USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery county, Indiana; with personal sketches of representative citizens, Volume II > Part 14
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Archelaus C. Austin grew to manhood in Crawfordsville and here he received a good common school education, being a student at the commence- ment of the Civil war. He did not hesitate to leave his books and home as- sociations and offer his services to his country. so early in the conflict he enlisted in the Eighteenth Indiana Battery, under Col. Eli Lilly, and he served with much faithfulness and credit until the close of the war, taking part in many notable engagements. He was honorably discharged and was mustered out on June 29, 1865.
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After his service in the army, Mr. Austin returned to Crawfordsville and turned his attention to farming, which he has continued to make his life work, being now the owner of a fine and modernly improved farm of one hundred and ninety-two acres joining the city on the east, and he has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He owns a commod- ious home at 312 East Main street.
Politically, Mr. Austin is a Republican. His family belong to the Methodist church. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Austin was married in 1871 to Annie Munns, a native of Mont- gomery county, and a daughter of George and Anna (Shanklin) Munns. George Munns was born in Kentucky in 1813, and followed farming as an occupation. He came to Indiana in the early days of the state. At one time his owning in this locality approximated one thousand acres. Like many others, he was a Whig in early life, but changed to the Republican politics when organized. His death occurred in 1877. Mrs. Austin's mother came to this state with her people prior to the father. The farm upon which her folks settled is still in the Munns' name. She died March 17, 1909. He was a member of the Baptist church, and she of the Presbyterian.
DAVID HENRY DAVIDSON.
"Man is the noblest work of God," wrote England's great poet-phil- osopher, Alexander Pope, "and a truly noble man but fulfills the plan of the Creator." The life of man describes a circle. The cycles of existence of different lives form distinct concentric circles, for some are given but a quarter of a century wherein to complete their appointed work, while the span of others varies to the allotted three score and ten. But how true and comforting that life is measured, not by years alone, but rather by a purpose achieved, by noble deeds accredited to it. How often we are confronted, when a loved friend and co-worker answers the final summons, with the question "Why must he go when there remains still so much for him to do, when he can so illy be spared?" But the grim messenger heeds not and we are left to mourn and accept submissively. The death of the late David Henry Davidson removed from Montgomery county one of her most substantial and highly esteemed agriculturists and the many beautiful tributes to his high standing as a citizen attested to the abiding place he had in the hearts and affections of his many friends throughout this locality, and his career, eminently hon-
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orable and successful, is commended as an example for the younger genera- tion of farmers who read these pages.
Mr. Davidson was born on July 26, 1852, and was a son of William F. and Mary Ann (Hostetter) Davidson. The father was born in 1798 in Pennsylvania and there he spent his early life, but was not yet thirty years old when, following other pioneers westward, he located in Montgomery county, Indiana, when this country was practically a wilderness. It was in the year 1827 that he established the future home of the family in this county and from that remote day to this the Davidson have been well known here. He entered eighty acres of land from the government where the buildings of the Davidson farm now stand. There he cleared a "patch" on which he erected his log cabin and began life like the typical first settler. He worked hard and soon had a farm developed and a comfortable residence. After getting his place started he walked to Ohio where he married, on September II, 1828, Amanda Schnof, returning then to his new home in this county. He made the long journey from the East on foot when he first penetrated the wilderness to the westland, carrying his gun, powder horn, and a few other necessities. The old powder horn is still in the family, also the sheep skin deed which the government gave him, and the old flax hackle which was brought from Scotland. He was a renowned fiddler in his day and played frequently for dances for young folks. He was a man of religious tempera- ment ; always returned thanks for his food, and observed the Golden Rule in his every day life; however, he never belonged to any church. He was a man of industry and he added considerable land to his original eighty. He was a very ambitious man and did much to set the wheels of progress re- volving in this locality. Four children were born to them, three dying in childhood. Jasper N. reached maturity. His first wife dying, he was mar- ried the second time to Mary Ann Hostetter on February 14, 1839. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Zerelda J., married to P. H. Burns, of Crawfordsville; Catherine, married Eli Armentrout; Sarah mar- ried to Dave Harshbarger; William Sherman married to Louisa Harrison; Margaret, deceased; David H., our subject, and two others, who died in infancy.
