USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery county, Indiana; with personal sketches of representative citizens, Volume II > Part 44
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There is particular interest in writing of such a man as Josephus Gray- bill, one of the prosperous farmers and stock men of the vicinity of Ladoga, for he is both a pioneer and a native son of Montgomery county, having lived to see three-quarters of a century of change here.
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Mr. Graybill was born on a farm in Scott township, west of Ladoga, this county, on September 10, 1837. He is a son of Samuel and Lydia (Arnold) Graybill. The parents came from Botetcourt county, Virginia, in 1834, making the long journey overland through the wilderness. They bought a farm in Scott township, Montgomery county, one hundred and sixty acres, on which had been erected a primitive log cabin, without nails and with no window pane, the chimney made of sticks and the roof boards were held in place by weight poles. Here these parents began keeping house, enduring the usual hardships and privations of the first settlers and they worked hard in clearing and developing the land on which they proposed to spend the rest of their days. There they reared their family. Through close application and good judgment Samuel Graybill prospered with advancing years, and he became the owner of about one thousand acres of good land. After giving land to his children he still had four hundred acres left when he died. His family consisted of nine children, six daughters and three sons, only one of the girls is now living, Mrs. Amanda Hostetter, of Ladoga. The three sons living are William R., who resides northeast of Ladoga; Josephus, of this sketch; and Samuel C., who lives west of Ladoga.
The death of Samuel Graybill, the father, occurred in 1876. His widow survived many years, nearly thirty-i nfact, dying in 1905, at the advanced age of ninety-four.
Josephus Graybill grew to manhood on his father's farm and, being a pioneer child he found plenty of hard work to do when he was a boy. He received such education as the early schools of the county afforded. He re- mained on the home place until he was twenty-one years old. He then went to farming for himself on a farm just east of Ladoga. In 1861 he married Mary Jane Frame, which union resulted in the birth of four children, two of whom died in infancy, and two are still living, Salome Alice, wife of Eugene Ashby, and Homer Graybill, both of Ladoga. The wife and mother was called to her eternal rest on September 25, 1904, after nearly forty-three years of harmonious married life. She was a good, kind woman and be- loved by all who knew her. She was born just north of Ladoga and was the daughter of Samuel P. and Elizabeth (Harshbarger) Frame. Her people came from Kentucky and settled near Parkersburg, Indiana, in an early day.
On November 30, 1905, Mr. Graybill married Elizabeth (Brookshire) Smalley, daughter of Swan Brookshire and widow of Alfred Smalley, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Josephus Graybill farmed near Ladoga for a period of forty-three years, during which time he made a pronounced success as a general farmer
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and stock raiser, the major portion of his competency was made by raising, feeding and marketing cattle. He is the owner of about one thousand acres in Clark and Scott townships. It is well improved and productive and lies well, and he has an excellent and convenient set of buildings. He is a stock- holder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Ladoga. After his second marriage he left the farm and moved to his pleasant and modernly appointed home in Ladoga.
Politically, Mr. Graybill is a Democrat, but not especially active. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and in religious matters is a member of the Christian church.
ALFRED SMALLEY.
One of the well remembered citizens of a past generation in the south- eastern part of Montgomery county who was rich in the essentials of noble manhood and who always aimed to live up to his highest ideals of duty was the late Alfred Smalley, one of the leading farmers, stock dealers and business men of this locality for a number of decades. His career was singularly free from the faults which usually characterize men of his prominence, but so far as known. he passed over the Great Divide without leaving an enemy behind. He was a man who forged his way to the front in his chosen lines of endeavor and at the same time he never sought to advance himself on the wrecks of others, but was helpful to his neighbors and associates and did much to en- courage general progress in his community along all lines. Such men are blessings to any county and when they are called hence their places are never satisfaction filled and they are sadly missed.
