USA > Indiana > Huntington County > History of Huntington County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana > Part 66
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MOSES BATSON. farmer and stock raiser, was born in Henry County, Ind., Feburary 27, 1840, and is a son of Samuel and Lucinda (Robinson) Batson, the father born in Ohio and the mother in Indiana. Samuel Batson was born June 3, 1814, came to Huntington County, January, 1841, and settled in Lan- caster Township, where his death occurred, December 22, 1861. Mrs. Batson was born on the sixteenth day of June, 1814, and
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is still living. They are the parents of three children, to-wit, Amanda, born February 27, 1840; Moses, whose birth is given above and John, born October 16, 1849, died December 22, 1861. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm, where he now resides, and in the country schools enjoyed the advantages of a practical English education. He began life as a farmer taking charge of the home place, the greater part of which he now owns. This farm consists of 320 acres of valuable land, which under Mr. Batson's successful management has been made one of the best places in Lancaster Township. Mr. Batson in 1880, was elected to the office of a Constable, the duties of which posi- tion he has discharged, until the present time. His marriage with Miss Augustine C. Milner of Fayette County, Ind., solem- nized May 20, 1858, has been blessed with the birth of the follow- ing children, viz .: John S. W. R. M., born May 12, 1859, died April 25, 1886; Moses J. A. B., born April 20, 1861, died January 15, 1873, and Luciuda M. E. A., born July 24, 1863. Mrs. Batson was born on the 15th day of June, 1840. Mr. Batson is one of the leading citizens of the township, alive to every interest for the general welfare of the community. He is a Democrat in politics, and was formerly an active worker in the Grange move- ment.
JOEL BURKET, one of the oldest living settlers, and one of the leading citizens of Lancaster Township, was born in Montgom- ery County, Ohio, January 24, 1816, the eldest son of David and Hannah (Byerly) Burket -parents both natives of North Caro- lina. He was reared on a farm in his native county, received in the common schools a limited education, and remained with his parents until attaining his majority, at which time he began life upon his own responsibility, choosing agriculture for a vocation. On the 13th day of October, 1836, he was married to Miss Susan- nah Wissler, and two years later emigrated to Huntington County, Ind., and settled in Lancaster Township, choosing for his home 160 acres of valuable land on the northeast quarter of Sec- tion 34, where he made a comfortable home, and where his family of five children were reared to man and womanhood. Mr. Burket, in 1841 or 1842, was elected Trustee of Lancaster, and discharged the duties of that office in an eminently satis- factory manner for three terms. He is a notable example of what energy and determination can do in the face of adverse circumstances, as he began life in the wilderness of this town- ship with little capital save willing hands and a vigorous consti- tution. He has taken an active interest, not only in the physical development of the township, but in the moral condition of the community as well, and is at this time one of the leading mem- bers of the German Baptist Church at New Lancaster. In poli- tics he votes with the Democratic party, but is not, and never has been, an aspirant for official honors. Mr. and Mrs. Burket. have a family of five children, whose names and dates of birth
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are as follows, viz .: Anna, born August 20, 1837; Eli, born April 27, 1839; David, born July 15, 1841; Joseph, born Septem- ber 24, 1843; Eliza, born August 10, 1848.
ELI BURKET, farmer and stock raiser, eldest son of Joel and Susannah (Wissler) Burket, was born in Wayne County, Ind., April 27, 1839. He enjoyed the advantages of a common school education, early became familiar with the rugged duties of farm life and until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-one years of age, remained with his parents, acquaint- ing himself with the carpenter's trade in the meantime. On leaving home he began working at the trade which he carried on with good success for a period of thirteen years, abandoning it at the end of that time and engaging in agricultural pursuits which he has since carried on. He now owns 100 acres of choice land in Section 35, Lancaster Township, which in point of im- provements will compare favorably with any other farm in the southern part of the county. He is an energetic man, fully alive to the interests of the public and is held in high esteem by all with whom he comes in contact. He is a Democrat in politics and as such has rendered valuable service to the party in this county, having been its candidate for various official positions. The following are the names of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Burket: William E., born November 29, 1851; Teressa J., born September 7, 1833, and Millie M., born July 8, 1876. Of these William and Teressa are married, the former to Miss Grace Mason and the latter to Frank Winebrenner. Mr. and Mrs. Burket are active members of the German Baptist Church.
