USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Portrait and biographical record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain counties, Indiana : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens : together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 81
USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > Portrait and biographical record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain counties, Indiana : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens : together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 81
USA > Indiana > Parke County > Portrait and biographical record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain counties, Indiana : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens : together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 81
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
numbers, hunting being his favorite sport. At one time he sold wheat for twenty-five cents a bushel. Politically, he is a People's party man, of which he is a conservative member, and with his wife works faithfully in the Christian Church. He is surrounded by all the comforts of life and withal is considered one of the most successful and enterprising farmers of this township and county. Their only market at an early day was at New Orleans, which they reached by flatboat. They had to buy their salt at Cincinnati and pay for it 86 per barrel.
5
ETER B. CRABB, a native and promi- nent farmer of Raccoon Township, Parke County, was born March 26, 1845. His father, Edward R. Crabb, was a native of Pickaway County, Ohio, born July 21, 1858, to James and Margaret (Blue) Crabb. The mother of our subject was Miss Liona Williams in her maiden days.
James Crabb, the grandfather of our subject, was one of the pioneers of Ohio, where he was en- gaged in farming, and married Margaret Blue. In 1821 Mr. and Mrs. Crabb came to Indiana and settled on a farm not far from Bridgeton, where they reared eight children, the father of our sub- ject being the eldest. He was born in Ohio, the remaining seven being natives of this township. Edward R., father of Peter B., who was a child of six years of age when his parents came to Raccoon Township, was a hard-working and industrious farmer all his life, and died August 27, 1890, leav- ing a large estate. He was three times married, first, April 7, 1835, to Miss Liona Williams, who bore him eight children: Lucinda, who is a widow, living in Raccoon Township; Amanda, deceased, wife of John Webster; Nancy, wife of Daniel Web- ster, of Bridgeton, who is one of the wealthiest citizens of his locality; James II., who first mar- ried Mary J. Lyon, who died leaving him two children, Minnie and John, when he married Miss Cara Briggs, who bore him three children, Birdie,
670
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Dovey and Ethel; James, a resident of Vigo County, who served three years in the late war in the Eighty-fifth Indiana Infantry, and participated in many of the hardest fought battles of the war, being in the celebrated Atlanta Campaign; Peter B., our subject; John W., born Sep- tember 29, 1847, and who died July 27, 1890; Ed- ward R., Jr., a farmer in Vigo County; and Margaret L., deceased. The mother of these chil- dren died on the 31st of July, 1855, and the father married a second time, this union being with Amanda Tyler, a widow. They had one child, Louisa E., who married Reuben Cox, of Florida Township, and has become the mother of five children: Leo, Leslie, Ovey, and Lawrence and Florence, twins. After the decease of his second wife, the father married Nancy Hardin. Ile died August 27, 1890, having been for fifty-three years a member of the Methodist Church, and having lived an exemplary Christian life. When on his deathbed, his son whose name is at the head of this sketch said: " Father, if I could do anything for you I would gladly do it." The answer came: "Your arm is too short, my son; the Lord will take care of me," and with these words he died, fully believing what he had said. He was a Demo- crat up to the breaking out of the Civil War, but from that time to the day of his death he was the most radical Republican. His last wife survived him two years, and died August 22, 1892.
Our subject received the ordinary common- school education of the time in which he was growing up, remaining with his father on the farm until after he was of age. At the breaking out of the Civil War he promptly tendered his services, so anxious was he to do something for the protec- tion of the flag of his country, but he was rejected on account of his youth. Subsequently he offered his services again, and was accepted in the One Hundred and Thirty-third Indiana Infantry, his honorary certificate of service being dated at Washington, December 15, 1864. He was not in any battles, but was kept on guard duty during his entire term of enlistment. About five years after the close of the war he was married to Hester Ann Kalley, who bore him four children: Nora Gertrude; Charlie, deceased; Malinda, who is being
educated; and Edward R., deceased. The mother of these children died in this county, and in 1885, Jan- uary 6, Mr. Crabb married for his second wife Lucy J. Lankford, a daughter of Robert Lankford, who is one of the early settlers in Parke County. Our subject has been a life-long Republican in politics, and has grown up in the faith of the Methodist Church, of which both his grandfather and father have been members. Ile is also one of the Trustees of the church, a consistent Christian, and an up- right, honest, temperance man, who is a benefit to the community in which he lives. His wife is also a worker in the same church.
