Clay County, Indiana - The whole text, 1909 (part 1 of 21)

The whole text

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Captain Thomas M. Robertson, the venerable citizen who is now spending an honorable retirement at Brazil, Clay county, earned his military title by three years of hard and efficient fighting in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil war. For nearly thirty years he was success¬ fully engaged in mercantile pursuits in that city, has seen long years of fine public service, and both in the fields of battle and the province of civic administration has upheld the family name for generations back. His great-grandfather was a native of the city of Edinburgh, where, as in other portions of Scotland, the Robertsons have always stood shoulder to shoulder with the most ancient and honorable families of the mother¬ land. The American branch of the family was established in Maryland in 1731 by William Robertson, who came to America at the age of ten years and died March 25, 1773. It is known that the grandfather of Captain Robertson was a valiant upholder of the Patriots' cause. As the father served under General Harrison in the war of 1812, there is conclusive evidence that in the transplanting of the Robertson family to America it lost none of its virile and patriotic virtues.

Thomas M. Robertson is the fourth son of William and Catherine (Shively) Robertson, and was born in Ross county, Ohio, on the 30th of December, 1833. The father was born in Charles county, Maryland, on the 6th of January, 1783, and died in Clay county, Indiana, June 18, 1853. The mother was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, born on the 30th of March, 1799, and died January 24, 1874. I11 his younger days

William Robertson was a slave overseer in his native state. Upon his removal to Harrison county, Ohio, he conformed to the new order of agricultural labor northwest of the Ohio river, and by individual work and good management became a prosperous farmer. In 1812 he enlisted under General Harrison and followed him through several campaigns, returning then to his farm and its duties. In 1820 he removed to Ross county, where he was married and engaged in farming for seventeen years, the family removing to Logan county in 1837 and to Clay county in 1851. The homestead on which he passed hisTast years, in the county named, was located on Birch Creek, Jackson township. lie had been twice married, his first wife being Sarah Fernandez, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, and seven children were born to this union. The deceased died several years before the formation of the Republican party of today, and during his lifetime he was what was known as a Jeffer¬ sonian and a Jacksonian Democrat.

Captain Robertson accompanied the family in its various shiftings through Ross and Logan counties, Ohio, to Clay county, Indiana, being in his eighteenth year when the homestead was finally fixed on Indiana soil. The youth had been raised on a farm and had enjoyed but meager educational advantages, but he was quick to learn and was therefore so far in advance of most young men of his age that soon after locating in Clay county he secured a position as a teacher in the district school. In 1858 he became a clerk in the drygoods store of Oliver H. P. Ash, in Bowling Green, with whom he remained for nearly three years.

In 1 860- 1 Captain Robertson was one of the editors of the ''Clay County Democrat," but upon the breaking out of the Civil war he promptly dropped his pen for a gun and enlisted in the first company raised in Bowling Green. Before the men could muster, however, the state quota had been filled, and the company was disbanded. In 1861-2 he served as deputy clerk of the Common Pleas and Circuit courts, under Dillon \Y. Bridges, and in July of the latter year, under the presidential call for 300,000 men, he enlisted in Company D, Seventy-first Indiana Volunteers, afterward known as the Sixth Indiana Cavalry. On the organization of the company he was made first sergeant, and the regi¬ ment assisted in checking the advance of General Kirby Smith into Ken¬ tucky. He was captured in the battle of Richmond, that state, on the 30th of August, 1862, but was exchanged and again entered the Ken¬ tucky campaign. He was also captured with the other five hundred men of the Seventy-first Indiana by a force of three thousand cavalry under the famous John Morgan, the small Union force being at the time as¬ signed to guard a railroad bridge at Muldraugh's Hill. This second capture occurred on the 28th of December, of the same year. In Jan¬ uary, 1863, he was promoted to the second lieutenancy, and on February 18 became first lieutenant. Soon afterward the regiment was changed to cavalry, and during the fall of that year scouted through eastern Ken¬ tucky. On the 1 6th of October, 1863, he was promoted to be captain of Company D, Sixth Indiana Cavalry, and was constantly in command of his company until the expiration of its term of service in 1865. During the winter of 1863-4 he was at Cumberland Gap, Powell's River, Mul¬ berry Gap, Tazewell and other points in east Tennessee, and in April, 1864, the regiment was re-mounted at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and attached to the cavalry corps of the Army of the Ohio, under General George Stoneman. It joined General Sherman's army in front of Dalton, Georgia, May n, and was thereafter on active duty throughout the Atlantic campaign, being engaged in the battles of Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain and Chatta¬ hoochee River. In August, 1864, the regiment was sent to Nashville. Tennessee, and formed a part of the force which drove Forest out of the state, participating in the battle fought at Pulaski, Tennessee, on the 27th of September, 1864. Captain Robertson participated in the stirring cam¬ paign against Hood, arid was in the battles of Nashville, in which the army of the Confederate leader was routed. He was honorably mus¬ tered out of the service at Pulaski, Tennessee, on the 27th of June, 1865.

At the conclusion of this brave and soldierly service. Captain Rob¬ ertson returned for a short time to Bowling Green, but in 1866 located in Brazil and became the junior partner in the mercantile business of Wheeler, Bridges and Company, with which he was identified for fifteen years. As the Republican candidate for auditor of Clay county, in 1867, he considerably reduced the normal Democratic majority; in 1869 served as deputy internal revenue collector of the seventh district, embracing Clay and Owen counties ; held the office of town treasurer for a term ; in 1873, at the first election for city officers, was beaten for mayor by only nineteen votes, running on the Republican-Temperance ticket; and in 1876 declined the Republican nomination for representative of the state legislature. In 1879 President Hayes appointed him postmaster of Brazil; at the expiration of his term in 1883 he was re-appointed by President Arthur, and served nearly two years under President Cleve¬ land, altogether holding the postmastership for a period of eight years and two days. In 1897 Captain Robertson retired from active business of every nature, and is now enjoying the comforts and honors to which his many years of faithful and able labors entitle him. In 1900 he was the Republican candidate for state senator from the district composed of Clay and Owen counties, and failed of election by only five hundred votes, although the district generally carries a large Democratic majority.

Captain Robertson is one of the honored veterans in both the benevo¬ lent fraternity of the Masons and the patriotic order of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1859 he was initiated in Clay lodge No. 85, A. F. & A. M., at Bowling Green, and in 1904 was honored with the pastmaster's jewel of Brazil lodge No. 264; is also a member of Brazil chapter No. 59, R. A. M., and of Brazil council No. 40, R. and S. M. His special affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic is as a member of Gen¬ eral Canbv post No. 2 of Brazil, this being the second post organized in Indiana. It would be difficult to determine whether Captain Robertson is stronger as a Republican or as a temperance leader, but whenever pos¬ sible he has obviated any necessity for such comparison by combining his advocacy of such principles.

On the 1 6th of May, 1866, Thomas M. Robertson was united in marriage with Miss Eunice Buell, a native of Venice, Butler county, Ohio, born on the 7th of December, 1836. She is a daughter of Ephraim and Margaret (Shaw) Buell, her father being born at Ledyard, New York, on the 5th of July, 1798, and dying in the year 1847. The mother was born in September, 1800, and died on the 5th of September, 1867. Their marriage occurred at Venice, Butler county, Ohio, July 2, 1818, the ceremony being performed by Robert Anderson, justice of the peace. Three of their ten children are still living, viz. : Mrs. Robertson : Jo¬ seph, a resident of Brookfield, Missouri ; and Lucinda, widow of S. T. L. Miles, who lives in Bowling Green. Ephraim Buell was one of the pio¬ neer farmers of Butler county, a Mason in honorable standing, and a Whig of the old Henry Clay stamp. Major General Don Carlos Buell, the Union general who commanded the Department of the Ohio during the first part of the Civil war, was his cousin. The first of the Buell family to come to America was William Buell, who was born at Ches¬ terton, England, about 1610; came to America in 1630 and settled at Dorchester Heights; removed to Windsor, Connecticut, some six years later, and died November 23, 1681.

Dr. Joseph C. Gifford, an active and able practitioner of Brazil, is a son of Dr. William H. Gifford, for more than half a century a phy¬ sician and a public man of high standing in Clay county. Joseph C. is a native of Williamstown. that county, where he was born on the 27th of September, 1842. a child by his father's first marriage to Almira Curtis.

The Doctor was reared in Williamstown, where his father practiced for twenty-six years, and had received a thorough education in the funda¬ mental branches prior to the outbreak of the Civil war. He then enlisted for the three months' service in Company F, Tenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and had his first military experience under General McClellan in West Virginia, participating in the battle of Rich Mountain. At the expiration of his term he returned to Terre Haute and re-enlisted (1862) in Company B, Seventy-first Indiana Infantry, which company he had raised and of which he was chosen first lieutenant. The regiment was first ordered to Kentucky and was captured at the battle of Richmond, Dr. Gifford, with others, being paroled and returned to Terre Haute. He resigned in January, 1863, and in 1864 re-enlisted in Company D, 133rd Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Again going to the front, he took part in various campaigns in Tennessee and Alabama, and, with his honorable discharge from the service, returned to his home in Brazil and commenced the study of medicine with his father. He was finally matriculated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he graduated in 1870.

