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 84
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Dr. Thomas J. Griffith, physician, Darlington, one of the leading professional men in this part of the county, is a native of Clinton county, this state, having been born there April 2, 1837. His parents, Thornton and Mary (Hall) Griffith, were married in Montgomery county in 1836, the latter having come to this county from South Caro- lina in 1826. His father, who was a native of Pennsylvania, was a de- scendant of an old Welsh family, as the name implies, the first mem- bers of which arrived in this country about 1630. According to the
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family tradition two brothers came from Wales about that time and landed in Massachusetts, subsequently settling in Pennsylvania, where their descendants acquired large landed and mill interests on the Brandywine river, which were, however, lost to the family at the close of the revolutionary war. After their marriage the doctor's parents removed to Clinton county, where they continued to reside until 1846. when they returned to Montgomery county and located at Crawfords- ville for four years, when they moved to a farm northeast of the city. Here they lived for sixteen years, then removed to Darlington, where, on June 24, 1869, Mr. Thornton Griffith died. During his youth Dr. Griffith worked on his father's farm, and received his early education at Crawfordsville, and on the breaking out of the war enlisted in the 135th Ind. reg., where he served as commissary sergeant. On return- ing from the war he studied medicine with Dr. J. S. McClelland, of Crawfordsville, for some years, and graduated at Miami Medieal Col- lege, Cincinnati, in 1867, beginning practice at Darlington in May of the same year. On October 4, 1871, Dr. Griffith married at Madison, Jefferson county, Miss Martha E. Hutchings, M.D., daughter of John and Elizabeth (Cravens) Hutchings, old settlers of Clark county. Mrs. Griffith is a lady of fine education, a graduate of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, and ranks high in the profession to which she has devoted her talents. They have one son, James Barton, born July 7, 1873. Mrs. Griffith is a member of the Christian church (Dis- ciples). The doctor is a prominent member of the A.F. and A.M., and in politics is affiliated with the independent party. He is an en- thusiast in archæology, and has one of the finest collections in the county, comprising over 300 arrow-heads of various sizes and designs, 40 spear-heads, several axes and other rare specimens of Indian imple- ments. He also has an extensive cabinet of old and rare coins.
George Kashner, farmer, Darlington, is the son of Abraham and Elizabeth Abernethy, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. They were married in the latter state, and removed to Franklin township in 1830, where the subject of this sketch was born in 1837. He received his education in the first school-house in this neighborhood, which was situated on the Detrick farm. He married in 1857 Miss Rhoda Booher, daughter of one of the old settlers in this township, and has a family of six children : Sarah E., Orpha Mahala, Alice, Birdie, Charlie and Chalmer. Mr. Kashner is one of the lead- ing men in this part of the township, and is enterprising and industri- ous. Through his efforts a gravel road is being constructed to Darling- ton. His farm of 160 acres is beautifully situated and well improved. His residence is of brick, 30X36 feet, a story and a half in height with
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a cottage roof; one of the neatest dwellings in the vicinity, and was erected at a cost of $3,000. His barn is the largest and best in the township if not in the county. It is 40x75 feet, 20-foot posts, 36 feet to the comb, and has room for 70 tons of hay, stalls for 12 head of horses, and a granary capable of holding 2,000 bushels of wheat. The building is strongly constructed and tastefully painted. The total cost outside of his own labor has been $1,700. There is a large sugar camp on the farm. Mr. Kashner is a member of the Presbyterian church, and all his life has been a member of the democratic party.
