Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Data Entry Volunteer: Pam Brown

Submitted by: Lora
Clarke County Historical and Biographical Record by Lewis Publishing, 1886. p. 184

James M. Burke was born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1803, and in 1824 married Adeline (Roby) Green, who was born in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, in 1807. After their marriage they removed to Martinsville, Indiana, and subsequently to Putnam county, Indiana, where the father’s death occurred in 1862. His wife survived him ten years, and passed away in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, in 1872. In religious faith they were Methodists, and in politics Mr. Burke was a Democrat until the time of the civil war, when he espoused the cause of the Republican party, which stood so loyally by the Union. In his family were six sons and two daughters who grew to years of maturity, namely: William, now deceased; L. L., of this review; Luke A., who was a captain in the Ninetieth Indiana Volunteers and inspector general of the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, under General Scofield; Leonard G., who was sergeant of the Ninety-first Illinois Infantry; James W., who died in Illinois, in early life; John W., who was more familiarly known as Guy, and who was one of the five thousand minute-men who in twenty-four hours were organized to drive Morgan out of Indiana, after which he joined the Twentieth Light Battery and served until the close of the war, dying three of four years later; Mrs. Mary Clement, of Duluth, Minnesota; and Mrs. Sarah McMahan, of Lafayette, Indiana.

In taking up the personal history of L. L. Burke, we present to our readers the life-record of one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Brookville, - the popular editor of the Brookville American, and until recently the efficient postmaster at this place. He was reared in Morgan county, Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Martinsville. In 1846 he became connected with the printing business in New Albany, Indiana, where he learned his trade and was made war news editor of the New Albany Bulletin, which was the property of his uncle. He remained on the staff of that paper for three or four years, and then worked on the Louisville Journal and on other papers for about nine years. In 1861 he accepted a position in connection with the Indianapolis Journal, and after serving as city editor for a time was appointed to a position in the adjutant general’s office. On the close of the war of the Rebellion he went to Washington, where he served in the government printing office for over eleven years, and in April, 1888, he purchased the Brookville American, which he has since published. The paper was established in 1833, by C. F. Clarkson as a Whig organ, and since the organization of the Republican party it has upheld the principles of this political body. During the existence of the paper it has had some able editors, including Rev. T. A. Goodwin, of Indianapolis, and William H. Greene, of Shelbyville. Mr. Burke is a very able editorial writer, and the American is now extensively quoted throughout this section of the country. He studies closely the important questions of the day, and after mature reflection his opinions are given to the public through the columns of his journal and have awakened deep thought and earnest consideration of the topics involved. He has even been a stalwart Republican, and his labors have been most effective in promoting the growth and securing the success of his party.

In connection with his journalistic duties Mr. Burke is serving as a member of the board of directors of the Brookville Telephone Company, a position which he has filled since the establishment of the important enterprise. He also served as postmaster of Brookville, having assumed charge of the office April 15, 1898, and under his direction its affairs were most ably administered. He recently resigned his position as postmaster, by reason of failing health. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is ever deeply interested in the movements which tend to advance the material, educational and moral welfare of the community. As a citizen he is loyal and progressive, as a business man reliable, and as a friend true and trustworthy.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 536 and 537.

O. P. Beard. – A resident of Philanthropy, Ohio, a representative of a pioneer family, and closely identified with the development of Franklin county, Indiana, Mr. Beard is justly entitled to more than a passing notice in this connection. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, July 11, 1821, and reared to good, honest farm labor, and he received a common-school education. His parents were James and Margaret (Blue) Beard, the former of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. James Beard’s father was George Beard, who came from Germany; he and his brother came to America together and became separated at the landing of the ship and never met again. George settled in Pennsylvania, where he subsequently died.

