Mr. Gooding's early education was received in Rush and Hancock counties, after which he entered Asbury University at Greencastle, where he continued his studies for about two years, but his finances being very limited, health poor, and finally the death of his father, compelled him to leave college before graduation. At the age of fifteen he united with the M. E. Church, and was afterwards licensed an exhorter, which license was renewed for five consecutive years. He was several years superintendent of the M. E. Sunday-school, and also for five years president of the County Bible Society.

.In 1847 he represented the county in the lower house of the Legislature, being elected by a majority of forty-two votes over Dr. J. W. Hervey, now of Indianapolis. In 1848 he was elected County Prosecuting Attorney. In 1851 he was Circuit Court Prosecuting Attorney in the Indianapolis Judicial Circuit, composed of Marion, Boone, Hendricks, Johnson, Shelby and Hancock counties. In 1852 he was elected Common Pleas Judge, and in 1856 State Senator. In 1861 he was again elected Common Pleas Judge.

In the vear 1863 he volunteered in the pursuit of the rebel forces under Gen. John Morgan in their raid through Indiana, and was severely wounded, while marching in line of duty, near Lawrenceburg, which ended his career as a Union soldier.

In 1864 he resigned his oflice as Judge of the Common Pleas Court and accepted the position assigned him by the Union State convention at the head of the Lincoln and Johnson Presidential Electoral ticket as Elector at Large. He thoroughly canvassed the State, was elected, and cast his electorial vote for Lincoln and Johnson. In 1864 President Lincoln nominated Judge Gooding to the Senate of the United States for a United States Judgeship in New Mexico, which (at the request of said Gooding) the President withdrew, but not until after the proper committee had directed a report recommending his confirmation.

In June, 1865, President Johnson, without recommendation or solicitation and on his own option, telegraphed Mr. Gooding asking his acceptance of the United States Marshalship for the District of Columbia, which position he accepted, and entered at once upon his duties. He soon become the only executive officer of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia; also of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In January, 1866, Mr. Gooding was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate as such Marshal. He held the full confidence of President Johnson to the end of his term, and immediately after the inauguration of President Grant he personally tendered his resignation, which was accepted, though not to take effect until a successor was duly appointed and qualified. He soon after returned to his old home, and resumed the practice of law in Greenfield in 1869.

Referring to his early history, he was licensed to practice law in the year 1845. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States on the motion of Hon. Henry Stansburry, Attorney General of the United States. He was reared a Whig, and as a great admirer of Henry Clay, adhering to the principles of the Whigs until 1850, when he withdrew from his old party and united with the Democracy. Differing from the leaders of his party, he opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and in 1860 was for Douglas and Popular Sovereignty. When the Great Rebellion threatened this country with destruction Mr. Gooding came forward for the defense of the Union. His war speeches aroused enthusiasm among the people, and in co-operation with Wright, Douglas, Johnson and many other war Democrats he continued to stir the people to action.

Since 1866 he has been in full sympathy with the principles of his party, and has had great influence in conducting its campaigns. He is strongly opposed to the national banking system, and is in accord with the rights and interests of the people. His extensive work for the people and in politics has made him one of the leading political men of Indiana. He prides himself on the canvass of 1880 for General Hancock, and seems inclined to close his political life with that campaign.

Mr. Gooding's success as an editor was marked, having the management of The Hancock Democrat for several years.

Judge Gooding is the first Democrat of this county ever elected State Senator, County Prosecuting Attorney, Circuit Court Prosecuting Attorney, Common Pleas Judge, and the only citizen of the county ever a Presidential Elector for the State at large or a United States Marshal for the District of Columbia.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JAMES SAMPLE
was born in Greenbrier county, in what is now known as West Virginia, on the 17th day of April, 1794. In 1815 he was married to Miss Mary Barrett, a sister of the Revs. Joseph and Samuel Barrett. In 1827 he came on horseback to the wilds of Indiana prospecting for it more suitable place of abode. Blue-River township attracted his attention, and in 1828 he and family came over the seldom-traveled route and settled in the green woods of this county. Soon a rude cabin, without chimney or floor, was erected to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather. Their furniture was of the rudest kind, and their prospects not very bright, still they bore their trials bravely, hoping for better times in the future. The sound of the loom and ax could be heard early, and late for years. Churches had not yet been erected, but the rude cabins furnished a place to worship God and sing his praises. James Sample was always an energetic worker at these meetings.

