USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery county, Indiana; with personal sketches of representative citizens, Volume II > Part 26
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Benjamin F. Carman was reared on the home farm, where he remained until he was twenty-five years old, securing a good practical education the meanwhile in the public schools. After his marriage, in 1884, he farmed with his father for about a year, at the end of which time he moved to a
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place about a half mile north of the home place, where during the following seventeen years he devoted himself steadily to agriculture, and with gratify- ing results. He was elected to the office of auditor of Montgomery county, to take office in 1904, but, the office becoming vacant before his elective term begun, he was appointed to the office in the fall of 1903, thus holding the office for four years and two months. About a year before the expiration. of his official term, Mr. Carman, on December 3, 1906, bought the Knox hardware store at Ladoga, and thereupon moved his family from Crawfords- ville to that place. He was now an extremely busy man, having the official duties as auditor, the management of a hardware store and the supervision of a large farm on his hands, but he successfully took care of all his inter- ests, discharging his public duties to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citi- zens. Ahout three years after acquiring the store he took his son, Walter, in as a partner, and on June 1, 1910, he sold his remaining interest in the business to Ralph F. Blatchley. Then giving his entire attention to agricul- ture, he bought the interests of the other heirs in his father's farm, thus be- coming the owner of two hundred and eighty-five acres of splendid land in Clark township. About 1909 Mr. Carman bought the George Grimes resi- dence in Ladoga, a comfortable and attractive home, where he now- resides.
On September II, 1884, Benjamin F. Carman was united in marriage with Lelia B. White, who was born and reared in Clark township, being the daughter of James L. and Harriett (Cox) White, the father having come to this state from Ohio in an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Carman have been born four children, the two first of whom, born on August 28, 1885, were twins, George Waller and John Walter. The first named died on April 26, 1888. The other two children are Anna L. and Bertha Irene. The latter is at home with her parents, while Anna L. is the wife of Guy Britton, of Roachdale.
Walter Carman lived with his parents on the home farm until he was eighteen years old, and secured a good public school education, attending the high schools at Ladoga and Crawfordsville. He then attended business college, graduating in both bookkeeping and stenography, after which, for a year, he was employed as a clerk in the Crawfordsville State Bank. He has been in the hardware business since January 1, 1907. One June 21, 1911, he was married to Hazel B. Shackelford, the daughter of Mark Shackelford, of Ladoga.
Politically, Benjamin F. Carman has always given his support to the Republican party and has ever taken a lively interest in the trend of public
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affairs. Ilis religious membership is with the Christian church, of which he is an elder and to which he gives a liberal support. Fraternally, he be- longs to the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Tribe of Ben-Hur, in all of which he takes an active interest. In every avenue of life's activities in which he has engaged, Mr. Carman has been true to every trust, and throughout the county he is held in the highest esteem. Persistent industry and the exercise of the ordinary quality of common sense-these have been the keynotes to the success which has crowned his efforts. Though devoting himself closely to his own business affairs, he has not been unmindful of his higher duties as a citizen and he has given his unqualified support to every movement which has promised to benefit the community, morally, educationally, socially or materially. Per- sonally, he is a man of pleasing address and his friends in Montgomery county are in number at his acquaintances.
DR. JOHN G. HEIGHWAY.
Not so very long ago there was but two or three veterinary surgeons in Montgomery county. It was the rule, when anything got wrong with a horse or cow to administer a little home treatment, of simple remedies, and left to their fate; and if they died it was all right. Usually, the veterinary was so far away that the farmer believed his stock would be dead before the desired assistance could reach it. Then too, there were no telephones and the long ride on uncertainty was not looked on with favor, neither was the expense of the veterinary's services. But conditions have changed, and today we find a large number of skilled veterinaries over the county, and there seems to be plenty for all to do. Their services are required just the same as those of the family doctor. One of this number who is deserving of special attention here is Dr. John G. Heighway, located at Ladoga, who has the distinction of being president of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Associa- tion, which fact alone is criterion enough of his ability in his chosen field and the trust that is reposed in him by his colleagues.
