USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 5
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Albert B. Lowe was born in Jackson township. Fountain county, Indi- ana, on July 12, 1872, and is the son of Isaiah and Amanda C. (Livengood) Lowe. The father also is a native of Jackson township, where he still re- sides, being the owner of two hundred and seventy-eight acres of splendid land, all in this township, and he is numbered among the enterprising and successful farmers and sturdy and progressive citizens of his locality. The subject of this sketch received his elementary education in the public schools of Jackson township, attending school later at Covington and completing his pedagogical studies in the normal school at Danville, Indiana. He then engaged in teaching school, in which vocation he was eminently successful, so that he was so engaged for eight successive terms, all in Jackson town-
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ship excepting two terms in Richland township, Fountain conmye In mou Mr. Lowe, in partnership with Jacob E. Fine, went into the friture Juri undertaking business at Wallace, meeting with very gratifying success and .continuing the business until 1907. In that vear Mr. Lowe was a leaduls spirit in the organization of the Farmers Bank at Wallace, of which le v.a elected president, serving as such to the present time to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders of that institution. The bank has enjoyed a very prosper- ous career so far and is numbered among the strong and influential mon Ohy institutions of Fountain county. The personal responsibility of the stol .- holders is four hundred thousand dollars, and the presen officer are President, Albert B. Lowe; vice-president, L. M. Myers; caster, Jaroh F. Fine. Mr. Lowe has exhibited to a marked degree those qualities which are especially called for in a position such as his and his record in all affair. with which he has been connected has been to a high degree creditable to him. Mr. Lowe is also the owner of two residence properties and eleven acres of land, all within the corporation of Wallace, and to his credit In said that all that he has today has been gained solely through his own efforts and persistent industry.
In 1904 Mr. Lowe was united in marriage with Cora O. Thomas, the daughter of Joseph B. and Elmira ( Myers) Thomas, of K'ngman, Jackson township. Fountain county. Joseph B. Thomas is a native of Jackson town- ship, born in 1859, and has been a successful farmer, school teacher and con- structor of gravel roads. He is the owner of two hundred and three acres of land in Fountain county and one hundred and sixty acres of land in the Sikeston district of Missouri. To him and his wife were born three children, namely : George Earl, at home: Cora, wife of the subject of this sketch ; and Joseph B., Jr., also at home. Mrs. Lowe was a teacher prior to her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Lowe have been born four children, namely : Lena, Morris, George and Leslie, all of whom are at home.
In political affairs, Mr. Lowe gives his support to the Democratic party, in the success of which he is interested, as every wide-awake, intelligent voter should be, but he has never been an aspirant for public office of any nature. Fraternally, he holds membership in the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 495, at Wallace, the Royal Arch Masons at Covington, and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He keeps well abreast of the times, being a wide reader and close observer of men and events. He has won the respect and esteem of all who know him for his friendly manner, business ability and upright living, and has a host of warm personal friends.
Daniel Florey
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DANIEL FLOREY.
Individual enterprise, which is so justly the boast of the American people, was strikingly exhibited in the career of the late Daniel Florey, for many decades one of Fountain county's leading farmers. While transmitting to posterity the record of such a life, it is with the hope of instilling into the minds of those who come after the important lesson that honor and station are the rewards of individual exertion. That the career of such a person, he- sides being treasured in the hearts of relatives and friends, should have its public record also is peculiarly proper because a knowledge of men whose sub- stantial fanie rests upon their attainments and character must overt a whole some influence upon the rising generation. The life of Mr. Florey was indeed a busy, useful and successful one and the record is eminently worthy of peru- sal by the student who would learn the intrinsic essence of individuality and its influence in moulding public opinion and giving character and stability to a community.
Daniel Florey was born in Logan township, Fountain county. Indiana, on November 13, 1834. He was the son of Joseph and Lydia ( Nave ) Florey. The father of the subject came from Wythe county, Virginia, to Fountain county, Indiana, in 1834, and settled on a farm which he bought from a Mr. Paxton, who had entered it from the government, and here the elder Florey devoted the rest of his life to farming and stock raising, being well known among the pioneers of this locality. His family consisted of eight children, all now deceased but one.
