Reared on the paternal farm, Palmer T. Bilby remained at home, a valued aid in the labors of improving and developing the home place, until his marriage in 1897, when he moved to a farm nearby, his present well-kept and wel1-improved place in the southeastern corner of Fairview township. In addition to that farm he also owns land adjoining the same, on the northern edge of Orange township. Mr. Bilby is an excellent farmer and is conducting his operations along the lines approved by modern scientific research as applied to agriculture, the general well-kept appearance of his farm plant bespeaking the progressive character of his methods. In December, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Bilby went to Denver, Colorado, where they remained eighteen months. During their absence their farm house was destroyed by fire. In the spring of 1914 their present handsome residence was erected, his house is of the bungalow type, with floors and interior finish of hardwood, was planned in accordance with the most recent ideas in architecture and is furnished in the best of taste. The house has a furnace, bath, built-in book cases, a modern fireplace and other appointments designed to give to its occupants the greatest measure of comfort and convenience.
On December 16, 1897, Palmer T. Bilby was united in marriage to Sidney Simpson, who was born on a farm just east of Lyonsville in the northeast part of Jennings township, this county, daughter of Henry C. and Narsis (Monger) Simpson, also natives of this county, representatives of pioneer families in the northeastern part of the county. Henry C. Simpson was born in the southeastern part of Waterloo township on Simpson creek, April 30, 1846, a son of William and Ada Simpson, the former of whom was born in Tennessee, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Mabry) Simpson, natives, respectively, of Maryland and North Carolina, who located in Tennessee and who moved thence, in 1805 or 1806, to Ohio, whence, in 1809, they came over into Indiana and settled in what afterward came to be organized as Fayette county, on a tract of land entered from the government on a line between Jennings and Waterloo township, where they established their home, among the very first settlers in this part of the state. On that pioneer farm Thomas and Sarah Simpson spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1848, he then being seventy-five years of age. She survived him about seventeen years, her death occurring in 1865, she then being nearly ninety-two years of age. Thomas Simpson and his wife were earnest members of the Baptist church and took an active part in the development of the religious life of that community during the formative days of the settlement. They were the parents of ten children.
William Simpson was but a child when his parents came to this county and he spent the rest of his life here, living to the age of eighty-one years, his death occurring in 1883. When he came to the county, Indians and wild game still were plentiful hereabout and the great primeval forests were hardly touched by the white man, there being only here and there throughout this section of the then Territory of Indiana a cabin of some hardy settler who had penetrated into the forest wilderness, and he lived to see the county develop in all ways, and in that development did well his own part. His grandson, Henry C. Simpson, grew up near Lyonsville and farmed there the most of his life. On November 20, 1867, he married Narsis Monger, who was born in a log house on the old Monger homestead east of Lyonsville, the place now owned by Frank Montgomery. She was a daughter of Lewis and Maryan A. (Keeder) Monger, Virginians, the former born on August 17, 1803, and the latter, March 3, 1805, who became early settlers in Waterloo township this county. Lewis Monger was a son of George and Frances Monger, who followed their son out here from Virginia and settled in this county in 1833. It was in 1827 that Lewis Monger and his wife came to Indiana and located in this county, settling on a farm in Waterloo township, where they spent the remainder of their lives, useful and influential pioneers of that region. For nearly sixty years they were members of the Christian church and did well their part in the encouragement of all local good works.
Some years after his marriage Henry C. Simpson moved to Connersville and there his wife died on August 17, 1887. He later moved to Lyonsville, where his last days were spent, his death occurring on May 28, 1896. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bilby one child has been born, a son, Francis M., born on October 8, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Bilby have a very pleasant home and have ever taken an earnest interest in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.
Mrs. Bilby traces her descent from Nicholas Monger, born in 1623, the first of the Monger family to come to America; then through John Monger, born in 1660; Jonathan Monger, 1697; Lewis Monger, 1729; David Monger, 1756; George Monger, 1778; Lewis Monger, 1803; Narcis Julia Frances
Monger, 1847. The name of Lewis Monger (1729) appears on the muster roll of Capt. Archibald McNeal's company in the French and Indian War, also in the Revolution with Capt. Andrew Martin's company of minute men.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Clarence E. Edwards, one of Jackson township's well-known and progressive farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres in that township, was born on a farm east of Connersville, about midway between that city and Alquina, in Jennings township, December 12, 1876. He is the son and only child of Charles M. and Phoebe (Sparks) Edwards, both natives of this county, members of pioneer families, the former of whom, now deceased, was born on that same farm and the latter of whom is still living in this county.
Charles M. Edwards, who was a son of Lewis and Sarah (Ward) Edwards, pioneers of Jennings township, remained on the home farm until he was about twenty-three years of age, when he moved to Howard county, this state, moving thence, four years later, to Kansas. There he remained four years, at the end of which time he returned to Indiana and again located in Howard county, resuming his farming there. He remained there until 1901, when he returned to Fayette county and located on a farm in the western part of Jackson township, a tract that had been entered from the government by his cousin, Daniel Greene, in 1812, and which has ever since been in possession of the family, a period of more than one hundred years. On that pioneer farm Charles ht. Edwards spent his last days, his death occurring there in September, 1909, and his widow is still making her home there. She was born, Phoebe Sparks, on the old Sparks homestead two miles south of East Connersville, a daughter of the Rev. William Sparks and his wife, Elizabeth. The Rev. William Sparks was a minister in the regular Baptist church and his father, also named William and born about 1770, also was a minister of that faith. Through the Greenes the subject of this sketch traces his descent to Gen. Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame.
Clarence E. Edwards was reared on the farm in Howard county and was graduated from the high school at New London, that county. From the days of his boyhood he was a valued assistant to his father in the labors of the farm and upon the family's return to this country he accompanied his parents and has since been farming in Jackson township, though he taught school before coming to his present place. He is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres, on which he is engaged in general farming and where he is doing very well. He has a well-built new house and he and his family are comfortably situated there.
On December 31, 1899, a little more than a year before his return to this county, Clarence E. Edwards was united in marriage to Lillie Kenworthy, who was born in Cass county-, this state, a daughter of Marion and Laura Kenworthy. She, too, attended the high school at New London and was later graduated from the course in stenography in a business college. To Mr. and Mrs. Edwards one child has been born, a son, Carl K., who was born on February 15, 1901. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the various beneficences of which they take a proper interest, and also give proper attention to the general social activities of the community in which they live. Mr . Edwards is a member of the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are members of the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Franklin Z. Lake, a well-known and progressive young farmer of Jackson township, was born on the farm on which he is still living, the old Lake homestead on Bear creek, in the southwestern part of Jackson township, and, with the exception of the period of his life spent away at school, has lived there all his life. He was born on September 6, 1891, a son of Zachariah and Susan Belle (Veatch) Lake, both members of pioneer families in this county, 13-ho are now living retired at Everton.
