USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 58
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James Maynard, the maternal grandfather of Ira Williams, was reared and married in Kentucky and came to Indiana, accompanied by his wife and children, about 1832. Their journey was made across
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country with wagons and teams, and buying a tract of land in Richland township, eight miles from the courthouse in Anderson, James Maynard built a log house, and at once took up the task of clearing a place for his crops among the trees. For twenty years after his settlement there were no railroads in the county, and he and other settlers drew most of their wheat and other products over the road north to Wabash on the canal. Before his death, which occurred June 11, 1861, he had cleared up a great part of his land, and had made a substantial homestead. James Maynard married Sarah Fuller, who was born in Kentucky in 1813. Her father, John Henry Fuller, came either from Kentucky or Virginia, and was one of the very early settlers of Richland township in Madison county, where he also did the part of the pioneer, cleared up a farm and spent his last days there. Mrs. James Maynard died January 12, 1870. The children reared in her family were: John Henry, Patsy, Richard, Vicey, Charity, Marindah, Isaiah and Jacob. Mrs. Morgan T. Williams was left a widow with two children, and afterwards married and now lives at an advanced age in Monroe township. The sister of Ira Williams was named Sarah.
Ira Williams was about seven years old when his father died. After that he found a home with his uncle, Jacob Maynard, on the Maynard homestead, and while growing to manhood there attended the neighbor- hood schools. He was very young when he took his share in the labor of the farm, and lived at home until his marriage. He then built a house on the Maynard homestead and lived there two years. After that he was on the Fenimore farm for four years. On twenty-five acres of land which he bought near Gilman he spent five years, and the two last years all his crops failed, and that was the reason he abandoned farming, and sought a livelihood in Anderson. Mr. Williams is one of the men who have particular reason to remember the development of .urban trans- portation in Anderson. When he first moved to the county seat he was employed as a driver for the old-time horse cars that ran up and down Main street, and which are pictured on other pages of this history. When electricity was substituted as a power instead of horses, he was one of the first to handle a motor, and performed that work for two years. On account of ill health he resigned, and after one year opened a con- fectionery store. That was the foundation or beginning of what proved a very successful career. He had a very modest establishment at first, but with the assistance of his wife he soon afterwards added a restau- rant, and because they furnished wholesome food and good service they were rewarded with a constantly growing patronage, and in time devel- oped their enterprise to a grocery store, which continued to thrive until 1904, when Mr. Williams sold out and since then has taken life more easily. In the meantime he had accumulated a considerable amount of local real estate, and has given his care and attention to this since leaving the grocery business. He is now owner of nine different pieces of real estate in the city of Anderson.
On August 7, 1878, Mr. Williams married Mary L. Etchison, who was born in Pipe Creek township of Madison county. Her father, Joshua Etchison, was born in North Carolina, was reared in that state and mar- ried there, and brought his wife and two children to Indiana. Their journey was made overland, with wagons and teams, and the family first found a home in Pipe Creek township. Buying land there, he went through the hardships and the labors of the pioneer settlers, and con- tinued a farmer until his death. March 30, 1862, at the age of forty years.
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Joshua Etchison married Elizabeth Casteel. Illinois is thought to have been her birthplace, and she was a daughter of Caleb and Rebecca Cas- teel. The mother of Mrs. Williams was a true pioneer lady, and among her accomplishments she learned to card, spin and weave, and being left a. widow with seven children, earned money with the wheel and loom to support her family. For a number of years she did all her cooking by the old-fashioned fire place. Mrs. Williams now has as a souvenir of her mother's work a beautiful home-spuu and woven bedspread, and has also a pair of half mitts, which her mother knitted. The flax from which they are made was grown, scutched and spun in the Etchison home in Madison county. The mother of Mrs. Williams died at the age of seventy-seven years. In the Williams home is another memento of times long passed, and that is a silk hat in good condition, which the father of Mr. Williams bought in 1855. Silk hats were much more commonly worn in those years before the war than at any time since.