Daniel Florey grew to manhood on the home farm and assisted in the work of developing the same. He received his education in the common schools of the early days. He helped clear the farm bought by his father and on this place he spent his life, living on the one hundred and sixty-eight acre homestead, which he kept well improved and well cultivated, preferring the original homestead to any other land. He and two of his brothers pur- chased the same, paying fifteen per cent. interest for the one thousand dollars which they paid on the farm. Later they dissolved partnership and divided up the land. At the time of his death Daniel Florey had accumulated five hun- dred and sixty-seven acres of land, which included the original homestead.
Daniel Florey married, in March, 1862, Sarah Caroline Voliva, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Voliva and Dorcas (Taylor) Voliva. These parents came from North Carolina to Fountain county, Indiana, in 1832, in a one-horse cart, accompanied by two ladies who walked all the way. They settled in Richland township, one mile from Newtown, and there the father spent the
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rest of his life, dying in 1852, his widow surviving many years, passing away in 1897. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Susan, Eliza- beth, Louisa, Mary Jane, Benjamin, Sabrina, all deceased; Thomas lives in Midland, Texas; Sarah Caroline, who married Mr. Florey, of this sketch ; John lives in Bloomington, Indiana; Melissa lives in Pleasant Hill. Missouri.
Five children were born to Daniel Florey and wife, namely : Cora mar- ried Orange Palin, and they live in Richland township; Carrie married Frank Martin, and they live in Logan township; the third and fourth children died in infancy; Ilollis is at home.
Politically, Daniel Florey was a Democrat, but he was not a public man. He was a supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred on May 20, 1912, when past seventy-seven years of age. He was a man who was always highly respected for his clean character and upright life.
ARISTA T. LIVENGOOD.
The subject of this sketch early realized the fact that success never comes to the idler or dreamer and he has accordingly devoted himself ardently along lines that cannot but insure success. The position which he now enjoys at the Fountain county bar has been the result of energy rightly applied and has been won by commendable qualities. In such a man as Mr. Livengood there is especial satisfaction in offering in their life records justification for issuing a biographical compendium such as the one at hand-not necessarily that the careers of such men as his type have been such as to gain them wide reputa- tion or the plaudits of men, but that they have been true to the trusts reposed in them, have shown such attributes of character as entitle them to the regard of all and have been useful in their respective spheres of action, at the same time winning and retaining the confidence and good will of all with whom they have come into contact.
Arista T. Livengood was born on September 10, 1867, and is the son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Day) Livengood. Solomon Livengood's parents came to Fountain county from North Carolina, where the subject's great- great-grandfather first settled on his arrival in this country from Germany. There the family lived until coming to this county in 1839, settling near Ilills- boro, where the subject's father amassed a valuable estate. The subject's maternal grandparents also came from North Carolina, where they had been
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neighbors of the Livengoods. Mrs. Elizabeth Livengood was the daughter of Valentine Day, an early settler and very successful farmer of Fountain county.
Arista T. Livengood received his preliminary education in the common schools of Jackson township, this county, supplementing this by attending summer normal school at Waynetown and Veeder-burg. Thus at the age of sixteen years he was qualified as a school teacher. He then entered the high school at Covington anl also for a while engaged in teaching. Ent ving the Indiana Normal School, he was graduated in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of Science and the honors of his class. Mr. Livengood then entered the Farmers and Merchants' Bank at Covington as assistant cashier, the president of the bank being Hon. E. H. Nebeker, then treasurer of the United States. Subsequently Mr. Livengood assisted in organizing the Covington Banking Company, of which he has since been a member of the board of directors. In the meantime Mr. Livengood had been giving close and consci- entious study to the law and in 1892 he was admitted to the bar and immed !- ately entered upon the active practice of that profession. The public was not slow in recognizing his abilities and he is now enjoying a large and lucrative practice. He has successfully handled some of the most important litigation in the Fountain county courts and has always acquitted himself in a highly creditable manner. In 1908 he was appointed county attorney and is still serving in that capacity Mr. Livengood served four years as mayor of Cov- ington, giving the city one of the best administrations it has ever had, two marked features being the construction of the first improved sidewalks in the city and the reduction of the tax rate.
