FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA
BIOGRAPHIES
MISS
MARGARET SHIELDS
LAZARUS
MUNGER
The ancestors of
Lazarus Hunger, a representative citizen of Posey township, Fayette
county, as far back as their history can be traced in the annals of
America, are noted for the sterling traits of character that mark the
valuable citizen of this great republic. At all times they have been
ready to uphold righteous and just laws, to promote the welfare of the
land of their nativity, and, if needful, to lay down their lives on the
altar of her liberty and maintenance. The majority of the Mungers have
led the quiet, independent lives of agriculturists, though a few marked
exceptions to this rule have occurred.
One of the very
early pioneers of Ohio was General Edward Munger, the grandfather of
our subject. He was born in Connecticut, September 30, 1763, and after
his marriage, on the 5th of December, 1785, to Eunice Kellogg, a native
of the same state, born August 13, 1767, he resided in the town of
Washington, Connecticut, for a few years. Then, removing to Rutland
county, Vermont, they dwelt there until the spring of 1798, when they
located in Belpre, Washington county, Ohio. A short time subsequently
they permanently settled on land purchased by the General in Montgomery
county, Ohio, and there he cleared and made a good farm prior to his
death, which took place April 14, 1850. He was a man of great
enterprise and strong individuality, looked up to and consulted as one
having authority. During the war of 1812 he raised and trained a
regiment in the defense of the young republic, and for this invaluable
service was commissioned brigadier general, being superseded in this
position by the celebrated General Hull. Nor did his public services
end here, as he was elected and won new honors in the Ohio state
legislature, and in local offices. General Munger and his wife, Eunice,
were of Puritan ancestry, their forefathers being numbered among the
early colonists of New England. The eldest child of this worthy couple,
Warren, born in Washington, Connecticut, February 28, 1787, returned to
his native state about 1811 for the purpose of studying law, and
subsequently was state's attorney of Miami county, Ohio, besides
holding other important local offices. He continued to practice law
until 1840, when he retired to his farm, where he resided until his
death, in 1877. Truman, born January 19, 1789, came to Indiana in 1821,
bought and improved land, which he afterward sold, then removing to the
vicinity of Petersburg, Illinois. He bought a farm there, and in 1876
retired from the active duties of life to pass his remaining days in
Prairie City, where he died. Edmund K. was the next in order of birth.
Minerva, born in Vermont, November 5, 17.92, married Judge Amos Ervin,
of Ohio, and died April 26, 1874. Reuben born in Vermont, October 30,
1794, died in Ohio. Elisur and Festus, died in infancy. Eunice, born in
Montgomery county, Ohio, February 10, 1801, married William McCann, of
Ohio, who purchased land in Posey township, this county, and sold the
property after making some improvements. He then turned his attention
to brick making, and later carried on a farm which he bought in Rush
county, this state. There his wife died, in 1841, and after marrying
again he went to Iowa, where his last days were passed. Sarah, born in
Ohio, March 15, 1803, died September 12, 1883. She became the wife of
Elam Ervin, an Ohio farmer, born November 17, 1801. At an early period
they went to Rush county, this state, where he died when but forty
years of age. Festus E., born April 11, 1805, was a farmer, and died in
Dayton, Ohio. He reared six children, and three of his sons, Timothy,
Lyman and Alvin, were soldiers in the Union army, the first two being
members of the Forty fourth Ohio Regiment band. They enlisted in 1861,
and were so unfortunate as to be taken prisoners and Timothy was
confined in the famous Libby warehouse, while Lyman languished and
suffered for seventeen months in the dreadful pens of Andersonville. In
spite of all their hardships the three brothers lived to return home
and to resume their accustomed occupations at the close of the war.
Milton, born -October 5, 1807, was a farmer, and died near Piqua, Miami
county, Ohio, in 1874. One of his sons, William, entered the service of
the Union during the civil war, and what his fate was his parents never
learned. Isaac N., born August 12, 1812, and now living retired in
Piqua, Ohio, not only conducted a farm but was a successful teacher of
music for a long time.
Edmund K. Munger,
who was born in Rutland county, Vermont, September 13, 1790, remained
with his parents in Ohio until his marriage, in 1812, to Mary Cole, a
native of Botetourt county, Virginia, born October 15, 1794. The same
year the young man volunteered his services to his country, but the
quota was complete and he was not needed. Settling in
Montgomery county, Ohio, he was industriously occupied in the
cultivation of a farm until the spring of 1821, when he bought the
two-hundred-acre farm on which the subject of this sketch now resides.
In the fall of the same year the family removed to their new home here,
and for many years the humble log cabin which the father erected served
them as a home. In time the land was reduced to cultivation and in 1S35
the brick house in which our subject lives was built. The double room
cabin in which they first dwelt was looked upon as almost palatial by
their neighbors, and many happy hours were spent in the hospitable
abode. The brick house, likewise, was one of the first erected of that
material in the county, and travelers and those in search of a home and
location were directed to this place, where, as it was known far and
near, liberal and hearty hospitality was ever to be found. Politically,
Edmund K. Munger was a Whig and Republican. Reared in the tenets of the
Presbyterian church by parents who were extremely strict, he never
became identified with any church, though his life was above reproach
and his actions were consistent with the teachings of Christianity. He
lived to a good old age, dying June 10, 1872. His faithful wife, who
was a member of the Baptist church, died September 9., 1853. She went
with her parents, Samuel and Catherine (Bryan) Cole, from Virginia to
Montgomery county early in this century. The father, who was a wagon
maker by trade, came to this locality in 1826 and settled upon a small
tract of land north of Bentonville, where he plied his calling and
cultivated his farm. Late in life he and his wife lived with their
children, he dying January 1, 1849, and she September 7, 1844. Both
were active members of the Christian church. Their children were: John,
Philip, Jacob, Andrew, M. B., William, Elizabeth (now Mrs. T. Munger)
and Mary.
Eunice, the eldest
child of Edmund and Mary Munger, was born in Ohio, February 24, 1814,
and she never married. She was a member of the Baptist church untill
she died, happy in her faith, February 5, 1884. Norman, the eldest son,
born August 28, 1815, was a representative farmer of Wayne county,
where his death took place April 30, 1885. Margaret, born June 12,
1817, married William Manlove, who was the first white child born in
Posey township, his birth having taken place in 1815. Truman, born
December 14, 1818, lived on farms in Henry and Rush counties, dying at
his home in the last mentioned county, January 17, 1857. Elizabeth,
born May 4, 1821, married Samuel S. Ewing, of Ohio. He was a carpenter
by trade and engaged in surveying and farming in Wabash county,
Indiana. Samuel, born March 6, 1824, learned the carpenter's trade, and
after his marriage settled on an Illinois farm, where he remained until
his death, August 18, 1896. He was a leader in the Christian church and
Sunday school, and was highly esteemed by all who knew
him. Martha, born April 6, 1827, became
the wife of M. B. Vandegrift, a blacksmith, and died March 6, 1880,
leaving three children. Mary, born April 30, 1829, and now a resident
of Anderson, Indiana, married William T. Hensley, of Fayette county.
Lazarus and Edmund are the next of the family. Louisa, the youngest,
born May 31, 1836, died June 1, 1843.
Lazarus Munger was born September 11,
1831, in Posey township, on the old homestead which he now owns. In the
district schools he obtained a fair education, and under his father's
instruction he acquired practical knowledge of farming when a mere boy.
After the death of the parents, Lazarus and Edmund and three sisters
lived together and carried on the work of the farm. Then, when two of
the sisters married and the third died, our subject chose a wife. His
brother remains unmarried, and has always been associated with him in
business. Having accumulated a little capital they invested it, in
1863, in one hundred and twenty one acres of the homestead, and in
August, 1882, our subject bought the other's share. Edmund Munger, who
is an energetic business man, has been interested in various things
besides farming, and has acted as agent for different concerns, among
them being the Union National Building & Loan Association, of
Indianapolis, and the Wayne International Building & Loan
Association, of Cambridge City. For both of these companies he has
transacted a large amount of business, and still represents them. His
capital he invests in good securities of various kinds, and his
integrity and square dealing are undoubted. He has always made his home
and headquarters at his birth-place, being a valued member of our
subject's household. For several years he has devoted much attention to
the buying of shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs, frequently going
into neighboring states in search of especially fine specimens. Lazarus
Munger, likewise, is interested in high-grade live stock, and always
keeps large herds of shorthorns and Poland China hogs. He has added to
his original purchase of land until he now owns five hundred and
eighteen acres, all of which is under fine cultivation. His prosperity
is well deserved, and is the direct result of application, sound
judgment and perseverance in a line of action when once determined
upon. He has upheld the Republican principles, and, though he has
attended conventions in the county and state and has endeavored to
advance the interests of the party, he never has been prevailed upon to
accept a public office of importance, and though often urged to become
a candidate for the legislature has persistently refused. He has served
his own township as assessor, with credit to himself and friends, but
has no desire for public office.
On the 10th of September, 1866, the
marriage of Lazarus Munger and Miss Savanna Ferguson was solemnized.
She is a daughter of Linville and Elizabeth (Loder) Ferguson, whose
history appears elsewhere in this work.
She was born
February 8, 1843, and is one of five brothers and sisters, the others
being, Oliver, now a resident of Milton; Elmer, who died at the age of
twelve years; Mrs. Emma Thornburg; and Charley, who owns and carries on
the old homestead which belonged to his father. The latter, who was one
of the most successful stock dealers of this section of Indiana,
himself cleared about five hundred acres of land, and divided fifteen
hundred acres among his children. He was very prominent in every way,
acting in public offices, and for twenty three years was connected with
the Cambridge City National Bank, being its president for fifteen years.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Munger was
blessed with two daughters and one son, namely: Lorena M., born March
5, 1869, and now the wife of: Philip F. Weaver, a farmer; Warren H.,
born February 20, 1878; and Helen E., born October 1, 1879. The younger
daughter and the son are students in Earlham College, and are receiving
excellent training for the serious duties of life.
MILTON
TRUSLER
Not all men order
their lives to their liking; nor yet are all men true to themselves in
living as nearly to their ideals as possible and attaining to such
heights as their opportunities and talents render accessible. We now
turn to one who has done much and done it well, wherein all honor lies.
Not a pretentious or exalted life has been his, but one that has been
true to itself and its possibilities, and one to which the biographer
may revert with a feeling of respect and satisfaction.