After receiving his degree Dr. Gifford located at Brazil and formed an association with Dr. Black, which continued until July, 1884, since which year he has practiced alone. His professional labors have brought Him a fine reputation and a substantial income, and his ability as a private practitioner has induced various corporations and boards to request his services in their interests. He has served as secretary of the City Board of Health for two years and has been president of the United States Pension Board of Examiners for the past fifteen years, receiving his first appointment to the latter office from President Harrison. Dr. Gifford is also examining surgeon for the "Penn'' Mutual Life, Equitable Life, Northwestern Life and other like organizations, and is a leading member of various societies designed to further the interests of his profession. In the municipal affairs of Brazil he has actively and prominently parti¬ cipated, having altogether served five terms of two years and one term of four years as a member of the City Council. His membership in the fraternities embraces the following: Centennial Lodge, No. 541, A. F. & A. M. : Brazil Council, No. 40, R. & S. M. ; Brazil Commandery, No. 47, K. T. ; and Brazil Lodge, No. 762, B. P. O. E. A cursory examina¬ tion of the above record will convince anyone that Dr. Gifford has not restricted his activities, but has established himself as a broad and strong force in the community which has so long been his home.

Dr. William Howell Gifford, the father, was a native of Washing¬ ton, Mason county, Kentucky, born April 23, 1814, and he died at his home in Brazil on Sunday, March 29, 1891, at the age of seventy-six years, eleven months and six days. In 1831 he came with his parents to Putnam county, Indiana, and four years later entered upon a course of medical reading and studies. Soon after his graduation from Transyl¬ vania [Medical College, Lexington, Kentucky (in 1838), he located at Williamstown, Posey township, Clay county, for the practice of his profes¬ sion. In May, 1840, he married Miss Almira Curtis, a native of New York, who was born July 20, 1820, and died in Williamstown on the 4th of October, i860. Four children were born to this union, of whom the following are alive: Dr. Joseph C., of this sketch, and Ann S., wife of Randal G. Yocom. After the death of her husband Mrs. Yocom married again and is now living in Indiana. Dr. William H. Gifford married as his second wife Elizabeth J. Mathews, their union occurring June 17, 1869, and resulting in the birth of two sons and one daughter, of whom Martha E. became the wife of Samuel Grimes of Brazil. In November, 1872, the Doctor wedded Emeline B. Cooper, of Wilmington, Delaware, the ceremony occurring in Philadelphia. Dr. Gifford, the elder, became influential while a resident of Williamstown, both as a physician and a man of public affairs, and in 1864 was elected by the Whigs to represent them in the state legislature. About 1864 he located in Brazil and there actively continued his practice until 1881. In 1872 he was nominated by the Republican party and again elected to the general assembly of Indi¬ ana. Until his death in 1891 he was considered a representative physician and citizen of Clay county, and when he died a strong and elevating force was withdrawn from its affairs.

On August 3, 1869, three years before his father's last marriage. Dr. Joseph C. Gifford wedded Miss Mary E. Page, and they have become the parents of three children, of whom only a married daughter survives. The elder son, the late Dr. William Howard Gifford, was born in Brazil, Indiana, June 3, 1870, and after passing through the public and high schools of that city pursued his medical education in Chicago. He was first matriculated at Rush Medical College, completing three terms in that institution and finishing his professional course at the College of Phy¬ sicians and Surgeons, Indianapolis. Graduating from the latter in 1896, he located for practice at Brazil and continued it with his father until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war. He then enlisted in the 169th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving as hospital steward until the close of the war. At his muster-out he re-enlisted in the Eleventh United States Infantry and for three years served in the ranks, his duties taking him to both Porto Rico and the Philippines. He was mustered out as first sergeant, returning then to Brazil to resume practice, which he con¬ tinued until his untimely death March 3, 1903. The second son, Joseph C. Gifford, died in 1884, at the age of ten years, and the daughter, Frances G., is the wife of John Liddell of Brazil. Mrs. J. C. Gifford, the mother of the family, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, December 29, 1848, and is a daughter of Asbury McHenry and Harriet B. (Carr) Page. Mrs. Gifford's father was a native of Adams county, Ohio, born on the 14th of March, 1818, and is still living in Clermont county. His wife was born in that county in July, 1827, and died therein during May, 1903. They were also married in Clermont county, and lived to celebrate their golden wedding, having become the parents of eleven children, of whom these are alive at this writing: May E., the second child and wife of Dr. Joseph C. Gifford ; Charles W., residing on the old Ohio homestead ; Belle ; Georgia A., wife of Gustave A. Wolf, residents of Cincinnati, Ohio ; William R., living in California, and Margaret, wife of Harry B. Phipps. Asbury M. Page was a farmer and stock raiser of Clermont county until his retirement from active pursuits in 1902. He was especially well known as a breeder of Jersey cattle. He was for many years a school director and very active in educational work, and is one of the most honored pioneers of Clermont county. His father, William Page, was one of the pioneer ministers of the Buckeye state, his home being in West Union, Adams county, Ohio.

born March 20, 1840, son of Philip and Rosana (Keyser) Winklepleck. The father was born in Virginia and died in Coshocton county, Ohio, in 1853, at ^e age of sixty-eight years, while the mother, a native of Penn¬ sylvania, passed away at Rowville, Ohio, a decade later, but at the same age of life. They were married in the Buckeye state, and became the parents of twelve children.

Emanuel L. Winklepleck remained on the home farm until his father's death, which occurred when the boy was about thirteen years of age. lie worked on the farm in summer and attended the district school in winter, the common lot of those in his station, but when nineteen years of age he had made such progress in his studies that he removed to Owen county, Indiana, for the purpose of teaching others. He con¬ tinued his work there as a teacher from the fall of 1859 until the com¬ mencement of the Civil war. Soon after its outbreak he enlisted in Com¬ pany G, Fifty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in that connection served from July, 1861, to September, 1864. After his honorable dis¬ charge from the military service Mr. Winklepleck returned to his home in Coshocton county. Shortly afterward he located near Warsaw, Indi¬ ana, where he taught school during the fall of 1864, continuing to be thus employed in that locality in the spring and fall of the succeeding year. In the spring of 1866 he taught school in Kosciusko county, Indiana, continuing his educational career in Clay county, near Middlebury, from 1866 to 1869.

From the latter year until the present time, or for a period of nearly forty years, Mr. Winklepleck has been engaged in various fields of busi¬ ness and finance. In 1869 he located in the mercantile business at Knightsville, Indiana, later adding coal mining, having two mines, and operated these in connection with his store interests. In 1890 he removed to Brazil, which has since been his residence city and the center of his mercantile operations, which have expanded into his present large business as a fur¬ nisher of everything required by the most fastidious householder. Flis two sons constitute the other members of the firm. Mr. Winklepleck was one of the organizers of both the Brazil Trust Company and -the Citizens' National Bank, having served as president of the former since its found¬ ing, and as a member of the board of directors of the latter since its estab¬ lishment. In 1895 lle erected a fine modern residence in Brazil on the corner of Walnut and Logan streets. In all, he has erected three valuable buildings in the place, one known as the Winklepleck Block, completed in 1905, being the headquarters of the house-furnishing business of Wink¬ lepleck and Sons.

In his political views Mr. Winklepleck is a firm believer in Repub¬ licanism, and has always cast his vote in support of its principles. Like many other modern business men and progressive citizens, he is an enthusiast in the furtherance of fraternal relations through the well estab¬ lished orders, and his membership in them includes affiliation with Lodge No. 264, A. F. & A. M., at Brazil ; Ben Hur Court, No. 8, and I. O. O. F., Lodge 215. In the month of October, 1869, he was married to Miss Mary A. Saver, like her husband born in Coshocton county, Ohio. She is the daughter of Stephen D. and Sarah A. (Morgan) Saver, her parents being natives of New York who migrated to Ohio at an early day. In that state the father was a prosperous farmer, served as county commit¬ teeman and director of the county infirmary, and otherwise was a man of practical influence and progressive tendencies. He became the father of three sons and three daughters, Mrs. Winklepleck being the third child in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Winklepleck have two sons, Edgar Saver and Asa Elmer Winklepleck, both of whom are associated with their father in business.

Edgar S. Winklepleck was born in Knightsville, Indiana, in the month of January, 1881, and received his education in the common schools of that place and Brazil, as well as at the Commercial College, Valparaiso, Indiana. After completing a full course at the latter institu¬ tion he joined his father in the house-furnishing business, and is consid¬ ered one of the bright, substantial young men of the city. His wife was formerly Miss Hila A. Pell, daughter of Dr. George M. Pell, of Carbon, Indiana, and they have one child, George E. Winklepleck. Mr. Winkle¬ pleck is an active member of the order of Elks. Asa E. Winklepleck, his younger brother and junior member of the firm of Winklepleck and Sons, was born in Knightsville, Indiana, in 1883. He is also an earnest fraternalist. having membership in both the Elks and the order of Masonry (Brazil Lodge, No. 264). He is popular in business as in social circles.

