Henry County, Indiana - Chapter 21: Infantry Continued, 1906

Chapter 21: Infantry Continued

Roster of the 124TH Indiana Infantry - 139TH Indiana Infantry - Histories OF the Regiments - Biographical Sketches of Lieutenant Amos Gronendyke and Family - Prin'ate Daniel H. Burris and Family - Corporal William Clinton Murphey and Family.

One Hundred And Twenty Fourth Infantry Regiment Indiana Volunteers

In the following" roster, the name of each officer and man is followed by his ' postoffice address at the time of enlistment. In some instances the soldier was not a resident of Henry County at the time of enlistment but moved to that county after the Civil War. In such cases the name of the county from which he enlisted is substituted for the postoffice address, and that is followed by the place of settlement in Henry County. Where the postoffice address is unknown, the name of the county from which the soldier enlisted follows his name.

The date of muster for the officers is the date they were actually mustered into the service of the United States and not the date of commission.

Company Corporal

Washington L. George, Fayette County. Franklin Township, near Dunreith, after the Civil War. Mustered in December 26, 1863. Missing January 23, 1865.

Fiust Lieutenant

Amos Gronendyke, Middletown. Mustered in January 26, 1864. Died at Nashville,. Tennessee, December 27, 1864, account of wounds at Franklin, Tennessee, Novemlier 30, 1864.

John Q. A. Roberts, Randolph County. Mooreland and Kennard after the Civil War. Mustered in March 7, 1864. Appointed Sergeant. Mustered out June 17, 1865.

Mustered For Three Years

The One Hundred and Twenty Fourth Regiment was organized and mustered into the service at Indianapolis, March loth. 1864, and from there moved via Louisville. Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, and from there marched to the front bv wav of !Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and intermediate points, to Athens, .\labama. Early in ]\Iay the regiment moved to Red Clay, Georgia, and thereafter, until it came within sight of the steeples of Atlanta (July 21st), was more or less constantly engaged with the enemy, taking part in the battles of Buzzard Roost. Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain and Decatur. It took a conspicuous part in the siege and capture of Atlanta and afterwards engaged in the pursuit of

General Hood which ended at Gaylesville, Alabama, in October. The regiment afterwards marched through Cave Springs, Resaca and Tilton to Dalton, Georgia, and thence by rail to Nashville, Tennessee, where it came under command of General George H. Thomas. On the loth of November, the regiment moved to Pulaski, Tennessee, arriving there on the 15th. On the 23rd, it was at Columbia and on the 26th took position at Rutherford's Creek, Tennessee. During this time, General Hood's Army had been pressing back the Union lines. The regiment arrived at Franklin, Tennessee, on the 30th and from there fell back with the army to Nashville. The battle of Nashville followed on the 15th and i6th of December, resulting in the complete rout of the Confederate Arm^- and its demoralized flight.

On January 3, 1865, the regiment started for Washington City where it arrived on the 30th. There it was placed on transports and carried to Morehead City, North Carolina, and by February 28th had reached Newbern, North Carolina. From March 6th to March 21st, it was on the move, until it joined the victorious army of General Sherman, which had come through its "March to the Sea" to the "Old North State" and to final victory. The regiment was stationed at various points in North Carolina, until mustered out at Greensboro, in that State, August 31st, 1865.

Farmer And Druggist

The Gronenclykes trace their Hneage back to the Dutch Repubhc of Holland, the history of which is so replete with historic incident and interest. The first of the Gronendyke family to come into Indiana was James, a native of New Jersey, born in 1770. He settled first in Dearborn County but in 1819 moved to Fayette County where he lived near Connersville until his death in 1836. James Gronendyke was married to Johannah Hagerman who was also a native of New Jersey. She was born in 1780 and died in 1825. They were the parents of eight children, seven sons and one daughter, named as follows : Nicholas, John, Peter, James, Thomas, Michael, Elias and Catharine. James Gronendyke remarried in 1828 and by this marriage had five sons and two daughters.