Hon. Milton
Trusler's identification with the history of that section of Indiana
with which this compilation has to do has been one of ancestral as well
as individual nature, and would on that score alone demand
consideration in this connection; but such has been his personal
prominence in positions of public trust and responsibility; such his
influence in furthering the progress and material prosperity of the
state at large, that his individual distinction clearly entitles him to
representation in this work. Back to that cradle of much of our
national history, the Old Dominion, must we turn in tracing the lineage
of the subject of this review. He was born in Franklin county, Indiana,
on the 31st of October, 1825, the son of Samuel W. and Martha (Curry)
Trusler. The original representative of the family in Indiana was James
Trusler, grandfather of the subject of this review, who was a native of
Virginia, where he was reared to manhood and there married.
About the year
1812 he emigrated with his family to the wilds of the Hoosier state,
coming to Franklin county and settling on a tract of excellent land in
the vicinity of the present little village of Fairfield. Here he
developed a good farm, upon which he passed the residue of his days,
passing away about the year 1840, at the age of eighty two. He was a
man of strong individuality and upright life, being known as one of the
successful and influential farmers of this section, where he was
uniformly honored and respected, by reason of his sterling character.
In his religious adherence he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, in which he was a most devout and earnest worker.
In the family of
James Trusler were five sons and two daughters. Of these Samuel Wilson
Trusler, the father of our subject, was born in Virginia on the 9th of
July, 1795, and accompanied his parents on their removal to Indiana in
the early pioneer days. In 1830 he removed to Jackson township, Fayette
county, this state, where he thereafter continuously devoted his
attention to agricultural pursuits until called from the scene of
life's labors. He owned a farm of one hundred and forty acres, which he
brought under most effective cultivation, bringing to bear those
methods and that judgment which insure success. The old homestead farm
is now owned by his son, the subject of this review. Samuel W. Trusler
was in politics a stanch supporter of the Whig party, and though he had
no predilection for official preferment, he was called upon to serve in
certain township offices and was for many years a school director,
maintaining a lively concern in all that conserved the public welfare.
While other members of the family had clung tenaciously to the tenets
of the Methodist church, his intellectual powers led him to adopt
somewhat more liberal views, and he became a zealous and devoted member
of the Universalist church; ordering his life consistently with the
faith which he espoused. The death of Mr. Trusler occurred on his farm
August 4, 1846, and the community realized that a true and noble
character had been withdrawn from their midst. His devoted wife had
been summoned into eternal rest in 1838, at the age of thirty four
years, her birth having occurred on the 4th of July, 1804.
Of the children of
Samuel W. and Martha (Curry) Trusler five grew to maturity, and of
these we offer the following epitomized record: Nelson, who was born in
Franklin county, Indiana, May 13, 1822, died at Indianapolis, in 1878,
aged fifty six years. He was one of the representative members of the
bar of the state and wielded a wide influence in political affairs. He
served for three years in the war of the Rebellion, having held
commission as colonel of the Eighty fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
He had held distinguished public preferment, having served as secretary
of state and. being the incumbent as attorney general of Indiana at the
time of his death..
He was engaged in
the practice of his profession at Connersville for a number of years,
after which he removed to the capital city of the state, where his
death occurred. The next of the family is Mrs. Mary J. Barnard, widow
of William D. Barnard, of Indianapolis. She was born November 9, 1827.
Gilbert, who was born in Franklin county, on the 21st of July. 1830,
died in Indianapolis. He was a lawyer by profession, and was engaged in
practice at Connersville. At the time of the war of Rebellion he
effected the organization of the Thirty sixth Regiment of Indiana
Volunteers, with which he went to the front as captain, being promoted
major before the expiration of his term of service. He served as mayor
of Connersville, was county clerk for two terms and was Fayette
county's representative in the state legislature. Thomas J. Trusler was
born February 11, 1835. Like his brothers, he was a member of the bar
of the state, having been engaged in the practice of his profession in
Connersville and Liberty for a number of years, after which he located
in Indianapolis. He served as deputy secretary of state under his
brother Nelson and also under Hon. W. W. Curry.
Of the children
who grew to maturity the subject of this review, Milton Trusler, was
the second eldest, and his career, like that of his brothers, has
conferred dignity and honor upon the state. He was five years of age at
the time his parents took up their abode on the farm in Jackson
township, and at the old homestead he was reared under the sturdy and
invigorating discipline of farm life. It is interesting to revert to
the fact that he never wavered in his allegiance to the great basic art
of agriculture during the long years of his active business life. It is
still more worthy of note that for sixty five years he lived on the old
family homestead, which is still owned by him and from which he removed
only when prompted to seek retirement from the active labors protracted
over many years and crowned with merited success. Mr. Trusler received
his educational training in the common schools, completing a course of
study in the high school at Liberty. He assumed the personal
responsibilities of practical business life by engaging in the line of
enterprise to which he has been reared from his boyhood days. His
original farm comprised sixty five acres, but he has added to it from
time to time, as-prosperity attended his industrious and well directed
efforts, until he now owns a finely cultivated place of three hundred
and twenty acres, well improved with substantial buildings and figuring
as one of the most valuable farms in this section of a great
agricultural state.
On the 17th of
April, 1894, Mr. Trusler removed from his farm to East Connersville,
where, in a pleasant home, he is enjoying the rewards of a life of
honest and successful endeavor, well deserving that otium cum dignitate
which is his portion as the shadows of his life begin to lengthen into
the grateful twilight. On the 9th of March,
1848, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Trusler to Miss Isabelle
Thompson, a native of Fayette county, and to them were born four sons
and four daughters, concerning whom we incorporate the following data:
M. Anna became the wife of Daniel Brumfield, a farmer of this county;
Laura J., the widow of James M. Backhouse, resides in Connersville;
Samuel F. is a farmer of this county; M. Henry, also a farmer of this
county; Sidney E. is engaged in mercantile pursuits in Anderson,
Indiana; Nina C. is the wife of J. B. Rose, of Miami county, this
state; Ira T. is a resident of Connersville; and Juanita is the widow
of William A. Stewart, of Connersville.
In conclusion we
will glance at the more salient points in the public or official life
of Mr. Trusler. In his political proclivities he was originally a
supporter of the Whig party, from which he withdrew to place his
allegiance with the new and stronger candidate for public favor, the
Republican party, of whose principles and policies he has ever since
been a zealous advocate. He has wielded a marked influence in the
political affairs of this section, and has served in various township
offices. In 1872 he was the incumbent as trustee of Jackson township, a
position which he resigned upon being elected to represent his county
in the legislature, in which he served as a member of the lower house
during the sessions of 1872, 1873, 1874 and 1875. His personal
popularity and the appreciation of his value as a representative in the
legislative councils of the state were manifested soon after his
retirement from the lower house, since he became the successful
candidate of his party for the state senate, in which he served during
the sessions of 1876 and 1877. In the councils of his party and as a
legislator he showed himself to be a man of strong intellectuality,
broad and exact knowledge and mature and practical judgment. His
influence was at all times cast on the side which looked to the
conservation of public interests; his views were marked by distinctive
wisdom, and the confidence in his personal integrity and ability was
unwavering. In 1892 Mr. Trusler was the Republican candidate for the
office of secretary of state, in which connection he made a very
thorough canvass during the incidental campaign, but he naturally met
defeat at the polls, since that year marked one of the most memorable
general land-slides in the history of the Republican party. His
strength in the state was shown, however, in the fact that he ran two
thousand votes ahead of his ticket. He has a large acquaintance ship
throughout the state and has a strong hold upon the respect and
confidence of the farming class, with whose interests he has naturally
had a most pronounced sympathy. He was for seven years master of the
state Grange, in which connection he did active and effective work in
every section of the state, striving at all times to spur farmers
onward to the point of making agriculture and its allied industries
occupy the dignified position which is intrinsically
due. He has done much to elevate the standard
of husbandry in Indiana, and no man is more honored among the
agricultural classes.
Mr. Trusler was
enrolling officer for Fayette county during the war of the Rebellion
and was unflagging in his zeal for the Union cause. Fraternally he is
prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being
one of the charter members of Everton Lodge, with which he has been
connected for more than half a century, and in which he has filled all
the chairs, besides representing the lodge a number of times in the
grand lodge of the state.
As one of the venerable citizens of
Fayette county, and as one whose life has been one of signal usefulness
and honor, the publishers of this work realize that even more distinct
representation in this connection would not do justice to this well
known scion of one of the pioneer families of Indiana, a state which
has been honored and enriched by his example
EPHRAIM
DERBYSHIRE, M. D.
Doctor Derbyshire
is not only a leading physician of Indiana, but stands as a
representative of one of the old and honored families of the state, the
name having been identified with the annals of American history from
pre Revolutionary times and having ever stood for the staunchest
integrity and honor in all the relations of life. The Doctor is a
native of Franklin county, having been born near Laurel, on the 17th of
February, 1846, a son of James A. and Hannah (Palmer) Derbyshire.
The Derbyshire
family is of stanch old English stock, and records extant show that
representatives of the name settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania,
prior to the war of the Revolution, the old family homestead having
been located near the town of Yardley, that County. In this old
Pennsylvania homestead both the grandfather and the father of the
Doctor were born. The former, Alexander D. Derbyshire, passed his
entire life in his native county, and he died in the old ancestral home
mentioned. He was a weaver by trade, but he devoted the greater part of
his life to agricultural pursuits.
James Alexander Derbyshire, the
father of the Doctor, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the
24th of April, 1817, the son of Alexander Derbyshire, who was likewise
a native of the same county, as has already been noted, his death
occurring at the age of sixty five years, while his wife passed away
when James A. was a child of but three years. On the old homestead
James A. Derbyshire grew to maturity, receiving such educational
advantages as were afforded by the public schools, and preparing
himself for the active duties of life by learning the trade of
carpenter. In 1836 his brother-in-law, Joel Palmer, came from
Pennsylvania to Indiana to engage in the construction of the Whitewater
canal, and in connection with this work Mr. Derbyshire was induced to
come to the state in the succeeding year, 1837. His brother-in-law was
a contractor, and Mr., Derbyshire found employment with him, being
engaged in the construction of locks and bridges on the canal,
continuing to be thus employed until work on the canal was suspended.
He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, having for
several years carried on farming operations on rented land in Posey
township, Franklin county, where he has ever since continued to reside.
In 1846 he purchased his present farm, which is located on section 20,
and his enterprise and sound judgment conserved the success of his
efforts, and he has been long recognized as one of the representative
men of the county, being held in the highest confidence and esteem in
the community where he has so long resided.
