
The Rev. Father Urich is not only successful in his pastoral duties, but he is an eloquent and forceful preacher, a man well learned in the his- toric foundation of Christianity and a man who is able to inspire his par- ishioners with love of the Christian church.
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