USA > Indiana > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Indiana > Part 48
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a Methodist minister of the gospel, true to his calling, and con- siderably more than that time as a resident of this county. He and his brother William are the only inhabitants now living who resided in Brownstown as early as 1819 or 1820. In 1826 our subject was elected and commissioned lieutenant-colonel of mili- tia, was postmaster eight or ten years, was circuit court clerk and county recorder 1838-45, and has been generally successful in his business undertakings and honorable in them all, as well as capable and faithful in the discharge of his public duties. He has also been prominent in the cause of temperance, being a del- egate to the State and National Grand Lodges of the Good Tem- plar order; and he has visited many jails and State prisons on his holy mission, from which sprung up a correspondence oblig- ing him at one time to write as many as 300 letters in one year.
BOYATT & BOYATT, pension attorneys, Brownstown. The individual members of this firm are William L. and Thomas B., natives of Jackson County, the former being born April 23, 1844, the latter September 3, 1839. Their parents are Jurdan and Sally (Owen) Boyatt, the former born in 1807, his wife in 1810. He came to Jackson County in about the year 1828, where he married and settled on a farm in Owen Township. They were well respected citizens. Their deaths occurred in the year 1871. There were born to them five children : Elizabeth, wife of W. A. White, Davenport, Neb .; Sally, deceased wife of A. Prather; Nancy, widow of Edmond Rice, resides in Worth County, Mo., and our subjects. William L. was raised on his father's farm, receiving the advantages of a good education. He taught school for several terms. In 1862 he enlisted in Company G, Fifty- fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served four months, after which he enrolled Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fifth In- diana Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned first lieutenant. He also served as adjutant, returning January 21, 1866, to Clear- spring where he engaged in the mercantile business, was ap- pointed postmaster, served two terms, was assessor of the town- ship and also took the census of 1880. He began his present business in 1875. In 1882 came to Brownstown, served as deputy clerk for a time; is a Mason and Odd Fellow. In 1868 he mar- ried Lizzie Vawter; has two children by this marriage, Mahlon and
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Everett. Mrs. Boyatt died in 1871. " He took for his second wife, in 1873, Mary E. Faubion, by whom he has had the follow- ing children: Edwin, Daisy, Lena and Anna. Thomas B. went out as a private in September, 1861, in Company B, Fiftieth In- diana Volunteer Infanty, serving in this capacity until September, 1865. He was promoted to second lieutenant, then to first lieu- tenant, then to captain, and was mustered out as lieutenant- colonel. He was a brave soldier and an efficient officer, taking part in all the battles with the regiment. In 1883 he became a partner with his brother in his present business. He was mar- ried, in 1868, to Sally R. Beem. Three children were born to them : Charles C., Ina and Lynn. He is a Mason and Odd
- Fellow. Both members of the firm are active Democrats.
FRANK BRODHECKER, deputy treasurer, was born two miles east of Brownstown, December 9, 1853. He is a son of Conrad and Annie C. (Heller) Brodhecker who were of German · descent and among the early settlers of this county. Our subject · received a good education, after finishing which he remained upon the farm until twenty-two years of age. He then taught school for four winters, and in January, 1879, came to Brownstown to reside, having been appointed deputy treasurer. In the month of October, 1578, he married Miss Mary A. Doerr, daughter of George and Catherine Doerr. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brodhecker: Mary B., Cora and an infant. Mr. Brodhecker is a member of K. of P., and is recognized as one of the substantial citizens of the county. He is an active Democrat and as such has rendered valuable service to his party. He and his wife are members in good standing of the Presbyterian Church.
