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 94
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The family are members of the Church of the Seven Day Adventists, and are active in the work of that body.
JAMES F. MADDEN. Manager of the P. Madden Grocery at 809 South Harrison street in Alexandria, Mr. Madden has been identified with the business enterprise of Madison county for the past sixteen or seventeen years, having come here with his father, the late Patrick Madden, who established the present grocery house in Alexandria. Three generations of the Madden family have lived in Indiana, and the various members have always borne the responsibilities of life with credit and honor and have given much to their respective communities through their honest and effective industry.
James F. Madden was born in Richmond, Indiana, November 19, 1863, a son of Patrick and Ann (Merrigan) Madden. The paternal grand- father was Bernard Madden, who married Letitia Rafferty. He was a hard worker all his life, though he never followed a profession or any of the skilled trades. His death occurred at Richmond, Indiana, and his wife's in Rushville, this state, the former at the age of sixty-two and the latter when about ninety-one years of age. There were ten children in the family, three of whom died when young, and the seven who reached maturity were Patrick, John, Bernard, Thomas, Mary Ann, Ellen and Michael. On the mother's side the grandfather was James Merrigan, who married Catherine Kinney. Both were natives of County Longford, Ireland, and came to America and landed at New Orleans on June 2, 1850. After living for one year in Cincinnatti, they came to Indiana, locating in Cambridge City, where James Merrigan followed various pur- suits. His death occurred when he was about fifty years of age. His wife died in Rushville at the age of eighty-five. In Ireland they had followed the occupation of farming. The four children in the Merrigan family were John; Bridget, who married Matthew Cunningham; Maria, who married James Stuart; and Ann, wife of Patrick Madden.
The late Patrick Madden was twelve years of age when he came to America with his parents. They first settled at Syracuse, New York, where he grew to manhood. His first regular occupation was farming, after which he took up railroading, and about the time he reached man- hood he moved to Richmond, Indiana, with his parents. After his marriage he moved to New Madison, Ohio, where he continued in the railroad service. He remained at New Madison six years, after which he came to Rushville, Indiana, thence moving to Cincinnati, which was his home for four years, and in 1896 established a grocery business at Alexandria. He was a capable and energetic business man, and con- ducted a successful grocery at Alexandria until his death, which occurred May 21, 1912, when he was seventy-seven years and seventeen days old.
The late Patrick Madden on the fifteenth day of December, 1862, mar- ried Miss Ann Merrigan, who was born in County Longford, while her
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husband was a native of County Mayo, Ireland. They became the par- ents of ten children, nine of whom lived to maturity, the names being as follows: James F .; Mary ; Lillian; Bernard; John P .; Catherine, wife of Charles T. O'Brien; Emma; Ida; Florence; and Cecelia, who died when two years of age. The parents were both devout members of the Catholic church, and the mother is still living in Alexandria, where she and her family enjoy a host of friends.
James F. Madden spent a considerable part of his boyhood in Rush- ville, where he obtained his first schooling. He went to Cincinnati, O., where he began his career as a railroader, being a railroad clerk in the operating service, but gave up that occupation to accompany the family to Alexandria, in 1896. Since that time he has been his father's manager in the grocery business, and the success of the enterprise has been largely due to his ability to make friends and customers, and to furnish first-class goods at fair prices. Mr. Madden is independent in politics, and sees more in business than he does in party activities. He is an enterprising, public spirited, business man, and enjoys the full respect and esteem of all his community.
PROF. JOSEPH L. CLAUSER. The educator of today is called upon to meet and overcome many obstacles of which those of an older day knew practically nothing. The enlarging of the curriculum of the pub- lic schools, with the demand for the practice of pedagogy, necessitates a long and careful training, and assiduous subsequent study and re- search on the part of those to whom is entrusted the molding of the plastic mind of youth. Popular demand has resulted in the produc- tion of a class of men who as educators have had no equal in the history of the world. Their profound knowledge of their work, their keen enthusiasm for their honored calling, their sound judgment and keen insight into human nature, all go to make them eminently able to give to each pupil the individual attention now regarded as so necessary for the proper rounding out of character. Among the men of Madi- son county who have distinguished themselves as educators in a broad and comprehensive way, none is more worthy of mention than Prof. Joseph L. Clauser, superintendent of the public schools of Elwood. For nearly a quarter of a century he has been devoted to his profes- sion, and his rise therein has been steady and consistent, until today he stands among the foremost men of his profession in this part of the State. Prof. Clauser was born at Owasco, Indiana, June 12, 1869, and is a son of William and Caroline (Kuhns) Clauser, natives of Pennsyl- vania.