Dr. Jacob Franklin Smith, whose medical and surgical knowledge and skill is known throughout a wide radius about Brazil, Indiana, where he has long been known as an eminent physician, and in whom the people have the utmost confidence, is a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, born March 12, 1858, a son of George Washington and Mariah (Shelley) Smith, both natives of Ohio. The father died at the advanced age of ninety-three years, seven months and ten days, in 1906. His wife died aged thirty-three years, when Jacob F. was but one and a half years old. Of the four children born to George Washington Smith and wife, two are now living: Lucy A., wife of Joseph Stough of Brazil and Dr. Jacob F. The father was a tobacconist and farmer. He was a pro¬ gressive man, liberal in his views and highly intelligent, hence had a large circle of friends and admirers. Politically, he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party when he supported that to the end of his life. He had the distinction of casting a vote for the first standardbearer of that party - Gen. John C. Fremont.

Dr. Smith was educated in the schools of Terre Haute, Indiana, and at Brazil. When seven years of age he accompanied his father to a farm where he remained three years, then removed to Brazil, Indiana, in 1875. At the age of seventeen years, having chosen medicine as his profession, he began the study of that science with Doctor T. A. Glasgo, a physician and surgeon of' Brazil, with whom he remained until about 1879, having attended the Medical Department of the University of Michigan two years at Ann Arbor. After his course at the University, he began the active practice of his profession at Clay City, Indiana, where he soon achieved success and enjoyed a lucrative practice in medicine and surgery. He remained there two years and in 1882, sought out a wider field in which to practice and selected Brazil, where he located. Here he has won a wide and excellent reputation, especially in surgery and complicated cases, in his general medical practice. He is a close student, and great reader on modern discoveries in the science of medicine. He graduated with the class of 1886 from the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Indianapolis. His skill and up-to-date knowledge enables him to suc¬ cessfully treat many difficult cases. He performed the first successful operation for gun-shot perforation of the intestines in Indiana; also the first successful hip joint amputation within his state, in 1888. In 1896 he established a hospital which was known as Franklin St. Hospital. In 1908 he changed its name in honor of his son. Dr. Lester Franklin Smith, who died April 30, 1907. This hospital is devoted to medical and surgical cases.

Dr. Smith is a member of the .lisculapian Society of the Wabash Valley; Indiana State Medical Society; Clay County Medical Society (of which he is an ex-president) ; member of Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M. ; Chapter No. 59, Royal Arch Masons. In his political affilia¬ tions, he votes the Republican ticket nationally, but supports the man, who in his judgment, is best suited for the position in local affairs.

May 15, 1881, Dr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Barnett, who was born in Putnam county. Indiana, daughter of Lewis and Cynthia (Deal) Barnett, both natives of Indiana and to whom were born three children ; William T. ; Vinton ; Mary, wife of Dr. Smith. Her father was a farmer and a member of the Baptist church ; he supported the Democratic party. Dr. Smith and wife are the parents of five children, two of whom died in infancy: Shelley Lillian; Lester Franklin, who graduated from the Illinois Medical College with the class of 1906, and died at the age of twenty-three years, when just entering into what bade fair to be a highly successful career; the other living child of Dr. and Mrs. Smith is Athane. The two who died in infancy were named - Vivian and Eileen.

William M. Zeller is classed with the prominent, energetic and successful business men, whose labors have been an essential element in the upbuilding of Brazil. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor and who is to-day numbered among the substantial residents of the city. He is a member of the firm of Zeller, 'McClellan & Company, miners and shippers of coal, is also president of the Brazil Clav Company, president of the American Coal & Mining Company and president of the Citizens' National Bank. His interests are thus varied and extensive, and bv perseverance, deter¬ mination and honorable effort he has achieved his present position of prominence in business circles.

Mr. Zeller is one of Clay county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Jackson township October 31, 1861. Fie was one of fa|ir children born unto John H. and Susan A. (Bocher) Zeller. His paternal grandfather was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, while the great¬ grandfather came to this country from Switzerland in 1740 taking up his abode in Bucks county, where he became prominent in public life and business circles.

John H. Zeller was born in Butler county, Ohio, December 8, 1833, and spent his boyhood days there under the parental roof. He left the farm, however, when a young man, thinking to find other pursuits more congenial, and secured a clerkship in a clothing store at Hamilton, Ohio. When his labors and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to embark in business on his own account, he opened a drug store in Hamilton and also made trips through the county, selling drugs. The year 1856 witnessed his arrival in Indiana and the establishment of his home in the wilderness of Jackson township. Clay county. There he engaged in the operation of a sawmill, becoming one of the pioneer set¬ tlers of the district. Subsequently he removed to Harmony, where he engaged in clerking for Robert Wingate, with whom he continued for some time and then bought out the business of his employer. For a num¬ ber of years thereafter he conducted the store, but in 1873 turned his attention to the development of the rich coal deposits of this part of the state. He began mining coal, and sunk one of the first shafts here and opened what was known as the Briar Hill mine. For twenty years or more he carried on mining operations and in this business was very successful, after which he turned his attention to farming. In 1884 he entered the banking business, though at that time banking in Brazil was a difficult problem. He from the start had, as in former years, and in. fact throughout all his life, the absolute confidence of the people, and made the banking business a success, as in fact he had all enterprises to which he gave his support. In 1900 he retired and enjoyed in well earned ease the fruits of his former toil until he was called to his final rest, July 29, 1904. For a long period his political allegiance was given to the Democracy, but during the last twenty years of his life he voted with the Prohibition party, being a stalwart advocate of its principles. He was strongly in sympathy with the temperance cause, and his influ¬ ence was ever found on the side of right, justice, truth and improvement. He belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, and his daily conduct was an exemplification of his religious faith. Flis wife was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of May, 1842, and died December 30, 1890. They were married in Jackson township, this county, June 4, 1859, and their children, four in number, were: William M., whose name introduces this record ; Clem M. ; Charles H. ; and Minnie E., the wife of William J. Snyder.

William M. Zeller in his boyhood days attended the public schools and received his business training through the assistance which he ren¬ dered his father in carrying on the store at Harmony. When twentyfive years of age he became connected with coal-mining interests, and has since been connected with this business, which is one of the most important resources of Clay county. He is now president of the Zeller- McClellan Coal Company, which ships its output to all parts of the coun¬ try, especially through Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. The company mines the lower vein Brazil block coal, which is unsurpassed and almost unequalled in the entire Mississippi valley. Mr. Zeller is also president of the American Coal & Mining Company, and extending his activities to other fields, has become the president of the Brazil Clay Company and also of the Citizens' National Bank, of which he has been president since the organization, May 15, 1907. This corporation is capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars.

Mr. Zeller was married September 22, 1887, to Miss Mary M. Herr, who was born in Greencastle, Indiana, January 22, 1866, a daughter of Simon and Drusilla (Hurd) Herr. Her father was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, January 9, 1838, and in 1870 arrived in Brazil, where for two years he engaged in merchandising as a dealer in shoes. Since that time he has been engaged in the drug business, and is one of the well known and representative merchants of the city. His wife, who was born in the state of New York in 1835, died in 1870.

1 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Zeller have been born five sons: John Herr, Simon, Lawrence Willard, William McClellan and Richard Douglas. The parents are identified through membership relations with the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Zeller belongs to Central lodge, No. 541,

A. F. & A. M. ; to Brazil lodge, No. 762, B. P. O. E. He votes with the Democracy but has never sought nor desired office, preferring to con¬ centrate his time and energies upon his business affairs. He is a rep¬ resentative of our best type of American manhood and chivalry. Bv perseverance, determination and honorable effort, he has overcome all obstacles which bar the path to success in a business career, and has reached the goal of prosperity, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit have made him a promoter of public thought and action.

Dr. John D. Sourwine, of Brazil, is one of its leading practitioners of medicine and surgery, as well as its most enterprising citizens, and is especially well known for his pioneer work in the promotion of its transportation facilities. He is a native of old Augusta, Marion county, Indiana, born on the 4th of October, 1852, and received his earlier education in the common schools of Zionsville, Boone county, and of Greenwood, Johnson county, both towns of his native state. He first read medicine with Dr. A. W. Knight, in 1876. He came to Brazil in 1872 and later in 1876, engaged in the drug business with his fatherin-law, Jonathan Crosdale. He sold his interest in the establishment in 1884, having been appointed postmaster of the city by President Cleve¬ land. In 1887 he again engaged in the drug business, and in the follow¬ ing year acted as northwestern agent for the Phenix Powder Manufac¬ turing Company, being at the same time a stock-holder in the business. It was in 1893 that he a^so assisted in the organization of the Brazil Rapid Transit Street Railroad Company, his chief associate in the enterprise being G. Vanginkl. The line was first built from Harmony to the west¬ ern city limits of Brazil, and later was extended to Cottage Hill Ceme¬ tery, the Doctor being vice president of the company. As this was the first interurban line built in the United States, it is of interest to note that it was constructed entirely by the private funds of its promoters, without the issuance of bonds or stock. The builders operated the line until 1900, when they sold it to the Terre Haute Traction Company.

