USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, together with historic notes on the Wabash Valley; gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic sources > Part 47
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
203
UNION TOWNSHIP.
He accumulated considerable town property, and from the sale of this made some permanent investments in land. His savings have amounted to $20,000. Mrs. Brown owned eighty acres of forest land when she was married to Mr. Brown. He has divided over $10,000 of his prop- erty equally among his children. From his domestic affections and associations he derived his highest enjoyment, and his earnest and cal- culating care for his family induced him to toil hard to accumulate property, so that he might have enough to endow his children com- fortably during his lifetime, and a competence left for himself and his wife. In 1832 he joined the Methodist church, and has since been an active christian thinker and worker. After a delay, partly due to his withholding himself, he was, in 1865, licensed by his church to preach, and in 1875 ordained by Bishop Wiley, at La Fayette, a deacon. Mr. Brown has always held advanced and progressive views upon all the great topics which have engrossed public thought. His orthodoxy was at times even suspected by the unenlightened. He first attracted atten- tion to himself by his radical sentiments in regard to temperance and slavery, when those subjects began to be vigorously agitated by a few bold spirits. His moral courage shone brightly in that conflict. This class of reformers, strong in the beginning only in conscious rectitude, were sneered at, and taunted, despised and hunted, and their lives put in jeopardy, as men have seldom been persecuted in a free country and an enlightened age. With patience Mr. Brown encountered proscrip- tion for opinion's sake ; and, as if to lend zest and variety to the war of hate and fury, he was more than once in imminent danger of personal violence from the mob. During the last forty years he has discovered great interest in the study of biblical and natural theology, and has been led to devote much time to the investigation of the sciences of chemistry, geology, and astronomy, and to connect his conclusions with the Mosaic account of creation. His examinations upon this subject, directed in the spirit of true inquiry, have opened to his delighted view the pleasing harmonies of science and the bible. The results of his in- quiries have crystallized into thoughts which he has reduced to writing, and hopes to bring out in printed form in the near future, with the title of "God and the Ages."
Solon H. Brown, farmer, Crawfordsville, son of Elijah C. Brown, was born in Crawfordsville, March 12, 1844. He was enrolled July 18, 1862, in Co. B, 72d Ind. Vols. He was present with his regiment during all its arduous and brilliant service, except on the disastrous expedition under Gen. Sooy Smith, which was planned to cooperate with Gen. Sherman on his Meridian campaign. For an outline of the principle movements of the 72nd we refer to the biography of A. D.
204
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Loffand, of this township. Mr. Brown was mustered out of the service at Indianapolis, July 6, 1865. We venture to mention in this place an incident connected with Mr. Brown's command which ought not to be lost. On April 4, 1863, the 72nd was near Lebanon, Tennessee, with pickets thrown out, when a strong body of guerillas made a bold dash and captured two videttes, William B. Montgomery, and John W. Vance. Mr. Brown only narrowly escaped ; he lost his horse, which fell under him, and was supposed to have been shot. Vance and Montgomery were tied up by the guerrillas and shot; the latter was killed, and the former, after having been three times shot through the head, was left for dead. Incredible as it may seem, he was not killed, but succeeded in making his way back to Murfreesboro on foot, a distance of twenty- five miles. He arrived there in an exhausted condition. He finally recovered, came home, served a few years as recorder of Tippecanoe county, and at last died from the effects of the atrocious treatment he had received. These two men, it is said, bore the seal of that nobility which distinguishes the best men and the truest soldiers. Mr. Brown was married September 10, 1871, to Miss May J. Hamilton, who was born August 27, 1844. They have had the following children : Clelie May, born March 24, 1873; Charlie, May 19, 1874, died January 1, 1881 ; Alice, June 19, 1876 ; and James E., September 2, 1879. Mr. Brown owns 220 acres of land, valued at $12,000. He is an Odd- Fellow and republican.