Joseph Clauser, the paternal grandfather of Joseph L. Clauser, was born in the Keystone State, and was there engaged in agricultural pur- suits throughout a long and useful life, passing away full of years and honored by all who knew him. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Gross, was also born in that State, and like her husband, attained advanced age. They were the parents of but two children: William and Mary. Henry Kuhns, the maternal grandfather of Prof. Clauser, was also born in Pennsylvania, and was a farmer by occupation. At an early day he came with his family to Clinton county, Indiana, where he settled on a large tract of land, and became one of the substantial farmers of his section. Mr. Kuhns married Catherine Zi merman, of Pennsylvania, and they died in old age, having been the parents of
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the following children : David, Charles, Jonas, Samuel, Catherine, Eliza- beth and Caroline.
William Clauser was born in Pennsylvania, and in that State grew to manhood on his father's farm, his education being secured in the district schools. When still a young man he migrated to Carroll county, Indiana, where he became an early settler, locating on a farm near Owasco. There he spent the remainder of his life, clearing his land and making a comfortable home for his family, and winning the regard and esteem of those who had transactions of any nature with him. His death occurred on the homestead in 1888, when he was sixty-seven years of age, his wife having passed away during the previous year, when she was fifty-eight years old. Both were faithful to the teachings of the Lutheran Church, and reared their children in that belief. Their family consisted of ten children, as follows: William H., who is a resi- dent of Delphi, Indiana ; Samuel P., who also makes his home at Delphi ; John F., who is a resident near Owasco, Indiana; Charles E., who is deceased; Dr. George A., a well known practicing physician of Bridge- water, South Dakota; Albert F., who is deceased; Prof. Joseph L., of this review; Amos C., who is deceased; and one child who died in in- fancy. There was but one daughter, Sarah, who died at the age of sixteen.
The early education of Prof. Joseph L. Clauser was secured in the district schools in the vicinity of his father's farm near Owasco and like other farmers' lads his training was limited to the short winter terms, the rest of the year being spent in the work of the homestead. He was thoroughly trained in agricultural matters, but it was not the young man's intention to become a tiller of the soil, and he later se- cured the opportunity to take a course in the Northern Indiana Nor- mal school. Following this he became a student in the Indiana State Normal School, at Terre Haute, Indiana, from which well-known in- stitution he was graduated in 1902. In 1908 he was the recipient of the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the Indiana State University, at Bloomington, and later took similar degrees in Columbia University, New York. Prof. Clauser entered upon his ca- reer as an educator in 1889, and since that year has taught each year except one, that in which he was securing his degrees. For six years he was a teacher in the schools of Carroll county, Indiana, and subse- quently became superintendent of schools at Rossville, a position which he also held for six years. During a like period of time, he was super- intendent of the city schools of Mitchell, Indiana, and he was then called to the same position in Elwood, where he has labored during the last five years. A learned scholar, thorough and conscientious in his work, with that happy faculty for imparting his own knowledge to others, he is withal an attractive, pleasant man, who makes friends easily and retains them by the force of his personality. He is popular alike with teachers, pupils and parents, while his able handling of the educational problems that have come before him has gained him the entire confi- dence of the general public.
On September 4, 1895, Prof. Clauser was married to Miss Effie Weaver, who was born at Cutler, Carroll county, Indiana, daughter of William H. and Martha A. (Long) Weaver, and granddaughter of Samuel Weaver. Her father, a native of Indiana, died at the age of seventy-eight years, in Carroll county, while her mother, also a native of the Hoosier State, is still living at Cutler, and is now in her seventy-
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eight year. They had a large family, of whom five children are now living : Addie, Josephine, Margaret, Effie and Mabel. Prof. and Mrs. Clauser have had three children: Earl Durward, Joseph Weaver and Martha Karolyn.
Prof. and Mrs. Clauser are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has served as an elder for several years. He has interested himself to some extent in fraternal work, and is a popular member of Mitehell Lodge No. 228, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; El- wood Lodge, Knights of Pythias; and Elwood Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has not cared to enter political life.
