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 72
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George M. Kendall, farmer, Bowers, came to Sugar Creek township in 1831 with his parents, Rolley and Elizabeth Kendall ; the former was a native of Virginia, the latter of Kentucky. They settled in Ohio as early as 1814 (the year in which George was born), in Cham- paign county, where they remained till their removal to Montgomery county. George's father died in 1838, aged forty-nine, his mother in 1871, aged seventy-nine years. His grandfather, Jesse Kendall, emi- grated from England to Virginia, and his grandfather, George Hen- drix. was a native of Virginia, his father emigrating to America from Germany, and his paternal great-grandmother was a native of Scot- land. The hardships and privations endured by the early pioneers of Sugar Creek township, Mr. Kendall has not forgotten. His early education was such as he could get at the pioneer schools dur- ing the few months taught each year; to this he, by self-application and industry, acquired a good degree of book-knowledge when quite a young man. He entered the profession of teaching in the common
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school shortly after he came to Montgomery county, which he followed twenty years, and is the oldest surviving teacher of Sugar Creek town- ship. He was married in 1851 to Sarah Parish, daughter of Mitchell J. and Liddy Parish, settlers of Montgomery county in 1830. Her father was a native of Virginia, and served in the war of 1812. Her mother is a native of Kentucky. Mr. Kendall has by this marriage five children : Mary E., Francis M., Eliza J., Sarah M. and Liddy B. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bethel. He has filled every office in the church belonging to the laity, and several times been superintendent of the Sabbath-school at the same church. In politics he is a republican of the first rank. He began life poor, and now has a farm of ninety-five acres, well improved and well stocked. During the war he was a member of the Home Guards, and served on the Morgan raid. For his generosity and integrity he is respected by all.
Mrs. Eva (Kellison) Stout, Linden, came to Madison township with her parents in 1833, when she was but ten years old. Her parents, John and Barbara Kellison, were natives of Virginia, and emigrated to Ohio, where Eva was born, when they were young. Her mother died in 1853, aged fifty years, and her father now lives in Iowa, and is eighty-five years old. Miss Eva Kellison was married in 1843 to Mosley Stoddard, who was born in 1821 and died leaving her with five children : Orren, Mary C., Elizabeth (deceased), John D. and Barbara A. Mrs. Stoddard was married a second time, to Benjamin Stout, in 1857, who died in 1878, aged sixty-seven years, leaving two children, Mosley S. and Matie. Mrs. Stout and her first husband were mem- bers of the New Light order of christians, of which she is still a member. Her second husband was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She lives upon her farm of 60 acres, near Linden, left by her first husband, and holds her interest in 112 acres left by her second husband. Her grandfather Kellison came from Ireland. Her mother's people were originally from Germany. Her son Orren served in the army in the late war. Mrs. Stout is a devoted christian, and is alive to the topics of the present day, and thoroughly republican in principle. "When she came here with her parents the country was a wilderness which scarcely seemed susceptible of cultivation.
S. H. D. Thompson, farmer and shipper, Crawfordsville, located in Madison township in 1861, on his farm of 420 acres, at the station Cherry Grove, and for some time conducted a saw-mill with success, and at the same time he was engaged in buying and shipping stock, which he made profitable. He was born in Montgomery county in 1837. His parents were Nehemia and Naney Thompson, both of whom
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were natives of Ohio, and pioneer settlers. When they settled in Montgomery county the Indians still lurked in the forest, and Craw- fordsville contained but three cabins. They still reside at Whitesville. Mr. Thompson received no education outside the common schools. Through his energy and natural ability he is a success in business. He was married in 1865 to Nancy E. Kerr, daughter of Joseph and Eliza Kerr, by whom he has three children : Bellmont A., Ottis O. and Pearl. In politics he is a democrat, and dislikes the great excitement that is carried on in political campaigns. Ilis farm is the best in the southwest part of Madison township. He raises cattle, sheep and hogs of a good grade. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. at Linden, Indiana.