Ira and Cyrus Booher, liverymen and harness-makers, Darlington, are the sons of Gardianns and Mahala Booher, who came to this county in 1830, from Tennessee, and settled in the northeastern portion of Franklin township. Here they erected a cabin in the green woods, and hewed a farm out of the wilderness, enduring numerons trials and privations incidental to pioneer life. Religious affairs were not neg- lected. Though far removed from the borders of civilization we find that the Lutheran church was organized, and a leading position occu- pied therein by Mr. Booher until his death. Cyrus was born in 1837, in this township, and raised on the farm, following agricultural pur- suits until 1879, when he opened a large harness establishment in Dar- lington. He married in 1859 Miss Lucinda Avery, which union has resulted in a family of four children : Ella, Andrew, Edward, and Effie. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Ira is also a native of this township, having been born in 1843 on the old homestead, and there spent his youth, receiving his early education at the log school- house of the period. Throughout his life he has been principally en- gaged in husbandry until 1875, when he removed to Darlington and there erected a large livery and feed stable, to which he has since made considerable addition. In 1862 he married Miss Frances Avery, of Clinton county, and has now a family of three children : Anuel, Ber- tha and Goldie. Mr. Booher is a member of the Christian (Disciples) church, and is a prominent member of the democratic party, as is also his brother Cyrus. They are now in partnership under the name of Booher Brothers in the livery stable, and also in the harness establish- ment, receiving in both businesses a large and constantly increasing patronage. Their uniform and obliging attention to business is meet- ing with the reward it deserves.
Thomas M. Powell, farmer, Shannondale, was born in Bath county, . Kentucky, on March 10, 1834, his parents, John and Elizabeth L. (Patrick) Powell being natives of the same state. In 1840, when only six years old, his parents removed to Indiana, and settled in Scott township, Montgomery county. Here the subject of our sketch spent
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his youth, and received his early education at the pioneer school-house in Parkersburg, his teachers being David A. Shannon (father of Dr. Shannon) and Thomas Bingham. The latter was considered one of the best teachers of that period in the county. Mr. Powell was raised on a farm, and followed agriculture until he reached his twentieth year, when he engaged in clerking and bookkeeping, serving seven years as deputy auditor of the county, and one year as deputy treasurer. On the outbreaking of the war he enlisted in the 10th Ind. reg., and also clerked in the ordnance department of the service at Nashville. In 1867 he married Miss Elizabeth Miller, daughter of Henry Miller, one of the early settlers of the county, and in the following year (1868) owing to feeble health, returned to his farm, which now comprises 218 acres of splendid land, well improved, and showing the results of sys- tematic and careful culture. Mr. Powell is elder of the Christian church at Providence (Disciples) and is highly respected all over the county. In politics he is republican.
I. G. McMechan, M.D., physician, Darlington, is a native of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, his parents, John and Sarah (Gavin) McMechan, being residents of that city at the date of his birth, July 24, 1808. His mother was a native of Virginia, his father of Irish birth, but was brought to this country by his parents while very young. The doctor received his primary education at the district school and afterward spent two years at Oxford, Ohio. In 1840 he began the practice of medicine, and studied with Dr. Winton, of Crawfordsville, afterward attending lec- tures at Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1852 graduated at Chicago. He has been engaged in the profession for over forty years, and with the exception of four years spent at Dayton, Tippecanoe county, has been in Montgomery county all the time. In 1870 he removed to Darling- ton, where he is now resident, engaged in his professional duties, his practice extending over a wide scope of territory. In 1833 he married, in Crawfordsville, Miss Eliza Winton, sister of Dr. Winton, his preceptor in medicine, the ceremony being performed by old Father Thompson. The union resulted in a family of five children : Laura E., Theodore, Eva, Marcilla, Charles W. The doctor helped erect the first college building in Crawfordsville, and is intimately connected with the early history of that city, having served in the city council. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and all his life has been connected with the Presbyterian church. In politics he is republican, and during the war served as surgeon, being present at the battles of Shiloh and Vicks- burg.