^lichael the sixth son of James and Johannah (Hagerman) Gronendyke, and his family, are the immediate subjects of this sketch. He was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, March 25, 181 5, but was reared in Fayette County, where he resided until 1843. when he moved with his family to Henry County and settled in Jefiferson Township, about six miles northwest of the present site of the village of Sulphur Springs, on the splendid tract of land now owned and occupied by his daughter, Lucinda Ann Josephine. This land, at the time he purchased it, comprised one hundred and sixty acres of virgin forest in an almost impenetrable wilderness. By unceasing toil and persistent efifort, he made it one of the finest farms in Henr)- County. He later added to his land holdings one hundred and sixty acres located in Delaware County, making in all three hundred and twenty acres of magnificent farm land. In 1837 Michael Gronendyke married, in Fayette County, Anna Hankins, a native of Pennsylvania. She was a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Hankins and was ]x)rn December 16, 181 5. IMichael and Anna (Hankins) Gronendyke were very religious people and were prominent members of the United Brethren Church to which denomination they were exceedingly devoted. They did everything in their power conscientiously to advance its interests and in the building of what is known as the Forest Hill Meeting House, which stands on the Gronendyke place, Michael was the moving spirit, donating the ground ard otherwise contributing to its erection and completion.

To Michael and Anna (Hankins) Gronendyke were born tliree children, namely: James, born in Fayette County, July 6, 1838; Amos, the subject of this sketch, born in Fayette County, November 14, 1840; and Lucinda Ann Josephine, born in Henry County, March 27. 1848. The first and last of the above named are still living. Michael Gronendyke died February 5, 1899. and Anna, his wife, died April 30. 1898. Both of these old pioneers lived for a period of more than four score years. They were hard-working, persevering, moral, economical. Godfearing citizens. They acquired, by their thrift and economy, comfortable homes, maintained a generous hospitality and were always good citizens and good neighbors. Thev are both buried in the Painter Cemetery, near Middletown.

Amos Gronendyke

Amos Gronendyke, the second son of Michael and Anna (Hankins) Gronendyke, came to Henry County with his parents in 1843 ^^^ remained with them on the farm until 1862 when he went to Middletown. He was educated in the -common schools of the district and taught one term of school in his home neighborhood in i860. After his removal to Middletown, he embarked in the drug "business with Dr. John W. Burch, who afterwards engaged in the same business in New Castle. During this partnership, young Gronendyke read medicine, expecting in the course of time to practice that profession, but the country was in the throes of the Civil War, and no one was more outspoken or more enthusiastic in the support of the Government than the young druggist, who setting aside personal and ambitions, assumed the duty of a soldier.

' During the first years of the war he was Second Lieutenant of the Middletown Rifles, Indiana Legion, a local organization, which like the Union Guards of Knightstown, the Needmore Rangers of Mechanicsburg, the New Lisbon Indiana State Guards of New Lisbon, and the New Castle Guards of New Castle, constituted a part of the militia organization of the State of Indiana and served to keep alive the military spirit at home and to familiarize the young men with military discipline, thus making them a recruiting agency for the regiments already at the front and for new regiments when additional calls were made. At the time of the incursion of the Confederate troops under General John H. Morgan, into Indiana, he served as a private in Company C, 109th Indiana Infantry (Morgan Raid.) The service was brief and the danger being over the regiment was mustered out.

In the Winter of 1863-4, he was instrumental in recruiting and organizing what became Company F, 124th Indiana Infantry, and he was made First Lieutenant of the company. He was mustered into the service of the United States on January 26, 1864. The whole regiment was mustered in on March 10, 1864, assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and ordered to the front. Lieutenant Gronendyke was constantly with his company and regiment in all its marches, skirmishes and battles, until he was wounded at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864. where a minie ball struck him in the left leg just below the knee. He was removed from the battlefield and taken to the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, where the leg was amputated, with the hope of saving his life, but he never recovered from the shock of the operation. He died December 27, 1864. His remains were brought home and laid to rest with military honors in the Painter Cemetery, Fall Creek Township, Henry County, Indiana.

