USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 76
USA > Indiana > Parke County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 76
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On January 2, 1870, Mr. Burks married Mary S. Bruin, and they lived together on the farm in Howard township until his death, working side by side. She was born in Parke county, Indiana, July 17, 1854. Her father was Daniel Bruin, one of the first settlers at Guion, Indiana. She received a common school education. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Burks moved to the homestead in Howard township, where their three children were raised. Fountain L. and Laura M. Burks are dead. Only Nellie Ethel and her mother survive of the happy family. Nellie Ethel Burks was born Octo- ber 10, 1875. She married Harvey C. Moore in 1900, and they moved to Washington, D. C., where he was until recently engaged in the insurance business, especially promoting new insurance companies. He now makes his home in Chicago, still engaged in the insurance business. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have one little daughter, Marian.
John D. Burks followed farming during his life. He was a general stock raiser and was very successful in his work. By bringing to bear on his farm a strong intellect and constant industry, he accumulated a great deal of property and improved it. When he died, on July 22, 1901, Mrs. Burks was left with two hundred and forty acres of fine tillable land, all of which is in Howard township, Parke county, Indiana. She was living in a splendid, modern home on the old home place, but in March, 1910, the house was de- stroyed by fire. It is soon to be replaced by one equally as good. Her farm is one of the best equipped properties in the neighborhood. Besides many other facilities she has a valuable large barn, which was completed about three years ago. She continues to manage the farm, carrying on gen- eral farming and stock raising. She was fortunate in being able to face the
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future bravely when the responsibilities of the farm were left to her direc- tion. She loves farming and the management of it. She is thoroughly capa- ble, ambitious and has done well, raising fine cattle and hogs, corn and farm crops. She continues her work because she loves it, and is cheerful and opti- mistic. In case of shortage of hands to do her work she has shown that she can drive the mower or do other similar work if need be. She occasionally takes long trips for sight-seeing, having just returned from the Bermudas.
Mr. Burks' interests were not limited to his farm, though he faithfully devoted himself to his family and to it; he did a great deal to assist in the solving of the questions which his community had to face. and his advice and opinion were highly respected by his fellow citizens. Mr. Burks was a Demo- crat throughout his life, and he belonged to the Presbyterian church. He was also a Mason at Waveland, Indiana, and a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of that place. At his death the whole district felt a distinct loss in the man who was a kind and devoted husband and father, a successful tiller of the soil, and a reliable, sincere citizen.
FRED WOOD.
A man well known in the mining district of Parke and Vermillion county is Fred Wood, the present able and successful superintendent of the Lyford mine. He is a man who believes in doing his work well, and in order to do this he has been not only a close observer but has studied and kept abreast of the times in all that pertains to his line of endeavor.
Mr. Wood was born July 15, 1872, in Vigo county, Indiana, and is a son of Dan and Jean (Edwards) Wood. The father followed farming in Vigo county, becoming very well established through his long years of in- dustry, and there he spent the rest of his life, being now deceased. He was born and reared in North Carolina, from which state he came to Vigo county, Indiana, when a young man and there established his permanent home. His family consisted of six children, namely: Ed Mose, Hattie, Lillie, Mary is deceased ; Elias, and Fred, of this sketch.
Fred Wood grew to manhood on the farm of his parents in Vigo county and he assisted them on the homestead during his boyhood years. He re- ceived a common school education in his native community, and early in life he began following the mines and this he has continued ever since, in various positions, in all of which he has given his employers satisfaction. His first job was loading coal for a miner, for which he received fifty cents a day.
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He then went to "tripping," opening doors in a mine to keep air supplied to the men working below. He then drove a mule and was making a man's wages when he was but fourteen years old. He then went to mining and later got a position as boss driver, later became mine boss, and eventually became superintendent, which position he now holds, discharging his respon- sible duties in a most acceptable manner to his employers.
