Samuel Riggs was born in Maryland on July 13, 1786, a son of James and Mary (Johnson) Riggs, who also were born in Maryland, representatives of old colonial families, and who later moved to Washington county, Ohio, where Samuel grew to manhood and where he married, on September 18, 1810, Elizabeth Ross, daughter of Andrew and Mary Ross. The next year, in 1811, Samuel Rggs walked over into the then Territory of Indiana, "spying out the land," and found here in the upper valley of the White Water what he had been seeking, a land very fair and good to look upon. He entered a quarter of a section of land in the woods four or five miles east of the point where John Conner had established his trading post on the river, and there, near the middle of what later came to be organized as Jennings township, decided to establish his home. He returned to Ohio for his wife and the two came out here into the wilderness. They transported their household goods by flatboat down the river to Cincinnati and from that point began the toilsome journey by wagon through the woods up the old White Water trail to their new home in the wilderness. Upon their arrival there they put up a log cabin and began the laborious task of creating a habitable home amid conditions that would have appalled all but the stoutest hearts. Samuel Riggs was an energetic and industrious man and from the very beginning of his operations in this county prospered. He became the owner of two hundred and twenty-one acres of land in Jennings township and was also the owner of four hundred and eighty acres in Howard county. Samuel Riggs died at his home in Jennings township on March 31, 1875. His wife, who was born on April 5, 1795, had preceded, him to the grave less than a year, her death having occurred on June 19, 1874. She was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church and she and her husband exerted a potent influence for good in the formative period of the now prosperous farming community in which they had settled in pioneer days. They were the parents of twelve children, Denton, John, Mary, Ruth, Stephen, James S., Andrew, S. H., Kinsey, Rossie, Jane and Nancy.
James S. Riggs was born on that pioneer farm in 1821, the sixth child and fourth son of his parents, and was there reared amid real pioneer conditions, receiving his schooling at the home fireside and in the primitive school that early was established in that neighborhood, and from boyhood was an able assistant to his father in the labors of developing and improving the home farm, and after his marriage in 1845 began farming on his own account. He possessed a natural talent for business, had keen executive ability and prospered in his affairs, becoming a very successful farmer and was long accounted one of the most substantial and influential men in his community. His farm in Jennings township, containing ninety acres, was well improved and profitably cultivated and his live stock were of the best. He also owned two hundred acres in Effingham county, Illinois, and one hundred and sixty acres in Howard county, Indiana. In church affairs Mr. Riggs also took an active and influential part. He and his wife were devoted members of the Christian church and were among the organizers of the church of that denomination in Connersville. Mr. Riggs helped to reconstruct a school house in his neighborhood and fit it for church services and would drive into Connersville for the preacher and bring him to that point in Jennings township for services and then take him back to Connersville. That pioneer church in Jennings township was, in a way, the forerunner of the church at Springerville. James Riggs died quite suddenly in May, 1869, and his widow survived him many years, her death occurring in Connersville on February 17, 1902.
On January 23, 1845, James Riggs was united in marriage to Susan Monger, of Jennings township, who was born near Lebanon, Ohio, February 15, 1824, a daughter of John and Huldah (Davis) Monger, the former of whom eas born in Virginia on January 30, 1799, and the latter, in Ohio, June 9, 1800, a daughter of Jonathan Davis and wife, the former of whom, a native of New Jersey, was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. Some time after the settlement began to grow up around old Ft. Washington and the then straggling village of Cincinnati began to develop, Jonathan Davis came down the river with his family and his goods and settled there, building a log cabin with a huge fireplace, from which extended a great brick chimney. One night the Indians attacked his cabin. He concealed his wife and children in the loft of the cabin and then he hid .himself in the chimney in such a way as to be, concealed from the view of anyone entering the cabin, yet giving him a view of all that might go on. Presently the savage redskins broke into the cabin and were greeted by a shot from the doughty old soldier in the fireplace. Time after time he shot, the Indians being unable to reach him, and after awhile the marauders took their departure, dragging their dead after them, and the rest of the night danced the hideous war dance about the cabin. Upon the coming of the Mongers to this county, Jonathan Davis accompanied his daughter, Mrs. Monger, and his last days were spent in her home in Jennings township.
