Clay County, Indiana - The whole text, 1909 (part 4 of 21)

In the public schools ot Holmes county, Ohio, and of Clay county. Indiana. Alfred Shidler obtained a practical education, to which he subse¬ quently added much by reading and study. After leaving school he worked with his father at the blacksmith's trade until after the breaking out of the Civil war. when his intense patriotic ardor was thoroughly aroused and he cheerfully responded to his country's call. In 1863, although but sixteen years of age, he enlisted in Company M, Seventyfirst Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which afterwards became the Sixth Indiana Cavalry. Going south, he remained with his regiment in all of. its marches and battles, including the Atlanta campaign, and was a part of a detail that started with General Stoneman to release the prisoners confined in Macon, but learned before reaching that city that they had been removed. The detail started to retrace their steps, but soon found themselves surrounded by a large force of Confederates, who captured the greater part of the men. Mr. Shidler was mounted on a mule, and attempted to flee from the enemy, but the mule was so slow that he jumped off, ran as swiftly as possible, and was soon joined by three of his com¬ rades. After tramping four days and nights, sleeping in the brush day¬ times, he, with his companions, joined the command at Marietta, Georgia, and soon after proceeded to Tennessee, arriving in season to take part in the battle of Nashville. Mr. Shidler continued with his regiment until honorably discharged from the service in September, 1865.

Returning home, Mr. Shidler worked with his father for a while, for a number of years following the trades of a blacksmith and a wagon and carriage maker in Harrison township. He was converted when a young man, and in 1877 became an exhorter in the United Brethren church, doing such excellent work in that capacity that in 1889 he was licensed to preach, and joined the Lower Wabash Conference. For six¬ teen years Mr. Shidler was actively engaged in the ministry, having charge of several different circuits in both Indiana and Illinois. In Indiana he was pastor of Briley Chapel, Shady Grove, Pleasant Grove, Nye's Chapel, Grimes Schoolhouse, South Union, Wilson Schoolhouse. Otterbein. Six Mile, Union. Mount Pleasant, Mount Zion, Johnstown and North Union, and in Illinois was pastor of the churches in Long Point and Galton circuits. Since his retirement from the ministry Mr. Shidler has devoted his time and attention to general farming and stock-raising, living on the farm, in section thirty-three, Lewis township, upon which he settled in January, 1883. He has a good set of farm buildings on his place, and in his agricultural labors has been quite successful.

On October 15, 1868, Mr. Shidler married Elizabeth Brush. She was born in Harrison township, Clay county, Indiana, a daughter of William and Annie (Cooprider) Brush, and granddaughter of John Cooprider, of whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Shidler have seven children, namely: Theodore Curtis, Rosa Belle, Wiiliam Willard. Otto Clarence. Alfred Clyde, Harley Boyd and Nora Ethel. Rosa Belle, wife of Henry McGinnis, has four children living -

Willie Alfred, Jesse R., Otis Melvin and Harry C. - and has lost two, Charles P. having died when five years old, and Kinley dying in infancy. William W. married Novelle Stwalley, and they have had four children, one of whom, Oral Kenneth, died in infancy, and three are now living: Belden Given, Bertha Lucille, and Mabel Elizabeth. Otto C. married Hattie Dalgarn and of their four children, three are living - Vinie L., Theodore C. and Raymond C. - while one child, Tinev L., died in infancy. Alfred C. married Gertrude N. All, by whom he has three children - Eliza Glenn, Olive Fern and Arthur F. Harley wedded Miss Esta Keller. Nora E. is the wife of Arthur Jackson and has one child, Esta E.

William F. Kattman. - An intelligent, capable and progressive business man, William F. Kattman, of Poland, has one of the largest general stores in Clay county, in its many departments carrying a good assortment of everything demanded by his numerous patrons. A native of this county, he was born, July 26, 1863, in Washington township, being the youngest of the six children born to Christopher and Clara Margaret (Alenke) Kattman. He comes of substantial German stock, and a more extended history of his parents and grandparents may be found on another page of this work, in connection with the sketch of his brother, John G. Kattman.

Completing his early education at the Northern Indiana Normal School in Valparaiso, William F. Kattman subsequently taught school for two years in his home district, after which he was for an equal length of time principal of the public school at Poland. Accepting, then, a posi¬ tion as clerk in the general store of Tressel & Kattman, at Poland, he remained with that firm a few years, in the meantime obtaining an insight into business methods. Buying out, then, the interest of his brother, C. H. Kattman, he was in partnership with Air. Tressel for five years, when he bought him out, becoming sole owner of the store. This he has since conducted alone with the exception of five years when his nephew, O. B. Kattman, was associated with him, they having at that time two stores, the one in Poland and one at Hymera. During that time, in October, 1903, the Poland store was burned out, causing a loss of many thousand dollars, and the partnership was then dissolved, the nephew taking the Hymera store and Mr. Kattman retaining the Poland property. He has rebuilt the store, having now a fine building, forty by ninety feet, every bit of space being in use. In conducting his immense business, Air. Katt¬ man keeps seven permanent employees busy. He has a very large stock, including among other things dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, gro¬ ceries, agricultural implements, hardware, wagons, buggies and harnesses, and in the millinery department keeps a first-class milliner.

Air. Kattman married. May 27, 1886, Emma Shults, who was born in Poland, Indiana, a daughter of Henry and Margaret (AlcKeeman) Shults. Her father was born in Hanover, Germany, and her mother was born in Lexington, Virginia, very near the Natural Bridge. Politically Air. Kattman is a stanch Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to Poland Lodge, No. 364. K. of P. He is a member of the German Reformed church and for twenty-five years has been superintendent of and actively engaged in the LTnion Sunday-school of Poland.

the leading citizens of this part of Clay county, and as the pioneer miller of Poland has built up a large and constantly increasing patronage and is actively associated with the advancement of its industrial interests. A native of Clay county, he was born February 27, 1866, in Washington township, a son of Daniel Huber. On the paternal side lie is of German stock, his grandfather, Jacob Huber, having been born and bred in Ger¬ many. On coming to this country he lived for a number of years in Pennsylvania, from there coming with his family to Indiana in pioneer days.

Born October 23. 1823, in Pennsylvania, Daniel Huber came when a boy to Indiana, and until after his marriage lived in Fayette county. Soon after that important event in his life he came to Clay county and for a number of years followed the carpenter's trade in Bowling Green. He also improved a homestead in Washington township, where his death occurred January 31, 1908. He married Lydia Strong, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, and is now living on the home farm in Washing¬ ton township. They were the parents of ten children, five boys and five girls, of whom three boys and four girls are now living.

Leaving the home of his parents when twenty-three years of age, William H. Huber worked at the carpenter's trade at Terre Haute for a year, after which he was similarly employed at Bowling Green for two years. Forming then a partnership with Clint Godfrey, he erected the first grist mill in Poland, putting in a forty-horse power engine, and in its management was quite successful. At the end of two years Mr. Godfrey died, and Mr. Huber operated the plant alone for a year. Taking in, then, as an equal partner Mr. Fred Schultz, the firm has since conducted an extensive and remunerative business, drawing trade from all direc¬ tions within a radius of eight or ten miles. The plant is finely equipped - four pair of double rolls for grinding wheat, one corn grinder, and a feed mill.

On October 31, 1888, Mr. Huber married Maggie B. Buell, who was born in Washington township, a daughter of George and Eliza Ann (Campbell) Buell, natives of Ohio. Two children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Huber, namely: Glenn F., who died in 1897, aged four years, and Utie Locheil, born June 14, 1902. In his political affilia¬ tions Mr. Huber was a straightforward Democrat, and in 1904 was elected township trustee.

John F. Miller, one of the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of Posey township, is of German parentage and was born in the same section in Posey township on which he now lives, March 10, 1849. His parents, John L. and Mary Barbara Miller, were born, reared and married in Germany, and in about 1844 the family, consisting of the father, mother and two children, came to the United States and located first in Ohio, but after about six months in that state continued their westward journey to Indiana. About six months after locating in this state he entered and moved to what is now known as the Miller homestead, erecting thereon the little log cabin which is still standing. He first entered one hundred and twenty acres, while later he entered another similar amount in Posey township, and in time became the owner of a valuable and well improved farm. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, five sons and two daughters. The father spent the remainder of his life on his farm in Posey township, becoming prominent and well known in his community,

John F. Miller has spent his entire life on the farm which his father cleared and cultivated, and he and his sister, Johanna M., live together and carry on its work. He erected the present residence in 1887, a commo¬ dious and attractive home, and he farms one hundred and twenty acres. Roth he and his brothers follow in the political footsteps of their father and vote with the Democracy, and the family are members of the Chris¬ tian church at Bee Ridge, in which Mr. Miller is serving as a deacon.

John Cooprider. - An honored representative of those brave pioneers that settled in Indiana in territorial days, the late John Cooprider was a true type of the energetic, hardy and enterprising men who actively assisted in the development of this fertile and productive region, being identified with its agricultural, manufacturing and financial interests. He lived first in Harrison county, but a few years after the admission of Indiana to statehood settled in Clay county. In those days the wild beasts of the forest had not fled before the advancing steps of civilization, and the dusky savage still inhabited the vast wilderness. A son of Peter Cooprider, he was born October 10, 1791, in Indiana county, Pennsyl¬ vania, of Holland-Dutch ancestry.

