Ira Chambers, farmer, Monroe Township, is a native of Jefferson County, Ind., was born December 7, 1842, was raised on a farm and is still living on one; he was educated in the common schools of the County. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in the three months' service, at the call for 300,000 more soldiers by the President of the United States; he enlisted in the Tenth Indiana Cavalry, and was all the engagements of his regiment, until he was taken prisoner at Huntsville, Ala., on the 14th day of December, 1864. He remained a prisoner at Andersonville four months and thirteen days, when he escaped and found his way to the Union lines at Jacksonville, Fla., on April 29, 1865. After his discharge at the close of the war he returned home, and settled down to the quiet life of a farmer.
He was married in 1865, to Miss Nancy J. Patton, daughter of Robert R. Patton, of North Madison. They have a family of seven children; Burdett, Charles, Mollie, Harry, Willie, Frank and Stella.
Mr. Chambers has a comfortable little home and enjoys himself in life. He is a man prematurely old in consequence of exposure and injuries received while in the army. His father is Mr. James Chambers, a farmer of Monroe Township (see his sketch). Mr. Ira Chambers is a member of the G.A.R.
James Chambers, farmer, Monroe Township, was the oldest son of Isaac Chambers, an early settler of this county, and Mehitabel Goodwin, daughter of Samuel Goodwin, natives of Kentucky. Mr. Chambers was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, within four miles of the place on which he now lives, on a farm; was reared a farmer and educated in the old log school-house days. His education was, through the necessity of the case, of a limited characted. He was married in 1842, to Mary Baxter, a daughter of Daniel Baxter, a pioneer of the year 1814 to this County, and was born in Pennsylvania, and was the father of a large family, the sketches of some of whom are to be found in this book.
Mr. Chambers and wife raised a family of nine children, viz: Ira B., Indiana, Nancy A., James W., John M., Mary J., Robert D., Isaac D. and George A. Two of these, George and John M., are dead; the others are living in Jefferson County. Ira and John were soldiers in the late. Ira was a prisoner at Andersonville for some months (see his sketch); John served six months.
Mr. Chambers owns 300 acres of land of good quality and well improved, and is very comfortably fixed in a home. His wife is a member of the Baptist Chruch, and has been a consistent Christian for fifty years past.
Richard Chapman was born in Wilshire, England, in 1819, October 27. He was reared in England, and was apprenticed at the age of fourteen, to learn the trade of blacksmith, and served for seven years as an apprentice, at Woodford, near Salisbury.
He worked at his trade for eighteen years in England, and came to the United States in 1852, on the ship "Liverpool,"
having left England between Christmas and New Year in 1851. He arrived in Madison, Ind., the last day of February, 1852, with only a nickel in his pocket. He walked out in the country four miles that night on the Kent road; the next day he rented a shop two miles from Kent, and commenced work on the first day of April, where he continued to work for two and one-half years. The following July after he landed, his wife and child came to him from England.
In 1854 Mr. Chapman removed to Graham Township, and bought one-half of an acre of ground, and put a house and shop upon it, paying $100 for the ground. He worked at his trade at this place for over twenty years, keeping a general contry store in connection with his shop. His wife was made postmistress at this point, and held the office for eight years.
When he left Graham Township in 1878, he sold his premises for $1,100.
Mr. Chapman was married in 1846 in England, to Miss Alice Potter, a native of England, who died August 17, 1880, at the age of 60 years, leaving one son John.
Mr. Chapman has been very successful in accumulating property, owning a farm of 240 acres of land in Graham township, besides a nice home of twenty-seven acres, where he lives at the edge of the town of Lancaster.
He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and foremost to assist in all charitable enterprises.
He has done a great deal to build up the County in the way of building and improving property.
On May 29, 1886, he married Miss Cynthia (Hammond) Bailey, widow of Commodore Perry Bailey. She died December 23, 1887, without issue. John Chapman, son of the subject of our sketch, married Josephine Lard, daughter of C.K. Lard of this County, and has four children: Alice B., Sarah N., Jessie R. and Ruth C., all living at home. John owns a farm of 385 acres of land in Lancaster Township, and is one of the largest farmers in the Township. Besides farming he deals largely in stock.
James A. Cochran, farmer, Hanover Township, is a native of Hanover Township, Jefferson County, and was born Feb. 27, 1831. He was reared in this township on a farm: attended the common schools of the township.
He was married in 1869 to Miss Annie Morton, daughter of John Morton, of this County. He has two children, Jennetta and Moses A. He is a member, and an elder of Carmel (U.P.) Church.
He owns a farm of 216 acres of land where he lives, three miles west of Hanover town; the land is good and well improved. He is a large owner and dealer in Merino sheep.
