Samuel Shortridge, father of James Shortridge and grandfather of Sanford Shortridge, was born in Kentucky in 1795 and there was married to Eleanor Hulse, who was born in the state of Pennsylvania in that same year. After their marriage Samuel Shortridge and his wife settled in, Powell county, Kentucky, where they remained until 1815, when they came up into the then Territory of Indiana and settled on a farm in Harrison township, this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives, Samuel Shortridge dying in 1844 and his widow surviving until 1879. They were the parents of eleven children, Price, Fannie, James, Daniel, Elisha, George, William, Jesse, Jane, Mercer and Hester. James Shortridge, second son of Samuel Shortridge, grew to manhood on the home farm and continued farming in that neighborhood all his life, after his marriage settling on a farm in the northeastern part of the neighboring township of Fairview. On January 8, 1841, he was united in marriage to Mary Keaton, whose family has been mentioned above, and to that union seven children were born, Samuel, Sanford, Rebecca J., Louisa, Mary E., George T. and Emma B. James Shortridge died at his home in Fairview township on December 26, 1872, and his widow survived him many years, her death occurring at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, in Fairview on September 23, 1905.
Sanford Shortridge lived from the days of his infancy on the farm where his widow now lives and where he spent his last days. He spent his boyhood in a log cabin and grew up familiar with conditions in a pioneer community, one of his tasks as a lad being to ride once a week to Cambridge for the mail. He was fourteen years of age when his father began the erection of a new farm house, the house in which Mrs. Shortridge now lives. That was about the time of the outbreak of the Civil War and before the house was completed every man who had been engaged in its construction had gone to war. After the death of his father in 1872 he continued making his home with his mother and after his marriage in the spring of 1885 established his home there, his mother thereafter making her home alternately with her several children, who in the meantime had married and established homes of their own. A year after his marriage Sanford Shortridge bought the interests of the other heirs in the home place and made many substantial improvements to the same, coming to be regarded as one of the most progressive and substantial farmers in that section. He prospered in his operations and he and his family became very comfortably situated. Sanford Shortridge died at his home in Fairview township on October 10, 1902, and his widow continues to make her home there.
On March 18, 1885, Sanford Shortridge was united in marriage to Ida E. Dora, who was born in Columbia township, this county, January 4, 1863, a daughter of Robert C. and Nancy Ellen (Hartman) Dora, the former of whom was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, March 17, 1841, a son of William and Elizabeth (Morris) Dora, and who came to Indiana when a boy of sixteen or seventeen years to make his home with a sister in this county. At the age of nineteen Robert C. Dora married Nancy Ellen Hartman, who was born in Connersville township, this county, a daughter of Levi and Rebecca (Mount) Hartman, pioneers of this county. Levi Hartman was born in the neighboring county of Franklin on December 7, 1816, son of Henry and Nancy (Smith) Hartman, who were born in Berks county. Pennsylvania, the former of whom was a son of Frederick Hartman, a native of Germany, who had come to this country in pre-Revolutionary days and settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he married Nancy Black and in 1813 came thence into the then Territory of Indiana and settled in Franklin county, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary war and upon coming to this part of the country took an active part in the affairs of the then pioneer community. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, Jacob, Catherine, Frederick, Nancy, Michael, Hannah and Henry. The latter, father of Levi Hartman, married in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Nancy Smith, of that county, and in 1813 accompanied his parents to the then "wilds" of Indiana Territory, settling near Brookville, where his first wife died in 1816, leaving three sons, Abraham, James and Levi. Henry Hartman later married Elsie Tharpe and in 1854 moved to Platte county, Missouri, where he and his wife spent their last days. To that second union five children were born, Jonathan, William, Nancy, Newton and Lovina. Levi Hartman grew up on a farm and early began farming on his own account. In June, 1338, he married Rebecca (Mount) Jones, who by a former marriage was left with one child when she married Levi Hartman. After his marriage Mr. Hartman rented a farm in Connersville township, this county, where he remained about eighteen years. In the meantime he had bought a farm in Wabash county, which he afterward sold and in 1852 bought and moved onto the farm in Connersville township, where he spent the rest of his life, a substantial farmer, the owner of a fine farm of four hundred and twenty acres. Levi Hartman and wife were the parents of nine children, Nancy Ellen, Alfred, John C., Hezekiah, Clarissa, Rhoda, Henry, Hannah and James.
After his marriage to Nancy Ellen Hartman, Robert C. Dora rented a farm in Columbia township, this county, and it was there that their daughter, Ida E., now Mrs. Shortridge, was born. In 1862 Mr. Dora took his wife and baby daughter to his old home in Kentucky and while there he was imprisoned for resisting an attempt to enroll him in the Confederate army. His wife had already started back to her home in this county with her baby, but, upon learning of her husband's imprisonment, returned to Kentucky to rejoin him, but before she reached the place of his imprisonment was overjoyed to meet him on the road back North, he having been released. The most of Robert C. Dora's subsequent life was spent on a farm in Orange township, this county, though his last days were spent in Glenwood, where his death occurred on March 18, 1913, and where his widow is now living. For many years, in addition to his general farming, Robert C. Dora operated a threshing-machine outfit and was one of the best-known men in the western part of the county. For some years he served as assessor of Orange township and in other ways contributed of his time and his energies to the public service, being justice of the peace at the time of his death. To him and his wife nine children were born, of whom but four are now living, those besides Mrs. Shortridge being William, who lives on a farm on the edge of Franklin county; Rebecca, wife of John Jordan, of Rushville, and Clara, who is living with her widowed mother in Glenwood.
Ida E. Dora grew up on the home farm in Orange township and completed her schooling in the Connersville Normal School. She then entered the ranks of Fayette county's teaching corps and for five years served as a teacher, teaching in the schools of Orange, Harrison and Fairview townships, and was thus engaged at the time of her marriage to Mr. Shortridge. To that union four children were born, Irvin D., Bertha M., Estella F. and Nellie L. Irvin D. Shortridge was born on June 29, 1886, and was carefully trained to the ways of the farm. He is now managing the home farm for his mother and is likewise farming an adjoining farm, about two hundred and fifty acres in all, and is doing well. He married Goldie Swift and has two children, Noel D. and Norma E. Bertha M. Shortridge married Justus Rees, a farmer living near Gings Station, in Rush county, and has one child, a son, Myron Deloris. Estella F. Shortridge makes her home with her widowed mother. When Fayette county gave its first free fair she was one of the "queens" in the notable pageant that marked that affair, a picture of which pageant is presented elsewhere in this volume. Nellie L. Shortridge married Dr. Clarence Hinchman, son of U. G. Hinchman, and lives at Indianapolis. She has one child, a son, Wayne D.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Charles M. Archey, one of Harrison township's well-known and substantial farmers, is a native of the Old Dominion, but has been a resident of Indiana since he was twenty years of age and of this county since the early eighties. He was born in Monroe county, in that section of Virginia now comprised in West Virginia, September 22, 1848, son of Charles S. and Frances (Shirey) Archey, both natives of Virginia, the former born in the Shenandoah Valley and the latter in Monroe county, who spent their last days there.
