BERNARD ORTMAN. A native of this county, who has spent his whole life on the farm which he now owns, few men in his neighborhood take a larger degree of interest in the general welfare of that community than does Bernard Ortman, of Marion township, this county, a progressive and industrious farmer, who enjoys the esteem and confidence of his neighbors throughout that part of the county.

Bernard Ortrnan, a well-known farmer, of Marion township, this county, was born on October 27, 1867, on the old home place, a son of Barney and Mary (Losekamp) Ortman. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on which there is a modern house, which was erected in 1902. It is one of the best in Marion township. His parents both lived with him, and he cared for them in old age, and received as his share of the estate, the one hundred and sixty acres already mentioned, of which he plants twenty-five acres in wheat, and sixteen acres in corn each year. He is a stanch believer in the principles of the Democratic party and an earnest member of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen.

Barney Ortman, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1834 and died on November 13, 1912. His wife, Mary Losekamp, was born in 1838, and died on March 1, 1914 Barney Ortman was born in Germany and came to this country in 1856, locating in Cincinnati, where he worked in a boiler factory until 1858, in which year he came to Decatur county and worked on a farm near Greensburg, later moving to Marion township, where he rented awhile, and then bought sixty acres, on which he lived for a time, and then sold it, buying part of an eighty-acre farm, on which he prospered, gradually increasing his holdings until he owned three hundred and twenty acres. Altogether, he bought and owned three or four farms. He was a good trader and money-maker, and was shrewd enough to conclude that land investment was the best. He was rated as a wealthy man, whose advice was sought by neighbors and friends. During the time of the Civil War, he dealt in cattle and was known as a great trader. He spent much time on horseback-trading. He was a strong believer in the principles of the Democratic party and was a member of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen. His wife was born four miles northeast of Millhousen, a daughter of Henry Losekamp, a very early German settler, and a man of wealth. Barney Ortman and wife were the parents of eight children, namely: Henry, Lizzie, Bernard, Katie, Mary, Josephine, Verlena and George. Henry died at the age of nine years; Lizzie is the wife of Adam Hessler, and lives at Muncie, Indiana; Katie is the wife of Ben Hoeing, and lives in Marion township; Mary is the wife of James McQuarry, and lives in Tampa, Florida; Josephine is the wife of Charles Hahn, and lives in Marion township, near St. Dennis; Verlena lives across the road from her father's home.

Bernard Ortman was married in 1902 to Miss Josie Funke, who was born in Marion township, this county, a daughter of Frank Funke, who was an old German settler, and to this union have been born the following children: Louise, aged twelve years; Carl, aged ten; Frank, aged eight; Ralph, aged six; Bertha, aged three, and Leona, born on October 30, 1914. Mr. Ortman is a member of the Progressive party and is enterprising and a hustler.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



HARLEY SHULTZ McKEE, M. D.
Dr. Harley Shultz McKee, township trustee of Salt Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, and a well-known practicing physician of Decatur county, located at New Point, was born on November 21, 1878, at St. Paul, this county, son of John B. and Mary (Lowe) McKee, both of whom were born in 1848. John B. McKee, a native of St. Paul, Decatur county, was a son of the Rev. Samuel McKee, a native of Pennsylvania. The former conducted a grocery for the stone workers and quarrymen for a number of years at St. Paul, New Point. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Mary Lowe, was a native of Decatur county, the daughter of Mack Lowe, a native of Kentucky, who was a school teacher by profession. Rev. Samuel McKee, the grandfather of Dr. Harley Shultz McKee, was a minister in the United Brethren church, and a farmer. During the days when ministers of the Gospel were accustomed to ride horseback to reach their various assignments, he was the minister at Gratis, and also preached at other churches in that vicinity.

To John B. and Mary (Lowe) McKee five children were born, in the order of their birth, as follow: Nellie, the wife of Doctor Kerchel, of Greensburg; Kathleen, the wife of Rev. S. G. Huntington, of Rushville, Indiana, a well-known Baptist minister of southern Indiana; Gertrude, the wife of W. F. Barber, a well-known teacher in the schools of St. Paul; Dr. Harley S., the subject of this sketch, and J. F., assistant superintendent of the Big Four freight depot at Shelbyville, Indiana.

Educated in the public schools at St. Paul, Indiana, Doctor McKee studied for his profession in the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, and was graduated from the Illinois Medical University at Chicago in 1907. After his graduation he began the practice of his profession at New Point, and has built up a large practice among the people of that community, who have profound confidence, not only in his ability as a physician, but who admire him for his pleasing personality and modest, unassuming disposition. He is a member of the Decatur County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Association.

On January 17, 1914, Doctor McKee was married to Jennie M. Starks, daughter of Edward F. and Mary Starks, the former of whom is a well known jeweler at New Point.

That Dr. H. S. McKee enjoys the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens and the people of Salt Creek township is thoroughly proved by his election, in the fall of 1914 on the Progressive ticket, as trustee of this township. The people of the township admire Doctor McKee because he is a self-made man. They admire him because he was willing during the time be was struggling to obtain an education for the practice of medicine to teach several terms of school in this county. In this way he was able to pay his way through medical college.