David H. Davidson, the immediate subject of this memoir, grew to manhood on the old homestead, amid pioneer environment, and he had plenty of hard work to do in assisting his father develop the place from the virgin soil, a task which required many years of close application. He received a meager education in the inadequate rural schools of his day. He remained
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on the home place all his life, keeping it well improved and well cultivated, 1 owning the same at the time of his death, which occurred on November 29, 1908.
Fraternally, he belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belonged to the agricultural association from the time of its organization, and was president of the same for one year. He did much to make it a success. He was also a member of the Horse Thief Detective Association.
Mr. Davidson was married on November 12, 1874, to Salome E. Harsh- barger, a daughter of Jacob M. and Mary (Myers) Harshbarger. She was born in Clark township, Montgomery county, January 11, 1854. There she grew to womanhood and was educated in the common schools.
Jacob M. Harshbarger was born March 10, 1828, near Roanoke, Vir- ginia, and was a son of Jacob, Sr., and Salome (Ammen) Harshbarger, the former born in Pennsylvania June 24, 1792, and was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Gish) Harshbarger. Samuel Harshbarger was born on Septem- ber 19, 1759, in Pennsylvania. From that state he went to Virginia and from there came to Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1833. He had been preceded here in the spring of 1829 by Jacob Harshbarger. The latter en- tered from the government fifteen hundred acres of land north of Ladoga, and owned nearly three thousand acres at one time. Much of this valuable land he cleared and farmed on an extensive scale, becoming one of the lead- ing farmers and most substantial citizens in his township. He was a mill- wright by trade, which he followed in connection with farming, his children doing the actual work on the place. His death occurred in 1866. He was a member of the German Baptist church. He was often seen poring over his mammoth Bible, which weighed sixteen pounds and measured fifteen and one-half by ten inches and was six inches thick. It was of German manu- facture, of deer skin cover and was issued over one hundred years ago. He gave each of his eight children one hundred and sixty acres of good land. His wife died in 1870. Ten children were born to them, only two of whom are now living. Eight of them lived to be over sixty-four years old.
Jacob M. Harshbarger grew up on the home farm and received only a meager education ; he devoted his life to farming and stock raising on a large scale. He owned at one time over fourteen hundred acres of valuable land, and he gave some to his children. He is still hale and hearty, and successful in a business way, being one of the substantial men of the community. Mr. Harshbarger served very faithfully and acceptably as county commissioner from 1880 to 1882. He is well liked by everybody, having always lived an
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honorable and upright life and is kind, neighborly and charitable. He was married to Mary Myers on April 13, 1848, and after a happy married life of over a half century she was called to her rest on June 17, 1900. They cele- brated their golden wedding on the farm where they were married and spent their married life. Five children were born to them, namely: Marion and Henry Meda are both deceased; Salome E., who married Mr. Davidson of this memoir; Amanda, is the wife of E. V. Brookshire, and they live in Washington City; George, lives in Clark township, this county. No better or more helpful family has ever lived in Montgomery county than the Harsh- bargers and none more highly respected.
The union of David H. Davidson and wife was blessed by the birth of eight children, namely: Warner M., who lives in Union township, this county ; Dr. Homer J. and Dr. Cline F., both live in Seattle, Washington; Nora A. is the wife of M. Kesler and they live in Union township; Lola M. also lives in the city of Seattle, where she is engaged in teaching; Ethel H. is at home; Mary C. and Mina S. are both attending high school.
LEE S. WARNER.
The senior member of the firm of Warner & Peck is Lee S. Warner, who was born in Vienna, Austria, July 26, 1849, and there he spent his early boyhood years, being about twelve years of age when, in 1862, he emigrated to the United States, settling in Buffalo, New York. While there he attended school part of the time and also worked in a clothing store. Learning the ins and outs of this line of endeavor he began the clothing business for him- self in 1870 at Effingham, Illinois, remaining there ten years during which he got a good start, then came to Crawfordsville where he remained a short time, subsequently returning to Buffalo, New York, where he engaged suc- cessfully in the wholesale business for a period of thirteen years, after which he returned to Crawfordsville in 1893 and engaged in the clothing business. He formed a partnership with Dumont M. Peck. They handle Hart, Schaffner & Marx and Stein-Blocks brands of clothing, the L System of Clothcraft, Regal shoes for men (exclusively), Holland shoes for boys; Ederheimer Stein childrens' clothes, also Skolny clothes; Knox, Stetson and Imperial hats; Manhattan and Davies shirts; Sweet Orr, Marx & Haas cloths, traveling bags, trunks, in fact, everything that is found in any large, modern store of this kind in any of the thriving cities of the country.