Lieutenant Amos Gronendyke was a fine specimen of young manhood, who well merited the encomiums of his comrades in arms and who held the steadfast good will and afifection of a host of relatives and friends. He was a gallant and fearless soldier of the Union and his young life was full of future ]>romise when he was so suddenly cut down.

James, son of Michael and Anna (Hankins) Gronendyke, whose time and place of birth are above recorded, came with his parents to Jefiferson Township.

Henry County, Indiana. He remained at home until April 9, 1862, when he was married to Mary J., daughter of Samuel D. and Anna Painter, of Fall Creek Township which adjoins Jefferson. Her parents belong to that well known Painter family of Northwestern Henry County, which is one of the most prominent and influential in the affairs of that part of the county. To the union of James and IMary J. (Painter) Gronendyke were born four children, two boys and two girls, namely : Otto Oris, died in infancy ; Sarah Luretta, afterwards Mrs. James Mc- Mullen, now deceased; Sanford Alvin, died in infancy; and Bertha G., now Mrs. Frank Smith, living in ^Nliddletown. Two bright and promising grandchildren, Howard and Grace McMullen, live with and enliven the home of the grandparents to whom they are very dear.

Mr. and Mrs. James Gronendyke are possessed of two hundred and twelve acres of the very best and most highly improved land in Henry and Delaware counties, situate within a mile of the old Gronendyke homestead. They also own one hundred and sixt\' acres of land in Harrison Township, Delaware County. Their residence, large and commodious, modern in construction and provided with every convenience, is one of the handsomest in Fall Creek Township. Looking at this beautiful home and its surroundings, it is apparently a far step back to the log cabin, the dark forest and the impenetrable wilderness. The old Gronendyke homestead, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres of land and a spacious brick residence, is now owned by Mr. Gronendyke's sister, Lucinda Ann Josephine, who has lived there all her life.

James Gronendyke, besides his occupation in farming, has been interested in several manufacturing enterprises. In 1875 he erected on his farm, not far from his residence, a building and plant for the manufacture of drain tile. He made additions and alterations, put in steam power and fitted up a saw mill for cutting hardwood lumber and in 1883 began the manufacture of the well known "Favorite" washing machine. He conducted this business for about twenty years, giving his closest attention to the details of making and marketing the finished products of the enterprise. The output during that time numbered over one hundred thousand machines which were sent to all parts of the civilized world. In 1904 Mr. Gronendyke sold the machinery of the factory together with the patents covering the machine to a syndicate of Middletown people, consisting mainly of such prominent citizens as John T. Burk, general manager, Adolph Cooper, Erastus L. Elliott, Cornelius Green and George L. Swain. These men with their combined capital and energy and push have greatly increased the sales of the "Favorite." Though hundreds of similar machines have been invented, this is considered the best ever manufactured.

The Painter family which came to Henry County at an early day. with its numerous descendants, is one of the largest families in the county. Samuel D. Painter, the father of Mrs. James Gronendyke, was born in Rockingham County, \'irginia, October 6, 1816. He came to Henry County, Indiana, in 1834. settling in Fall Creek Township, where he farmed until his death which occurred July 12. 1876. He was united in marriage with Anna Rader, May 17, 1835. She was a native of Rockingham County, Virginia, where she was born May 17,

1819. She died November 22, 1879. They were the parents of eight children of whom Mary J., wife of James Gronendyke, was the second. Mr. Painter was a prominent man in Fall Creek Township. He took an active part in its affairs and was for a time township trustee. The mother, Anna (Rader) Painter, came to Henry County in 1835. She was an excellent woman, a devoted member of the United Brethren Church, with which she became connected in 1839, and a lovingand beloved wife and mother. They are both interred in the Painter Cemetery, which derives its name from this family.