Peter Cooprider was born on the ocean while his parents were en route from Holland to the United States. He subsequently lived in Mary¬ land, and there married his first wife, Anna Hochstottlcr. They after¬ wards removed to Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where, on September 25, 1807, his wife died, leaving five children : John, Polly, Peter, Jacob and Peggy. After her death he migrated to Kentucky, settling at Elizabeth¬ town, where he married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Fleshman, nee Yeoger. In later years he came with this wife to Indiana, and here, with their children, they spent their remaining days, his death occurring at Middlehury in 1847, a* ^le a&e °f f°ur score and four years, and hers about three years later. Warm-hearted and kind, he made friends with the Indians, one of whom used to visit and hunt with him every fall.

After the death of his mother, John Cooprider, the eldest son of Peter and Anna Cooprider and the special subject of this sketch, went to live with the Fleshman family, and with them went to Elizabethtpwn, Ken¬ tucky, where he remained a number of months. In 1809, an ambitious young man, full of push and energy, he came to the territory of Indiana and settled near Corydon, Harrison county, where he lived until the breaking out of the war of 1812. Enlisting then in the service of his country, he fought under General Harrison and was present at the cap¬ ture of Fort Harrison. Coming to what is now Clay county in 1821, Mr. Cooprider located at Neal's Mills, or Kossuth Bluff, as it was then called. Clay county was at that time a thick forest, owned almost entirely by the government, there being very few whites in this vicinity, but plenty of deer, bears, wolves, panthers and other wild animals. In the fall of that year he went back to Harrison county to spend the winter, but the following spring returned to this county. Here, instead of settling on the land that he had taken up on his first visit to the place, at Kossuth Bluff, Mr. Cooprider entered another tract at what is now Middlebury, and there established a home. He was a skilled mechanic, a blacksmith by trade, and for many years manufactured not only edged tools of all kinds but did general blacksmithing and made bells, which were in great demand, as in those days stock ran at large and bells were attached to the horses.

cattle and sheep. There were no near-by markets, and he used to make frequent trips down the rivers in flatboats, taking with him farm prod¬ uce, including honey and furs. On his return trips Mr. Cooprider used to stop over in the southern part of the state to hunt for flint, as all fire¬ arms then made had flint locks. In 1832 he laid out a part of his farm as the town of Middlehury. He had relatives in Harrison county, and on returning from one of his visits to that place he brought with him many fruit seeds, some of which he planted himself, giving the remainder to the new settlers, and in the orchards thus established, known as seedling orchards, some of the trees are still alive and bearing fruit. Improving a good farm, Mr. Cooprider resided here, honored and respected, until his death in 1877.

Mr. Cooprider married, at the age of eighteen years, Elizabeth Fleshman. who was born August 14, 1793, and died in 1879. Their union was blessed by the birth of twelve children, namely: Elias, Polly, Henry, Washington, Anna, John, Susan, Elza, Elisha, Ann Eliza, Isabel and Joseph. Anna had the distinction of being the first white child born in Harrison township. Elisha, whose sketch may be found on another page of this volume, is the only surviving son of this family.

Jacob Hudson, now eighty-five years of age, is the oldest settler living in Washington township, Clay county, and has only been retired from active work as a farmer for the past few years. He continued to oversee his farm until 1907, when he withdrew entirely and rented it to his sons. With the exception of failing eyesight, his faculties are still quite alert, and he furnishes a fine example of the American agriculturist, who, unaided, has acquired a competency by his own strength of mind and body, has sturdily labored far beyond the allotted span, and in his vener¬ able and mellow age is highly honored both for what he is and what he has accomplished. He has been an elder of the Bellair Christian church for about twenty-three years, and was a member long prior to that period. His political activities as a voter and a thinker revert to the days of James K. Polk, when as a stanch Democrat he cast his first vote for that candidate. Through all the party changes, both Democratic and Repub¬ lican, he has continued to support the general policies of the organization to which he gave his allegiance as a young man of twenty-one.

Mr. Hudson is a native of Randolph county, North Carolina, born on the 12th of June, 1823, and is the second child in a family of four born to James and Margaret (Luther) Hudson. The father was a native of Virginia, and the latter of North Carolina, and both were of English origin. They came to Clay county from North Carolina in 1827, remain¬ ing near Bowling Green for about a year, when the father leased twenty acres of bottom land, along the Eel river, of Michael Luther. He cleared and farmed that tract for seven years, and then purchased fortv acres of unimproved timber land in Harrison township. There his wife died in the late thirties, and he himself passed away in 1843.

lacob Hudson has therefore been a resident of Clay county for cightv-one years. He received his entire education in the pioneer sub¬ scription schools, the terms of which were three months in duration. His mental training was conducted entirely in Washington township, whose log school houses were equipped with windows of oiled paper; in fact, Mr. Hudson never attended but one school with aristocratic glass win¬ dows, and he assisted in the erection of that building of hewn logs. On

June 15, 1846, when he was twenty-three years of age, he enlisted in the Second Indiana Volunteer Inf?ntry to help fight Uncle Sam's battles in Mexico, lie first walked to New Albany. Indiana, where he took boat for New Orleans, and thence to the Mexican border. While on ship board, at the last stage of the journey, both he and his brother were attacked by the measles, the latter dying of the disease. Jacob reached the scene of operations, participated in the battle of Buena Vista, and saw other active service before his return to Clay county.

When Mr. Hudson returned to Clay county at the end of the Mexi¬ can war he bought fifty-seven acres of land in section 36, Washington township, which he rented until 1849. C)n January 10 of that year he married Margaret Luther, his second cousin* who was a native of Clay county and a daughter of William and Patience (Long) Luther. His wife's family is of English origin, her parents being natives of North Carolina. Ever since his marriage he has resided in Washington town¬ ship, and has been chiefly identified with the progress of its agriculture. At his marriage he moved on the farm which he purchased after his return from Mexico, this tract comprising ninety-seven acres. After he had farmed and improved that piece of property for three years, he moved his family to the homestead occupied by his mother-in-law. and started on a prospecting tour through Iowa, with the expectation of per¬ manently locating in that state. But he found the climate of the region too cold, and. returning to Clay county, settled with the family on one hundred acres of land which he had purchased some time prior to his western trip. In 1863 he located on the farm on which he now resides, and which he had purchased in the fall of 1862. The property embraces forty-five and a half acres, of which forty are in section 3, I larrison town¬ ship, and the balance in section 34 of Washington township. Later he bought another "forty" adjoining the Harrison township piece ; and as he also owns thirty-six acres in section 35, Washington township, he is now the proprietor of about two hundred and twenty acres of well improved land in Clay county, which is now operated bv the younger generation of farmers. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hudson, of whom the following six are alive: John E., the oldest son; Marv Ann, now the wife of David Loncer, of Harrison township ; Maria J., wife of Frank Steiner, of Sugar Ridge township: Nancy E., wife of John Zurcher, Harrison township; Allie D., wife of Noah Mulberger, of Washington township : and Joseph N., who operates a farm adjoining his father's homestead in Washington township.

James L. Boothe. - One of the best known agriculturists of Jackson township is James L. Boothe, who has been identified with its farming interests for many years. He was born in Washington township of Clay county, December 20, 1833, a son of one of that township's earliest pio¬ neers, Thompson Boothe, who was born in Harrison county, Indiana, in January, 1808, and came with his mother and stepfather. Thomas Wheeler, to Washington township. Clay county, during his boyhood days. He was there married to Hulda Thomas, who was born in Kentucky in April of 1808. and was five years of age when she came with her parents to Clay county. Her father. David Thomas, entered and cleared a farm in Wash¬ ington township. After his marriage, Thompson Boothe entered eighty acres of land in Washington township, and at the time of his death he owned an estate of three hundred acres, the most of which he had

Janies I., Boothe, the eldest son and second child of his parents' eight children, - four sons and four daughters, all born in Washington town¬ ship. - was reared in the locality in which he was born, and in 1863 he enlisted for the Civil war in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Vol¬ unteer Infantry, Company D, in which he served until the close of the conflict, doing principally skirmish duty, and he was discharged as a sergeant. In the fall of 1866 he moved with his family to Boone county, Iowa, where he farmed for fourteen years, and returning to Clay countyin 1880 bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Sugar Ridge township, but in 1897 moved from there to his present farm of one hun¬ dred and sixteen acres in Jackson township. From 1905 for two years he had charge of the county farm, but has since been conducting his own homestead. His first political vote was cast for Fremont, and he has since supported the principles of the Republican party, taking an active part in its local councils. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

In Washington township, January 24. 18C5, Mr. Boothe was mar¬ ried to Marian LaSalle, a daughter of John and Harriet (Gilbert) LaSalle, pioneer farmers of Washington township, where their daughter Marian was born and reared. Nine children have been born of this union, namely: Albert M., John T., Harry H., Mary D., Lena R., Jeptha L., Blanch B. (deceased), Holley T. and Harriet H., five of whom were born in Jowa and the remainder in Clay county.

Tiiomas Phillips, engaged in the real estate, loan and abstract busi¬ ness. was born in Perry township. Clay county, March 3, 1864. He is a son of Early and Cerilda (Fagan) Phillips, natives of Kentucky and of Butler countv. ( )hio, respectively. The father, who was born November 19. 1839, was brought to Clay county, Indiana, by his parents when only two years of age. His father was Micajah Phillips, a native of North Carolina, who on leaving that state removed to Kentucky during the pioneer epoch in its history when it was still known as the "dark and bloody ground," owing to the Indian atrocities and warfare that was there waged by the red men upon the white settlers. He married Miss Loveall, who died when her son. Early Phillips, was but two years of age. The family home of the Phillips in Indiana was established in the midst of the wilderness, and there Micajah Phillips built a sawmill upon the land which he entered from the government. After removing to Clay county he became an extensive land owner here and continued to make his home in this locality until his death, which occurred when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-three years.

