USA > Indiana > Henry County > History of Henry County, Indiana > Part 45
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Joshua Holland is a native of Ohio, born in Oxford, Nov. 29, 1817. His parents, Joshua and Nancy Holland, moved to Union County, Ind., in 1820, and in 1832 came to Henry County and settled in Dudley Township, where the father died in 1850. The mother died in 1876. Our subject left home when fourteen years of age, and went to Liberty, Union Co., Ind., where he served an apprenticeship of four years and nine months at the cabinet- maker's trade. After learning his trade he worked as a journey-
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man two years, and then worked in different stores in Knights- town six years. In the meantime he was elected Treasurer of Henry County, and by re-election served four years. After retir- ing from this office he engaged in the dry-goods business in New Castle, and became very popular as a merchant. He carried on the business successfully thirty years, when he retired to a more quiet life. He was married in Rush County, Ind., in 1840, to Nancy Ramsey, a native of Pennsylvania. In 1882 Mr. Holland was elected to the office of Commissioner of Henry County, for a term of five years. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1850.
John Hosea was born in North Carolina, Sept. 22, 1811, a son of Hugh and Christina (Perry) Hosea. His father was a soldier of the war of 1812, and died while in the service. His mother afterward married James Wright, with whom she lived several years. After the death of Mr. Wright she came with her son to Warren County, Ind., in the spring of 1841, and settled in Cam- bridge City, where he was in the general mercantile business several years. He subsequently went to Keokuk, Iowa, and remained five years, when he returned to Cambridge City, and engaged for a short time in the boot and shoe business. He then bought a farm five miles north of Cambridge City, and remained there five years, when, in 1865, he bought his present farm, situ- ated on the New Castle and Dublin pike. He owns eighty acres of choice land, the greater portion under cultivation. He was married to Sarah W. Cornwell, of Cambridge City, who died, leaving three children, all now deceased. In 1848 he married E. V., daughter of David Price, of Brookville, Ind. They have five children-Mary C., wife of Winford Needham; Frank F., Harriet, Anna and Luzena. Mr. and Mrs. Hosea and two of their children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1840.
John C. Hudelson is a native of Nicholas County, Ky., born Aug. 24, 1820, a son of James and Esther (Craig) Hudelson, His parents came to Henry County, Ind., in 1831, and settled on a farm in Spiceland Township, on the south line of the county. IIis father died in twenty days after his settlement in the county, and the care of the farm and children devolved on his mother, the eldest of her family of eight children being but thirteen years old. She lived till 1876, being at the time of her death seventy-nine years old. Our subject remained with his mother till twenty-seven
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years of age. In 1847 he was elected Treasurer of Henry County, and served two terms of three years each. He then accepted the position of Paymaster of Construction on the New Castle & Rich- mond (now the Pan Handle) Railroad. After its completion to New Castle he was appointed passenger conductor, and ran the first train over the road west of New Castle. In 1855 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Henry County and served four years. In 1859 he was married to Amanda V., daughter of James and Jane Black, and soon after settled on his farm, south- west of New Castle. Nine years later he moved to a farm north of town, where he dealt largely in stock in connection with farm- ing. His farm consisted of 800 acres, all well improved. In 1875 he moved to New Castle, where he still resides. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. To him and his wife have been born four children-James, John, William and Charles.
William Hume is a native of Delaware County, N. Y., born in May, 1819, a son of John and Elizabeth Hume, his father a native of Scotland and his mother of New York, of Scotch descent. John Hume remained in his native country till twenty-one years of age and then came to the United States and located in New York where he married and remained several years, subsequently remov- ing to Clark County, Ohio, where he passed the rest of his life. William Hume accompanied his parents to Ohio, remaining there till 1866, when he came to Henry County, Ind., and bought the farm of 160 acres where he now resides. He has been a successful farmer and stock-raiser. He has never married, his sister Alice making her home with him and acting as his housekeeper.
