USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 100
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about where the city of Connersville now is located. Wesley John farmed nearly all his life on the farm where he was born, but spent the last seven years of his life on a farm he had bought near Bunker Hill, west of Connersville, where he died in 1903, without issue. Mr. and Mrs. Ludlow take an earnest interest in general local affairs in the community in which they live and are helpful in promoting all movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.
JOHN ALFRED STRONG.
John Alfred Strong, one of Harrison township's well-known and sub- stantial farmers, is a native son of Fayette county, but was reared over the line in the neighboring county of Union, returning to this county and locat- ing on the farm on which he is now living, three miles north of Conners- ville, in 1905, the year following his marriage, and has since made his home there. He was born on a pioneer farm in Waterloo township, this county, September 20, 1860, son of Wilson and Eliza (Fiant) Strong, both mem- bers of the pioneer families; the former of whom was born on that same farm, and both of whom are now deceased.
Wilson Strong was born on a farm north of Springersville, in the south- eastern part of Waterloo township, a son of Richard Strong and wife, who came to Indiana from Maryland about 1821 and settled on the farm just noted, in this county, thus being numbered among the early settlers of this county. Richard Strong was of Irish descent, his grandfather having come from the Emerald Isle. On that pioneer farm Wilson Strong grew to man- hood. He married Eliza Fiant, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, but who had come to this county with her parents when a child, the Fiants being among the old settlers of the county. Some years after his marriage Wilson Strong moved over the line into Union county and located at Browns- ville, where he became engaged as a mechanic and wagonmaker and in the immediate vicinity of which place he also owned a farm. During the Civil War, Wilson Strong enlisted for service in the Ohio Heavy Artillery, but was later transferred to one of the Indiana infantry regiments and served for three years during the struggle between the states. He died in 1886 and his widow survived until 1902.
John A. Strong was but a child when his parents moved to Brownsville and there he grew to manhood, taking an active part in the labors of his father's farm from boyhood, and has farmed all his life. In 1905, the year
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following his marriage, he located on the farm on which he is now living, in Harrison township, three miles north of Connersville, and has since made that place his home, he and his family being quite comfortably situated there. Mr. Strong has a well-kept and well-improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres and is doing very well in his farming operations, being regarded as one of the progressive and substantial farmers of that neigh- borhood.
On March 9, 1904, John A. Strong was united in marriage to Emma D. Hamilton, who was born on a farm on the southern edge of the neighbor- ing county of Wayne, west of Beeson, daughter of Thomas and Martha Comfort (Newbold) Hamilton, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Delaware, who came to Indiana with their respective parents in the days of their youth, the two families settling in the Connersville neigh- borhood. Thomas Hamilton was born near Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1810, a son of Alexander and Rebecca Hamilton, pioneers of that section. Alex- ander Hamilton was with Dick Johnson when the latter shot and killed the great Indian leader, Tecumseh, and served as a soldier during the War of 1812. Before 1820 he moved with his family up into Indiana and settled at Connersville, which at that time was but a small collection of rude log houses in the woods along the riverside. It was there that Thomas Hamil- ton grew to manhood. He started a hotel at Connersville and while thus engaged, July 6, 1838, married Martha Confort Newbold, who was born in Sussex county, Delaware, October 6, 1813, daughter of Francis and Com- fort (Rodney) Newbold. who moved from Delaware to Kentucky and thence, seven years later, up into Indiana, their daughter, Martha, then being twelve years of age, and settled on a farm west of Connersville, where, and in Con- nersville, the daughter, Martha, grew to womanhood. Francis Newbold was married thrice and his daughter, Martha, was the youngest of the five chil- dren born to his first wife. Years after coming to this county Francis New- bold moved over into Rush county and there spent his last days. For thirty- five years Thomas Hamilton was engaged in the hotel business at Conners- ville, his first hotel having been located on the east side of Central avenue, opposite the court house. From that site he moved to what later was called the Buckley Hotel, at the northeast corner of Eastern avenue and Fifth street. He and his wife were admirable hotel keeps and did a good business. It is a matter of recollection among old settlers that they had the first cook stove brought to Connersville and Mrs. Hamilton had a great reputation as a cook, her personal attention bestowed upon the kitchen of the hotel insur- ing to travelers the best of viands. About 1853 the Hamiltons moved to
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Cambridge City, where they took the contract for boarding the men engaged in grading and graveling the National road, which was being constructed through this part of the state at that time, and two years later they moved to a farm west of Beeson, on the southern edge of Wayne county, where Mrs. Strong was born. Later they moved to the Elijah Hurst farm, in that same vicinity, and there Thomas Hamilton died in 1864, he then being fifty-four years of age. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring on October 7, 1898. Thomas Hamilton and wife were the parents of eight children, all of whom lived to maturity save one who died at the age of eighteen months and all the others of whom are still living save Alexander, William and John A., who died on October 16, 1916, those of the survivors besides Mrs. Strong, the youngest, being Mrs. Rebecca Taylor, of German- town ; Mrs. Mary Hearkless, of Elwood, and Robert H. Hamilton, of Wayne county.
