History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 95

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1326

USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 95

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).

970

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

for delegates to the first constitutional convention held in that state and after coming to this state voted for delegates to Indiana's first constitu- tional convention.

To Templeton and Sarah Ann (Loder) Beeson seven children were born, one of whom died in infancy and the others of whom grew to matur- ity, namely: Isabelle, Leroy, Theodore, Edgar, Willard and Charles. Isa- belle Beeson lived to be past fifty years of age and died unmarried. Leroy Beeson died when past fifty years of age, leaving a widow and two chil- dren. Theodore Beeson, who died in 1908, had been married, but his wife and only son had preceded him to the grave. Edgar Beeson is now living in the village of Dublin. His wife and two sons are deceased. Willard Beeson is continuing to make his home on the old home place.

Charles Beeson continued to make his home on the old home place until after his marriage in the fall of 1911. He previously, however, had bought the farm left by his brother, Theodore, at the west edge of Benton- ville, and after his marriage moved onto that farm and has there since made his home. He has a fine farm there, besides land in the West, and is the owner of more than three hundred acres of land. He has on his home farm a thoroughly modern residence, equipped with furnace, bath and a lighting plant and other conveniences, "West View Farm" being regarded as one of the most desirable places in that part of the county. For years Mr. Beeson has made a specialty of raising registered Shorthorn cattle and has a fine herd. Politically, he is a Republican, and has ever given a good citi- zen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.

On October 4, 1911, Charles Beeson was united in marriage to Luella Manlove, who also was born in Posey township, this county, on a farm about three miles southeast of Bentonville, a daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth J. (Scott) Manlove, the former of whom was born in that same township in 1842, a son of William and Margaret (Munger) Manlove, both members of pioneer families in that part of the county. William Manlove was born on January 19, 1815, the first white child born in Posey township, and was a son of George Manlove and wife, who are said to have been among the first settlers in that part of the county. George Manlove, a native of North Carolina, had attempted a settlement on the headwaters of Lick creek, in what is now the southeastern part of Posey township, as early as 1811, entering the northeast quarter of section 28 on October 31, 1811, the first purchase in what is now Posey township. He was related to the Caldwells, who settled at the same time just east of what is now Harrison township.

971

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

They had settled for a time at Fairhaven, in Preble county, Ohio, and had moved from there over into Indiana Territory, settling in what later became organized as Fayette county. It is said that George Manlove, with the Cald- wells, being somewhat afraid of trouble with the Indians when the war broke out, returned to Preble county and there remained until 1814, when all returned to the settlements they already had effected in this county. George Manlove, in 1818, taught the first school in Posey township. William Manlove grew to manhood on that pioneer farm and married Margaret Munger, daughter of Edmund K. Munger and a member of one of the first families to settle in Fayette county, further and fitting mention of which family is made elsewhere in this volume, the Mungers having been among the first to settle in the "New Purchase." Oliver Manlove also grew to manhood in Posey township and there married and established his home, spending his last days on his farm in the southeastern part of that township, his death occurring there when his daughter, Luella, was but seven years of age, he then being thirty-nine years of age. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring in April, 1916. They were the parents of three children, Mrs. Beeson having a sister, Mrs. Flora B. Hubbell, of Benton- ville, and a brother, Oliver Manlove, Jr., who is continuing to farm the old home place. Mr. and Mrs. Beeson have a very pleasant home and take a proper part in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all causes having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.

PHILIP F. WEAVER.

Philip F. Weaver, one of Posey township's best-known and most sub- stantial farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of nearly two hundred acres at the southern edge of the pleasant village of Bentonville, was born in that village on July 2, 1861, son of James and Charlotte (Schrader) Weaver, both of whom were born in that same neighborhood and whose last days were spent in this county, useful and influential residents of the com- munity in which they spent practically all their lives.