Earlv Phillips spent his boyhood days in the wilderness, working in the sawmill and in the timber. He enlisted for service in the Union army in the Civil war as a member of Company C, Eighty-fifth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, with which he served for three and a half years, doing valiant service for his country as a soldier of the Union. After the war he engaged in farming and has since made his home in Clav countv, where he yet resides. He is a member of Corv Lodge, No. 449, I. O. O. F.. and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, loyal to its teachings and active and interested in its work. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy. His wife, who was born in Butler county,

Ohio, died in 1879, at the age of thirty-eight years. They were married in Perrv township, this county, in 1859, and Mrs. Phillips was a daughter of Stephen Fagan, one of the pioneers of the county, who, casting in his lot with the early settlers, took up his abode near Cory, where he reared a large family. Unto Early and Cerilda Phillips there were born seven children, of whom four are now living. One died in infancy, and James Wallace, the third in order of birth, lost his life in a railroad accident on the Yandalia line in November, 1905. The others in order of birth are: Thomas, of this review ; Milo C., who died July 12, 1908; Stephen W., who is living in Perry township; Annie O., the wife of Frank Barker, a resident of Staunton, Clay county ; and Oscar, who is living in Brazil. After losing his first wife, the father married again, his second union being with Miss Emma Ewart, whom he wedded in 1883. She was born in Ohio and by this marriage became the mother of six children : Ora E., who is engaged in teaching school; Mrs. Osa O. Kibler; Mona; Maud; Everett ; and Ansil.

A native son of this county, Thomas Phillips was educated in the district schools of Perry township. He lost his mother when about fifteen years of age, and afterward worked at farm labor until he reached the age of twenty years, subsequent to which time he was employed at book¬ keeping in Indiana, Kansas and Colorado. In 1891 he accepted the posi¬ tion of deputy county auditor of Clay county, continying in the office until February, 1894, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of county auditor as successor to Matt R. Yocom. He held that position until 1894, when he was elected to the office for a four years' term. His previous experience as deputy well qualified him for the duties of the position, which he discharged with accuracy, fidelity and promptness. When retired from the office he engaged in contract wrork, building gravel roads for some time, and later he engaged in the real estate, abstract and loan business, in which he is now engaged as senior partner of the firm of Phillips & Weaver at Brazil. He has supervision of a portion of the real estate interests of the Yandalia Railroad Company and has a large clientage in the various departments of his business, having met with success since entering this field of activity.

On the 30th of December, 1891, Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Katie Stewart, who wras born in Brazil, January 28, 1873, a daughter of Robert S. and Rebecca (Brackney) Stew'art, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Phillips is a member of Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M.j the Elks Lodge, No. 762. His political alle¬ giance is given to the Democracy, and in its ranks he is an active worker, doing much for its support and for the promotion of its interests. The fact that many of his stanchest friends arc those who have knowm him from his boyhood until the present time is an indication that his has been an honorable, straightforward career.

Albert Payne. - One of the leading attorneys of Brazil. Clay county, and a man of thoroughly- disciplined mind and strong character, Albert Payne is a striking example of the American citizen who has attained a substantial position in his community without the aid of a broad educa¬ tion obtained writhin the walls of the school room. At the age of fifteen, family circumstances were such that he left the school room as a pupil forever, and since that time his career has been a manly and successful struggle for self-improvement and honorable self-advancement.

Mr. Payne was born in Jackson township. Clay county, Indiana, on the 26th of December, 1855. a son of Bennett and Ellen (McCullough) Payne. The father was a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, born June 6, 1825, and who died on the 22d of July, 1903. The mother was born at Bull's Gap, Tennessee, on the 23d of September, 1825, and died July 22. 1897. Their marriage occurred in Washington township, Putnam county, Indiana, in February, 1849.

Bennett Payne came to Indiana in 1830, being then a child of five years, accompanied by his parents and grandparents. His parents and grandparents on both sides were raised amid the environments of slavery in Kentucky, and came to Indiana at this early date to escape the blighting effects of slavery. The household goods were conveyed into the Hoosier state on pack-horses, and the first family homestead was fixed at a locality a short distance north of Poland, in Clay county. In this wilderness Ben¬ nett Payne developed into a sturdy frontiersman, married, and built a log house and reared a family to the useful and steadfast ways of the typical Christian pioneer. The father was a cooper by trade, and a general mechanic of fine ability, and was one of the first men in Clav county to engage in the block coal business. He also cultivated and developed a farm of eighty acres, and was, in many ways, a man of remarkable versa¬ tility in practical achievements. During all his life he was an earnest and active member of the Predestination Baptist church. In politics he was an ardent Whig, his nativity and family influences, from his earliest recollec¬ tions, welding him to the party and to the personality of its great leader, the brilliant Kentuckian, Henry Clay.

As a boy Albert Payne assisted his father in his coal mining opera¬ tions, but with the acquirements of sufficient schooling he himself com¬ menced to teach in Clay and Vigo counties, and continued in the educa¬ tional field for thirteen years. Notwithstanding his lack of normal train¬ ing, his success was so unqualified that the last two years of his career as a pedagogue were spent as principal of the Lambert School at Brazil. He then spent a summer in farming and recuperating, and in 1888 was admitted to practice at the Indiana bar at Brazil. The succeeding twelve years were occupied chiefly in various lines of business at Brazil, and in 1900 he removed to his farm in Perry township, Clav county, which he conducted until September 1, 1904.

On the latter date he re-entered the practice of law again at Brazil, which has been both profitable and most creditable to his professional ability. Among his professional associates he is known as an active member of the County Bar Association, and has an influential connection with the following fraternities: Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. and A. M. (past master) ; Brazil Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M. (present high priest) ; Brazil Council, No. 40, R. and S. M., and Brazil Commandery, No. 47, K. T. Both Mr. Payne and his wife are very prominent in the work of William Black Chapter, No. 80, Order of the Eastern Star, of which the former is past worthy patron, and the latter past worthy matron. They are also both leaders in the work of the Methodist church.

On the 22d of February, 1880, Mr. Payne was united in wedlock with Emma A. Kevins, who was born near Rockville. Parke county, Indiana, on the 13th of September, 1859. She is a daughter of David M. and Margaret (Adams) Kevins, the father born in Parke county, Indiana, and the mother in the state of Kentucky. Mrs. Payne's grandfather, Henry Kevins, settled in Parke county in 1817, and served with General

Of Toe

Harrison in several of his Indian campaigns. The parents of Mrs. Payne were married in Parke county, Indiana, in 1852, and five of their eight children are still alive, as below: Ellen, wife of E. M. Liston: Emma A., Mrs. Albert Payne; Amanda, now Mrs. Reuben Brown: Clara, who married William O. Richey ; and Sarah, wife of Clifford Elliott. David M. Xevins is a Baptist minister who has spent his life in forwarding the work of his church in Vigo and Parke counties, and is now a resident of Blackhawk, in the former county. He lost his first wife by death, his present helpmate being known before marriage as Sarah McGruce. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Payne have become the parents of eight children, of whom three are living - Warren E., who is now in the practice of law with his father (he is a graduate of the Brazil high school and was admitted to the har . on his twenty-first birthday, he being the youngest attorney admitted in Clay county) ; Reynold G., who is a midshipman in the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MaVyland, representing the Fifth congressional district of Indiana ; and Oran. Allen R., who died at the age of twentythree, served in the Spanish-American war as a member of Company F, One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.

Judge John M. Rawley, circuit judge of the thirteenth judicial dis¬ trict, comprising Putnam and Clay counties, was born in Clay county, Indiana, April 6, 1862, and educated in the Central Normal College of Danville, Indiana. He studied law and taught school for eight years, being principal of the Carbon school the last three years he taught. In 1891 he opened a law office in Brazil, Indiana, with Thomas W. Hutchi¬ son, which relation existed until Mr. Rawley was elevated to the bench in 1906. The Judge is a member of Brazil Lodge, No. 30, of the Knights of Pythias fraternity ; of Knights and Ladies of Honor, Zenith Lodge, No. 169. He has acted as Grand Protector of the Indiana jurisdiction and is at present one of the Supreme Lodge representatives. He is also a member of the Brazil Lodge, No. 762. of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In his religious faith and profession he is of the Methodist Episco¬ pal church, and in politics he is a supporter of true Democracy.

Judge Rawley was married December 25, 1901, to Miss Lenore Sco¬ field, who was born in Illinois, September 19, 1875, daughter of John and Nancy Scofield. One daughter has been born of this union - Nancy Josephine, whose birth occurred December 25, 1903.

Concerning the parentage of Judge Rawley, it may be stated that his . father was John C. and his mother Nancy A. (Torr) Rawley. The father died at the age of seventy-three years in 1895. The mother is living at Terre Haute, Indiana, aged eighty-two years. This worthy couple were the parents of four sons and four daughters, John M. being the fifth child in the family. The father was a farmer in Clay county for many years, having settled there in 1848. He was a native of Putnam county, Indiana, where the city of Greencastle now stands being his birthplace, he being the first white child born in that locality. The date of his birth was March 25, 1822. He became a justice of the peace and served in that capacity for twelve years in Clay county. He owned. a four-hundredacre farm in Clav county. Politically lie was a staunch supporter of the Democratic party.