One Hundred And Thirty Ninth Infantry Regiment Indiana Volunteers

In the following roster, the name of each officer and man is followed by his postoffice address at the time of enlistment. In some instances the soldier was not a resident of Henry County at the time of enlistment but moved to that county after the Civil War. In such cases the name of the county from which he enlisted is substituted for the postoffice address, and that is followed by the place of settlement in Henry County. The date of muster for the officers is the date they were actually mustered into the service of the United States and not the date of commission.

Companies A and B were considered distinctively Henry County organizations and, for that reason, the names of all the members are published with their postoffice addresses, to complete the roster of each of those companies, whether they lived in Henry County or not. Where the postoffice address is unknown, the name of the county from which the soldier enlisted follows his name.

Indiana Volunteers

The Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin having offered to raise for the service of the General Government a force of volunteers to serve for one hundred days, Governor Morton, on the 23d of April, 1864, issued his call for Indiana's proportion of that force. The troops thus raised were to perform such military services as might be required of them in any State, and were to be armed, subsisted, clothed and paid by the United States, but were not to receive any bounty. These troops were designed to aid in making the campaign of 1864 successful and decisive, by relieving a large number of veterans from garrison and guard duty, and allow them to join their companions in arms. then about entering upon one of the most active and important campaigns of the war. Their places were filled by the One Hundred Days' Men as fast as the latter could be organized into regiments and sent forward from the camps of rendezvous. The organizations from Indiana consisted of eight regiments, numbered consecutively from the One Hundred and Thirty Second to the One Hundred and Thirty Ninth, inclusive.

Each of these regiments, except the 139th, was sent to Tennessee, and on arriving at Nashville, was assigned to duty at different places along the lines of the Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee and Alabama, and ^Memphis and Charleston railroads; and. until the latter part of August, 1864. were kept constantly engaged in guarding these lines of communication, used by General Sherman for the transportation of supplies to his army then advancing on Atlanta. The regiments all served beyond the period of one hundred days and returned to Indianapolis where they were finally discharged from service.

The One Hundred and Thirty Ninth Regiment was organized and mustered into service, at Indianapolis on the 8th of June. 1864, with George Humphrey as Colonel, and soon after, proceeded to Kentucky. The companies composing the regiment were raised as follows : Elizaville, Lawrenceburg, Kendallville, Knightstown, Connersville, New Castle, Portland and Vevay each furnished one company, while New Albany and Metamora furnished a consolidated company, and Columbia City, New Haven and New Philadelphia furnished another.

While the term of enlistment of the regiment was for one hundred days only, yet it was mustered in June 5, and not mustered out until September 29. 1864. The two companies from this county were each enrolled and in camp two weeks or more before thev were mustered into the United States service.

Biographical Sketch Of Daxiel H. Burris

The first of the Burris family to come into Henry County, Indiana, was Daniel Burris, accompanied by his wife. ^lary (Horton) Burris. This couple emigrated originally from North Carolina to Highland County, Ohio, where they settled, but the length of their stay there cannot now be determined. About the vear 1830, they moved from there to Indiana where they settled in the southwestern part of Henry County, near the present site of the village of Elizabeth City, about seven miles northwest of Knightstown. He was a member of the Friends' Church and like so many other members of that body hated with a righteous fervor the institution of slavery. He was an abolitionist and in the days of slavery assisted runaway negroes along the underground route to Canada. He was^ born in North Carolina on July 10, 1771, and his wife was born in the same State on i\Iarch 25, 1778. They were married in North Carolina about the vear 1794. They lived to be very old people and dying were both buried in the cemetery at Greensboro, Henry County, Indiana.

Daniel Burris and his wife evidently belonged to that strenuous class, so often approved by President Theodore Roosevelt ; they also plainly believed the Bible injunction, "Multijily and replenish the earth," since they were the parents of sixteen children, twelve boys and four girls, namely: Rachel, born ?klarch 21, 1795: Stephen, born November 5, 1797; John H., born July 3, 1799; Jacob, born February i, 1801 , INIartha, born April 13, 1803; Daniel and ^Nlary, twins, born April 21, 1805; Bowater, born February 25, 1807; Abraham, born March 10. 1809: ]SIoses, born February 6. 181 1 ; Horton, born March 11, 1813: Miles, born December 6, 1814; Andrew, born April 10, 1816; Louis, born February 22, 1818; Elias. born June i, 1819; and Rebecca, born January 17, 1821.