Curtis Hardee, farmer, New Market, was the youngest child of John and Lucy (Sears) Hardee. His father volunteered when only fourteen years old, and served seven years under Washington in the revolu- tionary war, and fought in all the battles in which that illustrious chief- tain commanded. After the war he settled in Kentucky, where he married his first wife. Subsequently he removed to Preble county, Ohio, and then to Rush county, Indiana, where the subject of this no- tice was born about 1824. Having lost his property from paying security debts, he brought his family to Montgomery county, where he died about 1835. He was buried in the Michaels graveyard. For many years before his death he received a pension from the govern- ment. On the death of his father our subject became the ward of Nathan S. Smith, from whom he learned the blacksmith trade. He subsequently worked at this ten years. On April 30, 1846, he was married to Mary Jane Busenbark, who was born October 8, 1828, in Butler county, Ohio. Her grandfather, John Busenbark, served through the last three years of the war for independence, as a teamster. Her parents came to this county about 1830, and the family became located on the place Mr. Hardee now occupies. This farm contains 160 acres,
205
UNION TOWNSHIP.
valued at $8,000. On March 31, 1875, fire destroyed the house and nearly all its contents, entailing a loss of $1,000. Mr. Hardee belongs to the democratic party. Both he and his wife have been members of the Old School Baptist church sixteen years, and the former fills the office of deacon. This couple are the parents of the following chil- dren, nine in number: Lucy (deceased), Mary Eleanor (deceased), William B., Ann Eliza Priscilla (deceased), Sarah Jane (deceased), Elizabeth Elvira, now Mrs. George Hardesty, of Boone county ; James Andrew, Samuel Morgan (deceased), and Laura Josephine.
Samuel Gilliland, farmer, Crawfordsville, was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, about 1809, and was the tenth child in a family of eleven by John and Hannah (Michaels) Gilliland. When he was sixteen he left home and went to Butler county, Ohio. There he lived six years, got most of his education, which was obtained in the common schools, and December 20, 1832, was married to Polly Trous- dale. Next year he emigrated to Montgomery county, and settled on the Terre Haute road, five miles southwest of Crawfordsville. He had been here before and purchased eighty acres of land for $300. This, with a two-horse team and a little household furniture, was all the prop- erty he had at that time. He lived on this farm forty-five years, and then in 1878 moved to his present residence, on the same turnpike, two miles south of Crawfordsville. His wife died in 1844, and on March 9, 1848, he was married to Sarah Miller. She died in May 1870. By the first wife he became the father of five children : John T. (deceased), Lydia Jane, Anna Laura, wife of Emmons Busenbark; Margaret, wife of John Remley, and William, who died in infancy. The second bore Mary Ellen, wife of William Smith; Martha E., married to Edward Ray ; Nancy Isabelle, Samuel M. (deceased), James B., William C. and Henry E. Mr. Gilliland was county commissioner of Montgomery county sixteen or seventeen years. He was first appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Mulligan, and after that was sev_ eral years successively elected. He was in office when the war came on, and exerted his influence to pay by concurrent taxation the heavy expenses of the county incurred by hiring men to fill the quotas, and was chiefly instrumental in bringing about that policy. By procuring men in this way the county avoided the draft at every call, and by the pay-as-you-go plan the war was but a little while ended until it was out of debt. This made taxes burdensome for a few years. Mr. Gilliland himself paid $1,000 a year, but his foresight was afterward freely ac_ knowledged in the most satisfactory manner. At the time, however, his term expiring, he was not reëlected, so strong was the popular will- ingness to sacrifice future good to present convenience. But at the
206
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
end of three years he was recalled by the people to his old position on the board. Mr. Gilliland was one of the corporators of the Crawfords- ville and Southwestern Gravel Road Company ; he is a heavy stock- holder in it, and has been superintendent a good many years. He owns 1,200 acres of land, all lying in Union township, worth $60,000, and has $15,000 in ready cash, and is entirely free from debt. This has all been accumulated by hard labor and successful management. He first settled in the woods, and has done his full share of sturdy toil in clearing off the forests and improving land. He has been a democrat from his youth up, and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Jackson, in 1832.