DAVID BURKET, son of Joel and Susannah Burket, is a native of Huntington County, Ind., and dates his birth from the 15th day of July, 1841. He received a good, practical education in the common schools, and passed the years of his youth and early manhood on his father's farm, thus early familiarizing himself with the details of that most useful of all occupations - i, e., the pursuit of agriculture. On the 8th day of October, 1862, he responded to the country's call for volunteers, and as a mem- ber of the Twenty-Third Indiana Battery did valiant service in defense of the old flag, until honorably discharged from service at the close of the war in 1865. On severing his connection with the army, Mr. Burket returned home and resumed farming, which he has since successfully continued, owning at this time a comfort- able home in Section 35, Lancaster Township. He is a Republican in politics, and in the fall of 1886 was elected County Commis- sioner by the largest majority ever given any one man in the county up to that date - a fact which attests his great personal popularity. He was married March 24, 1867, to Miss Mary A. Ulrich - a union blessed with the following children, viz .: Nancy C., born February 16, 1868, died February 7, 1886; Ada, born June 6, 1870; Samantha J., born December 16, 1872; Jesse,
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born July 18, 1876; Levi, born July 17, 1881. Nancy C., was mar- ried to Jcaob Beemer, by whom she had one child which died in in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Burket belong to the German Baptist Church.
GEORGE BUZZARD, a native of Adams County, Ohio, was born September 1, 1819, the eldest son of John and Rachel (Ruggles) Buzzard, natives, respectively of Virginia and Ken- tucky. John Buzzard, in 1834, settled in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and one year later moved to Huntington County, hav- ing been one of the earliest pioneers of this part of the State. He was by occupation a farmer and died in this county on the 5th of June, 1855. His wife survived him several years, depart- ing this life on the 12th day of April, 1881. George Buzzard grew up with but few advantages for obtaining an education, but by applying himself in later years, having always been a reader, has become quite well informed upon all the general topics of the day. He was raised a farmer and early chose agri- culture for his life work, and at this time owns a beautiful place of 160 acres of valuable land in Lancaster Township, the result of his persevering industry. He remained with his parents until his marriage which was solemnized on the 24th of July, 1844, with Mrs. Mary A. (Shanklin) Cline, who has borne him the following children, viz .: John S., born May 24, 1845; Mary E., born September 14, 1846, died June 19, 1857; . Rachel E., born August 3, 1849; Sarah C., born May 6, 1852; George B., born September 6, 1854; Charles H., born June 14, 1857, and Jesse J., born January 24, 1859. Mr. Buzzard in 1852, was elected Trustee of Lancaster Township, the duties of which office he discharged in a creditable manner until 1863. In 1876, he was elected on the Democratic ticket a member of the board of County Commissioners, besides which he has frequently served in various official capacities. He is one of Lancaster's represen- tative men, and with his wife belong to the Church of God.
JOHN S. BUZZARD, eldest son of George and Mary A. Buz- zard, was born in Huntington County, Ind., May 24, 1845. He received a common school education, grew to manhood on his fath- er's farm, and remained with his parents until after his nine- teenth year. February 1, 1865, he enlisted for one year in the One Hundred and Fifty-Third Indiana Infantry, with which he served for a period of about ten months, acting in a clerical cap- icity the greater part of the time. After his discharge he re- turned home, and for some time thereafter was engaged as clerk in the grocery house of W. H. Rhinehart, a businesss he subse- quently abandoned for farming, which he now successfully car- ries on. He owns 160 acres in Sections 3 and 9, Lancaster Town- ship, and is one of the leading farmers of the community in which he resides. August 26, 1866, he married Rebecca Shaffer, who was born in this county, September 19, 1848. The issue of
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
this marriage are eight children, viz .: William T., born June 10, 1867; Rosanna, born March 28, 1869; Louis S., born March 29, 1872; John F., born January 23. 1874; Charles A., born April 5, 1877; Jacob U. born October 14, 1879; Ora M., born April 23, 1882, and Bertie, born May 14, 1884. Politically Mr. Buzzard is a Demo- crat; in religion a member of the Church of God, to which his wife also belongs.
DAVID CHAMBERS, deceased, was a native of Greene County, Ohio, born September 20, 1817. On the 9th day of May, 1843, he married Hester Ann Woodward, of the same county and State, by whom he had four children; to wit: infant, deceased, unnamed; Harriet, deceased; Martha E., born December 17, 1846, and William E., born December 31, 1848. The same year of their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers moved to Huntington County, Ind., and settled in Section 27, Lancaster Township, where the family was reared, and where the father's death oc- curred February 7, 1870. The place upon which Mr. Chambers settled was at the time of his appearance an almost unbroken wilderness, but with an energy and determination born of a will to succeed he went to work and by persevering industry finally carved out a home which at the time of his death was one of the most valuable farms in Lancaster Township, consisting of 260 acres of fine land substantially improved and in a high state of cultivation. The farm is now successfully managed by the only son, William E. Chambers, one of the representative citizens of the township. David Chambers was a substantial business man, an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and his death was an event that cast a shade of gloom over the entire com- munity in which he resided. The members of his family now living are prominently identified with the Methodist Church.
