USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 31
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Margaret, wife of Dr. A. L. Thurston; and Minnie, living wtih her father, are the living children of Mr. and Mrs. Bradley. Fraternally Mr. Bradley is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, No. 691, and of the Knights of Pythias, Gas Belt Lodge, No. 361. Religiously he belongs to the United Brethren Church, while his daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
GEORGE W. BROWN. A prominent and successful agriculturist and stock-raiser of Madison county, George W. Brown is the owner of a well- appointed and well-managed farm in Van Buren township, his native place, where he holds a position of note among the substantial farmers of his community, his farms being on the G. W. Brown road, about four miles from Summitville.
His father, the late John G. Brown, was born in Rush county, but as a boy came with his parents to Madison county, where he grew to man's estate. Subsequently purchasing land in Van Buren township, he carried on farming until his death, in 1871. He married Sarah Allen, and they became the parents of seven children, namely: Catherine J .; Levi P., of whom a brief biographical sketch may be found on another page of this volume; Mary E., deceased; Nancy E .; Samuel B .; George W., the special subject of this sketch; and John H.
Completing his early education in the public schools of his native township, George W. Brown turned his attention to agriculture, and at the age of twenty years rented his mother's place, and began farming on his own account. Fortune smiled on his earnest efforts, and as his means increased he bought adjoining land, and is now the owner of a productive farm of one hundred and forty-eight acres, his estate in its appointments and improvements comparing favorably with any in the vicinity. A man of ability and integrity, Mr. Brown takes an intelli- gent interest in political affairs, and is a trustworthy member of the Baptist Church.
Mr. Brown married, April 13, 1889, Eda J. Painter, daughter of Silas P. Painter, who owns and occupies a fine farm on the S. P. Painter road, about four miles southeast of Summitville.
Mr. Painter was born December 4, 1835, in Henry county, Indiana, of Virginia ancestry. His parents, George W. and Ira (Marsh) Painter,
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came from Virginia, their native state, to Henry county, Indiana, in pioneer days, and having bought a tract of wild land cleared and im- proved a homestead, on which they spent their remaining years. They were the parents of twelve children, as follows: Samuel D., deceased; Silas P., father of Mrs. Brown; George A .; William B. and James A., deceased; Martin A .; Lewis; Mrs. Rosanna Kelley and Sarah Almarine, deceased; Noah; Peoria; and Mrs. Janie Rumberg.
Silas P. Painter attended first the district schools of Henry county, completing his early studies in Madison county. As a young man he rented the farm where he now lives, and managed it so ably that he was enabled after a few years to buy the entire property, which he has placed under a good state of cultivation, having cleared the greater part of it from its primitive wildness. Energetic and enterprising as a young man, Mr. Painter not only carried on general farming with ex- cellent pecuniary results, but for some time operated a saw mill, and for one year owned and operated a threshing machine. Among the valuable improvements he has made on his place is the building of his house, which is situated on the north side of the Silas P. Painter road, which is the main thoroughfare to Gaston, Indiana.
Mr. Painter married, January 19, 1863, Dorcas Heritage, and of their union nine children were born, as follows: Mary, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Eda J., George David Lot Leonidas, Perry, and three children that died in infancy. Mary, wife of Thomas Hunt, has had three children, Frank ; a child that died in infancy and Talmage. Elizabeth married first Rob- ert Atkinson, by whom she had three children, Lester; Birdie; and Lot- tie, deceased. Elizabeth married for her second husband Al Shields, and of that union three children have been born; a child that died in in- fancy ; Ina; and Silas H. Lucinda Frances, who died in Madison county, married C. E. Brandon. Lot L. married Della Webster, a daughter of Geo. W. and Olive (Vinson) Webster, and they have one child, Pauline Josephine.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are striving to give their children good educa- tions, fitting them for the higher walks of life. Their eldest child. Cletis R., graduated from the public schools at the age of fourteen and also graduated from the Fairmount High School. He then took the normal course at Marion, Indiana, and afterward successfully taught school one year in Madison county. He is now in his third year in Franklin College and will graduate with the class of 1914. Agnes J. is also a graduate from the public schools and the Fairmount Academy. and is now a student in Franklin College. She has also taken musical instrue- tions. The other two children are Dorcas and George P. Mrs. Brown is a lady of cordiality and gentle manner, and her happy home is her paradise. She received a good common school education and has always been her husband's counselor at all times. Mr. Brown comes from one of the old families of Madison county as does also his wife. He is a Democrat politically and has always upheld the principles of that party. He makes a specialty of "The Chester White swine and the farm is known as "The Chester White Stock Farm."