JOHN E. DAVIS. For many years one of the well known business men of Anderson, Mr. Davis has spent nearly sixty years of his life time in Madison county, and has been very familiar by experience with the de- velopment of the country east of Anderson from pioneer times to the present. During the many years of his residence in the county, he has prospered, has enjoyed many of the good things of life, and has well provided for his family, and is still active and vigorous in business affairs at the county seat.
John E. Davis was born on a farm two and a half miles from Con- nersville in Fayette county, Indiana, December 24, 1849, and is a descendant of one of the very first settlers of Fayette county. His father was Thomas Jefferson Davis who was born in South Carolina, March 31, 1810. The grandfather was Paul Davis, born in North Carolina, August 6, 1769, and a son of John and Jane Davis. About the close of the Revolutionary war, the Davis family moved from North Carolina, to the southern part of South Carolina, and lived there until about 1812 or 1813. They then came north, crossed the Ohio river, and lived near Harrison, Ohio, until 1814. Their next move brought them to the terri- tory of Indiana, and they settled in the wilderness a short distance west of the present site of Connersville in Fayette county. Two years passed before Indiana was made a state, and they were practically no settlements north of the White River. Fayette county itself was an almost unbroken wilderness, and Madison county had not yet been occupied by a single permanent white resident. Grandfather Paul Davis bought a tract of land, three miles west of Connersville, gave his labor to the clearing of a large portion of that place, and that he was a man of more than ordinary circumstances and enterprise is indicated by the fact that he erected a brick house, one of the first in that county. He lived there until after his second marriage, and then moved to Henry county awhile, but returned and died in the home of his son in Fayette county, in 1858. Paul Davis first married Margaret Alexander, who was the motlier of his children. She was born January 31, 1767, and be- longed to the noted Alexander family of the Carolinas, one of whom attached his signature to the Mecklenburg declaration of independence, some years before the declaration of 1776. Paul Davis and wife reared nine children, named: George, James, Wilburn, Robert, John, Dulcina, Paul, Thomas J. and Jasper.
Thomas Jefferson Davis, the father of John E. was about four years
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old when the family moved to Indiana, and he was reared amid the pioneer surroundings of Fayette county. That county continued to be his home until 1845, when he moved to Madison county and bought a tract of land in the timber, five miles west of the courthouse, a country now a smiling landscape of beautiful farms, but at that time little more than a wilderness, although the railroad, known now as the Big Four, already traversed that section of the county. In the midst of the woods he built a substantial house of hewed logs, and it was in that mansion that the Davis family of the present generation had their first home. While he was in the midst of the heavy work of clearing the timber off his land, death came to him in 1855. Thomas Jefferson Davis married Maria Ball, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, a daughter of Doctor Bunnell and Rachael (Denman) Ball. Her grandfather, Aaron Ball, owned and operated a ferry across the Miami river in Ohio, and was drowned by operating his ferry over that stream. Doctor Bunnell Ball (the first name was not a title of profession) came to Indiana, and also was one of the pioneers of Fayette county. He bought government land a few miles west of Connersville, and there gave his labor to the im- provement of a farm, and continued its management until his death. After the death of Thomas Jefferson Davis, his wife was left with nine children, most of whom were still under the roof-tree, and the sons took up the work left by their father, and under the able supervision of the mother cleared the land, and tilled the soil, until they had made a pro- ductive and well improved homestead. Some years later the mother moved to Anderson, where her death occurred at the venerable age of eighty years. She was the mother of nine children who grew to maturity, namely: William, Jasper N., Eliza, James H., Doctor Ball, Sarah, Eliza- beth, Rachel A., and John E.
The early circumstances of the life of John Davis have thus been sketched in connection with the family, and he was about five years old when he became a resident of Madison county, and has a keen recollec- tion of the old log house and many of the surroundings in which he spent his boyhood. While growing up he attended the rural schools, and was still very young when he took his share of the labor in clearing up the land and tilling the soil. For several years he had the management of the home place. He subsequently moved to Anderson, and spent four years in business in the sale of agricultural implements. Then he joined forces with his brother Doctor B. Davis, and manufactured drain tile for three years. After that he returned to Anderson and followed his trade as a carpenter for some time. About 1899, Mr. Davis engaged in his present business as dealer in feed and coal at his present stand, 1015 Fifteenth Street.