Charles S. Archey was a farmer and also for many years a merchant. He was engaged in the mercantile business when the Civil war broke out and hired two substitutes to take his place in the ranks, during the last nine months of the war his son, Charles M. Archey, the subject of this sketch, though little more than a boy at that time, taking his place at the front.
Upon the completion of his military service Charles M. Archey returned to his home in West Virginia and remained there until the fall of 1868, when, he then being twenty years of age, he came to Indiana and located in Rush county, where he began working as a farm hand and for nineteen years was thus engaged, most of the time in Rush county. In the summer of 1881 he married and about 1884 he began farming for himself, renting the Heman Jones farm in Columbia township, this county, and with the exception of three years has farmed in Fayette county ever since, three years in Columbia township, three years in Orange township, ten years in Waterloo township, and since November, 1904, has been farming in Harrison township, his place being situated two and one-half miles north of the court house. Mr. Archey is farming one hundred and eighty-seven acres and in addition to his general farming has traded quite a bit in horses and cattle. All of his place is under cultivation with the exception of about fifteen acres of blue grass in the creek bottom. Mr. Archey has witnessed the evolution of farming from the days of the hand scythe and the flax hackle and has ever kept pace with the various improvements in the methods of farming through all the years in which he has been actively engaged as an agriculturist since the daysbof his boyhood.
On August 18, 1881, some years after coming to this state, Charles M. Archey was united in marriage to Luella B. Holmes, who was born in Union county, this state, a daughter of John and Sarah (Scholl) Holmes, the former a native of that same county and the latter of Fayette county. John Holmes was reared in Union county, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Holmes. His wife, Sarah Scholl, was born in Jennings township, this county, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Scholl, who came from Pennsylvania in the early days of the settlement of this part of the state, settled in Fayette county and spent their last days in Jennings township. John Holmes moved from Union county to Rush county and for nearly fifty years was engaged in farming there, his last days being spent at Glenwood.
To Mr. and Mrs. Archey seven children have been born, namely: Daisy, who married Ernest Watt, of Wayne county, and has four children, Sarah Sylvira, Robert Earl, Erna Luella and Helen Louise; Bertha, who married Alfred Bateman and lives in Waterloo township; Frank, now living in Union county, who married Bertha Kershner and has two children, Glenna Fay and Frances Ruth; Errol, who lives in Waterloo township with his sister, Mrs. Bateman, and husband, and Carl, Ethel May and Annis Mildred, who are at home with their parents. The Archeys have a very pleasant home and have ever taken 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. Mr. Archey is a member of the Connersville lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that popular organization.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Howell G. Pyke, a well-known and substantial farmer and stockman of the Orange neighborhood in the southwestern part of Fayette county and proprietor of a fine farm in section 3 of Orange toenship, was born in Tipton county, Indiana, January 6, 1870, son of Robert H. and Lucinda (Stires) Pyke, who spent their last days on a farm in that county.
Robert H. Pyke was born on January 10, 1836, a son of John Wesley and Nancy (Hastings) Pyke, pioneers of Orange toenship, this county. John Wesley Pyke, who was born on February 4, 1797, was married on May 21, 1823, to Nancy Hastings, who was born on June 1, 1800, a daughter of Robert and Isabella Hastings, the former of whom was born on June 20, 1765, and was married on October 27, 1796. After his marriage John W. Pyke established his home in Orange township, this county, then moved to Howard county and there spent the remainder of his life, one of the substantial pioneer residents of that community. Robert H. Pyke grew to manhood in Fayette county and was united in marriage in 1854 to Lucinda Stires, who was born in the neighboring county of Rush on September 27, 1833, a daughter of Benjamin and Barbara Stires. About a year after his marriage Robert H. Pyke moved to a farm in Prairie township, Tipton county, and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring on December 2, 1903, and hers, January 25, 1916. They were members of the Methodist church and were the parents of ten children, two of whom died in infancy and the others of whom are still living, those besides the subject of this sketch being as follow: O. M. Pyke, of Tipton county; Mrs. Ella Hutto, of Kingmall, Kansas; J. F. Pyke, a lawyer, of Tipton; Mrs. Laura M. Amstett, of Fowler, this state; Robert E. Pyke, of Indianapolis; William M. Pyke, of Constantine, Michigan, and Sherman Pyke, of Tipton county.
Howell G. Pyke grew to manhood on the home farm in Tipton county and remained there until 1897, when he came to Fayette county and rented the farm in section 2 of Orange township, the northwest quarter of that section, which he now owns, and after his marriage a few months later established his home there and has ever since made that his place of residence. When Mr. Pyke took charge of that farm of one hundred and sixty acres the place was badly run down, but by industry and the exercise of modern methods of agriculture he has built it up until he has one of the best-improved and most highly cultivated farms in that part of the county. Seven years after taking charge of the farm he bought it and has since made many substantial improvements on the same, having an excellent residence and good farm buildings. In addition to his general farming Mr. Pyke has given considerable attention to the raising of a good grade of live stock and has done very well in his operations. Mr. Pyke has ever given close attention to local civic affairs and in 1912 was the nominee of the Progressive party for sheriff of Fayette county.
On August 18, 1897, a few months after coming to Fayette county, Howell G. Pyke was united in marriage to Emma Hitchell. who was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, daughter of Jacob and Caroline (Porter) Hitchell, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in the neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jacob Hitchell moved with his family from Franklin county to this county in the fall of 1892 and located on a farm in section 11 of Orange township, where he died a year later. His widow did not long survive him, her death occurring about a year later. She had been previously married to Jonathan Abercrombie, who died leaving five children. By her marriage to Jacob Hitchell she was the mother of four children, those besides Mrs. Pyke being as follow: Carrie, who married James Cox and died in the spring of 1910; Jacob, who is living on his own farm in the southern part of Orange township, and William, who is making his home with the Pykes. Mr. and Mrs. Pyke have two sons, Virgil H., born on December 26, 1898, who has just completed the high-school course, and Lester M., born on January 10, 1907. Mrs. Pyke is a member of the Christian 'church and Mr. Pyke belongs to the Methodist church. They have a very pleasant home and have ever taken a proper part in the general social activities of the community in which they live.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Hiram Shipley, former member of the board of county commissioners of Fayette county and a well-known and substantial farmer of Harrison township, this county, was born in that township and has lived there all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm near the Yankeetown school, in the northwestern part of Harrison township, August 24, 1856, son of Thomas Rodney and Sarah P. (Groves) Shipley, .the former of whom, born on that sate farm, spent all his life there and the latter of whom is still living there.
Thomas Rodney Shipley was born on November 15, 1856, a son of Thomas and Eleanor (Morgan) Shipley, the former a native of the state of Maryland and the latter of Virginia, who became pioneers of Fayette county and here spent their last days. Thomas Shipley was born near the city of Baltimore on February 16, 1772, a son of Adam and Rachel Shipley, the former of whom died on November 20, 1818, and the latter, September, 16, 1820. Thomas Shipley served as a soldier during the war of 1812 and later moved from Maryland to Kentucky, whence he came up into Indiana in 1821 and settled on a tract of "Congress land" which he had bought from the government in the western part of section 2 of Harrison township, the original parchment deed to the tract signed by President Monroe on April 1, 1823, being now in the possession of the first settler's grandson, Hiram Shipley, the subject of this sketch. Thomas Shipley created an excellent farm there and on that pioneer home place spent his last days, his death occurring on January 7, 1846, is widow, Eleanor Morgan, who was born in Virginia in 1782, survived him for more than ten years, her death occurring on October 3, 1857.