GEORGE P. CHENOWETH, M. D., was born at Mt. Etna, Ind., March 11, 1849, the eldest son of Joel and Elizabeth (Lever- ton) Chenoweth, who were among the early pioneers of Hunt- ington County. Dr. Chenoweth's early educational training was obtained in the common schools, supplemented by a course in the Antioch High School, where he pursued his studies for a limited period. On quitting school he engaged in teaching in Jefferson Township, a profession hefollowed four years, abandoning it with his last school taught in Mt. Etna. Having early determined to make the medical profession his life work, Dr. Chenoweth, in 1873, began preparing for the same by a course of reading in the office of L. C. Beckford, M. D., of Mt. Etna, and the following year took his first course of lectures at the Chicago Medical Col- lege, from which institution he subsequently graduated, his di- ploma bearing date of March 20, 1877. After completing his medical education the doctor at once entered upon the active practice of the same, and is now one of the successful and rising physicians of Huntington County. He was married October 30,
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1873, to Miss Matilda C. Sleisure, of Mt. Etna, who has borne him two children, to wit: Mary E., born October 7, 1874, and Albert, born February 27, 1877. The doctor takes an active interest in political affairs, voting the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of Mt. Etna Lodge, No. 304, I. O. O. F., in which he at present holds the position D. D. G. M. His portrait appears on another page of this volume.
THOMAS CRANDEL, M. D., physician and surgeon, of Kelso, is a native of Indiana, born in Fayette County, June 7, 1838, the eldest son of Michael and Sarah (Londenback) Crandel. The father and mother about the year 1849, or 1850, moved to Hunt- ington County and settled near Warren, Salamonie Township, where the former's death occurred in 1870. The mother is still living, being at this time a resident of the town of Warren. Thomas Crandel received a good common school education and remained under the parental roof until the age of twenty-one, assisting his father on the farm in the meantime. After a few months spent with his father in the capacity of a farm laborer he accepted a position as teacher in the public schools and was thus engaged in Salamonie and Jefferson Townships until the breaking out of the great Civil War, when he exchanged the quiet duties of instructor for the more active and arduous duties of the soldier. August 28, 1861, he was mustered into service as a member of Company C, Thirty-Fourth Indiana Infantry with which he served for a period of nearly five years, participating in a number of active campaigns and bloody battles during that period. At the battle of Thompson Hills, Tex., he was the victim of a mishap caused by the action of a comrade in firing a gun close to his ear, causing a partial deafness from which he has never entirely recovered. At the expiration of his term of service, February 3, 1866, Dr. Crandel returned home and for some time thereafter was engaged in teaching, which he subse- quently abandoned for the medical profession, beginning the study of the latter under Dr. Yingling, of Huntington. On com- pleting his preliminary reading he entered the. Eclectic Medical Institute, at Cincinnati, from which institution he graduated in the spring of 1869. After graduation he at once engaged in the active practice of his profession, which he now carries on in con- nection with the drug and retail grocery business at the town of Kelso. In addition to his mercantile interests the Doctor owns a fine farm of 136 acres in Salamonie Township and a smaller one in Wells County, both of which are substantially improved and well cultivated. He is a member of Majenica Lodge, No. 563, F. & A. M., and also belongs to Monroe Laymon Post, No. 211, G. A. R. He is a member of the Methodist Church, as is also his wife, and in politics votes with the Republican party. He was married February 21, 1869, to Miss Hannah M. Morgan, of Frank- lin County, Ind.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
SOLOMON DILL, was born in Wayne County, Ind., on the 13th day of August, 1838. He was married to Miss Susan Hunt- singer, August 12, 1858. She is also a native of Wayne County, and was born May 8, 1840. Five children were born to this union, viz .: Elizabeth R., born December 28, 1859; Benjamin F., born November 8, 1861; William W., born December 26, 1867; Elmina, born May 2, 1873, and Catherine (deceased), born Novem- ber 8, 1863, died May 29, 1868. The subject was a soldier in the late war, and was in the service nine months, being wounded in the right leg, for which disability he draws a pension of three dollars per month. He owns fifty-four acres of fine farming land on Section 2, Lancaster Township, which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation. Politically, Mr. Dill has for- merly been a Republican, but now is somewhat inclined toward the Greenback Organization. The farm is under the manage- ment of Mrs. Dill and her son William, while the father is en- gaged with his son Benjamin F., in retailing musical instruments at Kalamazoo, Mich., where they have been thus occupied for the past three years. In 1866, this family moved from Wayne County, Ind., to Huntington County, and settled where they now reside. The subject is a member of the Evangelical Church, while his wife and three children are members of the Church of God. They are highly respected citizens in the community where they reside.
