History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 89

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901

USA > Indiana > Greene County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 89
USA > Indiana > Sullivan County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 89

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).

WILLIAM F. DODDS was born in Gill Township January 22, 1841, the fourth child of twelve born to William F. and Nancy S. (Springer) Dodds, both natives of Kentucky, the father coming to New Lebanon in 1832, and shortly after which he was married. He served as Postmaster at New Lebanon thirty-one years, and as Justice of the Peace twenty- eight years. He died August 5, 1873, being a devoted Christian, hold- ing membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. December 19, 1876, our subject married Abbie (Thrasher) Silver, daughter of Nathan and Rachael (Murray) Thrasher, and to this union four children have been born-Charles A., Mary A., Florence M. and Henry A. Mrs. Dodds had two children by her former husband-Rachael and James L. Subject enlisted during the late war in the Second Indiana Cavalry, Forty first Regiment, and served for a period of three years, being mustered out October 4, 1864. He is a farmer, and owns over seventy- eight acres of good land. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Republican.

DORY EATON was born in Gill Township, Sullivan County, Ind., June 19, 1887, the ninth of eleven children born to William and Mary (Hunt) Eaton, both natives of Kentucky, who came to Indiana in 1816. Dory remained with bis parents till he was twenty-five years of age, when, on January 30, 1862, he married Martha J. Vickery, daughter of Nineveth and Nancy (Hopewell) Vickery, and to this union seven chil- dren have been born, four of whom are now living-Lora, Courty, Nan- nie V. and Oscar D., aged nineteen, fourteen and nine years, and two months respectively. Mr. Eaton received a good common school educa- tion, and his occupation has always been farming, now owning eighty acres of good land. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New Lebanon, and he is a Democrat.

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GEORGE W. HANCHETT, a prominent citizen of Merom, was born in Livingston County, N. Y., July 28, 1823, second child of three born to Charles and Susan (Gorton) Hanchett. At the age of nineteen, Mr. Hanchett went to Utica, Mich., where he remained until the fall of 1848, when he came to Greene County, where he remained two years, when he moved to Merom, stayed eighteen months, then went to Iowa. Afterward, he came back to Sullivan County, and finally, in 1875, removed to his present place. November 22, 1853, he was married to Esther A. Thompson, of Washington County, Ky., and ten children have been born to them, eight of whom are living-Rollin, Charles E., Kate E., George W., Jr., Susan E., Sarah A., Helen M. and John L. Mr. Hanchett served in the Fifteenth Regiment United States Volunteers, in the Mexi- can war, and again come out at the call of his country during the late struggle for the maintenance of the Union, serving three years in the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry. The occupation of subject is farming, and he is a Republican.

PETER L. HOPEWELL was born in Gill Township, Sullivan County, Ind., January 30, 1824, son of John and Catherine (Lisman) Hopewell. Subject is a blacksmith by trade, and has been conducting a shop at New Lebanon since 1845. On the 1st of December, 1845, he was married to Emeline Hunley, and one child has been born to them. Mrs. Hopewell has two children-Nancy J. and Mary M. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and be is a Republican. The facilities for an education were very limited with Mr. Hopewell, his father being a poor man, but by industry and economy he has overcome his lack of learning. He has worked steadily at his trade, but in 1860 met with a serious loss in the burning of his house. He, however, soon built another one, in which he at present lives, besides owning some land.

JACOB HOUPT is a native of Iredell County, N. C., born January 11, 1812, fourth child of nine born to Anthony and Susanna (Albright) Houpt. February 7, 1833, he married Sarah H. James, and to their union have been born ten children, six of whom are living-Thomas .J., who married Ellen Pinkston; William A., who married Ellen Scott; Mary T .; John W., whose wife was Mary J. Barton; Robert K., who married Cynthia Burks and Jacob T., who married Sarah A. Burton. In 1884, subject came to this county (Sullivan), and the next year moved to Missouri, staying there until 1839, when they returned to their present place. Mr. Houpt received but a limited education, and he has followed farming all his life. He owns 240 acres of good land where he lives; also, two and three-fourth acres at Graysville. He raises considerable stock. Mra. Houpt died in July, 1848, and May 15, 1856, he was mar- ried to Cynthia A. (Walker) Lindsay, and one child has been born to them-Morris M. Mr. and Mrs Houpt are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Democrat.

MESHA HUNT was born in Gill Township July 12. 1838, the seventh of eleven children born to John R. and Hannah (Davidson) Hunt. He was born in March, 1802, in Kentucky, who, in company with his parents, came to this State at an early day. Subject remained with his parente till he was twenty-three years old, when he married, Septem- ber 26, 1860, Miss Sarah A. Eaton, to whom four children have been born. Charles D., Ida E., Mamie and Joseph, aged respectively twenty- ty-two, twenty, seventeen and eight years. His occupation is farming, now owning ninety- five acres of excellent land. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are meinbers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Democrat.