G EORGE DENEHIE, the assistant agent at Rosedale, Parke County, on the Vandalia Railway, is the subject of this biog- raphy. Mr. Denehie, who is a son of Stephen and Mary (Markle) Denehie was born October 5, 1855, in Roseville. The father was a retired merchant, but a very prominent politician and a man of pub- lic trust, having been honored with the official positions of Township Clerk, Justice of the Peace and Township Trustee for many years, and he also served as Postmaster of Roseville. During the late Civil War, he enrolled as clerk and had the management of the drafting of troops. In 1865, he moved his family to Rosedale and opened up a general merchandise establishment, which he main- tamed successfully several years. At this period he disposed of his mercantile pursuits and retired from all public business, with the exception of Justice of the Peace, which office he held until the time of his death, January 4, 1879. He was born in New Jersey, but reared and educated in New York State. Ilis father was of Irish descent but was brought to America when a mere child and apprenticed to a shoemaker. In the course of time his father de- serted him and went to an unknown country, and has never been heard of since. The mother of our subject was Miss Mary Markle, a daughter of Maj.
671
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Markle, who was a veteran in the War of 1812 and a French-Canadian by birth. His grandmother was a Hickox, a descendant of the celebrated Mitchell family of New York. She died at the venerable age of nearly one hundred years in 1890. When a little girl she came to Indiana and always took great pride in relating anecdotes of early life and of the hostilities they suffered from the In- dians, who were camped along the frontier.
Our subject is one of six children. The other living child is Lula, now Mrs. Hanger. Mr. Den- ehie was educated in the common schools of the county and has always been well employed, engag- ing chiefly in the sale of farming implements, and buying and selling grain and coal.
W ILLIAM A. RICE, a well-to-do farmer of Montgomery County, owns and occupies a valuable and well-equipped farm on section 29, Union Township. lle was born in Fayette County, Ky., December 29, 1838, and is a son of Abraham Rice, who was also a native of that State, born in one of its pioneer homes May 10, 1796. His parents, Michael and Catherine (Balsam) Rice, were from Maryland, and were of German antecedents. Michael Rice was a minister in the Dunkard Church in early life, and subse- quently became a preacher in the Christian Church. He had a family of seventeen children.
Abraham Rice was next to the eldest of his fa- ther's children. He grew to manhood in Jessa- mine County, Ky., and was married in Fayette County, the same State, to Miss Margaret Lydick, who was born November 18, 1800, and was a daughter of Adam Lydick, who was a prominent and wealthy farmer of that county. Mr. Rice lived in Harrisburgh for two years after his mar- riage, working at his trade as a brickmason. Ile returned at the end of that time to Fayette County, where he settled on an estate that he had inherited from his father. He engaged extensively in rais- ing horses, which he took to Philadelphia to sell.
After that he went into the business of making brick and building houses on his own responsibil- ity. In 1851 he left Fayette County to take up his abode in this State, and located on the place where our subject now lives. He bought four hundred acres of land, and in the comfortable home that he built up here he and his wife lived until they closed their eyes in death-he dying first, his demise occurring October 17, 1873, and hers a year later, October 29, 1874. They were people of sound Christian principles, and were among the prominent members of the Disciples Church, as were all of their family, and he was Deacon of the church during his many years' resi- dence in Kentucky. Politically, he was a Whig until the dissolution of the party. and then be- came a Democrat. IIe and his wife reared a fam- ily of seven children, of whom all grew to matur- ity, and four are still living: Martin, who is en- gaged in the brick business at Crawfordsville; Anna Eliza, wife of William R. Payne, of Uniou Township; Martha M., wife of George B. Faust, of Crawfordsville; and our subject. Those that died are Levi, who was an artist and an architect, and whose death occurred in Fayette County, Ky., at the age of twenty-one; Elizabeth B., who married James S. Fisher, and died at the age of sixty years; and Maria, who died at the age of sixty-four.
The subject of this sketch was only thirteen years old when the family came to this county. He had previously been educated in the schools of his native county. He remained with his father until his death, and inherited the estate with his sister Maria. After her death he inherited a part of her share, and bought out the remainder of the other heirs. He now has one hundred and sixty acres of land in his farm, all of which is cultivated and is highly productive. A well-ordered set of buildings adorn the place, and thrift and good management are apparent on every hand. Our subject does a lucrative business as a general far- mer, raising sheep of standard breeds and other fine stock.