Seth Hutson is a native of Henry County, Ind., and was born April 4, 1840. He is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Modlin) Hutson, natives of North Carolina. His parents moved to Indiana in 1823 and settled in Henry County, on Duck Creek, where they remained thirty-five years. They then sold the farm on which they originally settled and bought one near Sulphur Springs, but afterward bought a farm near the one first owned, where the mother died in 1878 and the father in 1880. They had a family of thirteen children. Seth Hutson spent his early life on a farm, and received a common-school education. He has always followed agricultural pursuits. He married in 1866 Marilla Ben- nett who died twelve years later leaving one daughter-Adila. In 1878 he married Mrs. Elizabeth Stephens, widow of Harrison Stephens. They have one child-Martha May. Mr. and Mrs. Hutson are members of the Wesleyan Methodist church.
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Frank P. Ice was born in Prairie Township, Henry Co., Ind., Sept. 22, 1854, a son of Andrew J. and Rachel (Clawson) Ice. He remained with his parents till manhood, receiving a good education in the common schools. He began the grain and lumber trade in Mt. Summit, shipping principally to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1880 he came to New Castle and formed a partnership with Samuel Winings, the firm name being Ice & Winings. They carry a full stock of farming implements, grain, seed, etc. Mr. Ice was married in 1883, to Rebecca A., daughter of Henry and Mary Hernly, of New Castle. In politics he is a Democrat. In 1882 he was a candidate for County Clerk, and made a strong run against one of the strongest men in the opposition party. He is a Knight Tem- plar Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Levi Allen Jennings, an enterprising and successful business man of New Castle, Henry County, was born on the 6th of May, 1834, in Wayne County, Ohio. He is the son of Obadiah and Mary Jennings. His father was descended from the Jenningses of England, where many of the same name and relationship have attained positions of trust and great personal influence. His mother was of German extraction, coming from that patient and industrious stock that has produced so much of the wealth and stal- wart character of the great State of Pennsylvania, of which State both Mr. Jennings's father and mother were natives, and where they continued to reside until their marriage. When Ohio and Indiana were still new, and spoken of by people beyond the Alleghanies as " the West," Mr. Jennings's parents crossed the mountains in a wagon drawn by a single horse, and settled in Ohio. There they engaged in farming, or, more properly speaking, in opening and improving a farm, and farming. In these occupations the subject of this sketch spent his boyhood, only alternating the labors of the farm with such brief terms of neighborhood schools as offered chances for gaining a little rudimentary learning, until he was eighteen years of age. During these years of his minority, however, his brain was not idle, and the hard toil of his willing hands by no means exhausted liis energies or extinguished his ambition. Nerved by the desire for knowledge and the purpose to be and do some- thing wortli living for, he made the best use of suchi limited facilities as were afforded for storing his mind with useful informa- tion. Thus, like many another ambitious boy who has risen to eminence, he often carried his books with him to the field, and memorized rules and definitions as he walked behind the plow. In
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this way he added to the little gained in the short winter terms of neighborhood schools, until by the time he had reached the proper age to support himself at school he had acquired a fair knowledge of the primary branches of learning. He then, with the consent of his parents, entered the college at Hayesville, Ohio, remaining there through two collegiate terms, and going thence to the high school at Ashland, Ohio, where he continued for two and a half years, mastering much of the mathematical and scientific courses, and giving considerable study to English language and literature, and also to Latin and Greek, which he began to read and translate with readiness and ease. At the end of this time, however, it became necessary for him to pause in his studies and engage in teaching for a while to secure the means to enable him to finish his collegiate course. Here was a break in the chain that was never welded again, and which caused his life-work to be directed into the chan- nel for which nature had most amply fitted and qualified him and where his restless and determined energy, which had enabled him under adverse circumstances and with little to incite his aspirations, to store his mind with useful knowledge and lay the foundations of future successes, might find full play and produce adequate results. For, during the progress of his first winter's term of school, he was offered a position as principal deputy in the clerk's office of the Common Pleas and District Courts of Ashland County, Ohio, by his uncle, a prominent banker of Ashland, the county seat, who had just been elected to that office. Accepting the offer, he filled the place with fidelity for three years. At the close of his time in the clerk's office he embarked in the boot and shoe trade with a man who, much to Mr. Jennings's surprise and loss, proved to be a bankrupt. Seeing his excellent qualities as a business man, the Ball Reaper & Mower Company soon after this engaged him as their agent, in which capacity he labored for three seasons. In 1867 Mr. Jennings left Ohio and removed to Indiana, and settled in New Castle, where he has since remained; and in that same year began busi- ness there in conjunction with his father, and, soon after, with his brother. The next year he opened a planing-mill, lumber-yard, and sash and door factory, which business he has followed ever since, with singular activity, and at the same time care and scrupulous attention to all the details and minutiæ of the trade. For several years past he has been extensively engaged in the manufacture of fur- niture, turning out all grades of work, from cheap to very fine and costly, and his lumber trade has assumed large proportions. In 1877
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he erected a fine brick business house, 132 feet deep and four stories in height-including the basement-in which he carries on a large and constantly increasing business in furniture, car- pets, hardware, and house furnishing goods. His sales, altogether, amount to about $150,000 per year. In the spring of 1883 Mr.
