USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Richmond > Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County, Volume II Pt II > Part 40
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out on the long journey to become the wife of the man she loved. They were married near Green's Fork, in this county, Feb. 27, 1838. Her death, as before stated, took place Oct. 10, 1851. lle never married again, remaining true to her memory, and was finally laid to rest in the Friends' burying ground at Nettle Creek, this county. In religious faith Isaac W. Beeson was liberal, as might be expected of a man of his deep and broad views of life, his cherished hope being that some day the human brotherhood would be united on the central principles of Christianity, each re- serving for himself the right of private judgment on minor forms and points. He was strongly opposed to slavery and all forms of tyranny and injustice, and in common with those of his sect did not favor resorting to law, whether as individuals or as nations, but rather to arbitration. A man of broad thought and an able writer, he penned at various times manuscripts on various sub- jects. Ile was one of the original "Greenbackers" (not fiatist), for along in the '5os he earnestly advocated the issue of all paper money by the Government, to be made equivalent to the coin money then in circulation, and the interest and profits to be ap- plied to public improvements and reduction of taxes. Benjamin B. Beeson, the only child of Isaac W. and Mary (Branson) Beeson, always gave his chief energies to farming and stock raising, and at the time of his death owned some 1, 100 acres of fine land. 400 acres of which comprised the homestead in the northwest part of Dalton township. He was public-spirited, and to him, perhaps more than to any other person in his township, is the community indebted for the excellence of its highways. Ile gave consider- able time, money and influence to their improvement, being spe- cially interested in the Dalton turnpike. When the company was organized, in 1876, he became its secretary and treasurer, and served in similar capacities for many years for the Hagerstown & Blountsville Turnpike Company. He was a charter member of the Nettle Creek Grange, which he represented often in the county council and the State Grange. In 1880, Mr. Beeson assisted in forming the Wayne, Henry, and Randolph Counties Agricultural Association, of which he was president twelve years. Ile upheld churches, schools, and all worthy institutions and methods of ele- vating the people, taking an active part in the political and moral questions of the day. He greatly admired President Lincoln and gave his support to General Grant at the time of his first election to the Presidency. For six years, from 1891 to 1897, he ably con- ducted the "Richmond Enterprise," which attained wide circula- tion and won the most favorable notice of the public and contem- porary journals. The columns of the paper strongly reflected his views on the prohibition of the liquor traffic. Success attended all his efforts in life, and he passed away at his old homestead, Jan. 2, 1902, having the respect of the entire community ; and he is remembered by all as a man of integrity and honor. His family was always treated with the greatest kindness and friends and strangers always met with courtesy and consideration at his hands. His death occurred in his fifty-ninth year, just at the time when
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he had so constructed his fortune and so lived his life that the years before him to fill out the days of "three score and ten," which should be our lot, were years he looked forward to with the great- est pleasure; and it can truthfully be said that his life was such that he will never be forgotten while there lives anyone who had the good fortune to be associated closely with him. Politically he never aspired to hold public office, but had he accepted any his constituents would have been assured of an administration care- fully conducted. On Oct. 14, 1865, was celebrated Mr. Beeson's marriage to Miss Olinda, daughter of Thomas and Elvira ( Finchi) Lamb. Mr. Lamb was a native of North Carolina who came to Indiana in an early day with his parents, who settled on Morgan's Creek, near Green's Fork, in Wayne county. Thomas Lamb was a farmer by occupation and lived the greater part of his life in Clay township, but latterly became a resident of Dalton township, and both he and his wife died there, the former on Oct. 2, 1872, and the latter on Dec. 6, 1899. Twelve children were born to them : Hamilton, born Dec. 15, 1837, died March 17, 1841 ; Emily L., born April 20, 1839, is the wife of J. H. Moore, of White county, Indiana; Mrs. Beeson was born in Clay township, Feb. 19, 1841; John M., born Dec. 23, 1842, died Feb. 3, 1858; Nancy, born Nov. 17, 1844, first married Miles M. Moore, who is deceased, and is now the wife of William M. Moore, of Henry county ; Lucinda, born Jan. 8, 1847, died in June, 1908, the wife of H. P. Nicholson, of lowa; George W., born March 2, 1849, first married Amanda Chamness, who is deceased, and then Dora Mills, and was engaged in the telephone business at Losantville when he died, Oct. 13, 1911 ; Samuel P., born July 25, 1851, died June 10, 1854; Laura B., born Ang. 29, 1853, is the wife of Frank Davis, of Denver, Colo .; Calvin F., born Oct. 14, 1855, died May 29, 1888; Sarah E., born July 20, 1858, died March 12, 1888; and Charles Lincoln, born Oct. 1, 1860, married Lillian Garrett and is a general merchant in Colo- rado. To Benjamin B. Beeson and wife were born four children- Isaac Francis, Mary Lenora, Edward Orton and Frederick Loten (twins)-all of whom are given extended mention on other pages.