Hall, named In Governor Mount, who visited him and christened his beautiful home. The Governor also made him his aide-de-camp, with the military rank of major, and he was associated with him during his term of service, and during Governor Durbin's tenure of office he was appointed secretary of the hoard of trustees for the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane, on which he served for three years, and during one year was president of the board. In 1862 Mr. Kennedy enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining the Fifty-fourth Indiana V olunteer Infantry, and in the spring of 1864 re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-third Vol¬ unteer Infantry, while later he was connected with the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteers, and served with those regiments until the close of the war.

Mr. Kennedy is a member of one of the oldest and most prominent of Clay county's families and was born in what is now Center Point, April 10, 1846. He is a son of Martin Hugh and Susan (Rawlings) Kennedy, born respectively in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1813, and in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in 1815, and a grandson of William and Sarah (Russell) Kennedy, of Scotch-Irish descent. His grandfather Rawlings was a soldier in the war of 1812. Martin H. and Susan Kennedy were married in Parke county, Indiana, and came to Clay county when this section of country was covered with timber, Mr. Kennedy starting at once to clear away the timber, and he erected one of the first saw mills here - in fact, was the very first to erect any kind of buildings here. He entered a number of acres from the government and also bought all the land on which Center Point has since been built, owning in all about seven hun¬ dred acres in this vicinity. He was a man of unblemished character, with clean temperament and habits. Ever generous and hospitable, his death was mourned by all when he passed away in June of 1897. His wife had died previously, in June, 1893, and they had nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to years of maturity, and seven are now living.

Rufus L. Kennedy, the fifth born, received an excellent educational .training in his youth, passing from the public schools to the Westfield, Illinois, College, and thence to the Normal of Center Point conducted by William Travis, the historian of the Twentieth Century History of Clay County, Indiana. After the completion of this excellent training, he taught school in Center Point two years, and in the meantime read law with Carter & Coffley for two years ; but his father then needing his services to superintend his farming interests, he returned to the farm and was thus employed for over twenty years. In the meantime he was also in the real estate business. During the past three years he has been closing out his interests, his time being principally devoted to looking after his farming interests, and he is also the secretary of the Center Point Brick Works. He was admitted to the bar of Clay county as one of its honored members about 1881.

On the 9th of April, 1874, Mr. Kennedy was married to Mary Alventine Givens, who was born in Paris, Illinois, May 14, 1836, a daughter of William and Eli^a Jane (White) Givens, the father born in Tennessee and the mother in Kentucky. The father was one of the early ministers in the United Brethren church, and he yet preaches in Center Point. He was born in 1827 and his wife in 1828. The father is yet living, but the mother. Eliza Jane Givens, died in Center Point, Indiana, July 4, 1908. She joined the United Brethren church in 1855, and was active in Chris- tian work until disabled bv affliction. When her husband entered the active ministry as an itinerant, in i860, she willingly and cheerfully ac¬ cepted the sacrifices, labors and anxieties of an itinerant minister's life, sharing with him the defeats and victories of the glorious warfare which, with her, ended in triumph over death and in a victor's crown.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are: Addie Cl., who was born in 1875 and died in 1882; Frederick R., born February 10, 1887, cashier of the office of the O. S. L. Railroad Company, and is a resident of Elgin. Oregon; Bertha Lucile, born November 7, 1879, married Jesse A. Miller, and died in February, 1906; and Stanley H., born in September, 1886, is in the government reclamation service at Natchez, Washington.

Mr. Kennedy has been more or less associated with farmers' insti¬ tutes and has served as president of the Clay County Farmers' Institute for four years. He is an active worker for the Republican party, and is a member of Governor Mount Post, G. A. R., of Center Point, of which he was one of the organizers, and has served in all of its offices, and since 1906 has held the office of patriotic lecturer. He is also a member of the Uniformed Rank of Knights of Pythias, and is a Mason of high standing, affiliating with the Scottish Rite, of Indianapolis, the Knights Templar of Brazil, and the blue lodge, No. 597, at Center Point, Indiana. He is also an earnest and efficient member of the United Brethren church, active in the work of Christianity. He has served as either a teacher or as superintendent of the Sunday-school during the past forty years, and was president of the Clay County Association for four years. Mr. Kennedy has in his possession one of the old parchment deeds, executed August 1, 1839, under the hand and seal of President Martin Van Burqn.

Fred Sciiultz. - For many years Fred Schultz was numbered among the prosperous and progressive agriculturists of Cass township, but now, in partnership with William W. Huber, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, he is successfully engaged in the milling business at Poland. A son of William Schultz, he was born September 19, 1862, in Owen county, Indiana, where he received a practical common school education.

A native of Germany, William Schultz emigrated to the United States in 1829, being then about eleven years old, his birth having occurred in 1818. He subsequently located in Owen county, Indiana, where he entered a tract of wild land and from which he improved a good homestead. Industrious and thrifty, he became very successful as a farmer, and was an extensive landholder, owning land in both Owen and Clay counties. He died on his home farm in Owen county in 1901 at a venerable age. He was twice married. He married first a Miss Kattman, of German descent, and of their union three daughters and two sons were born, Fred, the subject of this brief sketch, being the youngest child. By his second marriage he had five children also, three sons and two daughters.

Becoming well drilled in agriculture when young, Fred Schultz re¬ mained at home until twenty-three years old, when he moved to Cass township and rented his father's farm, of which he had charge for a number of years, in his operations being exceedingly prosperous. In 1901 Mr. Schultz bought an interest in the mill of Mr. Huber at Poland and has since been associated with him in business, being part proprietor of one of the leading industries of the place. This millsite is one of the oldest in this section of Clay county, and is liberally patronized, its customers coming here from many miles around.

Mr. Schultz married, April 21. 1887, Ella Harrison. She was born in Owen county. Indiana, where her parents, John and Amanda (Coch¬ ran) Harrison spent their lives. Politically Mr. Schultz is an influential member of the Democratic party. Religiously he is a valued member of the Herman Reformed church. Fraternally lie belongs to Poland Lodge, No. 364. K. of P., in which he has filled all the chairs, and he is one of its punctual members.

Mark Washington Parkins. - Although a native son of the south¬ land, born in Virginia, August 14, 1840, Mark W. Parkins has been a resident of Indiana since the Civil war period, coming to this state in the early part of the year of 1864 and for twelve years was a resident of Frazil, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. At the close of that period, in 1877, he moved to his present homestead in Posey township. Clay county, at first purchasing a tract of one hundred and forty acres, of which he cleared about twenty-five. His estate now embraces four hun¬ dred acres of rich and valuable land in Jackson, Posey and Brazil town¬ ships, and the many improvements which are now located thereon are the result of his splendid business ability and perseverance. He was for¬ merly the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Harrison township, near the Eel River station, and after improving the tract he sold it for eight thousand dollars.

Mr. Parkins is a son of Benniah Parkins, whose home was in Virginia from birth until death. His wife, Amanda Bruffee, was also a native of that commonwealth, and they were of English and Irish descent and the parents of thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters, all of whom also claimed Virginia as the state of their nativity, and Mark Washington was the third born. Mr. Parkins, the father, was both a Whig and a Republican in his political affiliations, and he was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Before leaving his native southland Mark W. Parkins enlisted for service in the Civil war. becoming a member of Company B, Twentysixth Virginia Infantry, a member of the division known as Edgar's Battalion of the Confederate army. His services continued until the 5th of September. 1863, and in the meantime, at Clav Court House, he was taken prisoner and was paroled from Charleston in 1863. Shortly after returning from the war, as above stated, he came to Indiana and has since been identified with its business and agricultural interests, his homestead farm being one of the best in Posev township.

In 1867 Mr. Parkins was married to Lizzie Kidd, the widow of Joseph Kidd, and she died in 1874, after becoming the mother of two daughters, Mary and Nellie, by her second marriage. In 1875 Mr- Par¬ kins wedded Melissa Brown, who was born in Clay county, a daughter of Michael Honk and the widow of George Brown. Michael Houk was one of the pioneer farmers of Dick Johnson township. The six children of this union, two sons and four daughters, were born on the present home¬ stead farm. They are Lizzie, Nora. Loring, Chaunccy, Delpha. and one that died in infancy. Mr. Parkins is an active and efficient member of the United Brethren church, in which he is serving as one of the trustees.

John Frederick Ahlemeyer, late of Cass township, Clav county, was for many years known throughout this vicinity as an industrious and enterprising farmer, a faithful citizen, a kind neighbor and a loving hus- band and father. He was born in Prussia, Germany, September 21, 1823, and his death, which occurred August 17, 1898. at the homestead where lie had so long resided, was a cause of general regret. His parents, William and Elizabeth (Labedach) Ahlemeyer, emigrated with their family from Germany to Maryland in 1832. The following year they settled in Cin¬ cinnati, Ohio, from there coming a few years iater to Wayne county, Indiana, near Philoma Postoffice, and thence to Cass township, Clay county, where they bought at first eighty acres of wild land. They subse¬ quently bought other land, and on the homestead they improved spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in January, 1850, and hers the following August.