Mr. S.'s mother came to this county and lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and two, being the oldest person buried in the old Gilboa Cemetery. “Grandmother” Sample, as she was usually called, could read fine print without glasses for sometime before she died, and the most remarkable circumstance occurred just three or four months before her death. As perfect a set of teeth as ever filled the mouth of any person came through her gums. Strange but true this rare circumstance.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

ROBERT BINFORD
an extensive farmer and stock-raiser, now of Rush county, but for more than fifty years a citizen of Blue-River township, and consequently one of the first settlers thereof, is a native of North Carolina, Northampton county, born July 2, 1813. In 1826, at the age of thirteen, he came with his parents and other Binford families to the new free State of Indiana, and settled in the green woods of what is now Blue-River township, but then Madison county, in the “Purchase.”

The Binfords had once been well off, and owned large plantations and numerous slaves, but becoming convinced that the trafficking in human souls was a sin against Heaven, and that slavery and the bondage of either blacks or whites was contrary to the principles of our free institutions, which in spirit declare that all men are born free and equal, with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they voluntarily freed them, one and all, and endeavored to reinstate them in their primitive moral rights by dividing with them what property they had helped to accumulate. Selling their lands at a sacrifice, they determined to seek a home in a free State, free from the blighting influences of human slavery, and hence sought an asylum in Hancock county, where they could begin life's battles anew.

March 30, 1837, the subject of this sketch was married to Martha, daughter of John Hill, one of the prominent pioneers of Rush county. A little cabin was soon erected in the green woods, and the two, made one, set about in earnest to make an honest living by the sweat of the brow. Although Mr. B. had plenty of land for a beginner, having received one hundred and sixty acres by his wife and a similar amount from his parents, yet there was not an acre cleared, and he was really poor, too poor to buy a second horse, hence, had to tend the first crop with a single team. His first crop consisted of two and a half acres of corn, which was worth twelve and a half cents a bushel, but he had none to sell. His first wheat crop was on the same two and a half acres, but it was "sick wheat," so called by the early settlers, because it made them sick to eat it in any manner whatever, even in limited quantities, hence it was worthless, and he received nothing for it. His first hogs were sold at a dollar per hundred, which brought him eighty-seven dollars, the most money he had ever had. Farm hands were worth seven to eight dollars per month; calico, forty cents per yard; coffee and tea too expensive to buy, hence used rye and other substitutes.

By great industry and rigid economy Mr. B. has succeeded in accumulating considerable property. He has given most of his children, nine in number, a college education and eighty acres of land each, and has done much for educational and charitable institutions, and always contributed liberally of his means for the support of the church.

In politics Mr. B. is a Republican; in church relations an orthodox Friend or Quaker. Naturally timid, modest and unassuming, he avoids publicity, never aspiring to office, preferring the quiet walks of life. Though one of the early settlers of the county, of unblemished character, one of the heavy tax-payers, a charitable, Christian gentleman, and a good citizen, nevertheless he would never have consented to the notice herein, and this entire sketch and the accompanying portrait are both wholly without his knowledge or consent.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JACOB SLIFER
was born in Elos, Germany, on the 13th day of October, 1811. His father and family embarked on a ship for America in 1817. After sailing one week, a severe storm came up and drove the vessel, a total wreck, into the English Channel. The captain of the unfortunate ship was ruined, and the father of Mr. Slifer lost the amount which he had paid for their passage, and being in limited circumstances, his two oldest children were sold to pay their fare. After seventeen weeks at sea they landed in America, where young Slifer attended school for a short time, was then bound to a farmer until eighteen years of age, after which he worked at the shoe-maker's trade for three years, clerked in a store in Philadelphia for twelve months, and came to Hancock county in 1834 3 was married to Miss Jane Lewis and settled in the wilds of this county in very limited circumstances, where he endured the privations of pioneer life. He has served two terms as County Commissioner, and is now bountifully supplied with this world's goods.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JOHH H. WHITE
was born in Preble county, Ohio, December 3, 1824. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. His early education was received in the common schools of his native county, during the winter terms, when he could not be profitably employed on the farm. He came to Shelby county, Indiana, in 1843; served an apprenticeship as tanner and currier in Franklin county. At the close of his apprenticeship, he began teaching school in connection with farming, which he has followed ever since. In 1853 he moved to Center township, Hancock county, where he now resides. In 1860 he was elected Township Trustee. In 1864 he represented the county in the lower house of the Legislature. In 1866 he was re-elected. He has been President of the Hancock Agricultural Society. He was formerly a Whig, but has been a Democrat since 1854. In 1862 he became a member of the Christian Church. He was married December 23, 1843, to Miss Sarah Potts, of Franklin county. He is the father of nine children, all of whom are useful members of society.
“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JAMES L. MASON
dates his nativity April 3, 1834, Union county, Indiana, where he received a primary education in the common schools. At the age of fourteen he entered Farmer's College, near Cincinnati. Here he pursued his studies for a time, but finally went to Bloomington, Indiana, and became a student in the State University. Returning to Brownsville, his native town, he taught school for two terms, and acted in the capacity of county surveyor at the same time. He studied law with Hon. John S. Reid, of Connersville, Indiana, for a short period, and then returned to Bloomington, and studied for one term in the law department. He subsequently taught school in Wayne county and Greenfield, after which he read law with the Hon. Thomas D. Walpole, of this place, and soon entered upon the active practice of his chosen profession. In 1862 he was elected Joint Representative for Hancock and Shelby counties to the State Legislature. In 1864 he was elected State Senator. In 1862 he was married to Miss Emma R. Millikan, who lived but six weeks thereafter. In 1867 he was married to Miss Rebecca Julian, daughter of Judge Jacob B. Julian, of Indianapolis, who died October 22, 1877.

