John W. Tremain was born on June 11, 1851, in Johnson county, Indiana. He was the son of George W. Tremain, who was a native of Decatur county, and who was born in 1830. George W. Tremain was a son of Reuben and Elizabeth (Hardy) Tremain. Reuben Tremain was a native of New York and immigrated to Decatur county in 1823, where he, with two brothers, Homer and Simeon, entered a tract of one hundred sixty acres of land in what is known as the Robbins neighborhood three miles southeast of Greensburg. After entering this land, these brothers divided it, each building a log cabin, cleared, improved and cultivated the land. Homer and Simeon died here on this land. Reuben Tremain immigrated to Johnson county, where, in 1848, his son, George W. Tremain, married Phoebe Nay, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Samuel Nay. Samuel Nay settled in Johnson county in 1832, after traveling afoot, with six companions, from Madison, Indiana. After their arrival in Johnson county they built a house with axes and saws which they had carried with them, and here Samuel Nay lived and died. Phoebe Nay was born in 1828 and died in 1901. George W. Tremain went back to Decatur county in 1868 and bought a farm where he lived until his death, in 1903. To George W. and Phoebe (Nay) Tremain were born seven children, namely: John W., the subject of this sketch; Samuel J., deceased; Milton R., of Columbus, Indiana; George B., of Celina, Kansas; Caroiine, deceased; Mary married a Mr. Munns, of Oxford, Ohio, and Martha married Louis Youman, of Bartholomew county.

John W. Tremain, like many of the earlier settlers, secured most of his education in the "School of Life Experiences." He had only three months' schooling after he was thirteen years old. He lived with his parents until his marriage, at the age of nineteen. He was married on August 4, 1870, to Eliza Jane Jones, the daughter of Horace Jones, one of the early settlers of Jackson township. In about 1880 John W. Tremain settled in Jackson township and bought a tract of eighty acres, and here they lived until Mrs. Tremain's death, at the age of fifty, in 1900. To this union were born five children, three of whom are now living: George L., of Greensburg, county attorney; Dr. Milton A., a practicing physician of Adams, who is the father of one child, Margaret, eight years old, and Emma, the wife of Forrest Stewart, a former teacher of near Adams and who attended the University of Chicago, and will teach at Hiram, Ohio, at a school of the Christian church of Ohio.

After the death of Mrs. Tremain, Mr. Tremain lived on the farm until in 1904 he sold it and bought an eighty-acre tract south of Sardinia, on which he lives at the present time. This is a highly-improved piece of land with modern buildings and a fine brick residence.

On March 30, 1905, John W. Tremain was united in marriage to Nancy (Webb) LaForge, who was the widow of John LaForge, an early settler and a native of Decatur county. Nancy Webb was born in Jackson township in 1856 and was the daughter of Jonathan and Nancy Dilman Webb, now deceased and natives of Indiana and Ohio, respectively, who settled in the woods in Jackson township, in Decatur county, when they were first married.

They were the parents of thirteen children, the following having attained maturity: Phoebe Ann, Julia Ann, Joseph Jemima, Monroe and America, now deceased, and the following are still living: John, of Columbus; Jane, married Mr. Misner, of Franklin; Smiley, of Jennings county; Mollie, of Jennings county; Anna Maria, who is the wife of Nathan Watson, of near Burney, and Emma, who is the wife of D. H. Pike, of Jackson township. Nancy Webb LaForge was the mother of one child by her first husband, Vinnie, who married Harry Tarkington, of Bartholomew county.

In politics, John W. Tremain has always been an active and ardent Democrat. He has often been elected to offices of trust, all of which he has filled with credit and honor. For ten years he held the office of justice of the peace, he was a school director for a time, and for five years he was trustee of Jackson township, and at the present time he holds the office of county commissioner from his district. He is a stanch and active member of the Christian church.

It is, indeed, a mark of worth and a creditable example to have "hewn through the rocks of adversity" of such a rough road and to have traveled over that road, with little but self-education, with sturdy, resolute step to a place of honor and trust in the gift of his neighbors, and such is the accomplishments of John W. Tremain.

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

John Deniston was born in Scotland in 1795 and came to this country with his parents when a child. Later in life he settled in Franklin county, Indiana, where for a time he engaged in the business of tanning leather and making shoes, removing to Butler county, Ohio, where he operated a tannery and made boots and shoes on a large scale until his death there in 1862.

John Deniston married Sarah Lines, who was born in 1797 and who died in 1853. They had eight children, as follow: George died in California; Martha, died in Mt. Carmel, Indiana; David, died in Kokomo, Indiana; Sarah Jane, died in infancy; James, died in White county, Illinois; Helen died in Iowa; Frank, died on a farm near Sardinia, and William H., the subject of this sketch.

William H. Deniston came, with his brother Frank, to Sardinia, March 14, 1867 and bought a tract of two hundred and nine acres of land which they operated in partnership until 1879, at which time William H. sold his interest and purchased a sixty-eight acre tract of his own. This venture proved a successful one and it was not long until he increased his holdings by the purchase of a two hundred and forty acre tract near Sardinia, and to this he has added a seventy-five-acre tract on which his son now lives. He also owns sixty acres which his son William J. operates. Mr. Deniston has not been willing to rest at the simple ownership of this fine body of land but has increased its value and usefulness by added improvements, until, today, he has each farm well equipped with residences, barns and granaries, having three good residence buildings and four good barns.