Hon. Richard Epperson, farmer and contractor, Crawfordsville. Among the most prominent of the many names mentioned in the his- tory of Montgomery county may be mentioned Hon. Richard Epper- son, an affable, hospitable gentleman, and for many years one of the foremost contractors of Indiana. His father, Daniel Epperson, was born in Lunenburg county, Virginia, on a farm. Here his youth was spent at hard work, save a few weeks in the district school each win- ter. At the age of twenty-one he became an apprentice to his brother, Daniel, to learn the blacksmith trade. At this trade he was a constant worker in connection with the farm until his fiftieth year. December 25, 1830, he reached Hamilton county, Ohio, and located near Mt. Pleasant, where he followed farming until October, 1836, at which time he started for Montgomery county, Indiana, reaching Crawfords- ville October 18, where he resided until his death, January 13, 1853. In 1802 he married Susanna Mathews, of Lunenburg county, Vir- ginia, and became the father of twelve children, eight of whom are now living. Mr. Epperson was a wide and constant reader, keeping well posted upon current matters, as well as studying carefully the his- tory of his country, and was universally acknowledged as a superior man. His son, Richard Epperson, was born May 15, 1818, on a farm in Lunenburg county, Virginia. His youth was spent upon the farm in hard work, save a few weeks spent each winter in school, when it was impossible to perform farm labor. At the age of twenty-one he began for himself, working upon a farm by the month, for about a year · and a half. In April, 1841, he began a new life, that of apprentice to his brother, William, to learn the trade of a carpenter and joiner, in the city of Crawfordsville. After learning his trade, which occupied about. two years, he followed life as journeyman carpenter until 1848, when he formed a partnership with his brother and former instructor, which lasted until 1857. Upon the 9th of April of this year he moved to his present delightful country home, where he was engaged in farming
207
UNION TOWNSHIP.
and building till the fall of 1860, when he was elected upon the repub- lican ticket to represent his district in the legislature. The following winter was spent in Indianapolis, attending to the duties devolving upon a legislator, as was also the following spring at the extra session. June 2, 1861, he received an appointment from the board of directors as the superintendent of the northern prison, which occupied his attention . until March 11, 1863, when he again undertook general contracting. April 3, 1865, he was appointed architect and general superintendent of the same prison, at Michigan City. At the expiration of his term of two years he was reappointed, and served with credit to himself, with honor to his state, and to the satisfaction of all parties, until the date of his resignation, December 31, 1867. Upon his return to Craw- fordsville he immediately engaged hinself in contracting, which called him to be employed upon many of the substantial buildings of the state. Since 1873 his time has been mostly consumed in superintend- ing his 200-acre farm, situated six miles southeast of Crawfordsville and west of Whitesville. Mr. Epperson was first married to Eleanor C. Selders, in Tippecanoe county, second daughter of Abraham and Mary (Campbell) Selders. She was born July 26, 1819, and died De- cember 14, 1869, and was buried in the Masonic graveyard of Craw_ fordsville. They became the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living: Susan C., Mary E., William D., Rebecca A., Flora M., Sarah A., Richard H. and Emma P. January 1, 1871, Mr. Epperson was married in Warsaw, Indiana, to Mrs. Catharine Aspinwall, daughter of Adam and Margaret Woods, and the widow of Joseph Aspinwall. She was born September 6, 1869, and is the mother of two children : Joseph Aspinwall, a member of the class of 1880 and a graduate of Wabash College, who is now in Indianapolis preparing himself for the practice of medicine, and Margaret Aspinwall, who is still living at home. Mr. Epperson is a Universalist in faith, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church, his first wife being a Calvanistic Baptist. He is a member of the Crawfordsville Masonic lodge, having joined that order in 1857, and has taken every degree save the last. He is also an Odd-Fellow, joining the order in Craw- fordsville in June 1848. Mr. Epperson was a democrat until 1856, casting his first presidential vote in 1840 for Martin Van Buren. He is now an earnest supporter and an unflinching defender of the principles of the republican party.
James H. Hall, farmer, Crawfordsville, was born in Warren county, Ohio, October 8, 1814. His parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (William- son) Hall, were both born and reared in Shenandoah county, Virginia, and settled in an early day in Warren county, Ohio. In the fall of
208
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
1835 Mr. Hall emigrated to Union township, and improved the farm where he at present resides. It embraces 500 acres of neatly cultivated land, is well watered, improved by good buildings, situated four miles southwest of Crawfordsville, and valued at $28,000. Mr. Hall was first a whig, but when the party of his choice went to pieces he natu- rally fell into the ranks of its successor, the republican party. His father died in the autumn of 1840, and his mother survived a few years later. In 1841 (February 9) Mr. Hall was married to Miss Emma Price, who was born April 17, 1817. Their seven children were as follows: Sarah Elizabeth, Henry Clay, Mary Ellen, now Mrs. George Mckinsey ; Taylor (deceased); Anna, wife of Sanford Nntt; Kellie, and George. Henry was born March 1, 1845. He enlisted in Co. K, 86th Ind. Vols., in 1862, for three years, but was soon stricken with lung fever, and at the end of three months was discharged. He was mar- ried March 21, 1872, to Miss Catherine Clodfelter, who was born Jan- nary 8, 1849. Her parents were Peter and Mary Clodfelter. The former came with his father from North Carolina when a small boy. Her parents became residents of Jackson township some forty years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children : Edie, born April 13, 1873, and Carrie, born July 28, 1879.