Zachariah Lake was born on the old Lake homestead on Bear creek, March 38, 1859, a son of Willis and Elizabeth (Ray) Lake, who were among the early settlers in that part of Fayette county. Willis Lake was born on a pioneer farm in Dearborn county, this state, just across the river from Harrison, about the year 1820, a son of William Lake and wife, who later came up the river and settled in Jackson township, this county, where they established their home and became prominently identified with the early interests of that pioneer community. Elsewhere in this volume there is set out at considerable length something of the history of the family of William Lake, the pioneer, and there the reader will find much of interest that will fit in well in connection with this present narrative. Willis Lake was little more than a boy w-hen he came to Fayette county with his parents and here he spent the remainder of his life, prominently identified with the developing interests of the Everton neighborhood. He was chiefly engaged in farming, but for some time he and his brother, Phenas Lake, further reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume, operated a saw-mill at Everton. Willis Lake established himself on a farm in the southern part of Jackson township and there he spent his last days, his death occurring on November 10, 1903, he then being at the age of eighty-three years. His widow survived him something more than three years, her death occurring on April 14, 1907. She was born Elizabeth Ray, on a pioneer farm over the line in Franklin county, a daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Ray, further reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Willis Lake and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. There were nine of these children, of whom four are still living, Mrs. Louisa Adams, Lewis, Willis and Zachariah Lake.
Reared on the home farm, Zachariah Lake grew to the life of the farm and after his marriage remained on the home farm for many years, farming there until in March, 1914, when he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Everton, where he and his wife are now living. He is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and ninety-five acres and in addition to his general farming ever gave considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock, being quite successful in his farming operations.
In 1882 Zachariah Lake was united in marriage to Susan Belle Veatch, who was born in Jennings township, this county, a daughter of Clay and Charlotte (Scott) Veatch, both natives of this county and members of old families here. Clay Veatch was born in Jennings township, a son of James and Mary Veatch, early settlers in that part of Fayette county. Clay Veatch farmed all his life in this county, remaining in Jennings township until about 1883, when he moved to Everton, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring there in 1900. His wife, whose maiden name was Charlotte Scott, had preceded him to the grave about nine years, her death having occurred in February, 1891. She was born in Jackson township, a daughter of Winfield and Susan Scott, who came from Kentucky and settled in the southern part of Jackson township in pioneer days, as told in the biographical sketch of J. W. Scott, presented elsewhere in this volume. Clay Veatch and wife were the parents of nine children, of whom six are still living, those besides Mrs. Lake being Winfield, James, Mrs. Mary Duckworth, Edward and Grundy.
To Zachariah and Susan Belle (Veatch) Lake five children have been born, those besides the subject of this sketch, the fourth in order of birth, being as follow: Leroy, now living in Franklin county, who married Edna Wilson and has three children, Wilbur Clarence, Charlotte. Josephine and Frances Isabel; Willis Roland, living in Jackson township, east of Everton, who married Mina Wilson; Melvin Ray, now living in East Connersville, who married Inez Post and has two children, Maynard Ray and Ruth Elizabeth, and Edith Veatch, who is at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Zachariah Lake are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. Mr. Lake is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and of the Improved Order of Red Men, in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.
Franklin Z. Lake was reared on the home farm, early being trained in the ways of modem agriculture, and upon completing the course in the high school at Everton took a supplementary course at the Central Normal School at Danville, this state, after which he returned to the farm and has ever since resided there, having established his home there after his marriage in 1912, and since the retirement of his father from the farm in 1914 has been practically in charge of the place. Mr. Lake is a progressive young farmer, pursuing his vocation in accordance with up-do-date methods, and is doing very well in his operations.
In 1912 Franklin Z. Lake was united in marriage to Cleo Grist, who also was born in Jackson township, this county, daughter and only child of Samuel Riley and Hattie (Hudson) Grist, both of whom were born in this part of the state, members of pioneer families, and who are still living on the old Grist homestead in the Bentley neighborhood. Samuel Riley Grist was born and reared in the Bentley neighborhood, where he now lives, a lifelong farmer. He is a son of Samuel and Matilda (Pritchard) Grist, the former of whom, a son of James Grist, grew up in the Bentley neighborhood and spent his entire life there on the old Grist homestead. His wife, Matilda Pritchard, was born near Liberty, in Union county and lived there until her marriage. S. R. Grist's wife, Hattie Hudson, was born at Fairfield, in the neighboring county of Franklin, and was but a girl when her parents, James and Hannah (Loper) Hudson, moved up into Fayette county and located at Connersville. James Hudson was a carpenter and contractor and his last days were spent in Connersville. His wife, Hannah Loper, was born and reared in Franklin county, a member of one of the old families there. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Z. Lake have two children, Virgil Theodore and James Grist. They 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 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
James William Scott, a well-known and substantial farmer of Jackson township, was born on the farm on which he is now living, two miles south of Everton, and has lived there all his life, excepting twenty-one years when he lived in Rush county. He was born on October 31, 1863, son of Francis Marion and Mary Jane (Veach) Scott, both natives of Fayette county, and the latter of whom is still living.
Francis Marion Scott also was born in the southern part of Jackson township, October I, 1833, son of Wilson and Susan (Backhouse) Scott, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania, well known among the old settlers of this county. Wilson Scott was born in Montgomery county, Virginia, and there grew to manhood and was married. His wife died there, leaving three children, and about 1830 he came out here into the "wilds" of Indiana, settling northwest of Everton, in this county, where he presently married Mrs. Susan (Backhouse) Dunlap, widow of Oliver Dunlap and the mother of one child, a daughter. Susan Backhouse was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and was but a child when her parents, James and Charlotte (Breckenridge) Backhouse, started West and for a time lived near Harrison, Ohio, coming thence over into Indiana and settling near Brookville, Franklin county, and later coming to Fayette county .and settling on a farm now owned by Mrs. Capitola Mace, on the southern edge of Connersville township, on the road from Connersville to Everton. There James Backhouse bought land and established his home, building from bricks burned on his own farm a substantial brick house which is still serving as a home for one of the families of his descendants. Before coming to this county, James Backhouse had owned and operated a grist-mill and tanyard near Brookville, in Franklin county, and used to deal with the Indians there. His establishment there was destroyed by fire and he then came up into Fayette county, as above noted. Wilson Scott was an expert driver of stage horses and was accustomed to drive a six-horse team from here to Cincinnati, it being related of him that be could turn a six horse team in a narrower space than most men could turn a two-horse team in. At his death he left a widow and six children, four sons and two daughters. His widow presently returned to Fayette county and located on a farm in the southern part of Jackson township, where two of her sons, Hugh H. and Francis Marion, farmed and worked together from youth to old age and became quite well-to-do. They started with one acre of land and worked and saved and managed until they eventually became the owners of four hundred acres of excellent land. While thus struggling for a start in life, they took a contract for grading and graveling one mile of the Connersville pike north of Everton, receiving one thousand dollars for completing the contract. With this sum they made a payment on a seventy-acre farm and it was not long, with their general farming, dealing in live stock and other forms of trade, until they began to see their way clear to success. Hugh H. Scott remained with his mother in one house on the farm and Francis M. Scott married and lived in a house near by, and it is related of the two families that they lived in the most agreeable and amicable relation, holding their family stores in common, and this beautiful community of interest continued as long as Francis M. Scott lived. The Widow Scott died about 1886. On May 20, 199, Hugh H. Scott married Mrs. Ella DeWees, who died on January 3, 1914. Hugh H. Scott is still living, now in the seventy-seventh year of his age, and is a well-preserved man, vigorous and alert, a typical representative of the pioneer breed now almost vanished from the well-settled communities of Hoosierdom.