Jennings erected a large and elegant brick furniture factory, main building 40 x 100 feet, five stories high, and fire-proof engine-house, 20 x 35 feet, and dry-house, 18 x 21 feet. This manufactory, the largest in Henry County, is provided with the latest and best of machinery, driven by an engine of 100 horse-power. The building and dry-house are heated throughout by steam and in all its features is admirably and conveniently planned-admitted by experts to be one of the best in the State. Not only has Mr. Jennings greatly promoted the industrial growth of New Castle, but he has also added to its architectural excellence by erecting the best buildings in the town. Mr. Jennings lives in a beautiful home, his house being a handsome frame upon the summit of a gentle elevation that overlooks the little city. His grounds are tastefully laid out, planted in forest trees, ornamented with shrubs and flowers, while two beautiful pools of water, fed by a strong spring, add their attractions to the cool and pleasant surroundings. He was married on the 2d of December, 1858, to Miss Martha W. Coffin, a lady of excellent family, good mind, and fine musical ability. She is a woman of pleasant manners and fine personal appearance. The result of their union has been three children, two of whom survive-a son, Winslow De Vere, and a daughter, Helen Ettie. The son, like the father, displays a fondness for business, and exhibits much the same energy that has led to his father's suc- cesses; while the daughter is a highly accomplished lady and a musician of much excellence and promise. Mr. Jennings is an outspoken, square, prompt business man, who has made his way by indomitable energy and pluck. He takes a deep interest in the prog- ress of his adopted town, and has done much to advance its material interests. In politics he is well informed and possessed of decided opinions, which he does not seek to conceal. He is a Republican. While not loud or pretentious, he is deeply interested in the spread of religion and morality, and has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1871. Mr. Jennings's character stands very high. He is a man of sterling integrity and is widely known and respected. In addition to the above, it is but justice to add that the successful construction of the New Castle & Rush-
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ville Railroad, of which Mr. Jennings is a Director, and was for one year President, was largely due to his efforts in securing the necessary aid from the people of the various townships along the line, and to his zeal and energy in pushing the enterprise for- ward. This fact is so well understood by railroad men that upon the recent organization of the Evansville, Knightstown, & Toledo Railroad Company he was unanimously elected to the presidency of that road, which is confidently expected to be one of the best , and most successful of the great north and south lines. These facts establish Mr. Jennings's reputation for energy and business capacity better than any fulsome phrases of adulation could pos- sibly do. They mark him as the peer of any man in his section of the country, and fully justify the high estimate placed upon him by the business community in which he lives.
Joshua C. Jones, a prominent farmer of Henry Township, was born in Liberty Township, this county, July 8, 1831, a son of Jacob and Melinda (Chappell) Jones, natives of North Carolina, his father born in 1793 and his mother in 1802. They came to Henry County in 1830 and lived in Liberty Township a year; then moved to Blue River Township where they remained until 1881 when they sold their farm and are now living with their youngest daugh- ter in Delaware County, Ind. Of a family of seven children all are living save one son, James, who died at the age of forty-eight years. Joshua C. was married when twenty-five years of age to Mary A,, daughter of John and Abigail Collingsworth. He set- tled on rented land but afterward bought land on Flat Rock, which he soon sold. In the spring of 1865 he bought the farm where he now resides, containing 160 acres of good land. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have eight children-John, Amanda (wife of S. J. Pressel), Charles M., Frank R., Rosetta, Emma, James H. and Clement C. Mr. Jones is a member of the New Castle Lodge, No. 91, F. A. M., and Chapter No. 50, R. A. M. He and his wife are members of the Christian church.