CLINTON C. ELLIS .- Conspicuous among the representa- tive citizens of Lancaster Township, is Clinton C. Ellis, who was born in Brown County, Ohio, February 11, 1840, the eldest child of Jeremiah and Catharine (Lawrence) Ellis. He was educated in the common schools, and until his twentieth year remained with his parents, working on the farm in the meantime. On the 30th day of August, 1860, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary, daughter of William and Isabella (McCallahan) McGov- ney a union blessed with the birth of the following children: Isabella C., born November 8, 1861; William J., born February 23, 1864; John F., born June 4, 1867; Ella M., born June 2, 1869; George D., born April 10, 1876; Jesse O., born September 28, 1874. Isabella C., the eldest daughter, was married February 18, 1882, to J. C. Kitch, by whom she is the mother of one child, Claude E. Kitch, born January 18, 1883. Mr. Ellis, in 1866, moved to Hunt- ington County, Indiana, and purchased 116 acres of land in Wayne Township, from which he raised one crop. He then exchanged the farm for a drug store in Mt. Etna, and after con- tinuing that business with encouraging success for about two years, purchased his present beautiful farm of 240 acres in Sec- tion 22, Lancaster Township, upon which he has since resided. Mr. Ellis, is a progressive, wide awake man and his place is one of the most highly improved in the township. He was prominently identified with the Grange, during the existence of that order,
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and in matters political is, and always has been, an earnest and uncompromising supporter of the principles of the Democratic party.
OZIAH C. ELLIS, a native of Randolph County, Ind., was born on the 25th of August, 1841, the second son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Clark) Ellis, natives of Ohio, who came to Randolph County, Ind., in about the year 1835, and resided there until the fall of 1847, when they removed to Polk Township, this county, where they now reside. Our subject received a common school education, was reared on a farm, remaining with his parents until he was twenty years old, after which he was employed as a farm hand until his marriage, which occurred December 1, 1867, he taking as a life-partner Miss Susan E. Richardson, a native of Henry County, Ind., born November 25, 1849. She is a daughter of George and Amanda (Bailey) Richardson, natives of Kentucky. To this marriage two children were born, viz .: Lizzetta S., born September 19, 1869; Clara E., born September 16, 1883. The sub- ject is the owner of forty acres of land on Section 33, Lancaster Township, and forty acres on Section 16, Polk Township. There are seventy-two acres under good cultivation, and improved in a comfortable and substantial manner. Mr. Ellis enlisted in the Thirty-Fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company G, in September, 1861, and served for about eleven months, being dis- charged on account of physical disability. He then enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry in July, 1863, when his service continued until March 4, 1864. His time for which he had enlisted expired, and he then was enrolled as a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-Third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, February, 1865, and re- mained in the service until the close of the war. Mr. Ellis is a member of the German Baptist Church, and is a minister of that organization. Politically, our subject is at present a Prohibition- ist, but formerly was a member of the Republican party.
JOHN EVANS, deceased, was a native of Warren County, Ohio, born in the year 1811. He was raised to agricultural pur- suits, became a very successful farmer, and in 1860 moved to Huntington County, Ind., settling in Jefferson Township where he accumulated a very large property. He was one of the largest farmers and stock raisers in the county, and also one of its most successful business men, owning at the time of his death over 900 acres of valuable land, the result of his persevering industry. He was three times married, the issue of his first union being two children, viz .: Mrs. John J. Ruggles, of Jefferson Township, and Mrs. Samuel Crull, of Stark County. His second wife was Ann M. Sherman, a native of Ohio, whom he married in the year 1851. She died October, 1864, leaving one son, Samuel Evans, whose birth occurred April 6, 1854. In 1862, Mr. Evans married Martha A. Robinson, of Wayne County, Ind., who died in 1874.
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Mr. Evans preceded his wife to the grave departing this life in the year 1871.