The only child of his parents, John Frederick Ahlemeyer succeeded to the ownership of the homestead which he had assisted in clearing, and for thirty years after his marriage lived in the house which his father built. I11 1881 he built the pleasant two-story, eight-room house, which is advantageously located, having an extensive view, and, with its beau¬ tiful grove of pine and ornamental trees, enhances the value and attrac¬ tiveness of the landscape. The homestead is known as "The Ahlemevers.'' Inheriting in a marked degree the industry and thrift characteristic of his German ancestors, he was very successful in his agricultural labors, adding to the area of his farm until he became owner of three hundred and seventy-five acres of rich and fertile land, a large part of which he placed under cultivation. In addition to general farming, Mr. Ahlemeyer raised fine horses, mules, Hereford cattle, sheep and Poland-China hogs, as a stock-raiser being fortunate. A man of sterling integrity and worth, he was held in high esteem bv his many friends and associates, of whom a very large number followed his body to its last resting place in the Reformed Church cemetery, one mile south of Poland.

On October 23, 1851, Mr. Ahlemeyer married Hannah Sonnefield, who was born January 1, 1831, in Prussia, Germany. Her father, William Sonnefield, was born December 12, 1791, and her mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Ahlemeyer, was born in 1792 and died in J851.

These children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ahlemeyer, namely: Cornelia, Edward, Otto, Theodore F., William Calvin, George Emmo, Laura Lenora, Oscar, Nora Amelia, and Lafayette B. Seven of these children have passed to the higher life, and three are living: George E., Nora A. and Lafayette B. George E. Ahlemeyer, born March 20, 1863, married, March 25, 1888, Clara C. Tapy, by whom he had three children, namely : Paul R., born March 4, 1890 ; Ruth Elmira and Carl A., twins, born September 24, 1897. His wife died March 2, 1899, and since that time Mr. Ahlemeyer has resided on the home farm with his widowed mother. Nora Amelia, born September 21, 1869, married, August 12, 1892, William O. Tapy. For five years thereafter she resided in Terre Haute, and then went to Denver, Colorado, where the death of Mr. Tapy occurred on December 3, 1899. Since that time she and her only living child, Virgil Harold Tapv, born February 6, 1896, have resided with her mother on the Ahlemeyer homestead. One child, Clayborn A., died Sep¬ tember 17, 1899, aged almost three years. Lafayette B. Ahlemeyer, born July 31, 1878, resides on the old homestead, assisting in its management.

Cornelia, the oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Ahlemeyer, born August 22, 1852, died March 2, 1883. She married Albert Nees. and of their five children but one is living, Armeda Aletta, wife of Edward Frazier. Edward Ahlemeyer, born June 6, 1854, died July 24, 1857. Otto, born

Au^ibt if), 1856, died April 3, 1882. Theodore F., born October 31. 1858. died December if>, 1880. William Calvin, born December 2. i860, died August 18, 1888. He married, November 18, 1883, Mary Ann Pierce, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana, December 7. 1862, a daughter of Alvin and Adeline (Cadiner) Pierce, natives respectively of New York and Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of three children, numelv: Victor Odell, born September 6, 1884; Edith Lenora, born August 22, 1 886, wife of Walter Shopmeyer, of Illinois; ami Otis Frederick, born December 31, 1887, lives in Terre Haute. Since the death of her hus¬ band Mrs. Mary Ann (Pierce) Ahlemcyer makes her home with her mother-in-law on the Ahlemeyer homestead. Carl Ambrose, twin brother of George E.. died eleven days after his birth. Laura Lenora, born Sep¬ tember 24, 1865, married Rev. Otto Jorvis, and died October 1, 1885, leaving no children. Oscar, born October 21, 1867, died November 20. 1868. Mr. Ahlemeyer was a strong Democrat in politics, and for several terms rendered excellent service as township trustee. Religiously he was a valued member of the German Reformed church. Socially he was an active member of the local grange while it was in existence.

Nichles Sikc.elix. - This gentleman, who is actively identified with the agricultural interests of Van Ihiren township, is pleasantly located in Knightsville, and is there successfully employed in the prosecution of his chosen calling. He was born October 6, 1848, in Germany, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, Michael Siegelin. His grand¬ father Siegelin was a life-long resident of that country, but his grand¬ mother Siegelin, after the death of her husband, came to America and died in Cincinnati soon after her arrival in that city.

After learning the butcher's trade in his native country, Michael Siegelin served three years in the German army. In 1852, accompanied bv his wife and their four children, he emigrated to the United States, coming across the ocean in a sailing vessel and being forty days on the water. From New York City he came directly to Clay county, locating in Jackson township, where he bought a tract of government land. Clear¬ ing a space in the dense forest, he built a house of round logs, which was the family domicile for some time. In common with the other pio¬ neers he suffered all the trials and privations incidental to life on the fron¬ tier. Neither telegraph, telephone nor railway lines were then in evidence, and the nearest depot for supplies was Terre Haute, while the present site of Brazil was then a wilderness through which the wild beasts roamed at pleasure. Clearing his land and replacing the primitive log cabin by a frame house, he there carried on farming until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Sabilla Fishharber, was born in Germany and spent her last years on the home farm. Eight children were born of their union, as follows: George, Phillip, Margaret, Nichles, Palus, John, Eva and Benjamin.

Four years old when he came with his parents to Jackson township, Nichles Siegelin here obtained his early education, walking two and onehalf miles to the rude log schoolhouse in which he learned to read and write. Under his father's instruction he became familiar with the various branches of pioneer farming, including the clearing of the land, remaining a member of the parental household until his marriage. For some time he subsequently worked by the month as a farm laborer, afterwards being engaged in coal mining for twenty years. In 1894, deciding to change his occupation, Mr. Siegelin purchased his present farm, which lies within the corporate limits of Knightsville. He has sold quite a tract of his orig¬ inal purchase, having at the present time one hundred and twenty acres of productive land in his farm, and this, with its good set of buildings and its other improvements, is one of the most attractive estates of the neigh¬ borhood.

On March 15, 1874, Mr. Siegelin married Caroline Sanderson, who was born in Jackson township July 1, 1851, a daughter of W illiam Sander¬ son, familiarly known throughout the community as "Uncle Billy." Mr. Sanderson was born in Philadelphia, and, being left an orphan at an early age, was bound out. Not being well used, he ran away to join some cattle drovers, with whom he lived two or three years. Going to W est Vir¬ ginia, he there found a home with a widow, whose daughter, when he was eighteen years old, he married. This wife lived but a few years, dying in early womanhood. Mr. Sanderson subsequently married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth (Pullen) Moore, an attractive young widow. She was of English ancestry, both her father, Thomas Pullen, and her grand¬ father, Joseph Pullen, having been born in England. Joseph Pullen came with his family to the United States just before the Revolution, and served bravely in the great struggle for independence. Settling in Rockbridge county, Virginia, after the war, he spent the remainder of his life there, being engaged in agricultural pursuits. After coming to America Thomas Pullen learned the trades of a cooper and a shoemaker, and worked at both during his earlier years. In 1839 he migrated to Indiana with his family, making the journey overland with two heavy wagons, one being drawn by six horses and one by four horses. He located in Clay county and in 1842 he bought land in Jackson township and spent the remainder of his years there, busily employed in clearing and cultivating the land. He married Betsey Groves, who was born in Holland and came to this country with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Groves, who settled in Rockbridge county, Virginia, where her father carried on general farming until his death, while her mother, being left a widow, came to Indiana and died in Union county.

After his marriage with Elizabeth (Pullen) Moore, William Sander¬ son came to Indiana and settled as a pioneer in Jackson township, where he bought a tract of land that was in its original wildness. Clearing a space in the dense wilderness, he built a house of round logs, and this was subsequently replaced by a more pretentious structure made of hewn logs. Industrious and persevering, he improved a good homestead, on which he spent his remaining days, passing away at the very advanced age of ninety-six years. He was a man of exceptionally fine character, kindhearted and generous, and was loved and respected by all who knew him. His wife survived him, dying at the age of seventy-six years. They reared seven children, of whom but one besides Mrs. Siegelin is now living.

Mr. and Mrs. Siegelin have three children living, and three have passed to the life beyond, William and George having died in infancy and Michael B. at the age of ten years. Those living are Mafgaret, born February 22, 1881 ; John Nichles, born September 15, 1884; and Emma, born November 6, 1890. Margaret, who married Hugh McShanog, has three children, Oliver Ray, born August 17, 1901 ; Viola, born March 17, 1903; and John Nichles, born May 9, 1905. John N. married Emma Lawson, and they have one child, William Edward. Mr. Siegelin is a member of several fraternal organizations, belonging to Colfax Lodge

Xo. 612, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; to Brazil Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men; to Knightsville Lodge, Knights of Pvthias; while both he and his wife belong to the Daughters of Rebekah and the Pythian Sisters. Religiously the family are Methodists.

Bernard Xorton. - Although yet in the prime of life, Bernard Narton of Clay City is widely known as a veteran contractor, being one of the oldest, if not the very oldest, railroad contractor in the United States, his work in this line having extended over a large part of the country. A son of the late Bernhard Xorton, he was born March 25, 1850, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, of Irish-Scotch ancestry.

