History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions, Part 84

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1378

USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 84

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).

The other sons and daughters, deceased, of John Harding, and their children were as follow: Providence, who married Sarah Ann Johnson, of Butler county, Ohio, whose children were Mary Jane Earls, Newport, Indi- ana, deceased; John (whose children are Arthur, Ella, La Mond, Blanche

868

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

and Robert Harding of Cincinnati, Ohio) : Rebecca Ann Hall, Paris, Illinois ; Reuben, an attorney of Chicago, Illinois (deceased) ; Marcus, now of Hills- dale, 'Indiana ; Mrs. Caroline Waltman, died July 1. 1915; Mary Ann Marlin (wife of Wesley Marlin and buried in the Marlin cemetery on the old Charlie Marlin farm in Franklin county, Indiana), whose children were John, Charles. Susan, Tamsen Green and Cicero; Emaline Earls ; Israel, Sr., whose children were Enoch F., of Newpoint, Elizabeth Dortan, now of Washington state, Richard, of Newpoint, Nancy Graham, of Terre Haute, Indiana, George Albert, of Troy, Ohio, John, of Clarksburg, Indiana, James, of North Loop. Nebraska, died in February, 1915, Susan, deceased: Sarah, and Ed, of Newpoint ; Enoch, whose children were Israel, Jr., John, Providence, Reuben, Alfred, Hester Ann, and William ; Elizabeth ; Hester, wife of George Osborn ; Florence, wife of Albert I. Osborn, whose children were Hester Puttmann, Susan Jane Barnard, Annie and John; IIarrison, whose wife was Mary Abraham Smith, now of Indianapolis: and Sophia Jane, deceased, wife of Lewis Marlin, now of Richmond, Indiana, whose children were Mary Ellen (deceased), Mollie Strohmeier, of Philanthropy, Butler county, Ohio, Olive Alyea, of Richmond, Indiana, and John, deceased.

James Lancaster Harding during his boyhood and youth was able to obtain a rather liberal education for the time in which he lived. He was educated at Rossburg and Newpoint, and, after completing his education, settled on the "east eighty" acres of his father's farm. The one-and-one- half-story log house situated at the northwest corner of this eighty acre part of the farm, in which all of the children of James L. Harding were born, was razed in the spring of 1915, after it had been carefully photographied. The present Harding home was erected in 1887, at the site of John Harding's old home.

On January 11, 1866, James L. Harding was married to Eliza Louisa Hennking ( Hankins) of Franklin county, Indiana, at which time he built the log house and soon afterward moved into it. The parents of his beloved wife were Herman and Mary ( Thole) Hennking, both of whom were natives of Germany. Herman Hennking took ship for America at Bremen, some time in the thirties. After spending a while in Baltimore he came westward to Cincinnati where he married Mary Thole, whose family name became well known in Cincinnati. Eliza L. Harding was born on August 22, 1844, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lived until her ninth year, and was baptized in the St. John's Lutheran church, of Cincinnati. She, with her parents, then removed to Newport, Kentucky. After residing there five years, she again removed with her parents, to Franklin county, Indiana, where she lived until

869

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

her marriage in 1866. Her father, Herman Hennking, was born in August, 1814, in Germany and died on October 30, 1892, on the Hennking homestead, east of Newpoint, at the edge of Franklin county. Her mother, Mary (Thole) Hennking was born in Germany, on March 25, 1821, and died on August 18, 1899, on the homestead in Franklin county. Eliza Louisa Hard- ing had one brother, Ed, deceased, and one sister, Mary, wife of Eli Snedeker and also deceased. The father and mother of Mrs. Harding were buried in the Huntersville German Lutheran cemetery at Batesville, Indiana.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. James L. Harding, and the grand- children, are as follow: George Edward, born on December 27, 1866, who was married on November 24, 1892, to Electa Coon, of Osgood, Indiana, to whom were born six children, Walter O., Edward, Lewis J., Chester D., Juanita, and Mary Elizabeth; Ira Melvin, November 18, 1868; Charles Mil- ton, April 17, 1870; Augustus Clifford, June 25, 1872; Evert and Ella (twins), February 24, 1875, died in infancy .; Oscar Judson, March 5, 1876; Lewis Albert, February 1, 1880, and Grover Cleveland (Clyde), July 23, 188.1. Of these, Augustus C., a man steady and reliable in his business lives in Indianapolis : Ira M. faithfully assists his father in the agriculture of the homestead ; Charles M., a man noted for his thrift and skill of hand, manages much of the business of the homestead for his father, and because of his prudence and good judgment, his wide reading, knowledge and live interest in affairs, contributes his talents as a most valuable citizen in the community in which he lives; Lewis A. is an active man of affairs in public life, and is now serving his second term as prosecuting attorney of the ninth judicial circuit of Indiana, at Columbus.