In the year 1842
was solemnized the marriage of James A. Derbyshire and Hannah Palmer,
daughter of Ephraim Palmer, and they became the parents of seven
children, two of whom are now deceased. We here give a brief record
concerning the children: Oscar is a resident of Laurel, this county;
Ephraim is the immediate subject of this review; Albert and Alexander
are residents of the state of Oregon; Caroline is the wife of Prof.
Felix Shelling, of the University of Pennsylvania; Elizabeth became the
wife of John Withers, and her death occurred several years ago; and
William P. died in infancy. Mrs. Derbyshire had been in declining
health for some time, and in the hope of relief she went to California
in 1886, being shortly afterward joined by her husband. They continued
to reside in California for a year, but with no appreciable or
permanent benefit to the health of Mrs. Derbyshire. They accordingly
returned to their home in Indiana, and the devoted wife and mother
survived but a short time after her arrival, her death occurring in
Connersville.
In his political
adherency Mr. Derbyshire has long rendered a stanch allegiance to the
Republican party and the principles and policies for which it stands
sponsor. He was originally a Democrat, but left the ranks of that party
at the time of the organization of the Republican party and gave his
support to its presidential candidate, John C. Fremont. In earlier
years he took quite an active part in local political affairs, and
served for some time as a justice of the peace. In his religious views
he holds to the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is
a member. Fraternally he has been long and conspicuously identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being one of the oldest
members of that organization in the state. He was initiated into its
mysteries in 1839, and has thus been a member for the long term of
sixty years. He has on many occasions represented his lodge in the
grand lodge of the state, having been a delegate as lately as 1898. On
this occasion he received much attention and fraternal deference as a
veteran member of the order and as the oldest representative present.
Mr. Derbyshire has ever been held in the highest esteem in the
community, has ordered his life on a high plane, and is honored as one
of the venerable pioneers of the county.
Dr. Ephraim
Derbyshire, son of the venerable gentleman whose life history has just
been briefly outlined, was reared on the old homestead in Posey
township, securing his preliminary educational discipline in the public
schools, after which he completed a course of academic studies in the
old Brookville College. After leaving school he learned the tinner's
trade, to which he devoted his attention for a time. His ambition and
natural predilections, however, prompted him to seek a wider and higher
field of endeavor. His ambition was distinctly one of action, and he
determined to prepare himself for the medical profession. He began his
technical studies in the line, and in 1873-4 he took the course of
lectures in the Ohio Medical College. Thus thoroughly fortified by
careful and discriminating study, he began the practice of his chosen
profession in New Salem, Rush county. Indiana, where he remained until
1880, having built up an excellent practice and established a
reputation as an able and skillful practitioner. Desiring to still
farther perfect himself for the work of his profession, he then
matriculated in the Medical College of Indiana, at Indianapolis, where
he completed the full course of study, graduating with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine.
Immediately
after his graduation the
Doctor located in Bentonville, Fayette county, this
state, where he continued in the active and successful .practice of his
profession until 1897, when he located in Connersville, where his
prestige and success have been equally marked. He has a deep
appreciation of the responsibilities of his laborious and exacting
profession, and not only does he keep fully abreast of the advances
made in the sciences -of medicine and surgery, but he is animated by
that lively sympathy and ..geniality of nature which are so essential
in the true physician. The Doctor is a member of the State Medical
Society and also the district association, and at the present time he
is the incumbent as secretary of the county board -of health. For the
past thirty five years Dr. Derbyshire has been a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work he has a deep and abiding
interest.
The marriage of
the Doctor was celebrated in the year 1868, when he was united to Miss
Amy C. French, of Decatur county, Indiana. They became the parents of
two children, one of whom is deceased. The surviving child, Catherine,
gives additional brightness in the home, which is the center of a
cultured and refined hospitality. The Doctor and his family enjoy a
..distinctive popularity in the little city of their home.
Reverting, in
conclusion, to the Doctor's father, Jarres A.
Derbyshire, we may say that he is conceded to be the oldest Odd Fellow
in the state, and on the occasion of the meeting of the grand
lodge, at Indianapolis, in 1898, that
distinguished body voted him a medal in honor of his long
and prominent service in the fraternity.
Mr. Derbyshire's fine farm comprises two hundred acres,
under most effective cultivation and equipped with
substantial improvements. On his farm are the
local} famed Derbyshire falls, which are known for
their picturesque beauty, attracting many visitors to the place.
CAPTAIN
THOMAS DOWNS
For many years an
active factor in the industrial interests of Connersville, Captain
Thomas Downs, through his diligence, perseverance and business ability
acquired a handsome competence, and also contributed to the general
prosperity through the conduct of enterprises which furnished
employment to many. Reliability in all trade transactions, loyalty to
all duties of citizenship, fidelity in the discharge of every trust
reposed in him, these are .his chief characteristics, and through the
passing years they have gained to .him the unqualified confidence and
respect of his fellow townsmen.
Captain Downs was
born in Anderson, Indiana, and is of Irish descent; .but at an early
day the family was founded in America, and the grandfather, Thomas
Downs, removed from his native state of Maryland to Fleming county,
Kentucky, in 1800. Thirty years later he became a resident of Franklin
county, Indiana, where he continued farming, which he had made his life
work until called to his final rest. His wife, who bore the maiden name
of Ruth House, was a native of Kentucky, and in their family were three
sons and two daughters. Hezekiah Downs, the father of the Captain, was
born in Kentucky in 1818, and went with his parents to Rush county at
the age of twelve. Through much of his life he followed farming in
Madison county, this state, but in 1862 brought his family to
Connersville and here his last days were
passed. He died in 18S2, at the age of sixty
four years.
Captain Downs
received his scholastic training in Madison county, and in May, 1862,
when only sixteen years of age enlisted, at Anderson, for service in
the civil war, becoming a member of Company K, Fifty fourth Indiana
Infantry. On the expiration of his three months term he re-enlisted,
October 2, 1862, becoming a member of Company K, Sixteenth Indiana
Infantry, continuing at the front until November 10, 1S65, when, the
war having ended, he was honorably discharged at Vicksburg. He was with
the Army of the Cumberland and participated in the Vicksburg campaign
and the Red river expedition. After the former he was ill for three
months with typhoid fever, but with this exception he was always found
at his post of duty, faithfully performing every service allotted to
him, whether upon the field of battle or on the picket line during the
silent watches of the night.
When the country
no longer needed his services Captain Downs came to Connersville, where
he has since made his home. For many years he engaged in contracting
and building. He was alone in business until January 1, 1874, when he
became a member of the firm of Andre, Stewart & Company,
contractors and builders and owners and operators of a planing mill. A
year later lie purchased the interests of his partners, with the
exception of Mr. Stewart, and the firm of Stewart & Downs was
organized. This relation was maintained for a year, when Mr. Stewart
sold his interest to Mr. Martin, and in 1877, by the admission of Mr.
Wait to an interest in the business, the firm of Martin, Downs &
Company was established. In 1878 they sold the planing mill to L. T.
Bower, but Mr. Downs and Mr. Wait continued together in the contracting
and building business. Subsequently they purchased the planing mill of
Martin & Ready, and Mr. Ready bought a third interest in the
business, operations being carried on under the style of Downs, Ready
& Company until January of, 1899, when the Captain withdrew. This
firm ran a very extensive planing mill and did the largest contracting
and building business in the city for many.Tears. Many of the finest
residences and other buildings of Connersville stand as monuments to
the enterprise, thrift and ability of Captain Downs, whose commendable
efforts made his success well merited.
Into other fields of endeavor also
has he directed his energies and his wise counsel and sound
judgment have contributed to the success of a number of the
leading business concerns of the city. He is a director of the Fayette
Banking Company and is a director of the Central Manufacturing Company,
which he aided in organizing in 1898, serving as its president the
first year. He is a member and director of the Fayette Building &
Loan Association, of which he served as president for a number of
years. On the 16th of July, 1898, he was appointed assistant
quartermaster in the United States Army, with the rank of captain. He
was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, one of the largest and
oldest military posts and distributing stations in the country, having
been established in 1827, and entered upon the duties of the office
August 8, 1898. He is now stationed at Fort Stevens, Oregon.
On the 10th of
November, 1866, Mr. Downs was united in marriage to Miss Mary J.
Eisemann, of Connersville, and their children are: Florence; Susan J.,
wife of Charles A. Rieman, a florist of Connersville and superintendent
of the city cemetery ; Augusta, wife of J. P. Rhoads, who is employed
at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; William, who died in 1888, at the age
of seventeen years ; and George, a graduate of Purdue University. The
Captain maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through
his membership in Connersville Post, No. 126, G. A. R., and is now
serving as its commander. He also belongs to Otonka Tribe, No. 94, I.
O. R. M.; Warren Lodge, No. 17, F. & A. M.; and Maxwell Chapter, R.
A. M. An ardent advocate of the principles of the Republican party, he
does all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He
has served as a member of the city council and was on the school board
for nine years, acting at different times as its secretary, treasurer
and president. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, who
has effectively advanced its interests, and other measures for the
public good receive his hearty support and co-operation. He possesses a
social nature and jovial disposition, and the circle of his friends is
almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintances.
Thomas Fitzgerald, one of the best-know and most
substantial farmers of Fairview township, this county, is a native of
the Buckeye state, but has lived in Indiana since he was fourteen years
of age. He was born on a farm in Stark County, Ohio, November 19,
1858, son of John and Honoria (Shea) Fitzgerald, natives of Ireland,
whose last days were spent in Jennings County, this state.
John Fitzgerald was born in County Cork and when a
young man left Ireland and come to the United States, locating in Stark
County, Ohio, where about two years later he married Hanora Shea, also
a native of County Cork, who had come to this country form Ireland
about two years before her marriage. After his marriage, John
Fitzgerald remained in Stark County until 1872, in which year he moved
to Indiana with his family and settled on a farm in Jennings County,
where he followed farming the rest of his life, his death occurring in
1893. His widow survived him until 1911. They were the
parents of eight children of whom five are still living. Two of
the children died in infancy and another, Mrs. Marie Cox, died about
1899. Besides the subject of this sketch those living are
Timothy, of Indianapolis; William, of North Vernon, and John and
Cornelius, who are farming near Butlerville in Jennings County, this
state.
Thomas Fitzgerald was the third son of his parents
and was about fourteen years of age when the family moved from Ohio to
Indiana and settled in Jennings County. There he completed
his schooling and as a young man worked at farm labor in that country,
in Bartholomew County and in Fayette County. While working in
this county he became acquainted with a young woman who lived just over
the line Rush County and in 1887 he married her. After his
marriage he rented a farm in Union township, Rush County, and there
made his home for ten years. When he was moving onto that farm
neighbors tried to tell him that he would find his landlord a hard man
to get along with and that he would not stay on the place a year.