JOHN CONNER, the owner of 213 acres of land, holds undisputed prestige among the agriculturists of his community, where he has passed his entire life. Although his operations have been of such an extensive nature as to make him an extremely busy man, he has ever been alert to the needs of his locality, and at no time has refused to give his support to measures of a beneficial nature. Mr. Conner was born in a little log house on his present farm, June 19, 1864, and is a son of Levi and Marietta (Tuttle) Conner.
The family was founded in Madison county, Indiana, by the grand- parents of Mr. Conner, John and Ada (Ogden) Conner, who brought their children from Meigs county, Ohio, entering eighty acres of land in Richland township in 1832. Levi Conner was born in the Buckeye State, February 29, 1832, and was brought as a child to this county, being reared on the old homestead and securing his education in the primitive district schools of his day. He was brought up to agricultural pursuits, followed in the foot-steps of his father, and became one of the wealthy and influential men of his community and a citizen who at all times had the welfare of his section at heart. At one time he owned an estate of 960 acres. His death occurred July 25, 1904. He was a Republican politically and a member of the Christian church. He and his wife were the parents of five children, of whom three are living: Katherine, who married Charles Hurley and their children are Levi Joshua, Louie Belle and Dale; Rosa, became the wife of John Hancock and their children are Mary Rebecca, Eva Marie, Willie, Charles Alva and .George Levi; John is the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Conner was born on the 15th of October, 1840.
John Conner received his education in the old schoolhouse which was located on the homestead place, and here grew to manhood, being trained to habits of industry, economy and right living. At the time of his father's retirement from active life he was made manager of the vast estate, and since the older man's death he has continued to operate the property for the other heirs. He has also engaged in extensive opera- tions on his own account, and has accumulated a tract of 213 acres of land which through able management and scientific treatment he has made to pay him in a handsome manner for his labors. Although Mr. Conner devotes the greater part of his attention to general farming, he has also made a success of his stock raising ventures, and is known as one of the best judges of cattle in his community. The home place is situated on Anderson Rural Route, back of the State Road, where are located a modern residence, substantial barns and well-built outbuildings, the entire property being made valuable by improvements of handsome appearance and modern character.
Mr. Conner was married to Miss Elizabeth Haney, a native of this
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county, daughter of Jonas and Minerva (Buffington) Haney. Mr. Haney came from Ohio, and is now one of the very prominent farmers of Richland township. Mr. and Mrs. Conner have no children. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church, are prominent in its affairs, and have at all times lent their support to its movements. An enthusiastic hunter and fisherman, when he can lay aside the duties of his extensive interests Mr. Conner slips away with rod and gun, and seldom returns without some specimen of the furry or finny tribes which have fallen victims to his skill.
CHARLES H. THOMPSON. One of the prosperous farmers of La- fayette township, a soldier of the Civil war, Charles H. Thompson has for fifty years been a resident of this county, where he began his ca- reer as a poor man, by thrift and industry, year by year accumulated a liberal additional prosperity and is now an influential and substan- tial citizen. Mr. Thompson owns a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres, located on the Anderson road about three quarters of a mile north of the village of Florida.
Charles H. Thompson is a native . of Albermarle county, Virginia. where he was born in 1842. The family moved to Kentucky when he was a baby and he was reared in Fleming county, Kentucky, on a farm. His parents were William and Elizabeth (Blankenship) Thompson. His father was a Kentucky farmer, where he spent the remainder of his career, and never came to Indiana except on a visit. He was one of the early settlers in his part of the old Blue Grass state.
Mr. Thompson was reared in Kentucky, and received a common school education in that state. In September, 1862, when he was twenty years of age, he entered the Union forces as a private in the Eighteenth Regiment of Kentucky Infantry, and during the following years saw active service in Tennessee, South Carolina and West Virginia. In 1863 he came to Indiana and began work as a farm laborer at monthly wages. He was a hard worker, was economical, and finally secured enough to enable him to purchase a small tract of land which was the nucleus around which he has built up his present substantial estate.
In 1865 Mr. Thompson married Miss Mary Ann Jenkins. They are the parents of one child, Isaac, who married Amanda Bodkin, and they are the parents of two children, Charles and George. Mr. Thompson is affiliated with the Grand Army Post, and is a Democrat in politics. He and his family attend the Methodist church.