On that pioneer farm on which he was born, Thomas Rodney Shipley spent his entire life. On February 1, 1849, he married Sarah P. Groves, who was born on a pioneer farm over in Rush county, just west of Fairview, May 9, 1828, daughter of Donovan and Sarah (Hix) Groves, natives of Kentucky, who had come up into this part of Indiana in pioneer days. Donovan Groves was born in Kentucky on December 5, 1797, a son of Robert and Martha (Miller) Groves, the former of whom was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War, and who moved from Kentucky into Indiana about 1821 and settled on a farm on the eastern edge of Rush county, near Fairview. Robert Groves was a well-known minister of the Methodist church in early days and exerted a wide influence for good hereabout. He died on August 25, 1855, at the age of ninety-one years and six months. His wife preceded him to the grave just five days, her death having occurred on August 20, 1855, aged eighty-nine years and five months. They had been married for a bit more than sixty-seven years. Donovan Groves spent his last days as a farmer in Rush county and there died on May 28, 1858, at the age of fifty-one years. His wife, Sarah Hix, was born in Kentucky on May 22, 1798. Thomas Rodney Shipley was an excellent farmer and accumulated quite a lot of land, having been the owner of nearly five hundred acres. He died on March 23, 1891, and his widow is still living on the old home place where her children were born. There were seven of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: John, who died from the effects of a fall into a kettle of scalding water when he was about three years of age; Donovan, who died at the age of twenty-one years, three weeks after his marriage, from the effects of a fall off a horse; Martha, wife of Elbert Caldwell, of this county; Matilda, wife of Sanford Caldwell, of this county; Eunice, wife of Thomas Scott, and James, who was killed about ten years ago by an explosion of dynamite while blasting stumps.
Hiram Shipley was reared on the old home farm and there continued to make his home for two years after his marriage in the fall of 1877, after which he moved onto the old Shipley homestead, the place his grandfather bought from the government, the northwest quarter of section 32 of Harrison township, which he now owns, and where he has made his home ever since, being quite successfully engaged there in general farming and stock raising. Mr. Shipley is a Democrat and has for years given his earnest attention to local civic affairs. In the fall of 1912 he was elected commissioner from his district, the first Democratic member of the board of county commissioners of Fayette county in more than a quarter of a century, and he was re-nominated for that office by his party in the campaign of 1916, but failed of election, the Republicans regaining much of their former strength in that district in that year.
Mr. Shipley has been twice married. In the fall of 1877 he was united in marriage to Emma Baker, who died about ten years later, without issue. On November 6, 1889, two years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Shipley married Mary J. Curtis, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, daughter of Wesley W. and Emaline (Brant) Curtis, the former of whom is still living in Posey township, this county, where he is the owner of a fine farm of four hundred and fifty acres. Wesley W. Curtis was born in Butler county, Ohio, September 2, 1831, son of Daniel and Charlotte (Pocock) Curtis, natives of Maryland, who moved to Ohio, where their last days were spent. Daniel Curtis was a soldier during the War of 1812 and he and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist church. Wesley W. Curtis grew to manhood in Butler county, Ohio, and there married Emaline F. Brant, who was born in that county in 1837, daughter of Mathias and Harriet Brant. After his marriage he settled on a farm six miles east of Hamilton, where his wife died on April 1, 1859. He afterward married Ellen Blue and in March, 1864, came to Fayette county and bought a farm in Posey township, where he since has made his home. His second wife died there in 1895.
To Hiram and Mary (Curtis) Shipley one child has been born, a daughter, Elsie, who married Wilbur Gibbs and lives at Fairview, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Shipley are members of the Christian church at Fairview, as is their daughter, and Mr. Shipley for years has been the superintendent of the Sunday school of that church, both he and his wife taking a warm interest in genera1 church work.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Alvin E. Barrows was born in Dorset, Vermont, on February 9, 1843, and died at his home in Connersville, July 12, 1913. He was the son of Milutus Barrows, who was the son of Experience Barrows, who was the son of Solomon Barrows, who was the son of Lieut. Thomas Barrows, who was a son of Robert Barrows, who was the son of Robert Barrows, who was a son of John Barrow or Barrows, who arrived in Plymouth colony, Massachusetts, in 1637. His mother, Lucina Gray Barrows, was a daughter of Susannah Cleveland, who married Alvin Gray, she a daughter of Job William Cleveland, a Revolutionary soldier, the fifth generation from Moses Cleveland, who came to New England in 1636 from Ipswich, England, who is also an ancestor of Grover Cleveland.
The name Alvin, it may be seen, was derived from his grandfather, Alvin Gray, while the middle initial stood for Experience, the name of his other grandfather, Experience Barrows, who was the son of Lucretia Wales Barrows, she the daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Wales, an officer in the Revolutionary war, and Grace Brewster Wales, who was the daughter of Damaris Gates and William Brewster, who was the son of Elizabeth Witter Brewster and Benjamin Brewster, who was the son of Lydia Partridge Brewster and William Brewster, who was the son of Sarah Collier Brewster and Love Brewster, who was the son of Elder William Brewster, oldest and most distinguished of the Pilgrims on their arrival in America.
Milutus Barrows, the father of the subject of this sketch, was twice married, first to Lucretia Gray, and afterwards, when she died, leaving a family of small children, to her sister, Lucina Gray, who was the mother of Alvin E. Barrows. When he was about seven years old, the family moved from near Dorset, Vermont to Chautauclua county, New York, and were residing there at the outbreak of the war. In 1861 Alvin was employed on an oil derrick, just over the line in Pennsylvania. His father had been more or less active in the abolition movement and upon the call for seventy-five thousand volunteers he quit his job and went home for permission to enlist. At the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, he was severely wounded, barely avoiding the amputation of his left leg at the knee. In the same year he was again wounded. At the battle of Chancellorsville, where he was taken prisoner, he was officially commended for conspicuous bravery. He served a short time in Libby prison, but his conduct had won for him such attention as secured his speedy release. He served in the army more than four years, in the Seventy-second, One Hundred and Twentieth and One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Volunteers. When the war was over, he returned to his home in New York and attempted to do carpenter work and farming. This his lameness made impossible, and he drifted into mercantile pursuits, being for a time employed in the general mercantile business, but very soon turning to the business of writing life and, later, fire insurance. For forty years he was a successful fire underwriter, never ceasing this activity until on June 9, 1913, he was stricken down at his desk. In 1881 he left West Farmington, Ohio, where he had commenced in the insurance business, coming to Connersville, Indiana, and purchasing the insurance agency of Ignatius Zeller, forming a partnership with Charles B. Sanders, under the firm style of Sanders & Barrows. Until 1884 this partnership continued, when it was succeeded by the firm of Fearis & Barrows, which continued until 1887, when Col. J. H. Fearis withdrew to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Barrows then associated himself in business with the late Charles Mount and the late Major Francis T. Roots, under the firm name of Mount, Roots & Barrows. The interest of Messrs. Mount and Roots was bought later, and for a number of years he did business under his own name until he transferred his business to the corporate form in which it now stands, The A. E. Barrows Company, with himself as president and treasurer and his son, Frederic I. Barrows, as secretary. It has thus continued for a number of years. In 1887 Mr. Barrows closed up the affairs of the stocking mill, acting as assignee of the Keatley Stocking Company. At the inception of the Fayette Banking Company he was one of the original partners, continuing with it and its successor, the Fayette National Bank, until 1906, when he sold his stock and became the vice-president of the Central State Bank. Later he succeeded to the presidency of this bank and was active in the discharge of his duties until the beginning of his last illness.