In the meantime Dr. Sourwine had been continuing his medical studies, had pursued a regular course in the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis, Indiana, and had graduated in 1896, with the degree of his profession. He had entered practice and made a suc¬ cess of it, both by his professional competency and his genial ways, which go far toward leading a patient on the road to recovery. His able financial management was also in evidence in 1907, when he erected the Sourwine Opera House Block. This fine building, besides the handsome house of amusement with a seating capacity of twelve hun¬ dred, includes seven modern flats and six stores, and is one of the most substantial, as well as attractive structures in the city. Dr. Sourwine is one of the most widely known fraternalists of Brazil. He is a charter member of Brazil Lodge No. 30, Knights of Pythias, having held not only all the local offices but served as state representative to the grand lodge. He is identified with Centennial Lodge No. 541, A. F. & A. M. ; Brazil Chapter No. 59, R. A. M. ; Brazil Council No. 40, R. & S. M., and Brazil Commandery No. 47, K. T. To complete the record, he belongs to the Elks (B. P. O. E.), of the latter order being a member* of Brazil Lodge No. 762. In politics, he is a Democrat.

age of seventy-one, and the mother was born in Bridgeport, Indiana, and died in 1903, seventy years old. They both died in Indianapolis. Nine children were horn to this union, of whom the following six are living: John D., who is the oldest: A. J., a resident of Red Oak, Iowa; Elizabeth, wife of George Clark ; Emma J., wife of Leonard Hodgins ; Jacob N., a druggist of Brazil, and George C., in the United States naval service, with the fleet which made the trip around the world. George Sourwine, the father, was by trade a blacksmith and a machinist, came to Marion county in 1835, and spent the remainder of his life. He was a good Mason and a sound Democrat. The maternal grandfather of our subject and the father of William Jennings Bryan were cousins.

On the 13th of October, 1875, Dr. Sourwine married Helen Mar Crosdale, a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, born March 23, 1852, and a daughter of Jonathan and Esther (Perch) Crosdale. Mrs. Sourwine's parents were natives of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, each dying at the age of eighty years. She is the only one of the nine children now living. Her father was a tailor by trade, served in the Civil war, came to Brazil in 1854, engaged in the drug business and in 1877 retired from the strenuous activities of life. He was a Methodist, a Republican, a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias fraternities, and a practical, useful and moral citizen. Six children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Sourwine as follows : three who died in infancy ; John G., a druggist of Indianapolis, Indiana; Clinton C. Sourwine, M. D., a graduate of the Indiana Medical College and since receiving his degree in 1906 associated with his father in practice, married Miss Eva H. Carpenter, of Brazil, Indiana, and Helen Irene, who died at age of eighteen in 1903.

Andrew Jackson Kidd, one of the veterans of the Civil war and an energetic business factor of Clay county, Indiana, was born in Frederick county, Virginia, May 14, 1841, son of Andrew and Nancy (Whit¬ tington) Kidd, both of whom were natives of the same county in which their son was born. The father died aged about sixty years in 1862 and the mother died aged sixty-four years. They were married in Virginia and were the parents of nine children, two of whom are now living - Andrew J., who is the fifth child, and Anna L.. widow of Henry D. Bard, now residing in Brazil, Indiana. The father was a cooper and also farmed upon his own one hundred and twenty-four acre tract, which was located within the forest and there he built him a hewed log house in which he lived and in which his son was born. In October, 1857, he removed to Indiana, locating in Brazil, where he lived a retired life ; he was justice of the peace while living in Virginia. He was a pronounced Democrat.

The subject of this memoir. Andrew J. Kidd, was born near Win¬ chester. Virginia, and accompanied his parents to Clay county, Indiana, when but a small hoy and had resided there the greater part of his life. He was reared to farm pursuits and attended school when oppor¬ tunity afforded him the chance. When sixteen years old he went to Brazil with his parents and there was employed in a brick-yard and also farmed up to 1861, when he enlisted in the first call for troops to put down the rebellion - the call for 75,000 men for three months' service. He was a soldier in Company F, Tenth Indiana Regiment and was discharged at Indianapolis, after having served his full term of enlistment. He saw service in West Virginia and was at the battle of Rich Mountain, Virginia, and participated in all the numerous skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged. He returned to Brazil and worked at the carpentering trade until the spring of 1862 when he re-enlisted in Company H. Fifty-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers for one hundred days; was on detached duty and served as second lieutenant. He made several trips up and down the Ohio river to points in Kentucky. Under command of Colonel John W. Foster, he was detailed while at Uniontown, Kentucky, to take a horse, and was ordered to shoot the horse in case it was sought to be taken from him but not to shoot the man who attempted his capture. He was sent to that point to help preserve order at an election then being held there, and later was stationed at Caseyville, Kentucky, under command of Colonel Farrow, and his regiment left Caseyville the day before Colonel Farrow surrendered to John Morgan. The regiment to which he belonged took up their quarters in a tobacco warehouse, on the wharf, near a gunboat in the river at Henderson, Kentucky. Mr. Kidd was returned to Indianapolis where he was discharged in 1862. when he went into the employ of Warren Ashley at making wheat fans at Crawfordsville. There he worked in the shops summers and during the other months of the year went on horseback collecting in Cass, Hendricks, Benton, Put¬ nam, Owen and Clay counties. In the spring of 1865 he enlisted in Com¬ pany K, One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Indiana Regiment, as a sergeant. Owing to the close of the war his regiment only got as far as Winchester, Virginia, where they were discharged and had the pleasure of there meeting many old schoolmates, including several who had served in the Confederate army, while others had been in hiding in the mountains. O11 his return home, he met his cousin, Robert Kidd, who had been in the Southern army. After arriving at Brazil, Mr. Kidd formed a part¬ nership with John Stough and Mark M. Perkins and together they erected a shop on the corner of Meridian and Church streets which is today a part of the building known as Stunkard Bros, carriage shops. After a few months Mr. Perkins withdrew from the firm and then Mr. Kidd and Mr. Stough continued the business for something less than two years, after which Mr. Kidd followed carpentering until 1868 when he, with John L. Webster, purchased the timber on a one hundred and twenty acre lot in Parke county, to which land Mr. Kidd moved in March, 1869, livingin a one room log house. There they manufactured shingles for a few months when they sold out and Mr. Kidd returned to Brazil, where he operated a furniture store and chair factory a short time, after which he manufactured barrels one winter. In the autumn of 1872 he went to work for Slier fev Bros, and their various successors and finally he became associated as one of the firm of Sherfev, Kidd & Co., dealers in furniture, carpets and draperies.

Mr. Kidd is a firm supporter of Republican principles and in church faith is of the Christian denomination. November 15, 1868, he was united in marriage to Arabelle Webster, born in Clay county, Indiana, October 15, 1854, daughter of John L. and Fannie (Brenton) Webster. Mrs. Kidd's father was born in Franklin county, Virginia, and came to Clay county with his parents when yet a small boy. He spent most of his life in Clay county, except a few years at Indianapolis. He was a lumber dealer and farmer and a very prominent citizen. He was a member of the Christian church and affiliated with the Democratic party ; also with the

Prohibition movement. He held membership with the Brazil Lodge, No. 264 Masonic order. His children were as follows: Susan Jane, wife of Wilson Houck; Charlotte, wife of F. Mershon ; Arabelle (Mrs. Kidd) ; Mollie, wife of Howard Cutsholl.

Mr. and Mrs. Kidd are the parents of the following children : John Charles, a member of the firm of Turner, Seiders & Kidd, insurance and real estate ; Fannie M., wife of G. P. McCarty, a business man of Rushville, Indiana; Jennie E., wife of Dr. J. E. Baker, of Brazil, Indiana; Robert M., a sign painter.

Joseph E. Sherfey, president of the Sherfev & Kidd Company, dealers in furniture, carpets, draperies and other goods of this line, doing an extensive business at Brazil, Indiana, was born in Fountain county, Indiana, April 7, 1843, and has the honorable distinction of having been one of the soldiers who put down the great Civil war. He is the son of David and Mary (McNeill) Sherfey. The father was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, on what is now known as the battlefield of Gettysburg. The great-grandfather, Casper Sherfey, came from Ger¬ many in 1750 and located in Pennsylvania and became the father of fifteen children, a majority of whom reached maturity. The mother, Mary (McNeill) Sherfey, was born in Frederick City, Maryland, and by her marriage to Mr. Sherfey became the mother of nine children - six sons and three daughters - two of whom now survive - Samuel W. of New Mexico and Joseph E., who is the eighth child in his parents' family. The father came from Perrvville, Indiana, about 1834 and was by trade a miller, which trade he followed throughout his entire life. He was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in political affilia¬ tions was a Whig, which was the forerunner of the present Republican party.

