History of Henry County, Indiana, Part 75

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996

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hood, rise up, thrust his temptations aside and press on in a better life. He had the happy faculty of administering a scathing rebuke to evil-dvers and at the same time retaining their respect and friendship. Those who were suffering from any of the "ills that flesh is heir to" ever found in him a ready listener, a sympathizer and a friend indeed. From school-boys and girls with their exam- ples and perplexities, to men of business with intricate settlements or pecuniary distress, he gave to all patient assistance, wise coun- sel and, when he thought it right, substantial aid. It was pathetic after he was gone, when boys of his acquaintance or perhaps some reformed man would drop in as they were passing and ask his widow if there was anything they could do for her or the children; that Robert had been so kind to them and did so much for them that nothing could give them greater pleasure than to do some- thing, some way for those who were so dear to him. His wife was Martha, daughter of Samuel and Lydia Griffin, they were mar- ried in 1865 and had two children-Richard and Alice, both of whom are living. He died March 17, 1875, in the noontide of his life, the prime of his manhood, greatly beloved by his family and relations, by his friends and acquaintances. As a husband and father his affections were deep, tender and devoted. As a friend and neighbor he was true and obliging. As a Christian, his faith in salvation through Jesus Christ was complete, giving him peace and rest in the promises of God.

Charles Bundy, deceased, was born in Perquimans County, N. C., Jan. 1, 18-, and died in Henry County, Ind., Jan 21, 1868. His parents, Nathan and Ruth (Morris) Bundy, were also natives of North Carolina, his father of English descent. He was mar- ried Nov. 18, 1824, to Phobe Nixon. In 1836 he came to Henry County, Ind., and bought a farm on section 30, Spiceland Town- ship, now occupied by his son, Morris N., where he followed agricultural pursuits till 1868, when he removed to Knightstown. He received injuries from the kick of a horse in 1865, from the effects of which he never recovered. His wife died Nov. 1, 1873. They had a family of two sons-Josiah M. and Morris N. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy were worthy and influential members of the Society of Friends.

Morris N. Bundy, the youngest son of Charles and Phœbe (Nixon) Bundy, was born Oct. 17, 1828, in Perquimans County, N. C., and when eight years of age came with his parents to Henry County, Ind., where he has since resided. He received a good

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education in the schools of Spiceland remaining with his parents till manhood. In 1848 he engaged in the live-stock trade which he followed till 1881 when, on account of failing health, he gave up active business. In connection with stock-dealing he has carried on the old homestead farm which contains 147 acres of finely cultivated land. He was married Dec. 14, 1869, to Rachel Smith, a native of Gallipolis, Ohio, but a resident of Illinois at the time of her marriage. She was the daughter of Denny and Dorothy (Hodson) Smith, her father a native of Kentucky and her mother of Eng- land. Her father died when she was three years of age. Her mother still lives in Ohio. In politics Mr. Bundy is a Democrat.

William P. Bundy is a native of Guilford County, N. C., born March 13, 1833, the eldest son of John and Mary (Moore) Bundy, natives of North Carolina, of Irish descent. He was educated in the subscription schools and the Friends' school, at New Garden. Feb. 11, 1858, he was married to Martitia J., daughter of Amos and Matilda Stuart, of Guilford County, N. C. The following April he moved to Indiana and settled in Morgan County where he remained six years. He then moved to Rush County, where he remained till the fall of 1871 when he came to Henry County and bought a farm of seventy acres where he has since resided. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy are members of the Society of Friends. Politically he is a Republican.

Jonas Byrkitt, deceased, was born in Miami County, Ohio, Ang. 11, 1814, a son of David and Susanna (Touts) Byrkitt, his father a native of North Carolina and his mother of Ohio. In 1830 he came with his father to Henry County, Ind., and assisted him to clear and improve a frontier farm, remaining with him till his marriage, when he bought the farm where his widow now resides. He was a conscientious, upright man and one whom all who knew him mourned when taken away. He died April 11, 1884. He was married Dec. 30, 1836, to Sarah, daughter of Abraham and Su- sannah (Sapp) Coon, natives of Virginia, where the mother died. In 1831 Mr. Coon with his children came to Henry County, Ind., where he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Byrkitt had a family of twelve children-Eliza Jane, Matilda M., Mar- garet A., Olerac B., Abraham L., Lucinda, Antoinette, Collin F., Susie E., Charles M., Alma and Alice (twins). Mr. Byrkitt united with the Christian church in 1843 and was a member till his death.