Doctor and Mrs. McKee are members of the Christian church. Fraternally, the doctor is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at New Point, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the same city, the Knights of Pythias of St. Paul and the Royal Order of Moose at Greensburg. He is also a member of the Order of Eastern Star and of the Rathbone Sisters. Doctor McKee is a highly deserving physician and citizen, and the large practice which he enjoys has been built up on the substantial foundation of merit alone.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



CURTIS McCOY
It is always a pleasure to write the history of a man who puts his abilities and capabilities to a use that not only gives pleasure to those of his own generation, but one who stands as a monument to his broad-minded nature, from which future generations may derive profitable lessons. Curtis McCoy, a well-known farmer of Washington township, this county, possesses an eye for the beautiful, and is a true lover of nature, as will be noted in the following pages. He has dug up some of the diamonds that, someone has truthfully said, are all around our feet. If more farmers would only beautify their homes, as Mr. McCoy has done, they would not only give a great deal of pleasure to themselves and their families, but they would double the selling value of their property.

Curtis McCoy was born in this county on May 2, 1863, a son of James Thornton and Martha Jane (Custer) McCoy. He attended school at McCoy's Station, and later went to DePauw University, attending in 1881 and 1882. He has always been a lover of farm life, and when he was married he and his wife moved on their farm of eighty acres in Wabash county, where they remained three years, at the end of which time they sold the farm and returned to Decatur county. After a short residence at McCoy's Station, they moved to Greensburg, where Mr. McCoy engaged in the clothing business, in which he was engaged until 1911, when he retired to the home farm at McCoy's Station, some time later selling the clothing store, since which time he has devoted all of his time and attention to general farming.

After years of planning and trying to arrange, Mr. McCoy and his wife have created a beautiful pleasure lake on the east side of their farm, one mile from McCoy's Station, and four miles from Greensburg, by pike road. The lake comprises forty-five or fifty acres, and the woodland section set aside covers one hundred and twenty acres. It is a beautiful tract of land and water, and Mr. McCoy has created a fine pleasure resort of this lake, which is already stocked with bass and channel-cat fish. He has boats and bathing houses for boating and bathing. The lake is over half a mile long and two miles around, with an average depth of twenty feet, and is the only resort of its kind in southern Indiana. The lake is fed by running springs at the head of Cobbsfork creek, the waters of which are very valuable on account of their medicinal qualities. The lake is in a picturesque setting, with beautiful scenery and a wooded shore. McCoy's Station was an important place in the county, in the early days, having been at one time the greatest grain shipping point in Decatur county. It was an important trading point long before the war, and was also a noted "underground railroad" station.

Mr. McCoy is as successful in his farming as he was in business. McCoy's lake is his pride, and a realization of an ambition. Unaided, he expended funds in 1912 to build a large dam, and now has a body of clear, fresh water that has withstood drouths and floods, bidding fair to become a noted resort in the course of a few years. Mr. McCoy's farm now consists of two hundred and seventy-five acres, all in one tract. It is well improved, with fine farm houses, barns, etc., and has been in the family since it came into the possession of his grandfather in the year 1825.

James Thornton McCoy, father of Curtis McCoy, was born on May 22, 1824, in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and died on October 5, 1905, at Greensburg, Indiana. He was a son of Judge Angus C. McCoy, and came with his parents, in 1825, to Decatur county, at his father's death, buying the home farm. He was for years postmaster at McCoy's Station, and his barn was a station of the "underground railroad." James T. McCoy was married on November 15, 1849, to Martha Jane Custer, who was born on September 3, 1829, and died on July 15, 1893, and to this union were born the following children: Quincy Monroe, who died in infancy; Arabella, who married a Mr. Oder, and went to California; Sarah Elizabeth, deceased; Robert Arnold, who lives in Greensburg; Hattie Gertrude, deceased; William A., who lives near his brother, Curtis, and Glendora, deceased. Mr. McCoy was a Whig and then a Republican and later became a member of the Prohibition party. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith.

Angus McCoy, grandfather of Curtis McCoy, was born on March 13, 1789, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. His father, William McCoy, was born in Scotland in 1730, a son of Alexander McCoy, and came to America in 1772, settling on the west coast of Maryland, and later moved to Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Judge Angus McCoy died on October 12, 1865, in Decatur county. He was married, first, to Elizabeth Mary Smith, of Virginia, and his second wife was Elizabeth McPherson. McCoy's Station was erected on his farm. He was the first probate judge of Decatur county, serving from 1829 to 1843, and was a strong anti-slavery man. He and his wife were the parents of eighteen children.

Curtis McCoy was married on November 18, 1885, to Carrie A. Trimble, who was born on a farm four miles west of Greensburg, on January 12, 1864, a daughter of John B. and Mary Adelaide (Owens) Trimble, natives, respectively of Virginia and Indiana, both now deceased. John B. Trimble was one of nature's noblemen. He was self-educated, a deeply-read student of the law and became one of Decatur county's most prominent citizens. He built the first fence around the court house at Greensburg. He was a strong supporter of the Republican party, and for years was one of the leaders of that party in Decatur county, and was well liked for his honest and straightforward dealings. His children were: Maria, who married William Morse, and lives in Indianapolis; Fred, deceased; Oscar, ex-county treasurer, who lives at Milford; Arthur, a farmer at Milford, and Carrie, who married Mr. McCoy.

To Curtis and Carrie A. (Trimble) McCoy two children have been born, Hazel, a graduate of DePauw University, now at home, and Trimble, who married Edna Hess, and is living on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy are members of the Methodist church and their children have been reared in that faith, the family being looked upon as leaders in the good works of their neighborhood and held in the very highest regard by the entire community. Mr. McCoy is a Republican and a member of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
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"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



BENEDICT BRUNS
To be satisfied with one's lot in this life, and make the most out of one's opportunities, places one on the list of those to be looked upon with a feeling amounting almost to envy. The most of us are so far-reaching in our desire for worldly gain, that we overlook many valuable opportunities. Mr. Bruns has been fortunate in recognizing that which was most suited to his desires and ability, and has been wise enough to let well enough alone. The life, termed by so many as the "humdrum" farmer's life, has proved to be an oasis to Mr. Bruns, after his years of activity in other lines.