James Beard, the father of our subject, grew to manhood in the old Keystone state and then moved to Kentucky, where he remained a few years and then in 1807 moved to Butler county, Ohio, where he soon entered land, improving a good farm. In 1840 he purchased land in Indiana, where he died in 1844. Like so many of the old pioneer stock he was a man of great honor and integrity and had the respect of all about him; he became well-to-do and well known. Politically he was an old-line Whig, and in his religious belief he held to the faith of the Primitive Baptist church. His wife was the daughter of a Mr. Blue, of Virginia, where he died, as did also his good wife. Some of the family came to Indiana and followed farming pursuits. Their children were: Benjamin, David, William, Margaret (the mother of our subject), and Hannah, who married a Mr. Herrold and settled in Bourbon county, Kentucky.

The parents of our subject had the following children: William who died single; Eliza, Mrs. T. F. Freeland; Jane, Mrs. J. Sample; John, a farmer, deceased; Jacob, who died at the age of eighty-two years; James, who died at the age of fifty-two years; and O. P., our subject, who is the only one of the family now living. His early career was among the hardy pioneers, and his father instructed him in the common branches of learning. After his father’s death he assisted his mother in conducting the farm up to the time of his marriage in 1854, when he settled on land left him by his father, upon which some clearing had been done and a small log house erected. Here he began the struggle of life, a struggle which none of the men in the prairie regions can fully appreciate. Time went on, and by energy and industry he cleared up the place and added yet another fine farm adjoining. He bought in small tracts, and in all he now has three hundred and twelve acres, all of which is under a high state of cultivation. He has remodeled the house and built barns, and has given his special attention to farming, in which he has attained a success. In his political belief he is a stanch Democrat, but never aspired to office-holding. He was a heavy stockholder in the turnpike running by his farm and was director of the board for many years.

Mr. Beard married Miss Susan Winn, of an honored pioneer family, of Butler county, Ohio, where she was born, November 10, 1836, the daughter of Warner and Rachael (Evans) Winn, both natives of Virginia, the father being a farmer by occupation. He died in 1882, and his good wife and companion in 1884. He was seventy-four years of age and she was seventy-six at the time of death. They were members of the Christian church. Their children were: Ruben, of Whitewater township; George, a retired farmer at Harrison; Susan, wife of our subject; Margaret, Mrs. Henry Dawson; Rebecca, Mrs. O. Walling; Sarah, Mrs. A. Jones; and Nancy, Mrs. William Jones. All are living except Margaret.

By the marriage union of our subject and his wife, two children bless the home circle: Margaret J., wife of Peter T. Heard, a farmer of this township; and Rachael, wife of Scott Heard, a farmer of Union County. Mrs. Beard is an acceptable member of the Presbyterian church. It is a pleasing task for the biographer to trace the history of families so well and favorably connected in all the various phases of life.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 935 and 936.

Joseph Abbott. – When a man thoroughly enjoys and is interested in his line of employment success is almost certain to come to him; and he who not only is not afraid to work, but is best contented when he is actively occupied, is the one who is undoubtedly on the highway leading to prosperity. In the experience of Joseph Abbott, of Springfield township, Franklin county, this fact is clearly seen, and it is largely to this that he owes his present goodly fortune.

He is one of the native sons of this township, born October 26, 1840, his parents being John and Eliza (Smith) Abbott. The father, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, was born in Pennsylvania, and accompanied his parents to Butler county, Ohio, when he was young. He was the only one of his parents’ children who lived past infancy, and he was carefully trained for his future career as an agriculturist. He was not fond of farming, however, and when he reached his seventeenth year he went to Cincinnati and began serving a five-years apprenticeship to the tailor’s trade. Afterward he followed that calling successfully for about twenty years, and while a resident of the city married and had two children. His wife and little ones having died, he removed to Franklin county in 1830, bought a small farm, with a few acres cleared and a log cabin on the place, and with characteristic energy he set to work to improve and cultivate this homestead, which in time became one of the best in that locality. He raised and fed live stock, and as prosperity smiled upon him he increased the dimensions of his farm until, at his death, he possessed a valuable estate. He was not a politician, but was concerned in the success of the Democratic party, to which he gave his earnest support. Religiously he was identified with the Methodist church, and led a sincere, worthy Christian life. Soon after coming to this county he married again, but his wife died within a few years, and their two children, Seldon and Mahala, died unmarried after arriving at maturity. For a third wife he chose Eliza Smith, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, the only daughter of James Smith, of Pennsylvania, who late in the last century settled on the Ohio frontier in Butler county, and there pursued the blacksmith’s trade, in connection with farming. His wife survived him many years, and died at the home of our subject when quite aged. Her eldest son, John D., died in Butler county, and the other sons are James, William and Joseph. John and Eliza (Smith) Abbott became the parents of four children, namely: Joseph; Elizabeth, who died when young; John D., who manages the old homestead in this township, and James, who died unmarried. The mother departed this life in 1856, and several years afterward the father married Margaret Combs. She is deceased, as is Mr. Abbott also, he having been summoned to his reward in 1884.