Eliza Louisa Harding, wife of James L. Harding, died when she was a comparatively young woman. The appropriate scripture reading at her funeral was Proverbs 31:10-31. Her obituary, read by the Rev. G. W. Bower, who conducted the services at Rossburg, contained the following tribute offered by one of her sons:

"Wife, mother, and neighbor, she lived the even tenor of her life with busy thrift, and ruled her home with counsel wise and kindly, loving words. Her ways were ways of pleasantness and all her paths were peace.

"Alas! that strange affliction should becloud her closing days. She struggled for six long years with patient hope, and endured what she alone could tell. On May 1, 1901, she peacefully succumbed to death, age fifty-six years, eight months and nine days. The Master called and she was well pre- pared to die.

"Loved one, wife, mother, friend-thy troubles and trials are over now.

870

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

Rest, mother, rest. We have gone down with thee to the dark valley ; but thou hast left 11s and crossed 'over the river to rest under the shade of the trees.' "

Oscar J. Harding, died on December II, 1902. "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest. whatsoever things are pure, whatso- ever things are of good report," he thought on those things. By his life well did he, indeed, prove the saying that a wise son maketh a glad father.

Grover C. Harding began his career in educational work in which he had a particular interest and for which he possessed an exceptional faculty, but like one of his first teachers in school, he had to leave that work in man- hood's early morning. His purposes and ideals were high and he got his first inspiration for this work perhaps from a brother of Superintendent Jacob G. Collicott, of the Indianapolis schools, the late Harmin R. Collicott, who taught school at Rossburg. Lewis A. Harding and Grover C. Harding were two of the latter's students, and the good influence of that teacher will go on and on in the lives and souls of all who were fortunate enough to learn the lessons both of books and of life which that one man taught in the little school at Rossburg. Grover C. Harding was graduated from the Newpoint high school on April 20, 1897. In the course of his oration entitled "Value of An Education," which he gave on that occasion he said :

"Education does not mean cramming our heads with 'book learning,' but our moral training as well. Our state would rather see us ignorant Christians than educated criminals. Many treat the subject of education too lightly. They do not realize the bearing it will have on after life." He died on July 19, 1905.

The eldest son, George E. Harding, died at Osgood, Indiana, Septem- ber 13. 1905. His obituary stated regarding him: "He was a man who looked faithfully to the interests of his home, his wife, and his children. He always sought the betterment of the community in which he lived and spent his days in industry and thrift."

A general survey of the genealogy of the Harding family shows that one of the knights in the train of William the Conqueror, 1066, was named Hard- ing, or Hardyng, as it was spelled. Sometimes there is a final "e," Hardynge.

It seems that the name, a compound of "har" or "here" and "ing." means the place where an army camps. "Here" is army and "ing" a meadow. Much curious data is found in books devoted to surnames, and in a list of names which are peculiar, to say the least, we find that one Harding, of Lewes, was graceful. He figures in the list as "Graceful Harding of Lewes." Others of a like kind are "Fight-the-Good-Fight-of-Faith White" and "Weep Not Billing." Hardyng, who was one companion of William, and founded

871

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

the family which flourishes in. Kent, Warwick, Devonshire and Derbyshire, was "of royal blood." One of the learned inen of his time was Thomas Harding, of Combe Martin, Devonshire. In the Visitation of Derbyshire the descent is given from Nicholas Harding, of Knewton, who had Robert. His son, Nicholas, was the father of Robert, who had a son, Nicholas, born in 1662. Sir Robert, of Nottinghamshire, and Knewton, or King's Newton, was knighted at Whitehall, February 2, 1674. John Harding of this lineage was born in 1686, was prominent in the political life of England and member of Exchequer, 1715. William Ilarding, of Surrey, who died in 1503, had a son, William, by his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir John White, Lord Mayor of London, 1563. The son, William, dying without children, his sister, Mary, became the heiress of William Harding, her father. Mary inarried Sir Robert Georges and became the mother of eight. As far as the Harding lineage is concerned, she, of course, plays no part in the Harding records. Mary's sister, Elizabeth, married John Buckland, "of an ancient family." Sir Robert Gorges was born of Sir Ferdinando Gorges and liis wife, Ann Bell. One Robert Gorges was living in Plymouth Bay Colony in 1623. He was Sir Robert, or near kin to him. After his death his land in Plymouth went to his brother, John. Sir Ferdinando Gorges's second wife (but not the mother of his children) was Eleanor, Marchioness of North- ampton, and widow of William Parr, Marquis, who was the brother of Cath- erine Parr, one of the Queens of Henry VIII.