Mr. Smalley was born on November 13, 1840, in Bourbon county, Ken- tucky. He was a son of Jackson and Emily (Combs) Smalley. He came with his parents to Indiana when seven or eight years old, the family locating in Putnam county, and there Alfred Smalley grew to manhood. On Novem- ber 22, 1863, he married Elizabeth Brookshire, daughter of Swan Brook- shire and wife. She was born in 1845 in Scott township, Montgomery county, where she grew to womanhood, in fact, spent her life. She is still living and is now the wife of Josephus Graybill, of Ladoga.
Three children were born to our subject and wife, namely : Mrs. Emma Foster, widow of Newton Foster; John T. Smalley, of Ladoga; one child died in early life.
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After his marriage Alfred Smalley took up general farming in Scott township, and in connection with his farm he bought and sold live stock. He and his wife owned one hundred and twenty acres of good land and they had a comfortable home. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist church, of which he was clerk for a period of twenty-four years and a leader in the church. Politically, he was a Democrat, but was not a public man.
Mr. Smalley assisted in the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Ladoga and he remained a stockholder until his death. After he passed away his wife succeeded him as clerk of the local church and con- tinued to perform these duties just as acceptably. In November, 1905, she became the wife of Josephus Graybill, a farmer, and she is living in Ladoga at this writing. A sketch of Mr. Graybill appears herein.
John T. Smalley, mentioned above, lives in Ladoga, and he follows farming, raises excellent horses and also buys and ships horses in large num- bers, having built up quite an extensive business and has met with pro- nounced success in this field of endeavor. He is one of the best known stock men in the county. He married Lillie Overstreet, daughter of Samuel W. and Mary J. (Ayers) Overstreet. He owns a substantial modern residence in Ladoga. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is a good mixer and is popu- lar with those with whom he comes into contact.
JOHN C. WINGATE.
It is not everyone who succeeds in having a town named after him, but this honor has fallen to John C. Wingate, one of Montgomery county's most representative citizens, few people of the locality being better known; none occupy a more conspicuous place in the confidence of the public, and it is a compliment worthily bestowed to class him with the progressive men of his day and generation in the vicinity of his residence, having done much for the general development of the town of Wingate and surrounding coun- try. In all that constitutes true manhood and good citizenship he is a notable example, his career having ever been characterized by duty faith- fully performed and by industry, thrift and wisely directed effort. These have led to the acquisition of a liberal share of this world's goods. His per- sonal relations with his. fellow men have ever been mutually pleasant and agreeable, and he is highly regarded by all, being easily approached, obliging and straightforward in all the relations of life. He believes in doing well
MR. AND MRS. JOHN C. WINGATE
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whatever he undertakes and in extending aid and sympathy to others, and he is a fine example of that type of progressive citizens who rise paramount to environment and all which seeks to hinder them.
Mr. Wingate was born May 22, 1851, in Coal Creek township, Mont- gomery county, about a mile and a half from Pleasant Hill (now known as Wingate). He is a son of William A. and Nancy (Coon) Wingate. The father was born in East Monroe, Ohio, and there he spent his earlier years, removing to Montgomery county, Indiana, when a young man, in 1840, and here he spent the rest of his life, successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a son of Philip Wingate and wife. The mother of our subject was born in Miami county, Ohio, near Potsdam. Her father was one of a family of sixteen children.
John C. Wingate grew to manhood in his native community and there received a good common school education. On May 22, 1879, he was mar- ried to Lida Gilkey, a daughter of Aaron H. and Mary Gilkey. Mrs. Win- gate's father was treasurer and trustee of Coal Creek township for a period of twenty-one years continuously.