James Weaver was born on a pioneer farm just southeast of Benton- ville, a son of George and Catherine (Hiser) Weaver, Virginians, who were among the earliest settlers in the Bentonville neighborhood, the Weaver family thus being one of the oldest families in Fayette county. It was but two or three years after the land in that section was opened for settlement

972

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA,

that George Weaver acquired his holdings in Posey township, probably about 1823. He had accompanied his parents from Virginia to Ohio, the family settling at Dayton, from which point most of the large family of children scattered out, seeking homes in the new lands of the then "wilds," and when he and his wife started to make their home in a log cabin on their farm in Posey township the land they had acquired from the government was prac- tically all in deep forest growth. There George Weaver -and wife reared their children and there spent the remainder of their lives, useful residents of that pioneer community. On that pioneer farm James Weaver grew to manhood, a valued assistant in the labors of developing and improving the same, and after his marriage continued farming in Posey township the remainder of his life, with the exception of four years spent in the town of Dublin, and died at his home near Bentonville on January 30, 1887. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring on April 5, 1914.

Charlotte Schrader was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of the Weaver farm southeast of Bentonville, daughter of Philip and Martha (Turner) Schrader, pioneers of that section. Philip Schrader was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and upon reaching manhood's estate went to Ohio, where he married a Woodruff and remained for some years, meanwhile keeping a lookout for a new place of settlement. His sister, Mrs. Hall, and husband had come over into Indiana not long after the open- ing of land for settlement here and had entered a tract of land in the south- ern part of Posey township and Philip Schrader not long afterward entered several tracts a short distance east of where his sister and her husband had settled. One tract that he particularly desired, the east half of the southeast quarter of section 30, southeast of Bentonville, had been entered by another and he bought it from the original entrant, returning then to his home in Ohio. His wife died in the latter state and he later married Martha Turner and about 1826 came to this county to enter upon possession of his land here. He established his home on the tract in section 30 above mentioned and by dint of hard labor soon converted it from a forest wilderness into a well- improved farm. In 1830 he erected on that tract the substantial brick house which still stands there and is still in good condition, the bricks and the lime for this old house having been burned by himself on the place. Philip Schrader became a well-to-do farmer and on that pioneer farm he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring about 1871. His widow con- tracted pneumonia at his funeral and died two weeks later. Philip Schrader was the father of nine children, two children, Elisha and Aaron, by his first marriage and seven by his second marriage, William, Noble, Charlotte,

973

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

Amanda, Matilda, Julia and Evaline, the latter of whom, Mrs. Evaline Somers, is the only one now living. On the Schrader farm Charlotte Schrader made her home until her marriage to James Weaver. To that union two sons were born, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Albert Weaver, unmarried, who is making his home on the old home place with his maternal aunt, Mrs. Somers.

Philip F. Weaver completed his schooling in the high school at Dublin during the time the family resided in that town and was from the days of his early youth trained in the work of the farm. He married a year or more after his father's death in 1887 and continued to make his home on the home farm with his mother until 1895, when he moved to his present well- improved farm of one hundred and ninety-five acres a half mile south of Bentonville, where he since has made his home and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. In 1915 Mr. Weaver built a fine new house on his farm, a substantial modern dwelling, with electric lights, steam heat, running water and all necessary improvements to add to the comfort and convenience of the family.

On December 19, 1888, Philip F. Weaver was united in marriage to Lorena Munger, who was born on the old Munger homestead in the south hali of section 19 in Posey township, this county, one mile east of her present home, daughter of Lazarus and Savannah (Ferguson) Munger, the former of whom was born in a log cabin on that same farm on September II, 1831, a son of Edmund K. and Mary (Cole) Munger, the former of whom was born in Rutland county, Vermont, September 13. 1790, the third in order of birth of the twelve children born to Gen. Edmund and Eunice (Kellogg) Munger. Gen. Edmund Munger, also a native of Vermont, was born on September 30, 1763, and, on December 5, 1785, married Eunice Kellogg, who was born on August 13, 1767. For a time after his marriage General Munger was located at Washington, Connecticut, and for a few years later in Rutland county, Vermont. In the spring of 1798 he moved with his family to Belfire on the Ohio river, in Washington county, Ohio. He presently bought a tract of land over in Montgomery county, that state, and in the spring of 1799 loaded his household effects on a flatboat and with his family descended the Ohio to old Ft. Washington, now Cincinnati, and proceeded thence on up the Miami trail to his new possession in the Dayton neighborhood in Montgomery county. The first shelter he erected there for himself and family was a bark leanto, which sufficed until he presently was able to erect a rude log cabin, in which he established his home. He was a man of much energy and from the very beginning of his activities in that