HARDING COAT-OF-ARMS.

The Harding coat of arms is blazoned : Argent, a bend sable, with three martlets, or, crest, a falcon displayed, proper. This coat armor is ascribed to the Thomas Harding who was prominently connected with the settlement of Virginia.

872

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

"Colonial Gentry" gives an account of that branch of the Harding family which lives in Somerset county at Milverton, near Taunton. George Rogers Harding, who was born in Somerset county and had a political appointment in Queensland, was the son of George Harding, of Devonshire. The Morris and Winter are allied families. Nicholas Harding, "of Kingston-upon- Thames, Esquire," was born in 1772. His daughter, Jane, married Henry Pelham, of Sussex, and had Anne, who married Thomas Papillon. Monu- ments to the memory of both may be seen in Acrise church, Kent. Of Frances, daughter of Thomas Papillon, it is recorded that she was "a servant of Christ and friend of the poor."

A member of the Harding family contributes the following data: "As I am informed, the Hardings were prominent in Virginia and in Massa- chusetts. In Virginia they were called 'Cavaliers,' and Augusta county was their home. My grandfather, John Harding, was not a first settler, for he was born in Virginia. He left there while a lad in company with his father, and uncle Samuel and others, when the country was a wilderness. The party came through Kentucky, staying there long enough to help clear a farm. Thence they crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati and settled in Butler county, Ohio, where another farm was cleared, and there John Harding raised his family. All were born there except my father, who is a Hoosier product, and proud of the fact. My grandfather often talked of that journey through the wilderness, of its incidents and trials, and the perilous trip across the moun- tains. Their principal food was the deer they killed. Their passage was so slow that many times they were obliged to go back and get fire to start their supper from their previous night's camp. They were sixteen or eighteen days crossing the mountain-slow going, the travel of those old pioncers. At times they unhitched their horses and pulled the wagons, one part at a time, up the steep precipices."

John Harding, of Virginia and Ohio. married Susan Abraham, who was born in Kentucky. Her parents settled in Butler county, Ohio, about the time the Hardings made their home there, and near the "Dry Fork of the White- water." Thomas Harding was one of the Virginia pioneers. He is put down in old records as prominently connected with the settlement of Virginia and from London, "member of an ancient family." In New England we find the Hardings in Massachusetts and Vermont, where they contracted marriages with the Vintons, Gibbs, Waldos, Marceys and Maxhams. Rev. Alpheus Harding, of New Salem, Massachusetts, was in the War of 1812 as chaplain.

We also find that the Hardings belong in Pennsylvania. John Harding, of Germantown, of English stock, had a son, Jolin. Saunders and Haws

873

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

are allied families, and the goodly number of nine daughters-all lovely girls, we may rest assured-and two sons is the count in one household. All his- tories of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, have records of the Hardings as worthy pioneers, who always were to the fore in affairs demanding execu- tive ability.

The Hardin (no "g") family of Kentucky became Western pioneers. Asa Hardin, the father of ten, and born in Kentucky, went to Illinois. Allied families include the Stith, Reager, Rucker and Butler families. Benjamin Hardin, famed as an orator and lawyer, was the son of Benjamin Hardin, of Kentucky, and his wife, Sarah, who was also his cousin, the daugliter of Colonel John Hardin. Wat Hardin was also a famous Kentucky lawyer and orator. It is in Kentucky that Hardin is the usual form of the name. Steve Harding, of Milan, Indiana, was appointed the first territorial governor of Utah by Abraham Lincoln.

An allied family is that of Barbour. The Barbours were from Virginia, and an early father was a burgess. Major James Barbour was in the War of 1812. Brigadier-General Martin Hardin, United States senator and secretary of the state of Kentucky in 1812, was a remarkably brilliant man and a splen- did soldier. He belonged to the fifth generation of a race of soldiers. He married Elizabeth Logan. Stuarts, Chinns and Clays are allied families. The Hardings, as well as the Hardins, have their soldiers, bold and true, ready to sacrifice all save honor for home and country. Gen. William Harding is one of the soldiers of the family, and there is a connection with the Jackson family, through the marriage of Selene, daughter of General Harding, to Gen. William Jackson, born in Virginia.

General Jackson's home was Belle Meade Farm, Tennessee, where he died a few years ago. He was a West Point graduate. Judge Howell, brother of General Jackson, married Mary Elizabeth, sister of Selene Harding. The mother of Selene and Mary Elizabeth was Elizabeth Irwin McGavock. The father of Gen. William Harding, was John, who married Susannali Shute. The general, who had three other daughters and a son, William, is called a scholar and soldier, and a gentleman. Family connections of this branch of the Harding family include thie Langhornes, Whites, Kents and Campbells. Gen. William Campbell, of Revolutionary fame, belongs here.

