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If a complete account of the events which form the history of Wayne county were written no name would appear more frequently or figure more prominently in connection with leading events than that of Gaar. Through many decades representatives of the family have been important factors in the public life, especially that department bearing the industrial and commercial development whereby the growth and prosperity of the county has been assured. From the Fatherland came the first American ancestors, who left their Bavarian home and crossed the Atlantic to the shores of the New World. Their first location was made in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, whence they removed at a later date to Virginia. In 1807 the first settlement of the family was made in Wayne county, then a wild western region on the very borders of civilization. The Indians had not departed for western hunting grounds, fleeing before the oncoming tide of civilization; the forests stood in their primeval strength, and the broad prairies had been unturned by the plow. Such was the condition of the country into which Abraham Gaar made his way more than four score years ago. He was born in Madison County, Virginia, February 28, 1769, and was there reared to manhood. He married Miss Dinah Weaver, who was likewise born in the old Dominion and was also of German lineage. In 1805 they became pioneers of Kentucky, and in 1807 they made their way to Wayne county, Indiana, locating in what is now Boston township, where Abraham Gaar secured one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government. A little clearing was soon made and a log cabin erected. Then other trees were cut down and such vegetables and grains planted as would supply the family with the neccessaries of life. As the years passed, however, and the work of development was continued, the entire tract was placed under a high state of cultivation, and waving fields of grain were seen where once stood the uncut timber. The father of the family thus took an active part in reclaiming the wild tract for the uses of civilization, and was active in promoting the agricultural interests of the county. His untiring industry, energy and well directed efforts at length were crowned with success, and were the end of his earthly pilgrimage he found himself in possession of a good home and a comfortable competence. His religious obligations were never neglected, and eve in the days when churches had not been established, and when ministers had not found their way into the new region, he gathered his family around him for worship on the first day of the week, and was ever observant of his Christian duties as a member of the Baptist church. His wife was alike faithful and earnest, and they gave a generous support to the erection of a house of worship in their locality and to the establishment of a Baptist congregation. Having for more than half a century borne an important part in the development and upbuilding of Wayne county, Abraham Gaar passed to his final rest August 20, 1861, and his wife died September 6, 1834, at the age of sixty-six years, ten months and one day. This worthy couple were the parents of eight children: Jonas, Fielding, who died in Utah; Larkin, who resided on the old family homestead in Boston township, Wayne county; Abel, who made him home in Michigan; Fannie, deceased wife of William Lamb, of Iowa; Rosa, deceased wife of John Ingels; Martha, who was the wife of Jeptha Turner; and Eliza J., wife of Thomas Henderson, of Iowa. All of this family are now deceased except Eliza J. Jonas Gaar, who was the eldest, was born in Madison county, Virginia, February 1, 1792, and came with the family to Wayne county in 1807. He was therefore reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, enduring many of the hardships and privations which fall to the lot of the pioneer. He pursued his studies in a log school-house, but acquired his education largely through self-culture. He was a great reader and a close observer of men and events, and in the busy affairs of life added greatly to his knowledge. He and his younger brother, Fielding, were soldiers in the war of 1812, doing duty on the frontier in defence of the homes and lives of the border settlers. He assisted in the work of the home farm until attaining his majority, when he resolved to learn a trade, and took up that of cabinet-making. In 1820 he established a little cabinet shop of his own in Richmond, where he carried on business for a number of years. In 1836 he extended his operations into other fields of labor by establishing a foundry and machine shop, in connection with Abel Thombury and Job W. Swain. The plant was operated by a rotary steam engine, the first steam engine in the county, but the enterprise was conducted for only a few years, and for a decade thereafter Jonas Gaar was connected with other business lines. In 1849 in connection with his sons, Abram and John M., and his son-in-law, William G. Scott, he purchased of Jesse M. and John H. Hutton their machine works, which later became the extensive Spring foundry, then A. Gaar & Company and lastly the Gaar, Scott & Company’s machine works. This was the foundation for the present mammoth establishment now conducted under the last mentioned title. Mr. Gaar, his two sons and his son-in-law, were all natural mechanics and soon the old foundry business was placed upon a paying business basis and its patronage steadily increased. Prior to this time it had never been a profitable enterprice. On the 1st of April, 1870, the name was changed to Gaar, Scott & Company, and Jonas Gaar continued to be identified therewith until his death, which occurred June 21, 1875. In 1870 the business was incorporated with a paid-up capital of four hundred thousand dollars. Abram Gaar then became president of the company, and so continued until his death. In
1818 Jonas Gaar was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Watson, a native
of Kentucky, and they became the parents of eight children: Abram, born
November 14, 1819; Malinda, born November 11, 1821; John Milton, born
May 26, 1823; Samuel W., born October 22, 1824; Fielding, born January
1, 1827; Emeline, born June 16, 1829; Elizabeth, born June 27, 1831;
and Fannie A., born October 5, 1853. All have now passed away with the
exception of John M., Fielding, Emeline Land and Elizabeth Campbell.
The father died June 21, 1875, and the mother’s death occurred November
8, 1863. Though his business demanded much of his attention, he yet
found time to labor for the advancement of many movements and measures
calculated to benefit the community and promote the welfare of his
fellow men. He was a public-spirited, progressive citizen, honored for
his integrity in industrial life, for his fidelity to every trust, and
his faithfulness to family and friends. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Judge Fox spent the days of his childhood and youth in the place of his nativity, and having acquired his preliminary education in the public schools continued his studies in Whitewater College, in Centerville, Indiana. In 1860 he removed from Preble county to Centerville, which was then the county seat of Wayne county, and began the study of law under the direction of George W. Julian, a very able attorney, who recently died in Irvington, Indiana. After pursuing a thorough course and largely familiarizing himself with the underlying principles of jurisprudence, Mr. Fox was admitted to the bar in 1861, but, instead of devoting his energies to building up a practice, he put aside all personal considerations and offered his services to the government, becoming a member of Company C, Fifty-seventh Indiana Infantry. He was made first lieutenant and served for thirteen months, at the end of which time he was forced to resign on account of failing health. During that time, however, he participated in the hard-fought battle of Pittsburg Landing. After his return home Lieutenant Fox began the practice of law, and for that purpose formed a partnership with Judge Nimrod H. Johnson, under the name of Johnson & Fox. Judge Johnson was the father of the Hon. Henry U. Johnson, late representative in congress from this district. In 1875 Judge Fox removed from Centerville to Richmond, and has since made his home in this city. He opened an office and successfully engaged in practicing law. In 1862 Judge Fox was elected district attorney for the common-pleas district, composed of the counties of Wayne, Union, Fayette and Franklin. In 1864 he was re-elected, serving in all four years in this office. In the year 1878 Mr. Fox was elected judge of the Wayne superior court, which office he held until the office was abolished. On the 25th day of August, 1892, he was, by Governor Chase, appointed a judge on the appellate bench of Indiana. He was nominated for this position in that year by the Republican party. At the regular fall election he was defeated with the balance of the Republican ticket. In the year 1896 Judge Fox was elected judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit of Indiana, which position he now holds. Judge Fox commands the respect and attention of the bar who practice before him, as well as of the voters who elected him. In politics the Judge has been an ardent Republican all his life, uncompromising in his political views. For thirty-five years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is now a member of the Richmond Lodge, Richmond, Indiana. In May, 1861, Judge Fox was married to Helen S. Linsley, of Trumbull county, Ohio. She was of Scotch and Welsh descent. She was at the time he married her a teacher of music, and they first met in the town of Sevenmile, Butler county, Ohio, where Miss Linsley was teaching music for the celebrated Professor Hanby, who was the author of the well known song, “Nellie Gray, “ and other popular ballads. Judge Fox and his wife now have three living children: Francis L. fox is an attorney in the city of Richmond. Frederick H. Fox was, in December, 1898, by the federal government, appointed in the postal service for Cuba, and was assigned to the city of Bayamo, military station No. 22, in the province of Santiago de Cuba, as postmaster. This position he held until May, 1899, when he was transferred to Baracoa, in the same province, at which place he now is acting as postmaster. Florence J. Fox is the third child. She is an artist of rare ability, he specialty being in oil painting of animals. She also excels as a painter of portraits. She was for some time a pupil under Professor Bell, of New York. The
Judge has also had some experience in literary matters, having a very
fine library of miscellaneous books. He, as a matter of recreation, has
indulged in some literary work, principally of a humorous character. He
won considerable reputation by the publication of a book entitled “The
Adventures of a Philosopher, a Dun Mule and Brindle Dog,” of which two
editions were quickly sold. The book is now out of print and probably
will never be reprinted. The Judge has never been a society man, but
has all of his life been a hard worker, confining himself to his
profession and to his family. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Rev Allen Jay spent his boyhood days under the parental roof and attended school through the winter seasons ,while in the summer months he assisted in the cultivation of the fields. After the removal of the family to Marion, this state, in 1850, he entered Friends’ boarding school (now Earlham college) at Richmond, where he spent some time, then was a student in the Farmer’s Institute, at Lafayette, Indiana, for one year. He next became a student in Antioch College, where he remained until the spring of 1854, when he turned his attention to farming. He located on a tract of landon the Wea plains, near Lafayette, and there carried on agricultural pursuits until 1867. In 1864 he became a minister in the Friends’ meeting, and through the three successive years both farmed and preached. In the autumn of 1867 he was appointed superintendent of a work projected by the “Baltimore Association of Friends,” under the presidency of Francis Y. kin. The war had left Friends, in common with other people, destitute in North Carolina and Tennessee, and Mr. Jay was appointed to ascertain their needs and improve their condition. Making his home at High Point, North Carolina, he traveled extensively over those two states, alleviating the temporal sufferings of the Friends, building up churches, establishing schools, preaching and teaching, among the people of those districts. He established thirty-one schools, with an enrollment of three thousand students, and told the gospel message to the people in many districts. He had the oversight of the work embraced within nine churches in Tennessee, and twenty-two in North Carolina, and during most of the time his work necessitated his driving from place to place, so that this period was not without its hardships, yet he regards it as the greatest work of his life. After eight years of such service Mr. Jay turned his work over to the yearly meeting of North Carolina. In 1875 he went to Europe, visiting the churches in England, Scotland, Ireland and Norway. In 1877 he went to Providence, Rhode Island, where he served as treasurer and minister of the Friends’ boarding school, which had an enrollment of two hundred and fifty boys and girls. There he remained for four years, after which he came to Earlham College, in 1881, acting as superintendent and treasurer, while his wife filled the position of matron. For six years he labored in that institution, during which time he raised a large amount of money for the school and for the erection of two substantial and commodious college buildings – Lindley and Parry Halls. In 1887 he removed to his new home near the college, raising money in all parts of this country and in England and Ireland for the institution. He has for six years been superintendent of the evangelistic and pastoral work of the Indiana yearly meeting, retiring from that position in 1895. He has visited all the yearly meetings of the Friends Society in the world and is well know throughout this country in connection with his church work. Mr. Jay was united in marriage to Miss Martha Ann Sleeper, who was a native of Ohio, but when two years old was taken by her parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where she was married in 1854. Five children have been born to them: Rhoda died at the age of six years. Charles died at the age of fifteen months. William died in West Richmond, in 1897. He was graduated at the Providence boarding school, studied medicine under the direction of his uncle, Dr. Milton Jay, of Chicago, and was graduated in the Bennett Medial College of that city in 1882. He practiced for six years in Richmond and then removed to New Sharon, Iowa, where he successfully practiced until 1896, when, on account of failing health, he retired. He died in 1897, at the age of thirty-seven years. Edwin is a farmer, living near Richmond, Indiana. Isaac is with his father in Richmond. Rev. Allen Jay is now serving as preacher of the East Main Street Friends meeting, a position he has occupied for the past eleven years, the society having no regular preacher. Thus almost his entire life has been devoted to the work of instructing men in the higher things of life, and his labors have been followed by excellent results; but who can measure the influence for good? Not until the heavenly record is read will it be known how great is the work that he has accomplished. His own career, in perfect harmony with his teachings, has won him the love and respect of all, and he well deserves mention in the history of his adopted county. Since