W. H. Keeney, physician, Linden, is a native of Montgomery county, and son of Dr. Henry and Polly (Hughes) Keeney, who were married in 1832, and have six living children : John, James, Louisa D., Bur- hamma, Urial V. and William H. In 1829 Mr. Keeney's father came from his native state, Kentucky, at the age of eighteen, and settled in Crawfordsville, where he read medicine, and began to practice in 1846. Two years after he located in Linden, where he has since pursued his profession with success, and is the oldest practicing physician in this section. His paternal grandparents were James and Caron (Harbott) Keeney, the former being a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Tennessee. His great-grandfather, Mosses Keeney, came from Ger- many at a very early day. Mr. Keeney, in his boyhood manifested a liking for the study of medicine, which his father encouraged. For several years he spent most of his time in his favorite pursuit. In 1872 he graduated at the Old School Medical College, Indianapolis, with the honors of his class, and is now located in Linden, practicing in partner- ship with his father. He is a young man in his profession, of energy, earnestness and ability. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. and Masonic orders.
Wilson Hunt, farmer and stock raiser, Darlington, was born in Ohio in 1837. His parents were Charles and Mary Hunt; the former was born in New Jersey, and the latter was a native of Penn- sylvania. Mr. Hunt's father first emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he was married; then to Ohio, Marion county, in 1801, and then to Montgomery county. The subject of this memoir was married in 1853 to Mary E. Husted, daughter of John Husted, by whom he lias six children : Jane C., William W., Charles N., Henry N., Eleanor, and Bruce. He is a republican of the first rank. He has a fine stock farm of 240 acres, well improved, located three miles northwest of Darlington, in the southeast corner of Madison township. His stock
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are of the best quality in the county, and have repeatedly, for the past fifteen years, been awarded the first premiums at various fairs. He and his father were the first to introduce in the county the stock of hogs known as Poland China, and the same he has spared no pains to im- prove, with success. His cattle are of the shorthorn breeds, which he has greatly improved since their introduction upon his farm. Equally as much pains has been taken by Mr. Hunt to have upon his farm a good stock of horses. He has a very fine nag that has lost but one premium in the past twelve years, and premiums have been awarded to various other horses exhibited by him. Within the past two years he has introduced upon his farm a superior quality of Cotswold sheep. No man in the county has labored more earnestly to improve the stock of the county than Mr. Hunt. He has fully satisfied himself that in- vestment in the best breeds is far more lucrative than raising a third or fourth class of farm stock. On his farm is a pear tree now twenty years old, which has borne fruit for the past seventeen years. While Mr. Hunt turns his attention more particularly to the raising of fine stock, he loses no opportunity to aid in whatever will increase the prosperity of the country through other channels, and elevate the moral standing of its people.
J. Q. Peterson, farmer and stock raiser, Potato Creek, is a son of Silas Peterson, whose biography will appear in this work. Mr. Peter- son was born in 1850, and was brought up to the trade of his sire, farming. He received his education in the district school, and in the graded school at Stockwell. He was married in 1878, to Mary Camp- bell, who, like himself, is a native of Montgomery county, and is the daughter of Eli and Sophia Campbell, the former a native of Ohio, and settled in Montgomery county at an early time. By this union they have one child, Clifford. Mr. Peterson is the possessor of an ex- cellent farm of 175 acres, located near the west line of Sugar Creek township, which is in a high state of cultivation, and well stocked with a good grade of cattle, sheep, and hogs. In politics he is a demo- crat, as well as a young farmer with a promising future. He is ener- getic and generous, possessing the integrity of his father. He is at all times ready and willing to aid in whatever will stimulate the best in- terests of the country, and advance its prosperity and intellectual cul- ture.
John M. Miller, farmer and stock raiser, Linden, emigrated from Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1858, where he was born in 1829. He is the son of Job and Sarah C. Miller, both natives of Chester county, Pennsylvania. The former emigrated west with his father, Thomas Miller Sr., and his grandfather, Joseph Hays, who had been a captain
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in the revolutionary war. They settled near North Bend, Indiana, in 1791. In 1793 they, with several other families, moved to a tract of land on the Miami river. After the Greenville treaty, in 1796, Capt. Hays and Thomas Miller and their families moved into what was afterward the Territory of Indiana, and in 1801 purchased a tract of land containing 1,000 acres, this being the first land in Indiana pur- chased from the government. Job Miller was married to Mrs. Eliza- beth Hays in 1807, by whom he had five children, four daughters and one son. He was married a second time in 1829, to Mrs. Sarah E. Morriston, by whom he had three children. He died in 1865, aged eighty-two years. Elizabeth Hayes was born in 1834, and was the daughter of Van and Margaret Hayes. The former died in 1847, aged thirty-five, the latter in 1875, aged eighty-nine. Elizabeth's grand- father Hays was a native of Pennsylvania. J. M. by this union had ten children ; the living are Van H., Job, Grant, and Thomas. J. M. Miller and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Linden. In politics he is a democrat, and a member of the I.O.O.F. at Linden. He was trustee of Madison township two terms. Mr. Miller began life in very limited circumstances ; now he owns a good farm of 160 acres, which is fairly improved and stocked. Mr. Miller is one of those successful farmers who do not wait for some one else to advocate and try a thing, but act upon their own judgment ; hence it is that he has been the first of his township to lay a tile ditch, first to buy a reaping machine, and first to introduce many other new things so valuable to farmers. He carried on business in Linden for some time, buying grain and stock. At present he is trustee of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and has filled all the offices in the lodge of which he is a member.