James A. Mount, farmer and stock raiser, Shannondale, is the son of Atwell Mount, one of the early pioneers, and a man who made his
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mark in this country as one of the great moral and religious teachers. Atwell Mount was born in Farquhar county, Virginia, September 4, 1806, and removed to Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1815. November 1, 1827, he married Miss Lucinda Fullinwider, and two years after emigrated to Montgomery county, Indiana, residing at the house of Ryker Robbins, until he got his cabin built. His family, which con- sisted of six sons and six daughters, were all raised and attained to adult age on the old homestead, upon which Mr. James Mount now resides. Their names are as follows : Thomas R., Catherine W., Jacob F., Elijah C., William H., Ann Elizabeth, Mary Jane, James A., Har- riet N., Arvenia F., and Samuel B. Ten of them are still living and have families. Atwell Mount died February 23, 1880. He had been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, and for fifty years an elder of the same. He was the originator of the first temperance effort in the county, and shut down upon the use of whisky at the log-rollings and raisings at which he officiated, and though strongly opposed was successful in accomplishing the end he aimed at. He passed to his re- ward respected and lamented by all who knew him. James A. Mount was born March 23, 1843, obtaining his education at the district log school-house, and remained employed upon the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in the 72d Ind. Inf. On returning from the war he again went to school and finished his education at the Academy at Lebanon, Boone county. In 1867 he married Miss Katherine A. Boyd, whose father was a native of Kentucky, and mother of Dayton, Ohio. The re- sult of this union is a family of three children : Hallie Lee, born August 18, 1868, and Harry N. and Helen N., born December 24, 1871, the two latter being twins. In 1866 Mr. Mount began farming on his own account as a renter, and now, through his indomitable persever- ance and energetic labor, owns the beautiful and handsomely improved farm of 200 acres upon which he now resides. He is known and re- spected throughout the county as one of the rising men of this neigh- borhood. . He has been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, and is clerk of the session of Bethel church, the records of which are in splendid order. He is also a member of the Shannondale Coy of the Horse Detectives, and in politics is a prominent member of the repub- lican party.
Joseph A. Utter, physician, Shannondale, is a native of Montgomery county, having been born near Ladoga, in Clark township, on February 14, 1847. His parents, Abraham and Lettia (Swank) Utter, were both early arrivals in Montgomery county. The former was born in New Jersey, and settled in Ladoga about 1830, and traveled over most of the county in his capacity as a pioneer Methodist minister, and also as one
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of the early school teachers. He was long resident in the Black creek neighborhood, in Union township, and also was engaged in educating the young pioneers in Coal Creek township. The subject of this biog- raphy received his primary education at the district school, and at Danville Academy. In 1867 he began to read medicine with Dr. J. S. McClellan, of Crawfordsville, and attended lectures at Miami Med- ical College, Cincinnati. He began the practice of medicine in the spring of 1870, following the allapathic system of treatment for three years, at the end of which period he embraced homeopathy. Ile was engaged on the staff at the Homeopathie Dispensary at Cincinnati for some time, and on March 4, 1880, graduated from Pulte Medical Homeopathic College in the same city. The doctor began practice at Frankfort, Indiana, removing to Pleasant Hill after a year's residence. Here he remained about eighteen months, and then took up his resi- dence in Crawfordsville for two years. On leaving the latter city he settled in Rankin, Illinois, for a short time, then removed to Sugar Grove, Tippecanoe county, from which place he came to Shannondale in 1874, where he is now engaged in attending to his large and con- stantly increasing practice, which he has built up by his own talent and professional skill. He has been three times married : first on No- vember 21, 1867, to Miss Evelyn S. Mitchell; the second time on November 3, 1875, to Miss Virginia A. Seal, and to his present wife, Miss Flora M. Frazer, in Cedarville, Ohio, October 18, 1877. He has a family of four children : Charles Franklin, born November 11, 1868; Carrie Adeline, March 18, 1870; Walker Seal, January 25, 1877; and Alnetta Florence, born January 5, 1878. Dr. Utter is a member of the Presbyterian church, and as a man and physician stands high in the re- gard and estimation of the people.
C. T. Nicely, farmer, Shannondale, is the son of Isaac Nicely, a na- tive of Sullivan county, East Tennessee, and was born July 9, 1808, and removed with his parents to Union county, Indiana, when in his eighteenth year, and continued to reside there until 1831, when he came to Montgomery county. His father died the year after their ar- rival here. On September 3, 1837, he married Miss Rebecca Lafol- lette, by whom he had five children, four of whom are living : Mary Jane, Martha Ann, Louisa Ellen, and Charles Thomas. In October, 1870, he married his present wife, Evelyn Burroughs. C. T. Nicely was born February 1, 1849, and was raised on the farm, receiving his education at the district school, and throughout life has been engaged in farming. On February 13, 1870, he married, in Boone county, Miss Sarah E. Baird, by whom he has a family of two children : Ora, born November 25, 1870; Bessie, born February 22, 1877. He is a mem-
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ber of the Presbyterian church, and in politics is attached to the repub- lican party.