Dr. Heighway was born in London, Province of Ontario, Canada, September 2, 1864. He is a son of Thomas and Julia (Hamilton) Heigh- way, both of whom were natives of London, England, where they spent their earlier years and from which city they emigrated in an early day to Canada, locating the family home at London, Ontario, and there our subject grew to
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manhood and received his educational training in the high school. Subse- quently, he took the regular course in the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto, where he made an excellent record and from which he was gradu- ated in 1888. Soon afterward he came to Ladoga, Indiana, and here began the practice of his profession, having been drawn here by the fact of there being so many fine horses here and no veterinary for many miles around. Here he has remained and has all the practice he can well take care of. His fame has spread over the state and he has many calls from Lafayette, Terre Haute, Indianapolis and even as far away as New Albany. No one in his line in the state has had better success than he. Remaining a close student he has kept well abreast of the times in his particular field of endeavor, and his office in Ladoga is equipped with every appliance known to modern and approved science in taking proper care of the ailments of the horse and other animals.
Dr. Heighway was vice-president of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association, and in January, 1913, was elected president of the same, which position he is giving his loyal attention to, discharging its important duties in a manner that is reflecting much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He is doing much to increase interest in the same and to make it helpful to all concerned. He is also an influential member of the American Veterinary Association.
Fraternally, the Doctor belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Masonic Order.
Dr. Heighway was married to Lottie Fullen in 1895. She was born in Ladoga, Indiana, and is a daughter of Oliver and Susannah (Harney) Fullen, the father having been born near Jamestown, in Boone county, Indi- ana, and was a son of Charles and Sarah Fullen. He was a farmer and stock raiser, and for nearly a quarter of a century was in business in Ladoga, conducting with much success a general store here. He was a prominent member of the Masonic Order. He went to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the pur- pose of taking the Knights Templar degree. His death occurred in March, 1871, when forty-six years old. Susan L. Harney, his wife, was born near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, in 1855 and she came to Montgomery county with her parents when young. She was a daughter of Gilbert T. Harney, a man of more than ordinary intellectual power, with a fine physical constitution, and a pioneer preacher of great influence in Clark township.
To Oliver Fullen and wife four children were born, namely: Charles H., James A., Charlotte (or Lottie), wife of Dr. Heighway; and Sarah,
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who married Charles Grantham, the well known veterinary surgeon of Craw- fordsville. The mother of these children died at Ladoga in 1902.
To Dr. Heighway and wife four children were born, namely: George Fullen, Jean Harney, Herman Oliver, and Julia Esther.
The doctor is a man of fine physique and a good mixer in his personal relations with his fellow men, being jovial and honest. Our subject is one of a family of ten children, all of whom are alive, healthy and prospering. They are named as follows: Thomas William, Richard Brooks, Alfred Wil- son, John G., Edmund Waldron, Sarah Jane, Julia, Marion, Gavin Hamilton and Arthur H.
JOHN B. HOPPING.
John B. Hopping is one of the later generation of farmers and stock raisers of Montgomery county, native and to the manor born, who form an important element in the maintenance of the prosperity of the county and are helping greatly to extend its wealth. He is a son of an early pioneer of this part of Indiana who played an important part in developing the agricultural resources of this famous Wabash region. He is a man who keeps himself thoroughly posted upon leading events, political, religious, business and scien- tific, and is a man of decided views, adhering to his convictions with the natural strength of his character.
Mr. Hopping was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, on October 26, 1874, and he is a son of Joseph and Mary J. (Berkshire) Hopping. The father was a native of New York state and the mother was born in Kentucky. Joseph Hopping was a farmer and he came to Montgomery county in 1837 when the country was practically a wilderness and only a small portion of the land had been put under cultivation. He worked at common labor here until 1849 when he joined the large train of gold-seekers across the western plains to California, and he remained on the Pacific coast until 1852 when he re- turned to Indiana and purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty acres in Ripley township, Montgomery county, which place is now owned and oper- ated by the subject of this sketch. Here he carried on general farming and stock raising the rest of his life, becoming one of the well known farmers of the western part of the county, and he was highly respected by his neighbors and acquaintances. Here he spent the rest of his life, reaching the advanced age of eighty-one years, dying in 1901. His wife preceded him to the grave in 1899 at the age of sixty-two years. They were the parents of three chil- dren, namely : Benjamin, John B. (our subject), and Bettie F.