He died on October 26, 1845, at Brookville, and is buried in the cemetery at Springersville, one of the two Revolutionary soldiers buried in this county. It was probably in 1825 that John Monger and his wife came to Fayette county from Lebanon, Ohio, for Miss Rosella Riggs, their granddaughter. now living at Connersville, has their tax receipts bearing dates from 1826 to 1846. John Monger was the son of George and Frances Monger, who .settled here in 1833; they had nine children. They lived and died here in Fayette county. John Monger and wife located on a farm just south of Lyonsville, in Jennings township, the tract they selected for a home being covered with forest trees, a previous occupant of that quarter section having done nothing toward clearing the same save clearing a spot for a door yard and erecting thereon a small log cabin. There John Monger and his wife established their home and there they spent the remainder of their lives, active and influential members of that pioneer community and helpful in all road works thereabout until the day of their death. Not long after settling there John Monger built a substantial brick house of unusually thick walls and in that house, which was destroyed by fire in April. 1912, there had lived five generations of the family, beginning with Jonathan Davis. the Revolutionary soldier; his daughter, Mrs. Hulda (Davis) Monger; her daughter, Mrs. Susan (Monger) Riggs, the latter's son, Francis M. Riggs, who was born there, and Lola Rosella Riggs, daughter of Francis M. Riggs, also was born there. John Monger not only was a good fanner, but he was an active man of affairs and during his life held numerous offices of public trust. Miss Riggs, of Connersville, has many heirlooms of the family, including a chest which contains voluminous records of the business transactions of the Monger family, showing that they were subscribers to magazines and cultural periodicals and enjoyed a life of education and refinement such as the present generation may not have thought probable of the generation represented by the pioneers. John Monger died on March 8, 1839. He was a son of George and Frances Monger and he had a sister who was stolen by the Indians when she was a little girl, grew up with the tribe and married a savage chief. After her marriage she found her way back to the home of her parents and for a time resumed her place in their home, but presently began to long for the freedom of the life of the tribe to which she had been accustomed from childhood and returned to her chief and the tribe in which she had been reared and with that tribe spent her last days. John Monger's widow survived him less than five years, her death occurring on December 7, 1834. She was a devout member of the Christian church and her children were reared in that faith. There were seven of these children, six of whom grew to maturity, Jonathan D., Susan, who married Mr. Riggs; Mary A., Hester, Sidney E. and Sarah F.
To James S. and Susan (Monger) Riggs eight children were born, of whom two died before the death of their father, those remaining with the widowed mother at the time of his death having been as follow: Asbury Samuel, who died in Connersville, leaving a family of orphaned children, his wife having died a year previous to his death; Jonathan M., who died in Jennings township; Francis M., who is living on a farm near the old home place in Jennings township; Reeder James, who is living in Connersville; Oliver S., also a resident of Connersville, and Sarah Rosella, who also makes her home in Connersville. After the death of James S. Riggs in 1869, his widow remained on the farm until the boys grew up and left home and then she and her daughter, Rosella, remained there until in November, 1891, when they moved to Connersville and built a house in Virginia avenue, just above Seventeenth street, that part of the city then being practically open fields, that residence section having developed since then. There the mother and the daughter lived together until the death of the former on February 17, 1902, and Miss Riggs continues to make her home there. Besides owning that home she is the owner of ninety acres of the old Monger quarter section south of Lyonsville.
Miss Rosella Riggs grew up in a community that was devoted to good works, its people possessed of high ideals and lofty aspirations, and from the time she was a little girl she took her part in the cultural activities of that neighborhood. When ten years of age she was the organist in the Sunday school and has ever given earnest thought to her musical education, a diligent student of both instrumental and vocal music, and is a pianist of much skill, playing the classical music with deep feeling and fine expression. For the sake of her mother and that she might ever be at the latter's side during her declining years, Miss Riggs nobly sacrificed many of the pleasures dear to young people and during the last six years of her mother's life never left her alone in the house. Miss Riggs, as noted above, has many interesting family relics and heirlooms of the pioneer days in this county, some of these having come down from her great-grandfather, Jonathan Davis, the Revolutionary soldier, including certain articles of domestic use which he made with his own hands during the time of his residence in Ohio, and a fine woven rattan riding-whip, with a handle of metal and ivory, which was used by her grandmother, Huldah (Davis) Monger, and a blanket of wool that was grown on sheep raised by her father, the wool having been prepared for spinning and carded by her mother. There are also old dishes that were in the Davis family and numerous bits of hand-made lace and embroidery that would excite the admiration and envy of modern lace-makers. Around many of these interesting mementoes Miss Riggs is able to weave stories of the other days, tales handed down in her family, that would make most interesting reading for the present generation.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
The late John T. White, who died at his home in Connersville township, this county, in the spring of 1914, was a member of one of the oldest and most substantial families in Fayette county. He was born on a pioneer farm about three miles east and a little south of Connersville, December 26, 1843, and his whole life was spent in this county, the most of the time on the farm, though for some years he was engaged as a cabinet-maker in Connersville and during that period made his home in the city. His death occurred on the farm on which he was born, a pioneer tract that had been secured by his grandfather back in the days when the Indians still were numerous in this section of Indiana.