On March 19, 1861, Francis Marion Scott was united in marriage to Mary Jane Veatch, who was born in this county on January 18, 1838, a daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah (Sharon) Veatch, the former of whom also was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families, and the latter in the state of Pennsylvania. Jeremiah Veatch was born on a pioneer farm in the vicinity of Everton, son of James and Mary Veatch, early settlers in that neighborhood. The land on which James Veatch settled when he came to this county, in the southwestern part of Jennings township, is now owned by George Lake. There James Veatch erected a house that was somewhat more pretentious than those of his pioneer neighbors and the people of that vicinity used to gather in that house for religious services in the days before a church was built in that neighborhood. He gave the ground for the establishment of the pioneer graveyard, now known as Mt. Garrison cemetery, and one of his children was the first person buried in that burying ground. It was on that pioneer farm that Jeremiah Veatch grew to manhood. He married Sarah Sharon, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who had come to Indiana with her parents in pioneer days, and some years later moved to Delaware county, this state, where he died not many years afterward. His widow remained in Delaware county until her daughter married Mr. Scott and thereafter made her home with the Scotts, spending the remainder of her days in that household. Francis M. Scott continued farming, in conjunction with his brother, Hugh H. Scott, and was thus engaged until the time of his death, November 17, 1911. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith. There were seven of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: Joseph B., who died at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving a widow and two children; George Wilson, of Everton, a mail carrier, who married Gertrude Hubbell; Mary Frances, who married Peter Lake, of Everton, and has one child, a daughter, Opal; Walter, who married Lizzie Hall and is now living at Connersville; Susan Olive, who married Ernest Handley, of Connersville, and has two sons, Everett and Ivan, and Gertrude, who married Arthur Clark, of Everton.
James W. Scott was reared on the home farm south of Everton, where he now lives, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and remained at home, a valued assistant to his father in the work of developing and improving the home place, until his marriage in 1889, when he moved over into Rush county and began farming for himself, on a farm near Charlottesville, which he eventually bought from his mother, and where he made his home for twenty-one years, at the end of which time, in 1910, he moved back to the old home farm to take charge of the same for his father and has lived there since. He now owns a total of three hundred and fifty acres, part of which lies in this county and the remainder in, Rush county, and is thus accounted one of the substantial citizens of the Everton neighborhood. He is a member of Empire Lodge, Knights of Pythias, at Everton, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
In 1889 James W. Scott was united in marriage to Martha Ann Wells, who was born at Everton, a daughter of William and Sarah (Moore) Wells, the latter of whom died when her daughter, Martha, was a child of two or three years. After the death of her mother, Martha Wells was taken care of by Willis Lake and wife and was reared in their household, remaining there, the Lake farm being situated next to the Scott farm, until her marriage to Mr. Scott. Her father married a second time and spent the rest of his life at Everton. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have seven children, namely: Lawrence Mitchell, who is at home; Perry Walton, who is living with his father's uncle, Hugh H. Scott, married Pearl Myers and has one child, a son, Floyd Marion, and Mary Ethel, Frank Herschel, Leonard, Leo and Charles, all at home. The Scotts have a very pleasant home and take an earnest interest in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all proper agencies for the advancement of the common welfare thereabout.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Ellis R. Lake, one of Fayette county's best-known citizens and landowners, proprietor of a cement-vault factory at Connersville and an extensive dealer in fertilizer at Everton, in which village he makes his home, was born in the house in which he is now living at Everton and has lived there practically all his life. He was the first person born in that house, which is still standing, as good as any house in Everton.
The Lakes, an old family in this county, take their name from the ancient founders of the family in England, a family which took the surname "Lake" from the fact that it had its establishment in a home by a lakeside. Ellis R. Lake has gathered through much effort, for the benefit of the entire family, records of the Lake family which give dates back to 1585 in England, and about seven generations earlier, of whom dates are not available, to about the year 1295, in England. The founder of the family in America was William Lake, a whaler, who bought land near Trenton, New Jersey, established a home there and became the owner of several other tracts of land. William Lake, one of the descendants of this forebear and grandfather of E. R. Lake, and who died on December 9, 1857, was thrice married, his wives having been Mary Rounseval, Elizabeth Carmichael and Sarah Veatch, and was the father of seven children, Daniel, Deborah, Ellis R., Absalom, Catherine, Phenas and Willis. Leaving New Jersey in 1815, William Lake came out into Indiana and settled on a farm in Dearborn county, across the river from Harrison, and in 1835 moved up the river to Fayette county and located on a farm in the Everton neighborhood, in Jackson township, where he spent the rest of his life. On July 2r, 1807, William Lake was married, in New Jersey, to Mary Rounseval, who was born in that state in 1785, and they had four children when they came to this state.
Phenas Lake, who was the second of the children born to William and Mary (Rounseval) Lake after their arrival in this state, was born on a pioneer farm on the banks of the White Water, in Dearborn county, across the river from Harrison, July 25, 1820, and was about fifteen years of age when his father moved to Fayette county and settled in the Everton neighborhood. There Phenas Lake grew to manhood and in 1844 married Rebecca Lambert, who was born near Everton on October 20, 1822, a daughter of William and Nancy Ann (Lee) Lambert, among the earliest settlers of that community and the latter of whom was a distant kinswoman of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Phenas Lake established his home at Everton, in the house in which his son, the subject of this sketch, was born and is still living, and there he spent the rest of his life, one of the most active and influential residents of that part of the county. In addition to farming on a considerable scale he also for many years operated a saw-mill at Everton and also operated an old horse-power threshing-rig, which he would set up in barns and with which he would thresh the grain of his neighbors during the winter months. By the exercise of his energy and excellent business judgment he became the possessor of an estate valued at about eighty thousand dollars, a considerable accumulation of property for one man at that time and place. He ever gave his earnest attention to local civic affairs and for years served as justice of the peace in and for Jackson township, a position in which he exercised a wide influence for good throughout that part of the county. Phenas Lake died at his home in Everton on March 18, 1888, and his widow survived him for more than six years, her death occurring on December 18, 1894. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Nancy Jane, William, Sarah, John, George W., Charles, Daniel D., Ellis R., Mary Ann and Peter.
Ellis R. Lake, eighth in order of birth of the ten children born to Phenas and Rebecca (Lambert) Lake, was born at Everton, in the house in which he now lives, June 9, 1859, and has lived there all his life. He received his schooling in the Everton schools and, in addition to being a helpful aid in his father's farming operations, learned the carpenter trade, at which he worked for some time, but has been actively engaged in farming most of his life. At one time he was the owner of nearly five hundred acres of land, but has reduced his land holdings until now he owns but about three hundred and forty acres, the same lying in four tracts. About 1908 Mr. Lake formed a partnership with Doctor Johnston, of Connersville, for the manufacture of cement vaults at Connersville, and later bought the Doctor's interest in the factory and has since been operating the same alone. He also, for the past seventeen years, has been dealing in fertilizers, with offices and distributing point at Everton, also he has been agent for automobiles and in both of these industries has done very well, long having been regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of that part of the county. He has been successful as a seller of automobiles. Mr. Lake has ever given his earnest attention to local civic affairs, but has never been a seeker after public office.