Mr. Wood was married on August 30, 1891, to Rose Puett, daughter of Alec and Julia (Thomas) Puett. The Puett has been one of the best known families in this locality since the pioneer days. To the subject and wife four children have been born, namely: Lenney. Harry, Ora and Ethel. The family is affiliated with the Christian church, Mrs. Wood being very active in church work.
S. M. ROBBINS.
This representative and honored citizen of Newport, Vermillion county, has been distinctively the architect of his own fortunes, has been true and loyal in all the relations of life and stands as a type of that sterling manhood which ever commands respect and honor. He is a man who would have won his way in any locality where fate might have placed him, for he has sound judgment, coupled with great energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightly and persistently applied. By reason of these principles he has won and retained a host of friends throughout this locality.
S. M. Robbins, well known liveryman and automobile agent at New- port, Indiana, was born in Rochester, this state, on December 1, 1864. He is a son of Andrew and Mary (Wilson) Robbins. The father devoted his life to farming, and he came to Vermillion township, Vermillion county, in 1880, and here spent the rest of his life, being now deceased. The mother of the subject passed away in 1891. They were the parents of eight children, seven of whom are still living.
S. M. Robbins grew to manhood on the home farm and received his edu- cation in the common schools. He began life for himself by farming on the home place, which he followed for five years, during which he got a good start, then took up the barber business, and followed that with much success for a period of twenty years at Newport and surrounding towns. He then went back to farming, but in 1910 he turned his attention to the automobile business, which he has continued to follow with marked success, handling the well known and late models of the Ford, Auburn and Hupp automobiles. He
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has placed a very large number of these famous cars all over this section of the state. He also carries on a general livery business, for which he is ex- ceptionally well equipped.
Mr. Robbins was married in 1892 to Alice Davidson, daughter of David C. and Abbie (Porter) Davidson. This union has been without issue. Her father and grandfather were among the earliest settlers of Vermillion county. Politically, Mr. Robbins is a Prohibitionist, but he has never been an aspirant for public office.
CHARLES HOSFORD.
That "man lives not to himself alone" is an assurance that is amply veri- fied in all the affairs of life, but its pertinence is the more patent in those in- stances where persons have so employed their inherent talents, so improved their opportunities and so marshaled their forces as to gain prestige, which finds its angle of influence ever broadening in practical beneficence and human helpfulness. He whose productive activities are directed along legitimate and normal lines is by very virtue of that fact exerting a force which con- serves human progress and prosperity, and the man of capacity for business affairs of importance finds himself an involuntary steward upon whom de- volve large responsibilities. To the extent that he appreciates these duties and responsibilities and proves faithful in his stewardship does he also con- tribute to the well being of the world in which he moves. Charles Hosford, the popular and able postmaster at the town of Cayuga, Vermillion county, Indiana, like his honored father before him, is a man who "does things" and this accomplishment is altogether worthy in all the lines in which he directs his energies. As a man of ability, sturdy integrity and usefulness, and as a citizen representative of the utmost loyalty, he merits consideration by his fellow men and his life record is deserving of a place in this publication, which touches those who have given to and sustained the civic and material prosperity and precedence of this locality.
Charles Hosford was born in Eugene township, Vermillion county, In- diana. August 4, 1874, and he is a son of Monroe G. and Sarah C. (Simpson) Hosford, and a grandson of Philo Hosford, the paternal grandfather having come to this county from his native state of New York as early as 1832 and here established the permanent home of the family and was an influential man among the early settlers. He was born in 1811 and died at Eugene in 1895. His wife, who was born in 1816, died in 1882. Monroe G. Hosford, father of the subject, grew to manliood and was educated at Eugene. He
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began life for himself as clerk in a local store, which he continued for thir- teen years, or until 1876, when he began in the mercantile business for him- self, then turned his attention to milling and was burned out in 1883, but, nothing daunted, he built in 1884 the mill at Cayuga and this he has con- tinued to operate to the present time, owning an elevator in connection with it, and is very successful and widely known in this business. He and Sarah C. Simpson were married in 1873 and they have three children: Charles, of this review; Daisy, and Lenore, wife of Herbert S. Johnston, of the Cayuga Milling Company.