Joseph Galbreath, wagon-maker, Linden, one of Indiana's native- born mechanics, came to Linden in 1858, where he has since remained. He was bred a farmer, but disliking the business learned the trade of wagon-making in Fountain county, this state. His parents, John and Martha Galbreath, emigrated to Wayne county, where Joseph was born, before Indiana was a state. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother of Kentucky, who, after remaining in Wayne county for some time, moved to Cass county. Mr. Galbreath settled in Foun- tain county in 1840, where he remained till he located in Linden. He was married in 1853, to Louhala Daley, of Preble county, Ohio, daughter of Edmund and Anna (Emery) Daley, the former a native of South Carolina, and the latter of New Jersey, and emigrated to Ohio in 1828. By this union there are nine children : John, Thomas J., James, Anna, Martha, Mary, Joseph, Samuel, and Edmund. During the
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twenty-two years Mr. Galbreath has lived in Linden he has carried on his business with success. In his shop, and by him, was made the first wagon in Madison township. He has given employment to from three to five men for the past fifteen years. His early school education was limited, but being a close observer he soon became well acquainted with practical life and business. Mr. Galbreath and wife are devout members of the Christian church, known as the Reform or Disciples' church, in which he has held the office of elder for ten years, and of- ficiated as minister for the past twenty years, and he is also a member of the ancient order of Masons. His father's family originally came from northern Ireland. His grandmother was the only survivor of her family, all of the rest having been massacred in Kentucky by the In- dians, she having escaped by concealing herself under a log. Several times the blood-thirsty villains passed up and down on that friendly trunk while she lay crouched beneath it. Mr. Galbreath is respected by all for his generosity and integrity of character.
Milton H. Harter, farmer, Linden. The subject of this sketch was born in Tippecanoe county in 1849, and is the son of Philip and Mary Harter, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Ohio. Philip Harter first settled near Richmond, Indiana, in 1818, and in 1828 he moved near La Fayette and bought and entered 700 acres of land, thirty acres of which lay in what is now the heart of the city, this he sold for the sum of $500. He died in 1875, aged eighty-five years, he and his wife being zealons members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Harter was educated in the common school at Linden. He was married in 1870 to Sarah A. Murford, by whom he has four children : William, Frank, Kate, and Mattie. Mr. Harter came to this county in 1860, and was formerly a member of the I.O.O.F. In politics he is a republican. He lives on the farm belonging to his mother, located some two miles north of Linden, on the gravel road.
E. P. Washburn, practicing physician, Linden, is a native of In- diana, born in 1842, and is the son of William and Jane Washburn, both of whom were natives of Ohio, and pioneer settlers of Indiana. His grandparents on his father's side were natives of Kentucky. Dr. Washburn was married in 1860 to Rebecca Richards. Her parents, John and Susan Richards, are natives of Pennsylvania, now residents of Fulton, Indiana. By this union he has five children : Emma J., Newton P., John W., Blanch A. and Bertie H. He served three years and eleven months in the 46th Ind. Vols., and was engaged in several of the most important and hotly contested battles of the war, among which are the following: siege of Vicksburg, New Madrid, Riddle's Station, St. Charles, Pemberton, Port Gibson, Champion Hills, siege
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Jackson, and others. He first was in the infantry, then was transferred to the mounted infantry, then to the gunboat service, and then placed on the general's staff. It is remarkable to say he never so much as re- ceived a scratch during his time in the service. He came to Linden in 1873 and opened a drug store ; at the same time he began a course of med- ical reading, which he pursued for two years, at which time he began to practice medicine, having taken one course of lectures in the In- dianapolis Medical College, and graduated with the class of 1881. Dr. Washburn is a self-made man of more than ordinary ability, which if not prevented by some unseen cause will make him be heard in the ranks of physicians. He now has a good practice, which was not only gained through the energy he has put forth to place himself in the ranks of physicians, but for the noble service he rendered his country in her time of need.