Mr. and Mrs. Strong have one child, a son, Charles Hamilton Strong, born on June 16, 1905. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the various beneficences of which they take a proper interest, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live. Mr. Strong is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. He is a public- spirited citizen and takes a good citizen's interest in all movements having to do with the promotion of the best interests of the community.
LEONIDAS A. KLINE.
Leonidas A. Kline, one of the substantial farmers and landowners of Waterloo township, this county, and former trustee of that township, was born on the farm on which he is now living and has lived there the greater part of his life. He was born on September 15, 1863, son of Abraham and Caroline (Grindle) Kline, both natives of this state, the former born in this county and the latter born in Grant county, whose last days were spent in Huntington county, this state.
Abraham Kline was born in Waterloo township, this county, a son of Daniel and Catherine (Weichey) Kline, natives of Pennsylvania, who came out to Indiana in 1825 and settled in Fayette county, among the earliest settlers of Waterloo township, becoming useful and influential pioneers of that part of the county. Daniel Kline was born in Chester county, Penn-
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sylvania, about 1791, a son of Isaac Kline, of German stock, and there grew to manhood. He married Catherine Weichey, also of German stock, and in 1825 drove through to Indiana, with a view to establishing a home in the then "wilds" of Fayette county. Upon his arrival here Daniel Kline bought a quarter of a section of land in Waterloo township and there he and his wife reared their family, becoming prosperous farmers. He was an active member of the German Baptist church and did much in the way of pro- moting better things in the pioneer community in which he settled. There Mrs. Catherine Kline died on October 6, 1862. She was a devoted member of the Christian church. Some time after the death of his wife, Daniel Kline moved to Huntington county, this state, where he spent his last days, his death occurring on May 27, 1873.
On that pioneer farm in Waterloo township, where he was born, Abra- ham Kline grew to manhood, a valued aid in the labors of improving and developing the same. He married Caroline Grindle, who was born in Grant county, daughter of Samuel and Caroline Grindle, who lived and died in that county, and in 1872 moved to Huntington county, this state, where he estab- lished his home on a farm and where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on October 11, 1896. His widow, who continued to make her home in Huntington county, survived him for more than ten years, her death occurring on July 8, 1907.
Leonidas A. Kline was about nine years of age when his parents moved to Huntington county and there he made his home, assisting his father in the labors of the farm, until his marriage in the spring of 1888, when he returned to the old home farm in Waterloo township, this county, where he was born, and there has made his home ever since, one of the substan- tial and progressive farmers of that community. He is the owner of three hundred and fifty-nine acres of excellent land in that township and has done very well in his farming operations. Mr. Kline is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs and for four years served the public in the capacity of township trustee, his term of office expir- ing in 1904.
In the spring of 1888, while living in Huntington county, Leonidas A. Kline was united in marriage to Olive Guthrie, who was born and reared in that county, a daughter of John and Martha (Hunter) Guthrie, who lived and died on a farm in that county, and to this union nine children have been born, namely: Elsie, who married Joseph Little and lives in Connersville; Paul, a farmer of Waterloo township, who married Fay David- son and has one child, a daughter, Helen; Ruth, who is a member of Fay-
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ette county's efficient public-school teaching force, and Ralph, Ross, Carl, Harold, Caroline and Mary, who are at home with their parents. The Klines have a very pleasant home and have ever taken a proper part in the social activi- ties of the community in which they live, helpful in advancing all good works thereabout. Mr. Kline is a member of the Masonic fraternity and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that ancient order.