writing the foregoing sketch, Mr. Jay’s wife has passed away. The
following obituary notice we quote from the American Friend: Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Professor Dennis is a native of Dalton township, Wayne county, and is a son of Nathan and Evelina (Worth) Dennis. Both on the paternal and maternal sides his ancestors were from Nantucket, but his grandparents removed to North Carolina, locating in Guilford county, where the father of our subject was born in 1815, the mother in 1813. The latter was a sister of Governor Jonathan Worth, of North Carolina, whose grandson, Ensign Worth Bagley, was the first man who lost his life in the Spanish-American war. Nathan and Evelina (Worth) Dennis were married in Wayne county, Indiana, and spent the remainder of their days in Dalton township, where the father successfully carried on agricultural pursuits. He was one of the leading men of the locality, was the promoter of many local enterprises, and was an active and consistent member of the Society of Friends; he was for more than twenty-five years clerk of West River preparative meeting of ministers and elders. He was twice married, his first union being with Mary Lamar, by whom he had four children, namely: William, who died in early manhood, in 1871; Osborn, a minister of the Friends’ church in Randolph county, Indiana; Edwin, of Wabash, Indiana; and Mrs. Mary Ebrite, a resident of Muncie, Indiana. After the death of his first wife Mr. Dennis married Evelina worth, and their only child is Professor D. W. Dennis. The father died in 1872 and the mother in 1887. Until sixteen years of age Professor Dennis remained on his father’s farm in Dalton township, Wayne county, attending the common schools and those conducted under the auspices of the church to which his people belonged, his father being one of five men who contributed to extend the term of public schools longer than the public funds would permit, and thus gave his and other children the advantage of better educational facilities. When only seventeen years of age David W. Dennis began teaching school, which profession he followed for three years, when he further continued his own education by study in Earlham College. He was graduated in that institution when twenty-four years of age, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and since that time he has taught almost continuously in the Richmond high school and Earlham College, with the exception of one year, 1889-90, which he spent with his family in Europe. He remained for fourteen months, during which time he visited Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, England and Scotland. During six months of that time he was a student in the universities of Bonn and Edinburgh, pursuing a course of embryology in the latter, of biology in the former. The degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Earlham College in 1878 and that of Doctor of Philosophy at Syracuse University in 1886. For fifteen years he has occupied the chair of biology in Earlham College, and is regarded as one of the most successful and capable professors ever connected with the faculty of that institution. After his graduation he spent two years in Earlham College, then four years as a teacher in the high school at Richmond, and two years as president of Wilmington College. He then spent a year in rest and study, after which he resumed his pedagogic labors as a teacher in the Bloomingdale Academy, where he remained two years. He then returned to Earlham College, where his labors have been continuous, with the exception of the period passed in Europe. Some one has said “Travel is the source of all true wisdom,” and certainly in the year spent abroad Professor Dennis gained a broad fund of knowledge which will enrich his life and its labors for all time. To a mind of great discernment and a nature of broad and acute sympathies, the world is continually offering valuable lessons, and he availed himself of the opportunity to improve, bringing him from the Old World strong impressions and vivid and pleasant memories which are constantly coloring and enriching his view of life. In addition to the work of the class-room, Professor Dennis lectures frequently on various general educational topics. His services in this regard are in frequent demand for teachers’ institutes, and he often illustrates his lectures with stereopticon views. He is also well known in educational circles by reason of his able articles on pedagogic and scientific subjects, - articles that frequently appear in the leading journals of the country. Not the least important branch of his work is in connection with the different clubs of Richmond organized for intellectual improvement. He has long been vice-president of the Tuesday Club, is a member of the Tourists’ Club and of the University Extension Center. He delivers many addresses in connection with the work of these organizations, and has been chairman of the program committee of the Tourists’ Club. He takes a broad-minded interest in the political situation of the Republican party, but has never sought not desired political preferment. He took a deep interest in the money question during the last campaign, is a stanch advocate of the “gold standard,” and believes most thoroughly in the territorial expansion of our government. Of the Friends’ meeting he is an active lay member and delivers many addresses before the society, on moral questions, but is not connected with the ministry. In 1876
Professor Dennis was united in marriage, in Parke county, Indiana, to
Miss Martha Curl, a daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah (Gifford) Curl, both
of Parke county. One son was born to them, William Cullen, who was
graduated at Earlham College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts when
seventeen years of age. The following year he was graduated at Harvard
College with the same degree. Although the youngest man in the class,
his standing was very high. He then spent another year within the
classic walls of that time-honored institution, won the degree of
Master of Arts, and the honor of delivering the oration for the
graduate school. He is, now at the age of nineteen, a student in the
law department of Harvard. The home life of Professor Dennis and his
family was ideal. The most perfect companionship existed, and so strong
was the influence of the beautiful Christian character of Mrs. Dennis
upon the life of this community that this work would be incomplete
without the record of her life, which we herewith append. Professor
Dennis is still actively carrying on his life work, continuing his
labors among the young, whose thought he directs to nobler, higher
things, with a realization of the truth that even intellectual
attainments count for naught save as they aid in the development of an
upright character. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Mattie Curl Dennis was a native of Parke county, Indiana. In the public schools she acquired her early education, and then began teaching in the district schools of her native county. Desirous of acquiring more advanced education, she subsequently attended Bloomingdale Academy, then entered the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and in 1874 was graduated at the Indiana State Normal. Her labors as an educator were most acceptable and satisfactory. She taught for twelve years in the district schools, in the city schools of Indianapolis and in the academies at Bloomingdale and Ladoga. She was married June 2, 1876, to David Worth Dennis, after which they made a trip to the east, visited the Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia, and then returned to establish their home in Richmond, where she remained from September, 1876, until June, 1879. During this time her only child, William Cullen Dennis, was born, December 22, 1878. On becoming identified with the new community almost her first thought was, how could she assist and be assisted by those with whom she would be thrown in contact, and during her early residence at Richmond she organized and conducted a normal Bible class, taught in the Sunday-school, and studied with a ceramic art club. From 1879 to 1881 she was employed as a teacher in Wilmington College, and within that time organized the Browning Literary Circle, of Wilmington, Ohio, which has ever since maintained its existence. In 1882 she accepted a position as teacher in the Bloomingdale Academy, where she remained until February, 1884, when failing health forced her to seek rest in the south. She passed the months of February, March and April in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, and on the 1st of May, 1884, returned to Indiana. From that time until her death she was a resident of Richmond, with the exception of fourteen months spent abroad, and no other woman has exerted so wide an influence upon the social, intellectual and moral life of the city. Mrs. Dennis was identified with many of the leading clubs of Richmond, and was a member of the Indiana State Reading Circle Board from 1884 until 1889. In the former year she organized a reading circle, which later became known as the Aftermath. She continued her membership therewith until her death, and was its leader until failing health forced her to resign. In 1892 she became a member of the Contemporary Club, of Indianapolis, joined the Tourists’ Club in 1896, became a member of the Variorum at its organization, and was one of the organizers of the North End Literary Society. In all of these she retained her membership until her death and of the last named was leader. She organized the History Class in 1890, was its leader until her death, and was ever untiring in her efforts to promote its advancement. In 1866 she became a member of the missionary Baptist church, and her Christianity was ever of the practical kind which prompts ready assistance for the needy, the promotion of literary culture and the advancement of science and art. Always quiet and unostentatious in manner, Mrs. Dennis nevertheless left a strong impress of her individuality and beautiful Christian character upon all whom she met. She endeared herself to thousands of pupils, one of whom wrote: “Mrs. Dennis gave me my first real insight into the English language, and what a wonderful study it was! She was so spirit-like, so unlike the world and its ways, that it was an inexpressible pleasure to me to hear her talk of people and things; and after my college days I never passed through Richmond but that I made it a point to call at her delightful home.” Mrs. Dennis loved her pupils and always won their love. She had a singular power in getting work from them; what she said they could not think was trivial, - her lessons must be learned. She could help students find their own powers in a way few others could do. She did this by working with them, by encouraging them to believe in themselves. She never uttered a dogmatic sentence; she treated her pupils as tenderly and considerably as she did her neighbors; and when she came to work in clubs with other ladies and gentlemen her school-room manners were all that she required. She trusted her pupils implicitly, and always believed that this would save them if anything would. In all matters of discipline she sought to control through the understanding, and from within; never by rule or from without. Mrs. Dennis had an unfeigned love of the beautiful in all forms, in art and in nature. In Dresden, Rom, Florence and Paris the art galleries were her homes, and the masterpieces her personal friends. In literature and history she had a quick eye for the heroic, the beautiful, the true, and the purposeful. In life she saw through the soul of things at a glance, and parted company with insincerity as perhaps the one incurable mischief. She loved the trees; they were beautiful, genuine, restful, always the same. She loved the flowers and gathered them in many lands and climes. She loved the birds as St. Francis loved them. They were not afraid of her; she fed them by hundreds in her yard, and talked to them as thought they could understand, and all summer long they answered her call with a cheer which they seemed to know. The strength of her life for thirteen years was given to the betterment of women, and she was not long a resident of Richmond before she became an active factor in the organization and promotion of several clubs for the advancement of literary and artistic culture. The Tuesday Aftermath was organized in 1884, and was the inspiration of Mrs. Dennis, whose untiring zeal and unselfish devotion carried it safely through the perils of infancy, as her genius was the guiding star of its later years. During the different winters they studied American authors; spent two years in studying Shakespeare, one year in England and one in Scotland; one year on Russian literature; one year on French literature, and one on German