974

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

pioneer community prospered, so that he soon came to be regarded as one of the most substantial residents of that section and a quite well-to-do citizen. Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812 General Munger raised a body of soldiers and drilled them with the expectation of going to the front at the head of that command, but he was superseded by General Hull, who later surrendered his troops to the British at Detroit, much to the rage and chagrin of that whole command as well as to the consternation of the whole country. General Munger spent his last days at his home in the Dayton neighborhood, living to the ripe old age of eighty-seven years, his death, on April 14, 1850, being hastened by a fall from a ladder. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and were ever interested in good works, valuable factors in the work of developing proper social conditions in the community of which they were among the foremost pioneers. She was one hundred years and nearly five months old at her death, January 8, 1868.

Edmund K. Munger was but a child when he moved with his parents and the rest of the family from Vermont to Ohio and he grew to manhood in Montgomery county. When the War of 1812 broke out he enlisted for service and served until honorably discharged. He married in December, 1812, and continued to make his home in Ohio until the spring of 1821 when he came over into Indiana and at the land office at Brookville bought a tract of two hundred acres in section 19 of Posey township, this county. In October of that same year he settled on that land with his family, making his home there in a log cabin until, in 1835, he erected a substantial brick house on the place and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occur- ring in June 10, 1872. He was a man of push and energy and took an active part in the development of that part of the county. His wife was a devoted member of the Baptist church and they were among the leaders in local good works in that neighborhood. On December 17, 1812, Edmund K. Munger was united in marriage to Mary Cole, who was born in Virginia on October 15, 1794, and who was but a child when her parents, Samuel and Catherine (Bryan) Cole, moved to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county. To that union twelve children were born, one of whom, Lazarus Munger, was married on September 10, 1866, to Savannah Ferguson, who was born on February 8, 1843, daughter of Linville and Elizabeth M. (Loder) Ferguson, pioneers of that community, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in this county. Lazarus Munger was an excellent farmer and became the owner of five hundred and twenty-five acres of the best land in Posey township, which farm he brought to a high

975

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

state of cultivation. For some time during the early sixties he served his township as assessor and often represented his party as a delegate to county, district or state conventions. For years he and his brother, Edmund Munger, were actively engaged in breeding fine live stock, operating under the firm name of L. & E. Munger, and were quite successful in that line. Lazarus Munger was a good citizen and took pride in doing what he could to advance the common welfare in the community in which he spent all his life. He died at his home in Posey township on May 27, 1909, and his widow sur- vived him for nearly three years, her death occurring on May 7, 1912. They were the parents of three children, Lorena M., wife of Mr. Weaver, War- ren and Helen E.

To Philip F. and Lorena M. (Munger) Weaver four children have been born, Blake and Max, both of whom died when thirteen years of age, and Edith and Laz, the latter a graduate of Rushville high school. Edith Weaver has educated herself in preparation for teaching. The Weavers are members of the Christian church and have ever taken a proper part in local good works and in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in advancing all worthy causes thereabout.

HAYDEN LEWIS.

The late Hayden Lewis, who died at his well-kept farm home in Jack- son township, this county, on July 1, 1914, was born on that farm on' May 31, 1849, and had lived there all his life. He was a son of Enoch and Elizabeth (Clifton) Lewis, the former of whom also was born on that farm, a son of Leonard Lewis, of Welsh parentage, who settled there in terri- torial days, the farm ever since having been in the possession of the Lewis. family, being now occupied by the widow of Hayden Lewis-a period of more than one hundred years. Enoch Lewis, who was born in 1815, spent all his life on the farm on which he was born and there reared his family. He married Elizabeth Clifton, who was born on October 15, 1816, a daugh- ter of John and Rebecca Clifton, the former of whom was born on August 25, 1791, a son of Daniel and Deborah Clifton, the former born in 1764, a son of Simon Clifton, and the latter, July 8, 1765. John and Rebecca Clif- ton came to Indiana from New Jersey and became substantial pioneer resi- dents of Fayette county.