Mr. Mason joined the Masonic fraternity in 1853. He is a steadfast Democrat, the owner of two thousand acres of land, and one of the wealthiest men in the county.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

HAMILTON J. DUNBAR
a native of Hancock county, was born September 13, 1846. His parents were Jonathan and Mary Dunbar, who were respectively of Scotch and Irish descent. The early life of young Dunbar was characterized by love of amusement and fondness for athletic sports. He availed himself of the educational advantages of the Greenfield schools in his youth; but his ambition reaching beyond these, he entered Asbury University at Greencastle, where he graduated with high and special honors in the class of 1866, and immediately thereafter began the practice and study of law in this city. March 31, 1868, he was married to Miss Florence M. Jones, of Greencastle. Mr. D. died September 5, 1876, leaving to mourn him a widow and one child, in whose hearts he is enshrined, not only as a prominent lawyer and polished debater, but as an affectionate husband and kind father.

His wife, a niece of the Hon. D. W. Voorhees, has since returned to her native town, where she now resides.

As an evidence of the high esteem in which Mr. D. was held by the legal fraternity of the State, we quote briefly from the resolutions of the Marion county bar on his demise.
"It is seldom that one so young as he had won so extended a practice at the bar, and yet more seldom that one so young had won so deep a hold upon the hearts of those about him, and wielded such an influence in the community in which he lived. As a bar, we will remember his talents and success with pride, and seek to emulate his many virtues. In his early death we see but another illustration of the sad results of over labor, of the straining beyond their utmost tension the nerves of the practicing lawyer."

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

CHARLES E. BARRETT,
a practicing attorney of Sullivan, Indiana, but formerly of this county, was born in Indianapolis, November 28, 1858. His opportunities for a literary education were limited, but making the most of them, and being apt and of a practical business turn of mind, he has, while employed in the various departments of mercantile life, acquired a good, practical business education. Mr. B. began the study of law at odd times, and looked forward to it as a profession as early as at the age of sixteen, and on quitting the store he entered the law office of Messrs. New & Poulson, and took a course of reading, after which he bought out Mr. Poulson and formed a partnership with Mr. James A. New, one of the leading attorneys of the city. Here he enjoyed a lucrative practice for three years. During all this time he was also a hard student. This we say from personal know1edge, as to two years of the time, being a student in the office. Mr. B. was admitted to the bar of the Hancock Circuit Court December 31, 1879, being the first opportunity after having arrived at his majority and becoming admissible.

In the fall of 1881 the firm of New & Barrett was by mutual consent dissolved, and Mr. B. removed to Sullivan, supplied himself with an excellent library, and put out his shingle. He shortly, however, formed a co-partnership with Senator Briggs, and is now consequently the junior member of the law firm of Briggs & Barrett. The cut accompanying this will be recognized and acknowledged by those acquainted with him as a good portrait.