Ellis R. Lake has been thrice married. On February 22, 1883, he was united in marriage to Indiana F. Murphy, who was born on a farm in the vicinity of Everton, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Corbin) Murphy, and to that union one child was born, a daughter, Rosa Maude, who married Clair Lake and lived in the Green settlement, near Nulltown, about four miles west of Everton, until her death, on December 26, 1916, leaving twin daughters. On October 30, 1895, Mr. Lake married Phoebe Ella Kingery, a school teacher, who also was born at Everton, daughter of Henry and Amelia Kingery, the former of whom operated a saw-mill at Everton, and to that union two children were born, Edna May, who is now teaching school, and Ella, who died in infancy. The mother of these children died on January 6, 1899, and on May 9, 1900, Mr. Lake married Coda B. J. Ritner, who was born near Hartsville, in Decatur county, this state, daughter of Stafford and Sarah (Johnson) Ritner, and to this union two children have been born, Coda B. and Boyd J. The Lakes have a pleasant home at Everton and take a proper interest in the general social activities of the village, helpful in promoting all good causes in that community.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Though no longer a resident of Connersville, the city of his birth, the Hon. James Martindale McIntosh, former representative from this district to the Indiana state Legislature, former clerk of the Fayette circuit court, former mayor of the city of Connersville, a former practicing attorney of that city, for some time engaged in the banking business in that city, but now and for some years past president of the National City Bank of Indianapolis and a resident of the state capital, continues to take a warm interest in the affairs of his native city and county and no history of Fayette county could be regarded as complete without some reference to his services in behalf of this county during the years of his residence here.
James Martindale McIntosh was born in the city of Connersville on November 11, 1858, son of James C. and Elizabeth W. (Martindale) McIntosh, for years prominent and influential residents of Connersville, where the former was engaged in the practice of law, one of the best-known lawyers in this part of the state, and both of whom are now deceased.
James C. McIntosh was a son of Joshua and Nancy McIntosh, early residents of this county. He completed his schooling and preparation for the practice of law at old Asbury (now DePauw) University and during his attendance there met and married Elizabeth W. Martindale, who was born at Indianapolis. Before she was ten years of age Elizabeth Martindale's parents died and she was reared by her guardian, Alfred Harrison, a merchant of Indianapolis, who sent her to Mrs. Larabee's select school for young women at Greencastle to finish her schooling and it was there that she met Mr. McIntosh, a student in Asbury College, in that same city. After their marriage at Greencastle they drove across to Connersville, the home of Mr. McIntosh, the journey requiring four days, and in that city established their home, there spending the remainder of their lives. James C. McIntosh became well established in the practice of his profession and was thus successfully engaged until the time of his death in 1878. His widow survived him for many years, her death occurring on November 16, 1916. She was very active in church work, one of the leaders for many years in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church at Connersville, and for years was the president of the Home Missionary Society of that church, a position she occupied at the time of her death. James C. McIntosh and wife were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow: Horace P., an officer in the United States navy, with residence at Washington, D. C.; Ida L., who is still living at Connersville, the widow of William Newkirk; Allen Ernest, who died in infancy; William W., whose last days were spent in Portland, Oregon, and Charles K., vice-president of the Bank of California, at San Francisco, and a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of that city.
James M. McIntosh received his early schooling in the Connersville schools and in 1876 entered Asbury University with a view to completing his law studies, he having begun his preliminary reading along that line, even in his boyhood in the office of his father, but was compelled to leave the university during his junior year, because of the death of his father. Returning he there became engaged in a manufacturing line, secretary-treasurer of the White Water Valley Plating Company, meanwhile continuing his study of law, his father's extensive law library having been retained, and in due time was admitted to the bar. He began practice in association with Charles A. Murray and afterward was associated in practice with his father's old law partner, Charles Roehl. In the spring of 1586 he was elected mayor of the city of Connersville, serving in that capacity for four years, and in 1890 was elected clerk of the Fayette circuit court, a public position he also held for four years. It was during his incumbency in the clerk's office that the Fayette county court house was remodeled and made over into its present more modern style and he helped in the selection of the furniture for the court room. In the fall of 1894 Mr. McIntosh was elected to the state Legislature as joint representative from the district comprised of Fayette and Wayne counties and served in that capacity during the session of 1895, after which he resumed his law practice at Connersville. In the meantime, about 1893, Mr. McIntosh had been elected cashier of the First National Bank of Connersville and remained thus connected with that bank until it changed management. In 1899 he was appointed United States bank examiner for the district comprising Indiana and western Kentucky and was thus engaged until 1907, when he resumed the banking business, having been elected in that year to the position of president of the Union National Bank of Indianapolis, remaining thus connected with that institution until January 1, 1912, when the National City Bank of Indianapolis was organized and took over the Union National Bank and the Columbia National Bank, occupying the building on Washington street formerly occupied by the Columbia National Bank. Upon the organization of the National City Bank Mr. McIntosh was elected president of the same and has since occupied that highly responsible position, giving his exclusive attention to the affairs of the bank. The National City Bank of Indianapolis has a capital of one million dollars and a surplus of two hundred thousand dollars and is regarded as one of the strongest financial institutions in the state of Indiana. Mr. McIntosh is a Republican and is a member of the influential Columbia Club at Indianapolis. He also is connected with the Commercial Club and with the Country Club in that city. Fraternally, he is a Knight Templar Mason, retaining his connection with the blue lodge and the commandery at Connersville, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple of that shrine at Indianapolis. During his college days he was affiliated with the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He and his wife are members of St. Paul's Episcopal church of Indianapolis.
On February 12, 1889, James M. McIntosh was united in marriage, at Connersville, to Anna Laura Pepper, of that city, daughter of Dr. William J. and Mary S. (Frybarger) Pepper, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Mary E., who died on September 7, 1913, at the age of twenty-three years; Jessie C., who on November 9, 1916, married Paul H. Hawkins, of Indianapolis, and Dorothy J. and James Pepper McIntosh.