Joseph Abbott, of this sketch, received a common-school education and early mastered the details of agriculture. He resided on the old homestead for several years subsequently to his marriage, in 1862, and then purchased the farm where he is now living. Here he has made all the improvements, putting in a great deal of tiling, clearing some of the land, and placing all under good cultivation. He lives in a substantial two-story frame house, and has all of the barns and other farm buildings necessary for the accommodation of his live stock, farm products and machinery. In addition to this place he owns a valuable farm on the state line, about three and a half miles west of Reily, Ohio, and has other property which would command a high price of placed in the market. Formerly, he bought, shipped and handled live stock extensively, but is now practically retired, as he has amassed a competency. A few years ago he removed to College Corner, where he built a house and barn and beautified a place for a home, but he soon tired of the narrow life of the town, and returned to the country and his accustomed pursuits.

In 1862 Mr. Abbott married Eleanor Van Ausdall, who was born in Butler county, in 1841. Her parents, George and Hannah Van Ausdall, were natives of Pennsylvania, and came west with their respective families, in their youth. They were married in Butler county, and began housekeeping in a small cabin, around which a few acres had been cleared. After a number of years had rolled away, the forest had been leveled, and a fine farm had been developed, his children grown to maturity and gone from the home, the father sold his property, and spent his last years at the home of a daughter, in Mount Carmel. He died about 1876, and was survived by his wife, who entered the silent land in 1884. They were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Abbott had nine brothers and sisters, namely: Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson; Mrs. Mary J. Laird; John and Margaret, who died when young; Garrett, a farmer; Joseph, of Decatur county; Hannah, who died in childhood; Mrs. Martha Wehr; and George W., of Rush county.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, namely: Florence J., who is the wife of Perry Appleton; George W., a farmer of this township; John E., also engaged in farming in this vicinity; Loretta, wife of C. Stinger, a farmer of this locality; Ellis S., who is assisting his father in the work of the homestead; and Clarence W., who was born October 17, 1886. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Abbott and family are identified with the Methodist church.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 933 to 935.

Maxwell Baker. – The proprietor of the popular and well conducted grocery store in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, is Maxwell Baker, who was born in Brookville township, February 13, 1847, and here grew to manhood. His parents are Oliver and Catherine (Brown) Baker, worthy and esteemed residents of this county.

Oliver Baker was the son of Joshua Baker, a basket-maker, who was born in Virginia and moved to this county in middle life. The family are of German-English lineage. Oliver was a farmer and was born and reared in Franklin county, and now, in his seventy-eighth year, is living near Laurel. He was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Brown, and reared a family of fourteen children, ten of whom are now living and are honored members of society. The record of the children is as follows: Andrew; Sarah, deceased; David, deceased; Maxwell, our subject; Martha A., deceased; Emily, wife of David Johnson, of Clinton county, Indiana; Nancy, wife of Abraham Hammond, of Delaware county; Amanda, deceased; Mary, wife of Harvey White, of this county; Leatha, wife of Willett White, of Delaware county; Katie, wife of William Simpson, of the same county; William O., of Delaware county; Minerva, wife of Jacob Shafer, of Rush county; Missouri, wife of John D. Harley, of this county.