BARTHOLOMEW H. BURRELL, attorney at Brownstown, was born in Jackson County, Ind., March 13, 1841; and is the second son of John H. and Mary (Findley ) Burrell. His father, a well-known and highly respected farmer, has been for years com- missioner of Jackson County. He was a soldier in the black- hawk war, and also captain of Company G, Fifth Indiana Regi- ment, in the late civil war. The subject of this sketch remained on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he en- tered the State University at Bloomington, Ind., having bor-
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rowed the money to carry him through a collegiate course, which he promptly repaid from his first earnings after graduation. He graduated from the scientific department in 1864, then taught school, employing his leisure time in the study of the law with Judge Frank Emerson. Having thus paved the way for the com- pletion of his studies, he returned to the State University, where he graduated from the law department in 1866. Upon his ad- mission to the bar he commenced the practice in partnership with Judge Emerson. In 1876 he was elected State senator for four years. He has been and is an active member of the Demo- cratic party. He has been chairman of the Democratic Central Committee. He has been many times a delegate in the State con- ventions, and by reason of his ability and energy has come to be regarded as one of the pillars of Democracy, and one of the ris- ing men of his party in the county. Mr. Burrell is an active and useful member of the Presbyterian Church. He was mar- ried, in October, 1864, to Maggie F. Throop, of Bloomington, Ind., by whom he has had three children, but only one daughter is now living. As a politician Mr. Burrell is a model organizer and a natural leader among his fellows, and as a lawyer he is a man of ability.
JOHN H. BURRELL, farmer, Brownstown, was born in Gallia County, Ohio, March 6, 1814. He is the only one now living born to Reuben and Lucinda (Hanners) Burrell. The former a native of Virginia, the latter a native of North Caro- lina. They were married. in Ohio and came to what is now Jack- son County, in 1815, and lived one year in a "fort." Mr. Burrell then took a squatter's claim near , Vallonia, made some improve- ments on it and when it came into market was entered by some other party. He then took another claim with the same result; finally he secured a farm on the river bottom, on which he resided until his death, which occurred in about the year 1845, his wife dying in 1861. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. John H., the subject of this sketch, was raised on a farm, and always farmed for his occupation. He was a soldier in the Blackhawk war, also in the war of the Rebellion. In 1862 he enrolled a com- pany and was commissioned captain of a company in the Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving three months. He has
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served as county commissioner fourteen years and school trustee eight years. April 2, 1837, he married Mary Findley, daughter of Hugh A. and Rebecca (Coons). Findley, who were of German descent. They came from Clark County to Jackson County, Ind., in about 1818, where they resided until their deaths, the former dying January 22, 1880, his wife July 1, 1866. They were prominent citizens and highly respected by all. Mr. Burrell was born February 2, 1820. The following children have been born to them, Harrison, Bartholomew, Reuben, Hugh A., John B., Addie, Frank and two deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Burrell have been members of the Presbyterian Church for over forty years. Mr. Burrell is a self-made man, beginning life as he did under very poor circumstances he has accumulated all his property by hard work and economy. He is an active Democrat.
HENRY CLAYBAKER (deceased) was born in Germany in 1800 and immigrated to this country in about the year 1832. He located in Cincinnati in 1836 and there married Catherine Drees, a native of Germany, born in the year 1812, and came with her parents to Cincinnati in 1835. In 1838 the subject of this sketch moved to Jackson County, Ind., and settled on an unimproved farm which he afterward improved and lived on till his death, which occurred in 1861. He was a devoted member of the Lutheran Church. The following family mourn his loss: His beloved wife, John, Herman H., August, Catherine, Lewis and Andrew. Herman H. was born in Jackson County, in the year 1844 and now resides on the old homestead. In the year 1885 he married Sophia Smith, who was born in Jackson County. Herman H. is a Democrat in politics and as such has rendered valuable services to his party. The family are all members of the Lutheran Church.
P. Y. CLAYTON, farmer, Brownstown Township, is a native of Jackson County. He was born September 20, 1831, and is a son of Archibald and Lydia (Dixon) Clayton. Our subject has been a life-long resident of this county. His occupation has always been that of farming. He was married, November 26, 1854, to Rebecca A. Findley, a native of Jackson County, born February 1, 1830, a daughter of Hugh A. and Rebecca (Coons) Findley, who were prominent early settlers of the county. Mrs.
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Clayton bore him four children. She died March 29, 1869, lamented as a faithful wife and mother. The children are Hettie, born August 20, 1855; William A., March 23, 1858; Alice, Jan- uary 17, 1862, now the wife of Frederick Robertson, and Charley M., born June 13, 1866. Mr. Clayton is highly respected in the community where he lives and in politics is a Republican.