Edward O. Beeson, a prominent young man of affairs residing in the village of Losantville, Randolph county, but with extensive property interests in Dalton township, this county, was born at the old Beeson homestead one-half mile west of the village of Dal- ton, in Dalton township, July 3, 1877. He is one of the twin sons of Benjamin B. and Olinda (Lamb) Beeson, given extended men- tion on another page of this volume. Edward O. Beeson received his earliest education in the district schools of Dalton township and later attended the high school at Richmond, but did not grad- nate. He then attended business college at Richmond. In 1898 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-first Indiana infantry for service in the Spanish-American war. This regiment did gar- rison duty in Havana, Cuba, about three and one-half months. Upon his return from the service Mr. Beeson matriculated at the Indianapolis Law School, at Indianapolis, where he graduated with ' the class of 1901, being admitted to practice in the Circuit Court
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of Wayne county, the Indiana Supreme Court, and the Federal Dis- triet Court, the same year. After his graduation in the law school he continued his studies with Jonathan W. Newman, of Richmond, until the following December, and lived at the old homestead with his mother during the years 1902-03, attending to all the legal busi- ness in the settlement of his father's estate. In 1903 he removed to Losantville, Randolph county, and besides superintending his farming interests assisted in the Farmers' Bank at that place from 1903 10 1905. Ile then removed to the old homestead farm of Ell- wood Beeson, in Dalton township, but this he later sold and moved to his mother's farm, which he rented during the years 1907-8, at the same time engaging in the buying and shipping of cattle. In 1908 he removed to Mooreland and later to Marion, Ind., where he engaged in the automobile business. In 1900 he sold his Marion interests and returned to Losantville, where he has since resided. At the present time he owns 172 acres in section 33 of Dalton town- ship and fifty acres adjoining in section 4. On Dec. 25, 1901, he was married to Miss Lena Waltz, daughter of Alfred and Amanda (Ulrich) Waltz, of Henry county. Mrs. Beeson was born Sept. 23, 1884, and was educated in the schools of her native county. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Beeson have been born two children- George, born July 4, 1903, and Mary, born Dec. 18, 1908. Mr. Beeson is a Republican in his political views and has membership in the Masonic lodge at Losantville.
Frederick L. Beeson, who is one of the enterprising farmers of Randolph county, located just over the line of Dalton township, this county, is a son of Benjamin B. Beeson, of whom specific men- tion is made on other pages of this work, so that a further resume of the family history is not demanded in the present sketch. Fred L. Beeson was born at the old Beeson homestead, in Dalton town- ship, Wayne county, July 3, 1877, a scion of old and honored pio- neer families of that section of the Hoosier commonwealth. Ile was reared to maturity in his native township, where he early began to assume definite responsibilities in connection with work on the old homestead farm, and to the public schools of that lo- cality is indebted for his early educational training. After leaving school he continued to assist in the work on the home farm until 1899, when he removed to the farm now owned by his brother-in- law, J. C. Taylor. Later he removed to the present home of David A. Niccum, in Dalton township. Both places, however, were at that time parts of his father's estate. In 1905 he became identified in an active way with the agricultural industry in Randolph county, since in that year he moved to his present home of 140 acres, where he has since been successfully established as a general farmer and stock grower. In his political allegiance Mr. Beeson is a staunch Prohibitionist and shows a loyal interest in all that concern- the general welfare of the community. He enjoys marked popularity in his home township and is a man of progressive ideas and dis- tinetive business acumen. In addition to his farm of 140 acres in Randolph county he owns 160 acres of his father's old homestead in Dalton township, this county. Fraternally, he is affiliated with
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the Dalton Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In May, 1898; Mr. Beeson was united in marriage to Miss Lanra Davis, daughter of John and Caroline (Chamness) Davis, of Dalton town- ship, and of this union have been born six children-llerbert Ed- ward, Benjamin Bernard, Charles, Harold, Lowell, and James Pierce. Mrs. Beeson was born Oct. 29, 1879, sixth in a family of eight children born to her parents. John Davis, her father, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1823, a member of a family of eight children. He came to Dalton township with his parents. and spent his active life as a farmer there, also serving as justice of the peace twenty years. He died in 1885.