Benedict Bruns, a well-known farmer of Marion township, this county, was born on July 24, 1860, in Ripley county, Indiana, a son of Herman and Christine (Waben) Bruns. Reared in Ripley county, Benedict Bruns went from there to Cincinnati, where he served as stationary engineer. He learned his trade when a boy of fourteen, and followed it for twenty years in Cincinnati, and from there he came to this county, locating in Marion township. Remaining there but a short time, he returned to Cincinnati, where he lived until November, 1900, at which time he returned to Marion township and bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, located about one and one-half miles west of Millhousen. The place has a brick house, which has been remodeled under Mr. Bruns' ownership, and a barn, forty by sixty feet, which has also been rebuilt. Mr. Bruns devotes a considerable portion of his time to the breeding of horses and cattle, and pure bred white Leghorn chickens. His political views are Democratic, and, in religion, he is a member of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen.

Herman Bruns, father of Benedict, was born in 1823 and died in 1902, and his wife, Christine, was born in 1829 and died in 1902, about two weeks after the death of her husband. They were natives of Germany. Herman located in Cincinnati, when a young man, and went to work as a laborer. While in Cincinnati, he took unto himself a wife, and saved enough money to buy a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Ripley county, where he spent the remainder of his life. To this couple were born four children, Henry, Joseph, Benedict and Mary. Henry lives in Cincinnati, and has one child, Herman, who died at the age of three years; Joseph died in 1913, and Mary (Mrs. Koors), lives two miles south of her father's home.

Benedict Bruns was married in 1893, to Bernardine Rottman, daughter of Henry Rottman, of Decatur county, to which union nine children have been born, namely: Lawrence, who died at the age of nine months; Edward, who is a student at a veterinary college at Indianapolis, from which he will graduate in 1916; Alfred, also a student of the same college, who will graduate in 1917, and Joseph, Marie, Carl, Harry, Bernard and Louis.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



THOMAS M. HAMILTON
The late Thomas M. Hamilton was born on June 17, 1830, and died on December 26, 1892. He was the son of Robert and Folly (Henry) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in 1796, and who died on August 11, 1855, and the latter of whom died on August 14, 1855, three days after the death of her husband. Robert Hamilton, a native of Carlisle, Kentucky, was married on April 15, 1819, and migrated in 1821 to Decatur county, Indiana, where he became one of the pioneer settlers. Here he reared a family of six children, namely: Isabelle J., who was born on February 7, 1820, married Warder W. Hamilton on September 26, 1843, and is now deceased; James D., February 14, 1822, died on July 3, 1824; Harriet N., February 17, 1824, married I. P. Monfort on September 26, 1843, and is now deceased; Lavina G., April 30, 1826, died on July 18, 1835; Almira L., May 24, 1828, died on September 13, 1853, the wife of W. W. Bonner, and Thomas M., the youngest of the family. Robert Hamilton was a very successful farmer in Washington township, and one of the founders of the Kingston Presbyterian church. He was known as a good man during his generation and did much to improve the country life of Decatur county.

After the marriage of the late Thomas M. Hamilton on November 7, 3854, to Elizabeth McLaughlin, he and his wife lived one mile north of the old homestead, and on the death of Robert Hamilton moved to the old homestead, and there were engaged in farming for about twelve years. At the end of this period they removed to Greensburg, and erected their home on North East street, where Mrs. Hamilton still lives. Thomas M. Hamilton looked after his agricultural interests while living in Greensburg, and was more or less active as vice-president of the Third National Bank of that city. He owned altogether four hundred and eighty acres of the old home farm, and Mrs. Hamilton also owned a large farm in her own name.

To Thomas M. and Elizabeth (McLaughlin) Hamilton were born three children: Luna R., who was born on September 25, 1855, died on January 16, 1875, at the age of nineteen; Mary C., February 11, 1858, died on July 14, 1875, at the age of seventeen, and Maud, May 31, 1863, died on February 15, 1892. Maud had married Samuel L. Baker on May 4, 1887, and by him had one child, Helen Hamilton, who was born on September 2, 1888. Helen married Leonard O. Lumbers, April 23, 1908, and they have two children, Leonard George, born on February 5, 1909, and Elizabeth Helen, June 15, 1911. They live in Toronto, Canada.

Mrs. Elizabeth (McLaughlin) Hamilton, who was born on November 25, 1834, on a farm in Clinton township, three miles from the place where her early married life was spent, is the daughter of George and Sarah (Carter) McLaughlin, natives of Kentucky, who came to Decatur county in 1827. Her father was born in 1802, and died in 1885. He was a son of George McLaughlin, a gentleman of Scotch-Irish descent, who lived near Maysville, Kentucky. Her mother, who was born in Kentucky in 1804 and who died in 1873, was the daughter of James and Anna D. Larue (Drake) Carter. The latter was the daughter of the Rev. Mr. Drake, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of this section and a native of England. He married a French lady by the name of Larue. Mrs. Hamilton's father, George McLaughlin, was an extensive farmer and owned a large tract of land in this section. A Republican in politics, he was also a member of the Christian church, and one of the founders of the church of that denomination in Greensburg, he having affiliated with that communion after removing to Greensburg in the latter part of his life. Among his children, three of whom died in infancy, may be mentioned the following: Mary Frances, who died at the age of twenty-five years, was the wife of Thompson Riley, a Decatur county farmer who died in 1854. James Carter McLaughlin, who was born in 1821, and who died in 1892, was a farmer and was married to Louisa Davidson who resides on Franklin street, Greensburg. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War. George, the next born, died at the age of sixteen years. Elizabeth A. married Mr. Hamilton. Caspar, a former merchant at Greensburg, removed to California and died there, after twenty years residence, in 1885. He also served as a Union soldier during the Civil War, and was a lieutenant in charge of a battery. Caspar McLaughlin married Helen Morrison, of Connersville, and they had four children, three sons and one daughter, namely: Mrs. Alice Williams, a widow who lives in Cincinnati with her mother; George deceased, who was an electrical engineer; Charles, a dentist in Cincinnati, and Ray, an attorney in Cincinnati, who married a Miss McElfresh.