William H. Deniston was married on May 21, 1862 to Celeste Doty, of Butler county, whose mother was a Sheilds and whose father was John Doty. Mrs. Deniston was born in 1843 and was the mother of three children, as follow: William J., lives on one of his father's farms near Sardinia and has two daughters, Cecil Bonnie and Dale at home; Annie Maude married William Hubbard, and is the mother of one son, Lowell C.; Charles E. is married and lives on one of his father's farms, and has one son, Noble Graham.

After the death of his first wife, which occurred on October 8, 1884, William H. Deniston lived with his daughter on one of his farms. The daughter was married in 1892 and Mr. Deniston continued to make his home with her until on June 7, 1911, he was married to Sarah Elizabeth (George) Powell, widow of Charles Powell, of Indianapolis, when he left the farm and moved into Sardinia where he now lives. Sarah Elizabeth George was the daughter of Andrew George, who left Butler county, Ohio, to settle in Henry county, Indiana.

William H. Deniston has long been one of the active "wheel horses" of the Democratic party in Decatur county. In his earlier days he filled several minor township offices with honor. Mr. Deniston is an active member of the Universalist church.

The forefathers of some of our most worthy and substantial citizens came to this country from a foreign shore, and among these might be mentioned William H. Deniston, whose father, John Deniston, was brought to this country by his parents from Scotland. Surely, William H. Deniston has proven a worthy and creditable accession to our citizenship.

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

Edgar Eddelman, of Jackson township, was born on October 17, 1875, on a farm one mile north of where he now resides. He is the son of Amos Henry and Abigail (Shinault) Eddelman. His home of one hundred and forty-three acres in Jackson township is one of the most prosperous in the county, in addition to which, he owns seventy-three acres one mile north, making, in all, two hundred and sixteen acres, with two sets of buildings. Mr. Eddelman does a general farming business, and raises from fifty to seventy-five hogs annually. His political views are in harmony with the Democratic party.

Amos Henry Eddelman was born in 1850 and died in 1905, on the farm where Edgar now lives. He was a son of William H. and Rachel (Wheldon) Eddelman, who gave him a farm one mile north. In politics he was a Democrat. He was a member of the Baptist church. Abigail Shinault, who married Amos Henry Eddelman, was born in 1849, in Jennings county, and is a daughter of George Shinault, born of German immigrant parents.

The paternal grandfather was William H. Eddelman, a native of Jefferson county, Indiana, and a son of Daniel Eddelman. His wife was Rachel Wheldon, also a native of Jefferson county. He was twice married, had two children by the first wife and eleven by the second.

When Kentucky was a wilderness, Daniel Eddelman, great-grandfather of Edgar Eddelman, with his mother and brother, was sheltered in a strong cabin at Bryant's Station, and while here they were attacked by Indians and Daniel was taken by them to near Lafayette, where he was kept until he was twelve years old, when he was returned to Kentucky and claimed by his mother. It is thought that Daniel's brother, James, was killed or burned to death by the Indians. Daniel died in Jackson county, Indiana, when ninety-eight years of age. He was a hunter and trapper, and loved hunting better than farming. He learned the Indian method of counting, which goes as follows, by using fingers: "Nequita, nesway, netheny, narroway, nollony, cutatha, nesothy, sathaky, sockaty and metathy," and then counting up to one hundred or more by doubling the hands, etc. The Eddelmans came to Decatur county in the early twenties, and settled in Jackson township. A log cabin was their home until it was replaced by a new house.

Edgar Eddelman was united in marriage on December 22, 1907, with Christina Margaret Geiling, who was born on October 25, 1877, in Jennings county, Indiana, a daughter of George Geiling. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Eddelman are the parents of four children, namely: Alice Blanche, born on January 27, 1909; Daniel Amos, July 1, 1910; George Albert, February 12, 1912; Thomas Edgar, December 9, 1913.

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

John E. Robbins was horn in Sand Creek township, Decatur county, on October 6, 1861, on the farm on which he still resides. This farm, consisting of a three-hundred-fifteen-acre tract of improved land, has descended to its present owner from his grandfather, William Robbins, who settled on this land in 1823, and who, at that time, built a log cabin on what is now the site of the palatial farm residence of John E. Robbins.

John E. Robbins is the son of James G. Robbins, who was born on June 10, 1829, in a log cabin which stood where John E. Robbins now lives. For further history of James G. Robbins see history of Robbins family under J. B. Kitchin sketch, elsewhere in this volume. The mother of John Robbins was Elmira H. Stout, who was the daughter of Joab Stout, and who was born in September, 1832. Her lineage can be traced to the early history of America.