Oliver H. Beeson, whose successful manipulation of business affairs, has given him prominence among the people of Wayne county, is a native of this county, born in Washington township, June 12, 1853. His parents were Benjamin Franklin and Catherine (Howard) Beeson. both natives of Wayne county. The elder Bee- son was born Aug. 11, 1824, and the marriage of himself and wife was celebrated Jan. 22, 1848. The parents of Benjamin B. Beeson were Benjamin and Dorcas (Starbuck) Beeson, and he was one of eleven children born to them. The paternal grandparents were natives of North Carolina, the grandfather tracing his lineage back to Edward Beeson, the original Beeson ancestor in the New World, who came to America with one of William Penn's colonies, in 1682, and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a native of Lancaster- shire, England, where George Fox originated the Society of Friends, with which the Beeson ancestry became identified. Ed- ward Beeson had four sons, one of whom, Isaac, settled in North Carolina, and from him our subject has descended. Benjamin and Dorcas Beeson came from North Carolina to Indiana in 1813, in a wagon built by himself and drawn by a four-horse team. Ile built a log cabin on his farm and combined his trade of blacksmith- ing and wagon making with the task of clearing and tilling the ground, and purchased more land as he prospered in the new coun- try. On this homestead farm, four miles south of Milton, Benja- min F. Beeson, the father of the subject of this review, was born and reared, and after the manner of pioneer boys grew into rugged, self-reliant and industrious manhood, receiving as good an educa- tion as his time afforded. As before stated, in January, 1848, he was married to Catherine Howard, a native of Wayne county and daughter of John and Sarah (Calloway) Howard. They began ' their married life in a typical log cabin on the farm given him by his father, which cabin was afterward replaced by a more commo- dions dwelling house. To this honored couple were born nine children, of which number our subject was the second born. The others are: William, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Sanford, deceased ; Elmer, who is a grocer in Indianapolis; May, who is the wife of John Coyne, of Washington township; Minnie, the wife of Frank Florea, of Fayette county ; and Ira, deceased. The death of the mother occurred April 11, 1873, and Mr. Beeson was again mar- ried, in 1879, to Miss Kate Broadcap, a native of Virginia, who' also preceded him in death, June 10, 1908. On July 18, 1903, a
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barn door which Mr. Beeson was removing fell on him, rendering him a cripple and finally resulting in paralysis. After the death of his wife he was tenderly cared for at the home of his son, Oliver. On May 3, 1909, he became suddenly worse, falling into a stupor from which he never rallied, and passed from life two days later. Frank Beeson, as he was familiarly called, was noted far and wide as an excellent farmer and prominent stockman. He was kind in his family, charitable in his views of mankind, and ready to assist in an hour of need. He was highly respected in the community where he lived, and perhaps no man in Wayne county had a larger circle of friends and acquaintances than he. He was full of land- able purposes and took an active interest, aside from his official duty, in Valley Grove Chapel and the cemetery where his remains now rest. His time was so taken up with home affairs that no active part was taken in politics, and he never held nor aspired to hold public office. Oliver II. Beeson, whose name initiates this article, attended the district schools of Washington township and afterward attended two terms at Spiceland Academy. While at- tending school his spare time was devoted to work on the home farm, and this was his abode until he reached manhood. He then purchased sixty acres of land, and his father gave him eighty acres, all in Washington township, and he continued to farm until 1891, when he retired from agricultural pursuits and removed to Milton. While farming he also devoted considerable attention to stock buy- ing, and this line of endeavor he still continues. He is a stock- holder in the National Bank of Cambridge City and a director and stockholder in the Drovers' Union Stock Yards at Columbus, Ohio. For about four years he had a butcher shop in Milton and also one in Cambridge City, but these he has disposed of, and he owns a business block in Milton. His landed possessions amount to about 700 acres of farm lands, 140 acres of which are in Fayette county. Politically, Mr. Beeson is a Democrat and has held several local offices, among them being councilman in Milton and treasurer, which last named position he filled four years. On Feb. 17, 1875, he was married to Miss Sarah Indiana Williams, daughter of James and Emily ( Wallace) Williams, of Washington township, and of this union have been born three children: Alice, wife of Dr. Charles Kneise, of Cambridge City; Ralph W., who died April 5, 1906; and Sora Lee, who is at home with her parents. James Wil- liams, the father of Mrs. Beeson, was born in Washington township, as was also the mother. Ile was a farmer by occupation and died May 27, 1890, in Milton, where his widow is living.