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.

JOHN L. KAUFMAN is a native of Gill Township, born on the farm where he now lives May 14, 1828, fifth of six children born to Abraham and Phoebe (Keykendall) Kaufman. April 21, 1851, Mr. Kaufman was married to Diana McCrory, daughter of James and De- maris (Drake) McCrory, and to their union, have been born seven children -Elvira, wife of Jefferson Raley ; James B., who married Anna MoCol- lough ; Albert, who married Della R. Ernest ; Alexander, whose wife was Lucy Pinkston ; Sarah A., wife of Harrison Burton ; Thomas and Char- lotte. November 8, 1866, Mrs. Kaufman died, and May 10, 1868, he married Mrs. Nancy E. Holmes, and two children have blessed their union, only one living, Mary R. Mr. and Mrs. Kaufman are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Democrat, that party in September, 1879, electing him to the office of County Commissioner, and served in that capacity for five years with marked ability.

DAVID W. LARR was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, February 7, 1836, the sixth of ten children born to David and Nancy (Miller) Larr. Subject came to Greene County, this State, with his parents in 1843, and assisted his father in farming till the latter part of 1859, and was married in March of the following year to Mary A. Blue, danghter of William H. and Mary (Harris) Blue, and to this union three children have been born, two of whom are living-Emma J., wife of Charles W. Cooper, and Mary E. March 10, 1874, Mrs. Larr died, and February 21, 1875, Mr. Larr married Nancy A. Stanley, and one child has blessed their union -- Ora M. Mr. Larr, during the late war, enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served his coun- try gallantly. He has followed farming all his life, owning at the present time 130 acres of good land. He is a Republican, and a mem- ber of the A. F. & A. M., and I. O. O. F.

ANTHONY S. MASON is a native of Washington County, Ky., born April 10, 1808, being the fifth child of thirteen born to James and Rebecca (Sandusky) Mason, who came to this township at an early day. October 25, 1827, he married Mary M. Armstrong, and twelve children have been born, nine of whom are living-William T., who married Amanda Lynch ; Mary Jane, who is the wife of Lewis Eaton ; John W., who married Mary E. Knotts ; Robert B., whose wife was Hattie Duncan ; Rebecca S., wife of John Bruner ; Samuel T., who married Matilda Davis ; Thomas A., who married Laura Springer ; Katharine, wife of Anthony S. Springer ; and Richard R., whose wife was Nancy Dodda. Mr. and Mrs. Mason are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New Lebanon. The occupation of Mr. Mason has always been farming and raising stock, and he is looked upon as one of the best citizens of Gill Township. His politics is Republican.

FRANCIS P. McCLAIN is a native of Nicholas County, Ky., born November 16, 1818, the eldest of seven children born to Alexander and Elizabeth (Caldwell) McClain. who emigrated with their family to Brown County in 1829. Subject remained with his parents till the fall of 1859, when he removed to Clinton County, Ill., where he stayed until the fall of 1862, when he removed to his present place of abode. February 13, 1840, he married Louisa Veil, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Christ) Vail, and to this union six children have been born, tour of whom are living-Cindora, wife of G. W. Harris; Francena. wife of J. A. Hays; Orlando; and Lestie, who married Miss Sarah Russell. June 18, 1861, Mrs. MoClain died, and in July, 1870, he married Rebecca Purviance.

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He and wife are members of the Christian Church, having been a Deacon in the same for thirty-five years. Farming has been the principal occu- pation of subject, and in politics he is a Republican.

RUSSELL E. MINTER is a native of this county (Sullivan), and was born March 25, 1848, eldest of four children born to William and Melinda (Pinkston) Minter. William Minter. the father of our subject, was born in Shelbyville, Ky., August 10, 1818, and at the age of sixteen years went. to Missouri, and from there, at the age of eighteen, went to Tezas; served in the Texan army fourteen months, and then re- turned to Missonri, where he was engaged in buying horses for the Gov. ernment. In 1842, he came to Terre Haute, where he was engaged in buying corn, and afterward in driving stage. November 12, 1845, his marriage occurred, he then returning to Missouri, but after two years came back to the vicinity of where his son now lives. He was successful in farming, owning about seven hundred acres of land here, and 960 acres in Texas. March 15, 1882, his team ran away with him and causing such injuries as to produce death two days later. To his children, Rus- sell and his sister, and his wife, the estate was left, which our subject is now managing. Mr. Minter is a Democrat.