For many years Mr. Barrows had been a close friend of the late William Newkirk, by the terms of whose will he was made joint executor with James M. McIntosh, of Indianapolis, a trust which he was executing up to the time of his death. Perhaps the business activity which brought him in closest touch with the people of Connersville was his long and honorable service as a building association officer. Mr. Barrows was a pioneer in Connersville in providing means for home building to persons dependent on weekly savings. In 1886, with Dr. A. M. Andrews, Thomas Downs, R. G. Wait and others, he organized the Connersville Building and Loan Association. This was an association of the old style where all the shares matured at one time. It was organized with a very limited membership and with great difficulty because there was local prejudice against building associations. The association of which Mr. Barrows was always the secretary, was so satisfactorily managed that a year later a series association, the Fayette Savings and Loan Association, was established. As the first association met in Mr. Barrows' office on Monday nights, the new association met on Tuesday, for he was secretary for both. More than a quarter century has passed since the first association was organized and as it paid out it was compelled by its charter to disband. The second kept on maturing some twenty-five series, until, at Mr. Barrows' suggestion, it modified its rules to adopt the individual or perpetual plan. It now has assets in excess of half a million dollars, a monument of faithfulness, persistence and prudence.
In 1871, while living in northeastern Ohio, Mr. Barrows was married to Mary A. Peck. She was the daughter of Caroline Merriman Peck and Burton Peck, both of New Haven county, Connecticut, the latter being the son of Morab Moss Peck and John Peck, who was the son of Jerusha Hall Peck and John Peck, who was the son of Mary Parmalee Peck and Samuel Peck, who was the son of Susannah and John Peck, who was the son of Mary Moss Peck and John Peck, wh0 was the son of Elder William Peck, one of the earliest New England settlers and a founder of New Haven. To this union were born four children, Frederic I., Burton Milutus, Caroline Lucina (Dixon) and Josephine. These with two brothers, George A. Barrows, of Denver, Colorado, and Charles E. Barrows, of Greenville, Pennsylvania, and the children of his son, Burton M. Barrows, Marian, Joseph B. and Catherine, are the only members of his immediate family surviving.
Mr. Barrows had been, during nearly the whole of his life, an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and on its official board for about thirty consecutive years, being both a trustee and chairman of the board of stewards. Mr. Barrows was always an active Republican, though never an office seeker. He served two terms as township trustee because two of his good friends, Charles Roeh1 and Moses Kahn, tied for the nomination, and then withdrew and asked him to be a candidate as a compromise.
At his death, the editor of the Connersville News wrote the following personal tribute, under the heading ''A Worthy Citizen" "In the passing of Alvin E. Barrows from this stage of action, Connersville and vicinity loses from its social, its business and its industrial life a unit of striking outlines. Since 1881 this man had been an active, steady, certain force in local affairs. His early life, and his army record especially, offer some glimpses of a powerful character. These were fully sustained by the life of Mr. Barrows here, and they present but a single aspect of a temperament of more than usual distinctiveness. Perhaps no man in Connersville was clearer of any suggestion of effeminacy than was A. E. Barrows. Serious minded, his intellect bent itself, engine-like, to the work he set himself to do. The light, the frivolous, the foolish he would neither suffer in himself nor tolerate in others. His business in the world was to do things. Thus it came about that many a casual eye perceived the rugged husk which encased the actual man, and mistook the exterior for the entirety. Under the cloak of what might be taken for a blunt manner, there was a warmth of sentiment in A. E. Barrows which, undemonstrative as it was, was deep and earnest and forever in its place. Without the suggestion of ostentation, he was a deeply religious man. Without being loud, he was a patriot of the highest type. Without bold pretense, he was generous and philanthropic. Without a hint of weakness, he was no stranger to the truest and most enduring of affections. Thus it happened that Mr. Barrows' truest friends were those who knew him fully, rather than those who merely met him. But in the circle of those who were able to see and interpret the depths of his personality, he had such friends as men of superficial makeup never know.
"Rugged, tenacious, severely methodical and unbendingly honest. Alvin Experience Barrows long ago compelled for himself a high place in the affairs and in the eyes of men. This place, by the sheer might of him, he held to the end of his life. The recollection of his virile manner and uncompromising self-reliance somehow lends a peculiar depth of pathos, for whoever really knew him, to the realization that his work is done and that he is gone.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Scott E. Caldwell, one of Harrison township's best-known and most progressive young farmers and the proprietor of beautiful "Caldwell Home Farm" in the southwest quarter of section 33 of that township, a tract that has been in the possession of the Caldwells from the days of the beginning of settlement hereabout, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in section 32 of Harrison township, the place now occupied by Cleve Caldwell, March 24, 1881, son of Enoch and Sarah Jane (Scott) Caldwell, both now deceased, who also were natives of Indiana, the former born in this county and the latter in the neighboring county of Wayne.
Enoch Caldwell was born on the pioneer farm now owned and occupied by his son, the subject of this sketch, October 27, 1833, son of Joseph and Asenath (Powell) Caldwell, the former of whom was born in Preble county, Ohio, August 15, 1809, a son of Joseph and Miriam Caldwell, natives of North Carolina and members of the Society of Friends, who became numbered among the earliest settlers of this county and here spent their last days. The elder Joseph Caldwell was a son of James Caldwell, who was born in 1749, and who, in company with his son came over into Indiana Territory in the winter of 1811-12, locating in Fayette county, where for a time the Caldwell family found protection against the threatened depredations of the Indians in the old block house that had been established on the present site of the city of Connersville. On August 31, 1813, Joseph Caldwell entered from the government a tract of "Congress land" in the southwest quarter of section 33 of Harrison township and there established his home, he and his wife spending their last days there, active and influential pioneer residents of that part of the county. Their son, Joseph, was about four years of age when they settled on that homestead tract and there he grew to manhood, thoroughly familiar with pioneer conditions of living, and in turn established his home on that farm, remaining a farmer and stockman and becoming prominent and influential in the affairs of that neighborhood. He was several times elected to offices of public trust and in many ways made his influence manifest for good. He cast his first Presidential vote for General Jackson and voted with the Whigs until the formation of the Republican party, when he became an earnest adherent of the principles of that party and so remained the rest of his life. As a member of the Baptist church he took an active part in church work and was an earnest promoter of all agencies designed to advance the common good in this community during his generation. He died on October 5, 1894, and was buried in Lick Creek cemetery.