The first of the White family to come to Fayette county were Joel and Susanna White, who came into the Indiana country from North Carolina, by way of Tennessee and Kentucky. Joel White was a Quaker, but he married outside of the faith and was ostracized by his family and the other Quakers of his homed community for doing so. He and his wife Susanna left North Carolina and went to Tennessee, where their first child, a son, Thomas White, was born in 1803. In 1813 the family started north with the expectation of finding a new home in the Indiana country, but on account of the continued Indian depredations about that time, were compelled to stop at the block house at Hamilton until the Indians were suppressed. In 1815 they resumed their trip and in due time arrived in Fayette county, where Joel White bought a quarter of a section of land in the east part of Connersville township, cleared a small tract on the same, built a log house and there established his home. For some time after locating here he spent what leisure he could command in cutting wood near Cincinnati and thus earned the money with which to complete the payments on his quarter section of "Congress land." Joel White was an expert woodsman and trapper and he acted as the guide for the party of engineers who surveyed the Twelve Mile Purchase line. About 1838 Joel White moved from Fayette county to Madison county and in the latter county died a few years later. His widow survived him for years, her death occurring about 1853.
John T. White was adopted when a child by his uncle, Thomas White, and was reared by the latter. Thomas White inherited a part of the old Joel White place and bought the remainder and the place fell to John T. White upon the death of his adopted father. Thomas White moved into Connersville about 1860. John T. White then being about seventeen years of age, and in the city the latter learned the trade of cabinet-maker and followed the same until 1897, when he returned to the farm where he was born and which had been entered from the government by his grandfather, Joel White, and there he spent the rest of his life as a farmer, his death occurring on May 5, 1914. His wife had preceded him to the grave a little more than two years, her death having occurred on February 24, 1912.
It was while living in Connersville that John T. White was united in marriage to Anna K. Halbert, who was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, October 23, 1850, and she was four or five years of age when her parents, Samuel and Rebecca (Hatton) Halbert, came to Indiana and located at Connersville, where Mr. Halbert became engaged as a cabinet-maker and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. John T. White and his wife were earnest members of the Christian church and their children were reared in that faith. There are four of these children, Thomas H., Elizabeth R., James Douglas and Alice L., the latter of whom married Lawrence A. Ripberger and lives on a farm near the old White farm. Mr. and Mrs. Ripberger have five living children, Russell, Aldene, Carl , Lillian and Henry. Elizabeth White married William F. Granger, who is living on the White farm and assisting in the operation of the same, and has one child, a son, William F. Thomas H. and James D. White continue to make their home on the old home place, their sister, Mrs. Granger, being housekeeper in the old home since the death of her mother. The Whites have a very pleasant home and take a proper part in the general social activities of the community in which they live, ever helpful in promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common welfare thereabout.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Frank Morris Hanson, one of Fayette county's best-known and most progressive farmers and for years one of the best-known horsemen in this part of the state, is the proprietor of a fine farm in Connersville township, about a mile south of Connersville, where he has an attractive home and is well situated. He was born in that township and has lived there all his life. His birthplace was the old Hanson farm, three miles southwest of Connersville, where he was born on January 27, 1871, son of William Asbury and Margaret (Ross) Hanson, members of old families in this county, both of whom are now deceased.
William Asbury Hanson also was born in Connersville township, son of Asbury Hanson and wife, pioneers of Fayette county, and spent all his life farming in that township, one of the most substantial citizens of that part of the county. He gave much attention to the raising of live stock and was particularly attentive to his horses, having bred a number of race horses that attained more than merely local note. William A. Hanson had an excellent race track on his farm three miles southwest of Connersville, on which he trained his race horses and from the days of his youth the subject of this sketch took much interest in that phase of the operations of the Hanson farm. One of these race horses, a stallion, "Mjor Ross," driven by Frank M. Hanson to a high-wheeled sulky in 1893, made a mile in 2:30 as a two-year-old; as a three-year-old made a mile in 2:19-1/2, and as a four-year-old made a mile in 2:16-1/4. William A. Hanson was an ardent Republican and ever gave his earnest attention to local political affairs, a strong force for good in his community. He died in September, 1905, and his widow survived him for nearly ten years, her death occurring in June, 1915. She was born, Margaret Ross, in the neighboring county of Franklin, a daughter of John S. Ross and wife. William A. Hanson and wife had three children, the subject of this sketch having an elder brother, Karl L. Hanson, of Connersville, and a sister, Deva Blanche, wife of John E. Robbins, of Shelbyville, this state.
Frank M. Hanson was reared on the home farm in Connersville township, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and from boyhood was a valued aid to his father in the labors of developing and improving the home place. He early began giving particular attention to his father's racing interests and at the age of eighteen began taking a string of horses to the races and breaking and training promising animals on the private race track on the home farm, and was thus engaged for about ten years. Following his marriage in the summer of 1897 Mr. Hanson began farming for himself on the home place and continued to remain there until 1909, when he bought his present place, the old "Billy" Robinson farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres one mile south of the East Connersville bridge in Connersville township, where he since has made his residence and where he and his family are comfortably situated. The place has on it a handsome brick house and is well improved and well kept, Mr. Hanson pursuing modem methods in his agricultural operations. He also continues to give considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock and has done very well. Mr. Hanson is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.
