Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 47

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932

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S. J. Puiviance.

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NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.

part of the county built, and with his experi- ence as a pioneer of Stark county did much toward developing Whitley county. During the war he served as County Commissioner, at which time the county farm was estab- lished and the house built.

John Eberhart is the only surviving son of the family. He was born on the 7th of November, 1832, upon a farm in Stark county, Ohio, where the days of his child- hood and youth were quietly passed. His educational privileges were meager, and from early boyhood he was inured to the arduous labors of developing wild land. A bright intellect, good powers of observation and a retentive memory, however, have made him a well informed man. He remained at home until twenty-five years of age, giving to his father the benefit of his services, and his father then gave him the farm which he now owns, at that time a tract of wild land, en- tirely unimproved. As he placed acre after acre under the plow and planted it with grains adapted to this climate, his labors were rewarded with good harvests, and to- day he is the owner of a valuable farm, im- proved with good fences and buildings, while an air of neatness and thrift pervades every corner of the place. It comprises 1823 acres, and before he generously divided with his sons he had 542 acres.

On the 22d of September, 1857, Mr. Eberhart married Catherine Markly, a native of Germany, who died in January, 1867. They had five children, of whom four are living, namely: Josiah, Henry B., John J. and Lavina Sell. On the 16th of August, 1868, Mr. Eberhart was united in marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Dowell, nce Brown, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Mar- gretta (Shoup) Brown, natives of Pennsyl- 22

vania and early settlers of Stark county, whence they removed to Noble county, In- diana, in 1850. Of their thirteen children, eight are still living. Mrs. Eberhart, who was born February 2, 1838, married Lo- renzo Dowell, now deceased, and they have two children,-Harriet, wife of John M. Stoody, a resident of Columbia City; and Warren. Mr. and Mrs. Eberhart have three daughters: Minnie L,, who is engaged in teaching music, Sarah Ann and Mandilla. They have been given good educational privileges, thus being fitted for the practi- cal and responsible duties of life. The par- ents are prominent members and faithful workers in the Lutheran Church; Mr. Eber- hart has served as Trustee, is one of the teachers in the Sunday-school, and was in- strumental in building the house of worship. His political support is given to the Democ- racy, and he has served as School Director and Road Supervisor, faithfully performing his duties of citizenship. His life has been well spent, and all who know him esteem him highly for his sterling worth and strict integrity.

S AMUEL HILLORY PURVIANCE, deceased, was the organizer of the First National Bank of Huntington, Indiana, and president of the same until his death.

The Purviance family has long been prominently connected with the history of this section of the State. Its members have been prominent in political, social, ed- ucational and business circles. They have been important factors in all that pertains to the upbuilding and promotion of the best interests of northeastern Indiana, and their names are inseparably connected with its

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history and development. The gentleman whose name begins this review was the promoter of various enterprises which greatly advanced the material welfare of the community. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, February 13, 1816, and died in Huntington, Indiana, April 25, 1873, the community thereby losing one of its mnost valued and honored citizens.

From Irish ancestry the Purviance family is descended. The great-grand- father of Samuel H., John Purviance, was born on the Emerald Isle and emigrating to America in the first half of the eighteenth century established this branch of the famiy. He married Margaret McKnight, also a native of Ireland, and some of their children were born before the emigra tion to America. On coming to this country, John Purviance located in eastern Pennsylvania, probably in Philadelphia, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1745. His wife also died in the Keystone State. They were the parents of a large family of children, including the following members: David, probably the eldest, was a regularly licensed Presbyterian minister. He died very suddenly while visiting at the home of the lady to whom he was affianced. He left a considerable estate, which was then managed by his young brother James, who at the time of David's death was living in North Carolina, but returned to Penn- sylvania for the purpose of looking after his brother's business interests. William, another member of the family, died in Pennsylvania when about eighteen years of age. Sarah died in the same State, in early womanhood. Mary became the wife of Andrew Morrison. Martha married John Ireland. James and John were also sons of the first marriage. The mother of this

family having died, John Purviance married again and by his second union had two children, Moses and Nancy. Mary and Martha, mentioned above, having married in Pennsylvania, removed to North Caro- lina, being accompanied by their unmar- ried brothers, James and John, and their half sister, Nancy. The last named after- ward became the wife of a Mr. Dickey, a silversmith living in Salisbury, North Caro- lina, and had one child, Rebecca, who also married. When the other children of the family went to North Carolina, Moses Pur- viance, the son of the second marriage, was serving an apprenticeship to the tanner's trade, and when his term was ended he joined his relatives in North Carolina, where he later married Elizabeth Stephen- son. Their only son, John, also married, and both the father and son died in Bun- combe county, North Carolina.