COL. JOHN J. CUMMINS (deceased), of Brownstown Town- ship, was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, December 29, 1820, was raised on a farm until fourteen years of age, when he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he worked at until eighteen years of age. He then went to Lawrenceburg, Ind., and began the study of law with James Brown. After remaining with him for several years he went to Versailles, Ind., and formed a partnership in law practice with William Holdman. Here he remained until 1844, when he came to Brownstown and established a law prac- tice and soon became one of the leading attorneys of the county. He was chosen as a delegate to the first Republican National Con- vention at Philadelphia and during the war of the Rebellion was commissioned by Gov. Morton as colonel of the militia. He was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he became identified with that party. June 26, 1855, he married Miss Mary C. Murphy, daughter of George H. and Lydia W. (Warner) Murphy, who were early settlers and highly respected citizens of Jackson County. In 1860 Col. Cummins retired from active practice to spend the remainder of his days on a farm. Here he lived in retirement until his death, which occurred March 10, 1885. He had filled many prominent positions, taken an active part in the preservation of the Union during the war, and was very much honored and respected by all who knew him.
JUDGE FRANK EMERSON, of Brownstown, Ind., was born in Haverhill, Grafton Co., N. H., and is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Stark) Emerson, the former being a farmer by occupation. His wife was a niece of Gen. Stark, of Revolutionary fame. In early life Mr. Emerson attended the common schools, afterward entering Peacham Academy, in Vermont. He entered the sophomore class at Dartmouth College in 1836, and gradu- ated in 1838. He then studied law in the office of W. C. Clark. In the month of June, 1841, he was admitted to
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practice in the circuit court of Decatur, Ill. In December of the same year he was admitted to practice in the su- preme court of the State. He settled at Decatur and began the practice of his profession; here he remained until 1843, when he removed to Charleston, Clark Co., Ind. In September, 1845, he settled in Brownstown, Jackson Co., Ind., where he carried on a successful law practice until the breaking out of the war with Mexico. He enlisted in 1846 as a private in the Third Regiment Dragoons, was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and took a prominent part in the seige of the City of Mexico. He returned home in August, 1848, and resumed his professional work. In the same year he was elected assistant secretary of the State Senate, was re-elected in 1849 and in 1850 became sec- retary of the Senate. In 1857 he represented Jackson and Scott Counties in the Senate, serving only one year. In 1852-54, he was elected treasurer of Jackson County, and for the four follow- ing years served as judge of the court of common pleas. In 1862 he was appointed commander of the military camp at Mad- ison, Ind., and in August, 1862, colonel of Sixty-seventh Regi- ment Indiana Volunteers, which rank he held until, on account of wounds, he resigned. Upon returning to Brownstown he again resumed the practice of his profession, and in 1868 was elected judge of the court of common pleas, was re-elected in 1872 and served until March, 1873, when he was appointed judge of the cir- cuit court; this position he held until the October election, since which time he has continued to practice law. He was married,. in 1849, to Adaline Redman; ten children born by this union. Judge Emerson is a Democrat in politics and renders great assist- ance to the party.
FRANK FASSOLD, real estate and insurance agent, Browns- town, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., August 31, 1840. He is a son of John and Frances Fassold. At the age of fourteen and one-half years he became an apprentice in the United States Navy and served until twenty years of age. He then came to Seymour Ind., and engaged in the produce business, remaining in that busi- ness for eight months, after which he came to Brownstown, and. at the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the Twenty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served eight months in
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that regiment, was in the battle of Pea Ridge, after which he was transferred to the First Indiana Artillery, was appointed as a non- commissioned officer, took part in the siege of Vicksburg, battle of Franklin and many other minor engagements. He was wounded in the arm at Vicksburg. While acting as a spy he was taken prisoner and was about to be hung when he made his escape. He was in the service four years and one month. At the close of the war he returned to Brownstown and engaged in his present business. The following well known insurance companies are represented by him: Continental, of New York; the old and re- liable Phoenix of Hartford, Conn .; Lancashire, of Manchester, England. He is also an agent of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wis., and the Travelers' Acci- dent Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn., has also been ident- ified with the real estate business. He has served four years as marshal of Brownstown, two years as president of the board of trustees, and secretary of the building association ; October, 1869, he married Helen Owens, a native of Jackson County. Five chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fassold: George, Mary, Frank, Goldie and Katie. He is a stanch Republican and a member of the F. & A. M., secret society. Mr. Fassold is de- termined, intrepid and aggressive in his support of whatever he believes to be right. In his daily intercourse he is courteous, and always has a due regard for the feelings and opinions of others.