On August 18, 1897, Frank M. Hanson was united in marriage to Bessie P. Erb, who was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, daughter of William H. and Anna (Foutler) Erb, the former a native of the state of Pennsylvania and the latter, of the state of Arkansas; and the latter of whom is still living, now the wife of William M. Stoops. Anna Fowler was born in the vicinity of Jacksonport, near Little Rock, Arkansas, daughter of Dr. W. J. and Mary (Scott) Fowler, the former a native of Georgia and a practicing physician in Arkansas at that time. Doctor Fowler was an ardent Union sympathizer during the Civil War and was compelled to leave his home in Arkansas due to the bitterness of local feeling against him, and for two weeks, while seeking another location, he and his wife and their five children were camped within sight of the Union army for protection, having taken their flight, with what of their household goods they could get away in two wagons. They located at Raleigh, Missouri, where Doctor Fowler died a year later. His widow, Mary (Scott) Fowler, who was born in Franklin county, this state, a daughter of Thomas Scott and wife, who had moved to Arkansas when she was about ten years of age, was left with five children and she presently returned to Indiana with her children, locating at her girlhood home near Fairfield, in Franklin county, where six years later she married F. Z. Cushman and where she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring there in 1892. There her daughter, Anna, grew up and married William H. Erb, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and who had come to Indiana with his parents, David and Rosanna Erb, who located in the Fairfield settlement. William H. Erb was both a wagon-maker and a farmer and spent the rest of his life in Franklin county. He was a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He died in 1904, leaving, besides his widow, three children, William Henry Erb, now living south of East Connersville; Maynard M. Erb, who is engaged in the lumber business and has an interest in a drug store at Connersville, and Bessie, who married Mr. Hanson.
Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have five children, Charlotte, Erb, Wilma, Marion and Robert. The Hansons have a very pleasant home and take a proper part in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all local good causes. Mr. Hanson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that ancient order.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
In the memorial annals of Connersville township, this county, there are few names held in better remembrance than that of the late John Ludlow, who was a native son of Fayette county, a member of one of the pioneer families, and who spent all his life here, a practical, progressive and successful farmer, an honored soldier of the Civil War and a good citizen in all that term implies. He created a fine farm establishment in Connersville township and there his widow is still making her home, she and her family being very pleasantly and very comfortably situated. Mrs. Ludlow also is a member of one of Fayette county's pioneer families, the Athertons, and has lived here all her life, ever interested in the general social and cultural development of the community which has so grandly advanced during the period of her life time.
John Ludlow was born on a pioneer farm in Harrison township, this county, a place about three miles northeast of the farm on which his widow now lives, August 8, 1832, a son of Samuel B. and Hannah (Campbell) Ludlow, who came here from New York state in 1821 and settled on that farm, where they spent the rest of their lives. Samuel B. Ludlow was a resident of Seneca county, New York, and in 1819 he became attracted to the possibilities of pioneering in the then "wilds" of Indiana and started out here on a prospecting tour. He walked all the way from his home in New York, this section of the new state of Indiana being his destination from the beginning of his trip, and upon arriving here looked about a bit with a view to picking out a tract of land that would come up to his expectations and made choice of a tract in Harrison township. Upon inquiry, however, he found that land in that section had not yet been opened for settlement, nor was it opened for purchase until the government acquired title from the Indians, and thus obtained the New Purchase, in the following year. Disappointed in his quest, Mr. Ludlow returned to his home in New York, but in 1821 disposed of his interests there, packed his essential household goods in a wagon and with his family drove through to Indiana and settled in this county, entering a tract of "Congress land" in Harrison township, where he established his home and where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on July 30, 1879. His widow survived him but a few years. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eighth in order of birth.
It was on that pioneer farm in Harrison township that John Ludlow grew to manhood, a valued assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the same. During the Civil War he enlisted for the Hundred-Day service and participated in the action against the Morgan raiders and in the pursuit of the leader of that cavalry hand. John Ludlow was married in the fall of 1872 and for six years thereafter made his home on a farm about four miles west of Harrisburg, in the immediate vicinity of his boyhood home, and then moved to the farm where his widow now resides, and there spent the rest of his life, an active and successful farmer and a progressive and public-spirited citizen, his death occurring on October 24, 1901.
On September 10, 1872, John Ludlow was united in marriage to Martha H. Atherton, who was born on a pioneer farm in the northwestern part of Connersville township, this county, September 28, 1845, daughter of Stout and Rachel (Martin) Atherton, natives of the state of Ohio, who became early residents of this county and whose last days were spent on the farm on which their daughter, Mrs. Ludlow, now lives. Stout Atherton was born near Harrison, Ohio, in 1803, and there grew to manhood. In 1825 he married and shortly afterward moved on up the Whitewater valley and settled in this county, buying the farm on which Mrs. Ludlow now lives and which at that time was but slightly improved. He straightway set about the improvement and development of that farm and in time had one of the best improved places in that part of the county. He was an industrious and progressive farmer and, as he prospered, added to his holdings until he was the owner of two hundred and sixty acres, having owned besides the quarter section on which he made his home, a farm of seventy acres, just east of that place and thirty acres in Harrison township, and was long regarded as one of the most substantial residents of that community. There he spent his last days, his death occurring on September 16, 1878.