Charles Hosford grew to manhood and was educated in Eugene and Cayuga. He was deputy county treasurer under his father from 1900 to 1904, then engaged in the real estate and insurance business with Shell J. James in Cayuga, later conducting a business in these lines alone. On July 2, 1912, he was appointed postmaster at Cayuga and is still discharging the duties of the same with satisfaction to all concerned. He formed a partner- ship about that time with Milton W. Coffin in the real estate and insurance business. He has been very successful in a business way. Politically, he is a stanch Republican, and he is a Mason.
Mr. Hosford was married on October 5, 1911, to Etta L. Kern, daugh- ter of John A. Kern, of Ridge Farm, Illinois, and this union has resulted in the birth of one child, Monroe John Hosford.
JAMES D. JAMES.
There are among the residents of the mining district of Vermillion county, many who have come from Wales and it has been noticed that they are without exception people of thrift, capability and law-abiding, men who do well whatever they turn their attention to and who are among our most efficient miners, no matter what position they are given. Such an element is always welcome anywhere in America. Among this number is James D. James, boss of one of the famous Crown Hill mines in Clinton township. He was born in the southern part of Wales, March 30, 1858, and is a son of William and Jane James, both of whom spent their earlier years in Wales, where the father was born. He finally emigrated to the United States, land- ing at New York City, but soon thereafter came to Coal Creek, Indiana. where he followed mining, also worked at the mines, later at Crib Creek, after which he came to Clinton, Vermillion county, Indiana, working in the mines here for some time. After leaving Clinton he went to Terre Haute, where
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his death occurred at the age of seventy-five years, in the year 1912. His widow is still living. They became the parents of thirteen children, namely : James D., of this sketch. the eldest: William is deceased; Ann, who married William Edwards, lives in Clinton; David, Mary and John are all deceased; Lizzie; Edith was next in order of birth; Maggie is deceased; Mary Jane. Katherine and Martha all survive; Edres is deceased.
James D. James was young in years when he took up his residence in America. He first located at Coal Creek, Indiana, then went to Grape Creek. Illinois, later to Clinton, Indiana, in 1895. He has been actively engaged in and about the mines since eleven years of age, and has become familiar with all the phases of the mining industry. He has been mine boss since 1903, when Crown Hill Mine No. 2 was sunk, and he still has charge of the same, his long retention in this important position being sufficient evidence of his high grade and eminently satisfactory services. This mine is owned by the Clinton Coal Company, and has a capacity of eleven hundred and eighty tons daily. Its depth is one hundred and fifty feet. He is responsible for every- thing about the mine, men included, and he keeps everything in superb work- ing order.
Fraternally, Mr. James belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Knights of Pythias and the Owls. He has remained unmarried.
ALBERT L. CLARK.
The beginning of the career of Albert L. Clark, well known liveryman of Newport, Vermillion county, was characterized by hard work and con- scientious endeavor, and he owes his rise to no train of fortunate incidents or fortuitous circumstances. It has been the reward of mental qualifications of a high order in the affairs of business, the combining with accurate percep- tions of mental activity that enabled him to grasp the opportunities that pre- sented themselves. This he has done with success, and, what is of more im- portance, with honor. His integrity has ever been unassailable, and he stands high with all who know him.