Abram Carter, who was born in 1800, and who was an uncle of Mrs. Hamilton, was a talented physician and surgeon who settled in Decatur county on a farm and later removed to Greensburg, where he practiced medicine and surgery. During his life he was called to many points in the southeastern part of the state to practice his profession. He married Miss Harriet Norris, of Mason county, Kentucky, and when in middle life they removed to Iowa. He is now deceased, having died at the age of seventy-five years. He was well known by the early pioneer families of this section. His wife lived to be ninety years old. The family, consisted of two children, who were born in Kentucky, Adelia and Perlina. Adelia married a Doctor New of Greensburg. They lived in Greensburg for several years and then moved to Indianapolis. Doctor New was a surgeon in the Union army during the Civil War. He died in Indianapolis, leaving one child, Frank, now a resident of that city. Mrs. Perlina Tatharn lived in Williamstown for some time, but later removed to Iowa, and died there, leaving two children, Florence and Cora, the latter of whom has become very prominent in the work of the Young Women's Christian Association in New York City. It may be mentioned here that Gen. James B. Foley, of honored memory in this county, was an uncle of Mrs. Hamilton by marriage.

The late Thomas M. Hamilton was an ardent Republican. A member of the Presbyterian church, he had much to do in the work of building up the church in this county. Mrs. Hamilton, however, is a member of the Christian church. She is a remarkably well preserved woman, intelligent, keen and mentally alert, despite her age. She has traveled widely, having made several trips to Europe and makes one trip annually to Canada to visit her grandchildren. Mrs. Hamilton is now eighty years old.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



HARRY LATHROP
Among the best-known residents of Greensburg in Decatur county, and one of the most popular citizens of this section of the state is Harry Lathrop, the secretary of the Retail Merchants Association of Greensburg, Indiana, and whose father, James B. Lathrop, the president of the Citizens National Bank of Greensburg, is the oldest living resident of the city, the oldest living graduate of Indiana State University, and the oldest Methodist minister in the state of Indiana. The subject of this sketch, therefore, belongs to one of the oldest and most distinguished families of Decatur county. The history of the Lathrop family is given in the sketch of the venerable James B. Lathrop, to be found elsewhere in this volume. In this place it will suffice to say that the family is of English descent and dates back to Yorkshire, England, where the family was prominent in the fourteenth century. In America the family was founded by the Rev. John Lathrop, a Congregational preacher who, after imprisonment for his non-conformist views on religion, fled to America, and at Plymouth Rock rejoined a considerable number of his old congregation whom he had served as pastor in the mother country.

He became a prominent man in the early history of Massachusetts, and his son, Erastus Lathrop, who was born in Connecticut, was a captain of a company of home guards which served during the battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812. Erastus, who was by occupation a farmer, became eventually a well known Baptist minister of his day and generation. Ezra Lathrop, the next member of the family in direct line of descent, and the father of the venerable James B. Lathrop, was born in 1803, in Canada, and was reared in the British dominion.

It was Ezra Lathrop, who settled in Decatur county, Indiana, on a farm which he entered from the government, about 1822. His wife, Abbie Potter, was a woman of equally patriotic stock, whose father, Nathaniel Potter, a gentleman of Huguenot descent, emigrated from North Carolina to Kentucky, and from Kentucky to Decatur county. Ezra and Abbie (Potter) Lathrop had only two children, who lived to maturity; Levi, who died in 1884, and James B., the father of Harry. Born on November 24, 1825, in a one-story brick house, which his father had built, James B. Lathrop was a minister in the Methodist church from 1847, when he was twenty-two years old, continuously for thirty-one years. Today at the age of ninety years, he is one of the best-known citizens of southern Indiana, and has had, among the pioneers still living, a larger part in the history of this section, perhaps, than ally other man.

Descended as he is from such eminent stock and such well-to-do ancestry, it is not surprising that Harry Lathrop achieved a large success in business. Educated in the public schools of Greensburg, and in the Greensburg high school, he spent two years in Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois, and after leaving college spent two years as a traveling salesman in the west, with headquarters at Newton, Kansas. During this period of his career there were developed those fine instincts and accurate notions of human nature, and the rules of business, which served him later when engaged in business for himself. Upon returning from Newton, Kansas, he engaged in the steam-laundry business at Greensburg, when laundries of this kind were in the infancy of their development. Here he conducted a laundry for twenty years and three months, all the time in the same building on West North street. Not only did he build up an enormous business, measured by the population of this city, but in that period he accumulated for himself a splendid fortune. In June, 1912, he sold out the business, and for the past year has served as secretary of the Retail Merchants Association. In this position his own personal experiences in business have served him well, since he acts as a kind of clearing house for the information of the members of this association. He is not only an expert judge of credit in Greensburg, but the force of his own personality has created a harmonious and agreeable working relationship between the several members of this association.