Mr. B. is a Democrat in politics, and, though a member of no church, leans toward the Methodists.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

MATILDA GOODING
a daughter of Lemuel Hunt and wife of Asa Gooding, was born in Nicholas county, in the State of Kentucky, and was married to Asa Gooding on the 31st day of August, 1822. They removed to Rush county, in the State of Indiana, in the fall of 1826, where they settled in the green woods, after building a log cabin in which to reside, Asa Gooding having entered forty acres of land at the price of $1.25 per acre. They were both industrious and happy. In 1836 they removed to Greenfield, Hancock county, and for a time kept hotel. Asa Gooding died in 1842, leaving surviving him Matilda Gooding, his widow, who, though absent for a few years at Greencastle, Indiana, for the purpose of educating some of her children, still resides in the same dwelling-house, long known as the Gooding Corner. She is the mother of seven surviving children, fire sons and two daughters, to-wit: David S., Lemuel W., Oliver P., Henry C., and William H. and Elvira M. Gooding and Cindrella J. Howard, wife of Dr. Noble P. Howard, Sen. For one of her age she is in fair health, reasonably comfortable and happy, with a consciousness of having been a good wife and mother and useful in her day and generation, respected by all who know her and loved and honored by her relatives and friends. She is patiently and contentedly awaiting the Master's call.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

ERNST H. FAUT
was born October 30, 1835, in the county of Buckeburg and Duchy of Schaumburg-Lippe, Germany. His father was a Prussian subject, and named after Frederick Wilhelm the Third. Being a blacksmith by trade, all the boys had to work in the shop as soon as they could take hold of the bellows-pole, as it is well known in Germany that all the children have to attend school from the age of seven to fourteen.

In the year 1848 the revolution broke out in that country, and the people clamored for liberty, and thought everything oppressive, even the compulsory school system. His father had the idea that his son Ernst would be of more benefit to him in the blacksmith shop than in the schoolroom. An application was gotten up to the highest school authority for his release, which had to be approved by the subordinates before it was presented to the supreme authority. This approval read as follows: "His knowledge will do, and his father needs him badly." This application was presented, and in a few days after granted. The cause of this was that the official authorities of the Government were scared about the revolution in the country at this time, and they were willing to grant almost anything at that critical moment, but Ernst was cheated out of his proper schooling. From that time he had to work in the blacksmith shop with his father. Several of the neighbors who had emigrated to this country wrote letters home to their friends, relating the great advantages of this country over their native home for poor and laboring people. This impressed him favorably, and he solicited his father to give him the privilege and means to come to America, but his father hesitated on account of his age. Finally, after a few years of continued solicitation, he consented, and on April 29, 1854, at the age of eighteen years, he left the parental roof, and embarked at Bremen on a sailing vessel, as ocean steamers were rare at that time. After a voyage of sixty-six days he arrived in New York city on August 4th. Having an uncle living in New Palestine whom he had never seen, his attention was directed that way, and he concluded to pay him a visit. Here he arrived August 14th, and got employment at his trade, and he remained there until April, 1856, when he went to Indianapolis, and, finding no work at his trade, he took a job as a hod-carrier. Soon after this he succeeded in finding employment at his regular business.

In the fall of 1857 he made a set of horse-shoes for the State Fair, on which he took the first premium. In November he returned to New Palestine, and formed a partnership with his cousin, Ernst W. Faut. They carried on the blacksmithing business for several years.

In the spring of 1860 he was married to Miss Mary E. Eickman, the fruits of which union are eight sprightly children, two boys and six girls, who are all living.

In the fall of 1850 the partnership with his cousin was dissolved, and he continued the business at the old stand. In the minter of 1861 and 1862, Mr. Lysander Sparks, then Auditor of this county, appointed him Assessor for Sugar-Creek township. In the fall of 1852 he was elected to the same position for two years. In the spring of 1866 he was elected township Trustee, and was subsequently re-elected for six consecutive terms, as the elections were then held annually. In the fall of 1872 he was elected Treasurer of Hancock county, which position he held for two consecutive terms.