literature. Mrs. Dennis was also the organizer of the History Class of Richmond. Its first meetings were held in the lecture rooms of the Baptist church, but the increase in numbers in attendance was so great that within a few months it was necessary to hold the meetings in the auditorium of the church. There were no tickets nor fee for admission, no limit as to number, age or capacity. The subject first chosen for study was Chaldean history, but Mrs. Dennis did not restrict herself to that alone; she varied the lessons with little moral talks, reading of selections from the poets and by giving quotations to be copied by the class as reference in future work. The subject of art was very early introduced, and has always proved one of the most attractive features. In the second year the subject of Jewish history was taken up, in connection with Christian art, and an excellent stereopticon outfit was purchased for the purpose of illustrating these lectures. Greek history and art have also claimed the attention of the class, followed by a winter's study of Italian his¬tory and the painters and architects of that country. Through all the years Mrs. Dennis was the inspiration of the society; she planned its work and made it one of the most effective organizations in Richmond for intellectual advancement. When abroad in Europe she was not forgetful of her club associations, and frequently wrote letters of the most entertaining character to the Tuesday Aftermath, the History Class and other societies with which she was connected. Her essays and addresses before these clubs were always of the most entertaining character. She possessed high literary ability, and her reading covered the wide realm of science, art, history and classical literature. It has been said that the soul finds its best and truest expression in poetry, and thus it seemed to Mrs. Dennis. Those things which touched her most deeply often inspired her to set down her thoughts in poetry, and some of her poetic productions deserye to be classed with those of our best American writers. The following was written on the 16th of October, 1894: Lay hushed in the arms of sleep, While a presence fair from the depth of air, Stole by on hurrying feet. Then the winds sighed low 'neath the star's soft glow And the flowers bowed down their heads, While the purple mist, by the moonlight kissed, Clung close o'er their perfumed beds. And the forest blushed with a tender grace When it woke in the morning sun, But a tear-drop fell on the earth's fair face For the loss of a something gone. And thus it is with our human hopes, When our life has richer grown; The fair sweet day into autumn slopes, And the dreams of our youth are flown. The golden wedding bells chime low In the light of the settling sun; And so, in the gleam of this afterglow, Fair autumn, thy race is run. And life seems big with care, But faith in God and you still strong, Gives power to do and dare. And if sometimes a shadow plays, Across our life's sweet June, It but awakens holier lays. And strikes a grander tune. And so I give this little book, With woman's wealth of love; The poets' words their color took From faith in God above. Death came suddenly to Mrs. Dennis, and she was thus permitted to continue in the active work of life to the last. No woman in Richmond has ever exerted a broader or more beneficial influence upon the life of the city. The highest tributes of love and respect were paid her. Resolutions were passed by all the organizations and societies with which she was connected, and Richmond mourned the loss of one who was at once friend, teacher, counselor and companion. She has gone to Of those immortal dead who live again, In minds made better by their presence." Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Mr. Gaar was born in Wayne county, November 14, 1819, and during his infancy was taken by his parents to Richmond, where he spent his remaining days. His educational privileges were those afforded by the subscription schools of the period and he received his manual training in his father's cabinet shop. He served a regular apprenticeship, and in 1845, when his father embarked in the foundry business, Abram, being a natural mechanic, worked at pattern-making, building wooden machinery and other labors in connection with the foundry business. After a short time, however, misfortune overtook the enterprise and he was thus thrown out of employment. He was then about eighteen years of age, and during the two succeeding years he was in the employ of Ellis Nordyke, a millwright. All this time he was gaining a good practical knowledge of mechanical work that well fitted him for his greater responsibilities in connection with the Gaar Machine Works. About 1840, however, a period of financial depression and consequent business inactivity came upon the country, and as there was not much demand for mechanical work, he turned his attention to literary pursuits. He attended school for some time, his last teacher being James M. Poe, under whose direction he pursued his studies in 1842. The following year he entered the employ of J. M. and J. H. Hutton in the old Spring foundry machine shops, and there devoted himself untiringly to his duties, thus mastering the business in principle and detail. He also saved the major part of his wages until, in 1849, having acquired considerable capital, he purchased the plant, with his father, his brother, John M., and his brother-in-law, William G. Scott, as partners. The business was reorganized and conducted under the name of A. Garr & Company, and from that time until his death, forty-five years later, Abram Gaar was actively connected therewith and contributed in no small measure to its success. On the 1st of April, 1870, the business was incorporated under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company with a paid-up capital of four hundred thousand dollars, and he was elected president, a position which he continued to fill, with marked ability, until his demise. The business steadily grew in volume and importance until it had assumed extensive proportions and was accounted the leading industrial concern of the county. In its management Abram Gaar displayed splendid executive power and keen discrimination, and he was widely recognized as a most capable business man. On the 26th of March, 1851, Mr. Gaar was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Adams, born May 2, 1831, a daughter of Henry and Agnes (Chapman) Adams. She was born on a farm south of Richmond, but spent the greater part of her girlhood, until her ninth year, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Illinois. Her mother died in the latter state, after which the family returned to Wayne county. Mr. Adams was connected with the firm of Gaar, Scott & Company for a long period, and died in his seventy-fourth year. Mrs. Gaar was reared in Richmond from the age of nine, and from her thirteenth year until her marriage, at the age of nineteen, she acted as her father’s housekeeper. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaar were born four children: Oliver P., Clem A., Samuel W. and Nettie R. The daughter is the wife of S. S. Stratton, Jr., and all are residents of Richmond. In 1867 Mr. Gaar became a member of the Methodist
church, to which his widow belongs, and at all times was a liberal
contributor to church and charitable interests. His support and
cooperation were withheld from no enterprise calculated to prove of
public benefit. He voted with the Democracy in early life, but when the
Missouri Compromise was repealed, his opposition to slavery led him to
join the Republican party, with which he affiliated until his death.
Education, temperance, political reform and morality always found in
him a friend, and in 1883 he donated five thousand dollars toward the
erection of the First Methodist church in Richmond. In 1868 he was
elected one of the trustees of the Home for Friendless Women, and for
nine years gave his services to that institution without pecuniary
reward. He was a man of large heart and broad humanitarian principles,
and his public career and private life were alike above reproach. In
1876 he erected a beautiful residence on his farm two miles from the
city, and made it one of the most attractive homes in Wayne county.
There, in the midst of family and friends, he spent many delightful
hours, for he was a man of domestic tastes and was never happier than
when ministering to the happiness of his wife and children. He died
February 10, 1894, and the community mourned the loss of one of its
most valued citizens. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
On
the 15th of November, 1882, Mr. Gaar was married to Miss Fannie
McMeans, a daughter of the late Alfred L. and Anna L McMeans, of
Richmond. They now have two children, Lucille and Russell A. Mr. Gaar
is a leading member of the First Methodist Episcopal church, is serving
as trustee, and is a valued representative of the Royal Arcanum. He and
his wife have spent their entire lives in Richmond, and in their large
circle of friends are many who have known them from childhood to the
present. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Thus prepared for the practical and responsible duties of life, Samuel W. Gaar entered upon his business career as bookkeeper in the Second National Bank, in which capacity he acceptably served for ten years. He was then promoted to the place of assistant cashier, in 1895, and in 1897 was made cashier, in which capacity he is now serving. He is also a stockholder and a member of the directorate, and has contributed to the success of the institution, which has the reputation of being one of the most reliable banking houses in this section of the state. He is also a stockholder in the extensive manufacturing business conducted by Gaar, Scott & Company. On the 24th of December, 1885. was
celebrated the marriage of Samuel W. Gaar and Miss Mary E. Matthews, a
daughter of Edward R. and Rachel Matthews, of Richmond. They have one
child, Mildred E. They enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of the
city, and their friends in the community are many. Mr. Gaar is quite
prominent and widely known in Masonic circles, holding membership with
Webb Lodge, No. 24, A. F. & A. M.; King Solomon Chapter, R. A. M.,
and Richmond Commandery, K. T. He also belongs to J. N. S. Council,
Royal Arcanum. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the
men and measures of the Republican party, but for himself has never
sought nor desired the honors or emoluments of public office,
preferring to devote his energies to his business interests. He is a
worthy representative of one of the prominent families that has figured
conspicuously in the history of the county from the time of its
earliest pioneer development down to the present, with its wonderful
commercial and industrial advancement. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
John M. Gaar, the son of Jonas Gaar, was born in Richmond on the 26th of May, 1823, and is indebted to the subscription schools of the city for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. His early life passed uneventfully, and as his parents were not then wealthy his youth was by no means free from labor. In 1835, by the firm, whose members were Job W. Swain, Abel Thornbury and Jonas Gaar, he was employed to operate a stationary engine, and continued to serve in their employ until 1838, when his employers failed. He afterward worked at anything he could get to do that would yield him an honest living. In 1839 he secured a situation in a brickyard and followed that pursuit until he became an expert brick maker. He was employed in that line until the 6th of November, 1841, when he began working in the blacksmith shop of the Spring foundry, owned by J. M. and J. H. Hutton. In January, 1845, when he was receiving one dollar per day, he and his brother, Abram, each asked for an advance to a dollar and a quarter per day, but the firm compromised by giving each of them a one-fifth interest in the business, their father also having a fifth interest. On the 20th of September, 1849, in connection with their father, Jonas Gaar, and William G. Scott, they purchased the interest of J. M. and J. H. Hutton, and organized the firm of A. Gaar & Company, the partners being Jonas Gaar and his two sons, Abram and John M., and William G. Scott. From the beginning their patronage steadily increased. It was a healthy growth, for their products commanded the commendation of the public, and good goods upon the market, sold at reasonable rates, always secure purchasers. From the beginning john M. Gaar of this review was one of the partners, and he so continued until 1870, when the business was incorporated under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company, at which time he was elected a director and treasurer. Upon the death of his brother Abram, in 1894, he succeeded to the presidency, and for five years has remained at the head of the most extensive business in this line in the entire country. Their plant has been constantly enlarged to meet the growing demands of the trade until it now covers ten acres of land, and is fitted out with the most modern buildings and improved machinery known to the trade. They are among the most extensive boiler and engine builders in the world, and the products of this great foundry include threshing machines, clover-hullers, boilers, portable and traction engines and sawmills. The trade which the house enjoys is very extensive, their manufactures being shipped to every state in the Union, in addition to which they have a large export trade. The name of Gaar, Scott & Company upon any piece of machinery is a guaranty of its excellence and a recommendation that is everywhere received, for the reliability of the company is a matter widely recognized throughout the business world. The present officers of the company are: John M. Gaar, president; Joseph B. Craighead, vice-president; S. S. Stratton, Jr., secretary; and Howard Campbell, treasurer and general manager. They employ an army of skilled workmen, each department being under the direction of expert machinists, and every machine sent out from the foundry is made with a degree of perfection unsurpassed up to the present time. The men are paid good wages, and the relation between employers and employes is most harmonious, owing to the justice and consideration on the part of the former, which awakens the good will and respect of the latter. While John M. Gaar is at the head of one of the leading foundry enterprises of the world, his efforts have been by no means confined to one line of endeavor. It would be difficult to imagine what the business life of Richmond would be without his guiding hand, his wise counsel and his financial assistance. He is now president of the Second National Bank, of the city, president of the F. & N. Lawn Mower Company, and president of the Richmond Natural Gas Company, and has been a most potent factor in the success which has attended these various enterprises. In addition, he has engaged in stockraising on a large scale and has managed an extensive farm. Thus has he been prominently connected with the agricultural, industrial and commercial interests of the city, and is none the less prominent in social circles. He is a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity, and his genial, unassuming manner has gained him the sincere friendship of many of the representatives of these lodges. His early political support was given the Democratic party, but on the organi zation of the Republican party he joined its ranks, and has since been one of the stalwart advocates of its principles. On the 20th of January, 1848, Mr. Gaar was united in marriage to Miss Hannah A. Rattray, who died June 6, 1849, leaving a daughter, H. A., who is now the wife of Joseph B. Craighead, vice-president of the Gaar, Scott & Company's Works. On the 16th of September, 1865, Mr. Gaar was again married, his second union being with Helen M. Rattray, who was born March 2, 1840. Three children were born of this union: William W., a resident of Richmond; Jennie, wife of W. B. Leeds, of Chicago, the president of the American Tin Plate Company, of Elwood, Indiana; and John M., Jr., deceased. For seventy-six years Mr. Gaar has