In 1894 Mr. Lathrop was married to Lillie Drusilla Browning, of Indianapolis, who at the time of her marriage was prominent in the social life of the capital city, and to this union one child has been born, Nelle Browning Lathrop, now a student in the Greensburg high school.

A Republican in politics, the subject of this sketch served as mayor of the city of Greensburg in 1890, and gave to the people of the city a most satisfactory and eficient administration. During the most of his life he has been prominent in the fraternal circles, not only of Greensburg and Decatur county, but of the state as well. As a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he served on the building committee which erected the Greensburg hall. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Lathrop also is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Indianapolis consistory of the Scottish Rite and of Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



DANIEL WESLEY HOLCOMB
In the history of Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, no Republican had ever been elected trustee of the township until 1914, when Daniel Wesley Holcomb, a well-known and prosperous farmer of that township was successful as a candidate for that office. A grandson of a soldier in our second war for independence, is known as a successful farmer and stockman, and no better evidence of his standing among his neighbors and fellow citizens can be cited than his election to the office of township trustee. On his paternal side it may be said that the family has been established in southern Indiana for considerably more than three-quarters of a century.

Daniel Wesley Holcomb, who was born on January 11, 1852, in Ripley county, Indiana, is a son of Eli Asa and Emeline (Hall) Holcomb, the former of whom was born on April 3, 1823, and died in 1898, and the latter of whom was born on March 24, 1826, and died in January, 1865. The former, who was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, was the son of Rufus and Nancy (Gloyd) Holcomb. Rufus Holcomb was a native of Connecticut and probably of English descent. With his family he emigrated to the West early in the nineteenth century, and built one of the first brick houses in Dearborn county, ten miles west of Aurora. There he lived and reared a family of eleven children and died. Before coming west he had served in the War of 1812. The eleven children born to Rufus and Nancy (Gloyd) Holcomb in the order of their birth were as follow: Ethel, Daniel, Luther, Turner, Eli, Rufus, Hulda, Nancy, Elizabeth, Lucinda and Lydia. Eli Holcomb, the fifth child born to his parents, and the father of Daniel Wesley, although reared in Dearborn county, lived for a short time in Ripley county, and returned to Dearborn county, and there reared most of his family. After removing to a farm near the Decatur-Jennings county line in 1866, the family disbanded, Eli going to Kansas, where he died at his son's home. Eli Holcomb's wife, who, before her marriage, was Emeline Hall, was born in Ohio, the daughter of Benaiah Hall, a native of New York, who settled in Ripley county, Indiana.

Eli and Emeline (Hall) Holcomb had eight children, four of whom are deceased. Of these children, Edwin Perry was born on September 16, 1848, and died on July 3, 1850; Louis Philander, August 20, 1850, died, August 9, 1850; Daniel Wesley, January 11, 1852, was the third child; Georgia Evangeline, October 15, 1853, died, October 8, 1854; Emeline Celeste, March 14, 1855, married Reid Williams, and lives in Kansas; George Albert, January 25, 1852, also lived in Kansas; Eli Benson, February 3, 1859, lives in Arizona; Caroline Medora, March 6, 1860, married John Oldham, of Kansas, and both are now deceased.

After Daniel W. Holcomb's marriage in Marion township, he settled on a farm three miles north of his present farm, where he lived for ten years, selling out in 1883, and emigrating to Kansas. But after farming one season in Kansas, he returned and located on a farm three miles south of his first farm. Subsequently he purchased eighty acres of land and has since acquired altogether two hundred and thirty-five acres, two hundred and thirteen acres of which is in Marion township, and twenty-two acres of which is in Jennings county. Altogether Mr. Holcomb has twenty-five acres of timber. He raises live stock and grain, including forty acres of corn, forty acres of wheat, twelve to fifteen head of cattle, and fifty head of hogs every year. There can be no question that he has made a gratifying success of farming, and that his success is due to his enterprise, foresight, industry and good management.

In May, 1873, Daniel Wesley Holcomb was married to Mary E. Evans, who was born on September 25, 1855, in Decatur county, Indiana, the daughter of John and Nancy (Robbins) Evans, the former of whom was born in 1841 and died in 1911, and the latter of whom was born in 1844 and died in 1897. John Evans was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, the son of Joseph Evans, a native of Virginia, and an early settler of Indiana, who entered land here and who in the early thirties was numbered among the pioneer settlers of this community. Mrs. Nancy (Robbins) Evans was the daughter of Micajah Robbins, who was a relative of the Robbins family of Decatur county, Micajah being a brother of John Robbins, a prominent pioneer citizen of the county. Of the children born to John and Nancy (Robbins) Evans five are dead and five are living. Frank, the first born, Sarah Belle, the third born, Mrs. Augusta Hawkersmith, the fourth born, James, the eighth born, and Mrs. Rosa Dell Croucher, the seventh born, are deceased. The living children are Mrs. Mary Holcomb; Thomas, of Hamilton, Ohio; Joseph, of Bena, Kentucky; Jacob, of Sand Creek township, this county, and Ida, who married Ed. Sutton, of Marion township.

To D. W. and Mary E. (Evans) Holcomb seven children have been born. Of these children, John W., born on February 27, 1874, is the trustee of Sand Creek township, and lives at Westport; Albert Asa, November 22, 1875, also resides at Westport; Adaline, March 1, 1878, the wife of Henry Mozingo, died on December 20, 1911; Lewis Franklin, November 19, 1897, living in Oklahoma, married Mabel Becker, by whom he has had four sons and two daughters; Nancy Jane, November 7, 1881, the wife of Ed Mozingo; Margaret Medora, May 25, 1884, the wife of Arch Brown, of North Vernon, has four children, and Joseph Benson, January 28, 1884, residing on his father's farm, married Viola Clements, by whom he has had four children.

