Wayne County Biographies



Part of the Indiana Biographies Project



Cyrus O. Hurst

One of the earliest families making permanent settlement in Wayne county, Indiana, was that now worthily represented in this section of the state by the gentleman whose name forms the heading of this sketch. For almost a century the Hursts have been identified with the agricultural interests of their community, aiding materially in the development of the resources of their section and taking an active part in everything calculated to promote the welfare and happiness of the majority.

As early as 1802 a little party of three, John and Benedict Hurst and Elizabeth, the young wife of the former, might have been observed making the tediously long and difficult journey through the almost pathless wilderness from Maryland to Ohio. The two young men, who were able-bodied and full of the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, walked the entire distance, over the mountains and through the forests, while Mrs. Hurst was on horseback, with all of her own and husband's earthly possessions in the packsaddle of the trusty animal she rode. Simple as was this primitive mode of traveling, the slender means of the three became nearly exhausted by the time that they reached Hamilton, Ohio, and there they concluded to remain for a period. The young husband worked at whatever he could find to do, clearing land and splitting rails, chiefly, and, assisted by his industrious wife, managed to accumulate a little money. Two of their children were born during their sojourn there, one in 1804 and the other two years later. In 1807 the family came to what has since been known as Wayne county, and here Mr. Hurst entered eighty acres of land. He not only devoted himself to the clearing and cultivating of this property but was one of the first to embark in the raising, buying and feeding of hogs, which he disposed of in the Cincinnati markets. Both he and his wife were extremely economical and hard-working, very little having to be expended for the maintenance of the household, for she spun and wove cloth for garments, and most of their necessities were produced on the farm. Thus they continually added to their substantial wealth, bought land and made investments, and, after providing each of their twelve children with a good start in independent life, left over two thousand acres of land to be divided among them. Mr. Hurst was a man of such strict honor and absolute integrity that his mere word was considered as good as a written contract, and to his posterity he left an unblemished name and a record of which they should be very proud. After years had been spent in the little log-cabin home, a better structure sheltered the family, and from time to time the so-called luxuries of an advancing civilization found their way into the always happy home. Mr. Hurst was the proud possessor of the first cook-stove that was owned in this locality, and one of the first ingrain carpets of the period was treasured by his wife in her best room. In her girlhood she had married a Mr. Marshall, who died a short time thereafter, and thus she was a widow at the time of her marriage to Mr. Hurst. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hurst were natives of Maryland, and he was of Irish descent. She died November 5, 1850, having survived him a few years. Death came to him when he was comparatively a young man, or at least in his prime, in May, 1838, when he was fifty-six years of age. Their children were: Cynthia, born December 8, 1804; Benedict, December 11, 1806; Bennett, December 8, 1808; Sanford, April 5, 1811; Melinda, December 7, 1812; J. Marshall, February 13, 1814; Isaac, February 5, 1817; Anna, April 11, 1819 (died when young); Dickson, December 7, 1821; Elijah and Silva (twins), born October 29, 1824 (the latter married R. Watt); and Mary E., born July 12, 1827, became the wife of John Orr.

J. Marshall Hurst, the father of Cyrus O. Hurst, was reared amid the environments of pioneer life, and early learned to perform all kinds of difficult work. Ambitious and possessed of the same spirit of enterprise which had characterized his father, he energetically improved the forest-covered farm upon which he located after his marriage, and in 1859 he settled upon the place now owned by our subject. Here he and his family spent about a year in a small house which stood upon the place, and in the meantime he erected a large two-story brick residence upon a better site. At that time this was not only the finest house in the township but even one of the very best in the county, and even today but few farm houses excel it in every respect. Together with the large barns and other buildings which stand upon the farm, the superiority of the soil and the topography of the land, its general suitability for the raising of various kinds of crops, and other notable features, it is undoubtedly one of the most valuable homesteads in the county.

Mr. Hurst was extensively engaged in the stock business, raising, buying and selling cattle and hogs. Successful in most of his financial enterprises, he gradually amassed a fortune, and when death put an end to his labors he owned ten hundred and forty-five acres of land, besides having a large bank account to his credit.