Maxwell Baker attended the schools in his native township, and was a lad of fourteen when the late rebellion cast its shadow over our fair land. He was imbued with a patriotic desire to take part in the struggle for freedom, and finally succeeded in being admitted as a member of Company A., Thirty-fifth Indiana Volunteers, which started for Greensburg, Kentucky, September 20, 1864. He was in the engagement at Franklin, and also in the battle fought at Nashville, Tennessee, in December, 1864. He was placed on guard duty at Victoria, Texas, from June, 1865, until his discharge, in November. Returning home, he engaged in farming until he was twenty-five years old, when he removed to the town of Brookville. Here he was employed at various work, - first as clerk in a dry-goods store, then for four years as government storekeeper under Dr. Hunter, and two years as clerk in the clothing house of Martin Rheinberg. In 1890 he opened a grocery store, and so gratifying has been the patronage accorded him that he has continued in that business. It has been his aim to cater to the wants of the people and furnish them with just the article desired. This effort has been duly appreciated and has placed his store at the head as a leading grocery in this vicinity.

Mr. Baker was married in June, 1872, to Miss Margaret E. Minneman, of Brookville. Her parents were John H. and Sophia Minneman, natives of Germany, but later residents of this village, where they died, the father passing away at the age of eighty years, and the mother in her seventy-eighth year. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Baker are as follows: William, who is engaged in teaching with marked success; Anna, deceased, wife of George Story, of this village; and Emmett E., Bertha, Frank R., Earl A. and Nellie H.

Mr. Baker was elected two terms to the office of city treasurer and city assessor, serving from 1880 to 1884. The following year he was elected trustee of Brookville township, in which office he is still continued. During his term he has been successful in his efforts to increase the school term from seven to eight months, has lowered taxation, and is working for the permanent improvement of the public highways. He is a member of the Christian church, to which he is a liberal contributor, and is generally esteemed, his jovial disposition making him the center of any social gathering.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 929 to 931.

Walter S. Baker. – Sixty years have been added to the past since Walter S. Baker, a youth of twenty years, arrived in the hamlet of Brookville. Poor, with little in the way of capital save a sound constitution, a brave heart and sturdy determination to achieve success, he began at the bottom rounds of the ladder, and gradually and persistently worked his way upward, and is truly a self-made man.

The Baker family to which our subject belongs originated in Ludwigsburg, Baden, Germany, his paternal grandfather, Jacob Baker, having been born there. When a child he accompanied his parents to this country, settling in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he resided near Olean for many years. Removing to Sunbury, Northumberland county, in the same state, prior to the opening year of this century, he spent his last days there, dying in 1828, at the advanced age of one hundred and seven years. Both he and his brother Caspar were heroes of the Revolutionary war, the latter being killed at the battle of Long Island. Jacob Baker was an earnest member of the Lutheran church, and politically was an enthusiastic Whig. He chose for his first wife a lady born in Paris, France, and six children were born to them.

Of these, our subject’s father, John Baker, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1773, and removed to Sunbury, Northumberland county, and later to Selin’s grove, dying in Northumberland, when visiting his daughter, March 14, 1834. By trade he was a carpenter and builder, taking and executing contracts of considerable importance for that day, among others, erecting the mansion of the late Governor Simon Snyder, at Selin’s Grove, and a paper-mill for the same gentleman. For years he was a trustee and a leading member of the Lutheran church. At one time a Democrat, he turned to the Whig party, which better expressed his views on many of the issues of the day. His wife, Sarah, was a daughter of John Sutor, a native of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, whence he went to Franklin county, in the same state, his death occurring there when he had passed the ninetieth anniversary of his birth. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and after the dreadful Wyoming massacre he went with General Sullivan’s expedition through the Susquehanna valley and into New York state, in pursuit of the Indians who had committed the terrible deeds. In after years, when offered a soldier’s pension, he indignantly refused it, feeling that it was an insult to his patriotism, and saying, “I was not a Hessian soldier.”