WILLIAM A. FINDLEY, farmer, of Brownstown Township, is the son of Hugh and Rebecca (Coons) Findley, who may be classed among the pioneers of Jackson County. William A. was born in Jackson County, Ind., March 13, 1843, and has ever since resided at the place of his birth. His educational advanta- ges were necessarily limited, but by persistent application has acquired sufficient scholarship to answer all the requirements of his business. Mr. Findley has a well-improved farm, and is quite progressive in his method of tilling the soil, using the most im- proved machinery that the invention of the age has provided. He was married, February 18, 1869, to Miss Sarah Durland, and to this union have been born eight children: Harry, William, Mead, Lewis, Grace, James, Bessie and Joseph, all of whom are still living. The Findley family have been identified with the interests
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of Jackson County almost since the beginning of the present cen- tury, and have always borne an enviable reputation. William A. is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Masonic fra- ternity. Mrs. Findley is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
E. S. FORD, superintendent County Poor Farm, Browns- town Township, was born in Clarke County, Ind., April 9, 1820. He is the sixth child of a family of nine born to Lemuel and Hannah (McDowell) Ford, the former being a native of Ken- tucky, born in 1793, his wife, a native of North Carolina, born in the year 1797. They were married in Kentucky, and came to Clark County, Ind., about 1819. He was a farmer, but for some years carried on the trade of a blacksmith. He rendered the country valuable service in the Mexican and Blackhawk wars, being a captain in the former. He and his wife died with the cholera in 1850, while discharging his duties of warden in the State's prison at Jeffersonville, Ind. Our subject remained on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age, when he started out for himself. He first went to Kentucky, but later came to Brownstown, where he has resided ever since. In 1864 he was appointed by the commissioners of Jackson County, superintend- ent of the Poor Farm, which position he has creditably and satis- factorily filled ever since. He married, August 21, 1846, Lucy Philips, a native of Kentucky, born in the year 1823. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ford, both of whom are dead. Mr. Ford has been a life-long Democrat, and as such has rendered invaluable service to his party.
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WILLIAM FRYSINGER, editor and proprietor of the Brownstown Banner, was born August 22, 1837, in Hanover, York Co., Penn. His parents were Jesse and Caroline Frysin- ger, who were natives and life-long residents of that State. Of their thirteen children eleven are yet living-nine sons and two daughters. William received such education as the schools of his native town afforded, but he availed himself of every advant- age presented by them. When a mere youth he began, and fol- lowed for a while, the cigar-maker's trade, but he soon after abandoned it for the printing business, which has been the prin- cipal occupation of his life. He commenced in the office of the
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Hanover Herald, a paper owned by his brother Henry, but that paper suspended soon after, and he secured a position on the Gazette, of the same place. In 1853 he went to Lock Haven, in the same State, where he remained about two years. At the end of that time he went to Lewistown, Penn., with his brother, and was connected with the Democrat of that place until 1861. During nearly four years he had entire control of the business management and local editorial work of the paper. He was united in marriage to Miss Laura Cornelia Smith, of Lewis- town, February 16, 1859. This union has proved a happy one, and to them have been born three daughters, named Annie Carrie, Nellie Darlington and Laura Blanche, all of whom are now living. In February, 1861, he moved to Brownstown, Ind., and at once took charge of the Jackson Union, which he con- ducted till June, 1863. At that time he owned four-sevenths of the paper. Under his management the Union was one of the ablest and most consistent Democratic papers of this portion of the State. Subsequently he engaged in the grocery trade in Brownstown, and continued in that business until 1869. In the spring of that year the county seat agitation made it necessary to have a newspaper in Brownstown. Mr. Frysinger volunteered to start one, and he was assisted by the citizens to the amount of $200. The first number of the Brownstown Banner was issued April 1, 1869. In the fall of that year he sold out to Henry M. Beadle and removed to Lewistown, Penn., but soon re- turned to Brownstown and re-embarked in the grocery business in January, 1870; about eight months later he again became pro- prieter of the Banner. In October of the same year he was elected township trustee, in which capacity he served two terms. He is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, in which he has held the important offices. While a firm, ardent and unflinching Democrat, Mr. Frysinger maintains an independence of character that dares to criticise unwise, unjust, or improper acts of his own party. He has, by his pen or otherwise, contributed more or less to every public enterprise of his town and county, and to him, more than all others, is Brownstown indebted for the zealous and effective manner in which he fought the removal of the county seat. Mr. Frysinger writes with a facile pen, and many editorial
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articles that have appeared in the Banner since its inception would do credit to a much more pretentious writer.