Richard Stout landed at New Amsterdam in 1618. His wife, progeny of Von Princess, with her first husband was shipwrecked off Sandy Hook and captured by Indians, the children and husband were killed and the wife was held, but later ransomed, afterwards marrying Richard Stout. They had six children: Jonathan, John, Richard, James Peter, Daniel Benjamin, Mary Sarah and Alice. Jonathan Stout was the founder of Hopewell, New Jersey, and his son, Joab Stout, was the father of Joab Stout, who was the father of Elmira H. (Stout) Robbins.

Joab Stout served throughout the Revolutionary War and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He married Rhoda Howell at close of the war and settled at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, in 1778. Later, with a party of emigrants, he made what was then, on account of Indian hostilities, a very dangerous trip down the Ohio river and landed near the present site of Louisville, Kentucky. Later he went to Lexington and then to Bracken county on the Licking river, where he remained for a number of years, and then moved to near Cincinnati, where he lived for a short time, and in 1812 he moved to Franklin county, Indiana, where he died on February 28, 1883.

To Joab and Rhoda Stout were born the following children: Jonathan, who married Nancy Thompson in Kentucky; Rachel, who married William Cummins; Mary, who was the wife of Andrew Shirk; Elizabeth, who was the wife of Samuel Shirk; Abner, who married Malinda Tyner; Joab, who married Amanda Rariden, and after her death Rebecca Wynkoop; David, who married Rhoda Wiles; Margaret, who died in infancy; Rebecca, who was the wife of Samuel Goudie; Ira, who married Eliza McNutt; Sarah, who was the wife of Paul Holliday; Aaron, who married a Mrs. McKinney, and Anna, who was the wife of William Waldroff.

Joab Stout, the sixth child of this large family, was born on January 15, 1802, in Bracken county, Kentucky, and died at Letts Center, Indiana, on November 11, 1877, he, like his own father, was the father of a large family. He was twice married and his first wife was the mother of the following children: Milton S., who died on June 8, 1830; Jonathan R., who died in September, 1835; Rhoda E.,; Elmira H., who was the mother of the subject of this sketch, and Mary E., who died on September 24, 1876. The following children were born under his second marriage: Joab H., deceased; Sarah A., who died on January 10, 1872; John W., who lives in Greensburg; Isaac N., who died on April 8, 1871; Rachel J., deceased; Mrs. Helen Eubank, who lives in Greensburg; Mrs. Frances K. Templeton, who lives in Greensburg and who is now a widow; Clara E., who died on January 4, 1863.

John E. Robbins was educated in the common schools and the high school of Greensburg. His land possessions came chiefly as his share from his father's estate. He has improved this land until today it is one of the most up-to-date farms in Indiana. Since 1882 Mr. Robbins, with his father and brother as partners, has been doing extensive breeding of improved Shorthorn cattle, and at the present time he has a herd of over ninety head of the best examples of this breed to be found in America. The firm has recently imported a number of very fine cattle from Scotland. Some of these are of almost priceless value because of their breeding.

The partnership was established, and is still carried on under the firm name of J. G. Robbins & Sons, breeders. This firm has shown in competition with state and national breeders every year except one (1898) at national, state and county shows, and has never failed to carry off their proportion of the prizes offered. The reason of their failure to show in 1898 was because they sold their show herd for that year, but the buyers of the herd exhibited it at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, where it won every premium offered in its class. At the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 John E. Robbins & Sons, breeders, won the beef-herd championship with five head of cattle and won the diploma for breeding the most inners in the Shorthorn class at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1903. This firm has won numerous championships at International Stock Shows at Chicago, and the American Royal Shows at Kansas City. They won all prizes offered in two shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City, and they won numerous prizes at the Lewis and Clark Exposition at Portland, Oregon. In addition to these they have won prizes at the following state fairs: Minnesota, Montana, Kentucky, Virginia and at Toronto, Canada.

John E. Robbins has come to be known as one of the best expert judges of cattle in this country, and among some of the organizations which have sought his service in this capacity are the New York state fair, the Ohio state fair, the Wisconsin state fair, the Minnesota state fair, the Kentucky state fair, and the Memphis tri-state fair. He was expert judge at seven different international shows in Chicago, at Portland, Oregon, and Ft. Worth, Texas, besides at a great number of county fairs and local shows. Will S. Robbins, the brother in the firm, has, also, in many states, served as an expert judge.

While John E. Robbins has been much engrossed in productive and industrial activities he has not failed to know and fill his obligations as a citizen, politically, socially and religiously. He always has been a stanch Republican in politics. His grandfather was a Whig. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins are members of the Liberty Baptist church, of which Reverend Joab Stout was pastor for many years. There is an association of the Stout family and for many years this association has been holding annual reunions. Miss Geneva Robbins is secretary of this association and for the last three years these meetings have been held at the Liberty Baptist church and were attended by scores of the descendants of the Robbins family.

Too much praise cannot be given earlier settlers, who have through their individual efforts sought scientifically to increase and improve live stock production. Oftentimes this has seemed almost a hopeless and thankless task. When one has the full understanding of just what such an undertaking means and fights on to accomplish his purpose, it matters little whether he succeeds from a financial standpoint or not, he has been a benefactor to humanity, and such service, when it brings both the compensation to the individual and the benefits to the community, is indeed a double blessing.