Martin Van Hook (deceased) was born in Bourbon county, Ken- tucky, on a farm, January 1, 1802. After arriving at the age of ma- turity, he with his father moved to Harrison county. At Cynthia Ann, this county, he learned the plasterer's trade, and, in connection with farming, he followed the trade until October, 1834, at which time he emigrated to Montgomery county and settled on a farin one mile west of Crawfordsville, where he purchased 200 acres. The journey to Indi- ana was made in wagons, occupying three weeks' time. Mr. Van Hook lived upon his farm until his death, February 14, 1859. He was a democrat, casting his first presidential vote for Gen. Jackson. He re- ceived such education as the common schools afforded, but was a man constantly studying and reading for himself, and was wide awake to all matters of public concern. He still followed his trade after settling in this county, with splendid success. He plastered Wabash College the first time. February 27, 1826, in Harrison county, Kentucky, near Cynthia Ann, he married Jane Craig, third danghter of John and Margaret (McLvain) Craig. Mrs. Van Hook was born June 1, 1808, in Harrison county, Kentucky, and had the advantages of a district school education. Her father, John Craig, was born in South Carolina, and finally settled in Harrison county, where he died May 22, 1825, a member of the Presbyterian church and a democrat. Her mother was a Presbyterian, and died February 22, 1825, the mother of eight chil-
.
209
UNION TOWNSHIP.
dren, three of whom are living: Moses Craig, of Missouri; Margaret Coucheman, of Morgan county, Illinois, and Jane Van Hook, of Craw- fordsville. After the death of Mr. Van Hook his wife lived upon the farm until the fall of 1868, when she purchased city property and moved into it. She is the mother of sixteen children, four of whom are living : Barbara Ball, of White county ; Franklin P., in White county ; William Henry, of Brown county, Kansas, and Andrew J., of this city. Mrs. Van Hook has living with her Laura A. Van Hook, her granddaughter.
Hon. William P. Britton. John and Sarah, the parents of the above named distinguished citizen of Montgomery county, came to Indiana from the State of Ohio in the spring of 1834, and settled on a small farm in Ripley township, about two miles west of the village of Yountsville. William P. is the second child of a family of eight chil- dren, and was born on June 11, 1835. When he became old enough he engaged with his father in pioneer farm work, assisting to roll logs, clear up the land, plough, sow, and harvest. At such times as he could be spared from the farm he attended school, usually for two or three months during the winter of each year, and occasionally for a month or so in the summer. Such was his experience until he reached the age of eighteen years. By that time he had acquired the rudiments of an English education. His parents being unable to provide him with any pecuniary aid, at this time he was permitted to leave home for the purpose of earning means to gain sufficient education to fit him for the legal profession. For several years he engaged in house-paint- ing, clerking in stores, and finally concluding that those occupations would never afford the necessary means to the end he sought, he es- sayed the work of teaching a district school. Receiving a license to teach from Prof. J. L. Campbell, of Wabash College, then superintend- ent of schools for the county, he began, and taught with flattering suc- cess, his first public school in what was then known as the Herron school-house, in Ripley township. This was in the fall and winter of 1855-6. By boarding at home, and walking to and fro each day over two miles, he was able to lay by his entire earnings of $75. He con- tinued teaching until the spring of 1863, and when not so engaged attended Wabash College. In his career as teacher he made many warm and lasting friendships with his pupils and their parents, and the pleasant intercourse of those years is cherished by him among the dearest memories of his life, and the esteem of his foriner pupils is valued next only to the love of kindred. In 1861 and 1862 he attended the law department of Michigan University, and returning home in the spring of 1863 he opened an office for legal practice in Crawfordsville,
14
210
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
having as a partner James M. Spillman. The new firm waited for clients all spring, summer, and fall, and when the " winter of their discontent " set in, the clientless firm dissolved in disgust; the entire proceeds of the business during the whole time amounting to $10. As the law looked so unpromising, Mr. Britton opened an office for the collection of soldiers' claims, and by liberal advertising and close at- tention to business, in a short time plenty of clients were gained whose cases were successfully prosecuted. While still engaged in this busi- ness, in 1864, he was appointed school examiner for Montgomery county, in which responsible capacity he served three years. At the close of this service he was elected trustee of Union township, and remained in office one year. In 1873 he formed a partnership for the practice of law with M. W. Bruner, under the firm name of Britton & Bruner. The firm acquired a large and lucrative practice, and con- tinned until dissolved in September 1879, at which date Mr. Britton entered upon the duties of judge of the circuit court, having been elected to that office in the fall of 1878 over the Hon. T. N. Rice, of Rockville, in the twenty-second judicial circuit, composed of the coun- ties of Parke and Montgomery. Judge Britton is tall, slender, and straight as an Indian, and his quick, elastic walk is characteristic of energy and enthusiasm ; he has dark eyes, jet black hair with a strong tendency to curl, and a remarkably fair complexion. In 1868 he was married to Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Chilion Johnson, one of the pioneers of Crawfordsville. In politics Judge Britton has always affil- iated with the democratic party, although he was never a violent par- tisan, and has friends in all parties. As a jurist his keen perceptive faculties, conjoined to a habit of analysis, and his studious disposition, have already established for him a reputation second to none in this state.