R. S. Miller, practicing physician and surgeon, Linden, is a native of Wisconsin, born in 1852. His parents were Jacob and Ann Miller, the former being a native of Ohio, the latter of Indiana, and were formerly citizens of Montgomery county. They both died in 1868, the former aged sixty-eight, the latter aged fifty. Dr. Miller received his literary education at Wabash College, and Emporia, Kansas. He graduated in the medical profession at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Indianapolis, Indiana, with the class of 1877. He was mar- ried in 1872 to Viola D. Watt, of Dwight, Illinois. Her parents were Simeon and Maria Watt. She received her education in the schools of Dwight. By this bond he has two children, Jessie M. and Minie P. He is a member of the Masonic order, of Crawfordsville. Previous to his location in Linden, in 1879, Dr. Miller practiced his profession in Crawfordsville with good success. Since his locating here, consider- ing that he is a young man in the profession, his success surpassed his own expectations. Dr. Miller is a man who looks to what he con- siders his duty to his patrons, and acts accordingly with energy that bespeaks interest in their behalf. He is a physician who, in time, will make his own reputation, and wear laurels of his own gathering.
CLARK TOWNSHIP.
Clark township was laid out in October, 1830, comprising T. 17 N., R. 3 W., since which date it has never been changed in form or area. The territory embraced in this township is rolling and was once the most heavily timbered of any portion of the county. The soil is exceedingly fertile and produces large crops of cereals. The drainage is excellent, Big and Little Raccoon and Haw creeks run-
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ning through the township from northeast to southwest, and each having considerable fall, renders tile drainage almost unnecessary.
Clark and Scott townships were the last to be settled in the county, a fact probably due to the close and heavy forest growth and the presence of a tribe of Indians, who claimed the territory for their hunting grounds. Access of emigration, the entry of all other available lands by earlier settlers, and the removal of the Cornstalk tribe to the Mississinnewa Reservation in Grant county, impelled the tide to flow over these rich lands.
As near as can now be ascertained among conflicting claims to the honor, Lucas Baldwin, from Berkley county, Virginia, was the first pioneer to essay a home in the " big woods " of Clark township. He came in 1826 and entered the land on which the town of Ladoga now stands, and lived there for eight years thereafter. His grand- son, Jonathan Tipton, now living on a farm in the township, may be classed among the older settlers likewise. The country was full of " wild varmints," bears, deer, hogs, wolves and smaller game. The Indian trails between Kokomo and the Cornstalk villages, in Scott township, were still trodden by moccasined feet. Stories of adventure in those days are yet recounted by the firesides of the de- scendants of men who bore hardships and danger for the comfort of our present circumstances ; some of these are as thrilling as the most improbable of Mayne Reid's, and all are pathetic of the long suffering of pioneer life. Settlers being much like sheep in respect to following a leader, came rapidly in, until by the spring of 1837, no land remained in Clark township that had not been entered by actual settlers. These came from Virginia, North Carolina, Ten- nessee and a few from Kentucky, bringing in nearly every instance young families and, for the time and rule, generous outfits for their combat with nature. Neither were they tillers of the soil alone, for with them came cabinet-makers, whose labors were indispensable to the colonists, and whose handicraft still has handsome evidence of its rude strength and simple elegance in many a household of Mont- gomery county ; blacksmiths who could make axes at the forge and all the numerous irons of the farmer, who could set up the " Cary " plow, with its wooden moldboard and right angled bar share, and its five feet of length ; wagon-makers, who were competent to build the " Virginia schooners," with beds wide and deep enough to move a whole family with all their "plunder," and tight enough to serve as a ferry-boat over unfordable streams; young physicians, eager to flesh their maiden lancets and heal the ills of the new settlement ; teachers, and preachers and lawyers came later, when the " clear-
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ings" began to appear and people had leisure to remember the luxuries of their former life and willingness to encourage the shadows of coming substance.