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

Benjamin Franklin Denham was born on January 24, 1846, in Clermont county, Ohio, the son of Benjamin, Sr., and Mary Ann (Patchell) Denham, the former of whom was born in 1806 and died in 1880, and the latter died in 1858. The father, who came from Scotch-Irish stock, was a native of New York and immigrated to Ohio. He was a Baptist preacher, miller and millwright. He preached, however, for the love of the work and operated a mill as his real business in life. Coming to Decatur county in 1848, he erected the Harwood mill on Sand creek and for two years, in conjunction with his brother, Daniel, operated this mill. They taught the owner of the mill how to run it. In 1850 Benjamin Denham, Sr., built a mill two miles north on Sand creek, which was operated by water and there he was engaged in sawing lumber and grinding grain for several years. Subsequently, he became the sole owner of the mill and operated it for twenty-five years. In the meantime, he preached in the local churches of the county. Finally he traded the mill and thirty-three and one-third acres of land for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Kansas, but later traded this land. For some time he was engaged in preaching at Alert and then operated a mill at Forest Hill for two years, when he returned to Sand Creek township and operated the Harwood mill, finally buying it and operating it until his death.

Benjamin and Mary Ann (Patchell) Denham were the parents of eight children, the five eldest of whom, Elizabeth, Sarah. Maria, Jemima and Delilah, are deceased. The others are as follow: James B. lives in Missouri; Benjamin Franklin is the subject of this sketch, and John Edward lives in Missouri. After the death of his first wife, the father married a Mrs. (Deweese) Miller, who bore him three children, two of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Hattie Allen, of Greensburg, is the only living child of this marriage.

Educational opportunities were somewhat limited during the boyhood and youth of Benjamin F. Denham and he had comparatively little schooling. For some time he attended the Sharp's school near Letts, Pinhook and the Rodney school in Sand Creek township. In the meantime, he partially learned the miller's trade and helped to conduct the saw-mill. Leaving the mill near Adams in 1863, he enlisted in Company H, Thirty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served a period of twenty-three months in the Union army. He was recruited for the Thirty-seventh but was transferred to the Eighty-eighth and then to the Thirty-eighth Regiment, which was a consolidation of the Thirty-seventh and Eighty-eighth. Among the severe engagements in which he was engaged during the Civil War, were the battles of Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Pumpkin Vine, Big Shanty, Resaca, and Marietta. He was also engaged in the Atlanta campaign and was in the great battle fought twenty-five miles south of Atlanta just before the surrender of the Confederates at Atlanta. He was in the march with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea and participated in the battle fought five miles from Savannah. He was also in the battles of Columbia, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jonesboro, North Carolina. From Jonesboro he was sent to Richmond, Virginia, after Lee's surrender and, after having participated in the Grand Review at Washington, was sent to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and from there to Louisville, Kentucky, from which place he expected to go to Texas. He was mustered out at Louisville, paid off and discharged at Indianapolis. Being very sick, he rested at home for six weeks and then began working as a farm hand near Greensburg.

For some time Mr. Denham worked for Reverend Tisdale and Mr. Gilman. Later he worked as a hay baler for Attorney Platt Wicks. Having learned the blacksmith's trade, he worked at this trade at Old Gaynorsville for two years. During the twenty-two years succeeding this, he operated a shop at Newburg and, by saving his money, was able to purchase eighty acres of land, a part of the farm he now owns. He and his good wife saved every cent that it was possible to save and were finally able to buy one hundred acres of land adjoining the original eighty. Eight years later they were able to buy one hundred and twenty acres more. They now have three sets of buildings on this land. Mr. Denham erected a large barn in 1909 to replace one which burned.

On November 30, 1870, Benjamin Franklin Denham was married to Mary E. Petree, who was born near Sardinia on August 31, 1845, the daughter of David and Jane (Landphair) Petree, the former of whom was a native of Franklin county, Indiana, and the latter a native of Butler county, Ohio. David Petree was the son of Adam Petree, an early pioneer of Jackson township, who was probably born in Franklin county. David Petree died in 1855. Jane (Landphair) Petree died at her home in 1912. Mrs. Denham, before her marriage, was a milliner at Forest Hill. For ten years Mrs. Denham operated the store at Newburg, assisting her husband in every way possible.

Much credit for their joint success is due to her able assistance. Mrs. Denham's parents had gone to housekeeping on the farm, which came to be known as the old homestead and which is now a part of the Denham farm, in a house which is still standing.

Of the six children horn to Benjamin F. and Mary E. Denham, Frank, the eldest, who was born on May 9, 1872, is deceased. He died in 1903. The other five children, all of whom are living, are as follow: Charles, born in 1874, who is farming the home place, married Elizabeth Eddleman and has two children, Margaret and Robert; Fred H., 1876, who lives in North Dakota, married Fannie Talkington and has two children, Eveline and Bernice; Enrie, 1878, who is the wife of Clave Bennis and has two children, twins, Edna May and Mary June; Dora and Tracy O., both of whom are at home.