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Fraternally, Mr. Warner is a member of the Masonic Order, including all of the York Rites, and the fourteenth degree in the Scottish Rite; he also belongs to the Tribe of Ben-Hur, and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Politically, he is a Progressive.
Mr. Warner was married on August 21, 1873 to Rachael Wiener, of Buffalo, New York, and to this union three children have been born, namely : Juliet A., wife of Dumont M. Peck, junior member of the firm of Warner & Peck; Sidney M., who resides in Indianapolis; and Cornelia, wife of J. Whitford, residents of St. Petersburg, Florida.
CAPT. MARTIN V. WERT.
One of the best known and deservedly popular men in Montgomery county is Capt. Martin V. Wert, the present able and public spirited mayor of the city of Crawfordsville, in which position he is doing much for the permanent good of the city and showing the people that he is a man of progressive ideas, broad-minded and energetic for the general weal. He is by nature and training a military man, and his record as a soldier is indeed an enviable one. He is a born leader of men and has stamped the impress of his strong personality on all that he has met. And yet with all his indomitable courage, diplomacy, progressiveness and widespread popularity he is entirely unassuming and a recognized friend of the common people, yet reserving a proper dignity, as becomes a man of his type, so that he is highly esteemed by all who know him. He is a business man of more than ordinary ability, and ranks among the most substantial and representative citizens of his city and county.
Capt. Wert was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on a farm, July 17, 1841, and he is a son of Henry and Isabelle Wert, one of the honored old families of this section of the great Wabash country. Our subject was reared on the home farm and there assisted with the general work when a boy. During the winter months he attended the common schools of his neighborhood, and was graduated from the Fountain county high school in 1860.
The war of the states coming on, Mr. Wert could not stand idly by and see the old flag insulted, so on October 1, 1861 he enlisted in Company B, Tenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he served with much credit and dis- tinction during the rest of the war, having charge at one time of a squad from
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CAPT. MARTIN V. WERT
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his regiment that was detailed to guard trains and cotton. This required skill and tact and was very dangerous. He took part in numerous important campaigns and battles, and was twice wounded, once at Mill Springs and also at the great battle of Chickamauga. On September 5, 1864, he was trans- ferred to Company B, Fifty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he con- tinued to serve faithfully with. this regiment until honorably discharged on November 1, 1864.
After his career in the army he returned home and learned the carpen- ter's trade, and in the year 1870 he came to Crawfordsville and engaged in the contracting business, meeting with much success from the first. This has continued to be his chief life work, and his business has increased with the advancing years until he has become one of the financially strong men of the city and has accumulated considerable valuable property.
Captain Wert was elected, in August, 1887, first lieutenant of Company D, First Regiment Indiana National Guard, and was very active in this com- pany for three years. Then upon the transferring of the company to the Second Regiment and assignment to Company I, he was elected captain of Company M, Second Regiment Indiana National Guard in recognition of his earnest work in the military affairs of the state. Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, this company started to the front, but the regiment of which it was a part was discharged on April 26, 1898. Captain Wert is still very active in military affairs. He was one of the leading spirits in the making of the history of the old Tenth Regiment, which was first published a number of years ago.
Politically, the Captain has also been prominent for years, always active in the ranks of the Republican party. He was twice elected a member of the city council, and in 1910 was elected mayor of Crawfordsville the duties of which important office he has discharged in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, and he is still incumbent of this office. He is a man of progressive ideas, and stands for law enforcement at all times, and he insists on those under him obeying the laws to the letter.