Ed. Kahn .- One of the leading and most prominent business houses of New Castle is the dry-goods house of Ed. Kahn. It is the largest house of the kind in Henry County, and commands a large trade, not only in this county, but in the adjoining counties of Wayne, Delaware, Madison, Randolph and Hancock. The sales- rooms are 20 x 132 feet, running from street to street, making one of the largest and handsomest in the city. He carries a first-class stock of dry-goods and notions and is able to compete with any
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house in the State. He studies the wishes of his customers and endeavors to fully supply their wants. Mr. Kahn is an experienced merchant, having spent the greater part of his life in this line of business. His house is one of the most reliable commercial insti- tutions of this city and is well deserving the success attained. Mr. Kahn is a native of Lorraine, France, now Germany, and was born in 1848. He spent a part of his youth in his native country and came to the United States a poor boy. In 1868 he came to New Castle, Ind. He was for a time in partnership with David Kahn, now of Indianapolis, but since 1879 has been carrying on busi- ness alone. In 1878 he was married to Sallie Heller, a most esti- mable lady, a daughter of Moses Heller, Esq., of Knightstown. Mr. Kahn began life in meager circumstances and has been the architect of his own fortune. By energy, pluck and close applica- tion to business he has won for himself an enviable reputation for honesty and square dealing and is a citizen of whom the people of New Castle may well be proud.
William S. Kaufman, architect and builder, New Castle, Ind., was born in Union County, Ind., Dec. 29, 1848, a son of Elias and Mary (Rhodes) Kaufman, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Indiana in an early day and settled in Union County. His mother is now a resident of Wayne County. He attended the academy schools of Brownsville, and when a young man began to learn the carpenter and stair-builder's trade in Cambridge City. He subse- quently went to Indianapolis and studied architectural drafting, and finished his trade. He then located in Indianapolis, and re- mained there until 1876, when he moved to New Castle and opened a shop. He is a complete master of his trades, as many buildings in this and adjoining counties will prove. He superintended the building of the new insane asylum at Richmond, Ind. He was married in 1875 to Eva, daughter of James C. Peed, of Henry County. They have four children, a son and three daughters. Mr. Kaufman is a member of the Knights of Honor.
David W. Kinsey, Cashier of the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle, Ind. This gentleman represents one of the oldest as well as influential families of this section of Indiana. He is the young- est son of Lewis and Catharine Kinsey. His father and grandfa- ther moved to Wayne County, Ind., when the former was a lad of twelve years of age, continuing to live in said county until he was twenty years of age, when he married Catharine Shultz, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and immediately thereafter settled in
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Henry County on a small farm situated one-half mile north of where the town of Millville now stands, where on the 1st day of February, 1846, David, the subject of this sketch, was born. The family lived here until the spring of 1847, at which time they moved and lo- cated on a farm about six miles east of New Castle, in Liberty Township, where the father and mother and such children as re- mained at home continued to live and carried on farming opera- tions until the year 1872 when they again moved, locating on a farm three miles northwest of Hagerstown, in Wayne County, where they now reside. They are members of the German Baptist church and for many years the father has been a minister in the church. His family consisted of five children-Martin, Anna, Sarah J., Catharine (who died when about six years of age) , and David, our subject, who spent his youth upon his father's farm, attending the common schools during the winter season until the year 1864. He enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty- ninth Indiana Infantry, serving in this capacity for about six months and until the discharge of his regiment. After his return home he attended the New Castle schools, teaching school during the winter months, and was a law student part of two years; was admitted to the practice of the law in 1869, but soon after entered the office of the county clerk and clerk of the Circuit Court as principal deputy, acting in this capacity until the death of the Clerk, H. H. Hiatt. Mr. Kinsey was then appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, Clerk, to succeed Mr. Hiatt, continuing to act in such capacity until the next general election. He remained also with his successor in office one year. July 1, 1873, at the organization of the Citizens' State Bank, Mr. Kinsey was chosen Assistant Cashier, filling this position one year, at the end of which time he was made its Cashier, which position he still holds. He is also a Director in this bank, having served in this capacity for several years. Mr. Kinsey has served as a member of the Board of School Trustees of his town since 1880 having been elected to such position in 1879. In 1870 he was married to Sophia J. Shirk, a most excellent lady, and the daughter of Ben- jamin Shirk, ex-State Senator. They have one daughter, Edna, now ten years of age. He with his wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church.