Walter S. Baker, a son of John and Sarah (Sutor) Baker, was born in Selin’s Grove, Union (now Snyder) county, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1819. In his youth he worked with his father, and after his father’s death, at the age of seventeen, he commenced a regular apprenticeship to a carpenter, completing the trade at the end of three years. In 1839 he started for Brookville, Indiana, waking the entire distance with his gun on his shoulder, and accompanying his brothers-in-law, John B. Thurston and John Wise, and their families. The trip consumed twenty-eight days, the party reaching here November 3. For two years Mr. Baker worked at his trade and then branched out into the wider field of contracting, which line of enterprise he was actively engaged in from 1841 to 1862, in this locality, building many of the best houses and business blocks here, among others, the Brookville College, now used as a high school. Then for seven years he was interested in a milling business, owning a one-half interest in the Exchange Mills and from 1863 to 1882 he was a United States internal-revenue gauger for the fourth district of Indiana. For the past few years he has been practically retired from business, though he attends to his investments. From 1850 to 1869 he entered thousands of acres of government land, for himself and others, in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, and made frequent trips to Texas for the purpose of buying lands for himself and others. In addition to this, he has made investments in Chicago for himself and other parties, and has met with unusual success in the management of all of his property.

At no time have his own private interests, however extensive, kept Mr. Baker from the performance of his public duties, and it would be exceeding difficult to find a more patriotic citizen. Undoubtedly the example to his ancestors found an echo in him, and in this connection a remarkable fact should be pointed out. As already mentioned, his paternal and maternal grandfathers were valiant soldiers in the war of the Revolution, and also a brother of the former. Moreover, Daniel Baker, an uncle of our subject, served in the war of 1812, with the rank of captain, while three of his maternal uncles, George, Henry and Daniel Sutor, were active participants in the same second war with England. During his entire life Walter S. Baker has been a stanch, fearless Whig or Republican. His first presidential vote was cast for Harrison, and when the Republican party was being organized he worked zealously in the cause. A strong anti-slavery man, his life was threatened while the war of the Rebellion was in progress, but he did not disguise his hatred for the system nor for the political demagogues who more or less covertly defended and protected it, nourishing treason to the government in the meantime.

The marriage of W. S. Baker and Catherine A. Thurston took place November 14, 1841. She was born at Mount Pleasant, Hamilton county, Ohio, June 30, 1824. Of their eight children, three are deceased: Sarah, who died in infancy; Martha, who died at the age of eighteen years; and Emily, at the age of three years. Winfield Scott, born February 20, 1858, graduated in the naval academy in 1870, and, after serving for a few years in the government navy, resigned, and is living at Brookville; John W. is foreman of the wood-working department in the Brookville planing mill; Edward S., a printer by trade, is now engaged in gold-mining on the Yukon river, in Alaska; Myron C., of Chicago, is engaged in the manufacture of bicycles; and Emma, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Professor Alley, superintended of the Dayton (Kentucky) public schools.

Since 1840 Mr. Baker has been an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as steward, and is now a trustee. Though eighty years of age, he is well preserved in mind and body, retaining accurately the memory of the county’s early history and its growth and progress. In conclusion it may be appropriately noted that at this time Mr. Baker figures, in the matter of continuous residence, as the oldest male pioneer in Brookville, having lived here for sixty years. There are now living but seven ladies who were residents of Brookville when he came to the place, in 1839, at which time two of them were young ladies, two young misses, and the other three were little “tots” from two to three years of age.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 908 to 911.

Philip L. Mull, B. S., M. D. – The medical profession of Franklin county, Indiana, has had a valued member in the person of Philip L. Mull, B. S., M. D., of Oldenburg. Dr. Mull is a native of Indiana and claims Chestnut Hill, Washington county, as his birthplace. William Mull, his father, also a native of Indiana, was a son of Tobias Mull, who was born in North Carolina, of German parentage. The latter emigrated from the old North state to Indiana in its pioneer days and settled in Washington county, where he passed the rest of his life and died. He left many descendants, who are now widely scattered. William Mull was born in 1826. He married Miss Mary Ann Fitzpatrick, a daughter of Irish parents, and to them were born ten children.