The earlier settlers of the township were Charles Lewis Sr., Humphrey Rice, David D. Nicholson, Limledge Stringer, William A. Brown and John Brown, Robert Davis, Andrew J. Davis, Isaac Baker, father of John Baker, Gabriel S. Davidson, William H. Ut- terback, Jefferson Hicks, Benjamin Sharp, all of whom were from Kentucky ; John B. Peffley, Lewis Otterman, Caleb H. R. Ander- son, George Stover, Jacob and Jacob M. Harshbarger, John Peffley, and Alfred Rose from Virginia ; John Ellis, - Schenck, - Har- vey, Richard Graves, Drake and Joel Brookshire, and Green Davis from North Carolina; George Otterman Sr., and George Otterman Jr., from Pennsylvania ; James Manners Sr., from Maryland, with numerous others whose names and native places cannot now be as- certained. These were the pioneer fathers of the township; with but few exceptions they brought with them the pioneer mothers, some of whom still live in peace and plenty, surrounded by their great-grandchildren. The following are well known names of early housewives, wool-spinners and flax-weavers : Charlotte (Hunter) Davis, Sarah (Slack) Brookshire, Agnes Graves, Lora (Null) Otter- man, Mary (Morrison) Rose, Mary (Robinson) Peffley, Salome A. Harshbarger, Hannah (Arnold) Myers, Anna (Rader) Stover, Hettie (Peffley) Otterman, Anna (Buntrager) Peffley, Sallie (Manges) Pef- fley, Priscilla (Manners) Clark, Elizabeth (Harrison) Sharp, Mary (Pearson) Hart, Lucinda (Ragsdale) Hicks, Elizabeth (Bonner) Brown, Keziah Davis, Elizabeth (Watkins) Stringer, Elizabeth (Fleener) Nicholson, Nancy (Ellis) Rice, Nancy (Adams) Lewis, Martha (Sparks) Baker, Hannah (Adams) Baldwin, Betsey (Kelsey) Hays, Elizabeth (Crane) Pearson.
Ladoga, the first nucleus of the settlement in Clark township, was laid out by John Myers in 1836. It is situated on the north side of Big Raccoon creek, and now has nearly 2,000 inhabitants, and is the second town in enterprise and population in the county. It is a sta- tion of the Logansport, New Albany & Chicago railroad, and has in prospect, should the A. L. & St. L. railroad be completed, still larger growth. This latter railroad is laid out to pass through the center of the town, and although work upon the line has been suspended for several years, the day will certainly come when the township will possess all the advantages of an east and west railway route.
In 1837, when David D. Nicholson came to Ladoga, the town consisted of four or five houses, two of which, used as stores, were
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of frame, and the others of hewed logs. Silas Grantham kept a log boarding-house. John Steele and Wm. R. Nofsinger were the mer- chants, and Dr. Carey dispensed pills and medical aid. Mr. Nich- olson was the first blacksmith to open a forge in the place, and Humphrey Rice made plows and wagons. Aside from these arti- sans and business men, the remaining citizens were Taylor Webster, Caleb H. R. Anderson, Zack and James Mahorney, Joseph Ellis and John Masterson.
Ladoga has been from the outset unusually favored by the enter- prise and business capacity of her merchants and tradesmen. For a number of years a large woolen manufactory was carried on by Har- ney, Thomas & Co., doing an enormous business throughout the county and adjoining country. An extensive flouring mill has been in operation for more than a quarter of a century, obtaining power from the creek which runs along the southern outskirts of the town. The grain and lumber trade has been very profitable to the commu- nity, and has laid the foundation of good fortune for many of the citizens. One of the largest dry-goods establishments in western Indiana, conducted by A. M. Scott, in a handsome brick block built for the purpose, supplies goods to all the surrounding country.
Church privileges and school facilities were early provided by the founders of the town, the more successfully than is usual, because of the morality and intelligence of the people. The leading religious denomination is the Christian church, following which come the Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics and New School Baptists. All of these have commodious church buildings and regular services.
For a long time a classical and scientific school was conducted by the late Hon. Milton B. Hopkins, ex-superintendent of public in- struction for the state. Mr. Hopkins was equally distinguished as an educator and as a controversial leader in the Christian church. He surrounded himself with an able corps of assistants, and received the warmest support of the entire community. The school became noted, and drew pupils from other parts of the state. At the same time Prof. Vawter was at the head of a similar institution, carried on under the auspices of the New School Baptist church. The latter was likewise largely attended by pupils from nearly every section of the state. It occupied two commodious buildings, situated in a beautiful grove west of the town. The influence of these schools upon the people of Ladoga and Clark township was elevating and refining. At this day no community of similar size in the state pos- sesses a higher standard of intelligence and culture.
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