On the contrary, he found his landlord most agreeable and conditions so
much to his liking that he remained on the place until 1897 and might
have remained longer had not met with the misfortune of being burned
out of house and home on October 15 of that year, with an almost total
destruction of his household effects. When the fire broke out a
strenuous effort was made to remove the household goods from the
burning building, but the piano became jammed in the doorway and thus
barred the way of further salvage, very few of the household effects
being saved. After the fire Mr. Fitzgerald moved over into this
county and occupied the farm which he now owns in Fairview township, a
well-improved and profitably cultivated place of one hundred and
fifty-one and one-third acres, and there he has made his home ever
since. In 1907, about ten years after moving there Mr. Fitzgerald
and his family again were burned out, their farm house being destroyed
by fire. Following this second misfortune Mr. Fitzgerald built
his present substantial house and there his and his family are now very
comfortable situated. Mr. Fitzgerald is a Democrat and takes due
interest in local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after
public office. He is a member of the local lodge of the Improved
Order of Red Men and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that
organization.
On January 19, 1887, Thomas Fitzgerald was united in
marriage to Kittie Belle Wright, who was born on a farm near the
eastern line of Rush County across the line from Fairview, and to this
union three children have been born, namely: Hanoria, who married
Edward Keller, of Connersville, and two children, sons, Francis and
Marion; Mary Helen, who married Joseph Theobald, a farmer of the
Strawns Station neighborhood and has two sons, Joseph and Maynard, and
John Thomas, who married Bertha Johnson and has remains on the home
farm, farming with is father.
Mrs. Fitzgerald is a member of one of the old
families in this part of the state, her parents, Thomas M. and Matilda
C. (Groves) Wright, having been prominent residents of the Fairview
neighborhood, where their last days were spent. Thomas M. Wright
was a Kentuckian, born near Millersburg, in Bourbon County, June 3,
1833, and there grew to manhood. When a young man he came up into
Indiana on a visit to the Bakers, kinsfolk of his, who lived then, as
now, in the northeastern part of Fairview township, this county, and
there he met Matilda C. Groves, a member of one of the pioneer families
of that neighborhood, and from that time on she was “the only girl in
the world for him.” They were married on November 30, 1859, and
established their home on a farm at the west edge of Fairview, where
Mrs. Fitzgerald was born, the old Donovan Groves homestead, where
Matilda C. Groves also was born, a daughter of Donovan and Eleanor
(Baker) Groves, pioneers of that section and further mention of whom is
made elsewhere in this volume. In addition to his general farming
Thomas M. Wright also was widely known as a buyer and shipper of
livestock and became one of the well-to-do citizens of that part of the
county. He was for years a justice of the peace in and for his
home township and he and his wife were members of the Christian church,
in the various beneficences of which they were interested. Mrs.
Wright died on February 4, 1898, and Thomas M. Wright survived her for
nearly three years, his death occurring on December 15, 1900.
SOURCE: Fayette County Library Barrows History of Fayette County, 1917
Pages 786, 787, 788 (contributed by Kathy Keller)
JOHN
BAKER
John Baker, farmer, Fairview Township, was born in Bourbon County, Ky.
, February 14, 1803. His parents, Abraham and Elizabeth (Fife)
Baker, were natives of Maryland and Kentucky, respectively.
Abraham Baker, born July 7, 1764, was a son of John and Mary Baker,
who, in an early day, moved from Maryland to Kentucky, and there
resided the balance of their days. His wife was a daughter of
Abijah and Ellen Fife. They were married in Mason County, Ky.,
March 18, 1800, they settle in Bourbon County, Ky., remaining until
1824, when they moved to this county, where Mrs. Baker, died October 5,
1826. They had a family of eight children: David,John,
Harrison, Mahala, Nancy, Ellen, Eliza, and Daniel. Mr. Baker
subsequently married Margaret Stephens. They were exemplary
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Baker
was a Jacksonian Democrat in early and middle life, but subsequently
became a Whig. He died January 17, 1842. John, our subject,
the second in the family, came with his parents to this county in
1824. In 1826 he returned to his native county and there married,
December 12, same year. Mary Hannah, born in Bourbon County, Ky.,
October 30, 1801, daughter of Joseph Hannah, a notive of Ireland.
To this union were born the following named children: Elizabeth,
John H., Eliza M., Sarah M., Harriet, James S>, Mary J., and
David. In February following their marriage our subject and wife
moved to this county,, settling on the farm where he has since
resided. Mars. Baker died December 2, 1858. Our subject
began life at the foot of the hill, but by judicious use of his time,
and hard labor, he gradually worked his way up until he had amassed a
landed estate of 260 acres. Aughts 7, 1882, h met with a painful
accident, dislocating or breaking his hip bone, and has since been
deprived of the use of his body. Politically hs is a Republican.
SOURCE: Fayette County Library Barrows History of Fayette County, 1885
Pages 256
(contributed
by Kathy Keller)
DAVID BAKER
David Baker, one of Fayette County's best-known retired farmers and
substantial old citizen of Fairview Township is a native son of that
township, born on the farm on which he is now living, two miles east of
Falmouth, and has lived there all his life. He was born on
February 14, 1845, son of John and Mary (Hanna) Baker, both of whom
were born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, who became pioneers of Fayette
County and here spent their last days, substantial and influential
pioneers of the Falmouth neighborhood.
John Baker was born on a farm in the near vicinity of Paris, in Bourbon
County, Kentucky, February 14, 1803, son of Abraham and Elizabeth
Baker, the former of whom was born on July 7, 1764, and who were
married on March 18, 1800, making their home in Bourbon County,
Kentucky, where eight children we re born to them, of whom John was the
second in order of birth, the others being as follow: David, born
on August 11, 1801; Harrison, April 3, 1805; Mahala, March 13, 1807;
Nancy, February 1, 1809; Ellen and Eliza (twins), July 2, 1811; and
Daniel, June 22, 1814. In the fall of 1824 Abraham Baker, seeking
land for his sons, came up into Indiana and settle in Fayette County,
giving each of his sons a farm in the northeastern part of Fairview
Township. He bought three eight-acre tracts, the place where
David Baker now lives, and across the road from that place, where now
the Fitzgerald farm is, he bought a quarter section. On this
latter tract he established his home, and there his younger son, Daniel
remained with him until his death, the other sons, John and
David, occupying the nearby “eighties”, Harrison selling out ant and
moved Wabash County, where he died. The above three sons spent
the rest of their lives on the farms which they opened and cleared back
in the twenties. Elizabeth Baker, wife of Abraham, died October
5, 1826, about two years after settling here in the then wilderness and
Abraham Baker survived until January 17, 1842.
In the fall of 1826, John Baker, second son of Abraham, went back to
this old home in Kentucky and there on December 12, 1826, was united in
marriage to Mary Hanna, who was born in that same community in Bourbon
County on October 30, 1801. The following spring he returned to
Indiana with his bride and settled on the farm two miles east of
Falmouth, which he had begun to clear in 1824 and where he had put up a
log cabin for the reception of his bride, and there he and his wife
spent the remainder of their lives, earnest and industrious pioneers of
that community. As he prospered he increase his original holdings
there to one hundred and twenty acres and later bought an adjoining
tract of one hundred and forty acres on the north. On that
pioneer farm Mary (better known as “Polly) Baker died on December
2, 1858 and John Baker, her husband, survived her many years, his death
occurring in April, 1892, he then being in the eighty-ninth year of his
age. He and his ;wife were the parent of eight children, of whom
the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being as
follow: Elizabeth, now deceased, who was twice married, her first
husband having been William Dickey and the second, Dave Weimer:
Harrison and Eliza Jane (twins), the latter of whom died when eight
years of age and the form of whom died in April, 1892; James, who lives
in Milton: Sallie Ann, who married Guy Jackson and is now deceased:
Harriet, who married John Stuckey and lives in Grant County, and Mary
Jane, of Falmouth, widow of Tillman Van Buskirk. David Baker
still has the spinning wheel used by his mother, “Polly” Baker, and the
saddle bags which his grandfather and his father brought with them from
Kentucky. He also has the old family Bible, a venerable volume
bound in sheepskin and printed in New York in 1814, in which is
carefully set out the record of births and deaths and marriages in the
family of Abraham Baker and of John and “Polly” Baker.
John Baker and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist Church,
as were the formers parents, and took an active interest in church
affairs in the early days of the community in which they settled,
religious services frequently being held in their home in the days
before the settlements had an established house of worship, and their
children were reared in that faith.
David Baker has always lived on the farm where he was born and has
always followed farming, becoming the owner of a fine farm of one
hundred and fifty-eight acres with a nice country home on it.
That farm he sold two years ago, but he continues to make his home
there, living with his brother-in-law, who bought the place, and is
quite content to spend the rest of his life on the place on which he
was born and which he has helped to develop from pioneer times.
On May 8, 1901, David Baker was united in marriage to Dora Iva Pierce,
who was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, a daughter of
Cornelius and Isabel (Chance) Pierce, who years ago moved from Franklin
County to New York Cit, where the father became a member of the
metropolitan police force and where he died. After his death his
widow and children returned to Franklin County and presently moved
thence to the neighborhood of Morristown, in Shelby County. There
the widow Pierce married again and presently moved back to New
York. Her daughter, Dora Iva, remained in Shelby County until her
marriage to Mr. Baker. She died at her home in Fairview Township
in the fall of 1908. She was a member of the Christian Church.
SOURCE: Fayette County Library Connersville, Fayette County,
Indiana Barrows History of Fayette County, 1917 Pages 995, 996,
997 (Contributed by Kathy Keller)
WILLIAM MERRELL
For many years William Merrell, now
deceased, was connected with the business interests of Connersville and
Fayette county, and belonged to that class of representative American
citizens who promote the public good while advancing individual
prosperity. The salient points in his career were sound judgment,
unflagging energy, versatility of business talent and capable
management, and these brought to him success and gained him distinction
as one of the leaders in commercial circles in Connersville. His well
spent life commended him to the confidence and esteem of all, and in
his death the community lost one of its most valued citizens.
A native of Kentucky, William Merrell was born in Mason county, near
Maysville, February 27, 1813, a son of Reuben and Sarah (Helm) Merrell.