been a resident of Wayne county, and has long been accounted one of the
most prominent and progressive citizens of Richmond. He may well be
termed one of the founders of the city, for he has been the promoter of
many of the leading business interests, and the history of Richmond, as
of that of all other modern cities, is largely the history of
commercial activity. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation
as a careful man of business, always known for his prompt and honorable
methods of dealing, which have won him the deserved and unbounded
confidence of his fellow men. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
In his political views he is a Democrat and formerly took quite an active part in advancing the interests of the Democracy, but is not aggressively partisan. At one time he represented the second ward in the city council and gave his support to all progressive measures for the public good. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knights Templar degree, holding membership in the commandery of Richmond. For thirty-five year he has been connected with Whittier Lodge, No. 41, I. O. O. F., and is held in high esteem by the brethren of .the fraternity. Mr. Gaar was married in Richmond, in
1865, to Miss Mary J. Gallagher, and four children have been born of
this union, namely: Jonas, of Richmond, who is a member of the firm of
Pogue, Miller & Company; Charles, a machinist with Gaar, Scott
& Company; Indiana, wife of Harry Gilbert, of Richmond; and Earl,
who is eighteen years of age, and is with his parents. Mr. Gaar is now
resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He has
reached the age of three-score years and ten, and now, on the western
slope of life, he is resting from arduous cares, in the midst of family
and friends, who esteem him for his honorable record and his many
commendable characteristics. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
In 1886 our subject returned home, where he was offered the position of assistant postmaster, and, accepting the place, served under J. F. Eldor, until 1890, making an efficient and popular official. He then became interested in the firm of Pogue, Miller & Company, buying a share in the business. This well known hardware house was established in 1880 by Charles H. Pogue and George W. Miller, both of Richmond, the firm name being Pogue & Miller until Mr. Gaar was admitted to the partnership. In 1893 Mr. Pogue retired from the business, and Mr. Gaar acquired a half interest, though the old style of the firm remains as formerly. The location of their store is on Fort Wayne avenue, and by judicious management their trade, which is exclusively wholesale, is growing steadily, year by year. Mr. Gaar possesses marked business ability, and it is safe to predict for him a successful and useful future. On the 23d of October, 1889, Mr. Gaar married Fanny C.
Pogue, daughter of A. L. Pogue, a prominent and influential citizen of
Richmond. Two interesting children bless the home of our subject and
his estimable wife: Mary Frances, born July 2, 1890, and Americus
Fielding, born July 17, 1894. The family reside in a beautiful home in
the most desirable portion of east Main street, and are surrounded by
all of the comforts and many of the luxuries that denote refined and
cultured tastes. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
We are led to the foregoing reflections in reviewing, even in a cursory way, the salient points which mark the career of him whose name appears above. He has not alone attained prestige and success in the practice of a laborious and exacting profession, but has been conspicuously identified with many interests which have subserved the material prosperity of Indiana; has proved a valuable factor in the legislative and political councils of his state and nation; has attained marked distinction in one of the great and noble fraternal organizations; has been in that constant sympathy and touch with the work of Christianity that stand as an earnest of effective and zealous personal labor; and, while not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful an incentive to activity in public affairs, he has ever regarded the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. As one of the representative men of Wayne county and of the state, consideration is due Senator Binkley in this compilation. Sixty years ago in the attractive little village of Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio, there was born to George S. and Margaret (Lybrand) Binkley a son to whom was given the name of Charles C. He whose nativity is thus recorded figures as the immediate subject of this sketch. His father, George Simon Binkley, was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, and his mother, Margaret (Lybrand) Binkley, was a native of Ross county, Ohio, both being of stanch German lineage, their respective grandparents having emigrated from the Fatherland and established homes in America. Senator Binkley was one of five children, there having been two sons and three daughters in the family. It should be noted that a1l grew to maturity, that all are married and that all are active, successful and honorable in the earnest discharge of life's duties. Charles C. Binkley was reared in his native village, attending the public schools in his boyhood and preparing himself for entrance into the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, where he prosecuted his studies for some time, later matriculating in the Ohio University, at Athens, where he completed his essentially literary course. Having decided upon and formulated his plans for his life work, he began reading law at Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, where he became a student in the office of Hon. John D. Howland, who was subsequently clerk of the United States courts for Indiana. For a short period he was a deputy for Hon. John U. Johnston, clerk of the Franklin circuit court. Prior to entering upon the practice of his profession Mr. Binkley was elected clerk of Brookville township, and this preferment gave distinctive evidence of his eligibility and personal popularity, for he was a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, while the political complexion of the township was very strongly Democratic. He was admitted to the bar in Brookville, and is still in the active practice of his profession. Mr. Binkley was united in marriage to Miss Georgianna Holland, daughter of Hon. George and Elizabeth (John) Holland, of Brookville, and he somewhat later entered into a professional partnership with Judge Holland, with whom he was associated in Brookville until 1861, and thereafter at both Brookville and Richmond, Indiana, until the death of his honored colleague, November 30, 1875, offices being maintained in both places noted. Senator and Mrs. Binkley have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are married. A man of broad mental grasp and marked business ability, Senator Binkley naturally became prominently concerned in many undertakings and movements which have distinct bearing on the material prosperity of this section of Indiana. In 1865 he was an active participant in securing legislation that enabled the Whitewater Valley Canal Company to sell to the Whitewater Valley Railroad Company the right to build a railroad on the bank of the canal. About the same time he was elected president of the canal company mentioned, and as such executive made the transfer to the railroad company of the right to construct its line as noted. He continued in the office of president of the canal company until its waterway was no longer in use as a means of traffic, having been superseded by, more modern and effective methods of transit, he having been the last incumbent of the position of president. From its' organization until the time of his abandoning business associations in Franklin county, in the fall of 1875, he was the attorney for the Whitewater Valley Railroad Company, and was very prominently concerned in its construction and subsequent management. As attorney he prepared the organization for the several hydraulic companies occupying the canal, from Cambridge City, Indiana, to Harrison, Ohio, the list including the Connersville, Ashland, Laurel, Brookville & Metamora and Harrison Hydraulic Companies. In 1867, about the time he removed with his family from, Brookville to Richmond, Mr. Binkley found the Cincinnati, Richmond & Fort Wayne Railroad Company making a desperate effort to build its road. It had been struggling, to accomplish its object from as early a date as 1854, but its efforts had not been attended with any appreciable measure of success. In 1867 Mr. Binkley was elected secretary of the company, and shortly afterward William Parry was chosen president. In these offices the gentlemen continued - Mr. Binkley subsequently becoming treasurer also - until long after the road was constructed and, in fact, for years after the time when its line was leased, in 1871, to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company, and the subject of this sketch is still a member of the board of directors of the company. It is needless to say that he brought to bear his rare executive ability, his mature judgment and indomitable energy and enterprise in shaping the affairs of the company and gaining to it the object which it had so long struggled to attain. His efforts in the connection unmistakably had potent influence in placing the company and its properties upon a substantial basis. In his political adherency Senator Binkley has ever been stanchly arrayed in support of the Republican party and its principles, and, it was but in natural sequence that he should become an active worker in the cause and one of the leaders in political work. He has been in no degree a seeker for political preferment, but the conspicuous place he has held in the councils of his party is evident when we take into consideration the fact that from the year 1860 up to the present time he has been a delegate to every Republican state con¬vention in Indiana, with the one exception of that of 1898, when he was absent from the state. In 1872 he was a delegate from his district to the national Republican convention, held in Philadelphia, when General Grant was nominated for his second term as chief executive of the nation, and Henry Wilson for vice-president. In 1898 Mr. Binkley was elected to the state senate from Wayne county, and in the session of 1899 was a member of ten, and chairman of two, of the important committees of the upper house of the state legislative assembly. He prepared, and took a leading part in securing the passage of the bill providing for the return of the battle flag captured during the war of the Rebellion from Terry's Texas Rangers. The success of Mr. Binkley in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury and concise in his appeals before the court. Much of the success which has attended him in his professional career is undoubtedly due to the fact that in no instance will be permit himself to go into court with a case unless he has absolute confidence in the justice of his client's cause. Basing his efforts on this principle, from which there are far too many lapses in professional ranks, it naturally follows that he seldom loses a case in whose support he is enlisted. He is not learned in the law alone, for he has studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and man of affairs of the greatest importance, - the questions of finance, political economy, sociology, - and has kept abreast with the thinking men of the age. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined individuality and a sterling character have so entered into his make-up as to render him a natural leader and a director of opinion. He is distinctively a man of high intellectuality, broad human sympathy and clearly defined principles. These' attributes imply predilections which have naturally led him into associations aside from his professional, business and public life, and in conclusion we consistently may revert to the more important of these. In early life the Senator was initiated into the mysteries of that noble fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in the same he has risen to high distinction and has ever maintained a live interest in its affairs. In 1889 he was elected and installed as grand master of the grand lodge of the state of Indiana, and therefrom was, in 1891 and 1892, grand representative to the sovereign grand lodge of the order. As such representative he attended the session of the sovereign grand lodge at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1891, and that at Portland, Oregon, in the succeeding year. At the present time he is a trustee of the grand lodge of the state and is also a member of the I. O. O. F. home committee, comprising five members, that recently located and is now engaged in building a home for aged and indigent Odd Fellows, and Odd Fellows' wives, widows and orphans, the home being located at Greensburg, Indiana, and standing as one of the noble benevolent institutions of the state and as an honor to the great fraternity which brought it into being. From his youth up Senator Binkley has been a zealous and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been particularly active in Sunday-school work. He was superintendent of the Sunday-school at Brookville, and as soon as his family came to Richmond he was elected superintendent of the school of the Union Chapel, which subsequently became and is still known as Grace Methodist Episcopal church. With the exception of an interim of a few months he was thus continued as superintendent for twenty successive years. He served as delegate to the general conference of the church at its session in 1880, having been elected to represent the North Indiana conference. In 1884 he was elected as one of the delegates to the conference composed of representatives from all the Methodist bodies in America to celebrate the close of the first century of organized Methodism, attending the conference, which was held in Baltimore, Maryland, December 9-17, in the year mentioned. In 1883 Senator