JAMES C. HULL. On the Hull gravel road about five miles northwest of Summitville, is a farm which represents the sturdy industry and good management of one of the best known farmer citizens of Madison county. Mr. Hull has lived in this county for more than forty years as a farmer and stock raiser, and beginning his career as a renter, and as a young
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man completely dependent upon his own resources for advancement he has made a success that might well be envied by his neighbors. At the present time he is the owner of one hundred acres of fine land in Boone township, and has won all his prosperity as a result of his well directed efforts.
James C. Hull was born September 17, 1848, a son of Jesse and Susan (Evans) Hull. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, first moved to Ohio, first locating in Marion county, and afterwards went out to Macon county, Illinois, where his death occurred. The mother also died in Macon county. Their children were: Eliza, Joel, Mary and Rosella, all deceased; James C.
James C. Hull spent a part of his youth in Macon county, Illinois, where he attended the public schools, but finished his education in Boone township of Madison county. When he was twelve years old be began his first practical experience as a farmer. He soon afterwards leased some timber land, and cleared the trees and brush from seven- teen acres of it. and raised two crops. With this beginning he went on from one step to the next higher, and has steadily prospered. He finally bought eighty acres of land, and after selling that moved out to Missouri, where he spent about two years. Then returning to Madison county, he bought his present farm in Boone township. He has engaged in gen- eral farming, and has improved the land so that it is several times more valuable than when it first came into his possession.
On March 5, 1871, Mr. Hull married Elizabeth D. Ross, a daughter of John N. and Caroline (Donge) Ross. Her father was one of the first settlers of Madison county, having moved here from Rush county, In- diana. The five children in the Ross family were: Martha, deceased ; James B .; Mrs. Hull, Josephine, deceased, Anna, deceased; and Mrs. Kate Hodson.
The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Hull are described as follows : Arthur V., who married Mabel Bair, and lives in Washington state, has four children, named Mildred, Forrest, Louis and Kenneth; John, who married Ida Clary, and their children are Edith C .; Helen Ferne; Joel H .; and Cecil Harold; J. Carey, at home; Maude M., deceased; Rosa Madge, who married Roy Higgins, and has children, Wayne, Wilma and Violet ; Emma D., who resides at home; Harvey E., at home; and F. Ray at home. The family worship in the Church of God. Mr. Hull in poli- tics is a Prohibitionist and a strong advocate of temperance.
BERT MANN. One of the young men of progressive enterprise whose energies are contributed to the welfare of the community as well as to the accumulation of a goodly share of material prosperity for them- selves, is Bert Mann, of Boone township. Mr. Mann is owner and occu- pies a fine place of one hundred and forty acres, located about 61% miles west of Summitville. There he carries on the solid industry which in Indiana brings good crops, and a satisfying degree of prosperity, and is not only providing well for his family, but is regarded as one of the men of influence in his community.
Bert Mann was born in Howard county, Indiana, January 17, 1877, a son of George and Ellen (Traitor) Mann. The father died when Bert was a child, and there were three children in the family, the sister being Lilly Runyon. Tony died aged two years. Bert Mann as a boy attended school in his native county, and when he had completed the course of study in the common schools, took up active work on the home
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farm. When he was twenty years old he had the courage to marry the girl of his choice, who was Miss Dora Bell Young, daughter of Ellison and Laura Young. To their marriage have come four children, whose names are: Myrtle N., Tressie E., Georgia E., and Zelpha. By their united efforts Mr. and Mrs. Mann have been steadily prospering in the past fifteen years, and now have much to show for their efforts. Mr. Mann was formerly connected with the Gospel Workers Church, and he and his family now attend the Friends church. In politics he is a Prohibitionist. It is always a pleasure to speak laudably of a young man when he has forsaken the haunts of pool rooms, billiard halls, and places where disreputable characters abide. He endeavors to make a place amongst the successful and honorable men, who become the back- bone of literature, commereialism, mechanics and agriculture, the latter the basis of the nation's prosperity, and to such a class of young Ameri- cans belongs Mr. Mann of this brief review.
He, aided by his estimable wife, has one of the valuable farms in Boone township, Madison county, and they have acquired this compe- tency by their united efforts and they merit the respect and esteein of all their many friends in Madison county.