He was reared and educated in. Maysville, and assisted his father in
the work of the home farm until 1S37, when he came to Connersville,
Indiana, where he entered upon a mercantile experience, as a clerk in
his uncle's dry-goods store. He subsequently
engaged in the same line of
business on his own account, being associated in
partnership with his father-in-law for some years. They conducted the
leading general store in the town, carrying a large stock of goods and
receiving a liberal share of the public patronage. Mr. Merrell was also
the owner of a large farm just west of Connersville, and resided
thereon for a number of years, largely devoting his energies to it-
cultivation and improvement. In the field of finance he was equally
successful. In connection with James Mount, now deceased, he
established the Farmers' Bank in Connersville, and acted as its cashier
for a considerable period, making this one of the most reliable and
prosperous financial institutions in the locality. He was safe and
conservative in his business methods, yet not unprogressive, and his
native sagacity, enterprise and reliable methods brought to him a most
gratifying success.
On the 1st of November, 1840, Mr. Merrell was united in marriage to
Miss Anna K., daughter of Abram B. Conwell. She now resides in
Connersville, and is a most estimable lady, having the warm regards of
many friends. Nine children were born of their union, namely: Sarah E.,
of Connersville, the widow of Dr. George Garver, who was a prominent
physician here; Charles; William, who has served for a number of years
as city councilman, being the only Democrat elected to that office
through a long period; Conwell, a farmer; Frank P., who is proprietor
of a restaurant in Grass Valley, California; John, who is engaged in
farming and makes his home with his mother on the old homestead; Emma,
wife of William Havens, of Rushville; Minnie, wife of Andrew A. Norman,
of Cincinnati; and Mrs. Anna M. McIlhenry, of New York city.
Mr. Merrell spent his last years upon his farm near Connersville, and
there his death occurred. In the business world he ranked with the
ablest; as a citizen be was honorable, prompt and true to every
engagement; as a man he held the honor and esteem of all classes of
citizens, of all creeds and political proclivities. For many years he
was identified with the substantial and material development of his
adopted county, and was classed among the worthy pioneer settlers who
laid the foundation for the present prosperity of this section of the
state.
The subject of this sketch, Francis
M. Bilby, of Connersville, Indiana, is one of the prominent and
influential farmers and stock dealers of Fairview township. He is a
native of Fayette county and has been identified with it all his life.
He was born June 5. 1830. son of Stephen C. and Jane (Ludlow) Bilby,
and is of English descent. His grandfather Bilby came from England to
America on board a pirate ship, by surprise, during the Revolutionary
period, and fought for independence in the American army. After the war
he settled in Pennsylvania, where his death occurred some years later.
His children were John, of Ohio; Joseph, of Terre Haute, Indiana;
Stephen C, father of the subject of this sketch; Richard and Mrs. Lois
Johnson.
Stephen C. Bilby grew to manhood in Ohio and was married there, and in
1828 came to Indiana, settling in Fayette county. He subsequently
entered land in the new purchase at Indianapolis, where he improved a
farm. This farm he sold in 1856 and at that time purchased a small farm
in Harrison township, where he passed the closing years of his life,
his death occurring in 1873. His wife died in 1883, at the home of her
son, Francis M. They were old-school Presbyterians, strict in their
religious views, and plain and unassuming in manner. By trade Stephen
C. Bilby was a blacksmith, and through the greater part of his life
followed it, in connection with his farming operations.
The Ludlows were New Jersey people, and it was in that state that Mrs.
Bilby was born. She was reared and married in Ohio, to which place her
parents emigrated and where they passed the rest of their lives and
died. Their family comprised four children: Henry, John, Jane and Osa,
the last named the wife of Mr. S. Phipps. Stephen C. and Jane (Ludlow)
Bilby were the parents of seven children, as follows: Mrs. Julia A.
Wallace; Mrs. Viola Moffit; Salona, who died at the age of seventeen
years; Francis M., whose name introduces this sketch; Albert G., a
resident of Wayne county, Indiana; Jasper, deceased, left a family; and
Mrs. Elizabeth Lenord, deceased.
Francis M. Bilby was reared on his father's farm. After completing his
studies in the common schools, he taught school and with the proceeds
attended Fairview Academy, in this way obtaining a good education. He
remained a member of ins father's household until his marriage, in
December, 1854, when he settled on a rented farm, he farmed rented land
for seven years. During this time careful economy and honest industry
enabled him to lay by a snug little sum, and in 1865 he purchased the
farm upon which he has since lived. He has made additional purchases
from time to time until his landed estate now comprises over one
thousand acres, in Fayette and Delaware counties. Mr. Bilby has always
carried on general farming and stock-raising, and since 1850 has dealt;
more or less in stock, some¬times buying in large quantities and
shipping to market, taking a pride in handling only the best the county
afforded. While his operations have in the main been successful, he has
had his full share of misfortune, meeting with .losses in many ways. He
has lost by cholera as many as a hundred hogs. Throughout his whole
career Mr. Bilby's transactions have always been strictly on the
square. He has never defrauded any one out of a single penny and he has
reason to take just pride in his high standing among the capitalists of
the country, who regard his word as good as his bond.
Mr. Bilby married Miss Dorcas A. Etherton, daughter of Stout Etherton,
of Ohio, who came to Indiana about 1832 and bought and improved a farm
in Fayette county. Mr. Etherton died in Milton, Indiana. He was known
as a Whig in early life and was a supporter of the Republican Party
from the time of its organization. Religiously he was a Baptist. His
children were Charles, Joseph, Aaron and Dorcas A. by his first wife.
Charles and Aaron died in early life. Joseph was a volunteer in the
Union army during the civil war and died in the army. By his second
wife Mr. Etherton had the following named children: Margaret, Mary,
Sarah, Nancy. Adeline, Samuel and Sophia. After the death of his second
wife, whose maiden name was Rachael Martin, Mr. Etherton married her
sister, Sarah Martin. There were no children by this union. Mr. and
Mrs. Francis M. Bilby are the parents of ten children, whose names in
order of birth are as follows: Charles and Emerson, farmers; Florence,
who was the wife of Alva Hardy, died, leaving three children; Mrs.
Clara Kendry; Elmar, a farmer; Mary Anna, wife of E. Williams; and Alva
E., Morton, Palmer W. and Sherman, all farmers.
Mr. Bilby affiliates with the Republican party and takes an interest in
public affairs, but has never been an aspirant for political favors,
nor has he ever filled office of any kind, his own extensive business
affairs occupying the whole of his time and attention
MILES K. MOFFETT.
The present efficient and popular
clerk of Fayette county, Miles K. Moffett, holds and merits a place
among its representative citizens, and the story of his life, while not
particularly dramatic, is such as to offer a typical example of that
alert American spirit which has enabled many an individual to rise from
obscurity to a position of influence and renown solely through native
talent, indomitable perseverance and singleness of purpose.
A native of Fayette county, Mr. Moffett was born in Fairview township,
September 21, i860, and is a son of John and Fanny J. (Hamilton)
Moffett, the former of Scotch and the latter of Irish descent. The
paternal grand¬parents, Joseph and Salome (Heller) Moffett, were
born, reared and married near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where they
continued to make their home until the removal of the family to Fayette
county, Indiana, in 1826, when they settled on Williams creek, six
miles west of Connersville. The grandfather, who was a life-long
agriculturist, owned and operated a large farm here and in his
undertakings met with excellent success. He also built the first
gristmill on Williams creek and carried on milling for a number of
years. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and in
1840 served as county commissioner of Fayette county. He died on his
farm in 1872, when between seventy-five and eighty years of age. He
filled the office of justice of the peace for a number of years, and
was long a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. In his family were seven children, four sons and three
daughters, all of whom followed farming.
The father of our subject, who was the oldest son in this family, was
born near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and was about two years old when
brought by his parents to Indiana, almost his entire life being passed
on Williams creek, where he engaged in carpentering and farming as an
extensive agriculturist and large contractor and builder. He was quite
a prominent man and served as county real-estate appraiser for five
years. He was a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its
principles, and was a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church
of Connersville. He died on his farm in 1874, aged fifty-two years, his
wife in 1890, aged sixty-eight. She was a native of Fayette county and
a daughter of George Hamilton, who was for many years a prominent and
successful farmer of the county, where at one time he owned a large
amount of land. Our subject is one of a family of eight children, five
sons and three daughters, and with the exception of himself the sons
all follow agricultural pursuits.
Reared upon the home farm in Fairview township, Miles K. Moffett
attended first the common schools of the neighborhood, and subsequently
the Fairview Academy for one year and the Danville
Normal School for two
years, graduating in the scientific course at the latter institution in
1884. At the age of twenty he commenced teaching school, and had taught
three terms in Fayette county before his graduation. He continued
successfully to follow that profession until 1894, and was principal of
the Maplewood school of Connersville for the last five years of the
time. He was then elected clerk of the county, and so acceptably did he
fill the office that he was re-elected in 1898, his present term
expiring in 1902.
As a Republican, Mr. Moffett has always taken an active and prominent
part in political affairs, was chairman of the county committee in
1896, and is now a member of the Republican state committee. He read
law with Reuben Connor, an able attorney of Connersville, and was
admitted to practice in 1893; but, having since been engaged in
teaching and in the discharge of his official duties, he has not yet
engaged in practice. On the expiration of his present term, however, he
expects to turn his attention to his profession. He is quite prominent
in social as well as political circles, and is a member of Fayette
Lodge, I. O. O. F.; Whitewater Encampment, I. O. O. F.; Connersville
Lodge, No. 11, K. P.; Connersville Lodge, No. 379, B. P. O. E.; Otonka
Tribe, No. 94, I. O. R. M., of which he is past sachem; and is past
state president of the Haymakers' Association, a branch of the Red Men.
Religiously he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Connersville. He is held in high regard by all who know him, his public
service has been most exemplary, and his private life has been marked
by the utmost fidelity to duty. On the 4th of May, 1886, Mr. Moffett
married Miss Anna Hoak, of Hendricks county, Indiana, and to them have
been born two children, a son and a daughter.
JAMES M. McINTOSH
From an early period in the history
of the development of Fayette county the name of Mclntosh has appeared
frequently upon its records in connection with important public
service, and in the subject of this review we find one who has labored
most effectively in public office for the public good and is accorded
that recognition which is justly due the public-spirited and
progressive citizen whose unselfish efforts in behalf of the general
welfare have been attended by splendid results. He is one of
Connersviile's native citizens, his birth having here occurred on the
14th of November, 1858. He completed the regular public-school course
and then entered the DePauw University—the old Asbury University—at
Greencastle, being graduated in that institution with the class of
18S0. Soon afterward he began reading law under the direction of
Charles Roehl, his father's old law partner, and was admitted to the
bar in 1882. His practice has covered a wide range in jurisprudence,
demanding a comprehensive knowledge of the principles of law, as well
as strength of argument and logical arrangement of evidence in
presenting his cause before the court or jury.