At a barbecue and basket dinner, given in a grove near Pleasant Hill by the men on the construction train of the Clover Leaf railroad in 1881 it was determined to change the name of the town of Pleasant Hill to Wingate. A telegram was received from Gen. John M. Corse, president of the above named railroad, by Eli Marvin. a director of the road, who was asking that this change be made, and his request was concurred in by meeting. Among those in attendance were Colonel Maynard, editor of the Indianapolis Senti- nel, Hon. Peter S. Kennedy, Hon. M. D. White and Gen. Mahlon D. Manson, all of whom had made addresses, at the conclusion of which Mr. Marvin read General Corse's telegram, in which he stated that the station here should be named Wingate, for the reason that a town of several hundred people in Ohio, and on the Clover Leaf road, was named Pleasant Hill and it was deemed advisable to change the name of the local town to prevent confusion. Afterwards the postoffice department changed the name of the postoffice from Pleasant Hill to Wingate, so that the name of the town and the station would comport. Thus the town was named for our subject.
Mr. Wingate was one of a family of five children. he being the eldest, and he is the only one that survives, and his parents are both deceased. His nearest of kin is Claude Hughes, a nephew, a son of our subject's youngest sister, who died when her son Claude, was two years old. He was reared by our subject and wife, who have also reared Arthur Hogan, known as
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Arthur Wingate, who is now married and is living at Long Beach, California. Our subject took him from the Montgomery County Orphans' Home when he was four years old. Our subject and wife having had no children of their own, have taken a great interest in the above named boys, giving them every advantage of education and otherwise looking after their interests in the same manner as if they had been their own.
Mr. Wingate is leading a quiet life, after an active and successful busi- ness career. He was for many years a traveling salesman. He has served on the Indiana Tax Board for nearly ten years, giving eminent satisfaction in this capacity. He has a beautiful and modernly appointed home in Win- gate, surrounded by a large and well-kept lawn. He has a Mission style sleeping house, sixteen by twenty feet in size and containing twenty-three windows and one door, the former being Pullman car windows. The exter- ior has a pebble cement stucco finish, and the interior woodwork is covered with oil paintings, and the furniture is of cane. It is a most sanitary and pleasant room.
Politically, Mr. Wingate is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Order, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, all at Wingate.
EUGENE C. ASHBY.
Holding distinctive prestige among the enterprising citizens of Mont- gomery county is Eugene C. Ashby, formerly a well known merchant, now the popular secretary of the Building and Loan Association at Ladoga, whose record here briefly outlined is that of a self-made man, distinctively the architect of his own fortunes, who, by the judicious exercise of the talents with which nature endowed him, successfully surmounted an unfavorable environment and rose to the position he now occupies as one of the substan- tial and influential men of the locality honored by his residence, having been true and loyal in all the relations of life, standing as a type of that sterling manhood which ever commands respect and honor. He is a man who would win his way in any locality in which fate might place him, for he has sound judgment, coupled with energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightly and persistently applied. Mr. Ashby is a creditable representative of one of the old and highly esteemed families of this section of the Wabash
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Valley country, the name Ashby having been a familiar sound in this county since the pioneer days, and our subject seems to have inherited many of the sturdy traits of his forebears.
Mr. Ashby was born in Clark township, this county, May 8, 1863. He is a son of Silas F., Jr. and Ellen (McNary) Ashby. The father was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, December 25, 1826, and was a son of Silas F., Sr., and Nancy (Radford) Ashby, also natives of Shelby county, Kentucky. Silas F., Sr., was born in 1797, married in 1819 and died June 24, 1854 ; his wife was born in 1797 and died in 1855. Silas F., Sr., was a son of Thomp- son and Lettie Ashby. The paternal grandparents of our subject removed from the Blue Grass state to Montgomery county, Indiana, about 1829, how- ever they remained here only a short time when they removed to Putnam county where they spent the rest of their lives, and on a farm in that county was reared Silas F. Ashby, Jr. He devoted his life successfully to farming and became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well improved land about two miles from Ladoga. He was quite an extensive dealer in grain and stock, and for a number of years ran the elevator at Ladoga. He handled between sixty thousand and seventy thousand bushels of grain annually. He was one of the most active business men in this part of the county and he took part in all improvements. He was at one time township trustee, also county commissioner. He was a member of the Masonic Order.