Stout Atherton was thrice married. In February, 1825, he was united in marriage, in Hamilton county, Ohio, to Mary Ann Sater, who died on April 27, 1835, leaving four small children. On December 3, 1835, he married Rachel Martin, who was born in the neighborhood of Middletown, Ohio, January 20, 1810, and who had come to this county-when a child, with her parents, Samuel and Ann (Potter) Martin, early and influential pioneers of Fayette county. Samuel Martin was born m September 4, 1778, probably in New Jersey, and in that state, in 1805, married Ann Potter, who was born on February 24, 1784. After his marriage Samuel Martin moved to Butler county, Ohio, and some years later came on up into this part of Indiana and settled on a farm about four miles west of Connersville, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on January 9, 1851. His widow survived until March 11, 1863. Rachel (Martin) Atherton died on November 4, 1851, in the forty-second year of her age. She was the mother of ten children, eight of whom grew to maturity. After her death Mr. Atherton married her sister, Sarah E. Martin, this latter union being without issue.
To John and Martha H. (Atherton) Ludlow three children were born, Cora, who died in infancy, and Orris S. and Edna. Orris S. Ludlow married Maggie Maurer, and lives on a farm in Harrison township, which his father left him and which he has improved in excellent shape. He has a fine home and is doing well in farming operations. Edna Ludlow married Orris Williams, who is farming the Ludlow farm, and she and her husband make their home with her mother there. Orris Williams was born on a farm near Bentonville, this county, May 17, 1879, son of Madison H. and Ella (Crandall) Williams, who are now living at Connersville and further and extended reference to whom is made, elsewhere in this volume. Orris Williams is a progressive and enterprising farmer and since taking the management of the Ludlow farm has made numerous improvements of an up-to-date character, notably the installation of an electric-lighting plant for the house. The Ludlow home is a beautiful country home, equipped with modern conveniences, and is one of the most attractive places in that part of the county. Orris Williams is a member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias and in the affairs of these two organizations takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Samuel M. Post, a well-known citizen of East Connersville and a carriage trimmer in a Connersville automobile factory, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born in the village of Everton on October 2, 1871, son of John W. and Elizabeth (Murphy) Post, for many years prominent residents of that village and both of whom are now deceased.
John M. Post was born at Franklin, in Butler county, Ohio, in 1831 and when about eighteen years of age came to Indiana, locating in Jackson township, this county, where he began working as a cabinet-maker and also as a hand in one of the waterpower mills or factories that were so numerous along Elys creek in the eastern part of Jackson township in the early days of the settlement of this county. There he presently learned shoemaking and established a shoe shop at Everton, where he spent the rest of his life thus engaged, his death occurring on August 4, 1907. He was a Democrat and ever gave close attention to local political affairs. Fraternally, he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took an active interest in lodge work. His widow survived him for more than seven years, her death occurring on February 20, 1915, she then being nearly eighty years of age. She was born on a farm in the southwestern part of what is now Jennings township, this county, May 15, 1835, a daughter of Samuel and Susan (Bybee) Murphy, natives of North Carolina, who were married in that state and later came to Indiana, becoming early settlers in Fayette county. Samuel Murphy bought a tract of school land in Jennings township and there established his home. His wife died there in 1846 and he died about 1871, at the age of sixty-five years.
Samuel M. Post grew up at Everton, receiving his schooling in the schools of that village, and when about nineteen years of age went to Connersville, where he learned the trade of carriage-trimming, which he ever since has followed, formerly working in a carriage factory there and since the establishment of the automobile industry engaged as a trimmer of automobile bodies. He makes his home in East Connersville and is one of the best-known residents of that thriving suburb.
On October 10, 1901, Samuel M. Post was united in marriage to Goldie C. Burk, who was born in the neighboring county of Union on July 1, 1877, daughter of Stephen D. and Jennie (Hess) Burk, the former a native of this county and the latter of the state of Virginia. Stephen D. Burk was born in Jennings township, this county, a son of Elisha and Mary Ann (Green) Burk, the former of whom came to this county from Harrison, Ohio, and settled on a farm south of Alquina, where he spent the remainder of his life, living to the great age of ninety-three years. Jennie Hess was but a child when her parents, William Hess and wife, came to Indiana from Virginia and settled in Fayette county. After his marriage Stephen D. Burk made his home in Union county until the summer of 1878, when he moved with his family to Hancock county, where he died about one and one-half years later, leaving a widow and one child, a daughter, now Mrs. Post, who was about one year of age when her parents moved to Hancock county. After the death of Mr. Burk his widow returned to Fayette county with her child and here she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring about fifteen years ago. Mrs. Post is a member of the Presbyterian church.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
George Emmett Oldham, one of Fayette county's well-known and substantial farmers, a member of one of the county's oldest families and the proprietor of a farm of nearly two hundred acres in Jennings township, about three miles east of Connersville, is a native of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm about one-half mile south of Lyons Station, in Jennings township, March 3, 1870, son of George W. and Emeline (Mullen) Oldham, both of whom were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and whose last days were spent here.