Mr. Mclntosh has been honored with a number of public positions. His
fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, elected him to the
position of mayor in 1886, and so ably did he administer the affairs of
the city that he was re-elected in 1888, serving for four consecutive
years. In 1890 he was elected clerk of the circuit court for a
term of four years, and in 1895-6 he represented Wayne and Fayette in
the legislature of Indiana. He was an active member on the floor of the
house and was the author of the "direct tax" bill for educational
purposes, and was a prominent member of the ways and means committee.
In politics he is a stalwart Republican, unswerving in support of the
party principles, and for ten years he has served as chairman of the
county central committee. At one time he served as cashier of the First
National Bank, and was formerly secretary and treasurer of the
Whitewater Valley Silver Plating Company, occupying that position for a
number of years. In September, 1899, he received the appointment of
national bank examiner for Indiana upon the endorsements of Senators
Beveridge and Fairbanks, and without solicitation on his part.
On the 12th of February, 1890, was celebrated the marriage of James
Mclntosh and Miss Anna L. Pepper, of Connersville. Unto them have been
born four children, namely: Mary E., Jessie C., Dorothy J. and James P.
Mclntosh. Mr. Mclntosh belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and
is a valued representative of various fraternal organizations, his name
being on the membership roll of Warren Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M.;
Connersville Lodge, No. 11, K. of P.; Otonka Tribe, Improved Order of
Red Men; and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is broad in
his views and liberal in his judgments, strong in his convictions and
earnest in his opinions. He is of a social disposition, courteous and
genial manner, and throughout the county in which his entire life has
been passed has a host of warm friends.
SAMUEL
J. SHIPLEY
No death in many years has caused
such profound sorrow throughout the county as did the passing away of
this venerable citizen of Connersville, Indiana, Lieutenant Samuel J.
Shipley, who, by long years of honorable, upright life and kindly
nature, had grown into the affections of his fellow citizens to a
marked degree. He was born at Wilmington, Delaware, December 24, 1813,
and came to this county at the age of six years, making his home here
from that time until his death, on July 11, 1897. His parents were
Joseph B. and Mary H. (Test) Shipley, the former born near Brandy-wine,
Delaware, November 14, 1780, and the latter a native of New Jersey. The
family were of English stock and came to America soon after William
Penn established his colony in Pennsylvania. They were members of the
Society of Friends. Samuel Shipley, the grandfather of our subject, was
born December 5, 1775, and married Jane Bennett, a sister of Caleb
Bennett, who commanded a company of American soldiery at the famous
battle of Brandywine. Four children were born to Joseph and Mary
Shipley, viz.: Mary A., born February 29, 1805; Charles, born August
17, 1807; Ella J., born October 15, f8u; and Samuel J. The father died
while the children were small, and in 1819 the mother brought her
little family to Fayette county and here reared them.
Samuel Shipley was a bright, energetic lad, and it became the ambition
of his life to become a sailor. In 1833 he made application for
appointment as midshipman, his case being urged by General Jonathan
McCarty, then member of congress from Connersville district, who took
an interest in the young man and desired his success. His application
receiving favorable notice, he entered upon his duties and remained in
active service until his retirement, by reason of ill health, many
years later. A naval academy was established in Philadelphia in 1839,
which later was transferred to Annapolis,. Maryland, and their first
class for examination was called before the board in 1840, at which
time Mr. Shipley was one of the successful competitors. He was raised
to the lieutenancy in 1847, and had a long and successful career at
sea, visiting nearlyall the important ports in the world and meeting
many exciting and interesting experiences. When the cloud of secession
spread over our fair land and threatened the destruction of our beloved
government, Lieutenant Shipley hastened to offer his services, and was
stationed at Fortress Monroe as executive officer of the Brandy wine."
Some two years later in 1863, ill health caused him to retire from the
sea and return to his home in this county, where he passed the
remainder of his life.
In 1837 Lieutenant Shipley purchased a farm in Harrison township,
Fayette county, which became his home. On November 14, 1841, while home
on leave of absence, he was united in marriage with Miss Martha
Hol-ton, daughter of Rev. Jesse and Jane Holton. The young wife lived
but a short time, dying in her twenty-fourth year, in 1846, leaving an
only daughter, Jennie, as the comfort and companion of the bereaved
husband. Father and daughter spent many happy years together in their
beautiful country home, a close bond of love and sympathy binding them
the more firmly to each other as the years passed, and his death has
been a blow that has been well nigh unsupportable to the beloved
daughter. He was a man of great energy and rare judgment, which he
carried into all affairs in which he was interested. He was a man of
intelligence, and few men had acquired a greater or more varied
knowledge, which, coupled with his amiable disposition and
companionable manner, made him one of the most remarkable men of his
day. He was a manly man, and the honor and esteem in which he was held
by all who came in contact with him was but the just tribute to his
worth.
JOHN K. JEMISON
The gentleman whose name initiates
this sketch, John K. Jemison, of Connersville township, Fayette county,
Indiana, is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this
county. John Jemison, the father of John K., was born in Kentucky, in
1793. When quite young he was orphaned by the death of his father, and
at an early age was " bound out" to learn the trade of tanner. When his
time as an apprentice had expired he went to Cumminsville, Ohio, and
there he worked at his trade for one year. From Cumminsville he came to
Fayette county, Indiana, and located in Jackson town-ship, where he
erected a tannery, which was one of the first in the county. His death
occurred in 1851. He was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, before coming to
Fayette county, to Miss Cynthia Coe, a native of Virginia, who, like
himself, was left an orphan in early life. She survived her husband
many years. It might be said with regard to that most estimable woman,
that previously to her marriage, and while a resident of Cincinnati,
she
was employed as a tailoress, a common occupation for women at that
time. She also at the same time cared for a younger sister,
the two living together, and while the elder worked at her trade the
younger did the housework. Several quite remarkable coincidences were
connected with the lives of these two women. Both were married on the
same day and each became the mother of seven children, the older having
six sons and one daughter; the younger, six daughters and one son. Both
of the husbands were named John, and both were natives" of the state of
Kentucky. They were tanners by trade and the two had been associated in
business for about a year at Cumminsville. The younger returned to
Kentucky, but later came to Indiana and settled on a farm, which was
his home till death.
John Jemison was an industrious, upright citizen, and his descendants
are numbered among the best people of Fayette county. Of his seven
children, the daughter and one son have passed away. The surviving
members are as follows: Jefferson H. and William, of Jackson township,
Fayette county; John K., of this" sketch; Oliver, of Nebraska; and
Samuel, also a resident of Jackson township, Fayette county. The
daughter, Jane, was the eldest of the family. She became the wife of
Abram Myers, and was the mother of ten children, several of whom have
passed away. Her death occurred in February, 1899. The deceased
brother, Elijah Jemison, left a daughter, who is now the wife of C.
Blacklidge.
John K. Jemison was born at the old homestead in Jackson township,
Fayette county, Indiana, June 29, 1823, and he, like his brothers, was
reared to the occupation of farming. In October, 1850, he was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah Ward, daughter of James and Osee (Bell) Ward.
Mrs. Jemison was born on .the Wabash, in Parke county, Indiana, August
7, 1834. Her parents were natives of Kentucky, came to Connersville in
their youth and were married here. After their marriage they settled in
Parke county, later returned to Connersville township, Fayette county,
and still later removed to Illinois. The mother's death occurred some
years previously to the father's. He afterward married again, and at
the time of his death was eighty-seven years of age. Mrs. Jemison is
one of a family of eight members, six of whom are living, viz.: Boswell
and Marion, wholesale druggists, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Jemison; Mrs.
Emily Jemison, of Connersville; Mrs. Ada Guffin, widow of Dr. John
Guffin; and Osee, wife of Greenbury Hansan, of Jennings township,
Fayette county, Indiana. Those deceased were Belle, who died at the age
of twelve years; and Thompson, at the age of seventeen.
Mr. and Mrs. John K. Jemison lived in Jackson township for fifteen
years after their marriage, and then purchased the old homestead of his
parents, in the same township, where they lived for fifteen years
longer, and since then they have occupied their present home near the
city of Connersville. They have two sons: Marion K.,
at home; and Ward, a druggist of
Connersville. For nearly half a century Mr. and Mrs. Jemison have
journeyed through life together. Their influence has ever been directed
toward advancing the interests of the moral and religious conditions of
the community, and such have been their lives that they have won the
confidence and esteem of all with whom they have been associated. They
have long been worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to
which their younger son also belongs. The elder son and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church.
JAMES I. DEHAVEN
James Isaac Dehaven, of Connersville
township, Fayette county, Indiana, represents one of the pioneer
families of this county. He was born in Harrison township, Fayette
county, February 17, 1821; hence his whole life of nearly four-score
years has been passed in this county.
His father, Isaac Dehaven, was born in Pennsylvania September n, 1789,
and was a son of Samuel Dehaven. The latter emigrated with his family
to Kentucky from Pennsylvania when his son Isaac was a lad. From
Kentucky the entire family, consisting of Samuel Dehaven, the
grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, and his sons and
daughters, came to Fayette county in 1816 and settled, in Harrison
township. Samuel Dehaven had lost his first wife in Kentucky and was
the second time married when the family came to Indiana. Samuel Dehaven
was the father of quite a numerous family, which included the sons
Jacob, Samuel, Jr., Isaac and Christopher. There were also two other
sons, by his first marriage, who joined the Mormons and went west with
those people and were afterward reported to have lost their lives by
drowning. There were two daughters, named Polly and Sally. There were.
also two sons and two daughters born to Samuel Dehaven, Sr., by his
second marriage. The grandfather of the subject of
this biography entered land in Harrison township and lived there the
rest of his life. Isaac Dehaven, father of James I., was a soldier in
the war of 1812, as was his brother Jacob. James Isaac has often heard
his father tell of his experiences in that war, in which he had some
narrow escapes and thrilling experiences.
Isaac Dehaven was married in Kentucky, before the emigration, to Nancy
Stucker, daughter of Jacob Stucker. The latter was born in Kentucky
August 11, 1764. and his wife March 26, 1773. They became the parents
of eleven children, and Nancy was born January 11, 1792. Isaac Dehaven
and wife spent all their lives after coming to Indiana in Harrison
township. He died March 25, 1875, and his wife December 21, 1865. They
became the parents of the following named children: Elizabeth, William,
Sally Ann, Jacob, James, Isaac and John H. The last two are the only
surviving members of the family. John H. resides in Harrison township.