Captain Wert was married in 1868 to Adeline Aston, of Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of John B. and Ann (Coats) Aston. The father was a farmer and lived all his life in Hamilton county, Ohio. Our subject and wife have two children, namely: Albert E., an architect, living in New York city ; Arthur B., a contractor, lives in Crawfordsville. Both these sons are very successful in their chosen fields of endeavor.
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ABRAHAM H. HERNLY.
Fifty years ago, when the slaveholder's rebellion broke out with all its fury at Fort Sumter and when it looked as if the Union that all loved so much would be dissolved, many households became divided, some members of a family going into the Federal army and others casting their lots with the Confederacy ; some enlisted to save the federation of states, even though they had to free their slaves to do so. It was a time when there could be no temporizing and no halting,-no half-way position,-for all who were not for the Union were against it, and both sides hated the man who claimed to be neutral because he did not want to risk his life on the field of battle and had no principles to sustain. The Hernly family was alive to the gravity of the national conflict, and realized that the struggle impending was something more than a holiday undertaking and knew that it meant great hardship and the shedding of rivers of blood before the flag could again wave from Maine to Florida and from the Mexican Gulf to the states of the far Northwest. But they did not hesitate, be it said to their everlasting renown, both father and son, leaving their pleasant fireside and risking the vicissitudes of the great Rebellion, each making most creditable records of which their family should ever be proud.
Abraham H. Hernly, well known real estate dealer, was born at Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1843, and is a son of Henry S. and Anna Hernly. The father was born on a farm in Pennsylvania in 1808, and there he grew to manhood and devoted himself to general farming until 1843 when he moved to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1844 to Delaware county, this state, where he continued to reside until his death in 1868. He was a type of the old-time, honest, sturdy, pioneer farmer, who believed in uphold- ing the government, fashioned by Washington and other brave and self-sac- rificing men. So when the Civil war broke out he gladly gave his services to his country, serving faithfully for a period of three years in the Nine- teenth Indiana Regiment. He was a Republican, and he belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife was also a native of Pennsylvania, born on a farm where she was reared to womanhood, the date of her birth being 1820. Her death occurred in 1856 when in the prime of life.
Abraham H. Hernly was reared on the home farm in Wayne and Dela- ware counties, Indiana, having been a mere babe when he was brought by his parents from his birthplace in Pennsylvania. He worked hard assisting his father in getting a comfortable home established for the family in the
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Hoosier state, and that being the case and public schools few and poorly taught in his day he had very little chance to secure an education, but later in life he has made up for this deficiency by wide miscellaneous reading and by actual contact with the business world. However, when thirteen years of age he returned to his native state to live with a cousin and there went to school three winters. When a young man he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, becoming very proficient in the same with advancing years.
When the war between the States came on he laid down his tools and hastened to a recruiting station and enlisted in the Twenty-third Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry in which he saw much hard and trying service, but he never shirked duty no matter how arduous or dangerous, according to his comrades. Among the important battles he took part in were Yorktown, seven days before Richmond, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Winchester and Cedar Creek, being under the immortal Sheridan at the last two battles. He was on picket duty the day of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. He was honorably discharged from the service of the Union on July 13, 1865.
After his career as a soldier Mr. Hernly returned to Indiana rather than the Keystone state from which he had gone to the seat of war. He located in Henry county, where he farmed for a few years, getting a new start in life. In 1872 he came to Crawfordsville and here followed the car- penters' trade and the contracting business with a large measure of success until 1898, when he went into the real estate business, which he has contin- ned to the present day, in connection with the loan business, doing nicely in both, emjoying an ever increasing patronage owing to his honest and cour- teous dealings with his fellow men. His residence in Montgomery county of over forty years has been marked by duty faithfully performed as a busi- ness man and citizen and he has won the regard and confidence of all who know him. He is an excellent judge of real estate values, and he has a num- ber of good city rentals.
Politically, he is a Republican and has been more or less influential in local party affairs. Naturally he belongs to McPherson Post, No. 7, Grand Army of the Republic at Crawfordsville, having long taken an abiding in- terest in Grand Army affairs. Fraternally, he belongs to the Improved Or- der of Red Men.