Binkley was elected a member of the board of trustees of DePauw
University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and was thereafter re-elected and
served for twelve consecutive years, during the greater portion of
which time he was chairman of the committee on finance. He has always
had an abiding interest in educational and all other matters that
subserve the prog¬gress and well-being of his fellow men, and he
has
been recognized as a power for good in any community where his
influence has been directed. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Benjamin Beeson, father of our subject, was a blacksmith and wagonmaker by trade, and before leaving North Carolina made himself a good wagon, in which he brought his family to this state with a four-horse team. While on the road he sold the wagon and after his arrival in Wayne county returned it to the purchaser in Tennessee and rode his horses back to Indiana. In 1813 he had come to this section of the state and selected his tract of land, which he entered at Cincinnati. On bringing his family here the following year he left them with his brother Isaac while he delivered the wagon. On his return he erected a cabin upon his place, and began the arduous task of clearing and improving the wild land, which he at length transformed into a fine farm. He soon found out that eighty acres adjoining his one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract was for sale, and as he desired it and had no money, he again went to Tennessee, where he was able to borrow the needed money, at twenty-five per cent. For three years he made a trip to that state to pay the interest and was then able to cancel the debt. His family assisted him in every possible way, spinning, weaving and making all the clothes needed, and as prosperity crowned their combined efforts the boundaries of the farm were extended from time to time, and the father was at length able to give to all of his children a good home. He was ever a friend to the poor and needy, was charitable and benevolent, and the latchstring of his cabin was always out. Many an early settler has been aided by him, and in assisting in opening up the country to civilization Wayne county owes to him a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid. In connection with general farming, he engaged in stock-raising, and in early days drove his hogs to Cincinnati, while he went to Lawrenceburg on the Ohio river to mill. He was a strong Democrat in politics, and most acceptably served as justice of the peace for many years, his decisions being always final. When he had a log-rolling his neighbors would come from far and near without his notifying them as he was held in high regard by the entire community and had a host of warm friends. Although he was a member of no religious denomination he led an upright, honorable life and will certainly reap the reward of the just. For many years he suffered with one of his legs, and as amputation was at length necessary he made his will, giving everything to his wife, and prepared to die if the operation was not successful. He lived only a month after it was performed, dying March 1, 1852, at the age of sixty-four years. His wife survived him many years and passed away in October, 1872. She was a devoted wife and affectionate mother. To this worthy couple were born eleven children, the birth of the first two occurring in North Carolina, the others in Indiana. They were as follows: Bezaleel; Othniel; Templeton; Delilah, wife of John Patterson; Rachel, wife of James Harvey; Gulelma, wife of William Dick; Cinderella, wife of William Harvey; Benjamin F., our subject; Amanda M., wife of Thomas Emerson; Mark D., a prominent farmer of Wayne county; and Charles, who died in 1852. Only three are now living: our subject, Mark D. and Mrs. Dick, of Kansas. Benjamin F. Beeson, of this review, was reared on the farm where he still resides, and obtained his education in the subscription schools which he attended for three months during the winter season. The school-house was a primitive structure, built of logs, with a puncheon floor, and seats also of puncheons, with pegs for legs. He remained at home until his marriage, in January, 1848, when he located upon a tract of new land given him by his father, and during the four years he resided there he placed eighty acres under cultivation, and built thereon a commodious residence, to replace the little log cabin where he commenced his domestic life. He and his wife then returned to the old homestead to care for his widowed mother in her declining years. He purchased the interest of the other heirs in the place, and there continues to reside. He has cleared sixty-five acres of the two hundred and forty-acre farm, erected thereon a pleasant residence, large barns and other outbuildings, and now has one of the finest improved farms of the locality. The place is conveniently located, three and a half miles south of Milton, and is adorned with a beautiful grove of ornamental trees. He has successfully engaged in both farming and stock-raising, and has bought large tracts of land, most of which he has given to his children, except one tract which he sold. He still retains the old homestead, however, and is still actively engaged in his chosen calling. In January, 1848, Mr. Beeson married Miss Catherine Howard, who was born in Wayne county, January 22, 1827. Her parents, John and Sarah (Calaway) Howard, natives of North Carolina, came to the county about 1814 and located at Nolan's Fork, where the father entered and improved the farm now occupied by Elijah Hurst. There his children were all born, but he final1y sold the place and moved to Madison county, Indiana, where he improved another farm. On disposing of that place he returned to Wayne county and bought the farm where the Valley Grove church now stands. After his children were al1 grown, he gave that farm to a son and bought a small piece of land in the same neighborhood, built a residence thereon and spent the remainder of his life upon that place. In politics he was a Democrat. He was three times married and by the first union had two sons: Samuel and Joseph. The latter, an able financier, died at the age of forty-eight years, leaving a fine estate. There was one son, Charles, by the last marriage. Twelve children, two sons and ten daughters, were born of the second union. The following are most of their names: Mary E., wife of N. Waymore; Sarah, wife of B. Hurst; Mrs. S. Dwiggins; Geddia, wife of James Thorp; Rachel, wife of E. Waymore; Cynthia, wife of A. Lowery; Catherine, wife of our subject; John A., a resident of Franklin, Indiana; Neill, of Oklahoma; and Margaret, widow of M. Pursnett and a resident of Kansas. The children born to our subject and his wife were: William, who died in 1873, aged twenty-two years; Oliver H., a prominent farmer of Wayne county; Joseph F., who died in 1873, aged eighteen years; Elizabeth, wife of Albert Williams, a farmer of Wayne county; Sanford G., who died in 1873, aged thirteen years; Elmer E., who conducts a meat market in Cambridge City; Ira J., who died in infancy; May, wife of J. Coyne, a farmer; and Minnie, wife of F. Flora. The wife and mother died April 14, 1873, her death and that of her three children occurring within four months and being caused by spinal meningitis. Mr. Beeson was again married in 1879, his second union being with Miss Kate Roadcap, who was born in Virginia, August 5, 1844, but was only eight years old when brought to Indiana by her parents, Henry and Lydia (Myres) Roadcap, also natives of the Old Dominion. Her father improved a farm in Henry county, where he still resides, at the age of eighty-four years. He is of German descent and a consistent member of the Dunkard church. After the death of Mrs. Beeson's mother he married again. His children are: Elizabeth, wife of Milton Rains; Frances, wife of Conrad Koontz; Mary, wife of Joab Rains; Barbara, wife of George Mathias; Kate, B. F. Beeson, Benjamin F., Joseph and Peter. Mr. Beeson has no children by his second marriage. Politically,
Mr. Beeson follows in the footsteps of his father and gives his support
to the Democracy, and though he has often been solicited by his friends
to accept office he has steadily refused, as he cares nothing for
political honors. He is very charitable, being always ready to respond
to the appeals of the needy and distressed, and ever ready to pay his
last respects to the dead. He is one of the most honored and highly
esteemed citizens of his community, and it is safe to say that no man
in Wayne county has a wider circle of friends and acquaintances than
Benjamin F. Beeson. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
A son of Thomas and Sarah (Smith) Lamb, and brother of Isaac Lamb, a well known resident of Wayne county, the subject of this sketch was born on the old family homestead, two and a halt miles northwest of Richmond, September 5, 1824. His boyhood was passed in the usual active labors com¬mon to frontier life in those days, and when quite young he was competent to manage a farm. He continued to dwell on the parental farm until 1875, when he took up his abode in the western part of Richmond and gave his attention to gardening. There he was still living at the time of his death, January 26, 1887, when he was in his sixty-third year. For many years he had been a licensed minister in the Methodist Episcopal denomination and was very active in the work of the church. On numerous occasions he occupied the pulpit, and for years he served as a class-leader, superintendent of the Sunday-school and in other official positions in the West Richmond church. He had been reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, but, after studying the gospel and the doctrines of various churches, he came to the conclusion that none surpassed in beauty, simplicity and the amount of good accomplished in the elevation of the world that of the Methodists, and he accordingly enlisted in its wonderful army of communicants. As would be expected of such a man, true in all his relations to his fellows, he was loyal to his duties as a citizen of this great commonwealth, and used his franchise in favor of all noble principles and upright candidates for public office. He was a Republican in national affairs, while in local matters he voted for the man rather than for the party. On the
26th of Novernber, 1846, a marriage ceremony united the destinies of
Rev. Mr. Lamb and Miss Sarah Jones. Five children were born to this
estimable couple, namely: Mary, who is the wife of James Bryant, of
West Richmond; Rebecca, who married Henry Owens, also of West Richmond;
Edmond, also a citizen of Richmond; Ruth, who became the wife of James
Duke, and lives in this city; and Albert, who lives on a part of the
old family homestead. Mrs. Lamb, who survives her husband, is still a
resident of West Richmond, where she has a host of sincere friends and
well-wishers. She was born January 4, 1824, near Centerville, Wayne
county, being next to the youngest of nine children, whose parents were
Edmond and Ruth (Jarrett) Jones. Five of the number were sons, and
three were born in Virginia, while the other six were natives of this
county. Mr. Jones was one of the pioneers of Centerville, his farm
being situated four miles south of that place, formerly the county seat
of this county. He was a successful agriculturist and a man of
considerable influence in his community. Politically he was a Democrat
and for a score of years he served as a justice of the peace. In his
religious faith he was a Baptist, and died, as he had lived, a sincere,
trusting Christian. Though nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed
since his death, in 1875, he is kindly remembered by many of his old
acquaintances and friends of former years. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