Mr. Denham was a Republican until the formation of the Progressive party in 1912, when he identified himself with this party. He voted for the first candidate for president which the Republican party elected, Abraham Lincoln. For fifteen years Mr. Denham served as a school trustee in Forest Hill or Newburg. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and has been an elder at Sardinia for the past ten years.

As a veteran of the Civil War, as a successful farmer and stockman, Benjamin F. Denham can look back upon his career with consummate satisfaction. The owner of three hundred acres of good land in Jackson township, he has lived on the farm since 1890. His success as a farmer is due principally to his extensive interest in live stock. Ordinarily, he sells one hundred head of hogs every year and a carload of cattle. Mr. Denham found the road to success and found the road unaided and alone except for the help which he received from his good wife. Today he is an honored and esteemed citizen of Jackson township, a man who enjoys the confidence of his fellows.

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

Alexander Bentley was born in Butler county, Ohio, on March 17, 1844, the son of William and Sarah M. (Howe) Bentley, the former of whom was a native of New York state and the latter of whom was a native of Butler county, Ohio. William Bentley was born on March 22, 1795, and upon reaching manhood's estate left New York and immigrated to Ohio, locating in Butler county where he married Sarah M. Howe, who was born in that county on June 8, 1804, the daughter of William and Sarah Howe, the latter of whom lived to he ninety-seven years of age, her death occurring at College Corners, Ohio.

William Bentley and his family moved from Ohio to this county in February, 1847, settling in Jackson township and locating on a tract of land in the deep timber, on what is now known as the Tyner farm, where James Pavey lives. He built a house of hewed logs on that part of the farm which is now occupied by his son and there he spent the rest of his days, his death occurring on May 18, 1853. His widow long survived him, her death not occurring until April 22, 1881. William Bentley and his wife were excellent citizens and their influence was very helpful in the early days of Jackson township. They were among the founders of the old Dry Fork Baptist church and helped to build that church. Mr. Bentley was an ardent Whig and took an active part in the political affairs of the county.

To William and Sarah M. (Howe) Bentley were born eleven children, namely: Adolphus G. (deceased), born on March 10, 1822; Ebenezer H. (deceased), October 16, 1824; Alvin (deceased), November 18, 1826, was a veteran of the Union army in the Civil War and died in Illinois; Hazel, January 19, 1828, died at the age of two years; Gideon H., May 4, 1830, died at Adams, this county, on February 8, 1915, Calvin H., May 16, 1832, a veteran of the Civil War, went to Putnam county, Missouri, thence to the state of Washington, where he died; Mrs. Louisa H. Brunton, January 4, 1835, lives in Delaware county, this state; Mrs. Sarah H. Linch (deceased), February 1, 1837, the mother of Mrs. Louisa M. Cory; Mrs. Anna T. Moore (deceased), December 2, 1838; Alexander, the immediate subject of this sketch, and Eleatha H. (deceased), July 4, 1846.

Alexander Bentley has lived on the home place since the days of his infancy. Upon the death of his father he bought out the interest of the other heirs in the original eighty acres and cared for his mother until her death. Later he bought eighty acres on the southwest, which he sold some years ago, and in the fall of 1914 bought an adjoining tract of one hundred and two acres, upon which some improvements had been made. In 1875, Mr. Bentley erected the handsome residence which he is now occupying, which he since has remodeled from time to time until he now has one of the best and most modern farm houses in the county, in which he is passing the evening of his life in peace and calm content.

On October 1, 1872, Alexander Bentley was united in marriage to Mary Miles, who was born in Franklin county, this state, June 3, 1848, the daughter of Joseph and Eliza Ann (Barrickman) Miles. Joseph Miles, born in 1809, died in 1884, was a native of Virginia who moved with his parents from that state to Ohio, in 1818; upon the death of his father he moved, with his widowed mother, to Franklin county, this state, where the remainder of his life was spent. Eliza Ann Barrickman, who was born in the Templeton creek neighborhood, in Franklin county, May 16, 1813, and died near Springfield, in the same county, December 15, 1893. She was a daughter of Jacob and Jane Barrickman, who immigrated to Indiana Territory in 1807, locating on what is now known as the Peck farm in Franklin county, where they lived until 1810, in which year they moved to the Templeton creek neighborhood, where they became substantial farmers, influential in the early affairs of that community. They were the parents of four sons and seven daughters. An aunt of Mrs. Bentley, Keturah Barrickman, was the daughter-in-law of Robert Templeton, who, on October 16, 1804, entered the northwest quarter of section 28 in Brookville township, Franklin county, this state. His son, James, married Keturah Barrickman. The children of Joseph and Eliza Ann (Barrickman) Miles were: William, who died in November, 1893; John, a prominent farmer of Franklin county; Mrs. Jennie Barbour, who lives at Letts, this county; Ann, deceased; Mary, who married Mr. Bentley; Hattie and Hettie (twins), deceased; Mrs. Kate Clarkson, of Tippecanoe county, this state; James, who lives at Liberty, Indiana, and Mrs. Margaret Lynch (deceased), who lived in Union county, this state.