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Our subject received his education in the common schools of his native locality and he grew to manhood on the home farm. He began life for him- self by teaching school which he followed for a period of eleven years, meet- ing with pronounced success, his services being in great demand, for he pleased both patron and pupil, being not only an instructor but an enter- tainer in the school room. Finally, tiring of this vocation, he took up farm- ing on the old homestead which he has operated to the present time, keeping the place well improved and well cultivated so that it has retained its original fertility, and he has met with much success as a general farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Hopping has remained unmarried. He is active and influential in fraternal affairs, being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Alamo, the Knights of Pythias at Waynetown; and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Alamo. He is trustee of Ripley township, having assumed the duties of this office on January 1, 1909. His term will expire in 1915.
LEVERITT W. OLIN, M. D.
The men most influential in promoting the advancement of society and in giving character to the times in which they live are two classes-the men of study and the men of action. Whether we are more indebted for the improve- ment of the age to the one class or the other is a question of honest difference of opinion; neither can be spared and both should be encouraged to occupy their several spheres of labor and influence zealously and without mutual dis- trust. In the following paragraphs are briefly outlined the leading facts and characteristics in the career of a gentleman who combines in his makeup the elements of the scholar and the energy of the public-spirited man of affairs. Devoted to the noble and humane work of eradicating mortal ills. Dr. Leveritt W. Olin, the well known and popular physician of Elendale, Mont- gomery county has made his influence felt in a most potent manner in the locality of which this history treats. He is evidently endowed by nature with those qualities of heart and mind so necessary to the success of one who chooses for his life work a profession in which human sympathy must be dis- pensed with a liberal spirit as well as the ability to relieve human suffering.
Dr. Olin was born in Portage county, Ohio, February 12, 1851. He is a son of Ransom and Clara (Clark) Olin. They were both natives of the same county and state in which our subject was born ; there they grew to ma-
L. W. OLIN, M. D.
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turity, were educated and married, and there they spent their lives, the father dying in 1868 and the mother in 1883. They devoted their lives to farming, and were known as honest, hospitable and hard working people. They be- came the parents of eleven children, six of whom are still living.
Dr. Leveritt W. Olin was reared in his native county in the Buckeye state and there he received a good common school education, and early in life determined upon a medical career, and with that end in view he entered Buch- tel College, at Akron, Ohio. He began reading medicine under Dr. E. W. Price, of Kent, Ohio, under whom he studied four years, then entered the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, which was the medical department of Columbia University. There he spent two terms of six months each, making a splendid record for scholarship. After his graduation on March 12, 1880 he came to Ellendale, Montgomery county, Indiana, and here he has been actively engaged in the practice since April 13th of that year, hav- ing built up an extensive and lucrative practice which extends over a wide territory and he has met with exceptional success and has taken a very high rank among his professional brethren in this section of the state. He has ever remained a student of all phases of his profession, keeping fully abreast of the times.
The Doctor was married on September 2, 1883 to Effie Swank, daughter of Benjamin and Ellen (Coman) Swank, who were born in this county dur- ing the pioneer period. Here they grew to maturity, were married and estab- lished their home in the woods, and here they became well known and highly respected. Here Mrs. Olin grew to womanhood and was educated.
Seven children have been born to Dr. Olin and wife, named as follows : Lester W., Blanche, Grace, Leveritt R., Leland E .. , Ruth and Reine. Four of these children are still at home, and all are living in Montgomery county.
Fraternally, the Doctor belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, hav- ing joined in 1882; and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, which he joined in 1892. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, being a trustee of the same.
ROBERT L. ASHBY.
Human life is made up of two elements, power and form, and the pro- portion must be invariably kept if we would have it sweet and sound. Each of these elements in excess makes a mischief as hurtful as would be its defici- ency. Everything turns to excess ; every good quality is noxious if unmixed,
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and to carry the danger to the edge of ruin nature causes each man's peculiarity to superabound. One speaking from the standpoint of a farmer would adduce the learned professions as examples of the treachery. They are nature's victims of expression. You study the artist, the orator or the man of inventive genius and find their lives no more excellent than that of merchants, farmers or manufacturers. Many men get but glimpses of the delights found in nature in its various elements and moods, but there is always ample opportunities to enjoy life in its varied phases, whatever the profession. It depends upon the individual. Robert L. Ashby, for many years one of the most representative and best known business men of Ladoga, Montgomery county, is one who takes a delight in existence. It is because he is in touch with the springs of life. He does not permit material things to supplant his better nature. His life has been filled with good deeds and kindly thoughts, and all who knew him entertain for him the highest regard, by reason of his industrious, upright and honorable career.