Dr. William Jesse Pepper, father of Mrs. McIntosh, was a native of Kentucky, born in Mason county, that state, September 26, 1830, a son of Abner and Sarah (Merrill) Pepper, natives of that same county. Abner Pepper was a son of Jesse Pepper, a Virginian and a member of the famous Lewis family in that state, who early settled in Kentucky, where he established his home and where Abner Pepper in turn established his home. The latter married Sarah Merrill, daughter of Reuben Merrill and wife, the latter of whom was a Helm. Reuben Merrill was born in New Jersey and early became a resident of Mason county, Kentucky. In that county William Jesse Pepper received an academic training, including a careful drill in Latin, and remained there until he was sixteen years of age, when he came up into Indiana with his aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Merrill Wotten, locating at Connersville, where he became a student in the office of Dr. G. R. Chitwood, one of the best-known physicians in this part of the state at that time. Under this able preceptorship he was prepared for medical college and presently entered the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio, from which he was graduated with distinction in 1856. Upon receiving his diploma, Doctor Pepper returned to Connersville and for a time thereafter was engaged in practice with his old preceptor, Doctor Chitwood. He then established in that city an office of his own and was there engaged in the practice of his profession to within a few weeks of his death, thirty-six years later, for years having been regarded as one of the leading physicians of eastern Indiana. Doctor Pepper was the first president of the Fayette County Medical Society, organized in 1879, and remained an active member of that organization the rest of his life, his death, on August 31, 1892, being made the occasion for a formal and fitting official expression of sympathy and appreciation on the part of the society. The Doctor was an ardent lover of music and was a skillful performer on the violin. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and ever took an earnest interest in local good works.
On August 4, 1858, Dr. William J. Pepper was united in marriage, at Connersville, to Mary S. Frybarger, who was born in that city, February 24, 1841, and who survived her husband more than twenty years, her death occurring on December 31, 1915. She was a daughter of George and Eliza (Eichelberger) Frybarger, natives of Maryland and of York county, Pennsylvania, respectively. Eliza Frybarger was a daughter of Adam and Sarah E. (Wolf) Eichelberger, who also were born in York county, Pennsylvania, Adam Eichelberger having been a son of Capt. Adam Eichelberger, born in that same county in 1739 and who, upon the opening of the War for Independence was commissioned by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania as captain of a company of foot in the Third Battalion, Pennsylvania line, from York county. Captain Eichelberger’s wife was Magdaline Bechtel.
George Frybarger was born of German parents in Frederick county, Maryland, December 28, 1796, and was but eight years of age when his parents, in the spring of 1805, emigrated to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled in the vicinity of Dayton. At the early age of fifteen, George Frybarger taught a term of subscription school in his home neighborhood and when sixteen became a clerk in a mercantile establishment at Dayton. In that position he displayed such admirable fitness that within a few weeks he was advanced to the position of chief clerk of the establishment and in 1819 was taken into the firm as a partner of his employer, William Wotton. In May, 1821, seeking a new field for the exercise of his talents and energy, Mr. Frybarger left Dayton and came over into the new state of Indiana, locating in the then promising village of Connersville, where he at once entered upon his wonderfully successful business career, for many years a thereafter there being few enterprises of importance projected in that town that were not in some way or another touched by his influential direction and before his death on March 26, 1853, he had built up what for those days was regarded as a handsome fortune. For many years Mr. Frybarger was a member of the board of trustees of the growing village of Connersville and his service in that connection undoubtedly did very much toward starting the town outright in the way of its present remarkable industrial development. As one of the organizers and a member of the board of directors of the Richmond branch of the Indiana State Bank he was an influential factor in the financial life of this region in early days and that influence always was exerted in behalf of progress. He also was interested in various mercantile enterprises in Connersville, took a prominent part in the work of constructing the old White Water canal, a director of the company that constructed the canal; erected quite a number of business blocks in Connersville, some of which are still standing; established a pork-packing plant on the banks of the river and from the date of its organization until his death was the president of the Bank of Connersville. He died in his fifty-seventh year, active in business up to the very last.
To Dr. William J. and Mary S. (Frybarger) Pepper seven children were born, of whom but three grew to maturity, Mrs. McIntosh having two sisters, Irene, widow of Tracy B. Johnson, former vice-president of the Tracy Shoe Company of Portsmouth, Ohio, and who is now living at Connersville, and Miss Sophia E. Pepper, who is living with her aunt, Mrs. Sophia Chitwood, at Connersville.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Albert E. Goble, one of Jackson township’s well-known and substantial farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of three hundred and thirty acres just southwest of Everton, was born at Harrison, Ohio, January 25, 1872, son of Samuel and Louisa (Stone) Goble, the former of whom was born in Canada and the latter in Ohio, who later became residents of Fayette county, where the father died, his widow now making her home at Richmond, this state.
Samuel Goble was a son of Iden Goble and wife, the former a native of England, who came from his native Hampshire to this country and settled at Harrison, Ohio, where he married and later moved to Canada, where he lived for about twelve years. At the end of that time he returned to Harrison, Ohio, bought a farm in that vicinity and there spent the rest of his life. His widow is still living there. Samuel Goble was about twelve years of age when his parents returned to Harrison, Ohio, and on the home farm in that vicinity he grew to manhood. There he married Louisa Stone, who was born and reared there, a daughter of Asel and Margaret Stone, and a few years later moved over into Indiana, locating on a farm near Brookville, in Franklin county, coming thence up into Fayette county and settling on a farm in the eastern part of Jackson township, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in November, 1904. His widow is now living at Harrison, this state.
Albert E. Goble was but a child when his parents moved over into Indiana from Ohio and he grew up accustomed to the work of the farm. At the age of fifteen years he began making his own way in the world, working at various forms of employment, and was thus engaged until his marriage in 1896. For about five years thereafter he was engaged in saw-milling, operating two mills in Jackson township, after which he began farming and was thus engaged until 1908, when he engaged in the automobile business at Connersville. In 1911 he disposed of his interests in the city and resumed farming, being now the owner of three hundred and thirty acres of excellent land in Jackson township, where he has a very comfortable home and where he and his family are very pleasantly situated, their home being just on the edge of the village of Everton.
On December 24, 1896, Albert E. Goble was united in marriage to Bessie White, who was born in Jackson township, a short distance southwest of Everton, and who was reared in the house in which she is now living, a daughter of the late William Madison White and a sister of John Melvin White, former county commissioner. In a biographical sketch of the latter, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out at considerable detail a history of the White family, one of the oldest families in Fayette county. Mr. and Mrs. Goble have three daughters, Mabel May, Sarah Josephine and Olive Catherine.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Charles Beeson, one of Fayette county's best-known and most substantial farmers and stockmen and the proprietor of beautiful "West View Farm" at the west edge of the pleasant village of Bentonville, is a native son of this county and has lived in Posey township all his life. He was born in that township on November 15, 1853, son of Templeton and Sarah Ann (Loder) Beeson, both of whom als6 were born in this part of the state, the former just over the line in Wayne county and the latter in Posey township, this county, and who spent their last days here, useful and influential residents of the Bentonville neighborhood.
The Beesons are among the old families of this section, having been prominently represented here since pioneer days. The Beeson family is of Colonial stock, the first of the name to settle in this county having been Edward Beeson, who emigrated from Lancashire, England, with one of the parties coming to join William Penn's colony in 1682. Edward Beeson located first in Pennsylvania and then moved to Virginia, later moving to Delaware, where he bought land on the Brandywine, land now covered by the city of Wilmington, and there he spent his last days. Fifth in descent from Edward Beeson was Isaac Beeson, whose son, Richard, had a son, Benjamin, who had a son, Benjamin, Jr., who married Dorcas Starbuck and was the father of Templeton Beeson. The junior Benjamin Beeson came out into Indiana from North Carolina in pioneer days and settled in the southern edge of Wayne county, just over the line from where Beeson Station now is located, this county, and there spent practically all the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, Othniel, Bezaleel, Templeton, Mark, R. Frank, Mrs. Julia E. Dick, Mrs. Cinderella Harvey, Mrs. Amanda Emerson, Mrs. Delila Patterson and Mrs. Rachel Harvey.
