USA > Indiana > Henry County > History of Henry County, Indiana > Part 76
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Joseph Griffin was born in Highland County, Ohio, July 26, 1806, a son of Jacob and Mary (Copeland) Griffin, who emigrated from North Carolina to Ohio in 1803, and in 1808 removed to In- diana, Wayne County, near where Richmond was afterward laid out. In 1814 they removed and settled in the wilderness two miles north of the present site of Centreville, where his mother
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
died in 1823. In 1825 his father married Sarah Wickersham. Joseph Griffin remained with his father until he attained his majority, and then came to Henry County and entered eighty acres of land, cutting cord-wood at 18 and 20 cents a cord to get the money to pay for it. He afterward cut wood and made rails at 25 cents a hundred, and in this way paid for eighty acres more land, which he improved. He planted an orchard of apple and peach trees, and in 1830 they began bearing. He built a two-story hewed-log house. He was married Dec. 30, 1830, to Rebecca, daughter of John and Sarah Burgess, and moved to his home, where they lived until 1860, when they bought a little farm and moved upon it, at Ogden, Ind., where they continued to reside until 1877. Mrs. Griffin's health now being too feeble to continue her household duties, they joined their youngest surviv- ing daughter, Mrs. Sarah A. Pleas, and built their present dwell- ing-house upon the old homestead, where they started in life together, and where they now reside. They have had four children ; but two are living-John W. and Sarah A. (Pleas). Emily J. (Clark) and Mary B. are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin are mem- bers of the Society of Friends. They are among the oldest and most influential citizens of the county.
Samuel Griffin, one of the pioneers of Spiceland Township. Henry Co., Ind., was born in Randolph County, N. C., Jan. 22, 1804. He was the third son of Jacob and Mary Griffin. His parents emigrated to Indiana when he was about three years old and settled in Wayne County. Here he grew to manhood, having few facilities for acquiring an education, consequently his knowledge of books was of a limited character. But inheriting from his ancestors energy, decision, promptness, order and an excellent judgment, he became a man whose counsel was often sought by a large circle of business acquaintances. He possessed a keen sense of justice. Apart from the legality or the illegality of a thing, the advantage or the disadvantage, the expediency or the inexpediency, the question considered by him was-Is it right! is it just? To genius, to education, to natural abilities, he gave due respect and reverence; but he was servile to no man. He had a modest independence of character that was maintained on all occasions. His genius for mathematics was of an uncommon order. He could solve any question in any practical arithmetic without the aid of pen or pencil. He had natural skill in mechan- ical contrivances, and it was often said of him that he had only to
2. 4.29.1841
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
look at a thing in that line to be able to make it. He at one time monopolized pretty much all the trade in the manufacture of wooden mold-boards for breaking plows. He usually required the purchaser of one to work for him twice the time it took him to make the board. He was married to Lydia Reynard, daughter of Adam and Catherine Reynard, of Wilmington, Ohio, Feb. 26, 1823. They resided in Wayne County about one year, where one son was born to them. They came to Henry County in the spring of 1824; settled where Spiceland, in Spiceland Township, is now located. The country was then literally a " howling wilderness," for the wolves made night hideous with their doleful howls, and it was not uncommon to see a bear skulking through the dense forest, and herds of deer could be seen almost any day. Here they builded them a home in true primitive fashion-a log cabin, without using a nail in the building-cleared the forest, made them a farm, and as he planted and gathered the crops, his faithful helpmate spun and wove, rocked the cradle and did her housework. They were members of Duck Creek Meeting of Friends for some time after settling in Henry County. This meeting was a distance of over three miles from their home; but they were seldom absent from the Sabbath or the mid-week meetings. Having but one horse the wife rode it and he walked, and part of the time carried his eldest son. Other Friends settling around them, they together conceived the idea of a Meeting in Spiceland. Samuel Griffin gave the ground for the house, the same on which the present meeting- honse now stands, and did his part with others in building it; and as his family increased he became one of the prominent supporters of the school at the same place. Having but a limited education himself, and feeling the need of it, he used his best endeavors to give all his children a good common-school education. In ,bring- ing up his children he used great care never to prejudice them against a neighbor, teacher or minister, regarding prejudice as baneful in its tendencies and a foe to justice. He was esteemed in an unusual degree as an honest, conscientious man. He was genial and hospitable, without ostentation, always careful to do his duty as he understood it. About the year 1851 he moved to his farm adjoining the village of Ogden. He built here a commo- dious house, delighted in entertaining his friends, carefully kept his farm, gathered around him an abundance of the comforts of life, gave all his younger children the advantages of a more exten- sive education. Samuel and Lydia Griffin had seven sons and five daughters, all of whom are living in Indiana except one, who is