Mr. Rice was married October 31, 1867, to Miss Martha E. Hipes, a daughter of Adam Hipes, who was at that time a resident of this county. Mrs. Rice is a native of this county, and was born
33
672
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
March 9, 1850. Her father was a Virginian by birth. Ile married Martha E. Dice, who was born and reared in Virginia, and was a daughter of David Dice. Mr. Hlipes was one of the early set- tlers of this county, and one of its pioneer teach- ers. He had three children: James, who was born in 1848, became a practicing physician in early manhood, and died in 1876; Mrs. Rice; and Mary, who married William Everson, a farmer of Union Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Rice have been blessed with a fam- ily of seven children, of whom five are living: Charles, who was born August 31, 1872, and is a drummer in the mill and oil business; Henry, who was born July 18, 1874, and assists his fa- ther on the farm; Edgar, who was born Febru- ary 25, 1876, and is at home with his parents; John W., who was born Inly 12, 1881; and Clay M., who was born April 5, 1886. James M., who was born August 9, 1868, died February 22, 1869; and Minnie Ellen, who was born June 10, 1880, died August 13, 1880.
Our subject and his amiable wife are members in high standing of the Disciples Church, and by their neighborly kindness, charitableness and up- right walk show themselves to be consistent in their religion. Mr. Rice is a true Republican, who is active in local politics, and is a strong party man, always working hard for the success of his party in every campaign.
00)
G EORGE MOORE is one of the leading farm- ers of Sugar Creek Township, Parke County, and is probably one of the oldest settlers of this region now living. Since 1831, or when he was a lad of seven years, his history has been identified with that of the county. In 1847 he bought eighty acres of wild land, which is now comprised within the limits of his present farm, and which has since been doubled in extent. This place he cleared nearly all by himself, and he has been a very industrious man and hard worker.
On the place may be found a pleasant and com- modious residence, barns and other outbuildings, which are kept up m a neat and thrifty manner, befitting the times.
The birth of George Moore took place Oct- ober 24, 1824, in Wabash Township, which is now comprised within the limits of Parke County, it being in the southern part. Our subject is a son of James and Sally (Heise) Moore, the former born in Pennsylvania in 1786, and the latter in Ohio. James Moore was reared in the usual man- ner of farmer lads and adopted agricultural pur- suits for his life work. lle remained with his par- ents until attaining his majority, and with them emigrated to Ohio from the Keystone State. He married the daughter of George Ileise, a pioneer of Ohio, and soon after brought his wife to Parke County, where he had previously entered land. At the end of a few years he left that place, and, go- ing to Montgomery County, bought a small farm near Waveland. Ile was quite successful as a farmer, though extremely conservative. He brought up his six children to be useful and intelligent citizens. Of the number our subject is the eldest in order of birth, the others being as follows: Squire; Julia A., wife of William llogett; Margaret J., wife of Washington Yoakley; Samuel; and Me- lissa, now Mrs. Emanuel Lighter. The father was a supporter of the Whig party, and in the War of 1812 fought with Harrison and Scott. He de- parted this life October 5, 1875. His wife had died many years previous, on September 11, 1849.
The youth of George Moore was passed in assist- ing his father on his farm, and on reaching an age when he wished to be independent, he began working by the month for neighboring farmers, re- ceiving small wages. Thus he continued for sev- eral years, and then commenced learning the car- penter's trade. working for about three years with the man who was his teacher in that line of busi- ness. His next move was to go into partnership with a brother, and together they built some of the best houses and barns to be found in the northern part of Parke County.
It was on the 25th of August, 1857, that a mar- riage ceremony was performed which united the fortunes of our subject and Sarah C., daughter of
673
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Isaac Piekard. They have three living children, who are as follows: William A .; James M., whose wife was formerly Miss Minnie Phipps; and Sarah, who became the wife of Miles Rateliff, a sketch of whom may be found in another portion of this work. In early life Mr. Moore was a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Harrisburg Lodge No. 314. He deposits his ballot in favor of the measures and men advocated by the Repub- liean party. For a man of his age he is exceed- ingly active and vigorous, bidding fair to live many years in the enjoyment of the fruits of his years of toil. He possesses the friendship and high regard of all who have the pleasure of mak- ing his acquaintance.