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Isaac F. Beeson, who owns and operates a farm of 100 acres, one-half mile southeast of the village of Losantville, in Randolph county, was born in Dalton township, Wayne county, Indiana, Aug. 13, 1866. He is a son of Benjamin B. and Olinda (Lamb) Beeson, given extended mention on another page of this volume. The educational advantages of Isaac F. Beeson were limited to study in the district schools, and for several years he worked on his father's farm. In 1888 he located on a part of the Benjamin B. Bee- son estate, south of the village of Franklin, in Dalton township,
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and resided there until in March, 1890. lle then spent four years on 120 acres of the Ellwood Beeson farm, in the northern part of Jefferson township, and in 1894 removed to the Daniel Ulrich farm, in the southwest part of Dalton township, and operated that tract as a renter until 1896, when he removed to the village of Losant- ville, in Randolph county. There for thirteen years he was most successfully engaged in the grain elevator and hardware business, and when he sold his interests in that line it was to purchase the 100 acres which he owns and manages near that village. The farm is one of the best equipped and most modern of any in that vicinity. He devotes special attention to the breeding of Percheron and Belgian horses for draft purposes and also raises Chester White hogs. In the matter of politics he is allied with the Prohibition party and at one time was the candidate of that organization for sheriff of Wayne county. He has also been a candidate for treas- urer of Randolph county, and for the legislature, both nominations coming from the Prohibition party. He has devoted much time and attention to the temperance movement in both counties. His deeply religious nature finds expression in membership in the Friends' church at Nettle Creek, in Dalton township, to the mate- rial welfare of which he has contributed liberally. On Oct. 6, 1888, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah C. Huffman, born at Mooreland, Henry county, in 1869, daughter of Sylvester H. and Margaret A. (Bowman) Huffman. She is second in a family of six children, all of the others residing in Henry county. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Beeson there are four children: Grace, the eldest, in July, 1909, was married to Louis E. Bookout, a teacher at Georgetown, Ill., preparing for the ministry in the Church of Pentecostal Iloliness; and the other children are Benjamin Paul, Marguerite, and Donald H.
Edwin Theodore Bertsch .- The name borne by the subject of this brief sketch has been long and prominently identified with the farming interests of the township of Jackson, where the father en- gaged in agricultural pursuits many years ago. Edwin T. was reared to this line of enterprise and is now carrying forward most successfully extensive farming and stock raising. He is well up- holding the prestige of an honored name and is known as a pro- gressive and reliable business man and as a loyal and public- spirited citizen. Edwin T. Bertsch was born in Jackson township, Wayne county, Indiana, May 25, 1867, son of Reuben and Susan- nah (Jacoby) Bertsch, the former born in Lehigh county, Penn- sylvania, March 12, 1827, and the latter in Butler county, Ohio, in 1832. The father came to Wayne county and located in Jackson township, Aug. 8, 1860, purchasing a farm of 160 acres, which he cleared, and to which he added by purchase eighty acres more. He is now retired and living on the old homestead. He is allied with the Democrats, and although always actively identified with po- litical movements has never sought public preferment for himself. He was married to Susannah Jacoby, Aug. 16, 1849, and she died in 1872, the mother of twelve children: John died in 1879; David resides at Germantown, is married to Mary Worl, and they have
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three children-Monroe, Geneva (deceased), and Ida; Levi died in 1879; Alfred resides in Parsons, Kan., is married to Alice Hyatt, and they have five children-Lulu, Roy, Pearle, Vesta, and Rose ; Sarah, Mary, and Charles died in 1862; Caroline died in 1877; Reu- ben, Jr., is given extended mention on another page of this volume ; Uriah resides in Jackson township, is married to Dora Roth, and they have five children-Walter, Paul, Ada, Neva, and Roth; Ed -; win T. is the eleventh in order of birth ; and Mary Ellen married David Jacoby, lives at Middletown, Ohio, and they have two chil- dren-Arthur and Ethel. The paternal grandfather was John Bertsch, son of Christian Bertsch, who emigrated to America from France. John Bertsch was born and reared in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. Edwin T. Bertsch was afforded the advantages of the district schools of his native township and of the schools of Germantown. At the age of twenty-one years he initiated his ex- perience in connection with the practical affairs of life by farming on shares for his father. Hle duly profited by the discipline gained and in 1900 purchased 228 acres of the old homestead, and in 1904 added seventy acres by purchase, all of which he has improved with buildings and fences. For twenty years he devoted his time to stock raising and general farming, but now rents his farm and lives virtually retired. Poland China hogs and Short Horned cattle were his specialties, and Mrs. Bertsch raised Barred Plymouth Rock chickens. In politics Mr. Bertsch is a Democrat and takes a lively interest in all that tends to conserve the progress and pros- perity of his native county. Ile is a member of Lodge No. 5. Free and Accepted Masons, at Cambridge City, and he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. On Aug. 18, 1889, Mr. Bertsch was married to Miss Malinda Shafer, daughter of Adam and Rachel (Gepherdt) Shafer, of Liberty township, Henry county, Indiana, and of this union have been born two children-Edith and Harvey. The mother of Mrs. Bertsch was a native of Center county, Penn- sylvania, and came west to Henry county, Indiana, with her par- ents. The father was born in Wayne county and was a farmer by occupation. They were both killed, May 22, 1902, in a railway crossing accident in Henry county, near New Castle.