Ellen McNary, mother of our subject, was born at Sharpsburg, Bath county, Kentucky, and was a daughter of Samuel McNary and wife. In 1860 her father was seized with the cholera and her brother was called home from Oberlin College and both he and Samuel McNary died within six hours after he arrived home. About a year later the mother died of grief, leaving the three daughters practically destitute. Ellen came to Montgomery county and taught school at Ashby's Mills on the southern line of the county and while there she and Silas F. Ashby, Jr., were married. Three children were born to them, namely : Cora E., now the wife of Henry T. Davis, of Chicago; Eugene C., subject of this review ; and Edgar, of Iadoga.
The death of Silas F. Ashby, Jr., occurred on June 15, 1911, his wife having preceded him to the grave on May 18, 1891.
Eugene C. Ashby grew to manhood on the home farm in Clark town- ship and there he assisted with the general work when he became of proper age. He received his education in the public schools of that locality and later attended the normal school at Ladoga. He began his business life by spending three years in a grocery store, then kept books in a bank at Ladoga
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for about four years, giving his employers eminent satisfaction, then, in 1887 he and William R. Hostetter and W. Morton Mills formed a partner- ship in the drygoods business at Ladoga, buying out George E. Grimes, and for a period of about twenty-two years Mr. Ashby was one of the leading merchants of Ladoga, enjoying an extensive and ever growing trade and carrying a large and carefully selected stock of goods at all seasons. They sold out the store in 1907, since which time Mr. Ashby has been secretary of the Ladoga Building and Loan Association and has also engaged in farm- ing, owning a valuable and well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres about a mile west of Ladoga. He is also a dircetor in the Farmers and Merchants Bank. He has been very successful in a business way and is one of the financially strong me nof the town of Ladoga, whose interests he has always sought to promote.
Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order, having attained the Knights Templar degree in that time-honored fraternity. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Ashby was married to Alice Graybill, December 30, 1885. She is a daughter of Josephus and Mary F. (Frame) Graybill, a highly respected family.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ashby four children have been born, namely : Elsie, who is the wife of Carl Crawford, lives in Morgantown, West, Virginia : Mary, who is teaching music and art in the schools of Windom, Minnesota ; Frank and Russell, who are at home and attending high school.
DAVID WESLEY HUGHES.
The history of Montgomery county, Indiana, is not .a very old one, in the usual light of history, for one is inclined to think of anything that smacks of history as happening in the remote and cloudy years of the long ago, as something very ancient, something occurring in a period very far removed from our own time. But notwithstanding the fact that the history, that is the period during which human events have been recorded, in this county, is considerably less than a century old, the changes that have here been noted have indeed been pronounced and even surprising to the contemplative mind, for old customs, scenes, manners and practically everything, in fact, have given way to the new, 'tis ever thus the old order changeth. The history of this locality is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in
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the wilderness and has reached its magnitude of today without other aids than those of industry. The people who redeemed it from the primitive wilds were strong-armed, hardy sons of the soil who hesitated at no diffi- culty and for whom hardships had little to appall. The early pioneers having blazed the path of civilization to this part of the Hoosier state, finished their labors, and many of them have passed from the scene, leaving the country in the possession of their descendants and to others who came at a later period and builded on the foundation which they laid so broad and deep. The Hughes family is of this class and its members have played no incon- spicuous part in the upbuilding of a portion of this county, a very creditable representative of the present generation being David Wesley Hughes, who was born and reared in Union township and has spent his life in his native vicinity, where he is successfully engaged in farming, and he has done what he could to develop and advertise to the world the wonderful resources of a section favored by nature and for many decades the delight of the people who have had the good fortune of residing here.
David W. Hughes was born in Union township, Montgomery county, Indiana, August 14, 1848. He is a son of James B. and Levina (Wray) Hughes. The father was born in Kentucky, where he grew to manhood and received his education in the common schools, and from there he came to Indiana when a comparatively young man and entered eighty acres from the government, later securing forty acres more. This was in the early days and the land had to be cleared and slowly developed into a farm, but this he did through hard work and close application. He .and his wife were pio- neers in every sense of the word and they in every respect deserved the success which attended their efforts. They were neighborly, hospitable and honest, like the majority of first settlers in their time. The death of James B. Hughes occurred in 1864, his widow surviving thirty-eight years, attain- ing an advanced age, passing away in the year 1902.