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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.

Joel Cloud, deceased, was born in Sevier County, Tenn., in 1800, a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Campbell) Cloud, his father a native of North Carolina, of English descent, and his mother a native of Scotland. When a boy his parents moved to Ohio and afterward, in 1813, to Richmond, Ind., where they spent the rest of their lives. He was married in West Grove meeting- house in 1822 to Annie, daughter of Charles and Ruth (Williams) Gorton. He lived near Centreville, teaching school in the winter and working on a farm and on the National road in summer till 1831, when he moved to Henry County and bought 136 acres of land a mile and a half west of Spiceland which was located in the woods. In 1865 he went to Hamilton County, and bought and im- proved another farm, residing there till his death. He improved four farms in Indiana, two in Wayne, one in Henry and one in Hamilton County. His wife died in September, 1859. They had a family of seven children-Asenath H. (deceased), Ruth, Will- iam, Seth, Levi, Elizabeth and Joseph. Mr. Cloud was married in Hamilton County to Ann Barker. He was a birthright mem- ber of the Society of Friends. He died Feb. 19, 1883.

Levi Cloud, funeral director, Spiceland, Ind., was born in Spiceland, April 6, 1832, a son of Joel and Annie (Gorton) Cloud. He received a good education in the Spiceland schools residing with his parents till his marriage. He then settled on a farm west of Spiceland, remaining there till 1861, when he went to Hamilton County and remained twelve years. From there he went to Westland, Hancock County, and was engaged in the mer- cantile business a year, returning to his farm in Hamilton County. In 1873 he moved to Spiceland and established his present busi- ness, at which he has been very successful. Mr. Cloud was mar- ried June 14, 1854, to Rebecca, daughter of L. and Jane Hunt, of Rush County, Ind. They have had four children-Lewis E., J. Edgar, Emma A., and Phœbe Ann (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Cloud are members of the Society of Friends.

Hon. John A. Deem was born in Greene County, Ohio, on the 9th day of March, 1840, and removed with his parents to Spice- land Township, Henry Co., Ind., in the autumn of 1848. Here he grew to manhood working on the farm in summer and attending the district schools in the winter. His thirst for knowledge was intense, and he succeeded in acquiring a good English education under adverse circumstances. He began teaching school before he had reached his majority and taught a number of terms. In 1882

gordon

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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.

he married Miss Elizabeth Cloud, by whom he had three children, two boys and one girl-Wallace K., Ernest C. and Nora M. Before his marriage he applied himself to learning the printing art, and in the spring of 1867 he located at Knightstown and commenced the publication of the Banner. By untiring effort he succeeded in placing his newspaper upon a prosperous footing, and continued its publisher for about fourteen years. It became noted for its radical views and red-hot editorials. While a citizen of Knightstown Mr. Deem was three times elected School Trustee and labored zealously to effect the building of the mag- nificent structure which adorns the school grounds of that town. The want of such a building had long been felt, but it required some energetic public man to urge it forward. He gave this public improvement his earnest support from its beginning to its dedication. In 1878 he was elected Justice of the Peace, but he resigned the position after serving about ten months. In the spring of 1880 the subject of this sketch returned to Spiceland Township and engaged in farming and the breeding of fine stock. His stock has never failed to receive first premiums at the sur- rounding county and district fairs. In 1882 he was chosen by the Republicans as their candidate for Representative in the Legislat- ure and was elected by a majority of 1,500, running ahead of the State ticket. He served his constituents acceptably, and in 1884 was again selected for the same position at the Republican nomi- nating Convention. In speaking of Mr. Deem's re-nomination, Colonel Cyrus T. Nixon, a close observer of public men and the doings of the Indiana Legislature, says: "This is a very fine and a very just compliment. Mr. Deem was one of the most useful members of the last House, and his re-election will place in the House one of the most competeut, upright and fearless Legisla- tors anywhere to be found in the State." He received the largest vote ever given by the voters of Spiceland Township to any man.