Daniel Burris, on coming to Indiana from Ohio, entered on April 23, 183 1, the following described piece of land, embracing one hundred and thirty two acres, being the northwest quarter (fractional), section one. township sixteen north, range eight east. This land adjoins the plat of Elizabeth City on the northwest and is now owned by Kinnan T. White. This was then virgin land, covered with heav}' timber and almost impenetrable undergrowth, but it was not long before, like their fellow pioneers, the family went to work building their cabin, clearing the land and in the then primitive way commencing to farm. Looking over this land today and over other lands, not only in that vicinity but throughout the State of Indiana, the beholder, however much he may know of pioneer history, has but a dim and inadequate conception of the hardihood and toil required to transform the wilderness into farms and gardens hardly surpassed for beauty of scene and fertility of soil.

Daniel H. Burris

John H. Burris, the third child and second son of Daniel Burris. and his wife. Elizabeth (Kinder) Burris, a sister of George Kinder, of Charlottesville, Hancock

County, Indiana, recently deceased, were the parents of Daniel H. Burris, the subject of this sketch, who was born April 27, 1846, and has resided at Elizabeth City during his whole life. John H. Burris, his father, was a farmer and blacksmith, who carried on his trade at Elizabeth City. He was twice married and reared a large family. Daniel H. was his son by the second wife. John H. Burris was killed on the railroad track near Raysville, Henry County, in 1868. Having been across the river to Knightstown, he was walking along the track towards the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cornelius Coon, whom he was visiting, and being hard of hearing, he was run down by a train and instantly killed.

Daniel H. Burris was married to Margaret Ogle, Januarv 20, 1866. She has ever since been a true, loyal and devoted helpmeet to her husband, verv economical, a great money saver and withal an excellent housekeeper. The Ogles were natives of Illinois. Daniel H. Burris took up the trade of a blacksmith at Elizabeth City in 1871 and has followed that occupation jointlv with farming down to the present time. He lived with his father on his grandfather's farm, which is now owned by Kinnan T. White, prior to the Civil War.

His first military service was in the Union Guards of Knightstown. Indiana Legion, which like the Middletown Rifles of Middletown, the Needmore Rangers of Mechanicsburg. the New Lisbon Indiana State Guards of New Lisbon, and the New Castle Guards of New Castle, constituted a part of the military organization of the State of Indiana and served to keep alive the military spirit at home and to familiarize the young men with military discipline, thus making them a recruiting agency for the regiments already at the front and for new regiments when additional calls were made. At the time of the Confederate raid through Indiana under General John H. Morgan, he served as a private in Company A, 105th Indiana Infantry (Morgan Raid). The service was brief and the danger beingover the regiment was mustered out. Company A was organized by Captain John M. Hartley, of Knightstown, where the company was mainly recruited. Captain Hartley was afterwards Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. A deplorable incident connected with the Morgan Raid occurred to the 105th regiment, while it was in pursuit of the Confederate raiders. The regiment had marched to Lawrenceburg, there being a rumor that the enemy was returning to capture that place. To prevent such a result, the regiment moved out to check the advance of the raiders and while getting into position, through some blunder, an indiscriminate firing began among the men which was not brought under control until eight soldiers were killed and twenty wounded. Apparently some of the regiment mistook their comrades for. Morgan's men, who, it afterwards appeared, were many miles bevond the scene of the unfortunate conflict. His next service was as a private in Company A, 139th Indiana Infantr}\ He was mustered into the service of the United States, June 5, 1864. and was mustered out with the regiment on September 29, 1864. It was a one hundred day regiment and was organized to serve in Kentuckv. His last service was as a private in the 22nd Indiana Infantry into which he came as a recruit, November 2S, 1864. He was not assigned to a company in the regiment but continued in the service until May 8, 1865, when he was mustered out.