To Alexander and Mary (Miles) Bentley four children have been born, namely: Estella, born on September 7, 1573, married John Sanders, of Jackson township, this county, and has two children, Noble and Mary; James Clifford, June 11, 1876, lives on the home place with his parents; an infant, April 9, 18.79, died on June 16, 1879; Joseph Earl, February 13, 1885, a farmer living near Letts Corner, married Nellie, daughter of George Boicourt, and has one child, Elvin.

Mr. and Mrs. Bentley are members of the Union Presbyterian church in Jackson township and their children were reared in the faith of that church. Mr. Bentley is a Republican and always has given an intelligent attention to political affairs in this county, though never having been included in the office-seeking class. He and his wife are deeply interested in the good works of the community of which they so long have been an influential part and they enjoy the unqualified confidence and esteem of their neighbors, being held in the very highest regard by all who know them. Their pleasant home is the center of much genial hospitality and they are very popular in that part of the county.

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

Samuel David Fulton was born on July 26, 1848, in Jackson township, Decatur county, on the farm on which he now resides. He was the son of William Fulton, who was born in Kentucky in 1807 and died in Decatur county in 1853, and of Susanna Ratcliffe, the daughter of Samuel Ratcliffe. Susanna Ratcliffe was also a native of Kentucky and was born in 1809 and died in 1881.

William Fulton was married in Kentucky and came with his father, David Fulton, to Decatur county in about 1835 and entered a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, a part of which tract Samuel David Fulton now owns. After a year's residence in Greensburg, William Fulton cleared a strip of this land, built a home and took up his residence there. He increased his holdings until, at one time, he owned three hundred and twenty acres. The same year of his death, in 1853, his residence burned, and was afterward rebuilt by his widow. This house is the present home of Samuel David Fulton, but has been remodeled by him, since his mother's death, into a beautiful modern farm residence. It is one of the finest farm residences to be found in Decatur county. It is set far back from the main road, is reached by a beautiful driveway, and is surrounded by modern farm buildings, a large catalpa grove and a fine, up-to-date orchard.

William and Susanna (Ratcliffe) Fulton were the parents of seven children, six daughters and one son, as follow: Kittie Ann, deceased, married Joseph Keislang; Eliza Jane, aged eighty, the wife of Samuel McCullough, of Westport; Mrs. Paulina Morrow, deceased; Mrs. Martha Law, of Illinois, deceased; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Shirk, deceased; America, deceased, and Samuel David, the subject of this sketch.

Samuel David Fulton deserves especial credit for the success he has made through seemingly insurmountable difficulties. His father died when he was but five years of age, and when he was a mere lad he took hold of the farm work and helped his mother in her struggle. Today Samuel David Fulton is a man far above the average in intelligence, although he had only a district school education. He is a great reader, and to this fact and his life struggles he owes his present education. He bought out the interest of other heirs in the home place, and with what his wife inherited and what he acquired through subsequent purchase he is now in possession of about two hundred and eighty acres, which lies in two tracts.

He is a breeder of Duroc-Jersey hogs and raises about two hundred of these annually. He is also a buyer and feeder of both cattle and hogs.

Samuel David Fulton was married on September 25, 1883, to Mary A. Biddinger, who was born in Jackson township in 1861, the daughter of Dr. Solomon Wesley Biddinger and Eliza (Scott) Biddinger. Doctor Biddinger was born near Rising Sun, Indiana, and lived for many years in Decatur county. He practiced medicine for over sixty years, and is at the present time living in Bartholomew county.

To Samuel David and Mary Ann (Biddinger) Fulton were born the following children: Wesley, a teacher at Alert and a graduate of Valparaiso University; Ratcliffe, farming at home after being graduated at Valparaiso University and studying two years in the Indiana State University; Ray, a graduate of Valparaiso University and at present a student in the Indiana State University; Sherman, in the district schools, and William Ira and Mabel who died in infancy. Samuel David Fulton has fully demonstrated his belief in the necessity of higher education by what he has done for his own children along that line. He knew how much he wanted an education and how hard he had to struggle to secure this and so has determined that it shall be easier for his children. Mr. Fulton has always been affiliated with the Republican party and has filled minor township offices. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is always a willing worker in the ranks of that denomination.

Mr. Fulton has reared his family with highest dignity and devotion, and has attained to a position of influence and worth in his community by hard and persistent effort throughout life.

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

Marion M. Elliott, a well-known farmer of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, was one of the first citizens of this section to take an interest in increased productivity of land planted to corn, and his results have been especially gratifying. Two or three principal factors enter into Mr. Elliott's success as a corn grower, and these factors are common to the similar success of other men. In the first place, soil must be reasonably fertile naturally, or made so by the use of decayed vegetable matter or commercial fertilizers. In the next place, the land must be well drained, and therefore well ventilated. In the third place, the soil must be kept carefully prepared, and in the last place the seed must be carefully selected. Of course, there are many elements which enter into the cultivation of the crop once it is planted. Of all these factors, perhaps the quality of the seed is the most important. In any event, Mr. Elliott has mastered the modern processes of increased corn production, and has won for himself in this connection an enviable reputation as a farmer in Decatur county.