Mr. Clark was born at Bedford, Lawrence county, Indiana, December 4, 1872. He is a son of Stephen F. and Anna (Lanning) Clark, natives of Bedford and Salem, Indiana, respectively. The father removed to Ver- million county, Indiana, in 1880, locating in Eugene township, and here he has since followed general farming, renting and operating, with his son, Albert L., about eight hundred acres of land. He has farmed and raised live
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stock on a large scale and has met with large success. His family consists of the following children: Albert L., subject of this review; Isaac Newton, who lives in Chicago, is chief inspector for the Interchangeable Mileage Bur- eau ; Ida M. married W. D. Green, a brick manufacturer of Segaine. Texas; Leroy is a school teacher ; Clarence is farming at home.
Albert L. Clark was educated at Bloomington, Indiana. He came to the village of Eugene, Vermillion county. in 1886, and here he clerked for G. L. Watson from 1891 until 1900, giving him the utmost satisfaction, as might be inferred from his long retention, for he was quick to learn and was courteous and considerate to the patrons. In 1900 Mr. Clark purchased the livery business at Cayuga, which he has continued to conduct to the present time with ever-increasing success, and he is well known to the traveling pub- lic. He is well equipped in every respect for the successful carrying on of the same, keeping an excellent grade of horses, good buggies, etc. He also operates a dray and transfer line here, and is well patronized.
Mr. Clark has taken an interest in public affairs and was elected trus- tee of Eugene township in 1908 and has discharged the duties of that office in a manner that reflects credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned.
Mr. Clark was married on December 24, 1896, to Martha J. Iles, daugh- ter of J. B. Iles, of Eugene, and to this union two children have been born. namely : Lucy, born in 1899, and Susie, born in 1904.
Politically, Mr. Clark is a Democrat and is active in the ranks. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Clark has been very successful in a financial way and besides his extensive livery and transfer business he is the owner of twenty acres of land in which there is a valuable coal deposit.
CHARLES FREMONT MILLER.
A leading farmer and public spirited citizen of Helt township, Vermillion county, is Charles Fremont Miller, a descendant of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the Hoosier state. Here he has spent his life and has so directed his course as to gain not only material success, but the good will of all who know him and has at the same time been of much assistance to the upbuilding of the community.
Mr. Miller was born a mile northwest of St. Bernice, Helt township,
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Vermillion county, Indiana, July 8, 1857, and is a son of Jacob and Phoebe A. (Helt) Miller. The father was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and from that state moved with his parents, Jacob and Barbara (Freed) Miller, to Kentucky. Jacob Miller, Sr., went to Wisconsin, locating near Monroe in a very early day and there he spent the rest of his life, dying at the advanced age of ninety years. Grandfather Daniel Helt was a soldier in the war of 1812, under Colonel Puntney. He was one of the very early settlers on Helt Prairie, Vermillion county, the prairie and township having been named for him. The Helt family has been one of the best known in this county from the days of its first settlement to the present. Daniel Helt married Polly Teehom, who has seven children, and eight more children were born to her by her union with Mr. Helt, the mother of the subject of this sketch being the eldest by the second marriage. Although rearing that large family and working hard as pioneer women did, she lived to reach the great age of ninety-four years. Daniel Helt died at the age of eighty-six years. The mother of the subject died in Vermillion county at the age of eighty- three years, at the old Helt homestead, where the family was reared. All that large family grew to manhood and womanhood. There were eight children in the family of the subject's father, Jacob Miller, Jr., namely: Indiana, who died when twenty-three years old, had married L. A. Bullington, and they had one child, Della, who is living in Portland, Oregon; Mary Jane, who died at the age of twenty-three years ; Daniel H., who lives in Helt township: Sylvester lives in Helt township; Bloomer lives in Centralia, Illinois ; Charles Fremont. of this review; Emma, who married Henry Harris, a merchant in Illinois : Jacob, Jr., of Lawton, Oklahoma. Both the Miller and Helt families are of German descent, their progenitors having settled in Pennsylvania in a very early day.