He was born November 27, 1814, in the village of Berkley, Gloucester county, New Jersey, which was also the birthplace of his parents, Mark and Ann (Ewan) Reeves, who in 1823 came to Richmond with their family, consisting of two sons and two daughters. The father was a carpenter by trade, and was one of the pioneer contractors and builders of this section of the state. He died in 1855, and his wife passed away in 1842. James E. Reeves was only nine years of age. when he came with the family to Richmond. The school system of the county had not been formulated, but he received such educational privileges as the neighborhood afforded, and experience and observation have given him that practical knowledge without which there is no success in the business world. At the age of fifteen, being ambitious to provide for his own maintenance, he secured a clerkship in the first drug store ever established in Richmond, then the property of Dr. James R. Mendenhall. (It was established by Dr. Morrison and Dr. Warner.) He remained with him for a year, then went to Liberty, Indiana, as a salesman in the employ of Dr. Mendenhall, who had opened a dry-goods store at that place. A year later he accepted a position in a store opened by his brother, Mark E. Reeves, who began operations on a small scale in Washington, now Green's Fork, Wayne county, conducting a general store, in which James E. Reeves was employed as a salesman for eight years. On the expiration of that period the brothers formed a partnership under the firm name of M. E. & J. E. Reeves, con¬ducting a general store in Washington for three years, when the junior partner returned to Richmond and opened a general store here, successfully conducting the enterprise from February, 1840, until 1848. During this time he also established a cotton factory north of Richmond, and for two years he engaged in the manufacture of cotton yarns and batting. In 1848 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became a wholesale dealer in boots and shoes, hats and caps and straw goods. After a year he admitted his brother, Mark E., to a partnership in the business, and when another year had passed they were joined by Isaac Stephens, under the firm name of Reeves, Stephens & Company, a partnership which was continued until 1855, when our subject's health failed him and he returned to Richmond. Here he purchased one hundred acres of land on the west side of the river from Robert Morrison and engaged in farming for eight years, finding in the outdoor pursuits just what he needed to restore his health and strength. In 1863 he took up his residence in the city and in connection with his brother Mark established the First National Bank of Richmond, this being the seventeenth national bank established in the United States and the second in Indiana, the other having been founded in Fort Wayne. It was originally capitalized for two hundred thousand dollars. He was elected president, the doors were opened for business June 15, 1863, and since that time James E. Reeves has continued at the head of the institution, which has had a pros¬perous existence of thirty-six years. During the financial panics when other banks have failed, it has never been forced to suspend for a single day, but has followed a wise and conservative business policy which has made it one of the strongest and most reliable financial institutions in this part of the state. Its success is largely due to the capable management, splendid executive ability, untiring efforts and firm purpose of Mr. Reeves, whose reputation in commercial circles is above question and whose word is as good as any bond that was ever solemnized by signature or seal. Other business interests have also claimed his attention and have been promoted through his ability. He is president of the Champion Roller Milling Company, aided in its organization, and its business is now the largest of the kind in eastern Indiana. He is connected with the Richmond City Mill Works, was one of the directors for a number of years and throughout his active business career has been most faithful to the ethics of commercial life, meeting fully every obligation and dealing most fairly and honorably at all times. Mr. Reeves has been twice married. On the 18th of August, 1842, he wedded Isabella Cornell, of Philadelphia, and to them were born three children: James F., a well-known business man of Richmond; Isabella May, deceased; and one who died in infancy. The mother died in 1862, and Mr. Reeves was again married in April, 1863, his second union being with Mrs. Hannah More Ireland, nee Peters, of Illinois. They have two children. The elder, William Peters Reeves, Ph. D., a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, at Baltimore, Maryland, now occupies the chair of English literature in the University of Iowa, at Iowa City, and is a most able young man of high scholarly attainments and superior mental endowments, whose future will undoubtedly be a brilliant and successful one. Jesse Siddall, the younger son, is also a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, has won the Ph. D. degree, and is now an enterprising young attorney of Richmond and United States commissioner. In
early life Mr. Reeves gave his political support to the men and
measures of the Whig party, and on the organization of the Republican
party joined its ranks. His first presidential vote was cast for
William Henry Harrison, in 1836. He has served as a member of the city
council of Richmond, but has never been an aspirant for office. He was
one of the three trustees appointed by Robert Morrison, deceased, to
effect the purchase of what is now known as the Morrison-Reeves
library. This is one of the best libraries in the state, creditable to
the city and an enduring monument to its founders. In 1865 he was
appointed by Governor Morton treasurer of the Indiana Agricultural
College, now Purdue University, and served during the preliminary
organization. Early in the '70s he was the receiver for the Cincinnati
& Fort Wayne Railway Company. Mr. Reeves has long been actively
interested in all that pertains to the general welfare and advancement
of his city, and has also aided many movements for the amelioration of
human suffering. He is rather reserved in manner, dignified and
entirely unostentatious, yet at all times kindly and courteous,
possessing those instinctive traits of culture and worth which in every
land and clime command respect. His friends have the highest
appreciation of his many excellent qualities, and all esteem him for a
life over which there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
A. M. Hosier, whose name introduces this review, passed his boyhood in a manner similar to other farmer lads of the period, working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter season he pursued his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty, however, he left home and went to the front as a defender of the Union cause, enlisting in December, 1862, as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment or Ninth Indiana Cavalry. He participated in Hood's campaign in 1863, and in all the engagements in which his command took part was always found at his post of duty, loyally upholding the starry banner and the cause it represented. On the 10th of June, 1865, he was mustered out, in St. Louis, Missouri, and with a creditable military record returned to his home. Mr. Hosier at once resumed the labors of the farm and throughout his business career has carried on agricultural pursuits. He located on his present farm in Harrison township, Wayne county, in 1870 and has since devoted his time and energies to the cultivation of his fields and the care of his stock. He follows advanced and progressive methods of agriculture, and his place is neat and thrifty in appearance, owing to his consecutive labors and careful supervision. In 1898 he further improved his property by the erection of a substantial and tasteful residence. On the 25th of March, 1869, Mr. Hosier married Miss Rebecca E., daughter of Benjamin and Rachel (Myers) Hamm, natives of Berks county, Pennsylvania. His father died at the age of eighty-five, the mother when eighty-six years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hosier have been born four children: Credwell, born May 12, 1873; Roscoe P., born May 31, 1880; Frederick M., born January 5, 1884; and Scott H., born October 31, 1885. In his political views Mr. Hosier has always
been a stanch Republican, and on that ticket was elected in 1894 to the
position of township trustee, in which position he has served most
acceptably since August, 1895. He was at one time a member of Colonel
M. D. Leason Post, at Jacksonburg, but the organization disbanded some
years since. He is a man of very genial temperament, and this quality
renders him an agreeable companion. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
In his early years Professor Oliver L. Voris lived on a farm and received his preliminary education in the district schools. In 1881 he entered the Terre Haute State Normal School, where he was graduated seven years later. In the meantime, as he had been obliged to pay his own way through school, he had spent considerable time in teaching, which method was not without its peculiar advantages, though it was not a matter of preference with him. Two of his brothers, Peter V. and the youngest, likewise were graduated in the same institution. In the course of his career as an educator Professor Voris has taught in the district schools of his native county three years; was two years in Boone county; then taught in the schools at Lebanon, Indiana, for one year; for two years was principal of the Centerville high school, and for six years was the superintendent of the schools there. His connection with the Hagerstown high school dates from the beginning of the school year of 1898, and marked changes for the better have been inaugurated here in the interim. He is a ripe scholar and assiduous student, and to his well directed energy and zeal is due, in large measure, the excellence of the high school, which now ranks with the best in the state. The marriage of Professor Voris and Miss
Carrie S. Peitsmyer, a native of Warren county, Ohio, was celebrated in
1891. Mrs. Voris, who for ten years was successfully engaged in
teaching in Wayne county prior to her marriage, was reared in the faith
of the Society of Friends, but is now identified with the Presbyterian
church, as is the Professor. They are the parents of one child, a
daughter named Edna. Their home is a happy and attractive one, where
warm-hearted hospitality is always to be found by their numerous
friends. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
His son, Patrick, the next in the line of descent, was born near Churchtown, in the same county, in 1744, and for a period of forty years was the presiding elder in the Episcopal church of that place. In 1822 he emigrated to the United States, and for the following seven years he resided near Wilmington, Delaware, whence he then removed to a farm one and a half miles north of Richmond. He had learned the trade of a stone-mason, but after coming to this locality he devoted himself exclusively to agriculture. In the Richmond Episcopal church he was the first communicant, and was ever afterward one of the most influential members. A thorough Bible scholar, one of the best in the country, in fact, few cared to meet him in an argument, and many a minister, even, was defeated by him when discussions arose as to the truths and doctrines presented in the Scriptures. Yet for his day he was liberal in his views, and was the possessor of an extensive fund of general knowledge and information. He lived to the extreme age of ninety-six years, dying in 1840. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth McCauley, and all of their children, were born in county Donegal. The children were five in number, namely: Francis, Eleanor, Sarah, Alexander and Jane, and all are deceased. Sarah, the wife of William Donan, started to come to the United States in 1812, but was taken prisoner by the British (as war had been declared between the two countries) and was kept at St. Johns, Newfoundland, until after the decisive battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815, after which she went to Wilmington, Delaware. Her husband died in 1828, and she never married again, though she lived until 1890, when she died at Port Orange, Florida. Alexander Reid, the father of our subject, was a man of high standing in Donegal, taking a leading part in local affairs. After the famous rebellion of 1798, in Ireland, he was appointed by the government to collect the arms and ammunition of the defeated insurgents, and discharged his duties with fidelity. He cast in his lot with the people of the United States in 1821, and was quietly engaged in farming in the vicinity of Wilmington, Delaware, until 1843, when he removed to Whitley county, Indiana, where he lived until his death, in 1869. As a raiser of wheat he was especially successful, and in his various transactions he generally was prospered. Both he and his sons allied themselves with the Republican party upon its formation, and were thenceforth zealous and enthusiastic workers in the organization, though never office seekers. Like his father, he was an earnest member of the Episcopal church, and the regard of all who were associated with him in any manner was his in an enviable degree. William D. Reid, a son of Alexander and Mary (Hannah) Reid, was born in Newcastle county, Delaware, on a farm three miles north of Wilmington, July 6, 1823. The young man removed to this state with the family. The mother died when William D. was twenty-eight months old, and, as his father never married again, they continued to live together, as just stated. Our subject remained in Whitley county, busily engaged in farming, until March, 1879, when he removed to a homestead a mile and a half north of Richmond. He now owns a valuable farm in Spring Grove borough, and, aided by his sons, he carries on the place successfully. While a resident of Whitley county he was one of the projectors, stockholders and directors of the Eel River Railroad, which was constructed in 1873 and is now owned by the Wabash. Just fifty years to the day after his grandfather, the first communicant of the Richmond Episcopal church, had joined it, William D. Reid became a member of the congregation and an active worker in the cause of Christianity. He cast his first presidential ballot for Henry Clay, and has been a stanch defender of the principles of the Republican party for more than two-score years. His life has been one of modest, unassuming worth a life well rounded, and a fitting example to be held up for the emulation of the young. On the 15th of June, 1851, Mr. Reid
married Fannie F. Reid, and five children blessed their union. Mary C.,
the fourth child, married Benjamin F. Simmons, and died in 1897. The
others, Jennie E., David L., Alexander S. and William A., still spend