Mr. Livengood is a Democrat in politics and has taken an active and in- fluential part in local and state party affairs. From 1904 to 1908 he served as a member of the Democratic state committee and was a member of the executive committee of that body. He has also been a member of the county committee and in each of these positions he has rendered to his party services of great value. He is deeply interested in educational matters and is president of the Covington school board. Fraternally, Mr. Livengood belongs to the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and the Tribe of Ben Hur. Ilis religious membership is in the Presbyterian church, to which he gives his active support and of which he has been a member of the board of trustees for ten years.
On March 21, 1889, Mr. Livengood was married to Caddie L. Ludlow, the danghter of Samuel J. and Laura E. Ludlow, of Veedersburg. They have become the parents of two children, Hazel Evaline and Josephine, both at
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home. Sufficient has been said to indicate Mr. Livengood's high character and eminent success in his profession. He has broad views of the law, is painstaking, accurate, indefatigable in his efforts to protect the interests of his clients, and his tact in the trial of cases is second to none.
E. A. DAVIS.
Were it not for the love and enjoyment of music, how much of the brightness of this world would be lost? Not only is music a delight in our hours of happiness, but in times of distress and despair it brings to us con- solation and sympathy. Thien, what nobler vocation is there than that of the music master, who goes about increasing the expression of our thoughts in tune and melody, and awakening a love for the works of the 'great masters of the art. E. A. Davis has been such a one who has devoted his life to music, and who, though not long a resident of Fountain county, has allied himself by marriage to one of its best families, and now finds pleasure in combining agriculture with the practice of his chosen art.
E. A. Davis was born in Northop, Wales, on February 22, 1847, the son of Robert and Jane (Jones) Davis. His parents died in Wales. Nearly his whole life has been spent as a musician, and years ago he began to teach vocal and in- strumental music. He came to this country from Wales in 1880, and for sev- eral years lived in the gas belt of Indiana, until the gas was exhausted. While there he was engaged chiefly in teaching music. In 1905 Mr. Davis came to Fountain county, locating in Davis township. On July 14, 1907, he was mar- ried to Mary C. Chizum, the daughter by adoption of William and Melinda Chizum, her birth having occurred at Lexington, Indiana, on the 11th of No- vember, 1863. William Chizum was born in 1833 near the old home place in Davis township, and spent his life there. He was an energetic farmer and left to his daughter, Mary C., one hundred and forty-six acres of land, on which he had erected a large and comfortable modern house. He was a stanch and up- right citizen, holding decided opinions on public questions and giving earnest support to all moral questions. He was successful in life and gave intelligent direction to the operation of his farm. Mr. Davis rents this place out and over- sees the farming. He is engaged extensively in the breeding and feeding of graded hogs, raising all his own brood sows and taking much interest in this branch of farming, in which he has been quite successful.
In politics, Mr. Davis is independent. Formerly a member of the Odd
E A. DAVIS
MARY CHIZ ZUM DAVIS
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM CHIZUM.
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Fellows, at present he is affiliated with no fraternal order. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the Methodist church and Mrs. Davis is an active church worker, a woman of excellent judgment and character, in every way admirable, being highly esteemed by all who know her. Mr. Davis has tras eled to a large extent in several different states in the course of his profession, and for twelve years was a resident of Missouri. His years as a musician have afforded him a wealth of rich and varied experience.