Hayden Lewis grew to manhood on the ancestral farm in Jackson town-

976

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

ship and after his marriage established his home there, continuing to make that his place of residence until his death in 1914, he then being sixty-five years of age. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, taking a warm interest in both church and lodge work. Hayden Lewis was a good farmer and left to his widow and children aggregate land holdings of two hundred and twenty-seven acres of excellent land, including the old Hanley homestead, which is pictured elsewhere in this volume.

On March II, 1877, at Connersville, Hayden Lewis was united in mar- riage to Sallie Sanders, who was born at Hope, in Bartholomew county, this state, a daughter of James J. and Susan (Whitlock) Sanders, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter on a pioneer farm in the south- ern part of Jackson township, this county, a daughter of Joseph Whitlock and wife, early settlers of that community. James J. Sanders grew up as a farmer in Kentucky and later came to Indiana, locating in Bartholomew county, whence, about 1862, he moved to a farm near Laurel, in Franklin county, where he lived until 1873, in which year he moved to a farm near Danville, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life. His daughter, Sallie Sanders, was living at Laurel at the time of her marriage to Hayden Lewis. To that union four children were born, Inez L., Alden, Howard and Alma Fern, all of whom are living with their mother on the farm on which they were born. Mrs. Lewis is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are her daughters, and takes an active interest in church work. as well as in the general good works of the community in. which she lives.

JOHN MITCHELL SCOTT.

John Mitchell Scott, a well-known and veteran druggist at Indianapolis, is a native son of Fayette county and has ever retained the heartiest interest in the affairs of his old home county. He was born on a pioneer farm in the northeastern part of Orange township on September 16, 1854, son of Judge John and Sarah Snodgrass (Carter) Scott, prominent and influential residents of that community. Judge John Scott, one of the pioneers of Fay- ette county and former associate judge of the county, was for years one of the most forceful factors in the general life of the community in which he settled in the early twenties and in which he spent the remainder of his life. In a biographical sketch relating to William W. Scott, also a druggist at

John M Scott

977

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

Indianapolis and elder brother of the subject of this sketch, presented else- where in this volume, there is set out at considerable length the history of the Scott family in this county, with particular reference to the part Judge Scott took in the affairs of the community during his long residence here, and the attention of the reader is respectfully invited to that interesting narrative for further details of a genealogical character in connection with this brief review of the life of a former resident of Fayette county, who, though long a resident of Indianapolis has never ceased to hold in affectionate memory the scenes of his boyhood and early manhood in this county.

Reared on the paternal farm in Orange township, John M. Scott was from the days of his boyhood a valued aid to his father in the labors of the farm and remained there until he was twenty-seven years of age. He had received his schooling in the schools of his home neighborhood, having attended variously the Swamp school, the Poplar Grove school and the Iles school, and supplemented the same by much and careful home study, with particular reference to the study of materia medica, chemistry, botany and the like, and in 1881 went to Indianapolis, in which city his elder brother, William W. Scott, had a few years before engaged in the drug business, and in associa- tion with the latter entered upon his career as a druggist. A year or two later John M. Scott bought his brother's interest in the store and continued the business himself, his location at that time being at the corner of New York street and Indiana avenue. In 1893 he sold that store and moved further up town, opening a drug store at the corner of Illinois and Sixteenth street and has there ever since been very successfully engaged in business, long having been recognized as one of the veteran druggists of the capital city. About ten years ago Mr. Scott's eldest son, Clinton Lawrence Scott, became a partner of his father, but two years later abandoned the drug business and went to Kansas, where he is now successfully engaged in the retail lumber busness. Another son, Charles Williams Scott, succeeded to the partnership and this mutually agreeable arrangement continues, the business being conducted under the firm name of J. M. Scott & Son. Mr. Scott is a member of the Marion County Retail Druggists Association, the Indiana Pharmaceutical Association and the National Association of Retail Druggists and in the affairs of these several trade associations has for years taken a warm interest.