SAM GERBER.
Sam Gerber, one of Posey township's best-known farmers and the pro- prietor of a well-kept and highly cultivated farm of ninety-one acres on the -north edge of the county, about three miles north of Bentonville, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of this county since shortly after he attained his majority. He was born on a farm near Pleasant Run, between Cincinnati and Hamilton, in Hamilton county, Ohio, June 19, 1874, son of John and Mary (Sloneker) Gerber, the former of whom spent his last days in that same county and the latter, in the neighboring county of Butler.
John Gerber was born and reared in Switzerland and upon arriving at manhood's estate came to this country and made his way to Ohio, locating at Hamilton, where he married Mary Sloneker, who was born and reared in Germany, and then engaged in farming in the Pleasant Run neighborhood between Cincinnati and Hamilton, continuing thus engaged there until his death about 1886, leaving his widow with five children, of whom the subject of this sketch, then twelve years of age, was the third in order of birth. After the death of her husband the Widow Gerber moved with her family up into Butler county and there she spent her last days.
Sam Gerber was about twelve years of age when his father died and after the family moved to Butler county he was a valued aid to his mother in helping to keep the family together. He remained there until he was twenty-two years of age, when, in 1896, he came to Indiana and located in this county, where he ever since has made his home. For a year or two after coming here Mr. Gerber was engaged at farm labor west of Connersville and after his marriage in 1897 he rented a farm and began farming for himself and was thuis engaged, farming the old Huston farm near Hawkinsville, in Harrison township, for ten years, at the end of which time, in June, 1907, he bought the farm of ninety-one acres on the north edge of Posey township,
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three miles north of Bentonville, where he ever since has made his home and where he and his wife are very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of that farm Mr. Gerber has made numerous substantial improvements and now has an excellent farm plant, good buildings and well-tiled fields. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of hogs for the market and is doing very well in his operations. Mr. Gerber is a member of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
Mr. Gerber's wife, born Nellie Jane Caldwell, was born at Connersville, daughter of Sanford and Elizabeth (McCann) Caldwell, both of whom also were born in this county and the former of whom is still living here. San- ford Caldwell was born in Posey township, on the farm two miles south of Bentonville, where Fred Hackleman now lives. May 18, 1843, son of Train and Jane (McClure) Caldwell, the former of whom, a native of North Carolina, was but an infant when his parents came West, first locating in Ohio and then moving over into Indiana and settling in Harrison township, this county, in the days when the blockhouse was still being maintained there as a protection against the Indians and for some time lived in the blockhouse, which was situated where Daniel Caldwell now lives. Train Caldwell grew to manhood amid the pioneer conditions that then prevailed in Posey town- ship and became one of the extensive farmers and stockmen of that part of the county. About 1865 he moved to Connersville, where he became engaged in the pork-packing industry and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Sanford Caldwell was reared in this county and for some years after his marriage in 1873 was engaged in the retail meat business in East Connersville, remaining there until 1882, when he moved to Yankee- town, where he became the owner of a farm of one hundred and three acres, on which he made his home until about 1912, when he retired and has since been making his home with his children. His wife died in 1896. She was born, Elizabeth McCann, on a farm east of Connersville, a daughter of Basil and Eleanor (Webb) McCann, the former of whom was born in Jennings township, this county, a son of James and Barbara (Darey) McCann, who came to this state from western Virginia and located on land that now is in the very heart of the city of Indianapolis; but believing that land there never would amount to anything presently came over into Fayette county and located in Jennings township, on what now is known as the old Spivey farm, three and one-half miles east of Connersville, later moving to a farm which occupied the present site of East Connersville, where they established their home. Basil McCann became a partner in the big pork-packing concern of
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Caldwell & Company and was office manager for the same. When that con- cern went out of business about 1876 he continued his extensive farming operations and also for some time operated a saw-mill. He later engaged in the mercantile business in East Connersville and was thus engaged for about ten years. He was an active Republican and he and his wife were earnest members of the Christian church. Basil McCann died in 1885 and his widow survived him for fifteen years, her death occurring in 1900. She was born, Eleanor Webb, in Rush county, a daughter of Isom and Elizabeth (Cassidy) Webb, and when a child came to this county to make her home with a cousin, Mrs. Thomas White, and was living there at the time of her marriage to Basil McCann. To Sanford and Elizabeth (McCann) Cald- well four children were born, those besides Mrs. Gerber being Charles and Frank Caldwell, who live on a farm about four miles southwest of Conners- ville and Carrie, wife of William McClure, of Connersville.