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in Illinois-Jeremiah, near Dunreith, whose history will be found elsewhere in this book; Jacob, of Hamilton County, is a seep 816 farmer, and has also served the county in some of its official capacities; Adam, of Indianapolis, a merchant of considerable business ability; Elihu, a prominent attorney at law, of Crown Point, Ind .; Mary Ann, wife of Alexander Steel, of Dunreith; Isom, a commission merchant of Columbus; William, teacher and farmer, Hamilton County; Lydia Ellen, wife of Amos Carson, is a amos son minister in the Society of Friends, living near Cicero, in Hamilton County; Martha Jane was married to Robert N. Broadbent, who died in 1875; in 1881 she was married to Mercer Brown, and lives near Spiceland; Nancy Alice was married to Dr. John W. Broad- bent, who died in 1880; she is now married to Adam Stewart, and lives near Paris, Ill .; Samuel, an attorney at law, is a young man of promise in his profession, and is already a successful practi- tioner, resides at Cumberland, Marion County; Sarah Catherine, wife of James Moffitt, of Ogden. After a life of earnest work con- scientiously performed, Samuel Griffin passed from works to rewards rich in faith and hope and love. He died Jan. 12, 1875. He was a life member of the Society of Friends. Lydia Griffin still survives her husband, and is now past eighty years of age. She is, as was her husband, greatly beloved and reverenced by all her children and her childrens' children, her neighbors and her friends. Especially do the people of her own village treat her with the utmost respect; she is invited to their reunions and birthday anniversaries, and they are always pleased when it is practicable for her to attend. She is a woman of great faith, and is always diligent in doing her duty in her family and in the church. She is now serenely enjoy- ing the evening of life in the old homestead secured to her by her kind and thoughtful husband. She seems to be in the full posses- sion of her faculties, young in heart, keenly alive to the beauty and poetry of life, ever looking through nature up to nature's God, ever tender and true to the interests of all her children and interested in the welfare of all mankind. She has been a life mem- ber of the Society of Friends, but is altogether unsectarian. The following lines of Whittier are a true echo of sentiments often ex- pressed by her:
" Enough and too much of the sect and the name! What matters our label so truth be our aim ? The creed may be wrong, but the life may be true, And hearts beat the same under drab coats or blue. So the man be a man let him worship at will In Jerusalem's courts or on Gerizim's hill."
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As the shadows lengthen and the twilight of age comes on, her body is feebler, but she is placidly looking forward to a life beyond.
Alfred Hall, farmer and stock-raiser, section 16, Spiceland Township, was born on the farm where he now resides Aug. 7, 1842, a son of the late Caleb and Hannah (Sanders) Hall. He was reared on his father's farm and received a good education in the town of Spiceland. He was married May 27, 1875, to Mary J., daughter of Elias and Martha (Sanders) Elliott, a native of Guil- ford Co., N. C., who came to Henry County with her parents when a child and afterward went to Wayne County where she was liv- ing at the time of her marriage. The farm contains 113 acres of valuable land. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are members of the Society of Friends.
Caleb Hall, deceased, was among the prominent pioneers of Henry County. He was a native of Guilford Co., N. C., born Sept. 7, 1804, a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Hall, also natives of North Carolina. In 1814 his parents came to Indiana and set- tled on Green's Fork in Wayne County, where he was reared. In 1832 he came to Henry County and entered eighty acres of wild land in Spiceland Township, which he cleared and improved. He subsequently bought eighty acres adjoining his farm. His parents followed him to Henry County and passed the remainder of their lives with him. He was married Jan. 4, 1832, to Han- nah, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Wells) Sanders, who died Sept. 9, 1864, leaving six children-Lydia, Elizabeth, Joseph S., Jehu W., Alfred B. and Nancy E. June 27, 1866, Mr. Hall mar- ried Mrs. Isabella Kennedy. He died March 17, 1881. He and his family were members of the Society of Friends.