RICHARD H. BRUNT. A life long resident of Madison county, Rich- ard II. Brunt has in later years somewhat retired from the strenuous activities which brought him a large degree of material prosperity, but still lives upon and enjoys his fine country estate in Boone township. This farm consists of two hundred and forty acres of fine land, which is situated about five and a half miles from Summitville, on what is known as the Brunt gravel road, along the rural free delivery route No. 24 out of Summitville.
Richard H. Brunt was born in Boone township of Madison county about three miles west of Summitville, on the fifth of October, 1856. His parents were Thomas and Sarah Ann (Lee) Brunt, both of whom came from North Carolina. The mother was related to the same family which produced so many eminent men of the south. Thomas Brunt was a young man when he moved from North Carolina, and settled in Madison county, about 1833. The land on which he settled he attained from the government, and his patent was signed by President Andrew Jackson. As a pioneer he contributed his labors to the improvement and clearing of the land, and was a man of sturdy habits and wholesome influ- ence in his community. In business he prospered, and before his death had become one of the large land owners of Madison county. The ten children in his family were as follows: William D .; James A. J .; Eliza- beth Noble; Nathan, Mrs. Lydia Swindle and Mrs. Sarah F. Black. de- ceased ; John R .; Samuel F., deceased; Mary F. Hudson, deceased : and Richard H. Brunt.
Richard H. Brunt grew up in Boone township, and as soon as he had reached the proper age he became a pupil in the schoolhouse near the old farm. He finished his education at Osceola, Indiana. Farming and stock raising has been the calling which he has pursued with much diligence and success, and from boyhood to the present time has been familiar with all the details and processes of country life. During his earlier years he was associated with his brother in the management of the home farm. He got his start by renting a piece of land from his father, and gradually got ahead in the world and became independent.
Mr. Brunt was first married to Dora A. Ruuyan, who is now deceased
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and is buried in the Alexander cemetery. The four children of their union are: Samuel E .; John C .; Oscar H., who married Miss Blaneh MeDermitt, deceased; and A. J. Brunt, Jr., who married Zola Neal and has one child, Hazel Alice. The second marriage of Mr. Brunt united him with Miss Carrie J. Thomas. Their two children are Loessie Hazel, who wedded Wilbur E. Runyan, and Forrest Lee. Mrs. Brunt died August 8, 1912, and was laid to rest in the Alexander cemetery.
Mr. Brunt is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Sweetzers Lodge No. 475; with the Improved Order of Red Men, Neoska- leta Tribe No. 149; the Knights of Pythias, Gas Belt Lodge No. 361; and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Alexander, No. 274. The family have membership in the Christian church and all the male members of the Brunt household are Democrats. Mr. Brunt has a very attractive and comfortable home with excellent out-buildings and all the equipment necessary for the conduct of a twentieth century farm. The estate of Mr. Brunt is known as "The Cherry Grove Stock Farm."
JOEL M. JONES. In Boone township, located on the rural delivery route No. 22 out of Alexandria, Mr. Jones is one of the prosperous young farmers, and is engaged in the operation of one hundred and twenty-five acres in his home place and owns considerable other land in this township. He started out without much capital, did hard work as his preparation for his successful career, and in later years has come into a plane of quiet prosperity and the esteem of his community.
Joel M. Jones was born March 8, 1872, in Monroe township of Madi- son county. His parents were John H. and Mary M. (Vinson) Jones. The father was also born in Monroe township, and the Jones family has been identified with this county since pioneer times. The father was a farmer, owned considerable land, and grew up and was educated in Monroe township. He is now deceased and his body was laid to rest in Mt. Pisgah cemetery. There were only two children and the older, William E., died in young manhood. The mother now makes her home in Alexandria.
Joel M. Jones as a boy attended the Mount Pisgah school, and while going to school also worked at home, and acquired a thorough knowl- edge of all the activities of farming. His schooling was completed in Boone township. At the age of twenty-two he had come into possession of a farm of his own, formerly owned by his grandfather, Joel Jones, who had come to Madison county from North Carolina.
Mr. Jones was married February 3, 1893, to Miss Anna Greenlee. They are the parents of four children: Henry, deceased; M. Belle ; Altha; and Harry. The family attend church at the Christian denomi- nation and fraternally Mr. Jones is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, Tribe No. 149; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 475; and the Knights of. Pythias, Gas Belt Lodge No. 361. He is a Democrat in politics. His progressive industry has wrought many improvements in his rural home, and he and his family have a comfort- able home and one of the features about the place is the large new barn.