Daniel H. Burris, since he was old enough to vote, has been a steadfast Republican and among his cherished recollections are his faithful and patriotic service in the Civil War and the fact that he has voted twice each for Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison and William ]\IcKinley, and once each for James A. Garfield, James G. Blaine and Theodore Roosevelt. He is a member of the Jerry B. Mason Post, No. i68. Grand Army of the Republic, Knightstown, and no man in Southwestern Henry County stands higher among his friends and neighbors. He is possessed of an excellent home at Elizabeth City, which is surrounded by spacious grounds, and there he is enjoying to the full the sunset of a happy and well spent life.

The Kinder family to which Elizabeth, the wife of John H. Burris and the mother of Daniel H. Burris, belonged, came from Wyeth County. Virginia, in 1832. crossing the Ohio River at Cincinnati and traveling overland to Indiana. They settled at Charlottesville, Hancock County. The father, Henry Kinder, died there in February, 1846. The mother, Magdalene Kinder, died a year or two'prior to her husband. Both are buried in the cemetery at Charlottesville. They were the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters. Henry Kinder was a practical farmer and followed that occupation until his death. The family has been for many years a prominent one in Charlottesville and in Hancock County, where a number of the descendants now reside, who are held in the highest regard and esteem. Two members of this family are known to have served in the army during the Civil War. George Kinder was a Corporal in Company A, 57th Indiana Infantry; he served from November 18, 1861. to February 5, 1865, when he was mustered out. Jefferson Kinder enlisted as a private in Company B. 19th Indiana Infantry ; he was appointed a Sergeant and veteranized. He served with that regiment until it was consolidated with the 20th when he was transferred to the 20th Regiment re-organized. He was mustered out July 12. 1865.

The loyalty and patriotism of the Burris family is well illustrated by the fact that fourteen grandsons of Daniel and Mary (Horton) Burris served in the army during the Civil War, namely :

Arthur M. Burris served as a private in Company A, 139th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in June 5, 1864, and mustered out September 29, 1864.

Asahel Burris served as a private in Company B, iioth Indiana Infantry, (luring the Confederate raid in Indiana under General John H. Morgan.

Daniel Burris served as a private in Company F, 84th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in August 12, 1862, and was discharged for disability on April 8, 1864.

Daniel H. Burris served in the Union Guards of Knightstown. Indiana Legion; also as a private in Company A, 105th Indiana Infantry, during the Confederate raid in Indiana under General John H. Morgan; again as private in Company A, 139th Indiana Infantry; mustered in June 5. 1864. and mustered out September 29. 1864 ; also as private, unassigned, 22nd Indiana Infantry : mustered in November 28, 1864; mustered out May 8, 1865.

Daniel L. Burris served as a private in Company F, 6th Indiana Infantry (three months). He was mustered in April 25, 1861, and was mustered out August 2, 1 86 1.

Elwood Burris served as Corporal in Company A, 105th Indiana Infantry, during the Confederate raid in Indiana under General John H. Morgan ; he also served as a private in Company A, 38th Indiana Infantry; he was mustered in September 26, 1864, and was mTJstered out July 15, 1865.

Eden Burris served as a private in Company A, 57th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in November 18, 1861, and was mustered out March 9, 1865.

Henry J. Burris served as a private in Company F, 84th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in August 13, 1862, and was discharged for disability on January 4, 1863.

Jacob Burris served as a private in Company A, 19th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in July 29, 1861 ; wounded and captured in the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May 6, 1864; unaccounted for.

Mathias Burris served as a private in Company A, 105th Indiana Infantry, during the Confederate raid in Indiana under General John H. Morgan.

Nelson Burris served as a private in Company A, 57th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in November 18, 1861 ; veteran; appointed Principal Musician; non commissioned staff; mustered out December 14, 1865.