Mr. Ashby was born in Scott township, near Parkersburg, this county, November 18, 1847. He is a son of Thompson V. and Dulcenia (Lockridge) Ashby, a complete history of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.
Robert L. Ashby grew to manhood on his father's farm where he as- sisted with the work during the crop seasons, attending the neighborhood schools during the winter months. In 1875 he married Alice Fordice, a daughter of Asa and Mary (Chambers) Fordice. Her father was born in Morgan county, Ohio, and when a young man he traveled in several states, selling fanning machines, manufactured by Fordice and DeVoe, who oper- ated factories at Ladoga and several other places. Mary Chambers, men- tioned above, was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, and was a daughter of George and Ann (Allison) Chambers, natives of Kentucky. After his mar- riage Asa Fordice and his brothers Joseph, George, Nelson and Jesse bought farms south of Russelville and made their homes there, and it was there that Asa Fordice spent the rest of his life and there reared his family, and it was on his farm that Mrs. Ashby lived until her marriage.
After his marriage Robert Asby began farming three miles southwest of Ladoga and there he continued to reside, successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising, until about 1902. He started out with one hun- dred and sixty acres. It was only partly cleared, but he was industrious and the years brought him prosperity. He added to his original holdings until he is now the owner of four hundred acres of valuable and well im- proved land. In August, 1893, he purchased the grain elevator at Ladoga
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and went into the grain business on a large scale. Two or three years later he added the lumber yard to his business, and subsequently added cement and other building supplies, also a coal business. About 1903 he built a handsome and commodious residence on East Main street in Ladoga, which is his pres- ent home.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ashby have been born three sons and two daughters, all living, namely: Thompson V., who married Eva Grimes, lives in Indi- anapolis, and they have two sons, George and William; Fred F., who, with his brother Thompson V., is a member of the Wabash Veneer Company, of Indianapolis, and he lives in that city; Wallace W., who lives in Ladoga, has largely superceded his father in the active management of both the farm and the elevator ; Dulcenia is teaching in the high school at Lapel, Indiana ; Bertha is attending the Northwestern University at Evanston, a suburb of Chicago.
Robert Ashby and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Fra- ternally, he is a Mason, in which he has attained the rank of Knights Temp- lar. His three sons are all Scottish Rite Masons, and members of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Recently Mr. Ashby built a winter home at Dunedin, a Scottish settle- ment on the west coast of Florida and he and Mrs. Ashby now spend their winters at that pleasant tropical resort. Both the Ashbys and Fordices are of Scotch ancestry.
JAMES F. TAYLOR AND SON, JOHN TAYLOR.
If any family in the section of Montgomery county, of which the beau- tiful and thriving little town of Ladoga is the hub, is prominent, it is the Taylor family, for members of it have played well their several roles in the local drama of civilization from the early pioneer period until the present time, doing whatever task that has been assigned them in promoting the material, civic and moral affairs of the community and laboring industriously and honestly in legitimate vocations.
John Taylor was born in July, 1870, at Ladoga, and is a son of James F. and Elizabeth L. (Goodbar) Taylor. The father was born near Mount Sterling, Montgomery county, Kentucky, November 9. 1844. He is a son of Augusta and Ormilda (Allen) Taylor. When James F. Taylor was six years old, before there were any railroads at Ladoga and when this country was still in practically a primitive state, Augusta Taylor and wife moved with their family of eight children from the Blue Grass state, coming by
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wagon to near Greencastle, Indiana, where they located on a farm, and there James F. grew to manhood and there he remained for some time, but about the time he attained his majority the rest of the family moved to Missouri, but immediately came back to Edgar county, Illinois, locating near the city of Paris, and later settling near Ridge Farm, Illinois, not far from Chrisman and there they remained. The mother and two of the sons are buried at Chrisman and the father is buried at Paris.