U. W. SETZER was born in Knox County, Ind., December 15, 1837, the sixth child of ten children born to Samuel and M. (Richards) Setzer, he being a native of Pennsylvania. Mr. Setzer remained with his parents till he was nineteen years of age, when he removed to Pike County, and in 1861 enlisted as a private in the Fifty-eighth Indiana Regiment, serv. ing till the battle of Stone River, where he was wounded in the left hand. January 3, 1865, Mr. Setzer married Martha J. Gilmore, and to this un- ion have been born three children-Emory, aged eighteen years; Oscar, sixteen years; Ida, fourteen year's; and John, twelve years. His occu- pation is farming, and he owns 120 acres of good land, well-improved; he also raises, buys and sells a great many horses. He is a Republican and takes an active interest in all public matters.

HENRY WOOD is a native of Virginia, born January 3, 1824, being the second of seven children born to Henry and Nancy (Bryant) Wood, who emigrated to Clay County, Ind., in 1836, they removing two years later to Sullivan County. July 13, 1848, our subject married Almarena Rundle, daughter of Jared and Martia (Clark) Rundle, who were natives of the State of New York, who came to Indiana in 1818. He was an early teacher, and died in 1833. By this union, Mr. Wood has had seven children born to him, six of whom are living-Elvira, wife of George R. Tilford, of Kansas; Maria, wife of William D. Tilford; John, a teacher; Nannie B., Carrie and Ed H. Mr. Wood's two daugh- ters, Nannie and Carrie, are engaged in teaching in Merom. Mr. Wood served for a period of seven months as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, being Sergeant. He and wife are members of the Universalist Church; is a Republican, and has been Justice of the Peace for seven years. He is now operating a cooper shop in Merom.

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HISTORY OF. SULLIVAN COUNTY.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.

GEORGE BAKER, undertaker, Pleasantville, was born in Lewiston, Niagara County, N. Y., July 30, 1830. His parents were Nathan and Pru- dence (Walker) Baker, who settled in Greene County, Ind., in November, 1839. The education of subject was principally acquired in New York, except what he received in Lewiston previous to nine years of age. He farmed from nine to twenty-one years of age; twenty-one to twenty eight, in a cabinet shop; twenty-eight to forty, a farmer; forty to forty-seven, a merchant, since which time he has been in the cabinet and undertaking business in Sullivan County. He was married, June 9, 1855, to Marga- ret Halstead. His wife is a member of the Christian Church, but Mr. Baker is not a member of any church, but a Methodist in principle. He is not much of a politician, but a very strong Republican, and has been for a number of years. He came to Sullivan County in 1874, and went into the mercantile business with William P. O'Haver, which continued five years, and in the fall of 1878 went into the cabinet and undertaking business with William Hines, which continued two years. Mr. Baker still remains, and is the people's general undertaker and cabinet-maker. He has seen a great change in Indiana during his residence, from almost a wilderness up to its present condition. In 1840, his father bought per- haps the first cook-stove in the county. As to relics, be Las in his pos- session one silver tablespoon which is over 200 years old. It belonged to his grandmother's grandmother and grandfather, Sarah and Nathan Mul- ford. He has also some other curiosities. Mr. Baker has a boy that he is raising that has quite a history. His great-grandfather was murdered by the Indians, and his grandfather and a brother were captured by the Indians at the time of the murder.

SILAS BOOKER, farmer, P. O. Pleasantville, was born February 24, 1825, son of George W. and Mary (Padgett) Booker. Mr. Booker settled in this county in Jefferson Township in the year 1849, and on the 26th of March, 1849, his nuptials with Rebecca Cox were celebrated, and to this union six children have been born-Josiah, born February 2, 1850; Abraham, May 22, 1852; Harrison, November 2, 1855; Mary J., March 23, 1859; Margaret A., June 13, 1860; Nancy E., August 1, 1862. Mr. Booker has been a farmer all his life, commencing in the woods with nothing, and has worked hard, and by industry has in his possession 240 acres of land, well improved. Politically, he is a Democrat, casting his first vote for James K. Polk.

GEORGE W. BURRIS, farmer, P. O. Pleasantville, was born in Knox County, Tenn, the 27th day of September, 1835, son of James and Per- melia J. (Tinsley) Burris. He was married to Mary Hansard on the 15th of January, 1851, and to this union seven children have been born, four living-John, Ulysses Grant, Ambrose and Laura. He settled in Jeffer- son Township, Sullivan County, in the year 1851. He enlisted in the United States service on the 14th day of August, 1862, to serve three years or during the war, and was in Capt. McCublin's company, E, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and

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was discharged on the 8th day of July, 1865, by reason of expiration of his term of service. He was with Sherman at Atlanta, and at the battles of Chickamauga and Perryville, and was in several skirmishes in Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, never receiving a wound. He re. turned to his family in July, 1865, and then went to farming, which he has kept up until the present time. During his term of service, his wife attended to the business, buying a small piece of land where they now live and enjoying the blessings of life. He is a Republican.