W. F. SCOTT, M. D. The contemporary biographer is usually asked to face a difficult task in attempting to sketch a review of the life of an indi- vidual who has in a direct, or indirect, manner, as it may have been, impressed himself upon his community. It is usually found that those who have achieved distinction are those who are least willing to allow themselves their undoubted privilege of giving to the public the secrets of their success, feeling, perhaps, that by so doing they are violating the rules (if their calling be of a professional nature) of their calling. How- ever, in the case of Dr. W. F. Scott, of Linwood, the narrator is not called upon to delineate the character of his subject, for thirty years of earnest endeavor and conscientious service have made an introduction unnecessary to the people in whose community he has spent the best years of his life. Dr. W. F. Scott is a West Virginian, born at Morgantown, Monongalia county, June 29, 1852, a son of Stanford B. and Anna (Tibbs) Scott. His father, a farmer by occupation, brought the family Vol. II-24
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to Madison county about 1868, and settled on a tract of land situated west of Florida, this farm being still known as the Scott homestead. Of the family of eight children, four are living: W. F., of this review; Burt; Mrs. Louise Frum, and Mrs. Mary Vance.
Although he was but sixteen years of age when brought to Madison county, Dr. Scott had already decided upon a professional career, and had mastered the rudimentary principles of medicine. He completed his studies in the State College, at Indianapolis, and during this time added to the resources necessary to put him through this institution by teaching school in Anderson township. His preparation completed and his diploma secured, he entered at once upon the practice of his profession at Linwood, and since that time he has been in the enjoyment of a constantly increasing practice. Dr. Scott specializes along no lines. His practice calls him frequently into the country, but this coincides with his inclination, for he has ever been a lover of the fresh out-door life. He has invested his means in real estate in Linwood, where he owns three valuable properties, and in addition to these has a hand- some, well-cultivated farm of eighty acres lying in Lafayette and Morgan townships.
On September 27, 1886, Dr. Scott was married to Miss Ada Couk- ling, daughter of Isaac and Matilda L. (Patton) Conkling, and four children have been born to this union : Chester F., who married Esther Finfrock, and has one son-Benjamin F .; Grace E., who married Albert B. Mead, and has a daughter-Helen Virginia ; Mrs. Florence Hollen- beck, who has three children-Harvey S., H. Roberta and Garland C .; and one who died in infancy. Dr. Scott keeps well abreast of the ad- vancements of his profession and takes a keen interest in the work of the various medical organizations. His fraternal connection is with the Odd Fellows.
AUSTIN BRUMBAUGH. Since 1910 mayor of Elwood, Mr. Brum- baugh is one of the citizens whose residence, success in business, and high personal character entitle them to the best distinctions in public life, where their previous record insures faithful and intelligent service in behalf of the public welfare. As chief executive of the city, Mr. Brumbaugh has been an actual as well as a nominal leader of local government and affairs, and is doing much in both his public and private capacity to make Elwood one of the best commercial centers of eastern Indiana.
Austin Brumbaugh was born in Huntington, Indiana, September 20, 1868, a son of Frederick and Amanda C. (Hoover) Brumbaugh, the father a native of Pennsylvania, and the motber a native of Ohio. The paternal grandparents were Henry and Rebecca (Waltz) Brum- baugh, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. The former followed the occupation of carpenter and farmer, and he died in Huntington county, Indiana, at the age of sixty-seven. His wife lived on to the great age of ninety-seven. They had a large family, several of whom died in youth, and the others are mentioned as follows: John; Isaac; Frederick; William ; Daniel; Rebecca, who mar- ried Jacob Palmer; Charlotte, who married Samuel Friedley. The maternal grandparents of the Elwood mayor were Christoplier and Susanna Hoover, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Indiana. They were among the early settlers of Huntington county, where they died in advanced years. Their four children were: Sarah,
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wife of George W. Jewett; Amanda C., the mother of Mr. Brumbaugh ; Maria, wife of William Brumbaugh; and Anderson Iloover.