Thomas Deem, retired farmer, was born in Berks County, Pa., March 21, 1808, a son of Adam and Mary (Becklerf) Deem. In 1835 he emigrated to"Greene County, Ohio, where he bought a farm and remained till 1848. He then came to Henry County, Ind., and bought eighty acres of land in Spiceland Township, where he has since resided. He was married in Greene County, Ohio, to Phœbe Hutzler, a native of Virginia, but reared in Ohio. They had a family of four children, three born in Ohio and one in Indiana-John A., Martin, Mattie E. (wife of Robert E. Poer),

Walter Edgerton

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and Thomas B. Mrs. Deem died in 1877. Politically Mr. Deem is a Republican.

Walter Edgerton was a citizen of Henry County continuously from early manhood to the day of his death, part of the time in Dudley but mostly in Spiceland Township. He was born in Bel- mont County, Ohio, August, 1806. He was brought up on a farm but for a change sometimes tended his father's old water-mill on Coptine Creek. His parents, James and Sarah Edgerton, were members of the Society of Friends, which fact gave him a right in the society, and in mature years its doctrines and principles com- mended themselves to his judgment and were ever adhered to and often championed. In their defense he once engaged in a written debate with Rev. B. Franklin, of the Disciples, or Christian, church, in the course of which his friends at least thought he displayed more than ordinary logical force. As to temporals his parents had the blessing craved by the Prophet Agur-neither poverty nor riches-but they managed to give all their children ordinary facili- ties for school education, which Walter improved as well as circum- stances would permit. Still "simple proportion," or "the single rule of three," was the boundary line of his mathematical knowl- edge. Before reaching his majority he married Rebecca, eldest daughter of Joseph Con, an influential Friend, also of Belmont County, and in company with his family moved to Indiana in 1829 and went to work vigorously "making" a farm, i. e., remov- ing the forest. So when his friends persuaded him, in 1836, to sojourn and "keep school" one season at Milford, in Wayne County, before moving to Spiceland, as several of the big boys had already been as far in the book as he had his pluck and ability were put to the test. The modern fashion of gaiting a whole class by the slowest member had not been invented. Blackboards and written examinations were unheard of, and as everyone did his best to "get through" it was only by diligent use of the tallow-dip that he was able to prepare other lessons and keep ahead of the best of the "cypherin' " class (as he did) and conceal how close the race was. As his own son and daughter grew up he preceded or studied with and assisted them till his attainments in common- school branches were above ordinary for the times. When the phrenological mania swept over the country and everybody almost, from the hod carrier to the Doctor of Divinity, was paying some mountebank a dollar to feel their heads and guess at their charac- ters, Fowler & Wells's publishers supplied the main part of the

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literature. He took up and reviewed some of their works on "Self- Culture," etc., with unsparing hand, exposing the sophistry, con- tradictions and nonsense of the whole scheme, as well as its subtle irreligious tendencies. The work was published in pamphlet form, and doubtless contributed somewhat toward dispelling the delu- sion. It was, however, as an Abolitionist that he was chiefly dis- tinguished. The term was generally applied and intended as one of reproach from fifty down to twenty-five years ago. Though so seldom heard now as to be scarcely understood by the masses, it was as well understood then to mean an advocate of the abolition of chattel slavery-a friend of the bondman of the South, as prohibi- tionist is now to imply one who would prohibit the liquor traffic. The story of the black man's wrongs stirred the deep sympathies of his nature, and always as opportunity offered he aided the flee- ing bondman, though his house was not a regular depot on the Underground Railroad. When principle was involved he was radical and uncompromising, and few people have had clearer cut convictions of right or consciences more sensitive than his to every demand of duty. The moral logic poetically expressed in Whittier's lines,

" Whoso gives the motive Makes his brother's sin his own,"

had power to produce conviction, and conviction with him always resulted in action. The bondman's toil was extorted from him by the gory lash, simply for sake of the money to be obtained for the cotton, sugar, etc., produced thereby. Undeceived by all sophis- try and special pleading, such as that those products would all find market anyway-that the gigantic system of slavery would never be jostled a particle by it-he with quite a number of others determined to maintain a consistent practical testimony against slavery, and not purchase nor use, even at others' houses, slave- grown goods, where they could possibly distinguish and keep clear of them. Sugar could be had from maple trees of the North and from the West Indies where slavery had been abolished. In cotton goods was the chief difficulty. He aided and encouraged the establishment of agencies in the South for the purchase of cotton by single or a few bales from families of poor free people which was collected, manufactured, and then distributed through wholesale and retail free labor stores, managed by such men as Levi Coffin, of Cincinnati, and Seth Hinshaw, of Greensboro, in this county, etc. For a number of years last before the Rebellion