After the expiration of his term as Treasurer he formed a partnership with his brother Charles in the manufacture of carriages, buggies, wagons, etc. Their establishment is doing an extensive, thriving business, and gives employment to a large number of hands. Mr. F. is one of the most enterprising citizens of the country, sociable, hospitable and generous.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

GENERAL OLIVER PAUL GOODING.
Oliver Paul Gooding was born the 29th day of January, 1835, in the village of Moscow, Rush county, Indiana. In 1837 he moved with his parents to Greenfield, Hancock county, Indiana. At the age of eighteen, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he graduated in 1858. He was attached to the Fourth United States Infantry as Brevet Second Lieutenant, serving as such at Fort Columbus, New York Harbor. The 5th day of February, 1859, he was promoted to a Second Lieutenancy in the Tenth United States Infantry, and joined that regiment at Fort Bridges, Utah Territory, in August of that year, and served on the expedition against the Mormons in 1859 and 1860. In 1861 he was ordered to the defense of Washington, D. C., and served in the war for the suppression of the great rebellion from 1861 till 1865. During the war he held several important commands, among which was the Thirty-first Massachusetts Volunteers (converted into the Sixth Massachusetts Cavalry), which regiment he led as the advanced guard of the Union army at the capture of New Orleans, the first day of May, 1862. On the Teche campaign and the Port Hudson campaign, in 1863, he commanded the third brigade of the third division, nineteenth army corps. In the battle of Fort Bisland, or battle of the Teche, as it is sometimes called, he commanded the Union forces on the north bank of Bayou Teche, and captured an outwork of the enemy and some prisoners. The loss of life in his command was heavier and its success greater than that of all the rest of the army, the brunt of the battle falling on his command. The battle was stopped by darkness, and the enemy abandoned his works and retreated during the night, and was pursued in the morning. At Port Hudson, General Gooding gallantly led his brigade in the terrible and bloody assaults made on the enemy's works on the 27th day of May, 1863, and the 14th day of June, 1863. His brigade suffered heavily. On the Red River campaign, in 1864, he commanded the Fifth Brigade, Cavalry Division, Department of the Gulf, and at the end of that campaign was assigned to the command of the division. In command of the Union troops at Campti, on the north bank of Red River, the 4th day of April, 1864, General Gooding, in a hotly contested cavalry action, defeated the enemy under General Siddell. At the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, in command of his brigade, the 9th day of April, 1864, General Gooding gallantly fought and held the enemy in check till the Union army came into position, his hat being shot off his head, the bullet grazing his scalp. At the battle of Kane River Crossing he commanded the advanced cavalry, and was highly complimented on the field by Major-General William H. Emory, commanding Nineteenth Army Corps, for the able manner in which he handled his command and developed the enemy's position. On the retreat of the Union army, he was constantly under fire with his brigade, covering either the flank or rear of the army. While serving in the volunteer service, his promotion in the regular army went on to the rank of Captain, the 27th day of June, 1862, which regular rank he resigned on entering civil life in 1865. Entering the war as a Second Lieutenant of Regulars, by his own merits he rose to the rank of Major-General by brevet of United States Volunteers, which last rank was conferred on him the 13th day of March, 1865, for, as his commission recites: ”Gallant conduct in the assaults on the enemy's works at Port Hudson, Louisiana, in 1863, and gallant and distinguished conduct throughout the Red River campaign, in 1864.”

In the fall of 1865, he located in Washington, D. C., and resumed the study of the law, which he had commenced in the regular army before the war. He was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia, the 4th day of January, 1866, and practiced law there till 1869, having in the meantime taken a trip to California, when he returned to his old home at Greenfield, Indiana, where he lived in retirement till February, 1874, when he located in St. Louis, Missouri, in the practice of the law. In 1881 he was appointed General Attorney of the Insurance Department of Missouri. General Gooding is the author of the new national anthem, America, the chorus of which is :
"Wave on, wave on! The old flag forever!"

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

AUTOBIOGRAHPY OF JOHN H. BINFORD
According to the records in the old family Bible, I am the fourth son, second living, of Robert and Martha Binford, now of Rush county, but formerly of Blue-River township, this county, where I was born, April 13, 1844, and am consequently in my thirty-eighth year.

The first impressions made on my mind of which I have any recollection were of a serious nature, occasioned by the death of my grandfather, John Hill, in 1847, while I was yet not three years old. I remember the circumstance distinctly, the scene at the funeral and how sad my parents were.

At five my mother began to teach me to spell, read and write. The first writing consisted in making "straight marks," followed by patient practicing on the "pot-hooks."

At six I entered school, and continued therein for about six months in the year till I was large enough to plow and do light work on the farm, after which I had school privileges for a short term in the winter only until the fall of 1862, when I entered Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana, for a five-months term.