The family record of the Purviance fam- ily gives an account of several of the cousins of James Purviance, the grandfather of Samuel Hillory. Among the number was William Purviance, who followed merchan- dising in Wilmington, North Carolina. He had several brothers and all were prosper- ous business men with the exception of James. Samuel Purviance, another cousin, lived in Pennsylvania. He twice visited the grandfather of our subject in North Carolina, and on his return to the Keystone State drove with him a number of cattle, which he sold in Philadelphia. He later opened a store in Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and became quite prominent and wealthy. His son Samuel was married in Pennsylvania, and about 1844 removed to Logansport, Indiana, where he established a store, conducting it until his death in 1847. David Purviance, another cousin of

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the grandfather, lived in North Carolina about forty miles south of James Purviance. His sister Martha became the wife of Mr. Snod- grass, and the mother of the famous Benjamin Snodgrass. The third and youngest mem- ber of the family was James, who was born after his father's death. He was reared by a Quaker family and joined that church. He married Elizabeth White, and they had a family of ten sons and two daughters, who were also members of the Quaker church. A number of them became residents of southeastern Ohio, and were prosperous people.

A representative of the family who be- came prominent in the history of the South was Hugh Young Purviance, and a Balti- more paper published in the summer of 1882 contained the following account of him: "Rear Admiral Hugh Young Pur- viance, late of Baltimore, Maryland, was born in that city, March 22, 1799, and died at his residence, 83 West Monument street, in the summer of 1882. He was the son of James Purviance, who married Miss Eliza Young, of Virginia. His paternal grand- father was a Huguenot refugee, who settled in Ireland. His grandfather, Robert Pur- viance, was a native of Ireland, and came to America in 1763. On the adoption of the constitution of the United States this gentle- man was appointed by General Washington as naval officer for the port of Baltimore in recognition for his gallant service during the Revolutionary war, and on the death of General Otho Holland Williams, who was then collector, Mr. Purviance was appointed his successor, in 1794, and held that office until his death in 1806. When Robert Purviance, grandfather of the Commodore, came to America in 1763, he and his elder brother, Samuel, established a commercial

house in Baltimore, and acted as financial agents for the Government during the Revo- lution. Their brother, John,. established himself in Philadelphia, and William in North Carolina." At this writing it is im- possible to state definitely the relationship of these two families of Purviances. It is `almost certain, however, that the John Purviance, emigrant, mentioned above as having settled in Philadelphia, and John Purviance, emigrant and great-grandfather of our subject, are one and the same person.

James Purviance, son of John Purviance, the founder of the family, and the grand- father of our subject, was born in Pennsyl- vania, January 14, 1733, and died in Bour- bon county, Kentucky, April 26, 1806. His wife, nec Sarah Wasson, was born January 15, 1746, in Iredell county, North Carolina, and was a daughter of Archibald and Eliza- beth (Woods) Wasson. The mother had a cousin, Jemima Woods, who married Joseph McCulloch, and her cousin, Elizabeth Woods, became the wife of John Graham. The McCulloch and Graham families lived about twenty-five miles from James Purvi- ance in North Carolina, and were prosper- ous people, while the Woods family were prominent in religious work. The children of James and Sarah (Wasson) Purviance were natives of North Carolina, and the fol- lowing is a brief record of their careers: Elizabeth, born November 12, 1765, became the wife of a Mr. Morrison, never left her native State, and died in 1802, at the age of thirty-seven years. Margaret, born Feb- ruary 17, 1768, became the wife of William Potts, and spent her life in Kentucky. John, born April 23, 1770, married a Miss Snoddy. He began study when very young, made rapid advancement in his lessons, and at twelve years of age could "spell, read and

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MEMORIAL RECORD OF

write well and had figured as far as the rule of three," as he himself expressed it. Later he was sent to a Latin school and read por- tions of Cicero's orations, Virgil and Horace. He also studied Greek and gave some time to the translation of the New Testament. Although quite young he had decided to study medicine, but after four years of study in the branches named, preparatory to the beginning of a professional course, his health failed him and he realized that the close con- finement necessitated by a college career was more than he could stand. He was there- fore obliged to give up his chosen plan and engage in the more invigorating pursuits of a farmer. He had married, in Kentucky, and reared a family of several children.