SAMUEL M. EVANS, son of John and Ann M. (Sherman) Evans, was born in Wayne County. Ind., April 6, 1854. His early education was obtained in the common schools, and he later at- tended a normal school at Dresden, Ohio, where he made substan- tial progress in the higher branches of learning. After his mother's death, which occurred when he was but seven years of age, he went to live in the family of an aunt at Dresden, and at the age of twenty, began his business life buying and selling stock, which occupied his attention for about four or five years. He then began farming and stock raising, and subsequently in 1881, went to Texas and engaged in raising sheep, purchasing a large area of land in that State for grazing purposes. He re- mained in Texas two years, disposing of his stock at that time and returning to Indiana. He then went to Frankfort, Colorado, where for some months he was interested in the livery business, but did not remain in the west any great length of time, dis- posing of his property there and again returning to Huntington County, where he has since resided. He is now engaged in the brokerage business, loaning money, dealing in stocks, etc., and is one of the successful men of Lancaster Township. He was mar- ried March 17, 1876, to Miss Emma V. Planck, who has borne him four children, whose names are as follows: Rex L., Ott J., Bess and Cubb, all living. Mr. Evans is a member of Mt. Etna Lodge, No. 304, I. O. O. F., and in politics is identified with the Democratic party.
HARVEY FISHER, one of the pioneers of Lancaster Town- ship, is a native of Wayne County, Ind., and son of Daniel and Damarus (Starbuck) Fisher. The parents were both born in Guilford County, N. C., but early moved to Indiana, locating in Wayne County when that part of the State was a comparatively wild country. Harvey Fisher was born January 6, 1828, passed the years of his youth and early manhood upon his father's farm, and in the common schools obtained the elements of a practical education. At the age of nineteen he began life for himself and two years later, 1848, came to Huntington County, and located a farm on the northwest quarter of Section 2, Lancaster Township. He subsequently purchased a tract of land in Section 18, same township, and is now the owner of a good home, the result of his own efforts and persevering labor. Mr. Fisher is one of the old- est residents of Lancaster now living, and has seen the township develop from an almost unbroken wilderness into one of the most fertile and enlightened communities in Northern Indiana. His first marriage was celebrated January 30, 1846, with Mary Brown, of Wayne County, who bore him the following children, viz .: Mahlon B., October 13, 1848; Amanda A., born November 3, 1850; Emma J., born March 4, 1856; Elizabeth E., born March 12,
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1860, and Charlotte A., born December 30, 1862. Mrs. Fisher died on the 13th of August, 1864, aged a little over thirty-eight years. Mr. Fisher was again married October 3, 1865, to Lucy A. Coll, who was the mother of one child, Willie Fisher, born August 3, 1866, died February 17, 1869. In the fall of 1868, Mr. Fisher was again bereaved, his wife dying that year. His third marriage was solemnized in the fall of 1870, with Miss Susan E, Snider, a union blessed with the birth of one child, Clara E., born Janu- ary 16, 1880. Mr. Fisher is a public spirited citizen, alive to all the interests of the community, and since the organization of the Republican party, has been one of its most earnest supporters.
SAMUEL H. FRIEDLEY, Trustee of Lancaster Township, was born in Huntingdon (now Blair) County. Pennsylvania, June 13, 1841, the eldest son of David R. and Christina (Hoover Friedley. Parents natives of the same State. When six year of age, our subject, in company with his mother and grandfathe came to Indiana, and settled in Wayne County, from whence, two years later, they moved to Henry County, where Samuel lived un- til 1862. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and in the com- mon schools received the rudiments of a good English education. He entered the army in 1862, enlisting in Compamy A, Fifty- Fourth Indiana Infantry, with which he shared the fortunes and vicissitudes of war until his discharge on the 25th of December, 1863. On leaving the army he came to Huntington County, where his family had preceded him, and settled in Section 12, Lancaster Township, where he purchased a farm, and where he has ever since resided. He owns at this time a farm of 160 acres of well improved land and is justly entitled to mention among the pro- gressive and well to do citizens of Lancaster. He was elected to the office of Township Trustee, in the fall of 1885, running as the regular Republican candidate, and receiving the handsome ma- jority of ninety-two votes. September 10, 1867, he married Char- lotte Brumbaugh who departed this life April 6, 1873, at the age of twenty-two years. She was the mother of three children, whose names and dates of births are as follows, to wit: Frances C., born February 6, 1869; Christina R., born March 11, 1871, and Henry M., born November 11, 1872.
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