James Isaac Dehaven grew up, as he says, " in the brush." He had no
opportunities for getting even the common rudiments of an education. He
lived at home till he was married. The writer was highly amused to hear
him relate some of his experiences when a boy. When too young to take
part in the clearing up of the land and other heavier work, other
duties were required of him such as a boy could attend to. The brush in
the early days was exceedingly thick, and the cattle in browsing
through it in " fly time '" would often get their tails so wound around
the brush that they would be held fast and totally unable to extricate
themselves, and were liable to perish unless relief was afforded them.
One of the duties of our subject as a boy was to follow the cattle and
when one became entangled cut it loose. It was a proud day for him when
his father purchased a knife for which he paid two dollars and
presented the same to the boy, to use in freeing the cattle that might
become entangled by their tails in the thick brush. His boyhood and
youth were spent at the homestead of his father in Harrison township.
May 11, 1844, he was united in marriage to Eliza Ann Hamilton, a
daughter of Nathaniel Hamilton. He remained at home for a short time
after his marriage and then removed to a piece of land at Yankeetown;
but in 1846 he settled where he now lives, on section 22, Connersville
township, and this has been his home for fifty-four years. He and his
wife started in. life with nothing but good health and a willingness to
work to build for them-selves a home. Only very little improvement had
been made on the place. Their first residence was a round-log house,
made of poles and daubed with mud. Their cooking outfit was a skillet
and an old-fashioned iron oven for baking " corn pone." Mr. Dehaven has
still in his possession this little iron oven, a memento of the early
days when he and his good wife started in life together. The first land
can that the young couple possessed Mr. Dehaven dugout of a poplar log.
This the good wife would also use for other purposes. Fin-ally, after a
few years, his father-in-law, who lived near him, substituted for his
log house one made of brick, and Mr. Dehaven was permitted to remove
the logs of the old house to his place and reconstruct a house for
himself, and this was the second residence of Mr. and Mrs. Dehaven. His
present resi¬dence was built many years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Dehaven,
by hard work and careful management, made good progress in material
affairs, and children to the number of nine were given to them. Six of
these are living, in 1899, namely: Lucinda, Flora, Minnie, Mary Myrtle,
Elbert and John. The other three died in infancy. Mr. Dehaven lost his
wife February 3, 1893, after a long illness.
In the accumulation of his propertya fine farm of two hundred acres and
all the success he has attained in life, Mr. Dehaven admits that much
of it is due to his wife's judgment and advice. He always consulted her
in matters of business and generally followed her advice. He is now
passing his declining years in comfort, respected as an honest,
upright citizen.
RICHARD E. HAUGHTON, M. D.
Dr. Richard E. Haughton, who for
forty-five years has been actively engaged in medical practice in
Indiana, is one of the most talented members of his profession in the
state, and has, perhaps, done as much to elevate the standard of
medical excellence therein as any other man. Being of broad and liberal
mind, and having enjoyed the advantages of a superior education, he has
had the interests of the people deeply at heart, and has keenly felt
how completely they are at the mercy of the medical practitioner, who,
but a few years ago, before .the present rigid regulations were put
into operation, was often the most veritable charlatan, plying his arts
to the jeopardy of his misguided patients. By pen and speech Dr.
Haughton has used his influence for many decades in the advocacy of
higher education and training for physicians, and the limitation of
their once almost absolute power over the lives of their patients. He
has always stood boldly forth as the champion of progress, and his
wonderful influence has been exerted at all times on the side of right
and truth.
A son of William and Sarah (Johnson) Haughton, the Doctor traces his
ancestry, along both lines, to old English nobility. On the paternal
side he is descended from Sir Wilfred Haughton, a baronet of the
seventeenth century, and many of his ancestors achieved distinction in
the business and professional world and as statesmen and authors. One
of the eminent representatives of the family at the present day is Rev.
Dr. Samuel Haughton, of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The maternal
ancestor of our subject was a nobleman at the court of James I. of
England, and his descendants were among the first colonists of
Virginia. They were wealthy landholders and slave-owners for some time,
but, being associated with the Friends, they came to abhor the
principle of human slavery and eventually manumitted their slaves.
William Haughton was born in Carlow, county of Carlow, Ireland, about
forty miles from Dublin, in 1804. He was partially educated in Ackworth
boarding school, in England, and in 1822 he set out to make his fortune
in the United States. At first he located in Fayette county, Indiana,
and subsequently removed to Union county, same state. Here for
forty-five years he was known as an educator, one of the ablest in the
state, and though he taught for several years in the old-time log
school-house, he later was connected with some of the leading
educational institutions of Indiana at that day. For over a score of
years he was a preceptor in Beech Grove Seminary, having under his
charge young men from all parts of the country, some twenty states
being thus represented. He was principal in the Union County Seminary
and thereafter he became a member of the faculty of Earl-ham College,
where he continued actively engaged in his beloved work of instructing
the young, until, by reason of failing health, he was compelled to
resign his position. When he had rested from his labors for a period at
Knightstown, Indiana, he could not resist a resumption of his former
work, when he was tendered a position as principal in the high school
there, and death found him at his post. He died in July, 1878, of
paralysis, aged seventy-six years. A birth-right member of the Friends'
church, he was a preacher in that sect for a number of years, his life
being a consistent and beautiful example of the doctrines to which he
was reared. His devoted wife survived him, dying in 1882, when
four-score years of age. He had but two children, Richard E., and Mrs.
Lucy White, of Texas.
The birth of Dr. R. E. Haughton occurred in Fayette county, Indiana,
December 8, 1827. He found an able friend, companion and instructor in
his father, and at an early age was remarkably proficient in
mathematics, science and literature. When a youth of fifteen he
rendered his father excellent service as assistant teacher, and from
1845 to 1849 he devoted a portion of each year to the cultivation and
management of his father's farm, helping to pay for the property. In
the fall of the year last named, he commenced medical studies with
their family physician, but, his father having been called to Richmond,
the young man took his place in the Union County Seminary. In 1853,
however, he was graduated at the head of his class, with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine, in the Cleveland Medical College, where he had
pursued the prescribed course of study. For a short time prior to his
graduation he had practiced at Knightstown, with a partner, and he now
returned, and until October, 1855, he remained in that place.
Thereafter he practiced in Richmond for a score of years, meeting with
exceptional and merited success.
In the autumn of 1873, Dr. Haughton was urged to accept the chair of
descriptive and surgical anatomy in the Indiana Medical College, at
Indianapolis, after which he was professor of physiology and
physiological anatomy in the College of Physicians and Surgeons., in
the same city, for a period of four years. In the summer of 1879 he
witnessed the fulfillment of a long cherished desire, the establishment
of a new college which should occupy a much higher plane than any of
its predecessors. Thus, largely owing to his influence and zeal, the
Central College of Physicians and Surgeons was founded in the capital
city of the state. This institution was the first one of the kind in
the west to require students to pass a general examination ere they
were admitted, and the numerous restrictions and regulations which were
put in force have proved a safeguard and benefit to the college, whose
graduates are proud of their alma mater, in consequence.
A ready, clear and comprehensive writer, Dr. Haughton has wielded his
pen for years on a variety of subjects. A valued contributor to the
leading medical journals of the day, his articles on the diseases of
the nervous system and on Surgery (in which department he is especially
expert) have been widely c6pied. Desiring to further qualify
himself in special lines, he took a post-graduate course in Jefferson
Medical College a few years ago. Since 1859 he has been a member of the
American Medical Association, and is identified with the Indiana State
Medical and the Tri-state Medical Association (of Indiana, Illinois and
Kentucky). He is an honorary member of the Ohio State Medical
Association, and belongs to the societies of Wayne, Marion and Union
counties. He assisted to organize the Wayne County Medical
Society and that of Union District. Since1895 the Doctor has again been
engaged in practice in Richmond, many of his old patients returning to
him, and others, who have known him by reputation, have been glad to
retain him as their family physician. He takes great interest in local
affairs, and was one of the projectors and original stockholders in the
Richmond Street Railroad Company.
In his religious views the Doctor is liberal and independent, as might
be expected of one who has been a deep student and has had wide
experience. Though he was reared in the Society of Friends, and has the
most genuine esteem for that body, he prefers no other guide or rule of
conduct than what he finds in the Scriptures, and is opposed to
ritualism and formality in worship. After four years' special study of
religion, he was ordained a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church,
in 1898, though for two-score years he has preached the gospel of
Christ, and from his boyhood he has endeavored to lead the life of a
Christian.
In the First Presbyterian church of East Cleveland, Ohio, on the 13th
of February, 1853, a marriage ceremony was performed which united the
destinies of Dr. Haughton and Miss Catherine Meeker. She died December
20, 1867, and left two children: Edward Everett, who is engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business in Chicago; and Louanna. The present
wife of the Doctor was Miss Elizabeth Mather, a pupil of Earlham
College, and a lineal descendant of the famous preacher, Rev. Dr.
Cotton Mather. She is an earnest Christian worker and has been for
years connected with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as a
national evangelist.
THOMAS
C. EGAN
Thomas C. Egan, conducting business
in Denver under the name of the Egan Printing Company, was born in La
Fayette, Indiana, December 28, 1863, his parents being John and Mary
(Deegan) Egan. The father, a native of Ireland, came to America about
1835, when a young lad, and settled in La Fayette, Indiana, where he
spent his remaining days. He took up the business of merchant tailoring
and became quite successful, conducting a profitable establishment as
the years passed on. He died in La Fayette in 1902, at the age of
seventy eight years. His wife was also a native of the Emerald isle and
came alone to the new world about 1836. She, too, took up her abode In
La Fayette and there was married to Mr. Egan. They had lived in the
same county in Ireland and were sweethearts there. She passed away
September 16, 1917, at the age of eight-seven years. Their family
numbered six children: Robert, George, Thomas C., and three
daughters—Mary, Margaret and Minnie.