The following winter of 1863 and 1864 I taught my first school at Hopewell, Blue-River township, a four months' term of eighty-seven days, for $100, or $25 a month, and boarded myself. The school was large and the classes advanced; history, physiology, philosophy, algebra, rhetoric and a few other extra branches being studied, hence my time was fully yet pleasantly employed. I have taught about forty terms since then in graded and ungraded schools, in normals and colleges, in this and other States; but never did I teach another term around the memory of which there clusters dearer and more vivid recollections.

Among my students that winter were boys and girls that have since become useful men and women, and are now filling positions of trust and profit with credit to themselves and honor to their instructor.

After teaching a few terms in the district schools and attending school in the meantime at home, at Walnut Ridge and Spiceland, I finally entered the National Normal School in Ohio for two years, but, owing to declining health, quit school, went South, and was for two years principal of the Third-Ward schools of Little Rock, Arkansas. While here, during the first year, I had the honor of aiding in organizing the first County and State Teachers' Association of the State, acted as secretary of the same, and was sent as a delegate to the National Teachers' Association at Trenton, New Jersey, and also the State Teachers' Association at Ithica, New York, both of which I had the pleasure of attending. In going and returning I visited Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Niagara Falls, Saratoga and Ballston Springs, New York City, Philadelphia and numerous other points of interest.

Returning to Little Rock, I entered upon my second year's superintendency at $133 1/3 per month, and also engaged in merchandising, but, not being able to give the latter business my personal attention, I abandoned it after less than a year's useful experience.

Being now fully recovered in health, I determined on completing my prospective normal course, and therefore declined further employment, though earnestly solicited, at $1,500 a year or $8 1/3 per day for time employed.

In 1871 I had the honor of graduating from said Ohio Normal, and among my classmates and co-graduates in this school were H. B. Brown, now Principal of Valparaiso Normal, F. P. Adams, Principal of the Central Normal at Danville, and Prof. John Burke, of Covington, Kentucky.

The following year, while Principal of the New Garden High School, I was elected by the township trustees, on the first Monday in June, as County Superintendent of my native county under the new school law providing for County Superintendent, Institutes, &c., and abolishing the office of County Examiner, I at once gave bond, took charge of the office, and on the close of my school entered upon the active duties of my new field of labor. This position I filled as best I could for two years, without fear or favor, endeavoring to raise the standard of education, and by every available means to make our teachers and schools more efficient and effectual and the instruction more practical and profitable.

August 26, 1874, while County Superintendent, I was appointed by J. C. Denny, Attorney General, as his assistant in and for this county, under the act of March 10, 1873.

In the summer of 1875 I organized and with the aid of competent assistants held and conducted in the Greenfield Graded School building “The Hancock County Normal,” the first normal school ever held in the county.

During the long summer vacation of 1875, May 27th, I was appointed deputy Treasurer, or tax collector, by County Treasurer E. H. Faut for the townships of Blue-river, Brandywine and Center, including Greenfield. The following summer, 1876, with increasing advantages and a larger corps of instructors, including Prof. W. A. Yohn, of Valparaiso, I conducted the largest normal ever held in the county, though several very interesting and well attended ones have since been held in different parts thereof.

In the fall of 1875 I was elected Principal of the Greenfield Graded Schools, which position I held for two years. In the meantime occurred the Centennial year, and all educational men were called upon to aid in " Indiana's Educational Exhibit at Philadelphia." I laid the matter before our teachers and schools, and suggested a series of exhibitions, with a reasonable admittance fee, which was promptly responded to in such a liberal manner as to give the school and city the credit of doing more than all others in the county and of placing herself in the front rank of cities of her size in the State. Our exhibit at the Centennial was also respectable, and I speak from personal knowledge, being in attendance thereat for a few weeks.

In the spring of 1875, while County Superintendent, after the per diem was reduced by the Legislature and the work was not crowding, I employed Lee O. Harris to do the necessary work of the office, and started on a tour through the Southern States, determined to learn by observation something of the method of conducting schools.

On this trip of a few weeks I visited the best schools of Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, New Orleans, Montgomery, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia, and other points, a full account of which I gave in the Indiana School Journal, which I represented.

On the 26th of June, 1873, I was married to Miss Lucy Coggeshall, youngest daughter of John Coggeshall, of Wayne county. The little family of two has since grown to six - Gertrude, Edgar A., Robert J. and Paul F. being the younger members.