much of their time at the old homestead, in loving companionship with
their father, their mother having died in 1874. Alexander Reid, who for
several years was a successful teacher, and for the past eighteen years
has been a trusted bookkeeper in the employ of John W. Grubb &
Company, wholesale grocers of Richmond, was honored by election to the
responsible office of county auditor in November, 1898. He ran ahead of
his ticket, county and state, fifty votes, a fact which attests his
great popularity and the confidence of the people in his capability and
trustworthiness. He was married in 1889 to Anna Cadwallader, who died
about two years later. Like his brothers and sisters, his parents and
forefathers, the newly elected auditor is deeply interested in the
upbuilding of the Episcopal church and the propagation of the doctrines
of Christianity. In short, he stands on the side of progress,
advancement and civilization, favoring education, religion, law and
order, and whatever makes for the good of the people as individuals and
as communities. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Mr. Scott was born in Harrisonburg, Rockingham county, Virginia, September 17, 1824, and was a son of John and Sarah (Logan) Scott, who were natives of county Monaghan, Ireland, and, crossing the Atlantic to the New World, located in Virginia, in 1826. There they resided until 1827, when they removed to Richmond, Indiana, where the father died in the year 1833, his wife passing away in 1849. After his father's death William G. Scott made his home with his uncle, Daniel Reid, who resided in Richmond, Indiana, until 1838, when he removed to Fort Wayne, this state. To the public schools of those cities William G. Scott was indebted for the educational privileges which he received, but he put aside his text-books when sixteen years of age in order to assist his uncle in the land office at Fort Wayne, in which Mr. Reid was receiver. In 1844 he returned to Richmond and soon afterward entered the employ of J. M. & J. H. Hutton, foundrymen, under whose direction he learned the moulder's trade. On the 3d of June, 1847, Mr. Scott married Miss Malinda Gaar, a daughter of Jonas Gaar. She lived only a year after their marriage, and their only child died a few months later. In 1849 he joined his father-in-law, Mr. Gaar, together with the latter's two sons, Abram and John Milton, in the formation of the firm of A. Gaar & Company. They purchased the Hutton foundry and Mr. Scott became the first bookkeeper and one of the original promoters and leading spirits in the mammoth enterprise which is now conducted under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company. In 1870 the business was incorporated under the name now used, the officers being Abram Gaar, president; William G. Scott, secretary; and J. M. Gaar, treasurer. These young men began business with very little capital, but a gradual and substantial growth has transformed the plant from its original proportions to one of the most extensive of the kind in the world. They were all practical mechanics and thus capable of directing the labors of others. Their force of workmen was increased from time to time in order to meet the growing demand of the trade, until at length several hundred names were on their payroll, and the boilers, engines, sawmills and threshing machines which are manufactured are sent into every state in the Union, besides into a number of foreign ports. The phenomenal growth and success of the enterprise was attributable in no small degree to the sagacity, energy and wise business policy of Mr. Scott, whose judgment in all business matters was most reliable. He served as secretary of the company until his death, and took an active part in the management of the extensive foundry business which has proved such an important factor in the upbuilding of Richmond. His labors, however, were not confined to one line of endeavor, but were an essential element in the prosperity of many other successful business concerns of the city. In 1872, when the Second National Bank of Richmond was organized, he became vice-president, and filled that position until 1895, when he was elected president of the bank, acting in the latter capacity until his death. He was also president of the Wayne Agricultural Works, and whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. He held a high position in business circles in the community for nearly fifty years, and his activity in that direction justly entitles him to be numbered among the founders of Richmond, for it is those who promote commercial and industrial activity who are the real builders of a place. Mr. Scott was a
second time married about 1850, the lady of his choice being Miss Betsy
Rogers, by whom he had three children, viz.: Charles E. and Clara R.,
who are now deceased, and Helen L., wife of John B. Dougan,
vice-president of the Second National Bank of Richmond, and one of the
leading business men of Wayne county. The mother died in 1863, and in
1864 Mr. Scott married Clara McCoy, daughter of Colonel W. F. Robie, of
Plymouth, New Hampshire. She survives her husband and resides at
Richmond. Mr. Scott was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but afterward
became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he was
connected until about 1862. He then returned to the Presbyterians and
it was largely through his liberal donation that the house of worship
belonging to the First Presbyterian church was built. He withheld his
support from no philanthropic or benevolent movements or enterprises
for the public good, aided in building all the churches in Richmond and
labored earnestly for the betterment of mankind, realizing most fully
that financial success, fame or high position count for naught unless
supplemented by an upright, honorable character. He had a mind above
all personal considerations, concerned with those large, loving
interests belonging to humanity. He passed away November 18, 1897, at
the age of seventy-three years, but in the hearts of his friends are
enshrined many pleasant memories of him, and his influence for good
remains with those who knew him. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
George McGraw, the father, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1800, and died in Philadelphia in 1835. He was a carpenter by trade and pursued that occupation all his life. His marriage to Rebecca Bispham resulted in the birth of five children, two sons and three daughters, two of whom, one son and one daughter, died in infancy. In 1836, after the death of the father, Mrs. McGraw and her three children moved to Richmond, where the mother died, February 13, 1885. Of the sisters, Mary resides in Richmond, and Mrs. Rebecca Morrison died in 1857. John S. McGraw received his education in the schools of Philadelphia and Richmond. He was but a little more than seven years of age at the time of his father's death, and was obliged to curtail his school days in order to earn a living, but he had a taste for reading which enabled him to lay up a store of information at once comprehensive and useful. As a boy he worked at carpentering, and in 1843 began general blacksmithing for George McCullough, of Richmond, and this occupation he followed for almost fifty years, until 1889, when he retired from active business. He was superintendent of the Richmond Plow Works, and carried on carriage-repairing for some time; also at one time had a shoe store, which was under the management of his wife for five or six years. His wife was Miss Mary A. Jukes, to whom he was married in Cincinnati, on October 25, 1848. Four children were born to them of whom but two are living, viz.: Rebecca A., wife of Benjamin Mann, a member of the firm of William Mann & Company, of Philadelphia; and Ida M., wife of Charles W. Morgan, assistant manager of L R. Howard & Company, wholesale grocers of Richmond. Colonel McGraw is a Republican, and was twice a candidate for sheriff and served as chief of police for a short time after the war, and resigned. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1859, and is past grand in White Water Lodge, No. 41, and Oriental Encampment, both of Richmond. He is also a member of the grand lodge of Indiana. In 1861 Colonel McGraw was commissioned by Governor Morton as captain of the Fifty-seventh Indiana Infantry, which enlisted in November of that year, and his gallant service won him steady promotion. On July 28, 1863, he received the rank of major; the 15th of the following May he was promoted lieutenant-colonel; and one year later to the rank of colonel. He participated in many severe battles, and was in every engagement fought by the Army of the Cumberland, always at the front, where he encouraged and cheered his men to greater endeavors by his own undaunted conduct. While leading his men in a bold charge on the breastworks at Mission Ridge, Georgia, he received an ugly gunshot wound, which came near ending his career. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, through which the ball passed, striking him in the center of the forehead and passing to the left temple, taking with it a portion of his skull, three-fourths of an inch in width and two and a half inches in length. This unfortunate occurrence disabled him for about fifty days, when he once more joined his command. He took part in the battle of Shiloh, the encounters at Stone River and Chickamauga, and then joined Sherman in his grand march to the sea. After the capture of Atlanta he was with those sent to watch General Hood. The two forces came together at Spring Hill and Franklin, which collision resulted in the entire routing of Hood's army at Nashville, in August, 1864. They then started for Richmond, Virginia, going through West Virginia, when Lee surrendered and put an end to the war. He was sent with his command to Texas, where he was mustered out December 14, 1865. He brought his command to Indianapolis and disbanded January 8 following. The
Colonel is an amiable, pleasant gentleman, with whom it is a privilege
and an enjoyment to converse, as his life has been filled with rich
experiences, which he relates in an unassuming and highly interesting
manner. He is a well-known person in Richmond and vicinity, and enjoys
a wide popu¬larity. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Robert Hill, father of George Hill, was a native of Guilford county, North Carolina, and a son of William Hill, of that state. In 1801 Robert Hill settled in Hamilton county, Ohio, near the present city limits of Cincinnati, and engaged in his accustomed calling, agriculture. At the end of five years he removed to what is now Richmond, but then a vast forest, and took up a quarter-section of land from the government. This property, now owned by Augustus C. Scott (son of Andrew F. Scott), is two and a half miles east of the present city limits of Richmond. There were but very few families living here in the wilderness when he came here, but gradually the on-coming wave of immigration drifted families here by the scores and civilization became an assured fact in the back-woods of Indiana. In 1831, having previously cleared and cultivated his farm for many years, he retired and conducted a gristmill in Richmond for a few years, where the Starr Piano Works now are located. In his younger days he dealt extensively in livestock and drove cattle and hogs to Cincinnati, where he disposed of them. He was retired for many years before his death, in August, 1850. He died on the old homestead in the same house that had sheltered him for many years, his son-in-law, Benjamin Stratton, then having charge of the place. Religiously he was a member of the Society of Friends, and was actively engaged in church work, always faithfully attending the meetings. In politics, he was a Whig. For his wife he chose Susanna Morgan, of North Carolina, and ten children were born to them. Only three of the number survive, namely: Mrs. Elizabeth Shute, of Richmond; Charles, who was a farmer and teamster but is now retired and a resident of Richmond; and Robert, a farmer of Willow Branch, Hancock county, Indiana. Those who have passed to the better land are Martha, William, Benjamin, Samuel, Mrs. Mary Parry, Mrs. Penninah Shaw and George. The birth of George Hill occurred in Richmond, November 7, 1825, and in the private and public schools of this place he received his education. When he arrived at his majority he took charge of a farm on the Williamsburg turnpike, three miles north of Richmond, it consisting of eighty acres. After several years he removed to Madison county, and was there occupied in agricultural pursuits for twelve or thirteen years. As a business man he was practical and progressive, making a success of nearly everything which he undertook. Reared in the Society of Friends, he continued to be active in that organization as long as he lived, and held various official positions in the local church. March 30, 1853, Mr. Hill married Miss Tacy
B. Hibberd, a daughter of Benjamin and Charity (Beeson) Hibberd. Mrs.
Hill is a native of Richmond and has spent nearly her whole life here.
Four children were born to herself and husband: one is deceased, and
the others are Alice J., wife of George R. Dilks, of Spring Grove (see
his sketch printed on another page of this work); Theodore H., a member
of the firm of Louck & Hill, lumber manufacturers and contractors
of this place; and Annie E., wife of T. J. Ferguson, of Richmond. The
father of Mrs. Hill was born in Carroll county, Maryland, but came to
Richmond in 1825, and was soon numbered among our most enterprising
citizens. Before coming here he had been engaged in the manufacture of
woolen goods in Maryland and in Virginia, and soon after reaching
Richmond he bought thirty acres of land and founded the Fleecy Dale
Woolen Factory, the site of the works being where Sixteenth street now
is. He conducted the factory very successfully for a number of years,
and later rented the premises. For a score or more of years prior to
his death he was practically retired, but to the last maintained his
deep interest in the world's progress and was an earnest student and
thinker. For years an elder in the Society of Friends, he was always
present at meeting and used his influence and means in the support of
the church. His children were three in number, - Jane, Alice and Tacy.