Templeton Beeson grew to manhood on the pioneer farm his father had settled, up in Wayne county, and there lived until his marriage to Sarah Ann Loder, after which he bought a farm two and one-half miles west of Bentonville, in Posey township, this county, established his home there and there spent the rest of his life, one of the most substantial farmers and stock raisers in that part of the county. He died in January, 1881, and his widow died about two years later. The latter was born on a pioneer farm east of Bentonville, in Posey township, daughter of John and Isabel (Ringland) Loder, who settled in this county in 1815, the year before Indiana was admitted to statehood. John Loder was born in Essex county, New Jersey, August 10, 1780, and when seventeen years of age, in 1797, went to Cincinnati, where he began working at his trade, that of a cooper. He presently went from there to North Bend and, after two years spent at that place, went to the settlement at the mouth of the Big Miami, whence, two years later, he moved to a tract of land he had bought in the immediate vicinity of Hamilton, where, on September 25, 1806, he married Isabel Ringland, who was born on May 31, 1785. On that farm John Loder and his family lived until 1815, when they came on up the valley of the White Water and settled on a tract of land he had bought in Posey township, this county, where they established their permanent home. For some time after settling there John Loder also operated a cooper shop, working at his trade while not engaged in the labors of clearing his farm, and he thus became early one of the best-known pioneers of that community. He took an active part in early political affairs and was an influential citizen. His first vote was cast for Thomas Jefferson for President. During his residence in Ohio he voted for delegates to the first constitutional convention held in that state and after coming to this state voted for delegates to Indiana's first constitutional convention.
To Templeton and Sarah Ann (Loder) Beeson seven children were born, one of whom died in infancy and the others of whom grew to maturity, namely: Isabelle, Leroy, Theodore, Edgar, Willard and Charles. Isabelle Beeson lived to be past fifty years of age and died unmarried. Leroy Beeson died when past fifty years of age, leaving a widow and two children. Theodore Beeson, who died in 1908, had been married, but his wife and only son had preceded him to the grave. Edgar Beeson is now living in the village of Dublin. His wife and two sons are deceased. Willard Beeson is continuing to make his home on the old home place.
Charles Beeson continued to make his home on the old home place until after his marriage in the fall of 1911. He previously, however, had bought the farm left by his brother, Theodore, at the west edge of Bentonville, and after his marriage moved onto that farm and has there since made his home. He has a fine farm there, besides land in the West, and is the owner of more than three hundred acres of land. He has on his home farm a thoroughly modern residence, equipped with furnace, bath and a lighting plant and other conveniences, "West View Farm" being regarded as one of the most desirable places in that part of the county. For years Mr. Beeson has made a specialty of raising registered Shorthorn cattle and has a fine herd. Politically, he is a Republican, and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.
On October 4, 1911, Charles Beeson was united in marriage to Luella Manlove, who also was born in Posey township, this county, on a farm about three miles southeast of Bentonville, a daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth J. (Scott) Manlove, the former of whom was born in that same township in 1842, a son of William and Margaret (Munger) Manlove, both members of pioneer families in that part of the county. William Manlove was born on January 19, 1815, the first white child born in Posey township, and was a son of George Manlove and wife, who are said to have been among the first settlers in that part of the county. George Manlove, a native of North Carolina, had attempted a settlement on the headwaters of Lick creek, in what is now the southeastern part of Posey township, as early as 1811, entering the northeast quarter of section 28 on October 31, 1811, the first purchase in what is now Posey township. He was related to the Caldwells, who settled at the same time just east of what is now Harrison township. They had settled for a time at Fairhaven, in Preble county, Ohio, and had moved from there over into Indiana Territory, settling in what later became organized as Fayette county. It is said that George Manlove, with the Caldwells, being somewhat afraid of trouble with the Indians when the war broke out, returned to Preble county and there remained until 1814, when all returned to the settlements they already had effected in this county. George Manlove, in 1818, taught the first school in Posey township. William Manlove grew to manhood on that pioneer farm and married Margaret Munger, daughter of Edmund K. Munger and a member of one of the first families to settle in Fayette county, further and fitting mention of which family is made elsewhere in this volume, the Mungers having been among the first to settle in the "New Purchase." Oliver Manlove also grew to manhood in Posey township and there married and established his home, spending his last days on his farm in the southeastern part of that township, his death occurring there when his daughter, Luella, was but seven years of age, he then being thirty-nine years of age. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring in April, 1916. They were the parents of three children, Mrs. Beeson having a sister, Mrs. Flora B. Hubbell, of Bentonville, and a brother, Oliver Manlove, Jr., who is continuing to farm the old home place. Mr. and Mrs. Beeson 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 causes having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Philip F. Weaver, one of Posey township's best-known and most substantial farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of nearly two hundred acres at the southern edge of the pleasant village of Bentonville, was born in that village on July 2, 1861, son of James and Charlotte (Schrader) Weaver, both of whom were born in that same neighborhood and whose last days were spent in this county, useful and influential residents of the community in which they spent practically all their lives.
James Weaver was born on a pioneer farm just southeast of Bentonville, a son of George and Catherine (Hiser) Weaver, Virginians, who were among the earliest settlers in the Bentonville neighborhood, the Weaver family thus being one of the oldest families in Fayette county. It was but two or three years after the land in that section was opened for settlement that George Weaver acquired his holdings in Posey township, probably about 1823. He had accompanied his parents from Virginia to Ohio, the family settling at Dayton, from which point most of the large family of children scattered out, seeking homes in the new lands of the then "wilds," and when he and his wife started to make their home in a log cabin on their farm in Posey township the land they had acquired from the government was practically all in deep forest growth. There George Weaver and wife reared their children and there spent the remainder of their lives, useful residents of that pioneer community. On that pioneer farm James Weaver grew to manhood, a valued assistant in the labors of developing and improving the same, and after his marriage continued farming in Posey township the remainder of his life, with the exception of four years spent in the town of Dublin, and died at his home near Bentonville on January 30, 1887. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring on April 5, 1914.