JAMES KNOX HAMILTON (deceased) was born in De- cember, 1821, in County Tyrone, Ireland. He died September 14, 1885, at his home in Brownstown, of chronic Bright's disease of the kidneys. He was married to Margaret Miller, of Hickory, Washington Co., Penn., in December, 1850. Eight children were born to them-four males and four females-six of whom are now living and grown. Their names are Matthew M., James B., Jennie, John W., Sadie and Maggie. Mr. Hamilton immigrated to America in May, 1850. Having previously availed himself of the advantages of a thorough classical education at Glasgow University, Scotland, he came fully prepared to live a useful life in the country of his adoption. Soon after his arrival he located at Cincinnati, where for several years he engaged in the profes- sion of school teaching. In 1858, in the employ of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company, he was stationed as local agent at Medora. He remained at that place only a short time when he was induced to resume his former occupation of school teaching at Vallonia. A few years later he came to Brownstown where the remainder of his life was spent. At various periods he served as justice of the peace and as deputy in several of the county offices. His splendid scholastic attainments and recognized ability as an educator very naturally won for him the admiration and high esteem with which he was so universally regarded, and which distinguished him as the most suitable person to place in charge of the educational affairs as school examiner of Jackson County. This position he filled for quite a number of years, discharging his duties with the highest efficiency and unswerving fidelity. In 1872 he was nominated and elected by the Demo- cratic party to the office of recorder. In 1876 he was re-nomi- nated and again elected to the same office. There was undoubt- edly no better qualified recorder in the State than Mr. Hamilton. His records are marvels of neatness, and the system he displayed in all the multitudinous duties of his office made him an extra- ordinary clerical officer. As a citizen no man was better known or more widely beloved. He was an affable, good-natured, kind, noble and pious gentleman, possessed of the most companionable
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traits. He was a member and ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church at Brownstown, and lived an exemplary Christian life.
WILLIAM H. HAMILTON (deceased), of Brownstown Township, was born in Hardy County, Va., August 19, 1813. He is a grandson of John Hamilton, who was a native of Ireland, born in the year of 1745. He was married to Sarah Wilson, and they immigrated to this country in 1783 and settled in Virginia. During their voyage to America, James Hamilton, the father of our subject, was born, June 17, 1783. On their arrival they set- tled in Berkley County, Va., where in 1811 James Hamilton was married to Rebecca Robertson. In the year 1816 the entire family came to Jackson County, Ind., and settled in Hamilton Township, the township receiving its name from this family. Here the grandfather died in 1837, his wife having died in 1820. James, the father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation and a very prominent man. He was elected as magistrate in 1817, afterward county commissioner, and in 1830 represented Jackson County in the State Legislature. He died September 24, 1856. William H. had been a resident of Jackson County since 1816. For a number of years he was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, but the latter part of his life was spent in farming. He married Bridget Conley, a native of Ireland, who survives him and now resides on the homestead with her four children: John H., born August 23, 1859; Annie A., February 14, 1861; Esther J., July 31, 1865, and Rebecca C., August 31, 1867. His death occurred February 3, 1869.
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