Philip L. Mull in his early boyhood attended the common schools, and as he grew older formed his plans for a more advanced course of literary study, and also for eventually entering the medical profession. His parents have a large family and being in moderate financial circumstances, it was necessary for him to pay his own way, by his own exertions, to a profession. Having acquired sufficient knowledge of the common branches to entitle him to a certificate, he resorted, as many other young men have done, to the occupation of teaching as a means of raising funds to enable him to accomplish the end he had in view. He succeeded so well, teaching and attending school alternately, that he was able to graduate with credit from the scientific department of the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso, in the class of 1895, receiving the degree of B. S. Entering the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, Kentucky, he graduated therefrom in 1898, receiving the degree of M. D. He had the honor of being demonstrator of anatomy at the college. He also had special experience in the hospitals, on obstetrics and diseases of women, for which he holds a certificate. After graduation Dr. Mull began the practice of his profession at Louisville, where he remained a short time, when, Oldenburg seeming to offer favorable inducements, he decided to remove to this place, which he did, succeeding in practice Dr. F. P. Young. He soon established an excellent practice, his rides covering a radius of about twelve miles, with Oldenburg as a center. As a physician and surgeon Dr. Mull has ever held the confidence of the community and as a citizen he is held in high esteem.

In September, 1899, Dr. Mull was called from his extensive and increasing practice to accept a professorship in the great Columbian School of Osteopathy, Medicine and Surgery, at Kirksville, Missouri. With many sad regrets, the Doctor bade his many tried and true friends and patients goodbye for a season, and after placing his practice in the hands of Dr. E. Prall, of Henryville, Indiana, his lifelong friend and college room-mate, went to try his fortune with those beyond the “Father of Waters.” Before Dr. Mull will have seen the roses (and the thorns) of twenty-eight summers he will have made the journey from the plow to the professorship in a medical college, and he finds great comfort in saying: “I am a self-made man and have gained my success honestly. All through life I have stood by the proposition that a good, honest man never fails.”

He is gaining an enviable reputation as a lecturer upon scientific subjects and is one of Kirksville’s prominent and highly respected citizens.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 911 and 912.

Wesley Sanders. – This gentleman, a well known citizen and a representative of a pioneer family of Franklin county, residing in Blooming Grove township, where he owns an extensive and valuable tract of land. He was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, in 1819, a son of John and Jane Sanders and a grandson of Moses Sanders. When he was about eight years of age the family emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana, the father making settlement upon a farm near Mount Carmel, in Franklin county. Both he and his wife have long since passed away, but all of their children, with the exception of James, the eldest, are now living. They are William, Wesley, John and Sally Ann.

Wesley Sanders and his brothers assisted the father in clearing up a farm, which was one of the first tracts of land developed in Springfield township. He entered upon an independent business career at an early age, working as a farm hand for three dollars per month. In this way he aided in clearing much of the land in the vicinity of Mount Carmel, and thus promoted the material welfare of the community and aided in its progress and improvement. When he had acquired a sufficient capital to make an investment for himself, he purchased forty acres, which was the nucleus of his present farm. From time to time he added to that amount until within the boundaries of his farm are now comprised four hundred and sixty acres of rich land, the greater part of which he has placed under a high state of cultivation, the well tilled fields yielding to him a golden tribute in return for the care and cultivation of the owner. Good buildings and substantial improvements also indicate the progressive spirit of Mr. Sanders, who is accounted one of the leading farmers of the community.

Our subject has been three times married. He first wedded Hannah N. Whittaker, whose death occurred ten years later. Four children were born of this marriage, but only one is now living: Hannah, wife of James Jarvis, of Connersville, Indiana. Those deceased were Reta, Charlotte and Wallace. For his second wife Mr. Sanders chose Lydia Apsley, who lived only three years, and died leaving a son, Henry A., now of Laurel. The present wife bore the maiden name of Sarah E. Wilson and was a daughter of Robert and Rebecca (Downes) Wilson, native of Maryland. Two daughters honor this marriage – Ollie May and R. Bertie.

Mr. and Mrs. Sanders are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He came to this county in its pioneer days, and had but little opportunity to secure an education, but has always manifested good judgment in his business career; and by his industry, economy and enterprise has secured a very desirable competence. His life has ever been a busy and useful one, and such men form the strength of the county, state and nation.

Submitted by: Jeanie
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899.
Page 1023 and 1024.