Charlotte Schrader was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of the Weaver farm southeast of Bentonville, daughter of Philip and Martha (Turner) Schrader, pioneers of that section. Philip Schrader was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and upon reaching manhood's estate went to Ohio, where he married a Woodruff and remained for some years, meanwhile keeping a lookout for a new place of settlement. His sister, Mrs. Hall, and husband had come over into Indiana not long after the opening of land for settlement here and had entered a tract of land in the southern part of Posey township and Philip Schrader not long afterward entered several tracts a short distance east of where his sister and her husband had settled. One tract that he particularly desired, the east half of the southeast quarter of section 30, southeast of Bentonville, had been entered by another and he bought it from the original entrant, returning then to his home in Ohio. His wife died in the latter state and he later married Martha Turner and about 1826 came to this county to enter upon possession of his land here. He established his home on the tract in section 30 above mentioned and by dint of hard labor soon converted it from a forest wilderness into a well improved farm. In 1830 he erected on that tract the substantial brick house which still stands there and is still in good condition, the bricks and the lime for this old house having been burned by himself on the place. Philip Schrader became a well-to-do farmer and on that pioneer farm he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring about 1871. His widow contracted pneumonia at his funeral and died two weeks later. Philip Schrader was the father of nine children, two children, Elisha and Aaron, by his first marriage and seven by his second marriage, William, Noble, Charlotte, Amanda, Matilda, Julia and Evaline, the latter of whom, Mrs. Evaline Somers, is the only one now living. On the Schrader farm Charlotte Schrader made her home until her marriage to James Weaver. To that union two sons were born, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Albert Weaver, unmarried, who is making his home on the old home place with his maternal aunt, Mrs. Somers.
Philip F. Weaver completed his schooling in the high school at Dublin during the time the family resided in that town and was from the days of his early youth trained in the work of the farm. He married a year or more after his father's death in 1887 and continued to make his home on the home farm with his mother until 1895, when he moved to his present well improved farm of one hundred and ninety-five acres a half mile south of Bentonville, where he since has made his home and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. In 1915 Mr. Weaver built a fine new house on his farm, a substantial modern dwelling, with electric lights, steam heat, running water and all necessary improvements to add to the comfort and convenience of the family.
On December 19, 1888, Philip F. Weaver was united in marriage to Lorena Munger, who was born on the old Munger homestead in the south half of section 19 in Posey township, this county, one mile east of her present home, daughter of Lazarus and Savannah (Ferguson) Munger, the former of whom was born in a log cabin on that same farm on September 11, 1831, a son of Edmund K. and Mary (Cole) Munger, the former of whom was born in Rutland county, Vermont, September 13, 1790, the third in order of birth of the twelve children born to Gen. Edmund and Eunice (Kellogg) Munger. Gen. Edmund Munger, also a native of Vermont, was born on September 30, 1763, and, on December 5, 1785, married Eunice Kellogg, who was born on August 13, 1767. For a time after his marriage Generai Munger was located at Washington, Connecticut, and for a few years later in Rutland county, Vermont. In the spring of 1798 he moved with his family to Belfire on the Ohio river, in Washington county, Ohio. He presently bought a tract of land over in Montgomery county, that state, and in the spring of 1799 loaded his household effects on a flatboat and with his family descended the Ohio to old Ft. Washington, now Cincinnati, and proceeded thence on up the Miami trail to his new possession in the Dayton neighborhood in Montgomery county. The first shelter he erected there for himself and family was a bark leanto, which sufficed until he presently was able to erect a rude log cabin, in which he established his home. He was a man of much energy and from the very beginning of his activities in that pioneer community prospered, so that he soon came to be regarded as one of the most substantial residents of that section and a quite well-to-do citizen. Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812 General Munger raised a body of soldiers and drilled them with the expectation of going to the front at the head of that command, but he was superseded by General Hull, who later surrendered his troops to the British at Detroit, much to the rage and chagrin of that whole command as well as to the consternation of the whole country. General Munger spent his last days at his home in the Dayton neighborhood, living to the ripe old age of eighty-seven years, his death, on April 14, 1850, being hastened by a fall from a ladder. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and were ever interested in good works, valuable factors in the work of developing proper social conditions in the community of which they were among the foremost pioneers. She was one hundred years and nearly five months old at her death, January 8, 1868.
Edmund K. Munger was but a child when he moved with his parents and the rest of the family from Vermont to Ohio and he grew to manhood in Montgomery county. When the War of 1812 broke out he enlisted for service and served until honorably discharged. He married in December, 1812, and continued to make his home in Ohio until the spring of 1821 when he came over into Indiana and at the land office at Brookville bought a tract of two hundred acres in section 19 of Posey township, this county. In October of that same year he settled on that land with his family, making his home there in a log cabin until, in 1835, he erected a substantial brick house on the place and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in June 10, 1872. He was a man of push and energy and took an active part in the development of that part of the county. His wife was a devoted member of the Baptist church and they were among the leaders in local good works in that neighborhood. On December 17, 1812, Edmund K. Munger was united in marriage to Mary Cole, who was born in Virginia on October 15, 1794, and who was but a child when her parents, Samuel and Catherine (Bryan) Cole, moved to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county. To that union twelve children were born, one of whom, Lazarus Munger, was married on September 10, 1866, to Savannah Ferguson, who was born on February 8, 1843, daughter of Linville and Elizabeth M. (Loder) Ferguson, pioneers of that community, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in this county. Lazarus Munger was an excellent farmer and became the owner of five hundred and twenty-five acres of the best land in Posey township, which farm he brought to a high state of cultivation. For some time during the early sixties he served his township as assessor and often represented his party as a delegate to county, district or state conventions. For years he and his brother, Edmund Munger, were actively engaged in breeding fine live stock, operating under the firm name of L. & E. Munger, and were quite successful in that line. Lazarus Munger was a good citizen and took pride in doing what he could to advance the common welfare in the community in which he spent all his life. He died at his home in Posey township on May 27, 1909, and his widow survived him for nearly three years, her death occurring on May 7, 1912. They were the parents of three children, Lorena M., wife of Mr. Weaver, Warren and Helen E.
To Philip F. and Lorena M. (Munger) Weaver four children have been born, Blake and Max, both of whom died when thirteen years of age, and Edith and Laz, the latter a graduate of Rushville high school. Edith Weaver has educated herself in preparation for teaching. The Weavers are members of the Christian church and have ever taken a proper part in local good works and in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in advancing all worthy causes thereabout.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
The late Hayden Lewis, who died at his well-kept farm home in Jackson township, this county, on July 1, 1914, was born on that farm on May 31, 1849, and had lived there all his life. He was a son of Enoch and Elizabeth (Clifton) Lewis, the former of whom also was born on that farm, a son of Leonard Lewis, of Welsh parentage, who settled there in territorial days, the farm ever since having been in the possession of the Lewis family, being now occupied by the widow of Hayden Lewis a period of more than one hundred years. Enoch Lewis, who was born in 1815, spent all his life on the farm on which he was born and there reared his family. He married Elizabeth Clifton, who was born on October 15, 1816, a daughter of John and Rebecca Clifton, the former of whom was born on August 25, 1791, a son of Daniel and Deborah Clifton, the former born in 1764, a son of Simon Clifton, and the latter, July 8, 1765. John and Rebecca Clifton came to Indiana from New Jersey and became substantial pioneer residents of Fayette county.
Hayden Lewis grew to manhood on the ancestral farm in Jackson township and after his marriage established his home there, continuing to make that his place of residence until his death in 1914, he then being sixty-five years of age. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, taking a warm interest in both church and lodge work. Hayden Lewis was a good farmer and left to his widow and children aggregate land holdings of two hundred and twenty-seven acres of excellent land, including the old Hanley homestead, which is pictured elsewhere in this volume.