One of the number, Lewis Purviance, married Elizabeth Mitchell, and moved to Huntington county, Indiana. Their chil- dren are: Louisa, who became the wife of William Barnett, and they resided in Hunt- ington county. They are both now deceased. Eliza Ann became the wife of Henry Bus- sard, and lived in the same county until called from this life. Irvin, deceased, mar- ried Elizabeth Clark, and was a resident of Huntington county. Martha became the wife of John Clingenpeel, and both died in Huntington county. Mary was the wife of William Ruggles. Lavinia, born in Hunt- ington county, March 26, 1835, married Martin Magner Little, February 4, 1858, and they too made their home in the same county. Their children were Warren Wal- lace, born December 5, 1859; Addie, who was born in November, 1861, and became the wife of Henry Cleveland; Charles, born in July, 1863; Lewis, Phoebe and an infant daughter, all deceased; Lula May, born in August, 1873; and Nellie Grace, born in October, 1876. The next child of Lewis

and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Purviance was Mar- garet, now the deceased wife of M. A. Thomas. John W. married Esther J. Little, and both he and his wife are now deceased.

Mary, the fourth child of James and Sarah (Wasson) Purviance, the grandpar- ents of the gentleman whose name begins this article, was born March 1, 1772, and became the wife of Samuel Snoddy.

Nancy, born August 15, 1774, married John Mitchell.

James, born October 6, 1776, was the father of our subject. He was twice mar- ried. On the 16th of February, 1800, he wedded Jennie Trotter, who was born De- cember 23, 1779, and died December 16, 1805. Their children were : Nancy, who was born February 9, 1801, and died November 13, 1802. James, the second, born March 4, 1804 in Bourbon county, Kentucky, died December 8, 1854, in Hunt- ington county, Indiana. He was married in December, 1826, to Jane Melissa Ireland, who was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, March 22, 1804, and died in Elkhart coun- ty, Indiana, September 29, 1838, her re- mains being interred near New Paris. The children of James and Jane Melissa Purvi- ance are Andrew Ireland, who was born January 15, 1828, and died July 7, 1840; William Trotter, who was born October 19, 1829, and who is mentioned on another page; Elizabeth Huston, who was born Au- gust 23, 1831, and was the wife of Josiah Cutter, of Elkhart, Indiana; and Jane Trot- ter, who was born March 15, 1835, and is living with her brother William. The

mother of this family having died, the father, James Purviance, married Sarah Eliza Knox, widow of James M. Knox, and a daughter of Clement Ferguson. She was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, September I,

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1813, and died September 1, 1885, her re- mains being interred in Zion cemetery in Jackson township, Huntington county, In- diana. James Milton, their eldest child, was born December 8, 1844, and is now living in Clear Creek township, Huntington county. He wedded Mary Jane Mishler, March 3, 1870, and they have five children, namely : Grace Miona, born July 8, 1882; Marshall Roy, born December 17, 1883; Blanche Rebecca, born June 4, 1885; Clement Abraham, born December 20, 1886; Sarah Ruth, born June 14, 1890, and Agnes Jane, born September 29, 1892. Charles Clements, the sixth child of James and Sarah Eliza Purviance, was born Septem- ber 28, 1847, and died January 29, 1890. He married Barbara Rice, and his widow now resides on a farm in Huntington coun- ty. Margaret Timander, born July 17, 1850, died February 22, 1884. She became the wife of William Webb, October 24, 1872, and her husband still resides in Huntington.

James Purviance, the father of our sub- ject, was married a second time on the 7th of July, 1808, his second union being with Elizabeth Sprowl, who was born in Rock- bridge county, Virginia, February 8, 1778. Her father, the maternal grandfather of our subject, emigrated from Ireland, and spent his remaining days in Virginia. He married Elizabeth Lusk, and their children were William; John; Joseph; Robert; Rosanna, wife of S. Patterson; Elizabeth, mother of our subject; Anna, wife of David Parson Purviance; Sarah, wife of Joseph Reed; and Polly, who never married. All these children were born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and with the exception of William all accompanied their mother on her re- moval to Preble county, Ohio. William went to Xenia, Ohio, about forty years

later. All of the children died in the Buck- eye State except Joseph, who entered land in Huntington county, Indiana, about 1835, and here spent his remaining days.