Joseph E. Sherfey was educated in the common schools of Perryville, Vermilion county, Indiana, and at Asbury University, Greencastle, Indiana, then in the winter of 1862-63 began teaching, and taught in the winter of 1865-66. In the summer of 1866 he opened a furniture store at Bainbridge, Indiana. One of the most important chapters in Mr. Sher¬ fey 's career, however, was the one relating to his Civil war record. He enlisted as a member of Company D, Fifty-fifth Indiana Regiment in July, 1862, for a three months' service and was shot through the left hip at the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, August 30, 1862. The rebels marched over him and later he found himself in a hospital; in the month of October, 1862, he was sent home on parole. In the spring of 1864 he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-third Indiana Regiment, for one hundred days and served at Bridgeport, Alabama, guarding Gen¬ eral Sherman's rear until the term of his enlistment had expired. I11 the autumn of 1867 he moved to Brazil, Indiana, and has been engaged in the furniture trade ever since, except one year, when he was city treasurer. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. and A. M. ; also belongs to Brazil Lodge, No. 30, Knights of Pythias order and Ben Hur Court, No. 8. Other societies of which he is a worthy member are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Brazil Lodge, No. 215 and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. No. 762. He is a zealous temperance worker, and a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party. He was married October 20,

1869, at Bainbridge, Indiana, to Miss Helen E. Ader, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Aldridge) Adcr. She was born in Putnam county, Indiana, December 1, 1845. Her father was born in North Carolina and came to Indiana at an early day, locating in Putnam county, where he followed farming and cattle raising. Politically, he was a Democrat. He was the father of four children, Mrs. Sherfey being the eldest child. His wife was a native of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Sherfey are the parents of four sons and two daughters, as follows : David A. ; Charles \V. ; Winfield E. ; Mary McNeill; Elizabeth A.; and Henry E. Mr. Sherfey has in his possession a complete genealogy of the Sherfey family - dating from March 15, 1735.

William Leavitt, Sr., dependent upon his own resources from the age of fifteen years, has gradually worked his way upward, his career characterized by an orderly progression which has resulted from the determination which he has displayed in the accomplishment of every¬ thing that he has undertaken. He has been identified with the industrial development of Brazil and in more recent years with its substantial and material growth through his real estate operations.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Leavitt was born in Trumbull county, October 11, 1844, his parents being John and Minerva (Rodgers) Leavitt, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Leavitt, removed from Connecticut to the Buckeye state at an early period in its history in company with his father, John Leavitt, in whose honor the town of Leavittsburg, Ohio, was named. The family were prominent and active in the development of the part of the state in which they located and their connection with its pioneer history is perpetuated by the naming of the town. The marriage of John Leavitt and Minerva Rodgers was celebrated in Leavittsburg, Ohio, and their last days were spent in Girard, Ohio. The father was a stock dealer and farmer and in the course of an active life bought and sold many horses. His political views endorsed the principles of the Whig party. L-nto him and his wife were born three sons and two daughters, and of this family of five all are yet living with the exception of Joseph, the third in order of birth. The others are: Martha, now the wife of James McCoombs ; John, who resides in Youngs¬ town, Ohio, where he is engaged in the wholesale grocery business ; William, of this review ; and Lydia, the wife of Charles Johnson, who is living in Birmingham, Alabama.

William Leavitt was only four years of age at the time of his father's death and from early boyhood has been dependent upon his own resources. At the age of fifteen years he began learning the flour milling business but when seventeen years of age he put aside all business and personal considerations in order that he might defend his country as a soldier of the Union army. lie enlisted in Company C, Nineteenth Regiment of Ohio Infantry Volunteers, at Girard, that state. September 7, 1861, for a three years' term. The regiment moved to Camp Denison near Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence went to Camp Jenkins near Louisville, Kentucky. From that point the troops were sent forward to the front and were first engaged in battle at Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. Mr. Leavitt was wounded there, being shot through the right leg, and was taken from the battlefield to the Louisville hospital, where he remained for six weeks. He was then sent home but for three months thereafter he was confined to his bed and for eighteen months had to go about on crutches. His serious disability led to his honorable discharge, but though his term of service at the front was brief he made a great sacrifice for his country.

Having recovered his health, Mr. Leavitt engaged in general mer¬ chandising at Mineral Ridge, Ohio, in 1864, but later in the same year sold out this business and removed to Brazil. Indiana, where he joined J. B. Warner in mining operations. They purchased the Birch Creek mine, which they operated for some time and then sold to the Lewis Coal Company. At that time Mr. Leavitt purchased one hundred and eight¬ een acres of timber land near Brazil and at once began to clear away the trees and prepare the property for sale. He subdivided this tract into lots, which constitute what is known as William Leavitt's first addition to the city of Brazil. Later he purchased another tract of land which he subdivided and which is known as Leavitt and Wilson's first addition and which included forty lots of the Indianapolis Rolling Mill Company. He has recently sold a considerable tract of land to the Brazil Fence Company. In his real estate operations he has met with gratifying suc¬ cess, for his property has proved marketable and he has received good prices for his realty.

Mr. Leavitt was married on the 7th of September, 1865, to Miss Margaret Lewis, a native of Wales, born in June, 1845, and a daughter of John and Mary Lewis, who came to this country during the infancy of their daughter, Margaret, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel which dropped anchor in the harbor of New York after a voyage of six weeks. They did not tarry in the east but made their way westward to Niles, Ohio, and throughout his remaining days Mr. Lewis engaged in business as a coal operator and farmer of the Buckeye state. His family numbered seven children, four sons and three daughters, but only two are now living; Mrs. Leavitt; and Mariah, the wife of J. B. Warner, who resides in Youngstown, Ohio.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt was blessed with eight chil¬ dren, five daughters and three sons, and those still living are : Carrie ; William H. ; Ethel, the wife of C. McGaughey ; Mary, the wife of Dr. Franklin C. Dilley, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Margaret and Frances, both at home. The family are well known socially in Brazil and the members of the household have an extensive circle of friends in the city. Mr. Leavitt belongs to General Canby Post, No. 2, G. A. R., and takes great delight in the campfires of that organization. He is also con¬ nected with the Knights and Ladies of Security and in politics is a stal¬ wart Republican, having given unfaltering support to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has been a member of the school board for two terms and at the present writing, in 1908, is serving as a member of the city council. In citizenship he is public spirited and has done effective work both in office and out of it for the welfare of Brazil. In addition he is recognized as one who follows modern, pro¬ gressive principles in the conduct of his interests and at the same time maintains a high standard of business ethics.

Levi P. Holston. - An experienced and skilful agriculturist, Levi P. Holston occupies a prominent position among the leading farmers of Lewis township, and as a man of enterprise and energy has performed his full share in the upbuilding of this part of Clay county and attracting to it a thrifty and industrious class of people. A son of Commodore Perry Holston, he was born in Lewis township June 6, 1858, of English ancestry.

A pioneer of Floyd county, Indiana, Nicholas Hoiston, the grandfather of Levi P., with his wife, Rebecca (Slythe) Hoiston, there spent his years as a farmer.

Born in Floyd county, Indiana, October 2, 1818, Commodore Perry Hoiston began the battle of life for himself when but sixteen years old, coming then to Clay county with but sixty-two and one-half cents in his pocket, which, with the homespun clothing that he carried in a cotton handkerchief, comprised his entire wealth. The greater part of Clay county was then a vast wilderness owned by the government, and for sale at one dollar and a quarter per acre. He soon found employment in clear¬ ing and tilling the land, receiving but scant wages for his toil. Prudent in his expenditures and wise in his savings, he accumulated a sufficient sum after a while to enable him to enter forty acres of government land lying on the west bank of the Eel river in section twenty, Lewis town¬ ship. After his marriage he assumed its possession, living for several years in a small log cabin. Subsequently buying another tract of land in the same section, he was there prosperously employed in general farm¬ ing until his death, November 13, 1888. lie was a man of indomitable perseverance and excellent judgment, and became one of the largest land¬ holders in this part of the county, acquiring title to more than eleven hun¬ dred acres of land, thus enabling him to materially assist his children in obtaining a good start in life. He married Nancy Reed, who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, a daughter of Levi Reed. Her father came from North Carolina, which was, probably, his native state, to Lawrence county in pioneer days, and a few years later moved to Clay county. Locating in Lewis township, he bought land in section twenty-one, on the Eel river, and on the farm that he redeemed from its original wildness spent his last days. He was three times married, his first wife, the mother of Nancy Reed and grandmother of Mr. Hoiston, having been Sally Hamstetter, who died in Lawrence county and was buried in the church¬ yard in Bedford. Fifteen children were born to Commodore Perry and Nancy (Reed) Hoiston, seven of whom grew to years of maturity, as fol¬ lows: Martha, deceased; William, deceased; Nelson, living in Clav county ; Levi P., the subject of this sketch ; Paulina, living in Clay county, and Lavina, of Warren county, Indiana, twins ; and Nancy Ellen, a resi¬ dent of this county.

Attending school whenever he had on opportunity, and when out of school assisting his father in his agricultural labors, Levi P. Hoiston grew to manhood on the homestead, living there until his marriage. Buy¬ ing then forty acres of unimproved land in section twenty-nine, Lewis township, he began farming on his own account, and in his various under¬ takings has met with much success. He has erected a substantial set of frame buildings, and his house, sitting back from the roadside with a grove of beautiful trees in front, makes an ideal rural home. From time to time he has hired additional land, and is now the owner of two hundred and ninety-six acres, the whole being one of the most attractive and valuable estates in the community.

Mr. Hoiston married, in the year 1885, Lydia J. Jackson, who was born in Owen county, Indiana, a daughter of James Jackson. She comes of Scotch ancestry and is the descendant of one of Indiana's pioneer settlers, her great-grandfather on the paternal side, having settled in Dearborn county soon after coming to this country from Scotland, improv¬ ing a farm upon which his children, including Enoch Jackson, Mrs.