On March 11, 1877, at Connersville, Hayden Lewis was united in marriage to Sallie Sanders, who was born at Hope, in Bartholomew county, this state, a daughter of James J. and Susan (Whitlock) Sanders, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter on a pioneer farm in the southern part of Jackson township, this county, a daughter of Joseph Whitlock and wife, early settlers of that community. James J. Sanders grew up as a farmer in Kentucky and later came to Indiana, locating in Bartholomew county, whence, about 1862, he moved to a farm near Laurel, in Franklin county, where he lived until 1873, in which year he moved to a farm near Danville, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life. His daughter, Sallie Sanders, was living at Laurel at the time of her marriage to Hayden Lewis. To that union four children were born, Inez L., Alden, Howard and Alma Fern, all of whom are living with their mother on the farm on which they were born. Mrs. Lewis is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are her daughters, and takes an active interest in church work as well as in the general good works of the community in which she lives.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
John Mitchell Scott, a well-known and veteran druggist at Indianapolis, is a native son of Fayette county and has ever retained the heartiest interest in the affairs of his old home county. He was born on a pioneer farm in the northeastern part of Orange township on September 16, 1854, son of Judge John and Sarah Snodgrass (Carter) Scott, prominent and influential residents of that community. Judge John Scott, one of the pioneers of Fayette county and former associate judge of the county, was for years one of the most forceful factors in the general life of the community in which he settled in the early twenties and in which he spent the remainder of his life. In a biographical sketch relating to William W. Scott, also a druggist at Indianapolis and elder brother of the subject of this sketch, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out at considerable length the history of the Scott family in this county, with particular reference to the part Judge Scott took in the affairs of the community during his long residence here, and the attention of the reader is respectfully invited to that interesting narrative for further details of a genealogical character in connection with this brief review of the life of a former resident of Fayette county, who, though long a resident of Indianapolis has never ceased to hold in affectionate memory the scenes of his boyhood and early manhood in this county.
Reared on the paternal farm in Orange township, John M. Scott was from the days of his boyhood a valued aid to his father in the labors of the farm and remained there until he was twenty-seven years of age. He had received his schooling in the schools of his home neighborhood, having attended variously the Swamp school, the Poplar Grove school and the Iles school, and supplemented the same by much and careful home study, with particular reference to the study of materia medica, chemistry, botany and the like, and in 1881 went to Indianapolis, in which city his elder brother, William W. Scott, had a few years before engaged in the drug business, and in association with the latter entered upon his career as a druggist. A year or two later John M. Scott bought his brother's interest in the store and continued the business himself, his location at that time being at the corner of New York street and Indiana avenue. In 1893 he sold that store and moved further up town, opening a drug store at the corner of Illinois and Sixteenth street and has there ever since been very successfully engaged in business, long having been recognized as one of the veteran druggists of the capital city. About ten years ago Mr. Scott's eldest son, Clinton Lawrence Scott, became a partner of his father, but two years later abandoned the drug business and went to Kansas, where he is now successfully engaged in the retail lumber business. Another son, Charles Williams Scott, succeeded to the partnership and this mutually agreeable arrangement continues, the business being conducted under the firm name of J. M. Scott & Son. Mr. Scott is a member of the Marion County Retail Druggists Association, the Indiana Pharmaceutical Association and the National Association of Retail Druggists and in the affairs of these several trade associations has for years taken a warm interest.
On November 18, 1875, in this county, John M. Scott was united in marriage to Emmazetta Williams, who was born in the Everton neighborhood, in Jackson township, this county, a daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Ann (McIlwain) Williams, both of whom also were natives of this county. Jeremiah Williams was born on a pioneer farm in the Everton neighborhood on June 21, 1829, a son of the Rev. Elisha Williams and wife, who were for years among the most influential and useful residents of that part of the county. The Rev. Elisha Williams was a native of Kentucky, born in Pulaski county, that state, August 3, 1802, and was fourteen years of age when his parents came up into Indiana and after a year spent in the vicinity of Brookville came on up into Fayette county and settled west of Everton, where he grew to manhood and where he spent the remainder of his life. He married Martha Baker, who was born on June 5, 1808, and to that union ten children were born. The mother of these children died on July 4, 1856, and Mr. Williams afterward was married twice, but these later unions were without issue. In 1830 Elisha Williams joined the Methodist church and on August 4, 1841, was licensed as an "exhorter" in that body and on August 28, 1852, was ordained as a minister of the same. The Rev. Elisha Williams was a "shouting" Methodist and his earnest exortations to his pioneer hearers exerted a powerful influence for good throughout a wide territory hereabout. At the Mt. Zion camp meetings he was accustomed to mount a stump and issue a general invitation to all within the sound of his stentorian voice to repair to his house for dinner and to stay all night. Needless to say, this generous invitation would be accepted with such a degree of unanimity that not only the house, but the barn, would be filled to overflowing with guests and the chicken-house and garden cleaned out before the meeting would be over. This earnest pioneer preacher lived to a ripe old age, full of good works to the end of his days, and he died at his home near Everton on November 21, 1884, being then well past eighty years of age.
Jeremiah Williams grew to manhood on his father's well-kept farm near Everton and on February 25, 1849, married Mary Ann McIlwain, who also was born in this county, near Everton, August 5, 1828, a daughter of John and Sarah (Logan) McIlwain, substantial pioneers. After his marriage Jeremiah Williams continued farming in Jackson township until 1861, when he moved to a farm he had bought in Orange township and there he spent his last days, his death occurring on May 23, 1875. For some years after his death his widow kept the home and the children together and then she went to Glenwood, where she resided for some time, later moving to Rushville, where she spent her last days, her death occurring there in 1910, she then being eighty-two years of age. To Jeremiah Williams and wife seven children were born, two of whom died in infancy, the others being as follows: Theresa L., who married Charles H. Alger, of Rushville, in November, 1882, and died in April, 1911, without issue; Emmazetta, wife of Mr. Scott; Martha J., wife of James F. Ryburn, of Rushville; Sarah J., born on August 14, 1859, who completed her musical education in the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and for years devoted her life to teaching music and who has for years been a resident of Rushville, and Elisha, the only living son, born in Orange township, October 29, 1863, now a substantial farmer living west of Connersville, who married Marianna Bilby, daughter of Francis M. Bilby, and has three children, Clyde Hubert, Elsie Annetta and Mary Ellen.
To John M. and Emmazetta (Williams) Scott three children have been born, namely: Clinton Lawrence, now engaged in the lumber business in Kansas, who married Nellie Richolson and has one child, a daughter, Donna Louise; Charles W., engaged with his father in the drug business at Indianapolis, who married Nellie Wheldon and has six children, Martha Wheldon, John Mitchell, Joseph Wheldon, Charles Alger, Clinton Lawrence and George Williams, and Ida May, who married Walter Scott Ryan, now living at Westfield, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City, and has one child, a son, Walter Scott Ryan, Jr. The Scots have a very pleasant home in College avenue, Indianapolis, and takes a proper interest in the general social activities of their home city, ever helpful in promoting local good works. Mrs. Scott is a member of the Fourth Presbyterian church in that city and takes an active part in the various beneficences of the same.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917