Marion M. Elliott, who owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jackson township, where he has lived for nearly twenty years, was born on February 9, 1868, in Jackson township, the son of Daniel Webster and Cordelia (Bake) Elliott, the former of whom was born in Jennings county on April 3, 1841, and who died on May 4, 1897, and the latter of whom was the daughter of Eli and Catherine (Risley) Bake. Daniel Webster Elliott was the son of David and Lucinda (Spears) Elliott, who came to Decatur county when he was a mere lad. He was married to Cordelia Bake on May 29, 1864, at Sardinia. Mrs. Elliott's father, Eli Bake, was born in Union county, Indiana, June 23, 1813, and died, January 9, 1899. Eli Bake married Catherine Risley on December 24, 1834. They had twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. Catherine (Risley) Bake was born on October 6, 1817, in New Jersey, and died on March 7, 1904.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Webster Elliott were the parents of seven children, of whom Marion M. was the second born. The others were as follow: Minerva Alice, born on September 27, 1865; Cora May, November 18, 1870; Rozenia, July 31, 1873; Harry Clinton, March 19, 1886; Lucinda Isophene, and Eveline, at home with her parents.

Educated in the Big Horn school of Jackson township, Marion M. Elliott began farming for himself in 1893, when he rented land of Isaac Shira for three years. In 1896 he moved to his present farm, and three years later purchased the farm at thirty-seven and one-half dollars an acre. The farm is now worth more than a hundred dollars an acre. In the meantime he has built a barn, forty-eight by sixty feet, erected a garage and granary, and remodeled his house. The color scheme of the buildings is white, and they present an attractive appearance to the passerby. He is an extensive breeder of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and keeps registered pure-bred stock. Ordinarily, Mr. Elliott raises about a hundred and fifty head of hogs every year.

On December 26, 1893, Marion M. Elliott was married to Grace Moore, the daughter of D. J. and Amanda Moore, early residents of Jackson township, natives of Decatur county, and whose parents were of German ancestry. Grace Moore was born in December, 1871, in Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Marion M. Elliott have one son, Lester, who is now nineteen years old. He was born on January 16, 1896, and was graduated from the Westport high school with the class of 1915. In 1908, when Lester was only twelve years old, he received a prize for the best ten ears of corn grown by the boys of Decatur county, in the corn show at Greensburg, Indiana. At this time he raised the Gold Standard variety. In 1913 Mr. Elliott produced eighty bushels of corn to the acre on his farm, and is now competing in the Decatur county contest in the class which has undertaken to grow one hundred bushels to the acre.

Marion M. Elliott is a progressive, enterprising and broad-minded citizen. Not only this, but he is a well-to-do citizen and a man favorably known in Decatur county. A Democrat in politics, he served three years, 1912, 1913 and 1914, as a member of the Decatur county council. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott and son are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Elliott is a member of Westport lodge No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Sardinia Lodge No. 146, Knights of Pythias.

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

Milton E. Evans, of Jackson township, was born on August 27, 1862, and is a son of William A. Evans and Emily M. (Hice) Evans. He began his career with one hundred and twenty acres, just west of his present home. On his father's death, received one hundred and sixty acres of the estate. He later bought eighty acres, to which he subsequently added forty acres more. He has improved the place with a fine modern home of eight rooms, and has fitted it up with acetylene gas, water and bath. He also has a fine, large barn fifty by fifty feet, with shed adjoining. He has still further added to the beauty and value of his farm by planting shade trees, and building an iron fence. In the stock line, he makes a specialty of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and an annual output of about two carloads of cattle. He is now (1915) preparing to plant one hundred acres of corn, and has the same amount in wheat. His farm contains three sets of buildings. In politics, Mr. Evans is a Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

William A. Evans was born in Ohio, November 3, 1835, and died in 1909. He was the son of William, Sr., and Martha Evans. Of his wife, Emily (Hice), little is known, except that she was a native of Pennsylvania, and that she was a sister of Samuel Logan, a pioneer. William A. Evans lived on the Cross Roads farm all of his life, with the exception of two years, spent at Colorado. He owned three hundred and ninety acres of fertile land. His children were: Winston L., deceased; Milton, the subject of this sketch, and John C., whose death in 1914, was caused by a fall from a barn loft.

The paternal grandfather, William Evans, Sr., was a native of New Jersey, and immigrated to Ohio, and later, in 1837, to Indiana. The Evans family is of Welsh extraction. They settled in the woods, and the first thing their children did was to gather up a bucket of hickory nuts. They lived in a log cabin, and operated a grist-mill by horse power. They cleared land, and owned nearly five hundred acres at the time of Mr. Evans' death, which occurred about 1864.

Milton E. Evans was married on March 6, 1890, to Lillie M. Swope, who was born in Jackson township on May 2 7, 1863, a daughter of J. R. and Mary Swope, early settlers of Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are the parents of two children (twins), Guy and Glen R., born on July 30, 1897. Guy died at the age of seventeen days. Glen R., now a student in Letts high school, will graduate in the class of 1916, when he will go into partnership with his father. He attended school six years without absence or tardiness.