BENJAMIN CLEAVELAND, farmer, P. O. Pleasantville, was born March 16, 1813, in Jefferson County, Ky., son of Adin and Mary (Con- vers) Cleaveland. He settled in this township in 1838, when it was com- paratively a wilderness, building a small log house, sixteen feet square. He remained in this small cabin about five years, when he built another and better cabin, which some time after gave place to a hewed-log cabin with a shingle roof. The next house he built, and the fourth one, was a frame, in which he now lives. He was married October 30, 1839, to Ann MocCammon, and five children have been born to them-Mary J. William, John, Andrew and Wesley. His wife departed this life No. vember 20, 1852, and in the fall of 1853 he married Louisa K. Douthitt, who also died the following fall, when he married his third wife, Marga- ret P. Padget, March 5, 1857, by which union there were born four chil- dren, viz. : Benjamin, Thomas, George and James S. Mr. Cleaveland is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, having been baptized when eighteen years of age, by Rev. John Dale. Politically, he is a Conserva- tive. He has filled the position of Trustee of the township, and levied the tax to build the first brick schoolhouse in the township. Mr. Cleave- land is a public-spirited man, being a friend to all charitable institutions. Mra. Cleaveland bas a great many bedclothes of her own manufacture, and it is interesting to hear her tell about her first lesson in spinning. She is a highly respected lady, and her step-children think as much of her 88 though she was their mother. Mr. Cleaveland attended Sunday school at Lacey's Wood, which he says was not a Baptist, nor a Methodist school, but only a good school without being denominational.

WILLIAM DAVIDSON, farmer, P. O. Pleasantville, was born in Haddon Township, this county, February 18, 1836, son of John and Paulina (Hackett) Davidson. January 1, 1872, he was married to Mar- garet McCammon, which union has been blessed with seven children, four living-William, Martha, Scott and Edna; those dead are Edward, Rush and Lolo. In addition to farming, Mr. Davidson trades in stock, horses, sheep and poultry, shipping considerable quantities of the same. Subject has traveled in eight or ten States, commencing the world with nothing but willing hands and a stout heart, and after an extended experience in working for others, has accumulated that which makes him feel at ease. Mrs. Davidson was born September 2, 1846, and, with her husband, is a devout member of the Christian Church. Mr. Davidson is a Democrat.

REV. LEWIS R. EDMONDS, son of Rev. John P. Edmonds and Jane (Reneau) Edmonds, was born in New Albany, Floyd Co., Ind., Oc- tober 27, 1835, and with his parents moved to Jackson County, Ind .; from thence to Knox County. In the year 1859. the father of the subject of this sketch being appointed in charge of Linton Circuit, Indiana Conference, the said L. R. Edmonds accompanied his parents to the field of labor assigned the father, settling in the southern part of the cir- cuit, the neighborhood where the little town of Pleasantville now stands.

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Educational advantages at that time being far different from the present, he was only able to acquire a limited education, sufficient, though, to en- able him to teach in the public schools of Knox, Sullivan and Greene Counties. In the year 1860, he was united in marriage with Miss H. Sarelda O'Haver, daughter of the late Pleasant M. O'Haver, living thus with much anticipated pleasure before him until the year 1862, when he felt that the condition of his country was such that his services should be given to his country; so on the 22d day of August, 1862, he was mus- tered into a company having been organized by Capt. James Holdson, as- signed to the Ninety-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteers. Was en- gaged in many of the hardest fought battles of the late war. He was one of Sherman's boys and, having gone through the ever-memorable Georgia campaign, in which almost every inch of ground was hotly con- tested, from Dalton, Ga., on that line of railroad, southward to Jones- boro, witnessed the capture of Savannah, Fort McAllister and many other points of interest. On the 9th day of June, 1865, he was honorably discharged from the service of his country, and returned to his home in Jefferson Township, Sullivan Co., Ind. In calling upon this citizen of our county, I found a family apparently very ambitious to do good. Their two oldest daughters are teachers in our public schools. Mr. Ed- monds religiously is a Methodist, politically a Republican. I find, in looking over the record of Mr. Edmonds' work, that he is a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church; has preached over 300 funeral sermons, and officiated at 98 weddings, showing that his work is thus complicated, divided between the living and the dead.