Joseph Caldwell was twice married. On January 31, 1833, he was united in marriage to Asenath Powell, and to that union four children were born, Enoch, Martha, who married Buel J. Thomas, Caroline and Alexander. The mother of these children died on November 3, 1844, and on October 7, 1847, Joseph Caldwell married Salenah Saxon, who was born in this state and who survived him, and to that union two children were born, Horace F. and Alice, the latter of whom married Homer M. Broaddus. Following the death of Joseph Caldwell in 1894 a local newspaper remarked that "he was widely known and respected. In his death one of Fayette county's oldest and best citizens is lost."
Enoch Caldwell, eldest son of the junior Joseph Caldwell, grew to manhood on the farm on which he was born and in his young manhood taught school for several terms, teaching both before and after his marriage and doing much to advance the cause of education in this community. After his marriage in 1864 he lived for a few years on the farm now occupied by Cleve Caldwell, in section 32 of Harrison township, and then moved to a farm two miles south of Bentonville, but after awhile moved back to the place where he had begun keeping house and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Enoch Caldwell was a good farmer and also did much to promote the raising of pure-bred live stock, giving much attention to his Poland China hogs and registered cattle. He died in 1884 and his widow survived him until March 11, 1895.
On May 17, 1864, Enoch Caldwell was united in marriage to Sarah Jane Scott, who was born in the neighborhood of Jacksonburg, in Wayne county, this state, well-known residents of that community, and to that union five children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being as follows: Cora, who married L. K. Tingley; Sylvia, who first married Wellington Beeson and after his death she married Omer Donicher; Myrtle, now deceased, who was Omer Donicher's first wife, and Alice, who married Fred Hackleman.
Scott E. Caldwell was about three years of age when his father died and after the death of his widowed mother in 1895, he then being a but fourteen years of age, he made his home for some years with his sister, Mrs. Sylvia Beeson. Before reaching his majority he married and began farming for himself on the farm where he was born and where he remained until in May, 1914, when he moved to his present beautiful home, "Caldwell Home Farm," the place entered from the government by his great-grandfather, Joseph Caldwell, the senior, in 1813, and the sheep-skin deed attesting that transfer is now in his possession. Mr. Caldwell is the owner of one hundred and fifty-eight acres of "Caldwell Home Farm" and a tract of fifty-three acres cornering the same, and is regarded as one of the substantial farmers of that part of the county. He brings to his farming operations modern methods of agriculture and is doing very well, both in his general farming and in his stock raising.
On December 24, 1901, Scott E. Caldwell was united in marriage to Evelyn M. Stone, who also was born in Harrison township, a daughter of Edwin M. and Indiana (White) Stone, and who completed her schooling at Purdue University, where she took an agricultural course, including domestic science and kindred subjects, and is an admirable helpmate to her husband in the operation of the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell had three children, Joseph L., Mark Stone, who died August 13, 1908; and Helen Louise. 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 movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Henry Maurer, a well-known farmer and stockman of Harrison township, this county, and the proprietor of a well-kept farm about four miles northwest of Connersville, is a native of Switzerland, but has been a resident of this country, since he was nineteen years of age and of Fayette county since he was about twenty-one, hence has spent the greater part of his life in this community. He was born on January 18, 1852, son of Crist and Susie (Russell) Maurer, both natives of Switzerland, the latter of whom died when her son, Henry, was four years of age, the father dying about fifteen years later.
After the death of his father, he then being nineteen years of age, Henry Maurer left his native Switzerland and came to this country, locating at Hamilton, Ohio, in the vicinity of which city he worked for three seasons as a farm hand. He then came on up into Indiana and for five years thereafter was employed on the farm of William S. Huston, in this county. He married in 1880 and established his home on the Shields farm, just south of East Connersville, which he farmed on the shares and where he made his home for thirty-four years, at the end of which time, in March, 1912, he moved to his present farm in Harrison township, four miles northwest of Connersville, where he is now living and where he and his wife have a very pleasant home. Upon locating in Harrison township, Mr. Maurer bought a farm of ninety-six acres, but he later sold fifteen acres of the same and now has about eighty acres, which is well improved and on which, in addition to general farming, he gives considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock. For years Mr. Maurer has been well known as a breeder of purebred Shorthorn cattle and has also kept Percheron and French Coach horses. He is now the owner of a fine Belgian stallion and has done much to improve the strain of horseflesh in this county; he also has a fine jack. He has often exhibited his cattle at fairs and stock shows and generally has taken most of the prizes for stock in his class. He showed some fine horses at the first Connersville free fair and has exhibited live stock there every year since with the exception of one year.
In 1880 Henry Maurer was united in marriage, in this county, to Ida Hine, who was born in Harrison township, this county, a daughter of Herman and Adeline (Frink) Hine, who came to Indiana and settled in Fayette county before the days of the Civil War. Herman Hine was born in New York state, or in Pennsylvania, on February 17, 1822, and who was married on April 15, 1846, at Montrose, Pennsylvania, to Adeline F. Frink, who was born at that place on March 10, 1828. Following their marriage, Herman Hine and his wife made their home in New York state until about 1857, when they came to Indiana and located on a farm near the Yankeetown school house, in this county. In 1862 Herman Hine enlisted for service in the Union army and on January 27, 1863, died at a hospital at Ashland, Kentucky, as the result of exposure endured during his service. He also had a son, Lyman Hine, who enlisted for service during the Civil War and who died in a hospital at Indianapolis on September 15, 1864. After the death of her soldier husband, Mrs. Adeline Hine continued to make her home in the Yankeetown neighborhood, in Harrison township, keeping her five children together and sewing and doing anything she could to maintain her home. There she spent the rest of her life, her death occurring on January 29, 1892, she then being sixty-three years of age. Mrs. Hine was a devoted member of the Baptist church and was a kind and helpful neighbor, highly esteemed by both old and young throughout that community for her many excellent traits of character. Despite the affliction which beset her own life, she was ever cheerful and was always ready to help others who were afflicted or in need.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Joseph Dale Florea, one of the oldest and best-known farmers of Fayette county and the proprietor of a fine farm home in Harrison township, northwest of the village of Harrisburg, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life, having thus been a witness to and a participant in the development of this region since pioneer days; now in his seventy-ninth year forming one of the few remaining living connecting links between the present period of development in this county and that period of the county when much was still in a formative state hereabout in the way of social organization. He was born on a pioneer farm in the immediate vicinity of his present home on March 24, 1838, son of Lewis C. and Eliza (Dale) Florea, who were among the most influential pioneers of that section of the county and whose last days were spent here.