Abraham H. Bowers, grain merchant, Darlington, one of the lead- ing men of this part of the county, was born in Tippecanoe county, this state, December 3, 1842, and in 1849 removed to Montgomery county with his parents, and located in Sugar Creek township. The family is of German origin, his great-grandfather having come from that country about 1720, and settled in Pennsylvania, removing in 1730 to Virginia, where his grandfather, Abraham Bowers, was born, and resided until 1806, when he removed to Ross county, Ohio. In Ross county, Ohio, his father, Abner Bowers, was ushered into the world, June 28, 1812, and there resided until 1829, when Grandfather Bowers emigrated to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, arriving there on November 21 of that year. In 1832 his father married Miss Charlotte Huffman, by whom there were four children : Adonijah, Christina Esther, and Abraham, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Bowers obtained his early education at the district school, and during life has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Sugar Creek township until 1864, when he removed to Franklin township, locating on a farm near Darlington. In 1879 he entered into partnership with Mr. James Tribbett in the grain and stock business, he managing the former and Mr. Tribbett the latter portion of the business. Their grain warehouse is a structure 36×38 feet, three stories in height, with a capacity of 15,000 bushels. By close attention to the business, strict integrity, and affable manners, Mr. Bowers is building a large and substantial business connection. In ad- dition to carrying on this business he also devotes part of his time to his farm, which comprises 160 acres of fine farming land adjoining the town. On April 21, 1864, he married Miss Martha C. Booher, daughter of Wm. Booher, one of the early settlers of the county, who resides with him, and is in his eighty-second year. The result of this union is one daughter, Ina.
Daniel Lewis, Darlington, is the son of William and Mary A. (Larsh) Lewis, natives of Ohio, the former having come to this county in 1851, settling in Ripley township; the latter came to Montgomery county with her parents when quite young, in 1829. Her parents were among the early settlers in Ripley township, where they settled in the green woods and formed a farmn out of the wilderness. Mr. William Lewis was engaged principally in sawing, having erected a saw-mill in Ripley township on his arrival there. He was a mechanic of fine natural ability. He remained in Ripley township until 1870, when he removed to Franklin township, where he purchased a farm in the vicinity of Darlington, where he continued to reside until his
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death, which occurred June 1879. The family consisted of three daughters and two sons: Sarah C. Mulholland, Cynthia L. Seaman, Milinda J. Gray ; William, born January 26, 1859, and Daniel, born March 15, 1862. The latter received his early education at the academy at Darlington, and afterward attended school at Valparaiso nearly a year, and later spent one term at the Commercial College at Painesville, Ohio. He resides with his mother on the farm adjoining Darlington, the residence being situated on one of the finest building sites in the neighborhood. He is now in the employ of Mr. A. H. Bowers, grain merchant, Darlington.
William M. Hampton, farmer, Darlington, was born September 14, 1851, and is the son of Samuel and Phebe (Guntle) Hampton, one of the earliest settlers in this part of the township. On their arrival in this part of the county, about 1830, they settled in the green timber and suffered all the inconveniences and vicissitudes incidental to pio- neer life. The family drove through from Tennessee in the wagon, and camped out until they got the cabin raised. Mr. Hampton re- ceived his education at the district school, and during life has been chiefly engaged in husbandry. In 1874 he married Miss Phebe C. Faust, daughter of Reuben Faust, an early settler in this neighbor- hood, and has one son, Lee, who was born November 21, 1878. He is a prominent member of the Lutheran church, being clerk of St. James' Evangelic Lutheran Church, in this township. In politics he is a dem- ocrat. His farm of eighty acres is well improved, with good buildings, and is in a high state of cultivation.
M. S. Hopper, physician, Darlington, is a native of this county, having been born in Franklin township on October 30, 1851, and is the son of James Alva and Lucinda (Scott) Hopper, the former being a native of Kentucky, but arrived in Indiana when nine or ten years old with his parents. The doctor received his early education at the district school, and later at Stockwell College, Tippecanoe county, graduating there in 1876. . In 1870 he had the misfortune to lose his father, mother and brother, by typhoid fever, within the short space of four months. On October 12, 1876, he married Miss Lidia Wells, a very talented young lady, the result of which union is one son, Albert M. On April 2 of the following year (1877) he removed to Darlington, where he began practicing medicine, and by his natural ability, skillful treatment, and close application to the duties of his profession, he has won the confidence of the people, and has established a lucrative and steadily widening practice. Dr. Hopper is not one of those professional men who think that when they leave college they have acquired all the necessary knowledge, but keeps himself
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posted by taking all the latest works and magazines relating to med- ical practice. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of the I.O.O.F .; and is a member of the Methodist church. In politics the doctor is enrolled beneath the republican banner.