On November 18, 1875, in this county, John M. Scott was united in mar- riage to Emmazetta Williams, who was born in the Everton neighborhood, in Jackson township, this county, a daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Ann ( McIl- wain) Williams, both of whom also were natives of this county. Jeremiah (62)

978

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

Williams was born on a pioneer farm in the Everton neighborhood on June 21, 1829, a son of the Rev. Elisha Williams and wife, who were for years among the most influential and useful residents of that part of the county. The Rev. Elisha Williams was a native of Kentucky, born in Pulaski county, that state, August 3, 1802, and was fourteen years of age when his parents came up into Indiana and after a year spent in the vicinity of Brookville came on up into Fayette county and settled west of Everton, where he grew to manhood and where he spent the remainder of his life. He married Martha Baker, who was born on June 5, 1808, and to that union ten children were born. The mother of these children died on July 4, 1856, and Mr. Williams afterward was married twice, but these later unions were without issue. In 1830 Elisha Williams joined the Methodist church and on August 4, 1841, was licensed as an "exhorter" in that body and on August 28, 1852, was ordained as a minister of the same. The Rev. Elishia Williams was a "shout- ing" Methodist and his earnest exortations to his pioneer hearers exerted a powerful influence for good throughout a wide territory hereabout. At the Mt. Zion campmeetings he was accustomed to mount a stump and issue a gen- eral invitation to all within the sound of his stentorian voice to repair to his house for dinner and to stay all night. Needless to say, this generous invitation would be accepted with such a degree of unanimity that not only the house, but the barn, would be filled to overflowing with guests and the chicken-house and garden cleaned out before the meeting would be over. This earnest pioneer preacher lived to a ripe old age, full of good works to the end of his days, and he died at his home near Everton on November 21, 1884, being then well past eighty years of age.

Jeremiah Williams grew to manhood on his father's well-kept farm near Everton and on February 25, 1849, married Mary Ann Mcllwain, who also was born in this county, near Everton, August 5, 1828, a daughter of John and Sarah (Logan) McIlwain, substantial pioneers. After his mar- riage Jeremiah Williams continued farming in Jackson township until 1861, when he moved to a farm he had bought in Orange township and there he spent his last days, his death occurring on May 23, 1875. For some years after his death his widow kept the home and the children together and then she went to Glenwood, where she resided for some time, later moving to Rushville, where she spent her last days, her death occurring there in 1910, she then being eighty-two years of age. To Jeremiah Williams and wife seven children were born, two of whom died in infancy, the others being as follows: Theresa L., who married Charles H. Alger, of Rushville, in November, 1882, and died in April, 1911, without issue; Emmazetta, wife

979

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

of Mr. Scott; Martha J., wife of James F. Ryburn, of Rushville; Sarah J., born on August 14, 1859, who completed her musical education in the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and for years devoted her life to teaching music and who has for years been a resident of Rushville, and Elisha, the only living son, born in Orange township, October 29, 1863, now a substan- tial farmer living west of Connersville, who married Marianna Bilby, daugh- ter of Francis M. Bilby, and has three children, Clyde Hubert, Elsie Annetta and Mary Ellen.

To John M. and Emmazetta (Williams) Scott three children have been born, namely: Clinton Lawrence, now engaged in the lumber business in Kansas, who married Nellie Richolson and has one child, a daughter, Donna Louise; Charles W., engaged with his father in the drug business at Indian- apolis, who married Nellie Wheldon and has six children, Martha Wheldon, John Mitchell, Joseph Wheldon, Charles Alger, Clinton Lawrence and George Williams, and Ida May, who married Walter Scott Ryan, now living at Westfield, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City, and has one child, a son, Walter Scott Ryan, Jr. The Scots have a very pleasant home in College avenue, Indianapolis, and takes a proper interest in the general social activities of their home city, ever helpful in promoting local good works. Mrs. Scott is a member of the Fourth Presbyterian church in that city and takes an active part in the various beneficences of the same.

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 Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 95

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1326

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1326