There were also several children by the marriage of James Purviance and Elizabeth Sprowl. William, born April 26, 1809, died while visiting friends in Preble county, Ohio, January 21, 1849. He was married December 23, 1830, in Preble county, Ohio, to Mary Wasson, who was born July 6, 1811, in that county, and died August 21, 1882, in Jefferson township, Huntington county. They had several children, the eldest of whom, John Wasson, was born October 2, 1831, and married Elmina Eliza- beth Marshall, November 30, 1854. He followed farming and both he and his wife are now deceased. They had no children. Jane, born February 26, 1833, was married March 10, 1853, to Hugh Adams, who was born May 14, 1827, and died April 12, 1865. Their children were Loretta Clementine, who was born August 24, 1856, and is the wife of James W. Brelsford; Mary Almeda, born April 15, 1859; and Martha Agnes, who was born May 24, 1863, and died Sep- tember 10, 1865.

The next members of the family of Will- iam and Mary (Wasson) Purviance were James Hillory and Elam Corwin, twins, born June 10, 1841. The former married Elizabeth Heaston, who died December 7, 1891. He is now farming in Wells county. Their children are Minnie Amelia, Mellie Clementine, Volney and Martha Lucile. Elam C., the twin brother, married Anna A. Planck June 25, 1864, and died Febru- ary 23, 1886, at Warren, Indiana. His wife was born April 12, 1845. They had five children, namely: Will M., who was born April 22, 1865; Rolla S., born July 13,

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1867, and died September 30, 1869; Myrtie V., born April 24, 1873; Nellie P., born September 3, 1875, married Flavius Shultz March 10, 1894, and has one child, Leon A., born December 24, 1894; and Jessie L , born February 1, 1881.

Joseph Gilmore, the youngest child of William Purviance, brother of our subject, was born June 27, 1845, is unmarried and is now living with his sister, Mrs. Adams, in Warren, Indiana.

Jane Trotter, a sister of our subject, was born in Preble county, Ohio, August 5, 1810, and married Samuel Wasson, who was a brother of Mrs. William Purviance. They subsequently removed to Huntington county, Indiana, where she died, having survived her husband for a number of years. They had two children: Elizabeth, the wife of Lewis Morton; and James, now deceased.

Joseph Wasson, brother of our subject, was born October 25, 1812, and died in Huntington, Indiana, October 29, 1885. He carried on farming in Preble county, Ohio, until the spring of 1847, when he drove across the country to Huntington, accom- panied by his wife and five children, his mother, father and sister Sarah. He here bought out the interest of James Purviance, a cousin, who was associated with our sub- ject in general merchandising, and subse- quently sold the store to Dr. D. S. Leyman. He then embarked in the grain business, which he carried on for a time, and his next venture was as a dealer in dry goods and groceries, as a partner of his cousin James, whose business he had formerly purchased. After conducting a store on Jefferson, between Market and Franklin streets, he sold out and again engaged in grain dealing. In 1864 he organized a company for the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, and was made

Major of the regiment, but the hardships and difficulties of war undermined his health, and after participating in the battles of Chatta- nooga and Nashville, he was forced to resign and returned home. In his social relations he was a Mason and in politics he was a Re- publican. In Preble county, Ohio, he wed- ded Mary Van Horn, and their children were William Roscoe, whose sketch we give later; James, now living at Andrews, Indiana; Francis M., Joseph, Clarence, Phoebe M., and five children who are now deceased. The mother of this family died and the father afterward married Henrietta Craft, by whom he had three children-Margaret, Laura and Lucy, who are now residing with their mother in Huntington.

Samuel Hillory Purviance, whose name heads this record, is the next of the family.

Betsy Keziah, who follows in the order of birth, was born February 8, 1818, and died in 1860. She was the wife of Peter Weese, and her husband, who survives her, has married again and lives in Huntington, Indiana. They had six children: James, who lives in Michigan; Horace, a resident of Huntington; William H., Joseph, Sarah J. and Roscoe, now deceased. Sarah, who completes the family of James Purviance, father of our subject, was born December 8, 1819, and is the wife of John Kenower, whose sketch is given on another page of this vol- ume.