Jasper N. Davidson, farmer and stock raiser, Whitesville, is one of the prominent and successful men of Union township. He was . born in Montgomery county, Indiana, February 5, 1834. His mother, Amanda (Snorf) Davidson, died July 17, 1838. Her grand- father and grandmother were born on the river Rhine, Germany. His father, William F. Davidson, was born in Pennsylvania June 27. 1798. He emigrated to Butler county, Ohio, and in 1828 settled on Sec. 34, Union township, Montgomery county, Indiana. He came to this county first on foot, in company with John McCane. He was a millwright by trade, and had seven uncles in the revolutionary war. William F. Davidson began in this county with 50 cents in money and became one of the prosperous and successful farmers of the county. He earned the money that he paid for his first land with by working
211
UNION TOWNSHIP.
on the Cincinnati and Dayton canal at $9 per month. He died Feb- ruary 1, 1864. J. N. Davidson, the subject of this sketch, went to school in the days of log school-houses and slab benches, and when they received the rays of the sunlight through greased paper. He lived at home for many years after he was of age. He was married May 27, 1862, to Miss L. J. Huff. She was born May 27, 1844. They have two children : Julia A., born April 2, 1863; William A., August 27, 1867. Julia is a graduate of the Ladoga Central Normal school. Mr. Davidson is one of the prosperous and successful farmers of Montgomery county. He has a good farm of 284 acres, well fenced, and having about five miles of tile. He has a nice two-story dwelling house, beautifully situated on an elevated spot. Mr. Davidson is president of the Montgomery County Agricultural Society, and has always adhered to the principles of the democratic party. He is lib- beral, and takes an interest in everything that is for the good and progress of the country. Mr. Davidson is a man of intelligence, honesty, and influence.
David Henry Davidson, farmer and stock raiser, Whitesville, was born July 26, 1852, and is the brother of Jasper N. Davidson. He had a good common education. His mother died when he was two years and six months, and his father when he was eleven years old. At the age of sixteen he went in partnership at farming with his brother, William S. Mr. Davidson now has 201} acres of good land, and resides on the old homestead, the place where he was born. He was married November 12, 1874, to Miss Saloma E. Harshbarger. She was born January 11, 1854. They have three boys : Warner M., born September 23, 1875 ; Homer J., July 21, 1876 ; Cline F., August 16, 1879. Mr. Davidson is a member of the Detective Asso- ciation, a democrat, and has been a successful farmer. He is a great reader and a valuable member of the community in which he lives.
John Speed, deceased, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1801. His father was a miller, but John served a seven years' apprentice- ship to a stone-cutter, then two years as a journeyman. He was then considered a master of his trade and entitled to full pay. He was married to Margaret Baxter, who was born in Edinburgh in 1803. Mr. Speed, in 1828, sailed for Newfoundland, leaving his wife and one child, Margaret, in Edinburgh. He worked for a time, but soon set sail in a codfish schooner for Philadelphia. In one year from the time of his departure from Scotland Mrs. Speed and child joined him in Philadelphia. They then departed to Norfolk and remained a few years, and next removed to Washington and lived several years, employed on public buildings. He expended labor on the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.