Holston's grandfather, was born. Enoch Jackson lived in Dearborn county until after his marriage to Elizabeth Hardesty, when he bought land in Decatur county, and was subsequently engaged in its improvement until his death, at the age of three score and ten years. His wife, who was born in Pennsylvania, of German ancestors, survived him, and died at the home of a son in Perry township. James Jackson was born December 28, 1831, in Decatur county, and married Matilda Bewley, who was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, a daughter of Silas and Susanna Bewley, natives of Pennsylvania and pioneers of that county. Soon after their marriage James Jackson and his wife moved to Owen county, where they lived on rented land for eight years. The following two years they lived in Riley township, Vigo county, then returned to Owen county, and subsequently came to Clay county, locating in Perry township, where they resided for a time, after which they spent three years in Vigo county, coming from there to Lewis township, Clay county, where Mrs. Jackson died. Mr. Jackson subsequently married for his second wife Adaline Bewley, a sister of his first wife, and a few years later she died. He then married for his third wife Mrs. Cynthia (Phipps) Fry, a native of Harrison township, this county. She was a daughter of Moses and Catherine (Griffith) Phipps, and widow of William Fry. By his second marriage Mr. Jackson had eight children that grew to mature years, namely: James Perry; Julia; Cassie; Emma; Lydia J., wife of Mr. Holston ; Albert; Idella May; and Minnie. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Holston are: Floyd W., born May 18, 1886; Harry E., born September 1, 1887; Lillie G., born August 25, 1888; Sylvia J., born November 23. 1891; Edith, born March 5, 1897, deceased; Bonnie J., born August 1, 1898; and Lenola L., born May 2, 1906.

Jesse Robixsox Benham. - The name of Benham has been known in Indiana for a full century, and it is doubtful if there lives to-day a white person in Clay county, if in the state, whose ancestors settled in Indiana earlier than did James Benham, grandfather of Jesse R. Ben¬ ham, who came from Kentucky in 1807, locating in what is now Brown township, Ripley county. At that time the forest-covered land of Indiana was the hunting-ground of the Indians, who had held the country for centuries, perhaps, and who resented the intrusion of the pale-faced white men, and with their treacherous disposition, were liable at any time to make war upon the newcomers wherever they were to be found. James Benham, however, was without fear, and stood firm in his determination to remain and make for himself and his growing family a permanent home.

An ambitious man, full of push and energy, he cleared a fine home¬ stead, at the same time materially advancing the growdh of Ripley county, living to see that section of the state transformed from a wilderness to a rich agricultural country, and his own people living in peace and plenty. A man of great enterprise, he not only carried on general farming to a good purpose, but he used to build flat boats, on which he took dressed hogs, grain, furs, and other commodities down the river to New Orleans, where, on seven occasions, he disposed of boat and all and made the return trip to his home on foot. At one time he had title to upwards of three thousand acres of land, and gave to each of his children tracts varying in size from eighty acres to one hundred and sixty acres. He died on the farm which he had redeemed from the forest when seventy- two years old. He was three times married, the maiden name of his third wife, grandmother of Jesse R., having been Mary Robinson. She was born in Kentucky and died in Indiana at the venerable age of ninety-three years. She reared sixteen children of her own, and three of her husband's by his second marriage.

John Benham. father of Jesse R., grew to manhood on the parental homestead, and when ready to settle in life received from his father the deed to a tract of timber land, upon which he cleared a space and built the log cabin in which his children were born. Subsequently, with the assistance of his sons, he cleared and improved a farm, erected a substan¬ tial set of frame buildings, and was there prosperously employed in tilling the soil until his death, in 1885. He married Mary J. Benefiel, who was born January 20, 1825, in Kentucky, a daughter of Jesse Benefiel and a granddaughter of George Benefiel. George Benefiel was born and reared in Virginia, but when a young man migrated to Kentucky, settling as a pioneer near Lexington, and there spent his remaining years. Jesse Benefiel was born in Kentucky, October 26, 1800. About 1820 he came to Indiana, was married in Ohio county, and subsequently lived for a number of years in Jefferson county. Removing from there to Brown township, Ripley county, he purchased land and was there employed in general farming until his death, at the age of ninety-one years. He married Sarah Huckstep, who was born in 1807, in Ohio county, Indiana, where her father, John Huckstep, was an early settler. She lived to be eighty-seven years old. Mrs. Mary J. (Benefiel) Benham is now a bright and active woman of eighty-three years. She reared nine chil¬ dren, namely : Sarah Ann, Mary Elizabeth, Jesse R., Jacob Newton, Alexander, James William, John Sampson, Charles Edmond and Silas Elmore. All of these married and had children of their own. Both of the daughters and one of the sons have passed to the higher life.

Brought up and educated in his native county, Jesse R. Benham commenced when young to make himself useful. In those days making shingles was quite an industry, and he first assisted in that labor, after¬ wards working on the farm, remaining with his parents until 1881. Coming then to Clay City, he first found employment in a sawmill, and has since been continuously employed in the lumber business, at the present time being salesman for B. M. Guirl.

On September 20, 1883, Mr. Benham married Alice Goshorn, who was born in Marion township, Owen county, Indiana, a daughter of Robert and Julia A. (Summers) Goshorn. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Benham six children have been born, namely : Lena E., George G., Marv Jane, John Cleveland, Julia Dell and Frederick Robert. Politically Mr. Benham is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and religiously Mrs. Benham is a member of the Brethren church.

Jacob Kilmer. - A worthy representative of the early pioneers of Clay county, Jacob Kilmer, a venerable and highly esteemed citizen of Clay City, has during his long and busy life been prominently identified with the development and progress of this section of the state, and, as opportunity has occurred, has given his aid and influence towards the establishment of enterprises conducive to the public welfare of town and county. A son of Christian Kilmer, he was born June 12, 1819, in Lan¬ caster county, Pennsylvania, coming from thrifty German stock.

Christian Kilmer was born, reared and married in Pennsylvania. In 1832, desirous of investing in cheaper lands than could be obtained in his native state, he moved with his family to Wayne county, Ohio, where, from land that he bought from the government, he improved a farm and was for a number of years there prosperously employed in till¬ ing the soil. After the death of his wife he moved to Medina county, Ohio, and spent his last years with his daughter, passing away at the good old age of seventy-eight years. He married Nancy Boyer, who came from Germany to America with her parents when a young girl, and until her marriage lived in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

A bov of thirteen years when his parents made the overland trip to Ohio, Jacob Kilmer grew to manhood in Wayne county, and as a boy and youth assisted in clearing a homestead and also learned the trade of a shoemaker. After his marriage he bought land in Holmes county, and there, in connection with general farming, followed his trade for a number of years. In 1852, having a severe attack of the gold fever, Mr. Kilmer went with a company of explorers across the country to California, the journey being accomplished with oxen, horses and ponies. He remained in the Golden state eighteen months, and then, on account of ill health, returned home by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Disposing of his Holmes county property in 1858, Mr. Kilmer came to Clay county, locating in Harrison township. Immediately buying eighty acres of land, he erected a saw mill, and for several years was employed in the manufacture of lumber. He subsequently exchanged that mill for a grist mill in Jackson township, where he was in business for a year, finally trading the grist mill for an eighty-acre farm in Washington township. His family in the meantime had continued their residence on his homestead in Harrison township, and he rejoined them and was there employed in general farming until 1882. He has since that time lived in Clav City, retired from the activities of business. Though now a very old man, having passed his four score years and ten, he enjoys many of the pleasures of living, and can look back with pride and gratification over a career full of interesting events.

On August 15, 1844, Mr. Kilmer married Elizabeth Moyer, who was born September 18, 1826, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, which was also the birthplace of her father, John Moyer, Jr. Her grandfather, John Moyer, Sr., was born in either Germany or Pennsyl¬ vania. He was a farmer and a carpenter, and while working at his trade was accidentally killed by falling from a scaffold. Learning the carpenter's trade from his father, John Moyer, Jr., followed it until 1827, when he removed to Ohio, becoming a pioneer of Holmes county. Purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which a very few improvements had been made, he moved into the log cabin that stood in the small opening, and occupied it for about six years. Continuing the improvements already begun, he cut down much of the heavy tim¬ ber standing upon the land, replaced the log buildings with substantial frame farm buildings, including a large barn, and there resided until his death, at the age of seventy-five years. He married Susanna Longenecker, who was born in Pennsylvania, which was the life-long home of her parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Noftsinger) Longenecker. Mr. and Mrs. Kilmer have six children, namely: John Franklin; Elias: Isaac; Henry ; Ellen, wife of Albert C. Burnham, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this work ; and Susanna.

Benjamin Jordan Bennett. - Noteworthy among the esteemed and valued residents of Clay City is Benjamin J. Bennett, who came here a comparatively short time ago as the representative of a firm dealing extensively in grain, and has since been identified with its mercantile interests. A native of Clay county, he was born September 20, i860, in Berry township, a son of Robert Bennett. He comes of excellent colonial stock, and is descended from one of the earlier settlers of Ohio, where his grandfather, Benjamin Bennett, was born and brought up. Following in the footsteps of his immediate ancestors, Robert Bennett followed the tide of emigration westward, in early life settling in the wilds of Indiana and becoming a pioneer of Clay County.