ROBERT ELLIS, stock dealer, P. O. Pleasantville, was born in Sul- livan County, Ind., November 17, 1845, the son of John W. and Sarah (Ching) Ellis. He lived with his parents until he was twenty-one years . of age, and then commenced farming with his brother, in Sullivan County, on his father's farm; remained there three years and then went to Greene County and farmed together until the year 1881, when he commenced farming for himself in Greene County, where he owns 112 acres, which he intends to rent and then live at Pleasantville. He was married, December 23, 1873, to Sarah E. Mayfield, daughter of George Mayfield. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pleas- antville, and is a Democrat, having always been one. There have been born to Mr. Ellis three children, namely: Pearl, born October 20, 1877; Lawrence, born April 20, 1879; Melvin, born January 10, 1882. When Mr. Ellis was twenty-one years of age, he started out in the world with nothing excepting a colt, which he still has in his possession. He com- menced farming and managed to make, by industry, $1,000 in three years, when his brother and he bought a farm in Greene County, in part- nership, and they still hold it; also a nice property in Pleasantville and six acres of ground, which at this time enables him to live with ease, being worth about $6,000.

WILLIAM A. FLEMING, M. D., Pleasantville, was born Novem- ber 5, 1841, near Steubenville, Jefferson Co., Ohio, son of Jesse L. and Sarah (Smith) Fleming. He settled in Sullivan County July 10, 1866; he first entered school at four years of age, to Mr. Jacob Countz, and then attended common schools until he was seventeen years old, and in the spring of 1859, commenced the study of medicine with Dr. G. D. Ham- ilton, of Knoxville, Jefferson Co., Ohio; read medicine with him until August 1, 1862, when he entered the army. He married, June 19, 1867,

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Salence A. Warden, at Richmond. Jefferson Co., Ohio; he is a member of Pleasantville Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 408, and Pleasantville Encamp. ment No. 148, and has passed the chairs, and represented the Lodge and Encampment both at Grand Lodge at Indianapolis, and was also the first initiated in Freelandsville Lodge, No. 494, A., F. & A. M., with mem- bership now in Sullivan Lodge, No. 263, Sullivan, Ind. He also be. longs to the Jerusalem Royal Arch Chapter, No. 81, at Sullivan, Ind. In politics, he is and was always a Democrat. He was in the late war, com- mencing August 1, 1862, a member of Capt. James M. Shane's Com. pany A, Ninety-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He entered camp at Mingo, Jefferson Co., Ohio, August 6, and from there to Cov- ington, Ky .; from there to Lexington, Ky., and from there had to re- treat with Gen. Nelson's army from Richmond, Ky., to Louisville, Ky., by way of Versailles, Frankfort, etc. He was detailed to serve in Hos. pital No. 19, Louisville, Ky., and remained in the hospital from Sep- tember, 1862, until the 6th day of May, 1863, when he reported to his regiment at Franklin, Tenn., when he was detailed to the field hospital, and with the Second Brigade Hospital, Second Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, and participated in the battle of Chickamauga for glory. and got all he wanted. He continued with Second Brigade Hospital until after the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, when the Third and Second Brigade Hospitals were made one, and called Second Division Hospital, Fourteenth Army Corps, represented by a white acorn. He was made druggist and Assistant Hospital Steward, and made the march from there to Washington, D. C., and was discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, June 10, 1865. From there be returned home at Steubenville, Ohio, and read medicine until September, 1865, when he entered the Medical College at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; remained there until the 1st of April, 1866, when he returned to Steubenville, Ohio, and remained there until June 10, : 1866, when he came to Sullivan County, Ind., and settled at Pleasant. ville, and on the 23d of July, 1866, he entered in partnership with Dr: James McDowell, Sr., in the practice of medicine, and their partnership continued for fourteen years to a day, when they dissolved by mutual consent, and on the best of terms, they never having had a quarrel, the books, papera, notes and partnership deeds and mortgages still remain- ing with him. From July 23, 1880, he practiced alone until January 1, 1881. when he took in Dr. McClung as a partner, but on the 23d day of March they dissolved, after being in partnership but two months and twenty-three days. March 10, 1882, he and Dr. L. C. McDowell en- tered into partnership and are still working together under the firm name of Fleming & McDowell. When he came to Pleasantville he had $175, and was in debt $450 when he was married, but by close ap- plication to business, he got out of debt, and has accumulated nearly 300 acres of good land. Since he has been here, over seventeen years, he has been present at the birth of over 1,000 children, and has lost only two mothers.

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History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 89

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 901

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901