A Republican in politics, as heretofore stated, Mr. Holcomb was elected trustee of Marion township in 1914. He was the first Republican to be elected to this office in the history of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb attend the Methodist Episcopal church, although Mr. Holcomb was reared as a Baptist. Judged from many standpoints, Daniel Wesley Holcomb is a valuable citizen of this great county and a man of wide influence in the township where he lives. He has always enjoyed the confidence of a host of friends, who admire him for his ability and respect him for his rugged integrity.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



DANIEL BUCKLEY
For more than a quarter of a century one of the foremost leaders of the Democratic party in Decatur county and one of the most dependable organization, Democrats in Marion township, Daniel Buckley has served several times as a delegate to state conventions of his party and is one of the most widely acquainted citizens of this county, especially among the state leaders of the party. Mr. Buckley's long service in behalf of Democracy, has not gone wholly unrewarded, he having served as storekeeper in the revenue service, with headquarters at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, during the last Cleveland administration. For many years the Marion township committeeman for the Democracy of Decatur county, during late years his place has been taken by his son, who is equally capable as a political leader.

Daniel Buckley, who was born on February 14, 1849, in Cincinnati. Ohio, is the son of John and Mary (Glennon) Buckley, the former of whom was born in 1830 and who died in 1890, both being natives of Ireland. He came to America when a young man and, after his marriage in New York city, followed the blacksmith trade in Cincinnati. In 1861 he moved from Cincinnati to the farm, where his son, Daniel, now lives, in Marion township, this county, and there built a house, which is still standing. With the able assistance of his son, he cleared the land and developed one of the best farms in the neighborhood. A Democrat in politics, he was also active in the affairs of the Napoleon Catholic church. Of his four children, John, the second born, is deceased. The living children are Daniel, the subject of this sketch; Edward, of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Kate Griffin, who lives south of Millhousen, in this county.

When the Buckley family moved from Cincinnati to Decatur county, Daniel Buckley was twelve years old and had begun his educational course in the Queen City schools, but he completed his education in Decatur county. Here he helped his father on the farm, clearing the land, cutting the timber and grubbing. Daniel Buckley and his son now own all of the old home farm, the son having purchased the interest of his father's brother and sister. The farm consists of one hundred and fifty acres of good level land, upon which a modern home was erected in 1910. Mr. Buckley and his son ordinarily raise seventy-five to eighty head of hogs and keep fifteen to twenty head of cattle on the farm. They specialize in Duroc-Jersey hogs. At the present time they are spending considerable money in various kinds of improvements, principally woven-wire fences.

In 1870 Daniel Buckley was married to Alvina Margaret Lamb, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of Michael Lamb, a native of Ireland. Mrs. Buckley was a good woman and a faithful and loving helpmate. Her death, on February 22, 1912, came as a distinct shock to her husband, with whom she had lived in comfort and happiness for forty-two years. At the time of her death, she was sixty-two years old. Her only son, Edward A., who was born on December 13, 1876, is a partner with his father in operating the home farm. No one will ever be able to take the place of this devoted wife and loving mother and today her memory is revered by the loving ones she left behind.

Edward A. Buckley is a well-known dealer in farm implements, hardware and buggies. He also is the local agent in his neighborhood for the Continental Fire Insurance Company and also handles lightning insurance.

On June 13, 1915, while on a trip to the Pacific coast, Edward A. Buckley was united in marriage, at Fallow, Nevada, to Lillie Fey, of Millhousen, this county.

Daniel Buckley and his son, who are skillful and successful farmers and prominent citizens of Marion township, well merit the high opinion in which they are held by their neighbors. If they are leaders in the political circles of their home township, it is because of their genial and cordial manners and their friendly and honorable relations with the people with whom they come into contact. In other words, the recognition accorded them is the reward of true merit.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



EBER J. OLDHAM
Seldom do we find, in searching out the biographical and genealogical annals of a family, one whose ancestors have served more valiantly in our country's wars than have those of Eber J. Oldham, a well-known and prosperous farmer of Marion township, this county, both of whose grandfathers were soldiers in the War of 1812, and who also enjoys the honorable distinction of having had six maternal uncles who served their country during the great Civil War. Moreover, Mr. Oldham's maternal grandfather married into the Judd family, which was prominent during Revolutionary days and which served its country valiantly in the first great war of this country.

Born on July 15, 1850, Eber J. Oldham was too young at the breaking out of the Civil War to enlist for service, but as an honorable and successful farmer, one who has performed his duty as a citizen of his county and state and country, he deserves to rank as a hero of peace. A native of Jackson township, Ripley county, Indiana, he is the son of Matthew and Salina (Hull) Oldham, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania, the son of Absalom Oldham, a native of Maryland, who came to Indiana from Pennsylvania. Of English parentage, Absalom Oldham was a resident of Pennsylvania during the War of 1812 and enlisted from that state. Many years afterwards, in 1835, he brought his family to Jennings county, Indiana, and there died. Matthew Oldham, who was born on December 8, 1823, was married April 2, 1846, to Salina Hull, a native of Pennsylvania, born on August 2, 1824, the daughter of Charles and Prue (Judd) Hull, natives of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and died on March 21, 1901. Charles Hull was also a soldier in the War of 1812, who settled in Ripley county, Indiana, after immigrating from Pennsylvania in 1836. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Prue Judd, had several relatives who served in the Revolutionary War. The late Matthew Oldham and wife, who came to Decatur county in 1865 and settled in Marion township, occupied a farm one and one half miles east and two miles south of the farm their son, Eber J., now owns. Eleven years after coming to Decatur county, they moved to the farm which Eber J. now owns and died on this farm. Mrs. Salina Oldham had six brothers who served in the Union army, William, Sylvester, Lemuel, Lorenzo, Daniel and Franklin. Daniel died in the service of his country at Georgeton, Missouri, and Franklin met death in the famous catastrophe of the "Sultana," a transport ship used during the Civil War, which was blown up in the Mississippi river.