In 1874 Mr. Davis married Elizabeth Stephens. She was born in Wayne county, Indiana, a daughter of Thomas and Lovina Stephens. The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis are mentioned as follows : Thomas, Quincy, Edna, Clarence C., and Bertha May. Thomas died at the age of six, and Quincy at the age of five. Edna married Ed. Bar- deene, and has one daughter, Marion. Clarence married Emma Kep- hart, and their four daughters are named Jessie, Mary, Agnes, and Edna. The daughter Bertha first married Thomas Stanley, who died, leaving one daughter named Helen. Mrs. Stanley is now the wife of Ed. Gerhamer. Fraternally Mr. Davis is affiliated with the Tribe of Ben Hur.
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BUSHROD W. SCOTT. For many years the name Scott was familiarly associated with the mercantile enterprise of the city of Anderson. Mr. Scott first became a resident of Madison county, about the beginning of the Civil war, 1860, arriving here a comparatively poor young man, and from one employment to another gradually advanced until he became an independent business man, and was in the list of successful mer- chants until he finally retired from business and is now spending his later years in the enjoyment of a well won prosperity. He belongs to a prominent old family of colonial ancestors, and for several generations identified with the old colony and commonwealth of Virginia.
Bushrod W. Scott was born in Monongahela county, in what was then Virginia, but is now West Virginia. The date of his birth was June 9, 1839. The family record during its residence in America goes back to his great-grandfather, Major David Scott, who was born in the land of hills and heather, immigrated to America during the colonial era, and settled in the colony of Virginia. He inade the acquaintance of, and became a fast friend of George Washington, and when the Revolutionary war came on rose to the rank of major in the colonial troops. Later he secured a large tract of land in what was afterwards Monongahela county, and operated his estate with slave labor. He continued a resi- dent there until his death. Next in line of descent was Col. James Scott.
the grandfather, who was born in western Virginia, inherited a large landed estate and many slaves, and became a very prominent citizen of Monongahela county. He served with the rank of colonel during the War of 1812, and was honored with the office of sheriff of Monongahela county. Before his death he freed all his slaves. His life was prolonged to the great age of ninety-four years. On a part of his estate he set aside some land for a cemetery, and his remains now rest there in the vicinity of the old Scott homestead. There were ten children in his family, among whom was Sanford B. Scott, father of Bushrod. San- ford B. Scott was born in Monongahela county, was reared on a farm, and inherited a portion of the land which Major Scott had secured many years before.
He continued to live there until several years after western Virginia had become the state of West Virginia, and in 1867 immigrated west to Indiana, buying land in Henry county, which was his home until 1870 when he sold out and bought a place in Lafayette township of Madison county. He was engaged in general farming and stock raising there until his death at the age of sixty-seven years. Francis B. Scott married Hannah Tibbs, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of John and Mary (MeCay) Tibbs, who was born and spent all their lives in the old Vir- ginia commonwealth. Mrs. Sanford B. Scott died at the age of 89, and reared nine children, named: James, Bushrod W., Louise, Mary, John, William, Virginia, Fannie, and Isabelle.
In the old Monongahela River country, Bushrod W. Scott spent his boyhood days, and lived there until he was about twenty-one years of age. In 1860 he left the old home and came west to Indiana. His first work and experience in this state were as a clerk in a general store at Alexandria, in Madison county. In the spring of 1861 he returned to Virginia, but found the country in which he had spent his boyhood rent with the distractions of Civil war, and he accordingly returned to Madi- son county, and was employed as a clerk for the firm of Crim & Hazlet at Anderson. That firm then had the largest store in the county seat. Four years later, the business was sold to Andrew Jackson, and Mr.