Lewis C. Florea was .born in Woodford county, Kentucky, in 1808, a son of John Florea and wife, the latter of whom was a Collins. His mother died when he was but a child and when he was thirteen years of age he accompanied his father up into Indiana, the latter settling in Fayette county, where he died not long afterward. After the death of his father Lewis C. Florea returned to Kentucky and there made his home with a cousin, George Cleveland, until he had attained his majority, when he came back to Fayette county, bought a farm about a mile north of the village of Harrisburg, in Harrison township, and there spent the remainder of his life, becoming a well-to-do farmer and landowner, the proprietor of between four hundred and five hundred acres of land in that part of the county.
Not long after returning to this county to make his permanent home here, Lewis C. Florea married Eliza Dale, who was born in Franklin county, this state, in 1814, daughter of Joseph and Polly (Bradburn) Dale, who had come up into this county in 1815 or 1816 and had settled on a farm one mile west of Harrisburg. There still were many Indians in this part of the state when the Dales settled in this county and the Indian children at once made playmates of the Dale children. One of the squaws took a great fancy to little Woodford Dale, then two years of age, and stole the child, with an apparent view of rearing the boy in the tribe as a child of her own. The kidnapping was quickly discovered, however, and after a hurried pursuit Mr. Dale recovered his little son. Mrs. Dale was a daughter of Doctor Bradburn, who was well known in the country northwest of Connersville in pioneer days and who, in self-defense, was compelled to kill a couple of men who had broken into his house at night with ulterior purpose, while under the influence of liquor. The Doctor attacked the intruders with one of his surgical knives and inflicted upon them injuries from which they later died, although he bestowed upon their wounds his best surgical skill after he had rendered them hors de combat. Joseph Dale built a distillery on his farm in the early days and the same was extensively patronized, not only by his pioneer neighbors, among whom the constant use of whisky was not regarded in the same bad light as at present, but by the Indians, who would call at the distillery to have their buckskin bottles replenished with "fire-water." Eliza Dale was but an infant when her parents came to this county from Franklin county and after her marriage to Lewis C. Florea continued to make her home here, living to be eighty-three years of age, her death occurring on October 26, 1897, being at that time one of the oldest continuous residents of Fayette county.
To Lewis C. and Eliza (Dale) Florea, seven children were born, six sons and one daughter, of whom six are still living, those besides the subject of this sketch, the second in order of birth, being Albert, who is living at Coffeyville, Kansas, now past eighty years of age; John, of Eldorado, Kansas; Fannie, wife of John Murphy; William, deceased; Lewis, of Texas, and George, a well-known attorney at Connersville. Joseph D. Florea grew to manhood on the home farm in Harrison township and from the days of his early boyhood was a valued assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the place. He completed his schooling in the high school at Connersville and for three or four years thereafter taught district school. In 1862 he bought a quarter of a section of land from his father, the same lying one mile north and two miles west of Harrisburg, and following his marriage the next year established his home there and has ever since continued to reside on that farm, which he has improved in excellent shape. As Mr. Florea prospered in his farming operations he bought additional land until he became the owner of more than four hundred acres, a part of which, however, he has since given to his children; though he still retains about two hundred acres. In addition to his general farming Mr. Florea has long given considerable attention to the raising of high-grade hogs and has done very well. He and his wife have a very pleasant home and are quite comfortably situated in the quiet "evening time" of their likes, honored and respected by the entire community.
Joseph D. Florea has been thrice married. It was in 1863 that he was united in marriage to Sarah E. Wilson, who was born near Milton, over the line in Wayne county, daughter of Gideon and Margaret (Charles) Wilson, earnest Quaker folk, who came from the Carolinas to Indiana about 1820 and settled in Wayne county, where they spent their last days. To that union three children were born, namely: Charles, now living on a farm about a mile north of his old home place, who married Flora Thomas and has one child, a daughter, Barbara; Frank, now living on a farm two miles north of his old home place, who married Minnie Beeson and has one child, a son, Lee, and Pearl, who married Daniel Green, a druggist, of Connersville, and has three children, Dorothy , Catherine and Mary. Mrs. Sarah E. Florea died in 1873, and on February 28, 1875, Mr. Florea married Lucinda Corbin, who was born on November 22, 1855, a daughter of Jackson and Mary Corbin, and to that union two children were born, Homer, now living on a farm one mile north of his old home, who married Bertha Manlove and has one child, a daughter, Hazel, and Oscar, born on July 14, 1878, who died in infancy. Mrs. Lucinda Florea died on June 25, 1879, and on November 17, 1881, Mr. Florea married his present wife, Ella Guard, who was born on October 25, 1850, daughter of Sanford and Eliza Guard, which union has been without issue.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
David L. Wise, one of Harrison township's substantial farmers, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Fayette county since 1891. He was born in the neighboring county of Wayne on October 19, 1853, a son of Henry A. and Martha (Whisler) Wise, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Indiana, whose last days were spent in Wayne county, this state.
Henry A. Wise was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was there trained as a shoemaker, becoming very expert at that form of craftsmanship. His parents died in Pennsylvania before he had reached his majority and shortly afterward he came to Indiana and located in Union county, where he presently opened a shoemaking shop and became very successful in that line in the days when shoes and boots were handmade, often having orders three or four months ahead of his ability to fill the same. He also did some farming. He married after locating in Wayne county, his wife, Martha Whisler, having been born in that county, a daughter of Peter Whisler and wife, who came to this state from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
David L. Wise grew up in Wayne county and during his boyhood was an aid to his father in the shoe shop, becoming a proficient shoemaker. His life work, however, has been farming. He farmed in Wayne county until the fall of 1891, about six years after his marriage, when he moved down into Fayette county and settled on his present location, the farm of George Richmond, a place of one hundred and sixty acres along the north line of this county, north of Connersville, where he ever since has made his home. In the fall of 1910 Mr. Wise and his son, Frank R. Wise, bought the adjoining quarter section on the west, known as the Hittle farm, and are now farming both places, a total of three hundred and twenty acres, and are doing very well; in addition to their general farming being quite extensively engaged in raising live stock.
On January 28, 1885, David L. Wise was united in marriage to .Sarah Retherford, who was born on a farm in this county, east of Connersville, a daughter of Isaac and Harriet (Earl) Retherford, the former of whom also was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families of this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Wise have one son, Frank R. Wise, who is married and is living on the farm adjoining his father's place, the quarter section mentioned above, which he and his father purchased in 1910.
Frank R. Wise was born in Wayne county on May 9, 1856, and on May 9, 1906, was united in marriage to Josie McFerren, who was born on a farm east of Connersville, in this county, a daughter of Abraham and Susan (Breitenbaugh) McFerren, both natives of this county, who are now living in Waterloo township. Abraham McFerren was born on a farm east of Connersville, a son of David McFerren, one of the old settlers in that community, and his wife, Susan Breitenbaugh, was born on a farm east of Waterloo, this county, a daughter of George and Catherine (LeRoy) Breitenbaugh, natives of Germany, who were married in their native land and came to this country before the days of the Civil War, settling in this county. George Breitenbaugh enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil war and served for three years during the struggle between the states. To Frank R. Wise and wife one child has been born, a daughter, Jeannette.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Cleve T. Caldwell, one of Harrison township's well-known and progressive farmers, is a representative in the fifth generation of one of the first families of Fayette county, a family that has been represented here since the year 1811. He was born on a pioneer farm on the northeast quarter of section 6 of Harrison township, just west of Yankeetown, August 11, 1888, and has lived in this county all his life.