Returning to the family history of the grandparents of our subject we give this record: Sarah Purviance, their seventh child, was born December 3, 1778, and be- came the wife of Jesse Mitchell. Joseph, born August 4, 1781, died in childhood. Uriah, born July 28, 1783, also died in early life. David Parson, born August 7, 1785, married for his first wife a Miss Sarah Mitch-

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ell, and after her death wedded Anna Sprowl. His son James, a child of the second union, was born in January, 1811, and died Sep- tember 11, 1866, in Huntington, Indiana. He was married in Preble county, Ohio, April 20, 1840, to Mrs. Eleanor Morton, widow of Thomas Morton, and a daughter of John and Mary (Brown) Schenck. She was born in Warren county, Ohio, October II, 1811, and died December 20, 1884, in Hunt- ington, Indiana. By her marriage to Mr. Purviance she had four children. Aurelius Schenck, the eldest, born March 20, 1841, died January 4, 1889. Sarah Ann, born Oc- tober 1, 1843, was married March 9, 1864, to George Jacob Bippus. They now reside in Huntington, Indiana, and have one son, James Frederick, who married Myrtle Wat- kins, of Chicago, and is now living in Hunt- ington. Mary Alice, born July 8, 1847, resides in Huntington. David Alonzo, born in New Paris, Ohio, March 4, 1851, was married January 7, 1874, to Elizabeth Caroline Mc- Caughey, who was born in Huntington, July 7, 1854, and is a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hunt) McCaughey. Four chil- dren were born by this last union: Flora Eleanor, born December 20, 1874; Aure- lius, born June 17, 1877, and died September 30, 1878; Mabel Elizabeth, born June 9, 1881; and Donald Alonzo, born March 21, 1888. Elam, the eleventh child of James Purviance, grandfather of our subject, was born October 21, 1787, wedded Mary Mitch- ell, and died September 2, 1835. Keziah, the youngest child of this remarkable family, was born March 27, 1791, and married Eli Mitchell.

James Purviance, the father of these twelve children, was the Captain of a com- pany during the Revolutionary war. He lived in the invaded country and a battle

which occurred near his home is described in the following manner by his son John: " We heard the cannonading at my father's, it being heard from seven or eight miles farther north. My brothers, my sisters and myself were sitting on the porch during the cannonading, but my mother could not re- main in the house. She walked across the yard, back and forth, with her arms folded across her breast, with a solemn counte- nance. She spoke not a word more than to let her children know that their father was probably in the battle." The same writer speaks of another battle or skirmish occur- ring two miles south of his father's house. As it proved later the father was not in the first battle mentioned, but was engaged at some other point. Owing to the conditions of the warfare of that day the cowardly man had a splendid opportunity to retreat at an early stage of the fight and seek a place of safety when he ought to have been at the front. Mr. Purviance speaks of the " mak- ing of songs" to meet this peculiar condi- tion of affairs. He says "there were song- sters and songmakers in that day, and in a short time the songs were made and sung by many with an air to the satisfaction of the good soldiers and mortification of those who retreated."

Mr. John Purviance also speaks of hav- ing two uncles and several cousins under the command of General Lock in the patriot army; one of the cousins was killed and an uncle was " shot in four places," at last be- ing " brought to the ground by a ball which struck him in the hip." This last wound proved very serious. It was inflicted at the battle of Ramsour, about twenty miles from the home of James Purviance, and many of the wounded were brought there for treat- ment, including the uncle spoken of above,

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for in those days all the homes near the course; by some it was called a half-mile battle-fields were temporarily turned into hospitals. The boy, John Purviance, in , writing of these events, says: " Many of the wounded were carried on biers, one on each bier, and took boarding in the neighborhood. My uncle and others were brought to my father's home. I remember it as though it was yesterday. The sufferings of my worthy and respected uncle were great and cannot be described. Surgical operations could not extract the ball in the hip. About forty years later my aunt, who was dressing the wound, felt the probe cut something hard and by probing the ball was extracted. I heard of it, went to visit them and saw the ball." The gentleman who gives the account of these incidents of the Revolution, after arriving at mature years, often rode over the battle of Ramsour and saw other points of historic interest.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 47

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932