For a companion and helpmate along the journey of life, J. M. Hurst chose Miss Sarah Willetts, a daughter of Elisha Willetts, of Virginia. He was a pioneer in this township, where he entered and improved land and spent the rest of his days. Social and cheerful in disposition, he was a general favorite with his neighbors, and his more substantial qualities gave him a high place among his associates. Mrs. Hurst had several brothers and sisters, namely: Nelson, Elias, James, Eldridge, Ervin, Mrs. Clarissa Busby, Mrs. Joanna Rogers and Mrs. Mary Jones. Their mother was a member of the Methodist church, but both Mr. and Mrs. Hurst were faithful workers in the United Brethren church. They were the parents of ten children, named as follows: Fernandez, now of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a hero of the civil war; Mrs. Mary E. Fox, of Madison county, Indiana; Cyrus O.; Mrs. Eliza J. Welker, who died in January, 1899, in this county, and left five children; Allison, now of Anderson, Indiana; Mrs. Clara Lamott; Jesse W., of Anderson; Roxy, wife of W. Wilson; Clarence, of Chicago; and Mrs. Emma Reed, of Anderson. The father departed this life May 11, 1868, and the mother lived until March 12, 1887.

The birth of Cyrus O. Hurst took place in Waterloo township, Fayette county, September 18, 1849. In his boyhood he received much better educational privileges than had fallen to the lot of his forefathers, and he made the best of his opportunities. Needless to say that he gained a thorough knowledge of agriculture, for there were no drones among the Hursts, and every boy had his task to perform. So well did our subject succeed that he took charge of the homestead when he was seventeen, and continued to carry on the work which had been inaugurated by his father. In 1872 he settled upon a portion of the old estate, bequeathed to him in his father's will, and eight years later he purchased the rest of the homestead and removed to the brick house already mentioned. At present he owns six hundred and eighty-five acres of excellent land, and has fine investments in various concerns, besides carrying a ten-thousand-dollar life policy, and in other ways proving that he is a thorough business man of the period, far-sighted, methodical and enterprising.

Prospered as he has been, and abundantly blessed "in basket and in store," Mr. Hurst does not neglect his duties toward those less fortunate, and the needy and sorrowing. It is one of his chief pleasures to minister to these, and many a person feels deeply indebted to him for timely assistance. He is a liberal contributor to the work of the Methodist denomination, with which he and his wife are identified. Politically he is a Democrat, as were his ancestors, and has officiated as township trustee and in other local positions of responsibility.

The wedding of Mr. Hurst and Miss Sarah Waymire was solemnized in this township in 1872. She is a daughter of Isam and Elizabeth A. (Taylor) Waymire, of Wayne county, this state, and Virginia, respectively. Isam was a son of Rudolph and Abigail (Fuller) Waymire, both of German descent and natives of Guilford county, North Carolina. Rudolph Waymire served in the war of 1812, and about the close of that struggle emigrated to Indiana, where, after leasing land for a few years, he obtained a soldier's warrant for forty acres, and later added thirty acres more. Two of his brothers, David and Jacob, also came to this state and owned and improved property. Rudolph Waymire and wife had eight children - Sabina, Sultana, Neely, Tempa, Betsey, Fanny, Isam and Mary A. Mrs. Hurst's maternal grandparents were Haskell and Permelia (Eddings) Taylor, of Virginia. Haskell was a son of Zachariah Taylor, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. Elizabeth A. (Taylor) Waymire was born in the Old Dominion February 23, 1827, and when ten years of age accompanied her parents to Union county, Indiana. Later they removed to Putnam county, where they died. Their children, seven in number, were named: Elizabeth A., Susan J., William, Thornton, Lorana, Ophelia and Hiram. Mrs. Hurst is the eldest of four sisters, of whom Mary is unmarried, Eliza J. is the wife of B. Miles, and Miranda is Mrs. J. Wise. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Hurst are: Cora, born January 9. 1873, and now the wife of Daniel Clevinger; Lea M., born February 14, 1874, and now wedded to R. H. Houseworth; and Charles E., born September 22, 1878. He is unmarried and is an energetic, capable young man, upon whom has devolved much of the care of the old homestead during the last few years.

Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899