George W. Oldham was born on that same farm, June 9, 1840, son of William and Mary Ann (Johnson) Oldham, the former of whom was born on the same farm, a son of Elder Stephen Oldham and wife, Rebecca. Elder Stephen Oldham came to Indiana from eastern Tennessee and entered a tract of land from the government in the southeast quarter of section 22, Jennings township, this county, about 1810 or 1811, the farm where W. E. Brown now lives. He w-as a minister of the Primitive Baptist church and he and his wife were constituent members of the New Bethel Baptist church, organized in 1814, and he was pastor of the same until his death in 1834, one of the most influential pioneer residents of the eastern part of this county. On that pioneer farm William Oldham grew to manhood. In addition to his general farming he was long engaged as a dealer in live stock and became one of Fayette county's best-known citizens. He was killed in a runaway accident when his son, George W. Oldham was nine years of age. George W. Oldham grew up on the farm on which he was born and in the summer of 1857 married Emeline Mullen, who also was born in this county. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted for service in the Union army as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served with that command for nearly three years, serving in the armies of General Thomas and General Sherman. Upon the conclusion of his military service he returned to the home farm and was there engaged in farming until a year after his wife's death in 1874, when he moved to another part of Jennings township, about three and one-half miles east of Connersville, where he continued farming for years. In 1900 George Mr. Oldham was elected sheriff of Fayette county, as the nominee of the Republican party, carrying every ward and township in the county, and served in that capacity for four years, at the end of which time he returned to the farm and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in January, 1914. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist church, in the local congregation of which he was one of the leading workers, and was a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and of the Red Men, and a member of the Patriotic Sons of America, in the affairs of all of which organizations he took a warm interest.
George W. Oldham was twice married. In the summer of 1857 he married Emeline Muller, a member of one of the pioneer families of Fayette county, and to that union eight children were born, one of whom died in infancy and seven of whom grew to maturity. Of these latter, Sylvester A. Oldham died in 1900 and Jesse K. died in January, 1917. The four survivors are, besides the subject of this sketch, Charles F., Mrs. Mary Isabel Melbourne, William and Mrs. Gertha Riggs. After the death of the mother of these children, George W. Oldham married Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson, who died in January, 1907, she having preceded her husband to the grave about seven years. That second union was without issue.
George E. Oldham was reared in Jennings township, receiving his schooling in the local schools there, and has lived there all his life, following the vocation of farming, in which he has been successful. He remained at home until after his marriage in 1896, when he began farming on his own account and he now owns a well-kept farm of one hundred and ninety-five acres in Jennings township, about three miles east of Connersville, where he and his family are very pleasantly and very comfortably situated. Mr.Oldham is a Republican and has ever taken an earnest interest in local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.
On January 12, 1896, George E. Oldham was united in marriage to Laura Belle Stanley, who also was born in Jennings township, this county, about one mile south of Lyons Station, a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Grimes) Stanley, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and the latter, in Indiana, who were well-to-do and substantial residents of the eastern part of this county. Nathan Stanley was born in Campbell county, Tennessee, in 1810, son of Garland and Nellie (Noble) Stanley, and was about eleven years of age when he came to Indiana with his mother in 1821, his father having died in Tennessee in 1813, the family settling in Union county. In 1824 he came over into Fayette county with his mother and settled in Jennings township, where she died in 1840 and where he also spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1893. Nathan Stanley was a good farmer and became the owner of nearly three hundred acres of land lying south of Lyons Station. He was an earnest Republican and ever took an active interest in local political affairs.
Nathan Stanley was twice married. About 1838 he married Mary Golden, who died in 1855, leaving eight children, Preston, Rush, Edwin, Sarah, Lewis, Eliza, Stephen and Elizabeth. In 1856 Mr. Stanley married Elizabeth Grimes, who was born in the neighboring county of Union, and to that union five children were born, those besides Mrs. Oldham being Frank, Samuel, Robert and one son who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Oldham have one child, a son, George Heher Oldham, who was born on January 19, 1899. They are members of the Primitive Baptist church and Mr. Oldham is a member of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and of the Improved Order of Red Men, in the affairs of which organizations he takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Of the native sons of Fayette county who have lived their lives in the county, and have met with success and have become prominent in the district, is George Green, a well-known resident of Connersville, who was born in Waterloo township on March 20, 1857, the son of William and Martha Ann (Cross ) Green.