Robert Bennett was born December 3, 1813, in Indiana, and was reared to agricultural pursuits in Ohio. Soon after beginning the bat¬ tle of life on his own account he came to Clay county in search of a favorable opening, locating in Perry township, where, for three dol¬ lars and twelve cents an acre he bought a tract of canal land, which was still covered with virgin timber. Clearing a space, he erected a dwelling house and a barn, and began the improvement of a farm. The neigh¬ bors were then few and far between, and he and his wife .endured in common with them all the hardships and privations incident to life in a new settlement. In 1871, in order that his children might have better educational advantages, he moved with his family to Terre Haute, where he remained three years. Returning then to Perry township, he spent the remainder of his life on the old homestead, passing away April 25, 1890. He married first, August 18, 1836, Talitha Laycock, who was born in Clermont county, Ohio, August 18, 1816, a daughter of Reuben Laycock. She died January 5, 1874, leaving eight children, namely: Elisha, William P., Charles Henry, Scott, Benjamin Jordan, Lee Ann, Sarah Jane and Martha. He married for his second wife Mrs. Margaret Dunham, widow of Abijah Dunham.

Brought up on a farm, Benjamin J. Bennett acquired his elementary education in the district schools of Perry township, afterwards attending the Sixth Ward school in Terre Haute three terms. But eleven years old when his mother died, he subsequently lived with his brother Scott a number of years. A man of versatility, enterprise and energy, Mr. Bennett has been successful in his business operations, and since com¬ ing to Clay City in 1906 has been exceedingly prosperous.

In January, 1881, Mr. Bennett married Viola Parker, who was born in Cass township, Clay county, October 13, i860. Her father, William Parker, was among the pioneer settlers of Cass township, where he began the improvement of a homestead. Subsequently removing with his family to Bowling Green, this county, he opened a store of general merchandise, which he conducted with success until the breaking out of the Civil war. Enlisting then in the Union Army, Mr. Parker served as long as his health would permit. Being then honorably discharged on account of physical disability, he returned to his home and died there a year later. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Lindley, was born in Orange county, Indiana, and spent her last days in Riley town¬ ship, Vigo county, whither she removed after the death of her hus¬ band, dying in March, 1902. She was the mother of eight children, as follows : Leora S. ; Eugenia R. ; Enos Ii. ; William ; R. Elzieu ; Urias Morton; Viola, now Airs. Bennett; and Cleophas W. The union of

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely: Ray Bindley, Sylvia and Zoe. Ray L. married Ada Modesitt, and they have one child, Lucille. Sylvia is the wife of John Jef¬ fers and Zoe married Rue Coble. Mr. Bennett is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Clear Creek Lodge, No. 449, Cory, Indiana. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

William H. Plumb. - Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enterprising city of Brazil than William H. Plumb, who for forty years has conducted a bakery business here and in its management has shown a thorough knowledge of the business as well as marked capability in directing trade interests. He possesses tireless energy and honesty of purpose, joined to common sense, a factor which is too often lacking in the business world.

A native of England, Mr. Plumb was born in London, July 31, 1832, and was the second in a family of seven children. His father, John B. Plumb, was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1812, and in early life followed the occupation of farming. He afterwards sought the busi¬ ness opportunities of the city, however, and removed to London, where he conducted a bakery. In early manhood he wedded Miss Jane C. Finch, who was born in London in 1808. They were members of the Church of England and both died in that faith, the father passing away in 1884, at the age of seventy-two years, while the mother's death occurred when she was seventy-four years of age. Five of their children still survive, namely: William H., of this review; Edward; Charles; Sarah; and Mary Ann.

William FI. Plumb spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the land of his nativity and was educated in England, attending school in London. He was married April 4, 1853, to Millicent Mayo, whose birth occurred in Chalford, Gloucestershire, England, October 21, 1831. The wedding ceremony, however, was performed in London. Mrs. Plumb was a daughter of Charles Hodges and Mary Ann (Lewis) Mayo, both natives of Chalford. Her father was a cloth finisher. He belonged to the Independent, or Congregational church, and died in London at the age of sixty-four years, while his wife passed away when sixty-five years of age. In their family were three children, but Mrs. Plumb, the young¬ est, is the only one now living.

Mr. and Mrs. Plumb remained residents of London until after the birth of their eldest child, Myra Millicent. In 1855, however, they bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the United States, reaching New York City after a voyage of twenty-nine days upon a sailing vessel. They did not tarry in the eastern metropolis but made their way to Terre Haute, Indiana, by rail, and thence down the canal to Worthington and on by wagon to Bloomfield. Indiana. Mr. Plumb secured employment at the blast furnace at Richland creek, where he worked as a manufacturer of iron and also at chopping wood. In 1856 he went to Terre Haute, where he resided for about three years, when he removed to Rockville, Parke county, Indiana, where he established a bakery. He conducted that enterprise until 1861, when he returned to England, where he spent some time, but he had formed a deep attachment for the land of his adoption and returned to America, becoming a resident of Indianapolis, where he resided for about two years. In 18G8 he arrived in Brazil and has been in the bakery business here for forty years, conducting an enterprise which is now one of the oldest and best established business interests of the city. lie has always followed most honorable methods in his trade relations and has given to the public excellent products, so that through¬ out the intervening years he has enjoyed a profitable and constantly growing trade.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Plumb have been born nine children: Maria M., the wife of William Bubb; Rebecca Anna, the wife of II. Y. Sherburne; Emily Ann, the widow of H. Ahlemeyer; Nellie, the wife of F. J. Plott ; John William; Charles; William II.; Ralph 1L, and George, who is deceased.

Mr. Plumb votes with the Democracy and has been somewhat promi¬ nent in its local ranks, while his fellow townsmen recognizing his worth and ability have called him to office. He served for four years as county assessor and for four years as a member of the city council and in both positions ably discharged his duties, so that no shadow of wrong or suspi¬ cion of evil fell upon his official career. Without ostentation or any desire for praise he has labored earnestly for the welfare of his city and his efforts have redounded to its credit and benefit. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to make America his home, for he has not only found prosperity here but also a good home and many friends and is sincerely attached to the stars and stripes - the symbol of this great country and her free institutions.

' William C. Steiner. - The native horn citizens of Harrison town¬ ship have as an excellent representative William C. Steiner, of Clay City, the son of Christian Steiner, one of the pioneers of .this part of Indiana. He remembers the country when it was in its original wildness, the beasts of the forest roaming at large, and the Indians being numerous. The people lived in a most primitive manner, scarce even dreaming of the conveniences and comforts of to-day, which were made possible through their unremitting labors and privations. A life-long resident of Clay county, he was born December io, 1852, of honored Swiss ancestry, his father and his grandfather, Peter Steiner, having been born in Canton Berne, Switzerland.

Peter Steiner worked at the carpenter's trade in his native canton, but with the small wages that he received found it hard to make more than a meagre living for his family. Therefore, in 1831, he emigrated with his wife and seven children to America, locating in Holmes county, Ohio, where he subsequently bought a home and worked at his trade of a carpenter until his death. After his death his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Mosser, came to Indiana to live with her children, and died at the age of eighty-seven years in Clay county. She reared seven children, as follows: Annie, Elizabeth, Christian, John, Uriah, Peter and Annie Elizabeth.

Born in Canton Berne in 1817, in the month of September, Christian Steiner was in his fifteenth year when he crossed the ocean with his parents. He had attended school quite regularly in Switzerland, and after coming to this country learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a number of years in Holmes county, Ohio. In 1852, char¬ acterized by the same motives that had previously inspired his father, he sought a more favorable location in which to bring up his family, and, accompanied by his wife, came with teams to Indiana, being two weeks in crossing the intervening country. Entering eighty acres of land in section fifteen, Harrison township, he built a log house, and in this primitive dwelling all of his children excepting the youngest were born. He met with encouraging success from the first, and in the course of time had his land finely improved, while a substantial frame house, barn, and other necessary farm buildings had been erected. There he lived happy and contented until his death, January 10, 1901. He married, in Holmes county, Ohio, Mary A. Baumgartner. She was born March 16, 1830, in Canton Berne, Switzerland, a daughter of Nicholas and Barbara (Mosser) Baumgartner, who were the parents of ten children, as follows: Christian, Elizabeth, Catherine, Samuel, Mary, Ann Eliza¬ beth, Frederick, Simon, Philip and Caroline. The first five were born in Switzerland, the next was born on the ocean while the family were en route to this country, and four were born in Ohio. Nicholas Baum¬ gartner emigrated with his family to America in 1832, and settled first in Holmes county, Ohio. Buying a tract of heavily timbered land, he cleared a part of it, then sold at an advantage, and subsequently bought and improved three other tracts of timber, the last one that he purchased being in Wyandot county, Ohio, where he improved a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which he resided until his death in middle life. His widow survived him several years, dying in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Steiner was blessed by the birth of eight children, namely: William C., Sophia, Eliza¬ beth, Caroline, George, Catherine, Henry and Matilda. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Steiner has lived with her son Henry and his family on the old homestead in Harrison township, a bale and hearty woman both mentally and physically strong. Her eight children are all living, and she has now thirty-two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Both she and her husband were reared in the faith of the Reformed church.