Edwin Hall, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Dudley Town- ship, Henry Co., Ind., Jan. 3, 1849, a son of Moses and Anna M. (Macy) Hall. He remained at home till manhood, assisting his father and attending school. He received a good education and subsequently taught several years. He was married Sept. 18, 1873, to Ella, daughter of Ferris and Delitha (Bailey) Compton. They have two children-Clarence, born Aug. 3, 1875, and Carroll, born Oct. 18, 1880. After his marriage Mr. Hall settled in Dudley Township, remaining there till 1879, when he bought a farm in Franklin Township where he lived till November, 1883, when he bought the farm in Spiceland Township, where he now lives. He has 106 acres of fine land, all under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are members of the Society of Friends, and among the most Moses Hall
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
influential and respected citizens of the county. Politically he is a Republican.
Jehu W. Hall, farmer and stock-raiser, Spiceland Township, was born in Henry County, Ind., Oct. 2, 1839, a son of Caleb and Hannah (Sanders) Hall. He received a good education in the schools of Spiceland and a practical knowledge of agriculture on his father's farm. He was married May 11, 1864, to Huldah, daughter of Eli and Jane Ratliff. They have two children-Isadore and Mary Bell. After his marriage Mr. Hall settled on part of the old homestead where he has since resided, successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is one of the most influential citizens of the township, a public-spirited, energetic, liberal man. He and his family are members of the Society of Friends.
Benjamin F. Henshaw, merchant, Dunreith, Ind., has been for more than forty years prominently identified with the business in- terests of Henry County. He was born in Randolph County, N. C., Aug. 6, 1820, a son of Benjamin and Anice (Bowman) Hen- shaw, natives of North Carolina, the former of Irish and the latter of English descent. Benjamin Henshaw, Sr., was a farmer and cabinet-maker in his native State. In 1832 he moved to Indiana and lived in Wayne County one year. He then purchased a farm in Greensboro Township, Henry County, where he lived till his death in 1866, aged eighty-four years. His wife died in 1865, aged seventy-five years. They reared a family of twelve children, mine of whom are living. They were active members of the Friends Society till the agitation of the slavery question, when they took a prominent part on the side of abolition. They were well-known and esteemed throughout the entire county. Benjamin F. Henshaw remained with his parents till eighteen years of age and then went to Knightstown and served an apprenticeship of three years at the blacksmith's trade. He then engaged in busi- ness for himself twelve years, and in 1853 went to Greensboro and engaged in the mercantile business twelve years, and at the same time carried on a large farm. In 1865 he moved to Dunreith where he has a large stock of general merchandise, being the leading merchant of the town. He also has a landed estate of 325 acres. Mr. Henshaw was married Sept. 27, 1842, to Margaret Morgan, a daughter of Michael and Mary (Goddard) Morgan, who came from New Jersey to Henry County in 1840. They have had nine children, but four are living-Albert E., Nora L., Elizabeth and Angie. / Arthur M., Logan and three infants are de-
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ceased. Mr. Henshaw is a member of Dunreith Lodge, No. 341, I. O. O. F.
John Hiatt, one of the earliest settlers of Henry County, was born in Guilford County, N. C., July 9, 1804, a son of Benajah and Elizabeth (White) Hiatt, natives of North Carolina, of Welsh descent. He was educated in the Friends' school at New Garden, N. C., residing with his parents till his marriage. He soon after moved to Indiana and settled in Wayne County, near the Henry County line, where he remained till 1831, when he came to Henry County and bought a farm adjoining the town of Spiceland, the most of it wild, uncultivated land. He went bravely to work, and in a few years had a finely cultivated farm, and was surrounded with all the comforts of life. He has lived to enjoy the fruits of a well spent life, and is now living retired from the active life of the farm. He was married Feb. 4, 1824, to Rebecca, daughter of Josiah and Annie (Britton) Unthank. They have had a family of ten children-Annie J. (wife of Jacob Griffin), Albert, Josiah, Eli- phalet, Charles, Clarkson, Mary (wife of Albert Hodson), Martha (wife of Thomas Evans), William and Samuel. Mr. and Mrs. Hiatt are members of the Society of Friends.