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

John J. Shaw, of Jackson township, was born on December 30, 1847, in Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, a son of John Shaw and Eliza (Hunter) Shaw. He lived for a time in Marion township, going in young manhood to Ripley county. His present home place was purchased in 1882. At first it consisted of twenty-three acres, and he afterward added to this, and it now amounts to one hundred and twenty acres. He is a member of the Progressive party, and a member of Owen post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Westport. He went to the army, at the last call, in 1865, in Company I, Thirteenth Regiment Volunteer Infantry, and saw service the same summer in North Carolina. Mr. Shaw is retiring in his nature, and has always preferred the quiet life of a farm to that of the more active business life. He has built a neat, comfortable cottage and a large barn, both of which are well kept up. In the line of stock, his attention is devoted principally to Jersey cows.

John and Eliza (Hunter) Shaw were natives of Ohio, the former being a son of John Shaw, also a native of Ohio, and after his marriage lived for a time in Marion township. His wife, Eliza Hunter, was born on November 17, 1817. She was a daughter of Nathaniel Hunter, a noted pioneer of Decatur county, who came to the county and entered land in the twenties, and where he farmed all his life. John and Eliza (Hunter) Shaw were the parents of the following children: Thomas, deceased; Sarah, who became the wife of a Mr. Stevens; Rebecca became the wife of a Mr. Bailey; Charlotte, who married a Mr. Baker; John J., the subject of this sketch; Nathaniel lives at Bloomington, Monroe county, Indiana; Lucinda, deceased; Anna, deceased.

Nathaniel Hunter, the maternal grandfather, was born in 1787 or 1788, at Boone's Station, Kentucky, and was a son of Capt. Charles and Rebecca (Dumford) Hunter, who were married within the stockade walls of Boone's Station. Captain Hunter was killed by a shot from an Indian ambuscacle, and his body was buried at Boone's Station, Kentucky, his death, Mrs. Hunter married one Daniel Burch, and when Nathaniel was a lad of twelve the family moved to Butler county, Ohio, and later to Reading, Hamilton county. Nathaniel worked and gave his earnings to his stepfather. He was a pack-horseman and teamster in the quartermaster's department during the War of 1812.

On November 3, 1814, Nathaniel Hunter was united in marriage with Elizabeth Ferris, daughter of John and Mikey (Mires) Ferris, of Sheridan, Hamilton county, Ohio. Elizabeth Ferris was born, July 25, 1797. Her mother's family were of Holland descent. This pioneer couple began life by working out the first six months. Mr. Hunter received twelve dollars a month, and his wife seventy-five cents a week. He next engaged to John Merry for twenty dollars a month to work about the mills and distillery, remaining here two years, at the end of which time he invested the money he had saved in a flat-boat and a cargo of flour for the lower river trade. He was gone five months, going down the river as far as Natchez, sold his flour for less than it cost him, disposed of his boat, and arrived home with three dollars. His next business engagement was with a millwright for a few months, and soon after he leased twenty acres, built a cabin and cleared off a little land. This was on the Mill Creek Bottoms, thirteen miles from Cincinnati, on the Dayton road. His next venture was as a contractor on the Miami Canal, where he built half a mile of that work, between Hamilton and Redding. After this he was employed by the Cincinnati & Dayton turnpike officials, where he made sometimes as high as ten dollars a day. With the money thus earned, Mr. Hunter invested in one hundred and seventy-four acres of land in Springfield township, Franklin county, Indiana, for which he paid about four hundred dollars. This was in 1828. Having built a fine brick house, good barn, and planted an orchard, he sold the place for four thousand five hundred dollars, and came to Sand Creek, Decatur county, and bought one hundred and sixty acres for seven hundred dollars. He moved on to this land in October in 1839, and soon bought one hundred and forty acres adjoining for two thousand dollars. After making this his home for about a quarter of a century, he disposed of it for eleven thousand dollars, and after living with his son-in-law, John E. Robbins, a few months, bought a home in Greensburg, where he spent his declining years.

To Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Ferris) Hunter were born the following children: John, born on September 17, 1815, died in 1817; Ann Eliza, November 12, 1817, married John Shaw; Rebecca, October 2, 1819, married Robert Wallace, died in Jasper county, Missouri, May 25, 1876; Sarah, March 25, 1822, married William W. Stephenson, died in Sand Creek township, in 1864; Nathan, September 25, 1824, married Sarah M. Anderson, and resided in Washington township; Nancy, December 8, 1826, married John E. Robbins and lived in Washington township; Charlotte, August 16, 1829, died October 18, 1834; Peter, April 18, 1834, married Caroline Blackmore, a daughter of Owen and Eliza Blackmore, early settlers of Washington township.

John J. Shaw was united in marriage, in 1870, with Eliza R. Skiles, who was born in Butler county, in 1843, a daughter of Isaac and Jane (George) Skiles, natives of Ohio, who came to Decatur county. To Mr. and Mrs. John J. Shaw was born one son, Edwin L., who attended West Point Military Academy and is now in the insurance business. He married Alice Harrell, and they have had one child, who died in infancy. Mrs. Shaw is a member of the Christian Union church.

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