William Kissel, M. D., is a native of Lancaster County, Pa., born in May, 1822. He received his primary education in his native county and his higher in Franklin. He began the study of
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James
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medicine in Bradford County with Dr. John Gettey, an eminent physician of Martinsburg, Pa. He took his first course of lectures at the University of Philadelphia, and graduated from Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio. He began the practice of his profession in St. Thomas, remaining there three years. Then went to Bradford County, and in November, 1852, came to New Castle, Ind. In 1866 he went to Pennsylvania and remained a year. He then returned to New Castle, but shortly after went to Cambridge City and remained till 1877, when he came again to New Castle. The Doctor has a good practice and has been successful both professionally and financially. Dr. Kissel has been twice married. His first wife (who was Sophia Bugert) died in 1854, leaving two children, a son, now of Muncie, and Susan E., wife of T. T. Bearer. His present wife was Barbara Young, a native of Pennsylvania. They have one child-Anna A.
Asahel W. Lennard, attorney at law, New Castle, Ind., is a native of Henry County, born in 1859, a son of Colonel George W. Len- nard. He was educated in the public schools of New Castle, and then entered Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, remaining there four years. Returning to New Castle he began reading law in the office of Judge J. H. Mellett, and afterward spent a year in the Central Law School of Indiana. He was admitted to the bar in 1880, and the following year was elected Treasurer of New Castle, and re-elected in 1883 without opposition, still holding the position.
William C. Livezey is a native of Henry County, Ind., born Nov. 16, 1840, the eldest son of Anthony and Permelia (Roberts) Liv- ezey, his father a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio. His parents came to Henry County in 1838 and settled two miles north of New Castle; subsequently moved to Prairie Township, where the mother died in 1854, and where his father still lives. They had a family of three sons and three daughters, all living. William C. received a common-school education. He has always followed agricultural pursuits and now owns a fine farm of 144 acres, with good residence and farm buildings, where he has lived since 1870. He was married in 1862 to Nancy, daughter of Eli- jah and Sallie Stout. They have six children-Leander, Arthur, James, Oscar, Albert and Laura.
James Loer is a native of Hamilton County, Ohio, born May 29, 1816, a son of Thomas and Sarah Loer, his father a native of Penn- sylvania and his mother of Kentucky. He was married in 1837 to Joanna, daughter of John and Elizabeth, Stout, who had moved to 1529
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Henry County, Ind., in 1830. In 1838 he came to this county and settled in the woods two miles east of New Castle, where he cleared and improved a farm, remaining there twenty years. In 1858 he sold his farm and bought another a few miles north, which he still owns. It contains 258 acres, 200 acres under cultivation. In the fall of 1861 he moved to East New Castle, although he still carries on his farm. Mr. Loer is a stockholder in the Citizens' State Bank, New Castle. He and his wife are members of the Chris- tian church. They have had five children; but three are living- Thomas B., Elizabeth (wife of G. L. Koons, of Iowa) and Sarah M. (wife of Harvey Davis).
George Lowe, a son of David and Elizabeth Lowe, was born in Limerick, Ireland, Sept. 25, 1812. When six years of age his parents came to the United States and located in West Virginia. In the fall of 1834 he came to Indiana, and has since lived in New Castle, working at the carpenter's trade the greater part of the time. He has been industrious and a judicious manager and now owns sixty acres of choice land just outside the limits of the town and considerable valuable town property, valued at $20,000. He has served on the Town Board several years. Mr. Lowe was mar- ried in September, 1837, to M. E., daughter of John Roach, of Virginia. They have had a family of eleven children; eight are living. Mr. Lowe has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church fifty years. In politics he is a Republican and a strong advocate of temperance.
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