Eli F. Hodson, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Spiceland Township, Henry Co., Ind., Nov. 28, 1830, the second son of Robert Hodson, of Spiceland Township. He lived with his parents till his majority, and then, with the assistance of his father opened a small drug store in Ogden. He was successful in his management and accumulated property, remaining in business over thirty years. He was appointed Postmaster in 1857, and held the office almost continuously till 1882. In connection with his other business he was interested in milling and farming several years. In 1882 he sold his drug store and has since given his at- tention to general farming and stock-raising. His farm contains 167 acres of fine land. His residence is commodious, and his farm buildings denote thrift. He was married Oct. 9, 1856, to Jeunie> Reynolds, daughter of Job Reynolds. They have had four chil- dren-Alice E., wife of Edward Elliott; Ellsworth, deceased; Addie M. and Carrie. Mr. and Mrs. Hodson are members of the Society of Friends.
Isaac Hodson, the oldest resident of Spiceland Township, was born in Guilford County, N. C., Dec. 23, 1795, a son of Robert and Isabel (Frazier) Hodson, natives of North Carolina, of English descent. He lived on a farm in North Carolina till 1826, and then
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
came to Indiana and located in Henry County, in what is now Spiceland Township. He bought 160 acres of heavily timbered land and went to work to clear and improve his farm. In the fall and winter of 1828 he taught a subscription school in his cabin. This was the first school in the neighborhood. Mr. Hodson has one of the finest farms in the township. Coming, as he did, in the early settlement of the county, he has noted all the improvements, and has seen the country grow from a state of nature to one of ad- vanced civilization. He was married ed March 15, 1829, to Wilmet, daughter of Jacob Elliott." They have had five children-Sarah Ann (deceased), Jonas, Charles, Albert and one who died in child- hood. Mrs. Hodson died in December, 1882. Mr. Hodson has lived a quiet life, never seeking or desiring the publicity of official life.
Jonas E. Hodson, Spiceland, Ind., is a native of Spiceland Township, Henry Co., Ind., born May 1, 1833, the eldest son of Isaac and Wilmet (Elliott) Hodson. He was reared on the farm entered by his father in 1826, and attended the schools of Spice- land. He was married April 30, 1854, to Mary Ann, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Hiatt) Antrim. After his marriage he set- tled on a part of the old homestead and engaged in farming, and worked at the carpenter's trade till 1883, when he opened his stove and tinware store in Spiceland, where he has a steadily increasing trade. Mr. and Mrs. Hodson have had six children-Martha, Ellen, Emily, Clark (deceased), Dora and Flora (twins, the former deceased), and Adaline. They are members of the Society of Friends, and among the influential citizens of the township.
Robert Hodson was born in Guilford County, N. C., Sept. 16, 1799, the fourth son of Robert and Isabel (Frazier) Hodson, natives of North Carolina. His grandfather, Robert Hodson, and Athick ! of two brothers, George and Joseph, came from England in the early part of the eighteenth century, and settled in North Carolina. He lived with his parents till twenty-two years of age, and then pur- chased a small farm upon which he lived till about 1825, when he came to Indiana and located in Henry County. He entered 167 acres of land on Blue River, erected a rude cabin and began to prepare to raise something to eat. He cleared four acres and raised a good crop of corn. He lived on this farm thirty-five years, and then bought one on section 24, where he lived till the death of lis wife, in 1869, when he retired from active life. He was married in 1822 to Annie, daughter of John and Rachel Bailes. They had
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
a family of six children, two born in North Carolina and tour in Henry County, Ind .- Mary Ann, Susan, John B., Eli F., William and Henry. The daughters and Henry are deceased. Mr. Hodson and his wife were birthright members of the Society of Friends.
William Hodson, farmer and miller, was born in Spiceland Township, Henry Co., Ind., July 25, 1840, the third son of Robert and Annie (Bailes) Hodson. He received a good education, re- maining with his parents till manhood. He was married Dec. 30, 1861, to Amanda F., daughter of Nathan and Sarah Scoville. After his marriage he settled on a farm of 140 acres, which his father gave him, in Spiceland Township. He carried on his farm ten years and then bought a half interest in a flouring mill. He has since bought a third interest in a stone-quarry mill. He has been successful in his business pursuits and now owns 250 acres of valuable land. Mr. and Mrs. Hodson have six children-Samuel, Rufus P., Minnie A., Elbert, Nellie and Perley. Politically Mr. Hodson is a Democrat.