William and Martha Ann (Cross) Green were born in Baltimore county, Maryland. William Green came with his parents when but a boy to Indiana, and with them settled in Wayne county. The father died shortly after coming to his new home, and the son, William, was left to his own resources. For nine years he lived with the family of Joseph Howard, when he started out for himself. He later came to Fayette county, where he was married. After his marriage he and his wife established their home in Wayne county, near the Fayette county line, and there he engaged in farming for some years. He later purchased a farm in Waterloo township, Fayette county, and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death on January 7, 1895, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife died ten years later, at the age of eighty-one years. They were a most estimable people and their lives were devoted to the interests of their family and the community in which they lived and where they were held in high regard.
William and Martha Green took an active interest in the affairs of the district, and had much to do with the moral and civic development of the township. Mrs. Green was an active member of the United Brethren church and had much to do with the activities of her home society. Mr. Green as a young man identified himself with the Democratic party, and always took a keen interest in the affairs of the township as well as the county. Although he was never a seeker after office, he felt it the duty of every man to assist in the election of the best men to office. He was a successful farmer and raiser of stock, and was known as a good business man and an excellent citizen. He and Mrs. Green were the parents of the following children, Samantha Melinda, Susan Elizabeth, Levi, George, William R. and Anna Martha. Samantha, now deceased, was the wife of William V. Crawford and lived in Waterloo township; Susan Elizabeth died in 1902; Levi N. married Christine Spencer and they reside in Waterloo township, where Mr. Green is a substantial and prominent farmer and stockman; William R., Anna Martha and George live together in Connersville, until 1903 George, William R. and Anna lived on the old home farm, when they left the farm and moved to their home at 716 Central avenue. They still look after the interests on the farm, where they spent so many years of their lives. George and William, reared on the farm, soon in life became impressed with the life of a farmer and stock raiser. They remained with their father as long as he lived, and were to him a great assistance in the management of the farm and the care of the stock. After the death of the mother, the three children moved to Connersville. As farmers and stockmen, George and William have been successful, and their management of the farm of five hundred and sixty acres has demonstrated their ability in that line.
William Green and his wife were devoted to the cause of education, and their best efforts were ever exerted on the behalf of better schools. Their children were all educated in the home schools, and have since become prominent in the affairs of the communities in which they live. Mr. Green was known throughout the county for his ability as a farmer and business man, and his advice and counsel were often sought in financial matters, as well as in the civic affairs of the district. Few men were better known over the county and few were held in higher regard and esteem. At his death, the community knew that a good and worthy man had gone to his reward, after a busy life of usefulness.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
John M. Culbertson, one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of the Glenwood neighborhood in this county, has lived here since 1863, when he established his home on the fine farm he has developed in Orange township, and has for years been recognized as one of the best-established citizens of Fayette county. Mr. Culbertson is a native of Ohio, born in the city of Cincinnati on April 20, 1837, son of John C. and Jane (Moody) Culbertson, natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married and later moved to Cincinnati, where they established their home and where their last days were spent.
John C. Culbertson was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and as a young man served as a soldier from that state during the War of 1812 and in the battle of Chippewa on July 5, 1814, was severely wounded. He later became a sutler and when Ft. Snelling was established on the upper course of the Mississippi in 1822 he conveyed a stock of goods to that point and started a trading station and for some time did a thriving business trading with the Indians, thus acquiring an excellent financial foundation for his later successful banking career in Cincinnati. It was in 1829 that he located in Cincinnati and there, during the forties, he and two others founded the Franklin Bank, Mr. Culbertson becoming one of the most successful bankers in the Queen City and a man of considerable means. It was in Pennsylvania that he married Jane Moody, who also was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and to that union were born seven sons who grew to maturity, of whom the subject of this sketch, the eldest and the last born are now the only survivors.
John M. Culbertson grew up in Cincinnati and was given excellent educational advantages in his youth. From the E. S. Brooks Academy in Cincinnati he was sent when twelve years of age to the H. and S. M. Hamill Classical and Commercial School at Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and thence to Princeton University. Returning to Cincinnati upon the completion of his schooling he remained in his home city until 1863, the year of his marriage, when he came up into Indiana and bought a farm of two hundred and forty acres one mile east of Glenwood, on the Connersville and Rushville pike, in this county, where he erected a large and substantial brick residence and where he ever since has made his home. When Mr. Culbertson's house was built it was regarded as one of the best houses in this part of the state and is still looked upon as one of the finest in that section. The other buildings on the farm are in keeping with the appearance of the dwelling and the farm plant is kept up in admirable shape.