In 1877, for various reasons, I resolved on abandoning my chosen profession for the more healthful, equally honorable and more remunerative profession of law. The first year I read at home, on the farm, while rusticating and rejuvinating. I then returned to Greenfield, read in the office of New & Barrett for the succeeding two years, was admitted to the bar of the Hancock Circuit Court in the meantime, and had entered upon the practice of my new profession, when I received a call from the Central Indiana Normal College, of Montgomery county, to take charge of the Law Department, and teach Theory and Practice, Zoology and Civil Government, which offer I accepted for one year. Returning for the third time to Greenfield, I opened up an office, put out my shingle, and while patiently awaiting for a client, contracted to write this "History of Hancock County" for King & Harden; accepting a proposition to buy out the interest of Mr. Harden, I became fully identified with the interest of the work, and have given it my spare moments from my legal duties for the past six months.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

HON. CHARLES G. OFFUTT, one of the leading attorneys of this city, was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, October 4, 1845. He is the son of Lloyd and Elizabeth Offutt, respectively of Maryland and Kentucky. His early education was confined to the common schools of his adopted State, whither he had removed with his parents when quite small. At the early age of seventeen he entered the dry goods store of Samuel Heavenridge, then a merchant in the town of Greenfield, where he remained for about two years. He then taught one term in the county district schools, after which he engaged in the employ of Towsey & Byram, merchants of Indianapolis, where he continued for the following two years.

About this time Mr. Offutt conceived the idea of adopting the legal profession, in pursuance of which he returned to Greenfield and entered upon a course of reading with the Hon. James L. Mason, which he faithfully continued for about three years. He then formed a partnership with Judge Joseph S. Buckles, and continued that relation until the fall of 1873, when, by mutual consent, the firm was dissolved. Thenceforward he continued the practice alone until 1876, at which time the law firm of Offutt & Martin was established, of which Mr. Offutt was the senior member. This partnership was continued until 1880, since which he has been alone. In 1872 he represented the county in the Lower House of the Legislature. Though one of the younger members of that august body, he did credit to himself and his constituents. In 1876 he was elected Democratic Elector for the Sixth Congressional District of Indiana.

Mr. Offutt was married July 15, 1874, to Miss Anna, oldest daughter of Frederick Hammel, late of this city, the fruits of which union are two sprightly children, a boy and girl.

Mr. Offutt is a man of rare native ability, portly and promising, of pleasing address, and stands high in his profession both as a counselor and practitioner.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

LEONIDAS P. NEWBY
was born near Lewisville, Hendricks county, Indiana, April 9, 1856. He came with his parents, when quite young, to Greensborough, where he remained till the year 1852, thence to Brown township, this county, where he resided till 1872. But desiring better facilities for an education, he went to Knightstown, entered the High School, from which he graduated in 1874, being the first graduate from the Knightstown Academy, after which he took two year's private instruction under Prof. Charles Hewitt, completing the catalouge course of Asbury University. He then taught one year at Fortville, two years at Warrington and a similar time in the Knightstown Academy. In 1873 he began the study of law with Charles M. Butler, then Prosecutor of this district. He continued to study and teach till 1877, when he entered into a partnership with Walter B. Swaim for one year, since which he has been alone. At the fall election of 1880 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, and on the resignation of Charles M. Butler, Prosecutor, he was appointed to fill his unespired term.

Mr. N. was married December 21, 1876, to Miss Mary, daughter of R. B. Breckenridge, one of the first families of Knightstown. He has two sprightly children, a pleasant home, and a splendid new brick residence in Knightstown, his present abode.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

ANDREW M. PATTERSON
a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, came to Greenfield in 1832 and was one of the most energetic public spirited men of the county. He was ever making improvements, and urging others to do likewise. By trade he was a hatter, and carried on business for a number of years in the house which he built for the purpose, on the north-west corner of Main and Pennsylvania streets. About this time he erected a handsome brick residence, at the time the best in the county; the same is now occupied as the dwelling of A. J. Banks. He then beautified the grounds with trees, shrubbery and flowers till it equalled the finest grounds in the cities at that time. On the breaking out of the Mexican war he entered the service; was elected First Lieutenant of a company raised in this county, as seen from our list of Mexican soldiers further on. He remained in the army till the close of the war, when he returned, broken down in health. As soon as he recruited somewhat he sold out, being discouraged with the slow progress of the town and county during his absence, and determined to go West, which resolution located him in Davenport, Iowa, where he amassed a fortune, and was honored and respected by all, irrespective of party. He represented his county in both Houses of the Legislature. From there he went to Carthage, Missouri, where he now resides, an honored member of society, and surrounded by all that tends to make life pleasant.