The Caldwell family in Fayette county descends from James Caldwell, who was born in December, 1745, and who died on May 3, 1830, aged eighty-one years, four months and twenty-seven days, and is buried in the private burying ground on the old Joseph Caldwell homestead on the southwest quarter of section 33 of Harrison township. Joseph Caldwell, son of the James Caldwell mentioned above, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, and some time after his marriage moved from that state to Ohio, moving thence, in the winter of 1811-12, over into Indiana and entering a tract of land from the government in this county, the southwest quarter of section 33 of Harrison township, where he established his home and where he spent the remainder of his life, one of the useful and influential pioneer settlers of that part of the county. Upon moving over here from Ohio the Caldwells were compelled to take refuge for a time in the old block house that had been erected on Lick creek, in the southwest quarter of section 34 of Harrison township, the menacing attitude of the Indians at that time rendering such precaution necessary. On Christmas day, 1815, Joseph Caldwell completed his house on section 33, but on account of Indian troubles did not occupy the same at night for some time thereafter, the family, as well as the other early settlers of that region, continuing to occupy the block house. On the farm which he entered from the government, Joseph Caldwell spent the rest of his life and is buried in the family burying ground on that place. That farm still is in the possession of the Caldwell family. Joseph Caldwell's children were John, James, Joseph, Mary (who married George Manlove. Sr.), Margaret (who married Nathan Morphew) and Lydia (who married Zenas Powell).
John Caldwell, eldest son of Joseph Caldwell, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, January 20, 1798, and was but an infant when his parents moved from there to Ohio and was twelve or thirteen years of age when the family moved from Ohio to Fayette county. Here he grew to manhood and when of legal age entered the northwest quarter of section 3 of Harrison township and there, after his marriage, established his home. He and Alexander Dale and William Trowbridge gave the land on which the Baptist church north of Harrisburg was erected. John Caldwell was twice married. By his first wife, Phoebe Rich, he had the following children: Samuel, Oliver, John, Jr., Sanford, James, William, Joseph (who died in infancy), Elizabeth (who married James Elliot),Melinda (spinster) and Mary (who married John Frazee). Samuel, the first-born of the above-named children, was born on January 7, 1820, and on July 2, 1840, married Mary Parrish, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 3, 1821, a daughter of Zachariah and Phoebe Parrish, the former of whom was a soldier during the War of 1812, and who came over into Indiana about 1824 and settled near Fairview, in the township of that name, in this county. Samuel Caldwell established his home on an unimproved tract of land on the northern edge of Harrison township and proceeded to clear the place. In addition to his farming he also engaged in the pork-packing business at Connersville, a member of the firm of Caldwell, Loder & Company, which was put out of business during the panic of 1873. He continued farming his place in Harrison township and there spent his last days, his death occurring on June 11, 1896. His widow preceded him on February 22, 1890. They were members of the Baptist church and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, sons all, John, Amos, Albert, Joseph, Sanford and David.
Sanford Caldwell was born on the paternal farm in the northern part of Harrison township on February 12, 1858, and there grew to manhood. He still makes his home in that township, one of the best-known farmers in the northern part of the county. Sanford Caldwell married Matilda Shipley, who also was born in the northern part of Harrison township, November 6, 1860, daughter of Thomas Rodney and Sarah (Groves) Shipley, both of whom also were born in this part of the state. Thomas Rodney Shipley was born in the northwest part of Harrison township, this county, November 15, 1821, a son of Thomas and Eleanor (Morgan) Shipley, the former of whom, born near the city of Baltimore, Maryland, February 16, 1772, came into Indiana by way of Kentucky and entered a tract of "Congress land" in the northwestern part of Harrison township, this county, and there established his home. That tract still is in the possession of the family, the original parchment deed signed by President Monroe on April I, 1823, being now held by Thomas Shipley's grandson, Hiram Shipley. There Thomas Rodney Shipley was born and reared and in turn became a farmer on his own account. He was successful in his operations and accumulated nearly five hunched acres of excellent land in that neighborhood. His death occurred on March 23, 1891. His wife, Sarah Groves, was born on a pioneer farm in Rush county, west of Fairview, May 9, 1828, daughter of Donovan and Sarah (Hicks) Groves, early settlers in that part pf the country. Donovan Groves was born on December 5, 1799, a son of Robert and Martha (Miller) Groves, the former of whom died on August 25, 1855, at the age of ninety-one years and six months, and the latter of whom died five days previously, August 20, 1855, aged eighty-nine years, five months and three days. Robert Groves and wife lived together for sixty-seven years. He was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War and in early days was a well-known preacher in the Methodist church. He moved from the East to Kentucky and thence up into Indiana, settling in Rush county in pioneer days. Donovan Groves spent his last days, a well-to-do farmer, in Rush county, his death occurring on May 28, 1851, at the age of fifty-one years, five months and twenty-three days.
Cleve T. Caldwell, son of Sanford and Matilda (Shipley) Caldwell, grew to manhood on the home farm in Harrison township and remained there until his marriage on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1914, to Ruby Leffingwell, who also was born on a farm on the northern edge of Harrison township, daughter and only child of Elmer and Dora4( Johnson) Leffingwell, also members of pioneer families in this part of the state. Elmer Leffingwell was born on a farm in the neighborhood of Alquina, in Jennings township, this county, August 29, 1866, a son of Jonathan Avery and Lucy (Ellis) Leffingwell, the former of whom was born in Genesee county, New York, in 1826 and was but eight years of age when his parents came to Indiana and settled about one mile west of Hawkinsville, in Harrison township, this county. There the father died not long after coming here, but the widow and children continued to make their home there until the children were grown. Jonathan A. Leffingwell grew to manhood in this county and here married Lucy Ellis, daughter of Lewis and Samantha (Thomas) Ellis, the former of whom was a son of Moses Ellis, who came to Indiana and established his home in Fayette county more than a century ago. After his marriage Jonathan A. Leffingwell farmed in Fayette county for awhile and then moved to Madison county, moving thence to Illinois, but after a brief residence in that state returned to Fayette county and for a time thereafter operated a saw-mill at Bentonville. He then moved to a farm near Falmouth, in Rush county, and thence back to this county, farming for three or four years in Jennings township, whence he moved to the farm on the northern edge of Harrison township where his son, Elmer, now lives, and there he spent his last days, his death occurring in July, 1884. His widow survived him for sixteen years, her death occurring in 1900. They were the parents of nine children, namely: Edgar, who died at the age of seven years; twins, who died in infancy; Lewis, who lives in Posey township, this county; Ada, who died about 1896; Emma, of Connersville; Minor E., of Connersville; Elmer, who is living on the old home farm in Harrison township, and Minnie, who married S. D. Lynch and now lives in Kennewick, Washington. Elmer Leffingwell was about two years of age w-hen his parents moved to the north edge of Harrison township and there he grew to manhood. He married Dora Johnson, who was born in the neighboring county of Wayne, a daughter of Samuel and Hester (Hoover) Johnson, and after his marriage farmed on rented land until about 1902, when he bought the old homestead place where he was born and where he since has made his home, being quite successfully engaged there in general farming and in the raising of hogs. He is the owner of a well-improved farm of two hundred and twenty acres and has a very comfortable home. Since his marriage Cleve T. Caldwell has been farming on a farm owned by his wife's father and is doing very well. In his political faith he is a Democrat and gives a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Among the old families of Fayette county there are few that became identified with the affairs of this county at an earlier date than did the Worster family. The family has been represented here since territorial days and some members have maintained a continuous residence on the old Worster homestead in Jennings township since it was entered by James Worster about 1813. Of this pioneer family the subject of this memorial sketch was one of the best-known representatives in his day and generation.