A native of Ireland, Bernhard Xorton was born and brought up in Roscommon County, and there resided until after his marriage. Subse¬ quently he was one of six brothers and a sister that emigrated to Amer¬ ica, their names being James, Patrick, Thomas, Dennis, John, Michael, and Ellen, who married John Stanton. He brought his wife with him, and having settled in Stockbridge. Massachusetts, was there for a time employed in the iron mines. Ambitious, however, to engage in some independent work, he migrated to Iowa, and in that state began his career as a railroad contractor. At that time there was no railway west of Iowa City, and his first contract was on the road extending from that place to Cedar Rapids. Later, as a contractor on the Chicago, Burling¬ ton and Quincy Railroad, he built a part of the first road that touched Marshalltown, subsequently taking a contract on its extension to Grinnell. He then built a part of the road extending to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, that being the first road to cross the Missouri river. He was afterwards an extensive contractor on different railroads in Nebraska, and spent his last days in that state, dying at the age of eighty-two years and seven months in Beatrice. His wife, whose maiden name was Bridget Moray, was born in Scotland, and as a child was taken to Roscommon County, Ireland, where her father operated a fulling mill and a distillery. She survived her husband, and died at Fort Smith, Arkansas, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. She reared nine children, as follows: Patrick, William, Bernard, James, John, Winifred, Ellen, Mary Ann, and Bridget.

But eight years old when his parents went from Massachusetts to Iowa, Bernard Norton there received his early education. In 1864, before the existence of either railroads or bridges, he crossed the Mis¬ souri river on ice. He subsequently began his railroad work on the Union Pacific Railroad, the first to cross the state of Nebraska. At that time buffalo were to be seen in large herds, and deer and antelope were very plentiful. On attaining his majority Mr. Norton became a sub-contractor, and until his father's death was in that capacity asso¬ ciated with him. Then, continuing the work on his own responsibility, he filled large contracts in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. In 1893, returning to New England, Mr. Xorton took the contract for building the road extending from Bar Harbor, Maine, down the Atlantic coast. Coming from there to Bloomington, Indiana, he began contracting on the Monon road, and has since that time confined his contracting to Indiana.

In 1883 Mr. Norton married Bridget O'Connor, who was born in Canada, near Montreal, a daughter of James and Bridget O'Connor, na¬ tives of Ireland. Mrs. Norton died in 1902 at Kansas City, Missouri.

Joseph N. Hudson, a leading farmer located in section 35, Wash¬ ington township, Clay county, is by birth and marriage connected with perhaps the best known pioneer families of that locality - the Luthers and the Hudsons. His maternal grandfather, William Luther, as early as 1827 entered a farm which Mr. Hudson now rents, and his father, Jacob Hudson, was brought to a locality near Bowling Green from North Carolina about the same time. The elder Mr. Hudson was then but four years of age, but is still alive and in fair health and his career is so notable that a full review of it is presented in other pages.

Joseph N. Hudson, who is the son of this oldest living pioneer of Washington township and Margaret J. (Luther) Hudson, his second cousin, was born in the township mentioned. On May 3, 1896, he mar¬ ried Miss Clara M. Orman, of Owen county, Indiana, who was born January 2, 1878, daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Loncer) Orman, of Marion township, that county. The year following his marriage he removed from the parental homestead to the farm owned by his sister, Nancy Zurcher, and after spending a like period there bought thirtyfour and a half acres in section 35, Washington township, adjoining his father's property. He also rents eighty acres of a farm belonging to his parents. The property was entered by William Luther, his ma¬ ternal grandfather, in 1827, and has never been alienated from the family possessions. At the time of renting the land was cleared but unimproved, and since then Mr. Hudson has erected on it a substantial dwelling house and commodious barns and granaries, transforming it into a fine homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph N. Hudson have become the parents of four children - Harvey H., Herschell L., Kenneth B., and an infant deceased. Mr. Hudson is a member of the Church of Christ of Bellair, and in politics adheres to the Democracy.

James L. Burns, present county auditor of Clay county, Indiana, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, September 18, 1870, son of Thomas B. and Sarah C. (Carrithers) Burns. The father was born in Illinois and is now a resident of Clay county, Indiana. His boyhood days were spent in Coles county, Illinois, and Putnam county, Indiana. He has been a farmer in Cass township, Clay county, and at one time owned two hundred acres and about the same amount in Putnam county. He carried on general farming operations and was a trustee of Cass town¬ ship four years. Politically, he is a Democrat and in church faith ad¬ heres to that of the Christian denomination. The subject's mother was a native of Clay county, Indiana, and they were united in marriage in the county of her birth. The children born of this union were nine in number, eight of whom still survive and are as follows : Hardy W. ; James L. (subject); Lucretia E., wife of Emery Jenkins; William C. ; Susan B., wife of John M. Fisher; Candace; Annice ; Sarah A.

James L. Burns remained at home with his parents until he was seventeen years of age and then went to work for D. N. Barnett in a general merchandising store, at Hoosierville, Clay county, during the summer months, and attended school in the winter season for two years. When about eighteen years old he commenced school teaching, which he followed one year and then attended school at Danville, after which he taught another year. He next attended school one year at Valparaiso College. He was appointed county surveyor, on account of the death of John J. Hayden. The date of his appointment was April, 1892, and in the fall election, he was elected county surveyor for Clay county. In the month of January, 1893, he was made deputy clerk of Clay county circuit courts, so in April, 1893, he resigned the office of surveyor and filled the office of deputy clerk up to 1895, when he was made deputy county auditor, holding that office from 1895 to 1899. September, 1899, he removed to Greencastle, Indiana, and at¬ tended De Pauw university until January 1, 1903, and then returned to Brazil and again entered the auditor's office as deputy, which position he held until 1906, when he was elected county auditor and is still filling the office with credit to all interested.

Mr. Burns is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Brazil Lodge, Xo. 264, F. and A. M.; the Improved Order of Red Men, Indianola Tribe, No. 61 ; Modern Woodmen of America, Lodge Xo. 3418; Order of Home Defenders of America, Xo. 1. Mr. Burns is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in his polit¬ ical affiliations is a Democrat.

He was united in marriage September 11, 1892, to Codelia B. Jenkins, born near Center Point, Clay county, Indiana, December 28, 1872, the daughter of William T. and Nanoma S. (O'Brien) Jenkins, both natives of Clay county. Her father was born June 30, 1832, and is now residing in Clay county and farms in Sugar Ridge township. He spent his youthful days in Owen county, Indiana. At one time he owned one hundred and fifty-two acres, but sold forty to his son. He is engaged quite extensively in breeding pure-bred hogs and full-blood cattle, mostly short-horns. Politically, he is a Republican and has been member of the school board at Center Point several terms. His wife died aged forty-three years in 1883, and was the mother of four daugh¬ ters and two sons, five of which children are now living, as follows: James P. ; Laura A., wife of S. E. Brown ; Sadie E., who died aged twenty-four years, wife of James D. Hicks; Emery S.; Gertrude, wife of Rev. Charles F. Spray, who is a minister of the Methodist Epsicopal church in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are the parents of the following children : Ray Leland ; Verna Choline ; Dane Emery ; James Dudley.

George Adam Nussel is a native son of Posey township, born on the farm on which he now resides in section 24 April 23, 1854, and is of German parentage. His father, George Nussel, was born and reared in the fatherland, and coming to the United States about 1844 he made his way to Indiana and first bought eighty acres of land in Posey town¬ ship, Clay county, to which he added from time to time until his estate' numbered two hundred and fifty-five acres, all of which he cleared with the help of his sons and placed the land under an excellent state of cultivation. He at one time also owned forty acres which is the present Apple Grove, but sold that tract, and also owned land in Jackson township. He died April 15, 1892, on the old Nussel homestead, now the home of his son George A. In Clay county he married Anna Barbara Fleishman, born and reared in the fatherland of Germany, and their family numbered eight children, six sons and two daughters, George Adam being the sixth born, and all with the exception of the eldest was born in Clay county, Indiana. Mr. Nussel, the father, was a Republican.

In his early life George Adam Nussell assisted his father in clear¬ ing his land, in the meantime attending the district schools of the neigh¬ borhood, and he is now the owner of eighty acres of the old homestead farm, on which he has made many and valuable improvements, and al¬ though his residence has twice been destroyed by fire he has each time rebuilt and now has a pleasant and attractive home. He raises and sells stock and is -engaged in general farming pursuits. In politics he upholds the principles of the Republican party, but votes independently at local elections.

In Posey township, February 10. 1878, Mr. Nussel was married to Wilhelmina Heck, a native daughter of Indiana, where her father was a coal miner. Nine children have been born to bless this union, six sons and three daughters, all of whom had their nativity on the Nussel homestead. The family are members of the United Brethren church.

Ignatius Jarboe, who for seventeen years has been at the head of the Citizens' Building & Loan Association as its secretary and who was one of the organizers of the company, was born in Vigo county, Indiana, August 15, 1841. His parents were Peter and Ann (Elder) Jarboe, both natives of Kentucky. The father was born in 1800 and departed this life in 1875, while the mother passed away at the age of fifty years. Peter Jarboe was a farmer by occupation, following that pursuit in the Blue Grass state until 1832, when, thinking that he might have better business opportunities in Indiana, he came to Vigo county. The conditions that prevailed here were those of the frontier, com¬ paratively few settlements having been made by white men, while much of the land was still in possession of the government. The father en¬ tered claim and became one of the pioneer farmers of Sugar Creek township, establishing his home in the midst of the green woods, where he built a log house out of round logs. Later he erected a two story hewed log house, which was quite a pretentious home for that day. He took an active part in the early development and progress of the county, belonging to that class of representative pioneer settlers who laid the foundation for the present upbuilding and prosperity of this portion of the state. He belonged to the Roman Catholic church, while his early political support Was given to the Whig party and upon its dissolution he joined the ranks of the Democracy. Unto him and his wife were born fourteen children but only two are now living, the elder being Charles S., who resides in Dayton, Ohio.