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Oldham, two, Mrs. Eliza Sweazy and Mrs. Jane Adams, are deceased, the latter dying in Ripley county. Charles A., of Marion township; Archibald, of Jennings county; Mrs. Sarah Wheeldon, of Marion township, and Eber J., the subject of this sketch, are still living.

Eber J. Oldham has enjoyed a most interesting career, having sought his fortune in many states. At the age of twenty-five, he took Horace Greeley's advice to the young men of this country and went west to Nebraska, where he homesteaded a quarter of a section of land and where he lived for four years. Subsequently, however, he abandoned the farm and in 1879 went to Colorado, where he was the manager of a lumber yard for four years. From Colorado he journeyed on to the state of Washington, where he lived for nine and one-half years and where he became a lumber inspector, connected with the largest lumber concern on the Pacific coast. Returning home in 1892, at the age of forty-two, he applied his savings to the mortgage on his father's and mother's farm and his father subsequently gave him a deed and bill-of-sale for the land. Four years later his father died, November 21, 1896, and nine years later his mother passed away, her death occurring on March 21, 1901. In the meantime, he had cared tenderly for his parents, living with them and doing his duty as becomes a son who is grateful for the affectionate and parental love and care during his childhood.

On November 16, 1892, Eber J. Oldham was married to Florence I. Love, who was born in Marion county, Indiana, on December 13, 1871, the daughter of Randall and Nancy (Gillibrand) Love, natives of Dearborn county and Marion township, Decatur county, respectively. To this union have been born four children, all of whom are living: Nellie, born on October 7, 1893; Francis Eber, November 23, 1897, who is a student in the Westport high school; Daniel Howard, October 11, 1902, who is a student in the eighth grade of the local public schools, and Herl, August 12, 1910.

All of the members of the Oldham family are identified with the Methodist Episcopal church at Zion, although they were originally Free Baptists in religious faith. Mr. Oldham is a member of Westport Lodge No. 681, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been an Odd Fellow for thirty-five years, or since 1880.

Eber J. Oldham enjoys the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and has made a host of friends in the neighborhood where he lives, because of his honorable and upright character, which his neighbors and friends admire; his clean and decent point of view in the human relations of life and his fair and square dealings with the public at large.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



BERNARD ANTHONY HOEING
No more thrifty and enterprising emigrants have ever come to America than the thousands of German citizens, who have become citizens of this comparatively new land, but who have established homes in all sections of the country, and who have especially prospered in agriculture. Although comparatively few of the pioneer settlers of Decatur county were German citizens, yet the German families, who have come to this county from time to time, have succeeded here in a large measure, and today the second and third generations are equally prosperous. Bernard Anthony Hoeing, of Marion township, who represents the second generation of the Hoeing family in America, upon reaching maturity took up his; father's occupation and has made of farming an even more conspicuous success than did his father before him. He owns a farm of a hundred and twenty acres in Marion township, which his father owned at the time of his death, and to this tract has added forty acres more a well improved, fertile and highly productive farm, practically all of which is level land, and which yields abundantly every year.

Bernard Anthony Hoeing, who was born on December 12, 1870, in the log house built by his father, Bernard Joseph Hoeing, has spent his entire life upon this farm. His parents, Bernard Joseph and Christine (Schroer) Hoeing, the former of whom was born in 1824, and who died in June, 1902, and the latter of whom was born in 1834, and who died in December, 1890, were born, reared and married in Germany, and after coming to America, in 1868, settled in Marion township on forty acres which has partly cleared. The elder Mr. Hoeing finished clearing the land, and eventually owned altogether a hundred and twenty acres. He was a Democrat in politics and a devout member of St. Mary's church. The late Bernard Joseph and Christine (Schroer) Hoeing, had five children, one of whom, Mrs. Louise Funke, is deceased. The living children are Mrs. Mary Harpring, of near Millhousen; Mrs. Anna Dickhoff, of Jennings county; Mrs. Christine Harpring, of Marion township, and Bernard Anthony, the subject of this sketch.

After caring for his father, who survived his mother for twelve years, Bernard Anthony Hoeing purchased the home farm from his father just before the latter's death, and about 1896 added forty acres to this tract. The farm is completely fenced with woven wire fence and comprises a splendid country home with buildings erected by the senior Hoeing, remodeled by the son, painted a beautiful pale green, and located in the center of the tract. The present owner of this farm raises on an average thirty-five acres of wheat and from thirty to forty acres of corn. His land produces seventy-five bushels of corn to the acre by the use of fertilizer. The land is immune from hog cholera, and Mr. Hoeing has never lost any hogs as a consequence of this dreaded plague. On an average he sells from sixty to seventy-five head of hogs every year. He also raises his own horses, and specializes in the Percheron breed. In this connection it may be said that he is regarded as one of the foremost breeders of Marion township. Judged from many standpoints, from the neatness and attractiveness of the home and building, fences, fertility of soil and drainage and live stock, Bernard Anthony Hoeing is entitled to rank as one of the most successfu1 farmers in this section of Decatur county. Much of his knowledge and skill he obtained from his worthy father, who was known as a careful farmer.