Mr. Hernly was married on December 21, 1868, selecting as a life- partner Emeline Harvey, who was born in Henry county, Indiana, where she grew to womanhood and received a common school education. There
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her parents spent their lives engaged in farming. The death of Mrs. Hernly occurred on October 21, 1884. To this union four children were born, named as follows: Jessie, whose death occurred in 1894; Harry, who died in 1898; Kittie is the wife of Clarence Lawler and they live in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia ; Lizzie is the wife of Paul Welty, and they are also residents of Los Angeles.
On October 19th, 1892, our subject was married a second time, his last wife being Elizabeth Blye, who was a native of Attica, Indiana. To this second union one child has been born, Mabel R., who was graduated from the Crawfordsville high school with the class of 1913.
AMOS GILBERT BREAKS.
Success lies very largely in whether a man takes an interest in what he has mapped out as his life work; unless this is true nothing but mediocre success will reward the toiler. Nothing is truer than Longfellow's line in "The Building of the Ship," which reads, "For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace to every art." A large number of the toilers in the tread-mill of existence take only a half-hearted interest, or none, in their allotted tasks, feeling none of the zest of the true worker and knowing noth- ing of the keen delights of the honest toiler. Among those of Montgomery county's men of affairs who take a special delight in their life work is Amos Gilbert Breaks, a successful farmer of Crawfordsville, who operates a fine farm in Union township, nearby. In this township and county Mr. Breaks first opened his eyes to the light of day, being a scion of one of our noted and sterling old families, and here he grew to manhood, was educated and has been content to spend his life. The date of his birth is April 20, 1862.
Mr. Breaks is a son of John B. and Caroline Jane (Gronnendike) Breaks. The father was born on December 14, 1832, in Union township, this county, and here he devoted his life successfully to farming, and passed to his eternal rest on June 27, 1901. Politically, he was a Republican, and in religious matters a Methodist. The mother of the subject of this sketch, was also a native of this township and county, the date of her birth being June 20, 1836, and was a daughter of Peter and Hannah Gronnendike. The ancestors of both these parents were early settlers in this county. Mrs. John B. Breaks died on February 17, 1897. She was the mother of ten children,
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three of whom died in infancy, those who survived being named as follows : John, born October 19, 1855, died in his thirty-ninth year ; James, born March 13, 1860, lives at Winona Lake, Indiana; Sarah Ann, died in her tenth year ; Amos Gilbert, of this review; Ida May, who married Charles E. Gilliland, was born March 27, 1864; Edith C., who married C. A. Johnson, was born on December 19, 1871, and she now lives in San Antonio, Texas: Dr. Luther Z., of Terre Haute, Indiana, was born on March 5, 1879.
The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was Richard Breaks, Sr., a native of England, who emigrated to America when a young man, his voyage to our shores in a sailing vessel requiring two months. He came on west and landed at Crawfordsville, Indiana, with just fifty cents in his pocket. He found here a frontier settlement of only a few houses, but he liked the country and decided to make his future home here, building a cabin across the creek from Indian Village. It was many years before he saw the first railroad built into Crawfordsville and the country round about cleared of its vast forests and developed into a fine farming community, and he took no small part in the upbuilding of the same. He used his influence to such improvements as the building of the first gravel road through the county. Coming as he did from a poor family, Richard Breaks, Sr., had no time for education. However, he was the possessor of much of the characteristic pluck and energy and he succeeded in his life work and, by close observation and wide reading. he became a well informed man. He at first found em- ployment with old Andy Johnnie Beard, then head of the Blind Asylum. The young Englishman first began as a farm hand, but later had practical charge of the entire farm. He was later married to a daughter of his em- ployer, Hannah Beard. Subsequently, he was able to purchase a small farm of his own north of Crawfordsville, at a very low figure, and he moved his young wife to this place, which has since been known as the Breaks neigh- borhood. Indians were quite plentiful in those early days, and although Mr. Breaks was on friendly terms with them, he gave them to understand that they were not to go near his home in his absence. He was small of stature, but the red skins were able to read in his eye the fact that he was a man of courage and it were better to respect his wishes. By hard and honest efforts he forged ahead. He cleared his place and established a good home, adding to his land from time to time as he prospered through his indomitable in- dustry, until he became one of the leading farmers of the community and at the time of his death was considered in very comfortable circumstances.
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