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Scott continued with the new proprietor for one year. His experience and savings then enabled him to start in business on his own account, and he became a partner of E. C. Bliven, under the firm name of Scott & Bliven. These partners sold dry goods, and had a growing busi- ness. At the end of two years Mr. Siddall bought the interest of Bliven, and the firm for three years was Scott & Siddall. Mr. Scott then sold out to his partner, and soon formed a partnership with his father-in-law, William W. Williams, making the firm of Scott & Williams. They con- ducted a general store, and it was one of the popular trading centers of the time. After several years Mr. Scott became sole proprietor, and continued in active business at Anderson for about ten years, at which time he retired. In the meantime he had bought a farm, and still owns that place, operating it through renters. Soon after his marriage he had bought the property at the northwest corner of Meridian and Twelfth Streets, and that is still in his possession. He occupied it as a place of residence until 1904, when he bought his present home at the northwest corner of Central Avenne, and Fourteenth Street. On June 25, 1868, Mr. Scott married Maanda Williams. She was born at Ogden in Henry county, Indiana. Her father William W. Williams, was born near Mount Victory in Hardin county, Ohio, a son of John Williams, who was a farmer near Mount Victory. The father of Mrs. Scott came to Indiana when a young man, and for several years operated a tannery at Knights- town in Henry county. Later he was a merchant at Ogden in the same county, afterwards moved to Richmond, Indiana, and a year later in August, 1865, established himself at Anderson, which was then a quiet rural village of about five thousand people. He is still remembered as one of the old merchants of Anderson, and was in business with his son Henry C. for some years, and afterwards with Mr. Scott. Mr. Williams lived in Anderson until his death at the age of seventy-five. He married Martha Raines, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Joah Raines, who came from Ohio to Indiana, lived in Wayne county, and then in Henry county, buying a farm near Knightstown, where he spent the rest of his active life. llis death occurred at the home of his daughter in Ogden. The mother of Mrs. Scott died at the age of sixty-two years, and reared five children, named : Henry, Lucien, Maanda, Adeline, and Edgar. The daughter named Caroline died in childhood.
To Mr. and Mrs. Scott have been born four children: Charles, Lena, Marshall, and Robert. Lena married Leonard Wild, and has one son named Robert. Marshall married Nora Ellison, and their one son is named George. These are the only two grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Scott. The family worship in the Methodist church.
JOSEPH H. ELLIOTT. A business man of Anderson, where he has had his residence since 1904, Mr. Elliott has had a career of varied ac- tivity, has gained a satisfying degree of material prosperity, and stands high in the public esteem of local citizenship in his adopted city.
Joseph H. Elliott was born in Adams county, Ohio. His father was James Elliott, who was born in the same county, and the grandfather was William Elliott, a native of North Carolina. Great-grandfather Elliott, so far as known, was also born in North Carolina, and from that state took his family to Ohio, heeoming a pioneer in Adams county. He bought and improved a traet of land there, and on it passed his last days. Grandfather Elliott early in life learned the trade of carriage builder. From Adams county he moved to Ross county, where he estab-
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lished himself in business at Bainbridge, and manufactured and re- paired wagons and carriages. That was his home until his death. He married Mary West, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, and both she and her husband lived to a good old age and reared eleven children.
James Elliott, the father of the Anderson business man, spent his early life in Adams and Ross counties of Ohio. Under his father's direc- tion he learned the same mechanical trade, and was in business at Bain- bridge, until 1873. In that year he moved to Gibson City, Illinois, where he continued in the same line for several years. In 1908 he took up his residence at Anderson, which continued to be his home until his death on November 9, 1911, at the age of eighty years. He married Sarah Palmer. She was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, June 4, 1829. Her father Cornelius Palmer was a life long resident of Virginia. Benja- min Palmner, father of Cornelius Palmer, married Mary Berry, who sur- vived her husband, and went to Ohio to live with her son, dying in the home of Cornelius Palmer. Cornelius Palmer was reared and married in Virginia, and in 1833 went to Ohio, accompanied by his family. With a wagon and six horses this long journey was accomplished over the mountains and across the Ohio Valley, and in the wagon were the house- hold goods and other possessions, and each night the family camped out by the roadside. For one year the Palmers lived on the banks of the Scioto River, and then Cornelius Palmer bought land in Adams county. On the land was a log house, and a few acres were cleared, and he set himself to the task of making a homestead. All his lahor went for noth- ing on account of a defective title, and after that misfortune, he moved to Highland county, Ohio, which was his home until 1864. From Ohio, he moved out to Ford county, Illinois, where he had four hundred acres. When he first settled there that section of Illinois was sparsely populated, and only a little portion of his land had been improved. His labors he gave to the development of that place and after some years moved to East Lynn, in Vermillion county, which was his home until his death at the age of eighty-six years. Cornelius Palmer married Harriet Beavers. She was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, a daughter of Sam- uel and Sarah Beavers. Samuel Beavers was a native of Maryland, moving from that state to Virginia, and he and his wife both died in Loudoun county. The wife of Cornelius Palmer died in her ninetieth year, and her death was the result of an accident. Mrs. Sarah Elliott, the mother of Joseph H. Elliott, is now eighty-four years of age, a hale and hearty woman, and presides over the household of her son.