David W. Hughes grew to manhood on the home farm and there he found plenty of hard work to do when a boy, for he assisted in developing the home farm. He had but small educational advantages, but he has since became a well informed man through wide home reading. He is now the owner of the school house in which he first went to school. He continued to work on the home farm until he was twenty-four years of age, then began renting land, which method he continued for six years, thereby getting an excellent start. He then inherited eleven acres, which formed the nucleus for his present fine farm of two hundred and seventy-three acres. He added
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to his holdings from time to time, prospering with advancing years, as a general farmer and stock raiser, which he has long followed on an extensive scale. He now devotes his time to trading in live stock and raising stock for the market. He is regarded as one of the best judges of live stock in the county and has been very successful as a buyer and shipper. A good grade of stock of all kinds is to be seen about his place from year to year. He has kept his land well improved and well cultivated and he has a pleasant home and attractive surroundings, and such outbuildings and improved farming machinery as his needs require.
Mr. Hughes was married on July 23, 1873, to Anna Clark, a native of Montgomery county, where she was reared to womanhood and where she received her education. She is a daughter of John and Mary ( Britton) Clark, natives of England, where they spent their earlier years, coming to Montgomery county, Indiana, among the early settlers and here became well established through their industry and well known and highly respected by their neighbors.
Four children were born to David W. Hughes and wife, named as follows: Lurton, who lives in Crawfordsville; Lola, who married Will Hale, and they are engaged in farming in this county; Homer H. is living at home : Gracie died when two years of age.
Politically, he is a Democrat, and while he is loyal to his party's prin- ciples and deeply interested in local public affairs, he himself has no desire to be a public man or hold office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, and in religious matters he is a member of the Christ- ian church, which he liberally supports and regularly attends.
QUINCY E. BUNDY.
It seems that there is no start in life which so well prepares a man for his future career, whatever he may choose to follow as the boyhood years spent on the farm; this is not strange to the contemplative mind, for in the first place the boy reared next to nature, to the fresh soil, surrounded by the clear air and amidst the growing, blooming vegetation, will be stronger physically and mentally than his city-bred brother, and all will agree that health is the first pre-requisite in the chase for success in this world; many a man has been handicapped, submerged and defeated because of lack of it. Another thing, the farmer boy knows few of the temptations that lead to
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ruin which the city boy has to combat from almost the very cradle; the former uses his energy in wrestling with the plow, the unbroken colt, the quick-growing sprouts, and many other things in his daily life, while all this pent-up energy of the city lad must seek outlet in various channels, so he gets into trouble or at least neglects to properly direct his energies in life's affairs and when manhood comes he is left behind by his stronger and more self-reliant country contemporary. One of the inhabitants of Union township, Montgomery county, who has been fortunate in being reared on the farm and wise enough to remain a tiller of the soil is Quincy E. Bundy, at present a popular county commissioner.
Mr. Bundy was born on September 14, 1862, in Union township, Mont- gomery county, and in this and Boone county most of his life has been spent. He received a good common school education and when a boy growing to manhood worked on the farm, as already intimated.
Mr. Bundy was married on September 24, 1885, to Frances M. Ford, who was born in Boone county, Indiana, February 17, 1865. She is a daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Ford. The fater was born in Virginia. The mother was also a native of Virginia. They spent their earlier years in the Old Dominion, finally coming to Boone county, Indiana, where they established the future home of the family, and there Mrs. Bundy grew to womanhood and received a common school education. She was a devout member of the Lutheran church near Darlington, and was known to all her neighbors as a woman of kindly impulses and strong character. She was called to her eternal rest on December 18, 1912. She was a member of the Eastern Star.
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