Charles F. Miller grew to manhood on the home farm and there he assisted with the general work when a boy, receiving his education in the common schools, then took to trading in live stock and farming, and has continued in these lines of endeavor to the present time, with ever-increasing success. He is now the owner of one of the choice farms of Helt township. consisting of four hundred acres, well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and here he has long carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He has a pleasant home and large, convenient out- buildings, everything about his place denoting that a gentleman of thrift and good management has its management in hand. He has given each of his children over a thousand dollars.
Mr. Miller was married in 1896 to Sarah A. Reed, daughter of David A.
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and Nancy M. (Wishard) Reed. The father was a native of South Carolina, from which state he came to Vermillion county, Indiana, in a very early day and here became well established through his industry. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : The first, an infant, died unnamed ; Frank R. and Daniel T. The latter is a practicing physician at Terre Haute. He was graduated from the University of Indiana and the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, later taking the course at the old Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is making a great success as a general practitioner. The other son, Frank R. Miller, was graduated from the common schools and the high school at Clinton. Indiana, also from the Indiana University Law School, and is practicing his profession with marked success in Clinton, ranking among the leading young lawyers of the county In the campaign of 1912 he was a candidate on the Progressive ticket for attorney-general of Indiana, and he made a brilliant race.
The wife of Charles F. Miller was called to her eternal reward on June 4, 1907, at the age of fifty years, her birth having occurred on December 22, 1867.
Politically, Mr. Miller is a Progressive, but he has never been a seeker after office, though he was appointed by Judge Aikman on the tax equalization board, but refused to serve. Religiously, he is a Methodist Protestant.
WILLIAM N. TUCKER.
Among the young men of Vermillion county who have appreciated pres- ent-day opportunities, and one who has profited by his ingenuity and persist- ence in the world's affairs as a result of the favorable conditions existing in this favored section of the Hoosier commonwealth, is William N. Tucker, one of the well known and highly efficient engineers of the mining district of Clinton township, and, judging from his pronounced success in the past in his chosen field of endeavor, we can but predict a large measure of success for the future.
Mr. Tucker was born in Champaign county, Illinois, December 5. 1884. He is a son of John E. and Emily (Blair) Tucker, the father a native of Illinois, where he grew to manhood and was educated in the common schools. then took up farming, in which vocation he is still active. His wife was called to her eternal rest on December 23, 1906. Seven children were born to John E. Tucker and wife, namely: Margaret, Nancy, Jerry M., Walter, Rose. Stephen and William N., the subject, who was the youngest of the family.
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William N. Tucker grew to manhood on the home farm in Illinois and there assisted with the general work about the place during the summer months, and in the winter time he attended the public schools in his neighbor- hood. Early in life he began following the mines and paid especial attention to the machinery end of this field of endeavor, with the result that he has become an expert in engineering and has held many responsible positions at various mines, and is at this writing engineer and foreman of Ed Shirkee Mine No. 2. the duties of which he is discharging in a manner that is entirely acceptable to his employer. He is responsible for all the hoisting apparatus, the curbing in the shaft, in fact, everything both top and bottom, and keeps all machinery in repair. As foreman, he is boss of both top and bottom. both of the machinery and shaft. He understands everything about the mine. having had much previous experience, including that of track boss at Dayton. Ohio, and Terre Haute, Indiana, and held a number of good, responsible positions at various places.
Mr. Tucker has never married.
RALPH V. HUGHES.
Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demon- strated by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a suc- cessful man. He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts in the world unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by correct principles, forges ahead and at length reaches a sphere of honor among his fellow citizens achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can neither understand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent Ralph V. Hughes, of Newport. Vermillion county, is a creditable rep- resentative of the last named class, a member of that sterling type which has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the sta- bility of our institutions.
Mr. Hughes was born in Vermillion county, Indiana, September 13, 1887, and he is a son of John A. and Anna ( Merriman) Hughes. The father was born in Eugene township, this county, June 1, 1864. The paternal grandparents. John and Sophia (Bishop) Hughes, were natives of Ken- tucky and Ohio, respectively. They came to Vermillion county in an early
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