Thomas C. Egan was the third in order
of birth in this family. He pursued his education in the public schools
of his native city to the age of seventeen years, when his textbooks
were put aside and he started out to provide for his own support. He
was first employed as superintenden't of the news carriers for the La
Fayette Courier of La Fayette, Indiana, and later he entered upon a
regular apprenticeship at the printer's trade, starting in as "devil"
and. continuing to work his way upward until he became a journeyman. He
worked in that way in Indiana in various newspaper offices until 1885,
when he removed to the west, arriving in Denver on the 20th of June of
that year. He was then employed at his trade by the Republican
Publishing Company and afterward was connected with the Rocky Mountain
News. In 1893 he entered business on his own account, beginning in a
small way. He has since been closely associated with the printing
business and his interests have grown and developed as the years have
passed on. Today in point of time he is the dean in the printing
business in Denver and he is now serving for the second term as
president of the Colorado Pioneer Printers' Association. His individual
interests have greatly increased and he now employs on an average of
fourteen skilled workmen and conducts a modern plant equipped with the
latest improved machinery and supplied with every facility to promote
the work and render the output of the highest class in point of
mechanical perfection.
On the 18th of January, 1898, Mr.
Egan was united in marriage in Denver to Miss Florence Boggs, a native
of Missouri, and they have become parents of three children.
Blanche, Edgar and Lillian, all born
in Denver. Mr. Egan has his own home—a beautiful residence at No. 715
South High street. He Is devoted to the welfare of his wife and
children and finds his greatest happiness at his own fireside. For rest
from business cares he turns to motoring and mountain climbing. In
politics he is a democrat where national questions aiid issues are
Involved but at local elections casts an Independent ballot. He belongs
to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Knights of
Columbus, which indicates his religious faith to be that of the
Catholic church, his membership being in St. Francis De Sales church.
He also belongs to the Denver Typographical Union- and to the Denver
TypotheUe and he is a member of the Denver Civic and Commercial
Association. As the oldest representative of the printing business in
Denver he is widely known, having been long associated with the trade
in this city. His entire career has been characterized by enterprise
and progress. The interests of his Jlfe have been of a varied nature,
making his a well developed and well rounded character, and his success
Is the result of a careful recognition and utilization of opportunities.
Ira Caldweli>. For forty years a
resident of the Blythdale locality, Ira Caldwell has resided on the
farm which he now owns for one year less than that time, having in 1875
purchased 120 acres of land in sections 11 and 12, at that time
unimproved. During his first year here he built a shelter for his
family and a place for the protection of his stock, proceeded to break
the sod, and the second year obtained a crop. From that time to the
present time he has been engaged in mixed farming and the raising of
livestock, and his property is now one of the finest and most valuable
in the community, while the little cabin that served him as a home
during the first years of his stay here has been replaced by a
commodious and handsome country residence. Mr. Caldwell was born in
Fayette County, Indiana, May 12, 1839, and is a son of Train and Jane
(McClure) Caldwell.
James Caldwell, the grandfather of
Ira Caldwell, was descended from a South Carolina family, but was a
Kentuckian by birth. Some time after his marriage he took his family
from Kentucky up into Indiana, crossing the Ohio River at Cincinnati
and following the boundary line of the states north to a point opposite
Fayette County, and there awaited the conclusion of the treaty with the
Indians which brought the region of Fayette County into the public
domain. He then crossed over and entered land and spent the rest of his
life in that county. When he crossed the Ohio River, Cincinnati had
only four houses and the region of Western Ohio was barely touched with
settlements. After he settled in Indiana, James Caldwell followed
teaming to Cincinnati, and on one of his trips met with an accident
that resulted in his death some time later. He married Mary Loder, who
lived to a ripe old age, and they had the following children: Benjamin,
who died in Wayne County, Indiana; Train, the father of Ira.
Lucinda, who married James Tiner;
Jane, who married William Ross; Mrs. Daniel DeHaven; Jonathan, who died
in Rush County, Indiana; James, who died at Lewisville, Indiana; and
Frank, who died at Indianapolis. The above brothers were all farmers
and stockmen, and worked together in the latter business during the
greater part of their lives.
Train Caldwell was born in a block
house on the edge of Ohio October 1, 1810, while the 'family waited for
the opening of the lauds in Fayette County, Indiana, and he died March
2, 1887, at Connors- ville, Indiana. In Fayette County he spent all his
life and within the very atmosphere of his birthplace. His education
was of a practical nature and his career showed him to have been a man
of business judgment. He raised, fed and shipped stock for many years
and at one period of his life was a breeder of fine horses and cattle
at Benton- ville. He accumulated a splendid estate during his career.
During his life he had no military record, nor did he serve his
community in any official capacity, but always gave his support to the
candidates and policies of the democratic party. He was reared as a
Primitive Baptist, but in after life united with the Christian Church.
He was a solid and substantial citizen, greatly interested in .the
affairs of -his community, and was taken away at the end of a rather
active career. Mr. Caldwell married Jane McClure, a daughter of Samuel
McClure, of Irish descent, who settled in Fayette County, Indiana, from
Adams County, Ohio. Mrs. Caldwell died in 1869, having been the mother
of the following children: James, who spent his life in Fayette County,
Indiana; John, who died in the same county; Benjamin, who died in Henry
County, Indiana; Nathaniel, who died at Richmond, Indiana; Mary A., who
married Lee Fox and died at .Connorsville, Indiana: Ira, of this
review; Jonathan, who lives at Cambridge City, Indiana; Sanford, of
Fayette County, Indiana; Wilson, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Only one of
these numerous sons served the Union during the Civil war.
Ira Caldwell was educated in the
district schools at a time when the advantages to be secured in an
educational way were of a primitive nature in his locality. He went
into the Union army in 1862, enlisting at Lewisville, Indiana, in
Company I, Eighty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His
captain was A. W. Fellows and his colonel was Nelson Trussler, and the
regiment crossed the Ohio River at Cincinnati and met Kirby Smith's
troops at Covington, at which point they participated in a skirmish.
The command then went to West Virginia and did guard duty along the
Ohio River, and later, in the spring of 1863, the regiment joined
General Thomas' army at Nashville, Tennessee, and participated in the
fighting during the campaign under Thomas through to Atlanta, Georgia,
participating in the engagements at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout
Mountain, Resaca, Ringgold Gap, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek,
Buzzard's Roost, Tunnell Hill, and the siege of Atlanta, and finally
Goldsboro, where the southerners were defeated decisively. General Hood
having retreated toward Nashville, Thomas' command, with others,
followed him up and fought him at Franklin and Nashville, where they
practically annihilated his army. The command of Mr. Caldwell next went
to Hunts- ville, Alabama, and after there spending some time was
ordered to Eastern Tennessee, his regiment being engaged in repairing
the railroad near Greenville, Tennessee, when the war ended. Mr.
Caldwell was mustered out of the service June 30, 1865, without having
been wounded or without a hospital record. He went into the service as
a duty sergeant, and was orderly sergeant when mustered out, his record
having been a most excellent one.
ARTHUR
R. SAWERS
There is no better indication of a
man's real worth and character than the opinion entertained for him on
the part of his business associates and colleagues. It is in business
where the real nature of the man comes to the forefront, where he may
display a selfish greed or a thoughtful consideration of the rights and
privileges of others. The salient features in the life of Arthur R.
Sawers may be judged from the fact that he was beloved by all who knew
him, as much in business circles as by those with whom he came in
contact in social relations. He figured for a number of years as a
prominent representative of the grain brokerage business and yet was a
comparatively young man at the time of his death, having only passed
the forty-eighth milestone on life's journey. He was born in La
Fayette, Indiana, September 10, 1861, and passed away in Chicago, on
the 22d of June, 1910.
His father, James Sawers, was a
native of Richmond, Virginia, and was a descendant of an old Scotch
family. He married Henrietta Donnelly, who came from the north of
Ireland. They had previously settled in La Fayette, Indiana, and were
there married, Mr. Sawers becoming closely identified with the business
circles of that city as a jeweler.
Arthur R. Sawers pursued his
education in the grammar and high schools of La Fayette and following
the death of his father attended night school in order to perfect his
education, realizing fully that education is an almost indispensable
concomitant of business progress and success. At the age of nineteen
years he managed the business of William Timberlake, proprietor of a
grain elevator at Iroquois, Indiana, in whose employ he had been for
some years before. After the removal of Mr. Timberlake to Cincinnati,
Ohio, Mr. Sawers went to that city and continued with his former
employer for six years. In 1888 he came to Chicago, for Mr. Timberlake
had removed to this city and desired to have the benefit of the
faithful and able services of Mr. Sawers at this point. In July, 1895,
the latter entered the employ of the Calumet Grain & Elevator
Company on joint account, and when he disposed of his interests in that
company he accepted the management of the interests of the J. Rosenbaum
Company at El Paso, Texas, remaining at that point for three months to
arrange the business there, after which he went to Memphis, Tennessee,
where he continued as manager for the same company for two years. In
June, 1905, he returned to Chicago and engaged in the receiving
business on his own account, securing a large number of good shippers
who trusted him implicitly. He also supplied a number of mills with
milling wheat to their liking and made for himself a creditable and
enviable position as a representative of the grain brokerage business
at this point. For nearly ten years he was a member of the board of
directors of the Grain Dealers' National Association and during much of
that time served on its executive committee. He attended many of the
meetings and did much to promote association work, both state and
national. In the early days of combined and cooperative interests of
this character in Indiana he contributed largely to the promotion of
the La Fayette division which was the forerunner of the state
organization. He was likewise a member of the Illinois Grain Dealers'
Association. As chairman of the committee which drafted the trade rules
of the national association he showed that broad grasp of trade customs
and practices and that firm faith in the efficacy of fair play which
resulted in rules so equitable that settlements of many trade
differences and disputes have been effected by mere reference to the
rules. It is said that his genial greeting was long one of the pleasing
features in the gatherings of the grain association. The Grain Dealers
Journal at his death wrote: "Always thoughtful, considerate and kind,
he won a host 'of friends in the trade who will deeply mourn his loss."
His remains were interred in Spring Grove cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Thomas B. Ward
Thomas B. Ward, of La Fayette, was
born at Marysville, Union County, Ohio, April 27, 1835; his parents
removed to La Fayette, Indiana (where he has since resided), in May,
1836; was educated at Wabash College, Indiana, and at Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio; graduated at the last-named institution in June, 1855;
studied law at La Fayette, Indiana, and was admitted to the bar in
1857; was elected Mayor of La Fayette in 1861, and re-elected in 1863,
serving four years; served one term as clerk to the city of La Fayette,
and three ternis as City Attorney of that city; was appointed by
Governor Hendricks, in 1875, Judge of the Superior Court of Tippecanoe
County, Indiana, then newly created, and elected to that position in
1876, serving five years in all as Judge; was elected to the
Forty-eighth Congress as a Democrat, receiving 17,357 votes against
16,482 votes for Orth, Republican, and 1,114 votes for Jacks,
Greenbacker. Re-elected.