JAMES M. PARSONS. In the life history of the late James M. Parsons, one of Elwood's honored residents and substantial business men, is found exemplification of the truth that success is the result of labor- and untiring labor. Starting out in life with no advantages save those
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of an energetic nature, an inherent ability and a commendable determi- nation to gain a position for himself in the world, he worked ceaselessly and perseveringly, and became known as one of those belonging to the class which can lay claim to the American title of self-made man. Mr. Parsons was born in Butler county, Ohio, July 26, 1832, a son of James and Sarah Ann ( Ward) Parsons.
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Parsons, John Parsons, was prob- ably a native of Maryland. He was a ship carpenter by trade, but when he went to Butler county, Ohio, as a pioneer of that section, turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he was engaged during the remainder of his life. The name of his wife is not remembered, but it is known that he had two sons, James and William, and four daugh- ters, among whom was Ann. On the maternal side, the grandfather of Mr. Parsons was Joseph Ward, a native of New Jersey, who spent his life in the East. He had children as follows: Calvin, Luther, Amos, Jonathan, Sarah Ann, Phoebe and Malinda.
James Parsons, father of Jaines M. Parsons, was born in Maryland, and there reared to manhood. As a youth he learned the trade of shoe- maker, and for three years was a sailor, but eventually accompanied his father to Butler county, Ohio, and settled near the city of Oxford. There he engaged in farming until coming to Madison county, Indiana, in 1835, and here he spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1883, when about eighty-three years old, while his wife died in 1860, aged sixty-five years, and was buried at Comersville. They were Methodists in. their religious belief. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons had a family of seven children, as follows: Charlotte Ann, who married Stephen Ball and makes her home at Arapahoe, Oklahoma; Jonathan W., who is deceased; Martha, also deceased, who was the wife of J. C. King, and later of John L. Milner; James M., of this review; John Wesley, who met his death in the battle of Murfreesboro, during the Civil war; George W., living at Rigdon, Indiana; and Frances Marion, who died when six years of age.
James M. Parsons was about two years of age when brought to Indi- ana by his parents, the family settling in Decatur county, where he resided until he was twelve years of age, there attending the public schools. They next located on a farm in Fayette county, and there he made his home until May 3, 1853, when he joined the old circus company of Spalding & Rogers, with which he traveled all over the United States during the next five years, starting as property boy and later becom- ing a performer. At the end of that time he had accumulated a fund of experience that decided him against circus life, this experience includ- ing being bitten on the head by an enraged lion. Accordingly he returned to his home and adopted the vocation of shoemaking, a calling which he followed for the greater part of his life. Mr. Parsons came to Elwood in 1860, and here followed his trade until 1885, at which time he was appointed postmaster, and after the expiration of his four-year term was made deputy sheriff for two years and city marshal for four years. After leaving the latter office he was engaged in shoemaking, and at the time of his death had a modern establishment in the Adamns Block, No. 1515 Main street, and was enjoying an excellent trade. He was ever · honorable in his methods and painstaking in his work, and his reputation was that of a thoroughly reliable man of business, and one who was to be trusted to live up to his obligations. During his long residence herc he formed a wide acquaintance, and in this he numbered scores of per- sonal friends. The pleasant home is situated at No. 1353 South B. street.
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On April 14, 1860, Mr. Parsons was married to Miss Caroline A. Shafer, daughter of James and Frances (Wardwell) Shafer, and to this union there were born children as follows: Ella, Jonathan C., Charles M., Frank, James Edward, Joseph, William E., Ward, Maude and Bessie. Of these, Ella lives in Indianapolis. She married Charles Mount, by whom she had two children, both now deceased, as is Mr. Mount. For her second husband she married William Clark. Jonathan C., now super- intendent of police at Elwood, Indiana, was a painter and paper hanger in Elwood, where he married Lilly Long, and they have one daughter, Beulah. Charles M., who is his father's partner in the shoemaking business, married Metta P. Riley. Frank is a clothing salesman of Walla Walla, Washington, and is the husband of Vessie Mount, by whom he has two children-Elizabeth and. Frances. James Edward died when five and one-half years old. Joseph, a traveling salesman living in Tacoma, Washington, married Ida Cheever, and they have one daugh- ter, Karline. William E., a tailor, who died in 1906, married Caroline Bentley, and they had four children, of whom two are now living- Charline and Thomas. Ward, Maude and Bessie all died in infancy. The first wife of Mr. Parsons, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, died in 1878, aged thirty-four years, in the faith of the Methodist church. Her father passed away in Elwood about 1893, while ber mother is still living, aged eighty-seven years.