Five of these grandsons of Daniel and Mary (Horton) Burris are sons of John H. Burris by his two several marriages, namely : Daniel H., Eden, John, Nelson and Wilson.

Jacob Burris

Jacob Burris was the father of Elwood Burris. He was married first to Christina Hiatt, in Ohio, and second to Charlotte Wilson. He was the father of ten children, eight boys and two girls, all by his first wife. Elwood was born June 27, 1836. He was first married in 1856 to Rebecca Norton and second to Ruth Abigail Paxton. He is the father of six children, two boys and four girls. He is as above stated one of the fourteen grandsons of Daniel and ]\Iary (Horton) Burris who took part in the Civil War. He now resides at Willow Branch, Hancock County, Indiana, six miles west of the growing town of Shirley, and it is to him that the author of this History is indebted for much of the information here recorded touching the Burris family.

Merchant And Banker

The Murphey family in Henry County is as old as the county itself. The family came originally from North Carolina, for it was in the "Old North State" that Miles Murphey and Dorothy Evans were united in marriage. They were the parents of sixteen children, six of whom died in North Carolina. About 1820 the family determined to emigrate to Indiana and coming to this State, they settled first in Wayne County, bringing their ten surviving children with them. In the Spring of 1822, the same year that Henry County was organized, the family moved to what is now Henry County and settled on Flatrock, two and one half miles southeast of the present town of New Castle. One of the ten surviving children was a son, named Clement, born in North Carolina, December 23, 1808. In 1827, near New Castle, he married Huldah Bundy, also a native of North Carolina, and soon thereafter settled on a piece of land in Prairie Township, about four miles northeast of New Castle. Clement and Huldah Murphey were the parents of fifteen children, eight boys and seven girls, viz: Joel L., Hiram B., Francis M., Robert P., Eli C, William C, Miles E. and John F. The daughters were named Elizabeth, Sarah J., Mary, Martha, Eliza J., Huldah E., and Catharine. Clement Murphey became a prominent farmer and was one of the most successful agriculturists that ever lived in Henry County. He and his wife were upright, religious people and took great interest in church and educational matters. They were very highly respected by all who knew them and the good name which they left behind them is a valuable legacy to their children.

William Clinton Murphey

William Clinton Murphey, the sixth son, is the subject of this sketch. He was born on his father's farm, above mentioned, January i, 1842. He lived with his parents, working on the farm and attending the public schools, until i860, when he accompanied his parents to New Castle. He early developed mercantile and business qualities of a high order. In the Fall of i860 he became a clerk in the hardware store of his brother, Joel L., in New Castle and soon after reaching his majority in 1863, he had a hardware store of his own. Later he moved to INIiddletown, Henry County, and engaged in the dry goods trade, remaining there for a period of about two years, when he returned to New Castle, where he continued in the dr}- goods business until the Summer of 1868, when he engaged in the grocery business which he operated until the Fall of 1871. In the Fall of that year came the turning point in Mr. Murphey's business career, for at that time he was induced by George Hazzard, the author of this History, to dispose of his grocery store and engage in the banking business.

.\ firm was formed, consisting of George Hazzard, William C. Murphey and Reuben Tobey, under the firm name of Hazzard, Murphey and Company, to operate a private bank, known as the Citizens' Bank of New Castle, with a combined capital of $40,000, ten thousand dollars of which was contributed by Mr. Murphev. This venture was so highly successful, that in the Summer of 1873, the partners with some new capital, solicited in Henry County, were able to organize, under the laws of the State of Indiana, the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle, with a capital of $130,000, of which Bank Mr. Murphey was made cashier.