HOMAS J. DURMAN, a dealer in general merchandise at Kingman, having the largest and best-appointed store of the kind in the village, bears a high reputation throughout Foun- tain County as an honorable, straightforward hus- iness man. He is a native of Fayette County, this State, born September 17, 1840. His father was Harvey Durman, and was born in Virginia in 1817. Hein turn was a son of William Durman, who was a soldier in the War of 1812.
William Durman was born May 3, 1783. He married Eunice Reed, who was born September 26, 1788. She was a daughter of William Reed, who was also a Virginian, and became a very early set- tler of Delaware County, this State, and one of its prominent farmers. He had a very large family of children.
Harvey Durman lived in his native Virginia un- til he was seventeen years old, when he came to Indiana, and for a time resided by the White Wa- ter River, near Connersville, Fayette County. He there learned the trade of a carpenter, which he followed for twenty-five years, principally in Mis- souri and Illinois. He spent his last days at Har- veysburg, in this State. Ile was a man of strict moral character, who took a great interest in re-
ligious work as a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. Politically, he was a Republican.
Mr. Durman was married in this State, at Cam- bridge, in Wayne County, in 1839, to Miss Mary Ann Moore, who survives him at a venerable age. Her father, Samuel Moore, was a prominent farmer of Parke County, and one of its first settlers, hav- ing located there as early as 1822. The parents of our subject had six children beside himself: Martha, wife of Wesley Lindley, of Mill Creek Township; Samuel, who is clerk in his brother's store; Deborah C., deceased; James, deceased; Jonas, deceased; and B. F., a farmer in Mill Creek Town- ship.
He of whom we write was educated in the schools of Hancock, Ill., and Linn County, Mo. Hle was just entering manhood when the war broke out, and with true patriotie ardor he entered the service of his country in July, 1861, in eager re- sponse to President Lincoln's call for three hun- dred thousand volunteers. He was enrolled in Company H, Twenty-first Indiana Infantry, and in the three terrible years of fighting, hardship and sacrifice that followed he stood steadfastly by his colors, and proved the worth of his soldiership on many a hard-fought battlefield. He was in sev- eral important engagements, including the battles of Baton Rouge, Port Hudson, Donaldsonville and Sabine Pass, also serving on the gunboat on Teche Bayou, and taking part in innumerable skirmishes with the rebels. After three years' service in the army he was honorably discharged on account of the expiration of his term of enlistment.
Returning to Indiana after his experience as a soldier in the South, Mr. Durman first engaged in selling goods for Campbell & Harter, of Craw- fordsville, at Russell's Mills, Parke County, and was at that point two years. He was then sent to Harveysburg by that firm for the same purpose, and remained with them until 1878, when he bought a part of their stock, to which he added other mer- chandise, and commenced business for himself in that town. In 1887 he disposed of his interests there, and, coming to Kingman, he built a large store, 24x90 feet, which is well arranged, and in it he carries about $15,000 worth of general mer- chandise of all kinds, except hardware, and has a
674
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
large and steadily growing trade, the sales amount- ing to as much as $20,000 a year. IIe employs two clerks, his brother Samuel and his son Paxton, and the establishment is well conducted, business being done on a sound basıs.
Our subject was married May 21, 1867, to Miss Melinda P., daughter of Israel Thompson, one of the well-known farmers of Parke County, where he settled as early as 1834. Mrs. Durman was ed- ucated in the Friends' School at Bloomingdale, her parents being Quakers. She has departed from their faith and is a member in high standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her marriage with Mr. Durman has been hallowed to them by the birth of the following children: Capitola, de- ceased; Ada; Paxton C .; Herbert Byron and Lena, who are attending school.
Our subject's war record is commemorated by his connection with the Grand Army of the Re- public. Socially, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Kingman, and he has held the office of Chancellor-Commander. Politically, he is allied with the Republicans, and in his citizenship he is public spirited, and has never yet failed to do his duty as a loyal, free-born American.