William C. Steiner obtained his rudimentary education in the humble log building that was used for both schoolhouse and church. The seats were plain slabs, without backs, and no desks in front, the pupils learning to write on a board placed along the side of the room. It was a sub¬ scription school, and the minister, who was the teacher, taught nothing but German. At the age of sixteen years he attended the first free public school established in the township. Leaving home on attaining his major¬ ity, Mr. Steiner learned the carpenter's trade, which he has followed until the present time, his residence since 1881 having been in Clay City.

Mr. Steiner married, in 188 r, Rhoda Burkhart, who was born Jan¬ uary 18, 1851, in Coshocton county, Ohio, a daughter of Philip and Mary (Riddle) Burkhart. Mr. and Mrs. Steiner have but one child, Effie, who married Claude Markle, and has two children, Grace and Gretchen. In religious matters' Mr. Steiner and his wife are consistent members of the Presbyterian church.

William H. Bubb, one of the leading business men and citizens of Brazil, was born in New Berlin, Union county, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1844, a son °f Harry and Esta Ann (Whitman) Bubb. The father, born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, was a contractor and builder and came to Brazil, Indiana, in the spring of 1867 and assisted in building the first blast furnace erected in the west. After spending about four years in Brazil he returned to Pennsylvania, erecting many blast furnaces in that state, and he was an expert in that line of work. He spent his last days in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and died at the age of fifty-eight years. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the German Reformed church, and was a Democrat politically. Mrs. Bubb was born in Mont¬ gomery county, Pennsylvania, and died when eighty years of age. They were married in Pennsylvania and became the parents of six children, five daughters and a son, but only three, Elizabeth, Emma and William, are now living.

William H. Bubb received his educational training in the schools of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, his father having moved there in 1849, and in April of 1867 he came to Indiana and to Brazil. He had previously studied mining engineering at the State College of Pennsylvania, and he with his fellows of junior and senior classes enlisted in a body at the time of Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1864. Afterward he enlisted in the three months' service for the Civil war and re-enlisted in Com¬ pany C. Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, for one year or during the war. He served in all eleven months, and after being mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee, he returned to the Pennsylvania college and took a partial course, receiving the degree of B. S. Coming to Brazil m 1867, he began work as a mining engineer and helped his father to erect the first furnace in the west. In 1868 he made a western trip, going as far as southern Kansas and there enjoying the free life of a cow boy, until he went on to Jacksboro, Texas, from whence he drove sixteen head of cattle to where Coffeeville is now located, where they were bought by York and Tileston, who had the government contract to provide food for the Osage Indians. From there Mr. Bubb came east in the fall of 1869 as far as Springfield, Missouri, where he met Captain J. M. Johnson, of the Seventh Cavalry, and with him went down the White river to engage in the stock business. It was in 1871 that Mr. Bubb returned to Brazil, but after a short time went again to Missouri, to Stone county, where he contracted chills and fever and once more returned to Brazil. For a time afterward he was the mining superintendent for the Gartsherrie Coal & Mining Company, but received an injury while there which forced him to engage in office work, and for seven years thereafter he served in that capacity for the Vandalia Railroad Company. He then became the bookkeeper for the Jackman Coal & Mining Company, and is now the secretary for the Clay County Building & Loan Association. He served as a member of the city council in 1894-5, and during his term of office the first city water works was reconstructed and he was a member of the committee on street and alleys. In 1895 he was appointed to serve an unexpired term as mayor, and during his administration in this high office the remodeling of the city water works was inaugurated and the city buildings were purchased. E. S. Holliday, the present congressman, was also a member of the council at that time.

In December, 1871, Mr. Bubb married Millicent M. Plumb, who was born in London, England, the daughter of William and Millicent (Mavo) Plumb, both of whom were also born in the mother country, and they are now living in Brazil, Indiana. They were married in London, and of their nine children eight are now living: Mrs. Bubb; Rebecca, now Mrs. Sheburne; Emma, now Mrs. Ahlemeyer; John; Charles; William; Nellie, now Mrs. Platt, and Ralph. Mr. Plumb, the father, was a baker by trade in London, and he made the voyage to this country in a sailing vessel some time in the '50s, finally drifting west to Greene county, Indiana, from whence after a short time he removed to Vigo county, Indiana, then to Parke county, and then returned to England, spending about four years in the land of his birth, when he then came again to this country and to Indiana. He located in Clay county in 1868. He came to Brazil, but left this city for Knightsville, returning later to Brazil. He is a Democrat politically, and served one term each as a member of the city council and as assessor. Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bubb two are now living, and the elder is Harry W ., who was first mar¬ ried to Zetta Decker, a daughter of Jesse A. Decker, and they had three children. After her death he married Edith Fuh, bv whom he has one child. The other child is Grace, now Mrs. Geo. F. Volt, of St. Louis, Mo. One child died in infancy. Mr. Bubb gives his political support to the Republican party, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

John W. Criciifield. - Among the many men of energy and enter¬ prise that are so ably assisting in the agricultural development and advancement of Clay county is John W. Crichfield, who, on his weltimproved and well-kept farm in Lewis township, is actively engaged in general farming and stock-raising. A son of John Crichfield, he was born. December 9, 1858, in the township where he is now living. His grandfather, Absalom Crichfield, was one of the early settlers of Greene county, Indiana, moving there, it is supposed, from Pennsylvania. He afterwards came to Lewis township, Clay county, bought timbered land in section 20, and on the farm which he improved lived for some time. When unable longer to manage his land, he made his home with his children, living retired frf>m active pursuits until his death, when upwards of sixty years old. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Jolly.

Born, without doubt, in Washington township, Greene county, Indi¬ ana, John Crichfield came with his parents in pioneer days to Lewis town¬ ship, and was here bred and educated. Arriving at man's estate, he entered eighty acres of government land in section seven, south half of northwest quarter. The land was heavily timbered, with the exception of six acres partially cleared. Building a hewed log house, which is still standing, he improved a good farm, and there was engaged in tilling the soil for thirty years. Selling out then, he removed to Missouri and finally to Illinois, and is now a resident of Normal, McLean county. He married Amanda Kester, a native of Blinois, and a daughter of William children, seven of whom grew to years of maturity, as follows : Jesse F. ; John W. ; Eliza Bryce; William; Martha Robison; Frances M. ; and George Riley.

Brought up on the farm, John W. Crichfield received a practical common school education, and under his father's instructions was well drilled in the numerous branches of agriculture. After his marriage, he followed mining for a long time, being employed in Clay City for eight years, and in Hymera, Sullivan county, for nine years. Resuming then the free and independent occupation to which he was reared, Mr. Crich¬ field for three years rented land in Jackson township, Sullivan county, after which he bought his present farm, lying in sections seven and eight, and has since devoted his time and attention to its care and culture, carry¬ ing on general farming most successfully.

1881, Annie M. Burns, a daughter of John and Catherine (Coulson) Burns, of Lewis township, born in 1861. She died July i, 1896, leaving three children, Samuel, Elwood, and Lena. Mr. Crichfield married second. October 8, 1889, Clara B. Brock. She was born in Jackson town¬ ship, Sullivan county, Indiana, June 18, 1870. a daughter of Elijah and Susan (Saunders) Brock. There were two sons and four daughters in the Brock family, and all are living. Joseph L., a resident of Hymera, Indiana, and a miner, married Miss Etta Nelson. They have five chil¬ dren: Lester, Elva, Roosevelt, Emma and Noble. Wm. E., residing in Jackson township, Sullivan county, is a farmer and married Flora Griffith. There are three children: Russell, Foster and Forrest (twins). Frances E., wedded James R. Liston, a farmer and resident of Clay county, and has two children, Paul and Leland. Dora A. is the wife of Thomas R. Nelson, a resident of Hymera, Indiana, and a salesman. They have three sons: Manley, Randolph and Harry. Lucretia R., wife of John Fox, a telegrapher, residing in Casey, Illinois, has one daughter, Juniata Belle. Clara (Mrs. Crichfield). Father Brock was a soldier in Civil war, serving four years, and was a prisoner thirteen months. He resides in Hymera and is a retired farmer. The mother is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Crichfield have three children, namely: Willard, Ralph and Maston Beecher. Religiously Mr. Crichfield is a member of the Free Methodist church, and Mrs. Crichfield belongs to the Missionary Baptist church.

Hon. Elias Selah Holliday. - Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than anv other class of the com¬ munity. This is but the natural result of caused which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie out¬ side the strict path of his profession and which touch the general inter¬ ests of society. Holding marked precedence among the members of the bar of Clay county stands Elias Selah Holliday, a prominent practicing attorney of Brazil and one who has performed important public service for his city and district in an official capacity.

Mr. Holliday is a native son of Indiana, having been born in Aurora, Dearborn county, on the 5th of March, 1842. His father, Dor¬ man Holliday, was a native of the state of New York and with his par¬ ents came to Indiana in 1819, his father being Selah Holliday, one of the pioneers of this state. Having arrived at years of maturity, Dor¬ man Holliday was united in marriage to Miss Julia Ann Little, a native of this state, and they became the parents of nine children, all of whom reached adult age, while seven still survive.