Frederick Brumbaugh, the father, was a youth when he accom- panied his parents to Huntington county, Indiana, and grew up to manhood there amid pioneer conditions. He was reared on a farm, but subsequently became a general contractor and followed that busi- ness with substantial success during the rest of his life. His death occurred in Huntington in 1910 at the age of seventy-three. His wife survives him, and they were both members of the German Baptist or Dunkard faith. Ten children were born into their household, seven of them reaching maturity as follows: James H., of Huntington; Laura, wife of George W. Krumanaker, of Tipton; Austin, of Elwood; Florence, wife of Clark M. Miller, of Chicago; William J., of Chicago; Elnora, wife of Warren T. McLain, of Chicago; Bertha, wife of Leonard B. Cortright, of Chicago.
Reared in the city of Huntington, where he attended the public schools, Mr. Austin Brumbaugh first chose as his practical occupation the trade of carpenter, and worked at that with his father. Four years were next spent in railroading, and he then began the manufacture of ice cream in Chicago. In March, 1904, he located at Elwood, where he established an ice cream business and still conducts as one of the important local concerns of this city ..
Mr. Brumbaugh in 1910 was elected to his present office of mayor, and has occupied the chief place in the city hall to the present time. In politics he is a Democrat, but his chief concern and characteristic is good citizenship. Fraternally he is affiliated with Quincy Lodge No. 230 A. F. & A. M .; Elwood Chapter No. 109 R. A. M .; with Alexandria Council No. 85 R. & S. M .; and Adoniram Lodge of Perfection, and also the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rites. He is also affiliated with the Chicago Lodge No. 55 I. O. O. F. at Chicago, and with Elwood Lodge No. 368 of the Order of Elks. Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh are both members of the Methodist church.
On April 6, 1900, he married Miss Anna Henry, a daughter of John Henry. She was born in Allen county, near Fort Wayne.
EDGAR E. DAVIS. Twenty-one years in the furniture and under- taking business at Alexandria have made Edgar E. Davis one of the oldest established and most successful merchants of the city, and along with mercantile success he has been an influential factor in the social life and civic activities of his portion of Madison county.
Mr. Davis is a native of Rush county, born in the town of Arlington, July 15, 1863. His parents were Benjamin F. and Nancy A. (Arnett) Davis, both natives of Ohio. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Davis, whose wife was Mary (Sells) Davis, was born in North Carolina, was a farmer, and in an early day brought his family to Rush county. Subsequently he moved to Frankton in Madison county, where he spent the declining years of his life and died at a good old age. His wife died near the city of Wabash. Their three children were Armenus, a Methodist minister, who is now in Port Townsend, Washington ; Clara, wife of Joseph Campbell, of Frankton; and Benjamin E. The mater- nal grandfather was James Arnett, who lived with his family at Arling- ton, Indiana, where he was in business as general storekeeper. He died there when past eighty years of age, and his family included the children
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Nancy A., Mrs. James Page, Mrs. Delia Dwiggins, Jefferson Arnett, Mrs. Williamson Scott and William.
Benjamin F. Davis, the father, was reared in Ohio, and then came when the country was new, to Rush county, Indiana. By trade he was a wagon-maker and blacksmith and had his shop for many years at Frankton, in Madison county, where he still resides, being now in the furniture and undertaking business. His good wife is a member of the Methodist church. Their children, six in number, are mentioned as follows: Ella, deceased, who was the wife of Thomas L. DeHority, of Anderson; Charles, of Seattle, Washington; Mollie, now the wife of William Simmons, of Frankton, Indiana; Edgar E .; Gertrude, deceased, who was the wife of Fred Alexander, of Noblesville, Indiana; and Rosa, the wife of Frank Troop, of Frankton, Indiana.
Edgar E. Davis was reared in Frankton, from the time he was three years of age. His schooling was in the public institutions, and he acquitted himself so well in his studies that he was granted a license to teach and followed that occupation during one term. He then turned to the blacksmith trade, with which he had become familiar and skillful when a boy, and worked at that until after his marriage. He lived at Rigdon and followed his trade for eight years. He then came to Alex- andria, and established himself in the furniture and undertaking busi- ness, and his store and service have been an important part of the mer- cantile enterprise of the city for twenty-one years. His establishment is located at 224 North Harrison street. Mr. Davis was honored by election to the office of secretary of the Indiana Funeral Directors' Asso- ciation, and in 1903 he was elected president of this association.
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