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he constantly, and at a pecuniary sacrifice, patronized such stores only. He also encouraged the pioneer abolition"lecturers Arnold Buffum, Dr. Bennett and others, and was active in organizing an anti-slavery society among Friends. This implied charge that the body of Friends were not anti-slavery of course aroused hos- tility. Though on record and by tradition opposed to slavery, a large majority of members from 1832 to 1842, by their adulation of Henry Clay and other actions, evinced more active opposition to abolition " fanaticism," as they called it, than to that system. To such an extent did the dread of this odium control the Yearly Meeting in Indiana that eight members of the "meeting for suffer- ings " (the body having charge of the Society's interests) were de- clared disqualified for that position, really because they were identified with the unpopular Abolitionists, though not so stated on record. This action precipitated a formal separation in the society, and Walter Edgerton took part in the movement and offi- ciated as clerk or presiding officer at nearly, if not quite, every annual gathering until the organization was disbanded. This course he nevercondemned, though he joined the society again in 1862 or 1863. The venerable Charles Osborn, long a minister, was a prominent leader, and W. E. edited his journal and also wrote a " History of the Separation," which was published about. the time the A. S. Friends Society was dissolved. As early as 1840 he emphasized his protest against slavery by refusing to vote for General Harrison, the Whig candidate for President, because that party was pro-slavery. This action estranged many former friends and subjected him to a social ostracism calculated to try the soul of a man. He supported the Liberty, Free-territory and Free- Soil parties until the Republican party was formed, when he nat- urally allied himself with that, though protesting that it did not proclaim the whole truth. He never was a politician, but yet re- garded his franchise as a trust to be conscientiously discharged, and only once was he named for a public office-the State Legislat- ure-before the Republican party was organized. His social in- fluence was remarkable for its power of repressing everything like " filthy jesting," or even foolish talking. He died at Minneapo- lis, Minn., October, 1879, among friends but no relatives near save his second wife. His remains were interred in the new cem- etery at Spiceland. His tombstone bears the single line, "A friend of the oppressed."

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Albert Greenstreet, fariner and stock-raiser, one of the oldest settlers of Spiceland Township, was born in Girard County, Ky., July 17, 1816, a son of Thomas and Mary (Johnson) Greenstreet, who moved from North Carolina to Kentucky, and soon after the war of 1812 came to Indiana and settled in Wayne County. Thomas Greenstreet entered eighty acres of land near the present site of Richmond, but was unable to pay for it and sold his im- provements for enough to make the first payment on another tract, and March 4, 1822, moved to Henry County and entered eighty acres near the present site of Spiceland. There was but one white family, that of Levi Butler, in the township at the time, their neighbors being Indians, bears, wolves, etc. Their first house was made of forked poles, with brush spread over them for a roof. They lived on this place seven years, and then sold it and moved to another near Knightstown, and cleared another wild farm. The sons were of some assistance in clearing the last farm, and there the father lived twenty-eight years, when he went to live with our subject in Spiceland Township. He died Sept. 29, 1867, aged eighty-five years. The mother died Aug. 31, 1870, aged eighty- three years. They had a family of seven children-Elsie, Eliza- beth, Albert, Lucinda, Martha, Matilda and Emily. Albert Greenstreet remained with his parents till manhood. In 1855 he bought a farm in the eastern part of Spiceland Township, where he resided fifteen years, when he sold it and bought another in Franklin Township. Six years later he returned to Spiceland Township and bought the farm where he has since resided. He was married Oct. 20, 1842, to Eunice B., daughter of Stephen Macy, who died in 1850, leaving three children-Oliver, Elvin and Eli. Laban Oct. 21, 1852, he married Mary T., daughter of James and Sarah Elliott. They have four children-James F., Morris, Thomas and Martha. Mr. and Mrs. Greenstreet are members of the Society of Friends.