Joseph H. Elliott was an only child, was educated in the schools of Greenfield, Ohio, and after the family went to Gibson, Illinois, assisted his father in the shop and also clerked in local stores. It was in that way that he got his first lessons in business life. From Gibson City he moved to Rockford, Illinois, and became superintendent of a fence fac- tory, and a sewing machine company agent and remained there for four and a half years. In 1893 Mr. Elliott came to Indiana, and was a com- mercial salesman in this state for a number of years. In 1904 he took up his permanent residence at Anderson, and since that time has con- ducted a provision and grocery business.
In 1878 Mr. Elliott married Mary A. McCracken. She was born near Lexington, in McLean county, Illinois, a daughter of Milton MeCracken. Mrs. Elliott died in 1908, and she and her husband reared two sons, Harry and James C. Harry, who is associated with his father in business mar-
( hours very tricky E. E. Byrum.
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ried Flossie Reed, and has one daughter, Maxine. James C. married Florence Brockmeyer, and has one son, Gerald. Mr. Elliott and also his wife during her lifetime had membership in the Methodist church, and his parents were likewise active in that denomination. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
CLINTON M. COTTERMAN. A resident of Anderson who for some years has made a substantial business of furnishing the people of this locality with the product of a market garden is Clinton M. Cotterman, who has his gardens well within the city limits, and who has also served the com- munity in official capacity, and has long taken an active interest in polities.
Clinton M. Cotterman was born on a farm three miles west of Day- ton in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 1, 1849. IIis father was William Cotterman, born in Pennsylvania, and the grandparents moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and became early settlers of Montgomery county. William Cotterman in early youth learned the trade of cigar- maker, which he followed all his active career. When the war broke out between the states, he enlisted as an Ohio volunteer, and gave effi- cient and loyal service to the Union. His last years were spent at the soldiers home near Dayton. William Cotterman married Amanda J. MePherson. Her father was a millwright by trade, and died at the age of thirty-seven. Ilis widow managed to keep her children together until each had a home of his own. The mother of Mr. Cotterman died at the age of forty years and left seven children named: Clinton MI., Adam F., James B., William, Albertus, Clara B., and Catherine ..
Clinton M. Cotterman was reared and educated in his native county. As a boy he worked under his father to learn the cigarmaker's trade and afterwards acquired the trade of broom making. When he had grown to manhood he chose the occupation of farming instead of his trade, and his first purchase of land was forty aeres in Montgomery county on the line of Preble county. In 1893 he sold out his place in Ohio and moved to Madison county. He soon afterwards bought some land in Union township, farming there for one year, after which he operated as a renter for five years and then came to Anderson. He has a pleasant home at the corner of Eighth and Union Streets, and a tract of four acres near by where he is engaged in truek farming.
Mr. Cotterman has been twice married. At the age of twenty-four he married Sarah M. House, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Reichard) House. Mrs. Cotterman died at the age of thirty-five. For the second marriage Mr. Cotterman mar- ried Rachel Ellen Loy, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, a daughter of Conrad Loy. Mr. Cotterman has one son by his first marriage, named George. Since casting his first presidential vote for General Grant, Mr. Cotterman has always consistently supported the Republican ticket, has been active in the campaign, and has served in the office of township assessor.
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