In 1874 there was not a banking institution of any kind in Lake Countv. Indiana. Now there are, perhaps, twenty such organizations there. Neither was there a banking institution of any kind on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad, between Logansport and Chicago. This unoccupied territory was certainly an inviting field and accordingly Mr. Murphey disposed of his interests in the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle and joined with Martin L. Bundy, George Hazzard and Augustus E. Bundy, of New Castle, and John Brown, William W. Claeshire. David Turner, James Burge, James H. Luther and perhaps one other, of Crown Point, the latter taking $1,000 each in the capital stock, in organizing the First National Bank of Crown Point, with a capital of $50,000. Mr. Murphey becoming vice president. Later the other parties from New Castle sold their stock in the bank and Mr. Murphey became cashier, a position he held until physically disabled for further service. With this bank Mr. Murphey was continuously identified as the controlling spirit from the date of its organization until the close of his business career. Under his management it was highly successful. It accumulated a surplus fund equal to its capital and so desirable was the stock as an investment that it readily sold for two hundred and fifty dollars a share. The par value of the shares was one hundred dollars each. It was in Crown Point that he made his great reputation as a prudent and sagacious business man and banker, and it was there also that he accumulated the fortune of a quarter of a million dollars which he left at the time of his death.

In the Civil War Mr. Murphey was not forgetful of the patriotic duty which every citizen owes to the government, for he became a soldier in Company B. 139th Indiana Infantry, being mustered into the United States' service as a Corporal, June 5, 1864, and mustered out September 29, 1864.

At New Castle on the 29th day of November, 1866, he was married to Alice lone, second daughter of Joshua and Nancy Holland, old and highly respected citizens of Henry County. Mrs. Murphey was a native of New Castle where she lived all of her life. She was highly esteemed by all who knew her. She died December 22, 1869, and her body now lies at rest in South Mound Cemetery. From this union there was one child, a daughter, Anna Florence, born October 12. 1867. This loving child was not permitted to reach her full estate, for while at the Oxford Female College, Ohio, she was suddenly stricken and died. February 22, 1885. Her remains were laid by the side of her mother in South Mound Cemetery. Her death \vas a great shock to her father who never fully recovered from the great loss then inflicted.

On November 22. 1882, Mr. Murphey married Louise M. Luther iicc Whippo. now his surviving widow, a most estimable and highly educated woman, who was born at Dublin, Wayne County. Indiana, September 9, 1844. It was after Mr. Murphey's union with Mrs. Luther that his greatest success and prosperity came to him. She proved in every way a true wife, a good companion and a great business helpmeet. It was with the most tender solicitude that she cared for Mr.

Murphey during his last years of almost total helplessness and supervised his luisiness affairs. Mr. Murphey died July 21, 1898, at Crown Point, Indiana.

On August 3rd, 1895, while engaged in the duties of his position at the bank, Mr. Murphey was stricken with paralysis. For days he hovered between life and death, but finally a change for the better came, and as soon &s he was able to travel, he was taken to Southern California, where with the warm sun and genial climate he rapidly improved and in May was able to return home. But in November he returned to California, spending the Winter in Los Angeles. In May he again came home, but soon left for Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where he hoped to find his health restored. He did receive some benefit, but in the Fall again went to California, remaining until Spring. He was failing before his departure for home, and after his return was confined to the bed for some da} s, but for ten weeks he was able to be out and meet his old friends ; finally the fatal disease was more than his herioc efforts could overcome and death claimed him:

For many years Mr. Murphey had been an earnest advocate of cremation, as the proper method of disposing of the dead, and in accordance with his often expressed wish and direction, that disposition was made of his remains, and his ashes are deposited by the side of his wife and only child in South Mound Cemetery, New Castle.

No man that ever lived in Lake County, for that matter in Northwestern Indiana, left behind him a more enviable reputation for prudence, sagacity and sterling integrity than William Clinton Murphey. His judgment was the controlling factor in all disputed business affairs, throughout Lake County. He was an excellent person for one in doubt to consult, for he could take up the case and point out the uncertainties as well as the winning points. His advice was sought far and wide. He was a man of polished manners and pleasing address. His memory will long be cherished by all who knew him.

The George Hazzard above mentioned, as one of the parties who organized the First National Bank of Crown Point, is the a'uthor of this History.