In June, 1863, John M. Culbertson was united in marriage to Catherine Donnelly, of Boston, who died in 1896, and to that union eight children were born, two of whom died in infancy, the others being Mary J., Alice C., Margaret J., Anna E., John M., Jr., and Henry C. The junior John M. Culbertson is now a resident of Indianapolis. Henry C. Culbertson, who lives on a farm not far from his father's place, married Nellie Jeffrey and has two children, a daughter, Mary Eleanor, and a son, Henry C., Jr. The mother died on December 10, 1896. The four Misses Culbertson are living with their father in the comfortable old farm home east of Glenwood. The Culbertsons have ever taken an earnest interest in the development of the general social life of the community in which they live. Henry C. Culbertson was a member of the class of 1898, Indiana University, and Margaret Culbertson attended college at Oxford, Ohio. Mr. Culbertson has always voted the Republican ticket. His first presidential vote was for Abraham Lincoln.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Charles W. Martin, one of Connersville township's best-known and most substantial farmers and who also is engaged in the road-building and contracting line, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm adjoining that on which he now lives, in the northwest part of Connersville township, March 24, 1859, son of Ezra and Caroline (Dale) Martin, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter, in this county, both now deceased. who spent their last days on the old Martin homestead in Connersville township.
Ezra Martin was born in Miami county, Ohio, and was but a child when his parents, Samuel and Ann (Potter) Martin came over into Indiana and settled in Fayette county, on the farm where the subject of this sketch was born, in Connersville township. There Ezra Martin grew to manhood, taking his part in the work of developing a pioneer farm. After his marriage he for some years conducted a store at Bentonville and also served as post-master of that village. After the death of his father he bought the interests of the other heirs in the home place and there established his home, becoming a well-to-do farmer. He served for some time as assessor of Fayette county and was later for some years a member of the board of county commissioners, giving his earnest attention to public affairs. Ezra Martin died at his home on the old home farm in 1892 and his widow survived him about six years, her death occurring in June, 1898. She was born on a pioneer farm near Harrisburg, this county, a daughter of Joseph Dale and wife, the latter of whom was a daughter of Doctor Bradburn, a pioneer physician and surgeon, well-known throughout this part of the state in pioneer days. Joseph Dale was but a child when he came to this part of Indiana with his parents from Kentucky and he grew up in Harrison township and became a successful farmer there and one of the most influential men ill that part of the county.
Charles w. Martin grew to manhood on the home farm in Connersville township and after his marriage in 1895 rented the home place and began farming there on his own account. Three years later he bought a tract of one hundred and twelve acres, the place on which he is now living, just south of the traction line, four miles west of Connersville, and has since made his home there. Mr. Martin has added to his original holdings until he now is the owner of two hundred acres of well-improved and profitably cultivated land. Of recent years he has given considerable attention to dairying and has demonstrated to his own satisfaction that there is profit in that phase of farming in this section. For thirty years, or until the fall of 1913, Mr. Martin was the proprietor of a threshing-rig and did a large business in that line throughout the part of the county in which he lives. About seven years ago he and Philip Wilk engaged in general road contracting and have done much in that line, building roads in Rush, Fayette, Franklin and Union counties, under the operation of the new three-mile road law. Mr. Martin is a public-spirited and energetic citizen and has done much for the general upbuilding of the county. It was he who circulated the petition for the construction of a good road past his farm and he was one of the few persons who gave land for the right-of-way for the traction line from Connersville to Rushville.
In 1895, as noted above, Charles W. Martin was united in marriage to Lydia J. Webster, who was born on a farm two miles south of Connersville, a daughter of Joseph M . and Ellen (Parker) Webster, both of whom were born in Butler county, Ohio, and who came to Indiana in 1865 and died in Connersville. Joseph M. Webster was born on May 3, 1838, a son of Dr. Elias and Mary (Kane) Webster, and grew up in Butler county, Ohio, where he married Ella Parker, who also was born and reared in that county, a daughter of John and Jane Parker. In the spring of 1865 he and his wife and his parents, Doctor Webster and wife came to Indiana, he and his wife locating on a farm near Knightstown, in Rush county, and Doctor Webster locating on the Whitewater, two miles south of Connersville. There Mary Kane Webster died and the Doctor afterward remarried and moved to Connersville, where he continued in practice until his death on November 2, 1891. He was an official in the Methodist Episcopal church and was for years active in church work.
Upon locating in the Knightstown neighborhood, Joseph M. Webster bought a farm there, but in 1869 traded the same for his father's farm south of Connersville, where he lived until 1909, when he retired and moved to Connersville, where he died, prior to which he gave close attention to the operation of his farm of two hundred and sixty acres, on which for years he was extensively engaged in stock raising and for eighteen years also gave much attention to dairying, profitably maintaining a herd of from fifty to seventy-five dairy cattle. Joseph M. Webster and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. There are five of these children, those besides Mrs. Martin, the third in order of birth being Mary, Mrs. Anna Williams, Mrs. Rosa Heck and Charles Henry Webster.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin have three children, Rosilla, Woodford and Frank. They have a very pleasant home and have ever given proper attention to the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917