Ignatius Jarboe was the thirteenth in order of birth in his father's family. He spent his boyhood days upon the old home farm and at the usual age began his education which he pursued in the district schools to the age of seventeen years. He afterward engaged in team¬ ing in Terre Haute until August 15, 1862, when he put aside all busi¬ ness and personal considerations and, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, offered his services to the government, enlisting as a member of Com¬ pany C, Eighty-fifth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers for three years, or during the war. .He was mustered in at Terre Haute and spent the winter of 1862 in Kentucky, after which he went to Nashville and was in the Third Brigade, Third Division of the Twentieth Army Corps. He was a member of Sherman's army on the Atlanta campaign and was wounded in July, 1864, at Dallas Woods, Georgia. He afterward re¬ turned to Louisville, Kentucky, thence went to Moorehead City, North Carolina, and to Raleigh, North Carolina. Later he proceeded to Wash- ington and was 011c of the great army's victorious men who marched through the city in grand review when over Pennsylvania avenue swung suspended a banner bearing the words "The only debt which our coun¬ try cannot pay is the debt which she owes her soldiers." He was dis¬ charged near Washington on the 21st of May, 1865, and was mustered out at Indianapolis, Indiana.

When the war was over and the country no longer needed his aid, Mr. Jarboe returned to Terre Haute and entered the employ of the American Express Company in the spring of 1866. The following two years were spent in Tennessee and Arkansas in farming and carpenter¬ ing. August 3, 1868, he came to Brazil and was in business with his brother William as a grocer until June, 1876. He then turned his attention to the insurance business and secured a good clientage in that line. On the 1st of March, 1891, however, he withdrew from that field and became one of the organizers of the Citizens' Building & Loan As¬ sociation, of which he has now been secretary for seventeen years. In this position he has largely had executive control of the business of the association, which under his guidance has become a profitable invest¬ ment of the stockholders and at the same time has proven of great substantial benefit to the city and those who haven taken advantage of its opportunities for securing homes of their own through the assist¬ ance gained from the association.

On the 14th of June, 1878, Mr. Jarboe was married to Miss Nancy E. Lightfoot, a native of Edgar county,' Illinois, born March 23, 1842. They traveled life's journey together for about twenty-seven years and were then separated by the death of the wife January 30, 1905. She had many friends in the community, so that her loss was deeply regretted. Mrs. Jarboe was a daughter of Thornton and Margaret (Burdien) Lightfoot, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. On leaving that state her father removed to Edgar county, Illinois, stopping near Paris in the early '20s. There he lived for some time but spent his last days with his children. His political allegiance was given to the democracy.

Mr. Jarboe is also a stalwart Democrat in politics but has never cared for office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs, in which he has met with gratifying success. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and is interested in all that pertains to the welfare of his community in material, social and intellect¬ ual lines. In his business he has made steady progress and as a result of close application, unwearied diligence and carefully directed labor has gained a creditable place in business circles, while from his labors he has derived substantial benefits.

James F. Lankford. - Among the valued and highly esteemed resi¬ dents of Harrison township there is no one better known in its history than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He has the distinction of being a veteran of the Civil war, and ex-sheriff of Clay county and an important factor in advancing the material in¬ terests of this part of the state, as a general merchant at Middleburv carrying on an extensive business. A native of this township, he was born July 8, 1845, a son °f Harvey Lankford. On the paternal side he comes of sturdy Scotch ancestry, his great-grandfather having emi¬ grated with his wife from Scotland to this country, settling in North Carolina, where Walker Lankford, the next in line of descent, was born.

Left an orphan at'an early age, Walker Lankford was bound out to a wood worker, from whom he learned the trade of a carpenter and cabinet maker. In 1818, during the trouble with the Seminole Indians in Florida, he enlisted as a soldier, and served under that gallant hero, General Andrew Jackson. While in the army he formed the acquaint¬ ance of a charming Southern girl, Polly Williams, the daughter of an Alabama planted and slave owner. This daughter, whom he subsequently married, inherited from her father eleven slaves. Mr. and Mrs. Walker Lankford afterwards removed to Kentucky, taking with them six of these slaves, having freed five of them. In 1832 they made another removal, coming to Clay county and locating in Harrison township, where the grandfather bought land lying about one mile west of the present site of Middlebury, and established the first distillery in this part of the county. He improved a good homestead, and there resided until his death in 1848. His wife survived him a number of years. They had a large family of children, and their posterity is numerous.

Born and reared in Rockcastle county, Kentucky, Harvey Lankford was twenty-two years old when he came with the family to Harrison township. Familiar with agriculture from his boyhood, he. soon pur¬ chased a tract of land not far from his father's homestead, and was there engaged in farming for a number of years. Turning his attention subsequently to mercantile pursuits, he was employed in the grocery business at Middlebury until the breaking out of the Civil war. He then enlisted in the Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but in a short time was transferred to the Second Ohio Battery, sent South, and died while in service at St. Louis, Missouri, and was buried in the town¬ ship cemetery in this city. His wife, whose maiden name was Delilah Cooprider, was born in Harrison township, Clay county, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (White) Cooprider, and granddaughter of Peter Cooprider, of whom a more extended account may be found on another page of this volume in connection with the sketch of John Cooprider. She survived him, and married for her second husband John Dalton, and lived to the venerable age of eighty-eight years. She reared bv her first marriage three children, James F. ; William ; and Polly, who mar¬ ried Joseph Francis. By her marriage with Mr. Dalton she also had three children, Mahala, John and Nannie.

In 1861, although but sixteen years of age, James F. Lankford offered his services to his country, enlisting in Company G, Fifty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Going to the front with his regiment, he participated in all of its marches, campaigns and battles, marching with Sherman to Atlanta and on to the sea, thence through the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington, where he took part in the Grand Review'. Subsequently with his regiment he was honorably discharged from the service July 17, 1865, at Indianapolis. Returning home, Mr. Lankford learned the trades of a carpenter and wagon maker, the latter of wrhich he followed successfully for more than a score of years, his only inter¬ ruption being the two years, from 1880 until 1882, when he served as sheriff of Clay county. In 1889 Mr. Lankford opened a general store in Middlebury, and has since carried on a thriving business, his stock embracing a choice line of groceries and general merchandise.

Mr. Lankford married, December 19, 1872, Calista M. Ecret, who was bom in Bowling Green, Clay county, a daughter of Wesley and Rebecca Ecret, natives respectively of New Jersey and Indiana. Nine children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lankford, namely : Pius, Flora, Elva, Letha, James B., Bertha, Otto, Frances and Harvey. Pius married Alma Baumgartner, and they have two children, Albert Leroy and Kedrick. Flora married first Carry Moody, by whom she had one child, Mary Moody, and married second William Bond, by whom she has two children, Willie and Helen. Elva, wife of Daniel K. Kittle, has one daughter, Glenna Alberta. Letha married John Everett, and has one son, Herman Wayne. Frances was drowned when in the thirteenth year of her age. Politically Mr. Lankford is a straight¬ forward Republican, and was the second member of his party to be elected sheriff of Clay county. In the spring of 1881 he proposed to the county commissioners, Messrs. William Buckalew, Adam B. Moon and Archibald Love, that maple trees be set out around the court house in Brazil, that there might be a nice grove in the future. They dis¬ couraged the idea, but Lankford, in true Andrew Jackson style, said: "By the eternal I will be sheriff of Clay county two years, and I will see that these trees are taken care of and watered." So the grove was set out, and to-day, in 1909, there is a beautiful grove there. Religiously Mrs. Lankford is a faithful member of the United Brethren Church.

Peter Miller. - Among those who came to Clay county during an early epoch in its history is numbered the Miller family, and from those early days to the present its representatives have been identified with its agricultural and business interests. Peter Miller, a member of this honored pioneer family, had his nativity in Posey township, born on the 15th of November, 1863, the third born of the nine children in the family of Nicholas Miller, whose genealogy is given on other pages of this work. At the time of his father's death Peter Miller came into possession of eighty acres of the homestead farm, and he has cleared twenty acres of this tract and has made all of the many improvements which gives it prestige among the estates of Posey township.

The marriage of Mr. Miller was celebrated in 1887, when Martha Logsdon became his wife. She, too, was born in Posey township and is a member of another of its prominent early families. Her father, Law¬ rence Logsdon, was for many years one of the prominent farmers of Posey township, taking up his abode here in an early day in its his¬ tory, and he is also represented elsewhere in this work. His daughter Martha is the fourth born of his six children, all born in this township, and she was educated in its district schools. Two children, a son and a daughter, Grace May and Charles Peter, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Miller has given a life-long support to the principles of the Democratic party.

Elijah Tressel. - Possessing in an eminent degree those qualities that command respect in the business world and win the esteem and respect of the people, Elijah Tressel occupies a position of prominence among his many friends and associates. He has spent a busy and use¬ ful life, and is now living somewhat retired from active pursuits/hav¬ ing a pleasant winter home at No. 118 South Thirteenth street, Terre Haute, but spending his summers on his beautiful farming estate in Cass township. Clay county, the management of which he personally superintends. A son of George Tressel, Jr., he was born in Carroll county, Ohio, January 8, 1847, where his earlier years were spent. His grandfather, George Tressel, Sr., migrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio in pioneer times, and there spent his remaining years.