A. L. SPINNING, M. D.
Among the physicians of Fountain county who have risen to eminence in their chosen field of endeavor is Dr. A. L. Spinning, of Covington, whose career lias been that of a broad-minded, conscientious worker in the sphere to which his life and energies have been devoted and whose profound knowl- edge of his profession has won for him . leading place among the medical men of his day and generation in western Indiana. Although he has spent most of his career in other sections of the state, he is a native of Fountain county, being a scion of one of our earliest and worthiest old families and has been well known here from his youth up. He has behind him an ancestry of which he may well be proud.
Doctor Spinning was born here on July 7, 1863, and is the son of Will- iam H. and Elizabeth (Musser) Spinning, bothi parents natives of Ohio, the father's birth having occurred on January 7, 1842, and that of the mother on July 14, 1840. The paternal grandparents of the subject were Dr. William F: and Eva (Harbaugh) Spinning, the former born in 1810 and the latter's birth occurred in Pennsylvania in 1812. The subject's great-grandfather, William Spinning, was born in New Jersey in 1783 and devoted his life to farming. The last of the Miami Indians to be killed in that state was one who was shot in his front yard. Matthias Spinning, the great-great-grand- father of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Ebenezer Spinning and Phoebe Williams. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1750, and died at Lebanon, Ohio, in 1830, at the age of eighty years, having been one of the earliest pioneers to the latter state. He served eight years in Washing- ton's army during the Revolutionary war and never drew a penny for his services, neither did his three brothers, who also served an equal length of time in the patriot army during our war for independence. They were known as a very patriotic family and regarded it as no hardship to fight for
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freedom without pay. Matthias Spinning was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Hannah Haines on June 10, 1772, at Elizabeth, New Jersey. She was born at Elizabeth in 1752 and her death occurred at Leb- anon, Ohio, when she was over eighty years of age. She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. Matthias and Hannah Spinning were the parents of the following children: Hannah became the wife of Henry Drake and lived at St. Paul, Minnesota; Katie, born 1781. died 1782; Mary, born 1774, died 1838, married Benjamin Morris, and lived at Lebanon, Ohio: Steven, born 1777, died 1859, became a Shaker and resided at Lebanon, Ohio; David, born 1779, died 1860, also joined the Shakers and lived at Lebanon; Benjamin Haines married Sarah Holoway and they resided ai Leb- anon; William, born 1783, died 1819, married Hannah Osborn and they lived at Dayton, Ohio; Isaac, born 1786, now deceased, lived at Veeders- burg, Indiana; Jerusha, born 1793, died 1874. never married.
The great-great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Ebenezer Spinning, the son of Edward Spinning and Anna Lee. He was born in 1712 at Elizabeth, New Jersey, and died in that place on April 13, 1771, aged sixty-one years. In 1749 he married Phoebe Williams, who was born, lived and died at Elizabeth. Their children were as follows: Rev. Ichabod, who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1814, and was subsequently at Morristown, New Jersey; Matthias, born January 27, 1750, died 1830, was married on June 10, 1772, to Hannah Haines, and lived at Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Lebanon, Ohio; Judge Isaac, of New York, and Ebenezer. As referred to in a preceding paragraph, each of these brothers served eight years (1776-1784) in the Essex county militia, of the Continental army, during the war of the Revolution. Matthias served two years in the Miami cam- paign under Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne in 1792-3. During this period his wife and children lived in the Cincinnati block-house, where his youngest child, Jerusha, was born.
The subject's great-great-great-great-grandfather was Edward Spinning. the son of Humphrey and Anna Spinning. He was born in 1666 and died in 1726 at Elizabeth, New Jersey, at the age of sixty years. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Anna Lee, who died at Elizabeth, New Jersey, her will being dated January 27, 1726. They were the parents of one child, Ebenezer, born 1712, died April 13, 1771, who married Phoebe Williams, and is referred to at length in the preceding paragraph.