OIIN M. STEPHENSON, a representative business man and old resident of Linden, Montgomery County, Ind., and a Trustee of Madison Township for the past four years, has for over half a century been identified with the growth and local history of the sur- rounding country. In 1889 he established a saw and tile mill, and, finding the venture profitable, still continues in the business. Our subject is a native-born American citizen, as was his father and his father's father before him, but his pater- nal great-grandfather, Hughey Stephenson, was a Scotchman, born and bred upon his native heath.
In the early days of emigration from the Old Country, when a voyage across the Atlantic meant weeks of tossing about upon its stormy waves, the
then young and ambitious Scotch laddie jour- neyed to the United States, which had about that time establislied a national government and de- clared its freedom from the rule of Britain. The majority of the cmigrants of those days were of the energetic and enterprising middle class, who, like Hughey Stephenson, had descended from in- telligent ancestry, and sought to improve their fortunes in a free and prosperous country.
Among these people the ancestor of our sub- ject found congenial friends and entered into matrimony, rearing a large family of industrious and useful citizens. One of his sons, John, served bravely in the War of 1812, and afterward lo- cated in Ohio, when that State was almost a wil- derness; a few straggling settlements here and there comprised the bulk of the population, and many were the privations and dangers encoun- tered by the pioneers. Amid the rugged scenes of those early days the grandfather of our subjeet reared ten children. His second child, Jeremiah, remained in his native State until he had reached mature years; then. having married a Miss Phobe Cook, came with his wife to Madison County, Ind., in 1837.
For a full score of years the grandparents made their home in their first location, and there a fam- ily of five bright children grew up abont them, viz .: Naney; Jolin, our subject; Sarah, Rebecca and William. Of these children, all but Nancy still sur- vive. John M. arrived at manhood in Madison County, but came with his parents to Montgom- ery County in 1857. The family settled in Coal Creek Township, where the mother died; the fa- ther survived her, and was making his home in Linden when he, too, passed away.
Our subject received an enducation in the com- mon schools, and then applied himself industri- ously to a daily round of work. Having made a good beginning in life, he was nnited in marriage with Miss Amanda Dewey, daughter of Washing- ton and Elizabeth (Gammon) Dewey, in 1860. The father of Mrs. Stephenson was born near Whitewater, Ind. Her paternal grandfather was a native of Maryland, and his father was born and reared in England.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson are the parents of ten
675
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD).
children, seven sons and three daughters, viz .: Edward; Elizabeth, wife of Brent White; George, Fred, William, Blanche, Maud, John, C. Everett and Paul. Some of these young people have gone into homes of their own, but the majority still re- main on the homestead of their parents, who are desirous mainly of training them well for the bat- tle of life, and so fitting them for daily cares and anxieties, which come alike to all, both rich and poor.
Our subject and his family occupy a high position in the regard of the community in which they dwell. They are among the valued members of the Christian Church, and are fore- most in the benevolent work of that religious or- ganization. Mr. Stephenson is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and politically affiliates with the Republican party. As Trustee of Madison Township he has given satisfaction, and in his work received the approval of old friends and neighbors.
AMES E. MORRIS stands among the fore- most farmers of Reserve Township, Parke County. Ile was born to William and Percy (Edmondson) Morris in Wayne County, N. C., June 30, 1821. The grandfather of our subject was a large slave-owner in the Car- olinas, and, thinking to try the Northern States, he started for Indiana, but died before reaching this State. Ilis wife resumed the journey with her family, being nine weeks on the way, and set- tled on eighty acres on section 34, Reserve Town- ship, where she died at the age of eighty-seven years, after rearing her family of six children, viz .: Mary, Zachariah, Thomas, Exum, Celia and Pe- ninah, all of whom died in Indiana.
The father of our subject was, like his son, a native of Wayne County, N. C. In the winter of 1827 he came to this county, where he imme- diately purchased eighty acres of timberland, which he set about clearing and improving. Later
he located on two hundred and forty acres in Penn Township, which at his death in 1850 was considered one of the best-improved farms in the county. In politics he supported the Whig party, and was an active member of the Society of Friends. His good wife survived him three years, when she, too, was called to her final rest, leav- ing thirteen children: Jeremiah, Peggy R., Polly J., Betsey, James, William C., Zachariah, Wright E., Thomas, Mary, Mordecai, Percy and Robert. The deceased are Peggy R., Jeremiah, Betsey, Wright E., Thomas and Robert. The mother of this family was a daughter of James Edmondson, who was born in North Carolina, where she died.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.