WILLIAM MAZE.
William Maze, trustee of Waterloo township, this county, and the pro- prietor of a fine farm of two hundred acres in the southeastern part of that township, was born and reared in the neighboring county of Union, but has been a resident of Fayette county for the past twenty years or more, during which time he has come to be one of the best-known men in the county. He was born on a farm in the Quakertown neighborhood, in Harmony town- ship, Union county, April 17, 1867, son of John W. and Susan (Hollings- worth) Maze, both of whom were born and reared in that same township, members of pioneer families in that part of the state.
Reared on the paternal farm in Union county, William Maze grew to manhood there and after his marriage began farming on his own account. In March, 1896, he came over into this county and bought the farm on which he is now living, in the southeastern part of Waterloo township, and has ever since made that place his honie. Mr. Maze has two hundred acres of land in that farm and his place is well improved and profitably cultivated. Mr. Maze is a Democrat and in 1904 was elected trustee of Waterloo township, serving in that important capacity for four years. In 1914 he was re-elected to that same office and is now serving his second term as trustee, giving to the duties of his office the most careful attention to the needs of the public.
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He and his wife are members of the Christian church at Springersville and take a proper interest in church work.
Mrs. Maze, whose maiden name was Alva Simpson, was born in Water- loo township, daughter of Benjamin and Melinda Jane (Strong) Simpson, both of whom were born and reared in the southeastern part of that same township. Mrs. Simpson was a daughter of Richard and Susan Strong, early settlers on the farm on which Mr. and Mrs. Maze are now living. Benjamin Simpson, who was a son of William Simpson, one of the early settlers in Fayette county, for years served his home township in the capacity of justice of the peace.
To Mr. and Mrs. Maze four children have been born, namely: Earl, who died when fourteen months of age; Anna, who married Wilbur Osborne and lives in the northwestern part of Union county; John Stanford, who is at home, and Lawrence, also at home. Mr. Maze is a member of both the subordinate lodge and the encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, affiliated with the former at Brownsville and with the latter at Liberty, and takes a warm interest in Odd Fellowship. He is a public- spirited citizen and has ever given his aid in promoting such movements as are designed to advance the common welfare of the community.
OLIVER T. FIANT.
Oliver T. Fiant, one of Waterloo township's well-known and progressive young farmers and the proprietor of a well-kept farm near Waterloo, was born on the farm on which he is now living in that township and has lived there all his life. He was born on March 29, 1882, son of Daniel and Lavina (White) Fiant, both of whom were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and whose last days were spent in Connersville, the county seat, Daniel Fiant having been serving as a member of the board of county com- missioners at the time of his death.