Humphrey Spinning, the great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Doctor A. L. Spinning, was born in England in 1630, and died on March 29, 1689, at the age of fifty-nine years. . He was a member of the Presbyterian
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church, and was the real founder of this family in America. Ilis uncle. Humphrey Spinning, who was born in England in 1600, emigrated to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1639, bringing with him his nephew, Humphrey, who was at that time seven years old. Later they moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where the uncle died in 1656, leaving his property to his nephew, Humphrey. The latter then moved to Elizabeth, of which he became the founder, having received a land grant of two hundred and thirteen acres, signed by Lord Cartaret, during the reign of King Charles II. Upon this land he founded the town in about 1663. On October 14, 1657, he married Abigal Hubbard, who died at Elizabeth, New Jersey, and to them was born a son, Edward, in 1666. Hle is referred to specifically in the preceding paragraph. Subse- quently Humphrey Spinning again married, his wife's given name being Anna, and to this union were born four sons and three daughters. From the tinie of Humphrey Spinning to the present, members of this family, now numerous throughout the United States, have been more or less prominent in their several communities, being regarded as among our best and inost loyal citizens.
William H. Spinning, father of the subject, was a druggist by profession, and also followed farming. He was a soldier in the Civil war, serving three years and three months in the Sixty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He spent the major portion of his life at Wallace, Indiana, where his death oc- curred on April 15, 1898. F's widow survives, making her home at Wayne- town, this state. Mr. Spinning was well known and highly respected in the communities where he lived.
A. L. Spinning grew to manhood in Fountain county and here he received his early education in the common schools. Early in life he determined to follow the medical profession, and with that end in view he entered the Indiana Medical School, now the University of Indiana, where he made a splendid record and from which institution he was graduated in the year 1891, after which he practiced at Wallace, Indiana, until July 15, 1895. For a period of six years he had charge of the state hospital at Michigan City, giving eminent satisfaction to all concerned, and discharging his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon his ability. For one year he practiced in Michigan City, then went to Prague, Oklahoma, where he remained a year, then came to Covington, Indiana, in February, 1904, and since then has been actively engaged in the general practice here, building up a large and lucrative patronage and taking his place among the leaders of the medical profession in this part of the state. He has kept well abreast of the times in medical research and is in every way deserving of the eminent success he has achieved.
Doctor Spinning was married on December 12, 1902, to Clara A.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Krueger, the accomplished daughter of John and Christina Krueger, both natives of Germany, from which country they came to America when young, their parents having died in the fatherland, and they took up their residence at Michigan City, Laporte county, Indiana, where they established a good home and became highly respected citizens. Two children have been born to the Doctor and wife, namely : Gladys Louise and Charles Matthias.
Politically, Doctor Spinning is a Republican, but, while he is deeply interested in the affairs of his county and state, he does not find time to take an active part in politics and has never held office. He belongs to the Fountain County Medical Society and holds membership with the Masonic order at Covington, having attained to the chapter degrees. He is one of the leaders in the local Presbyterian church and he stands high in all the circles in which he moves.
OMER B. RATCLIFF.
In no profession is there a career more open to talent than is that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the under- lying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Pos- sessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, Omer B. Ratcliff stands today among the eminent practitioners of Fountain county, Indiana.
The first member of the branch of the Ratcliff family to which the sub- ject of this sketch belongs, to come to Indiana was Thomas Ratcliff, a native of Ohio. Among his children was John Ratcliff, the subject's grandfather, who spent most of his life in Parke county, this state, but died at Kingman, Fountain county. Omer B. Ratcliff's parents were William R. and Mary C. (Ewbank) Ratcliff, the former born November 30, 1831, in Parke county. He was not a man of much school education or book learning, but in the school of experience he had learned well and was a respected citizen of his community. In 1854 he married Mary Ewbank, who was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, on January 19, 1835. Both are still living. William R. Ratcliff was a farmer in the early days and owned and operated one of the .earliest saw-mills in this section of the state, being energetic and industrious in all his affairs. To him and his wife were born eleven children, four of whom are living.
Omer B. Ratcliff first saw the light of day on April 24, 1869, at the paternal homestead in this county, where his parents still reside. After com-
QNB Ratcliff
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
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