John Hutchings, farmer and stock dealer, Crawfordsville, was born in Butler county, Ohio, three miles from the Indiana state line, on October 15, 1818. When he had reached his sixth year his parents, William and Jane (McCain) Hutchings, removed to Fayette county, Indiana, and here he passed his youthful years, and received his early education in the vicinity of Connerville, on the west fork of White river. Until 1841 he engaged in farming, then for a short time he run a saddlery establishment, and in the following year (1842) he was employed selling goods. He afterward went into the stock business, in which he has been eminently successful, and in this pursuit has become well known over a great portion of western Indiana, and to-day is looked upon as one of the most enterprising and successful business men in the county. On April 9, 1856, he purchased a farm in Frank- lin township, this county, and has been resident here since that time. In addition to managing his farm, one of the largest in the township, now comprising 714 acres, he devotes a great deal of his attention to handling stock of all kinds. He married in Bullet county, on Decem- ber 1, 1842, Miss Martha H. Lemon, daughter of Elisha Lemon, who came to Indiana from Kentucky at an early day. His family consists of nine children : Lonisa Jane, Mary M., William G., Martha Eugenia, Ruth M., John L., Eva E., Allie Ada, and Isabel M., all of whom are still alive. Mr. Hutchings early identified himself with the greenback party, and has worked hard for its success, and this year (1880) is can- didate on that ticket for representative. He is a member of the I.O.O.F., and is a leading member of the Methodist church, being class-leader and the main supporter of the congregation at Hurd's school-house. His grandfather, Gabriel Hutchings, was a native of Connecticut, and served seven years and seven months in the rev- olutionary war, being severely wounded and bruised in an engagement with the Indians, he lay in an unconscious condition for a long period. During his sickness he was nursed by a widow lady whose husband had been killed by the Aborigines, and upon his recovery he ınar- ried her.
John Nevin, banker, Thorntown. Prominent among the names of those who have resided in this township is that of Capt. John Nevin, whose career through life has been of the most checkered nature. He was born in Failsworth, Lancashire, England, March 1816, and shortly afterward removed with his parents, Richard and Anna Mary Nevin,
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to their native country, Scotland, where, in the vicinity of Glasgow, was spent his boyhood days. When fourteen years of age he went to sea as an apprentice, continuing for several years in this calling. On return- ing from the sea he studied medicine, and attended leetures at Glasgow University, then returned to sea again, where he rose through all the grades to that of chief officer, in which capacity he made numerous voy- ages to various parts of the world. In 1841 he spent six months in company with Dr. Judson, the famous Baptist missionary, who was on his way to India in the ship Ramsay, of which Mr. Nevin was in com- mand. In 1842 he was baptized by Dr. Judson in Burmah, and has now in his possession the certificate of his baptism, dated at Moulmain, January 30, 1842. He had as passengers, in 1846, Alexander Camp- bell and Robert Dale Owen, and at other times numerous titled and literary gentlemen. In 1852 he came to the United States, left the sea, and came west to Tippecanoe county, where he engaged in farm- ing, and in the winter taught school and read medicine. Here in 1857 he married Mrs. Summers, of the Wea, by whom he has two children : Anna May and Richard E. He removed from his farm in Tippecanoe county in 1865, and settled in Darlington, where he practiced medicine for five years very successfully. In 1870 he removed to Thorntown, Boone county, where, after spending a year or two improving his res- idence, he became a director and stockholder in the National Bank of Thorntown, of which institution he is now the president. Mr. Nevin's grandfather was Sir Hugh Nevin, who through his extravagance left his family at his death in straitened circumstances. His father, Richard, was a very studious boy, and on account of being constantly engaged when a boy in experiments in chemistry acquired the sobriquet of " Daft Dick." His knowledge, however, thus obtained enabled him to acquire a large fortune, which at his death was equally divided among his children.
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