Jane died in 1894 and Alice twenty years previously, and thus Mrs. Hill
is the only survivor of the family. Her loved and honored father passed
to his reward in 1864, aged seventy-¬seven years. Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette,
Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
The only son of Jeremiah and Mary E. (Cockayne) Burchenal. he was born at Greensboro, Caroline county, Maryland, on the 18th of September, 1830. His remote ancestors, of French origin, came from the neighborhood of Caen, in Normandy. At the time of William the Conqueror, some members of the family settled in England, where they remained and kept up the name for many generations. One or more of them came to America with Lord Baltimore's first colony and settled on the eastern shore of Maryland. Mr. Burchenal's branch of this family is descended from Jeremiah Burchenal, a planter of Kent county, Maryland, where some of the family still reside. He was born in 1700. When Charles H. Burchenal was still a child, his parents removed to Zanesville, Ohio, where his mother died in 1836. His father was engaged in business in that place until 1838, when, while visiting his old home near Baltimore, Maryland, he too died, and the boy was brought by his grandmother, a member of the Society of Friends, to Wayne county, Indiana. At her death, four years later, Mr. Burchenal went to live with Achilles Williams, with whom he remained eight years. In 1844 Mr. Williams was elected treasurer of Wayne county and removed from Richmond to Centerville, which was then the county seat. While he lived in Richmond Mr. Burchenal attended the common schools of that city, and after his removal to Centerville became a pupil in the county seminary. In 1847 he was appointed clerk in the office of the county treasurer, a place which he held until 1850. He was a boy of extraordinary promise, bright, quick and clear-headed, but very fond of fun and "mischief." Early in 1850 he entered the law office of Newman & Sidall, and he was allowed to sit within the enclosure of the court-room reserved for lawyers, a privilege from which the general public was excluded. Mr. Newman, then the leader of the Wayne county bar, greatly aided the ambitious pupil, and two years later the young man was admitted to the bar. Although the new constitution of Indiana, adopted in 1851, provided that any citizen of full age and good character should be allowed to practice law with no further qualification, Mr. Burchenal was unwilling to enter the profession upon such terms, but voluntarily submitted to an examination by a committee appointed by the lawyers of the county, an examination which he passed with credit. The best legal talent in Indiana was then collected in the little town of Centerville, and, thrown into contact with such men as Oliver P. Morton, George W. Julian, Nimrod H. Johnson, etc., he was stimulated to put forth his best efforts. During the early years of his professional career he became a member of the" Dark Lyceum," a debating society of Centerville, the pur¬pose of which was to improve the members in extemporaneous debate. Its sessions were held in the dark, so that they might speak and gesticulate with greater freedom. Mr. Burchenal was prominent in this order. Sometimes the members were tried in solemn form for misbehavior. Judge Kibbey, for instance, was indicted for marrying without the consent of the lyceum. He had violated the following by-law: "Members are absolutely prohibited from engaging in any matrimonial alliance without first obtaining the approbation and consent of the lyceum, and having granted unto them a marriage dispensation in due form, under the signature of the prelate and seal of the lyceum. Any member convicted of willfully violating the provisions of this by-law shall be ignominiously expelled, his books confiscated and his marriage declared utterly null and void." Mr. Burchenal was the" prelate" of the organization at the time and defended his friend, who was acquitted because the "prelate" himself, who had been duly notified, had forgotten to inform the lodge. Many are the reminiscences of the forensic triumphs in the Dark Lyceum. The Monroe doctrine, the Wilmot proviso, the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Kossuth and Hungary and other great problems were disposed of by its invisible oratory, and the practice and experience thus gained proved of no little benefit to its members, especially to the representatives of the bar. After his admission to the bar Mr. Burchenal advanced rapidly in the profession. In 1854 he was elected district attorney of the common-pleas court of Wayne county and served for two years. He never held any other office. In 1861 he moved from Centerville to Richmond and entered into partnership with William A. Bickle, afterward judge of the superior court, a connection which lasted until September, 1864. After this he practiced alone for many years. In 1885 he formed a partnership with John L. Rupe, which continued until August, 1895, a short time before his death. His extra-ordinary ability brought him at an early day to the front rank in his profession. He was for many years the leader of the bar, being engaged on one side or the other of nearly every important case, and his practice was the largest and most lucrative in the county. But, although he had the utmost regard for his professional reputation, he cared little for money. He was not a good collector of the debts which were due to himself, and saved but little from his income. In knowledge of the general principles of law, in skill in pleading and readiness in practice he had no superior in Indiana. He was never so dangerous as after he had been apparently overthrown. He always landed upon his feet. One of his associates said: "I remember two cases in which he had been defeated in the trial court, and again in the supreme court. There seemed to be no possibility of success, and yet, by a masterly argument, he secured in each case a re-hearing from the same judges who had decided against him. Then followed a reversal of each case, and favorable settlement in the court below." Mr. Burchenal was not, how¬ever, fond of compromising his cases. He generally fought to a finish. Although physically weak and apparently exhausted during a long trial, he would often test to the utmost the endurance of his adversary "I remember well," said one who opposed him, "the case of Horney versus Patterson. We had been several months in making up the issues. Finally the case came on for trial, and we worked on it night and day. We were both completely worn out, but neither of us would give up until finally Judge Colgrove, who tried the case, became ill and could proceed no further. Then we continued the suit until the following fall, and went to Europe together to recuperate, after which we came back and fought it out!" Mr. Burchenal never entertained personal animosity toward those whom he opposed in litigation. His professional antagonists were his warmest personal friends. He was a consummate master of the art of pleading. He never betrayed the slightest sign of weakness to an adversary, although in conference with his own clients and those who were associated with him he gave due weight to the advantages of his antagonists. It was often wonderful to his associates to hear him unfold in consultation, one line of defense after another, things which had been entirely overlooked by others, but which presented an impenetrable barrier to the prosecution. He was not naturally a fluent speaker; he did not cultivate the graces of oratory; he never sought to impose upon a jury by the thundering tones and artificial impressiveness by which many lawyers of second-rate ability seek to win success; there were few figures of speech; but all the points in the case were clearly and exhaustively stated in a manner which appealed mainly to the reason and very little to the prejudices of his hearers. In the adjuncts of his practice, in a knowledge of medical jurisprudence, of handwriting, of bookkeeping and of business methods, his information was extensive and accurate. One of his most marked characteristics was his love of nature. He enjoyed nothing more than long rides, drives or walks with his family and intimate friends. During the summer months, when he was at home, Sunday afternoons were spent by the family in driving through the beautiful country surrounding Richmond, and, toward evening, picnicking at some favorite spot; and there were many such places, each one having a particular name invented by the children. His literary and intellectual resources were inexhaustible. He had continually some allusion, some story, some quotation from every field of literature and from actual life, opposite to the question under discussion. He read and enjoyed all that was best in modern fiction. Tolstoi especially attracted him, not only by his wonderful powers of description and his deep knowledge of human nature, but also by his remarkable religious and social views. Mr. Burchenal was especially impressed by the doctrine of non-resistance as developed by the Russian author, although not satisfied that it would apply to present conditions. He insisted that Tolstoi's ideas of self-sacrifice and non-resistance to evil represented something toward which humanity should constantly strive. He was also an admirer of the works of the Polish novelist, Sienkewicz, discovering in them a virility of thought and power of description beyond that of most contemporary literature. He also read and admired Balzac, whose power of portraiture he fully appreciated. He insisted that of all men he had seen and known, Robert G. Ingersoll and his own townsman, Oliver P. Morton, had most impressed him by the personal magnetism which they exercised over those around them. Early in life Mr. Burchenal joined the Episcopal church, and retained his membership, always enjoying the service and mode of worship. His belief, however, was far from orthodox. His natural interest in religious topics, and especially those of a more spiritual nature, led him to a close study of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, and his religious belief was largely founded upon them. In politics Mr. Burchenal was originally a Whig, having cast his first vote for General Scott in 1852. When the Republican party was formed he attached himself to that organization and continued firm in his adherence of it until his death. He was stalwart in his Republicanism, and had little confidence in any reform to be accomplished by destroying or weakening the party which had saved the Union, overthrown slavery and established universal suffrage. In 1860 Mr. Burchenal married Miss Ellen Jackson, who died in 1863, leaving one son, John. In 1871, in Baltimore, he married Miss Mary E. Day, by whom he had three daughters, Ruth, Elizabeth and Emma, and two sons, Carlos and Selden. Mr. Burchenal was the most hospitable of men. His house and heart were always open to his friends. Even during the extreme suffering of his last days, no one could visit him but he would make some faint effort to renew the old times of jovial companionship. He died December, 1896, after a long and painful illness. The tributes paid to his memory in the letters written to his widow, and in the memorial and speeches made at the bar meeting on the occasion of his death, were not the mere customary tributes to the memory of the dead; they were the heartfelt expressions of a genuine conviction of his great ability as a lawyer and worth as a man. E. B. Martin, who had known him for years, said: "His singular refinement, generosity and sincerity of nature, his breadth and variety in sympathy and acquirements, and his strength and delicacy of apprehension, added to his warmth and faithfulness in friendship, made him a man among ten thousand;" while General Benjamin Harrison said, "He added to fine intellectual powers a high sense of personal and professional honor." At the bar meeting judge Comstock thus appropriately summed up his qualities. Any true estimate of his character must credit him with marked individuality. He never copied anyone. He was very quick to see the imitation. He was a law unto himself. He was independent and self-reliant. In his judgment of men he was indulgent. He was a modest man. He never obtruded himself either in social, public or professional life. The success of others never gave him pain. He was free from the base passion of envy. He did not attempt to exalt himself by the disparagement of a brother. He performed his duties in life fearlessly and honestly, without expectation of applause. He was absolutely free from fraud or sham. There has not been at this bar anyone of his fine mental fibre, nor of his learning in law, history and general literature. I have heard members of the bar say that they had more confidence in his first impressions upon a legal proposition than in the mature judgment of most lawyers. He was not, in the popular sense, a great advocate, but his thorough familiarity with the principles of the law, and the precedents in the decisions of our highest courts, and his own fertility and coolness, which never forsook him, made him always formidable. He was a versatile man. He might have succeeded in literature and art. He had the taste and touch of a true artist, and knew more of painting and music than many professionals." He
was a self• educated man, yet so extensive and thorough was his reading
that there was no branch of literature which he left unexplored. He was
a great lover of poetry and the drama. He wrote verses of no mean
ability, but he never disclosed this fact except to his intimate
friends. Among his papers the following stanza was found, added to
Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the Bar" That shines above the deep, And there will be rare visions of delight When I awake from sleep. What though through dark and gloom my bark shall sail On its strange quest, So in the morning I the goal may hail The islands of the blest." Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana Volume 1 The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago 1899 Transcribed by Deb Murray  |