Daniel Fiant was born on a pioneer farm in Waterloo township, this county, January 28, 1846, son of John and Hannah (Fiddler) Fiant, the former of whom also was born in this part of the state, on a pioneer farm over the line in Union county, a son of Daniel and Saloma (Gaby) Fiant, prominent among the early settlers of this part of Indiana. The senior Daniel Fiant was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, son of a Hessian
(65)
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soldier, one of the band of troops hired by the Duke of Hesse to the British government for use against the American patriots, but who had deserted the British cause, putting in his lot with that of the colonists, and after the war had remained on this side, married here and established a home, his family now being a numerous one and represented in various parts of the country. Trained as a carpenter, Daniel Fiant followed that trade during his young manhood in Pennsylvania. There he married Saloma Gaby and in 1802 he and his family came out to this part of the country, then regarded as the "wilds" of the West. and settled on a farm in Union county, not far from the present Fayette county line, in the then territory of Indiana, and there established his home. In addition to buying a tract of land there, he also bought a pioneer mill, but the latter proved unprofitable and was not long continued. In 1834 the pioneer Daniel Fiant moved over into Fayette county and settled in Waterloo township, where he had leased a quarter of a section of school land for a term of ninety-nine years, and there he and his wife- spent their last days, his death occurring in 1866, he then being eighty-six years of age, and hers, in 1867, she then being eighty-five years of age. John Fiant, the tentli in order of birth of the children born to the above pioneer couple, was born in 1818 and grew up on the pioneer farm in Union county, realizing fully the hardships which attended the efforts of the early settlers to bring the wilderness to a habitable state. In 1843 he married Hannah Fiddler, a daughter of Samuel Fiddler, and establishied his home in this county, becoming the owner of a farm of one hundred and seventeen acres. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist church, of which Daniel Fiant, the pioneer, and his wife also had been members, and he for years was one of the deacons of the local congregation of that church.
The younger Daniel Fiant, grandson of the pioneer whose name he bore, was reared on the home farm in this county and in April, 1871, was united in marriage to Lavina White, who was born in Waterloo township, this county, August 24, 1849, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth White. Daniel Fiant and his wife began their married life on a farm not far from Waterloo, in the township of that name, and as time passed prospered in their operations, gradually enlarging their holdings until they became owners of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres of excellent land, all of which was well improved. In 1908 Daniel Fiant was elected a member of the board of county commissioners from his district and in that same year retired from the farm, turning the same over to the management of his sons, built a comfortable house in Connersville and moved to the county seat, where he
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and his wife spent their last days. In 1910 Daniel Fiant was unanimously renominated to the office of county commissioner, but did not live to enter upon his second term of office, his death occurring at Connersville on August 30, 1910. His widow survived him less than three years, her death occurring in March, 1913. She had been a member of the Brethren church for many years and it has been written of her that "her religion was a vital, controlling principle of her life." For more than thirty years Daniel Fiant had been a member of the Dunker church and for many years served as president of the German Baptist Tri-County Mutual Protective Association. To him and his wife seven children were born, two of whom died in early youth and the other five of whom are still living, those besides the subject of this sketch being Della, Martha and Oren, who continue to live in the house in which their parents died in Connersville, and Sylvia, who married Roy Sherry, also of Connersville.
Oliver T. Fiant was reared on the farm on which he is now living and has lived there all his life. He completed his schooling in the high school over in Wayne county and early began giving his practical attention to the labors of the farm. After his marriage in 1903 he established his home on the old home place, eighty acres of which he now owns, and there he and his family are very pleasantly and very comfortably situated.
On December 13, 1903, Oliver T. Fiant was united in marriage to Nelle Louise Stanley, who was born in the neighboring county of Union, a daughter of Edwin and Wealthy Ann (Gruell) Stanley, both natives of this section of Indiana, the former born in this county and the latter born in the neighboring county of Franklin, who are now living retired at Lyons Station. Edwin Stanley was born on a farm in Jennings township, this county, June 16, 1843, son of Nathan and Mary (Golden) Stanley, the former a native of the state of Tennessee and the latter of this county. Nathan Stanley was but ten years of age when he came from Tennessee to Indiana with his widowed mother, two sisters and a brother, the family settling on the Jonas Scholl farm in the eastern part of Jennings township, this county. In that township Nathan Stanley spent the rest of his life as a farmer and was a substantial and influential citizen. He was twice married. His first wife, who was Mary Golden, born in Jennings township, this county, a daughter of Stephen Golden and wife, who lived one mile from Alquina, on a farm now owned by Reed Nichols, died when her son, Edwin, was nine or ten years of age, leaving seven children. Later Nathan Stanley married Eliza- beth Grimes, who bore him four children and was a devoted mother also to the children by her husband's first marriage.
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