Mr. P. and our much esteemed friend, A. T. Hart, are perhaps the oldest business men of Greenfield now living. To the latter we are indebted for the above Facts.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JUDGE MARK E. FORKNER
a native of Henry county, was born January 26, 1846. His early education was received in the common schools of his neighborhood, after which he attended, for a time, the New Castle Academy. He was raised, principally, in the rural districts, during which he spent two years in his father's store at Millville, Henry county. He early conceived the idea of adopting the legal profession as his life calling, and, in accordance therewith, began reading law with Lewis Dale, of New Castle, May 10, 1864. In the spring of 1865 he came to Greenfield and continued his legal studies for a time, when he returned to New Castle, and still mployed his golden moments in the prosecution of his chosen profession, with Joshua H. Mellett, till the fall of 1866, supporting himself in the meantime by teaching school in the winter. In the fall of that year he was appointed Deputy District Attorney for Henry county, by Calvin D. Thompson. On the resignation of Mr. T., R. A. Riley was appointed to fill the vacancy, who continued Mr. F. as Deputy.

In the spring of 1867 he formed a partnership with Judge Mellett, which continued till 1870, the date of Mr. M.'s election to the bench . Mr. Forkner next associated himself with Senator Eugene H. Bundy, with whom he remained till the fall of 1876, since which time he has been alone. He represented his native county in the lower House of the Legislature in 1874 with credit to himself and honor to his constituents, being a member of the Judiciary and other important committees.

May 11, 1851, he was appointed Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the late Robert L. Polk. This appointment was made just seventeen years and one day from the date 'on which he began his legal studies.

He was married June 22, 1869, to Miss Rebecca A. Donahue, the fruits of which union are two promising children -a boy and a girl. Judge Forkner is an able lawyer, an efficient judge, fearless and impartial in his decisions.

“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

JAMES K. KING
was born October 17, 1818, in Jefferson county, Indiana, within four miles of an Indian camp, and was called by the red men "a pale-face pappoose." The Indians often visited at his father's house, and invariably slept with their knives and tomahawks under their heads. When the subject of this sketch was six years old his father moved to Garrard county, Kentucky; here he learned his A, B, C's, and remained four years, then returned to Jefferson for two years; thence to Decatur county, in the green woods with his father, where he attended school in the winter until his seventeenth year; he then taught for a time, and attended school for three terms at the Greensburg Seminary. In 1839 he was joined in wedlock with Miss Irene Wilson, in Decatur county, sister of H. B. Wilson, of Green township. In 1840 he moved to Hancock county and settled in the native forests. In 1847 he located in Warrington and engaged in the goods and stock trade until 1857, when he failed. In 1852 he joined the Masons. In 1860 he was elected County Surveyor, and re-elected in 1862. In 1861 he located in Greenfield, since which he has acted as Deputy Sheriff for about four years and Assessor for eleven years. In 1875 he published "King's Map of Hancock County." In 1881 he associated himself with Samuel Harden, of Madison county, under the firm name of King & Harden, for the purpose of publishing the History of Hancock County.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
Personal Sketches and Brief Biographies

Dr. J. G. STUART
was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, September 18, 1826. His parents emigrated to Indiana in 1829, and settled one mile west of Richmond, Wayne county, where they remained for a time; thence to Knightstown, where they continued until 1835. From there they came to Hancock county, and settled in the wild woods, where the subject of this sketch resided with his parents until 1843, when he left home with what blue jeans clothes he could tie up in n kerchief and fifty cents in his pocket. He walked to Randolph county, and began the study of medicine with Dr. J. W. Randell, with whom he continued until 1844, when he went to Knightstown, Henry county, and studied one year with Dr. John Weaver; thence to Charlotteville, and completed his studies with Dr. Henry T. Cook. He commenced the practice of medicine in June, 1846. His first medical effort was to adjust a fractured arm for Andrew Pauley. He continued the practice until 1863, when he took a course of lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Again he resumed his chosen profession. He graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1874.

Dr. Stuart resides in Fortville, has a paying practice, is a married man, and the senior member of the medical firm of J. G. Stuart & Son.

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“History of Hancock County, Indiana” by J. H. Binford
Published by King & Binford, Greenfield, IN 1882
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