On May 25, 1881, Mr. Parsons was married to Mrs. Nellie Smith, who was born in Clermont county, Ohio, January 29, 1848, a daughter of George and Mary Van Trump, natives of Ohio, who died when Mrs. Parsons was still a child. They had seven children: John, George, Ann, Benjamin, Nellie, Mollie and Lula. Mrs. Parsons married Irvin Smith, who is now deceased. By her marriage with Mr. Parsons there have been four children: Raymond K., who is in the telephone and telegraph business at Phoenix, Arizona, married Mary Steele, and has one daughter, Rosaline; Chase J., a mail clerk in the Elwood postoffice, who married Hazel Creagmile, and has one child, Martha Nell; Leo, who is proprietor of a cigar store, Elwood, married Gladys Yelvington; and one child who died in infancy.
Mrs. Parsons is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Parsons belonged to Quiney Lodge No. 200, I. O. O. F., and to the Knights of Pythias. A Demoerat in politics, he was stanch in his support of his party's candidates and policies, and served four years as a member of the city council and one term as a member of the board of township trustees. James M. Parsons passed to his final reward May 19, 1913, aged eighty years, nine months, twenty-three days. He lies buried beside his children in Elwood cemetery.
DOCTOR BALL DAVIS, who resides on a fine farm in Stony Creek town- ship is an honored pioneer of this locality, having been identified with its interests for nearly sixty years. He has, therefore witnessed the many changes which have transformed it from a wild and uncultivated region into fine farms and comfortable homes, with here and there a thriv- ing town in which the various industrial and commercial interests are represented. He is a Civil war veteran and belongs to that class of enterprising energetic men to whom are due the progress and improve- ment of the Hoosier State, and his finely cultivated farm indicates in a measure the industrious and useful life he has led. Mr. Davis was born on a farm three miles west of Connorsville, in Fayette
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county, Indiana, November 13, 1840, and is a son of Thomas J. and Mariah ( Ball) Davis, the former of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. Mr. Davis's parents came to Fayette county as young people and were there married and in November, 1854, came to Madison county, here spending the remainder of their lives. Thomas J. Davis passed to his final reward November 5, 1855, while his widow survived him for many years, her demise occurring February 16, 1894. They were the parents of nine children, of whom seven are living at this time: William of Marion, Grant county, Indiana; James H., who lives at Anderson; D. B .; Sarah, the wife of Guthrie Morris; Elizabeth, single, and residing at Anderson; Rachel A., of Anderson, the widow of John F. Whitinger; and John E., also a resident of Anderson.
D. B. Davis accompanied his parents to Madison county in 1854, and as his father died during the next year, when he was a lad of but fifteen years, his early education was somewhat neglected. However, in later years, by study, observation and much reading, he has made up for his lack of early chances, and now has a better education than many who were granted much better opportunities. On settling on the new land, the family found it covered with a dense growth of timber, and it became the duty of the sons to clear, grub and prepare the land for planting, and at this hard, manual labor, Mr. Davis spent his youth and young manhood. He was so engaged at the time of the outbreak of the war between the northern and southern States, and with a number of other patriotic young men of his neighborhood he enlisted in September, 1861, in Company G, Forty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Mississippi. Although his service covered more than four years, during which he participated in some of the most bitterly-contested battles of the war, including the siege of Vicksburg, Mr. Davis was never taken prisoner, wounded or sick in the hospital, and when he received his honorable discharge, in November, 1865, he had a record for bravery, faithfulness and devotion to duty that was surpassed by no man of his command. The men of his com- pany admired him for his bravery and his officers respected him for the reason that he could be absolutely depended upon to perform whatever duty devolved upon him. It has been these characteristics, in large nieasure, which have made him so successful in his subsequent career. His military career entitles him to membership in Major May Post No. 144, Grand Army of the Republic, with which he is now connected, and in which he and his comrades are wont to discuss and live over the inci- dents and experiences of the days when secession reared its gory head and the youth of the land were called upon to save their country's honor.
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