On September 5, 1894, Bernard Anthony Hoeing was married to Catherine Anna M. Ortman, the daughter of Barney Ortman, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hoeing have had seven children. Of these children, Joseph Bernard, born March 17, 1897, is attending St. Mary's school; Leo Bernard, May 4, 1899, is a graduate of St. Mary's school, having finished the course in 1913; Lawrence Bernard, October 28, 1902; Erwin George, January 18, 1905; Clemens John, January 28, 1907; Marie Josephine, April 18, 1909, and Alma Mary, August 3, 1911.

Among other important conveniences on the Hoeing farm in Marion township is a gas well, drilled in 1914, which shows two hundred and fifty pounds pressure, which supplies his house, grounds and outbuildings with light and fuel.

Bernard Anthony Hoeing, like his father before him, is identified with the Democratic party, but he has never been active in politics, and has never held office. Mr. and Mrs. Hoeing and family are all members of St. Mary's Catholic church, and he is a member of the Knights of St. John, of Millhousen. Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the ease with which Bernard Hoeing has mastered the intricacies of modern agriculture, and the skill with which he has followed scientific principles, which not only has placed him in the foremost ranks of Decatur county's farmers, but has won for him as a citizen the respect and confidence of all people in Marion township, where he resides and where he is well known.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



VALENTINE HAHN
Among the successful farmers of Marion township, who are comfortably situated on productive farms, is Valentine Hahn, who has a beautiful farm on a graveled thoroughfare, excellent farm buildings, including a beautiful white house surrounded by trees and a good barn. With twenty acres of timber on the land, the farm is well fenced and now has a gas well, drilled in January, 1915, with a three-hundred-pound pressure. Mr. Hahn is one of the frugal farmers of German descent who have done so much for the stability of our institutions and the improvement of agricultural life in this country.

Born on February 27, 1847, in Dearborn county, Indiana, Valentine Hahn is the son of Anthony and Mary Ann (Huff) Hahn, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was born in 1818 and died in 1903, and the latter born in 1819 and died in 1898. Anthony Hahn came to America when sixteen years of age and his wife came at the age of ten. His parents settled first in Pennsylvania, subsequently moving to Ohio and then to Dearborn county, Indiana. Finally, in 1861, they came to Decatur county. They owned a farm near Millhousen, where they were highly respected citizens and where they died. Of their nine children, three are now deceased: Mrs. Christina Huegal, Joseph and John. The living children are: Mrs. Mary Huegal, of Muncie; Valentine, the subject of this sketch; Anthony, who lives with Valentine; Mrs. Frances Eahardt, of Kokomo; Louis, who lives in Morris, Franklin county; and Mrs. Magdalena Hageman, of Muncie.

Valentine Hahn has been compelled for the most part to make his own way in the world. In April, 1865, he enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in the service of his country for six months, serving in North Carolina and adjoining states. He performed guard duty at Raleigh and Goldsboro and returned to Decatur county by the way of Baltimore, Maryland. On entering the service he had passed through New York city.

On September 20, 1870, Valentine Hahn was married to Susanna Herman, who died on June 27, 1887, seventeen years after their marriage, leaving nine children, one of whom is deceased, namely: Caroline, born on July 20, 1871, the wife of Herman Rolfes, of Fugit township, has four children, Raymond, Ruth, Thelma and Mildred; Ida, March 8, 1873, married Frank Notter, of Indianapolis, and has one child, Henrietta; Charles, November 20, 1875, of Marion township, married Josephine Ortman and has two children, Edna and Catherine; Henry, April 11, 1877, also of Marion township, married Minnie Langs and has two children, Marie and Frank; Dora, August 17, 1879, wife of William Link, of Millhousen, has four children, Walter, Ethel, Martha and Howard; Sarah, September, 1881, deceased; Mary, March 26, 1883, married William Bruns, of Ripley county, and has three children, Esther, Elma and Bernetta; Andrew, March 21, 1885, of Marion township, married Rose Hardeback and has four children, Hilbert, Maurice, Naomi and Susanna, and Albert, June 5, 1887, of Washington township, married Eva Tucker and has three children, Leon, David and Valentine.

Two years after the death of Mrs. Susanna Hahn, Mr. Hahn married, secondly, August 7, 1889, Elizabeth Herman, who was born on September 25, 1860, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Joseph and Susanna (Young) Herman, natives of Germany, the former having been born in 1809 and died in 1884, and the latter born in 1823 and died in 1898, at the age of seventy-five years. Joseph Herman came to America with his parents when ten years old. He became a gardener and in 1861 settled in Sand Creek township, Decatur county, where he owned a farm. Finally, he moved to Marion township, where he died. To this second union five children have been born, all of whom are living: Wilfred, born on October 12, 1890, married ,Anna Crates and has one child, Wilfred, Jr.; Lawrence, January 16, 1894; Leonard, January 16, 1896; Carlotta, November 6, 1898, and Ernest, January 3, 1902.

Following Valentine Hahn's first marriage, he moved to a small farm in Jennings county, which he had purchased. Two years after his second marriage, he sold this farm and purchased another in Marion township. Mi-. Hahii has prospered through life and is now in comfortable circumstances, being recognized as one of the well-to-do citizens of this community. He has educated all of his children and in every way possible helped them to get a start in the world. All of them are enterprising citizens in the respective communities where they live and are doing exceedingly well as a consequence, not only of the material assistance given them by their father, but by the splendid example which he has set for them.

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hahi1 has never been especially active in politics, but has devoted his time, energy and talents to his own personal business. The Hahn family are members of the St. Denis Catholic church.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.



Deb Murray