George Tressel, Jr., was born in Pennsylvania October 7, 1812, and when a boy moved with the family to Ohio. He there married Sarah Moughiman, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Henry Moughiman, and began life as a farmer in Carroll county. Disposing of his Ohio land in March, 1864, he came to Clay county, Indiana, bought a tract of partly timbered land, and on the farm which he im¬ proved resided until his death, April 24, 1868. His wife, who was born June 3, 1816, in Pennsylvania, died October 18, 1874. They were the parents of twelve children, seven boys and five girls, of whom the fol¬ lowing are now living: Adam, of Terre Haute; John, of Bowling Green; Delila, wife of Steward Drake, of whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this work; Elijah, the subject of this sketch; Jemima, wife of Monroe Payton, of Iowa : and Leander D., of Owen county, Indiana.

Seventeen years of age when he came with the family to Indiana, Elijah Tressel remained with his parents two years, and then began life as a teacher, having charge of schools in Parke county, Indiana, and in Poland and vicinity, continuing his professional labors for three years. The following five years he was employed as a clerk in the store of his brother Adam in Poland. Then, in company with Henry Kattman, he bought his brother's store, and for fourteen years he and his partner carried on a flourishing business as general merchants. Mr. Tressel then sold out his interest in the store to William F. Kattman, and a year later bought out his former partner, Henry Kattman, and at the end of five years sold his share of the business to his partner, William F. Kattman, since when he has lived retired from mercantile pursuits. An able business man, honest and upright in his dealings, Mr. Tressel accumulated money, and subsequently invested in land, buying two hundred and twenty-one acres in section twenty, Cass town¬ ship. He also bought for his summer home two hundred and seventy acres of land in section twenty-seven, just north of Poland, in Cass township, purchasing the place from the heirs of his father-in-law, the late Henry Shults, and as a farmer he has met with great success, find¬ ing pleasure as well as profit in his agricultural work.

On January 26, 1873, Mr. Tressel married Mary E. Shults. She was born in Cass township December 23, 1853, a daughter of Henry and Margaret (McKeeman) Shults. Her father was born in Ger¬ many, and her mother at Knightstown, Indiana, near Richmond. Mrs. Tressel died May 10, 1906, and her body was laid to rest in the Poland Cemetery. Seven children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Tressel, namely: Archie R., born July 26, 1874, is a clerk at Poland, Indiana; Minnie E., born July 30, 1876, is the wife of B. F. Latting, of New York state; Myrtle A., born October 25, 1879, has kept house for her father since the death of her mother; Grace E., born September 1, 1885, died March 10, 1891 ; H. Arthur, born July 19, 1887, is attending a medical college in Chicago; Harry S., born August 3, 1892; and Rob¬ ert P., born February 28, 1896. Politically Mr. Tressel is a stanch Democrat, and uniformly casts his vote in favor of that party. Fra¬ ternally he is a member of Bowling Green Lodge, No. 85. A. F. & A. M., and of Poland Lodge, No. 364, K. of P. Religiously he is a Pres- byterian, and since 1873 has been an elder in the church, being now as¬ sociated in that capacity with the Central Presbyterian church in Terre Haute.

Philip Raab. - Conspicuous among the successful business men of Van Buren township is Philip Raab, a well-known butcher and pro¬ vision dealer, who for a score of years has helped to supply the wants of the people in his community. A native of Clay county, he was born February 7, 1866, in Jackson township, a son of Valentine Raab.

Valentine Raab was born in Germany, where his parents spent their entire lives. Two of his brothers came to this country, one settling in Xew York city, where he acquired much wealth and where his de¬ scendants are still living. When twenty-one years old, having previously served for a time in the German Army, Valentine Raab emigrated to the United States, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel and being several weeks on the voyage. After spending a short time in New York city, he lived for a few years in Ohio. In 1864 he came from there to Indiana with his family, locating in Clay county and taking up land in Jackson township. A few acres of the land was cleared at the time of purchase and a log house had been erected, this being the birthplace of his son Philip. Industrious and ambitious, he toiled earnestly and wisely, and in course of time had cleared the land of timber and ex¬ changed the log buildings for those of more pretentious materials. There, on the homestead he had redeemed from the wilderness, he lived until his death, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He married Phebe Lockhart, who was born in Germany and came with her parents to Ohio, where she met and married Mr. Raab. She still lives, being a woman of eighty-five years. She reared eight children, as follows : Catherine ; Elizabeth, who married John Diel and died at the age of thirty-eight years; Barbara; John; William; Rosanna; Charles and Philip, of this sketch.

As a boy and youth Philip Raab attended the district school when it was in session, and at other times assisted his father in the labors of the farm. At the age of twenty-three years he began life on his own account, establishing himself as a butcher and provision dealer. Lo¬ cating at his present stand in South Harmony he rented the place at first, but after two years of success in that line purchased the property, and has since conducted an extensive and exceedingly lucrative business.

In October, 1888, Mr. Raab married Rebecca Boyd, who was born in Jackson township, a daughter of John Boyd, atnd granddaughter pf Philip Boyd, both natives of Ohio. Philip Boyd was one of the early settlers of Clay county, coming here with his family in pioneer times and clearing from the forest the farm on which he resided during his remaining years. John Boyd followed farming during his entire life, dying in this county February 24, 1907, aged seventy-three years. He married Sarah Palm, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Nancy Palm, who came to Clay county as pioneers, and here lived to a good old age. They had a family of seven children, as fol¬ lows: Esther Ann; Jemima; Charlie; Rebecca, now Mrs. Raab; Joanna; Sadie; and Edgar. Mr. and Mrs. Raab have five children, namely: Ora, Ray, Earl, Vergil and Catherine. Politically Mr. Raab is a stanch Democrat. Fraternally he is a member of Knightsville Lodge, No. 409, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; and of Shasta Tribe, No. 282, Improved Order of Red Men.

William C. Smith, one of the thrifty agriculturists tilling the fer¬ tile soil of Clay county, Indiana, residing in Sugar Ridge township, was born in Anderson county, Kansas, January 8, 1863, a son of William and Mary (Harrison) Smith. .William Smith, the senior, was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, and the mother of Owen county, In¬ diana. The former located in Poland, Clay county, Indiana, in 1850, and engaged in the practice of medicine, having married Elmira Phegley about 1852; she died in 1856, leaving one son,, Powhatan D. Smith, who died in 1889. Mr. Smith for his second wife married Mary Harrison in 1858, and about that date gave up the practice of medicine and moved to Kansas, in which new state he took up the homestead on which his family resided until 1865, when they returned to Riley, Vigo county, Indiana, where he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1890 Dr. Smith moved to Emison, Knox county, Indiana, where he continued his practice for a number of years, dying December 18, 1907, aged eighty-two years. His wife died in Kansas about 1865, leaving two children: Mrs. Martha Weddle, of Clay county, Indiana, who died October 29, 1890, and the subject of this memoir, William C. Smith.

At the age of four years Mr. Smith went to live with G. W. Latham, of Clay county, and remained until he was nineteen years of age. He attended school at three school houses in Cass township, Clay county; also attended two terms at Valpariso, Indiana. When nineteen years old he set out to see something of the country in which he lived and led somewhat of a roving life until at twenty-five years of age he mar¬ ried (September 15, 1887) Elizabeth Fensel, daughter of John and Louisa Fensel, of Clay county, Indiana. After his marriage he moved to the farm on which he still lives, which is situated in Sugar Ridge township. In 1890 he purchased the farm, which contains eighty acres in section seven. When Mr. Smith bought this land it was not im¬ proved and he has made substantial improvements, including ample barns and other necessary buildings ; also added a good five room house, with summer house and kitchen. He h^s several acres of fruit-bearing trees and bushes which afford an abundance of fruit for family use and marketing purposes. At this date (1908) he is tilling his place in a thorough manner, and designs making it one of the valuable places in the county for its size. His method is to do diversified farming. He is being assisted by Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Robertson, who now live on his farm and with whom he makes his home.

On May 27, 1902, Mrs. Smith died, leaving one son, Robert H. Smith. On November 25, 1903, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Xenia Fogle, daughter of John C. and Melisia Moss, of Sugar Ridge township, and who died February 7, 1907.

Walter Covington Duncan, M. D. - Among the representative business men of Harrison township is Walter C. Duncan, M. D., a wellknown druggist of Clay City. A native of Indiana, he was born October 13, 1855, at Noblesville, Hamilton county. He comes from substantial Scotch ancestry, being a lineal descendant in the fifth generation from the immigrant ancestor, the line of descent being thus traced : Coleman, Daniel Coleman, Henry Coleman, Coleman Covington, and Walter Cov¬ ington.

where he lived during the remainder of his life. Daniel Coleman Duncan removed with his family from Virginia to Kentucky, becoming a pioneer of Hopkinsville, and was there employed in tilling the soil until his death. James Coleman Duncan was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, but was brought up on the Kentucky homestead. When a young man he came to Indiana as a pioneer settler of Hendricks county. Taking up a tract of timbered land three miles north of Salem, in the Fort Red School House district, he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, on which he resided until his death, and many of his descendants are now living in that vicinity. He was twice married, and was the father of sixteen chil¬ dren, and as his second wife was a widow with six children when he mar¬ ried her he had the care of twenty-two children, truly a patriarchal family.