Sylvester Billheimer, a prominent and affluent farmer of Dal- ton township, is descended from men whose courage and strength conquered the wilderness and whose descendants have seen it blos- som into the most fertile lands on this continent. He was born in Dalton township, this county, April 3. 1855, a son of Solomon and Margaret (Gephardt) Billheimer, the former born in Rockingham county, Virginia, March 3, 1827, and the latter was a native of Center county, Pennsylvania, born Jan. 29, 1827. Mrs. Billheimer's parents were John and Rachel (Shafer) Gephardt, long-time resi- dents of Jefferson township, this county, where the father followed farming, and he and his wife were the parents of eleven children : Mrs. Billheimer was the eldest ; Sarah married Adam Rothfon and they had six children-John 11., Benjamin, Cornelius, Webb, Alice, and Vernie (deceased) ; Rachel married Adam Shafer and they had eleven children-Ella, Rebecca, John, Emma, Susan, Malinda, 1.1-
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dia, Edna, Charles, Dora, and Arry; Michael married Lucinda Stamm and they had five children-Ida, Mary, Rachel, Emma, and Otto; Cornelius married Nancy Copeland and they had three chil- dren-John, Alice, and Melissa; Mary A. married George Neis- wanger and they had five children-John, Joseph, Jennie, Charles, and Achibald; William married Amanda Lontz and they had two children-Mahlon and Ola ; Susan married Zimri Hockett and they had a daughter, Ethel ; and three children died in childhood. Mrs. Margaret Billheimer, eldest of these children and mother of the subject of this review, is living, hale and hearty, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. Solomon Billheimer was a son of Jacob Billheimer, born in Virginia, a son of Isaac Billheimer, who came to Virginia from Germany. Jacob Billheimer came to Ohio from Virginia in 1838, when Solomon was eleven years old, and lived only three years after locating in the Buckeye State. Solomon learned the cabinet maker's trade in Salem, Ohio, and removed from that place to Hagerstown, this county, in 1847. He worked at his trade in that place with Samuel Study until 1849, when he located at the village of Franklin, in Dalton township, where he spent the greater part of the residue of his life, engaged in cabinet making and undertaking. However, he resided in Daviess county, Indiana, about five years, engaged in farming, and then returned to Franklin, where he died June 21, 1883. Ile was a stanch Abolition- ist and was identified with the "Underground Railway" in the days prior to the Civil war. The main part of the house where the slaves were secreted while en route still stands on the farm where Sylvester Billheimer resides. Solomon Billheimer was mar- ried in Wayne county, in 1848, to Margaret Gephardt, and to them were born five children : Alice B. is the widow of Nathan S. La- mar, a soldier in the Ninth Indiana cavalry in the Civil war, spend- ing nine months as a prisoner at Andersonville, afterward serving as recorder of Wayne county, and they had five children-Frank- lin S., Effie, Mary, Nettie, and Fred; Elizabeth is the wife of Jacob Markle, a soldier in the Fifty-seventh Indiana infantry in the Civil war, and they have two children-Millard and Anna ; Sylvester is the third in order of birth ; John C., who has served two terms as State Auditor and is an attorney-at-law at Indianapolis, married Susan Kimble and they have six children-Leroy (deceased), Irv- ing, Charles, Zelma, Lura, and Marion : and Emma is the wife of M. H. Goshorn, a farmer of Daviess county. Our subject received his early education in the schools of Franklin and continued at home with his parents until twenty-two years old. In 1877 he went to Daviess county, where he remained six years, engaged in farming and teaching school, and then returned to Franklin and began cabinet making and undertaking, which occupation he fol- lowed seven years. He then entered the Methodist Episcopal min- istry, in which he worked twenty years, and has since lived retired at Franklin, where he has a farm of 100 acres and has carried on general farming and the breeding of pure blood Jersey cattle. He was married Ang. 17, 1879, to Miss Lydia Dennis, daughter of Wilson and Rachel (Thornburgh ) Dennis, of Dalton township. Wil-
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