James Hudelson, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Nicholas County, Ky., June 14, 1825, a son of James and Esther (Craig) Hudelson. His parents came to Henry County, Ind., in October, 1831, and bought a tract of land with very little improvement, where his father died two weeks later. His mother superintended the clearing and improving the farm, and reared her eight children, remaining here till her death, Feb. 7, 1876, aged nearly seventy- eight years. He remained with his mother till manhood, and bought the old homestead of the other heirs. He has now lived in Spiceland Township fifty-three years, and has seen all the varied changes that have brought it to its present state of advanced civili- zation. He was married June 5, 1851, to Sarah M., daughter of Thomas and Sarah Atkins, of Rush County. They have had seven children-Ansel S. (deceased), John N., Elva, Henry M., Albert T., Anna M. and Hugh M. Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson are members of the United Presbyterian church. Politically he is a Republican.
Luther E. Hudelson, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Spice- land Township, Henry County, Jan. 19, 1850, the second son of William and Lucinda (Morris) Hudelson. He received a good education in the common schools, residing with his parents till his marriage. He bought 140 acres of land in Rush County, Ind., on the Henry County line, where he is successfully engaged in farm- ing. He was married Sept. 1, 1871, to Deborah A. Lupton, daughter of Nathan and Deborah Lupton, natives of Jefferson
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
County, Ohio. They have five children-Cecil Calvert, Laura Lulu, Otis Lupton, Julia Etta and Ada. Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is an Independent.
William Hudelson is one of the oldest and most prominent citi- zens of Henry County, and none are more worthy of the place he holds in the hearts of the people. He is a native of Nicholas County, Ky., born Nov. 14, 1823. His parents, James and Esther (Cregg) Hudelson, were natives of the same State. Owing to their aversion to the slave traffic and opposition to slavery they pre- ferred a home in the woods to a land of tyranny and oppression, and in the fall of 1831, with a family of eight children, they moved to Indiana and settled in what is now Spiceland Township, Henry County, at that time a wilderness inhabited by wild beasts. They bought 160 acres of land with few improvements and two log cabins. Neighbors were few, and being in the woods seemed a long distance apart, and but for the cabin erected a short time before they might have claimed the right of discovery. Three weeks after they arrived the father was taken sick with a fever from which he never recovered. Thus the mother was left to battle with life alone, her eldest child being about fourteen years of age, and all friends many miles distant. Possessed of courage she, with the aid of her children, who realized the situation, succeeded in cutting away the forests and was soon rewarded by waving fields of grain. Under her guidance her children reached a noble man and womanhood. She lived to the age of seventy-eight years. William Hudelson remained with his mother three years after his father's death and from that time till twenty-one years of age made his home with his grandmother. He then, at the solicitation of his mother, returned to the homestead to assist his younger brothers in managing the farm and care for her in her declin- ing years. Dec. 10, 1846, he was married to Lucinda Morris, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (Williams) Morris, prominent pioneers of the county. To them have been born six children- Benjamin F., Luther E., Morris E., Laura E., Lineas L. and Hat- tie A. Laura died at the age of seventeen months. Whatever Mr. Hudelson has achieved has been the result of the united energy and successful management of himself and his worthy wife. His first purchase was thirty-three and one-third acres for which he gave his note. By frugal habits and perseverance he has risen from poverty to the enjoyment of a comfortable home, surrounded
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
by friends and children, and all that combines to make life worth living. The farm contains 343 acres of finely cultivated land a part of which is Mrs. Hudelson's inheritance from her father's es- tate. In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson are Presbyterians. Their home is the synonym for hospitality, and the stranger that finds a shelter within their gates receives a welcome that dis- penses all thought of depression and homesickness.
Alfred Jackson, farmer and stock-raiser, was born on the farm where he now resides in Spiceland Township, Henry Co., Ind., July 7, 1836. a son of William and Lucy (Lucas) Jackson. He resided with his father till manhood, receiving a common-school education. After his marriage he moved to a farm in Greensboro Township, where, with the exception of five years, 1861-'2 and 1873-'5, he was in the general mercantile business, he resided twenty-three years. After the death of his father he bought the homestead, containing 167 acres of fine land, where he has since resided. He was married Jan. 2, 1857, to Susan, daughter of El- liott and Sarah (Byrkett) Rose, early settlers of the county. They have had five children; but two are living-Emma J. and Mollie. Sarah C. died in 1862, aged one year, four months and eleven days; Della, in 1878, aged twelve years, two months and twenty- four days; and Willard, in 1878, aged four years, ten months and twenty-two days.
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