The late Thomas W. Worster, for years one of the most honored and influential residents of Jennings township, was born on the farm above referred to and on which he resided for many years, a son of James and Nancy (Milner) Worster, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Kentucky. His parents were among the early settlers in Jennings township, where their last days were spent, influential and useful members of that pioneer community.
James Worster was born on December 31, 1772, and was but a lad when his parents, the Rev. Robert and Mary (Gorman) Worster, left Pennsylvania and moved to Kentucky. The Rev. Robert Worster was a native of England, who, as a young man, came to the American colonies and located in Pennsylvania. He was a minister of the Methodist church and enjoyed the distinction of being the first preacher of that denomination west of the Alleghany mountains. For years he labored in Kentucky and then in his old age, came up into Indiana and spent his last days at the home of his son, James Worster, in Fayette county. He was a remarkable man in many ways and was an educator as well as a preacher, his services in both connections creating a distinct influence for good upon the pioneer community in which he spent his last days in this county. He was enthusiastic and earnest in his work and possessed great powers of endurance. That he was blessed with a hardy constitution is shown by the fact that he attained the great age of one hundred and one years, his death occurring in this county in December, 1830. His widow, who was many years his junior, survived but a little more than a year, her death occurring on February 1, 1833. The family has been noted for longevity and the present generation seems to be maintaining the record of the past generations along that line. To the Rev. Robert Worster and wife a considerable number of children were born, all of whom long since have passed to the great beyond.
As noted above, James Worster was but a lad when his parents moved to Kentucky and his early years were spent in running a flatboat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. He took part in the earlier engagements of the War of 1812 and in the fall of 1813 came up into Indiana and settled at Brookville. Previously he had entered a tract of land in Jennings township, in Fayette county, and presently occupied that tract. It was one of the first places settled in the township and has remained in the possession of the family ever since. At the time that tract of "Congress land" was entered the Indians still were numerous hereabout, considerable numbers of them often being seen hunting for game. Although great numbers of Indians fought with England in the war then in progress, it was rarely that the settlers in this section were molested, a fact due, no doubt, to the kindness with which the whites invariably treated the aborigines. Before coming to Fayette county James Worster married Nancy Milner, who was born on September 1, 1789, a daughter of Amos Milner and wife, of Kentucky, the former of whom was a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War and in the French and Indian Wars and was a participant in General Braddock's defeat in 1755. Amos Milner died at the age of ninety-one. James Worster and wife were industrious and highly respected pioneer citizens of Jennings township, prominent in the work of the Methodist church and were potent influences for good in the days of the beginning of a social order in this county. James Worster died on September 29, 1849, in his sixty-eighth year, and his widow survived him for many years, her death occurring on September 24, 1876. Eight children were born to them, all of whom, with one exception, reached advanced age. Those children, besides the subject of this memorial sketch, were as follow: Hannah, born on July 31, 1806, who lived to the age of eighty-seven years; Mary Jane, October 16, 1808, who died on February 6, 1899; Amos M., May 25, 1811, who lived to the age of eighty-five years; Robert, December 7, 1814, who lived to be about eighty-two; John O., June 10, 1817, who also attained length of years; Lucinda, November 23, 1822, who lived to ripe old age, and Elizabeth, who died at the age of thirty years.
Thomas W. Worster, who was born on the farm his father had entered in territorial days, February 8, 1828, grew to manhood on that farm and there made his home during his life, an energetic and influential farmer. On October 26, 1851, he was united in marriage to Mary A. Blue, who was born in the neighboring county .of Union on February 16, 1833, daughter of Jacob W. and Mary (Stout) Blue, the friendship formed in school days ending in their marriage. Both the Blues and the Stouts, early settlers in Fayette county, are of Revolutionary stock, Mrs. Worster and her children thus being eligible along three lines to membership in the Daughters of the Revolution and in the Sons of the Revolution. Mary Stout's father, Jonathan Stout, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, later going to Kentucky, his father having been there a companion of Daniel Boone, the famous scout and Indian fighter. Mrs. Worster was left an orphan at an early age, her mother having died in 1840 and her father four years later, leaving two children, Mary A. and James M., and she was reared by her aunt, Mary Blue.
To Thomas W. and Mary A. (Blue) Worster six children were born, namely: James Austin, born on March 21, 1853; John O., October 26, 1856; Charles S., October 24, 1860; Thomas Lincoln, April 18, 1863; Mary Jane, August 6, 1867, and Grace H., November 21, 1872. There are five grandchildren: Thomas W., only son of James A. Worster; Melvin Paul, son of John O. Worster, and Edna May, Dorotha and Robert Clifford, children of Charles S. Worster. There are also two great-grandchildren, Senora Jean, daughter of Melvin Paul, and Bertha Caroline, daughter of Edna Worster White. The Worsters are members of the Methodist church and take an earnest interest in its various beneficences. Thomas W. Worster died on August 18, 1904, and his widow died on June 29, 1916.
Thomas W. Worster was a member of the Masonic order at Everton and remained a member until the hall burned, which brought the lodge to a close. He had been a faithful member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for thirty years, he was always ready to see after the sick of that order. He was a great stock raiser and liked fine horses.
Mrs. Worster's earliest teacher was her uncle, Job Stout, so well remembered by older citizens. She was left an orphan at the age of seventeen years and was raised by her aunt, Mary Blue, at the age of seventeen she went to West Union, as it was then called, hut now is known as Everton, to learn the tailor trade with Billy Williams and met her future husband, T. W. Worster. After her marriage she went to the farm entered from the government by James Worster and lived there until the death of her husband, August 18, 1904. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mt. Garrison and later was a member of the Everton church until her death on June 29, 1916. She was also a member of the Order of Rebekah and of the Ladies Aid Society at Everton. Their house was always open to the ministers of the gospel and they were free to come and go without formality. Mrs. Worster assisted at the County Centennial in Connersville in 1916 and was a great help to the organizing committee.
With the death of Thomas W. Worster and his good wife two of the most prominent pioneers of the county have passed away. It is a pleasure to record the lives of such people. It is to such as these that the state owes its prosperity and it seems eminently fitting to set forth in this manner the records of their achievements. Their children and their grandchildren, and descendants for all time to come may here read the life history of this worthy couple, and it should be an inspiration to them to know all the good they accomplished in the county where they lived so many years.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917