Of the Hardings of Mississippi, Lyming Harding was prominent, and one of the securities for Aaron Burr's appearance at the superior court at the time of his arrest, when he was compelled to surrender to the authorities and was conducted under guard to Washington, Mississippi, the seat of govern- ment of the territory. Burr gave his recognizance in the sum of five thousand

874

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

dollars, with Col. Benaiah Osmon and Lyming Harding as securities. This was when Aaron Burr was on his way to seize Mexico and make it his per- sonal empire. He was a guest of Colonel Harding at Windy Hill manor, and during his sojourn there he became infatuated with the beautiful Madeline and impetuously made love to her. "She was a miracle of beauty," and good as beautiful.

WALTER HUNGERFORD.

Seldom do we find a family living in the rural sections of the middle West, which is able to trace its ancestry, not only to the earliest wars of this country, but to the ancestral home in the country, from which the family came to America. The Hungerfords are a notable exception. Iu a straight line of descent the family is traceable to Lord Walter Hungerford, who was lord treasurer of England under Henry VI. The family origin- ated near Bath and Trowbridge, England, and owned many thousands of acres of agricultural and hunting lands, villages, schools and churches. Farleigh Castle, now called Farleigh-Hungerford, is the old ancestral home in England. The family was quite prominent in England during the War of the Roses, the motto on the ancient seal of the Hungerfords being the Latin phrase "Et Dieu mon appuy," or "God, my protector."

Walter Hungerford, the cashier of the St. Paul Bank at St. Paul, Indiana, which was organized on December 10, 1904, is a direct descendant of Lord and Lady Hungerford, of Farleigh Castle. A native of Rush county, Indiana, he was born on a farm, July 13, 1873, the son of Orlando and Margaret ( Knapp) Hungerford, both of whom were natives of Rush county, the former born in 1852 and the latter in 1854. Orlando Hunger- ford is a son of Calvin Hungerford, a native of Connecticut and a scion of an old colonial family of Connecticut, who was born on December 10, 1811, and who died on June 23, 1867. The latter married Eleanor Sefton, who was born on October 18, 1818, and died on February 1. 1892. Calvin Hungerford was the son of Richard Hungerford, who was born on Decen- ber 28, 1788, and died in 1870. Richard Hungerford was the son of Lem- uel and Abigail (Beebe) Hungerford, the former of whom was born on February 21, 1761, and who died on February 21, 1846, and the latter born on July 10, 1761, and died on January 27, 1842. Lemuel was the son of Lemuel Hungerford, Sr., who was born on May 23, 1733. and who mar- ried Sarah Stewart. Lemuel, Sr., was the son of Green Hungerford, who

875

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

married Jemima Richardson, and Green Hungerford was the son of Thomas and Mary Hungerford, the former of whom died in 1714. Thomas Hun- gerford moved from New London, Connecticut, to Haddam, Connecticut, in 1692. He was granted a section of land and was first selectman or mayor of Haddam. By trade he was a blacksmith and nailmaker. Capt. Zach- ariah Hungerford was commander of Ft. Trumbull and Ft. Griswold, on the Connecticut river, during the Revolutionary War. The family's church burying lot in Haddam shows a massive slab, bearing the inscription, "A Son of the Revolution." Thirteen Hungerfords from Connecticut fought in the Revolutionary War and this was only a part of the family who served in this great conflict .. Benjamin Hungerford was second lieutenant in the First Company of the Fourth Regiment; David was long a prisoner at Fort Washington : Elijah was a "minute man" who volunteered in 1776; James was a soldier of East Haddam; Thomas H, was captain of the Fif- teenth Militia : Uriah was a surgeon at Long Island ; Uriah was a piper, and Zachariah a surgeon. John, Joseph, Nathaniel, Oliver and Stephen were also soldiers. William E. Hungerford was one of the first of the family to come to America. He had a beautiful home and estate on the banks of the Connecticut river. At his death, his remains were taken back to England and buried in Salisbury cathedral, where the twin tombs of Lord Walter and Lady Hungerford are still shown.

Richard Hungerford came from Connecticut to Indiana, in the early twenties of the last century, settling in Rush county, where he took up government land in tracts of one hundred and sixty acres each for each of his five children. Orlando Hungerford resided in Rush county until his marriage and then moved to Shelby county in 1875. locating near Blue Ridge, where he prospered. He became a large landowner and is one of the wealthiest citizens of this section today. To his union with Margaret Knapp three children were born: Walter, cashier of the bank at St. Paul, who is the subject of this sketch; Pearl, a farmer near St. Paul ; and Dora, assistant cashier in the bank of St. Paul. Orlando Hungerford lives just across the line in Shelby county.