Jeremiah Griffin, son of Samuel and Lydia Griffin, was born Dec. 25 (Christmas), 1823, near Centreville, Wayne Co., Ind. He came to Henry County with his parents in the spring of 1824, about eight years after Indiana was admitted as a State, and set- tled near where Spiceland, in Spiceland Township, now is, and for nearly the whole time since has made this county his home- now sixty years. He claims to be one of the pioneers-one of the earliest settlers in Spiceland Township now living; was here when deer, bears and wolves presumed to promenade the forest at will.

3 catherine An 1 Francis

nirs greens at greentor Imo .

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He received his first schooling in a log school-house, also used for a meeting-house, near the spot where the Spiceland brick school building now stands; attended the schools taught by Isaac White, Solomon Macy, Levi Lane, Verling Kersey, Robert Harrison and others, and after receiving what was then called a common- school education commenced teaching, being then in his seven- teenth year, and having received a certificate from Martin L. Bundy and Joel Reed, examiners of teachers of common schools for Henry County, certifying his competency to teach a common school, he taught three months, winter of 1840-'41, for $45, or $15 a month, and boarded himself. Board was 50 cents a week. Farm hands were getting $6 and $8 a month. From 1840 to 1857 he was teaching or attending school, teaching in Wayne, Henry and Rush counties, attending the Wayne County Seminary and the Academy at Cambridge City, taught by the late Rev. S. K. Hoshour, during the intervals of teaching. He became a proficient in mathematics, and was recognized for some years as a prominent instructor, noted for order and discipline. He was Principal of the West Grove Academy and Union Seminary for six years; taught the Spiceland school for two and a half years. He was a teacher about sixteen years, and during that time gave instruction to about 2,000 pupils, many of whom are now distinguished men and women, filling prominent stations in life, of honor and trust, and the writer of this often hears him spoken of by his former pupils, and never otherwise than with reverence and respect. He always took such a kindly interest in their welfare and such an earnest care for their advancement, that he was regarded by them with much esteem, and many of them claim that to him they owe the inspiration that guided them and led them on to success in life. He assisted in organizing the first County Teachers' Association ever held in Henry County. It was auxiliary to the State Teachers' Association. He was obliged to quit teaching on account of ill health. He is modest and unas- suming in his disposition, strictly conscientious, a man of good judgment and exact business habits; order and precision char- acterize all his work, whether on his farm or in legal transactions, and he is a man of perfect integrity. He was married in 1847, Oct. 27, to Ann Kenworthy, daughter of Amos and Mary Ken- worthy, of Raysville, Ind., formerly of Pennsylvania. In 1857 he moved on the farm where he now resides near Dunreith. They have nine children, only four of whom are living-Mattie E.,

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624

wife of George Detwiler, of Adel, Iowa, graduated at the State Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and was a successful teacher some years prior to her marriage. She is the wife of a highly re- spected minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is the mother of three interesting little girls. Their other children, Willis, Elbert S. and Emma, are at home with their parents.

John W. Griffin was born on the farm where he now resides, Dec. 3, 1831, a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Burgess) Griffin. He was reared on his father's farm, his early education being received in the Spiceland schools. He subsequently attended one term at the Friends' boarding-school, now Earlham College. Before he was twenty-one years of age he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness at Spiceland and Ogden three years. In 1856 he went to Richmond, Ind., and engaged in the manufacturing business with Nordyke & Co. He subsequently traded his interests there for a half-section of unimproved land in Lake County, Ind., where he removed. A small colony of his acquaintances and relatives set tled and improved a considerable portion of Lake County. After making a farm of something over half a section he exchanged it for other farms in Rush County and returned to his native county, buying and settling upon the old homestead, where he has since been engaged in farming and dealing in real estate. He has taken an active interest in all enterprises of benefit to the community. The organization and construction of turnpikes in southern Henry and northern Rush counties are largely due to his active and en- terprising efforts, as was also the railroad running north and south through Spiceland Township. In politics Mr. Griffin is very en- thusiastic. He was formerly a member of the Republican party, but in 1872 transferred his allegiance to Horace Greeley and has since cast his suffrage with the Democratic party. He was mar- ried May 2, 1855, to Anna C. Price, a daughter of Rice and Susanna Price, of Greensboro Township. To them have been born nine children ; but four are living-Emily, John S., Virginia and Susanna P. The deceased are-George, Joseph, Robert, Ernest and Rebecca J.

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History of Henry County, Indiana, Part 75

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 996

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996