James F. Taylor remained in Indiana, and here he was married in 1865 to Elizabeth Goodbar-Crow, widow of William Crow, and a daughter of Harvey and Louisa (Lockridge) Goodbar. She was born in 1836 and reared in Scott township, this county, where her people on both sides had lived from early pioneer days and where her parents were reared. Her father, Harvey Goodbar, was a son of John H. and Rachael (Hostetter) Goodbar, who, as early as 1829, came from Montgomery county, Kentucky, and settled in Scott township, Montgomery county, Indiana. John H. Good- bar was born in Virginia, and was a son of Joseph Goodbar, the latter being one of two boys born in England, and left, orphans, early in the eighteenth century. Joseph was taken by a sea captain and he followed a seafaring life. Once returning to England and failing to find his brother, he emi- grated to America and settled in Virginia, where he reared his family. His son, John H., who came to Indiana in 1829, was among the first to teach school in Scott township, Montgomery county. He was trustee of this town- ship for a period of eighteen years successively, and served a term in the legislature at a salary of two dollars a day. He was widely known in west- ern Indiana and was influential in the affairs of Montgomery county. His death occurred in the year 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, after a long life of usefulness, loved and respected by all who knew him.
Harvey Goodbar, father of Mrs. Taylor, also came to Montgomery county. Indiana, in the year 1829 with the rest of the Goodbar family, trav- eling with horses and wagon, driving their cows before them, the trip re- quiring sixteen days. He was a most estimable citizen and died in early life.
Before his marriage, James F. Taylor had been farming for himself, and after his marriage he continued to farm in Scott township, prospering through close application, the exercise of good judgment and foresight, and finally became the owner of a fine improved and productive farm of two hundred and fifty acres, and he continued to carry on general farming and stock raising on a large scale until 1882, when he left the farm, having ac- cumulated a competency for his declining years, and moved to Ladoga in
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order to give his son, John, the benefit of the schools there. However, not content to be idle the elder Taylor soon went into the business in Ladoga of breeding, training and racing horses, and soon became widely and well known in this field of endeavor and met with great success, being an excep- tiolally good judge of horses and knowing every phase regarding the care and training of them. He raised some of the finest horses ever known in this section of the Wabash country. Among his first was old "Red Buck." a champion pacing horse and sire of many fine colts. Another notable one was "Rescue," bred at the stables of Powell Brothers in Pennsylvania, a trot- ting horse and sire of a number of fast horses. "Crisis" was a Kentucky bred stallion, a great show horse, often shown with "Que Allen," and sold for six thousand dollars when seventeen years old, at Madison Square Gar- den, New York City. Another good horse was "Dispute," a track horse bought in Kentucky when two years old, and who attained a record of 2:1514 on a half mile track with the old style sulkey, and he made it 2:091/4 on a mile track. He was the sire of "John Taylor," a horse with a record of 2:0814, and winner of the M. and M. races at Detroit, Michigan, and a ten thousand dollar stake. "Dispute" was the first stallion to sire an M. and M. winner at that time. Mr. Taylor also owned "Egwood," who had a mark of 2:1414 on a half mile track. This fine animal was purchased in Ken- tucky by our subject at the same time he bought "Dispute." He afterward sold for a sum of fourteen thousand dollars and went to Austria. Mr. Tay- lor was also the owner of "Taylor McGregor," sired by "Jay McGregor," whose record was 2:0714. that sold for forty thousand dollars and went to Russia. "Jay McGregor" is the champion sire of trotters of the United States, has four 2:10 trotters, in 1912, of whom "Baldy McGregor" has a record of 2:0634 at three years old. These splendid animals carried the name and fame of Mr. Taylor all over the United States, and he has long been regarded as one of the leading horsemen of the country, and has ac- cumulated a handsome fortune through the handling of horses. He has also bought, bred and trained and raced a number of other horses who acquired records of from 2:0814 to 2:30. During the past five years Mr. Taylor and his son have been breeding pure bred Percheron horses for the benefit of the framers who desire heavy draft horses, and the fillies sired by his stallions bring as high as six thousand dollars.
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