Walter Hungerford was educated in the common schools of Blue Ridge, in Rush county, and spent two years in the Marion Normal College at Marion, Indiana. He then followed farming until 1904, when he came to Decatur county, locating at St. Paul, where he opened the St. Paul Bank on December 10, 1904. This bank has had a remarkable growth since its opening for business and this growth is largely due to the enterprise, indus- try and good management of its cashier. Mr. Hungerford is a man of

876

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

engaging personality, cordial in his relations with the patrons of the bank,. the depositors, directors and officers, as well as the public generally.

Walter Hungerford has been twice married, first in 1894, to Zora K. Yarling, the sister of Senator Yarling, of Shelby county. She died in November, 1904, leaving two sons, Donald, who was born on May 28, 1896, and George, October 2, 1898. By the second marriage, on December 10, 1905, to Mrs. Nellie Kelso, of St. Paul, there has been no issue. Mrs. Hungerford is the daughter of Mrs. Colvil E. Pearce, a widow of this county.

Mr. Hungerford is a Democrat but has never been active in political circles. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Waldron and of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at St. Paul. He and his wife are members of the Christian church. They occupy a splendid residence in St. Paul. Walter Hungerford is known in this community as a fine fellow, cultured and progressive, a good citizen and a very pleasant gentleman.

FRED E. MULFORD.

After various attempts by local boys to work the hot sandwich business at nights on the streets of Greensburg, there finally came an outsider from the neighboring town of North Vernon, who has held that vocation at his will since October 19, 1899. This young man is Fred Mulford, who was born and reared at North Vernon, his birth occurring on January 13, 1874. His parents were Hoosiers, being natives, respectively, of Jennings and Dearborn counties, Indiana. Fred, as he is known by every man, woman and child for miles around, has endeavored at various times to better his condition financially, but, having engaged in a business in which he was his own boss, being sure of not getting fired off the job and having a family of five children, he did not get very far away from the sure meal-ticket provider, that of the sandwich business.

When fourteen years of age, Fred Mulford learned to lath with the plasterers and follows that line of work steadily at North Vernon, Charles- town and at Memphis, Tennessee. He also turned a number of jobs at Greenburg and elsewhere in Decatur county. This led him into taking a complete course in architecture with the Scranton International Correspond-

877

DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.

ence School. He became very proficient in this line of work. He was the agitator and furnished sketches for the improvement of the Centenary Meth- odist Episcopal church at Greensburg. Though the building committee used other plans, Mr. Mulford received compensation for the time previously spent in getting the work under way. He also drew several sets of plans for differ- ent buildings in Greensburg, but, bcause of real estate deals, they were not carried out and built upon. It was because of his drafting ability that he was mentioned to the publishers of this work as being capable of drawing the maps used herein. His ability is displayed in the complete maps of the county and the nine townships, with all farms platted according to the spring assessor's platting in 1915.

It was during the progress of this work that a tragedy occurred that was a sad blow to Mr. Mulford and family and the entire community. Mr. Mul- ford went to Indianapolis on June 5, 1915, to submit his work to the pub- lishers, according to previous contract. Wishing to show his little five-and- one-half-year-old daughter, AAlma Alleen, a pleasant day's outing, he took her with him to the city. From the B. F. Bowen Company offices, Mr. Mul- ford and his little daughter went to the Century building in Indianapolis, where they took the elevator for the eighth floor. Directly after entering the elevator, another passenger entered and the elevator started up. This pas- senger got off at the third floor. The operator started the car up and attempted to close the screen door. Alma Alleen, who was standing at the side and partly back of her father, seeing the door still standing open, thought it was her getting-off place. She hurried out, and, as the car was at least fifteen inches above the floor level, missed her footing, fell forward and struck her forehead. She let out a smothered scream as her other foot slipped off the elevator floor and she fell back down into the shaft three stories, on to a concrete basement floor, her skull being fractured and the right leg broken at the thigh. The accident, which would not have occurred had the operator closed the door of the elevator before starting the car, resulted in the death of little Alma Alleen, who lived just twelve hours, dying in the Deaconess hospital, at Indianapolis, just before midnight. At the coroner's inquest the passenger who left the elevator at the third floor, testified that the father was not at all to blame, and that the operator had failed to close the door before starting the car.

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.

History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions, Part 84

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1378

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1378