His parents, Alexander and Margaret (Anderson) Corchran, were natives of Scotland; his father of Glascow, and his mother of Dumfries. They came to the United States, the mother in 1818, and the father in 1821. His father was a prominent farmer of this county, and died in 1876, at the age of 85. His mother died in 1884 at 90 years of age. Mr. Cochran was elected as County Commissioner in 1876 to 1885, on the Republican ticket.
William Cochran, farmer, is a native of Republican Township; was born in the same house in which he now lives, Aug. 27, 1835. He was brought up on the farm, and attended the common schools of the County.
He owns the farm of 172 acres of land on which he resides, and raises grain and stock, especially sheep. Mr. Cochran is unmarried.
His parents were Alexander and Margaret (Anderson) Cochran, both natives of Scotland; his father of Glascow, and his mother of Dumfries. They came to the United States, the mother in 1818, the father in 1821. His father was a prominent farmer in this County, and died in 1876, at the age of 85. His mother died in 1884, at the age of 90. Mr. Cochran is a good citizen, and a good farmer.
Cyrus Commisky, farmer, Monroe township, is the second son of Joseph and Rebecca (Baxter) Commisky
He was born in Monroe township, Jefferson County, Ind., July 3, 1849 on a farm and reared a farmer; attended the public school. He was married at the age of twenty-two to Miss Sarah Walton. They are the parents of five living children: Rosette, John, Cyrus, Frank and Pleasant; their third child Charlie, died at the age of four.
Mr. Commisky owns 133 acres of land and is a thrifty, forehanded farmer. The family of Joseph and Tebecca Commisky consisted of six children: Daniel, who enlisted in the Twenty-second Indiana Regiment, and has never been heard of since a few months after the battle of Pea Ridge; Cyrus, John F., Joseph N., and two sisters Anna and Susan, both of whom are married.
Joseph Commisky was a native of Pennsylvania, of Irish descent. He came to Indiana when quite young, and died in 1856. Rebecca Baxter was the daughter of Daniel Daxter, whose sketch is in this book, and native of this county. She died in 1887.
J. Randolph Conway, farmer, Smyrna Township, Jefferson County, Ind., is the son of John and Emily (Hoagland) Conway. and was born in Hunters Bottom, Trimble County, Ky., Aug. 17, 1836. He came to Indiana in 1840, with his parents, and located on the land where he now resides. He attended the common schools of the county.
Mr. Conway and his two sisters own 115 acres of land, on which they now live. His parents were both of them natives of Kentucky. His father was born on Dec. 27, 1800, and died Dec. 5, 1867. His mother died July 29, 1880 at the age of 77 years. His father owned 270 acres of the finest quality of land in the township; he always raised large crops of wheat and corn; the farm was called Egypt by the neighbors, on account of the corn raised upon it. One crop of corn produced ninety bushels of corn to the acre on thirteen acres. The same year, in an adjoining field of sixteen acres, the product was thirty-eight bushels of wheat to the acre; this crop brought two dollars in gold per bushel. This was during the Russian war, in 1856.
Mr. John Conway, the father, was for many years School and Township Trustee for this township. He was also a member of the Hopewell Baptist Church. He was a raiser of a great deal of fine stock; he raised one hog, of a litter of seventeen pigs, what weighed 606 pounds net, and was not fat either. Another large animal of his raising, was a Durham steer that weighed 1260 pounds at two years of age. He was a man who took a great interest in raising stock. On his farm was a great deal of very large walnut timber; the stump of one tree measured five feet and two inches in diameter. There was also one of the largest grapevines in the county on this farm; it measures forty-six inches around the body; it is on a beech tree. There is also a large poplar tree on this place, which is five feet through, and is one hundred feet high; it is covered by a vine of American Ivy-this vine covers it all over. There is a cave on the place, and when the beech leaves blow under or into the cave, they are petrified by the limestone water that drips on them; the leaves decay and leave their impression on the stone.
This is the finest land in the county, lots of walnut timber and some blue grass.
The subject of this sketch has four brothers and two sisters; John, Cornelius, Thomas, Edward, Mary and Cornelia. His sisters live with him. Edward is married and a farmer of this township; Thomas is a large farmer in Jackson County; Cornelius died in 1861; John is a farmer in Crawford County, Ind.
Mr. Conway's grandfather, John Conway was born in Culpepper County, Va., in 1770, and died in the house on this farm at the age of 93 years 1 month and 3 days.
William Condrey, ice dealer in W. Madison, was born near Lexington, Ky., February 11, 1828, the son of John and Malinda (Johnson) Condrey. The father was a native of Maryland, the mother of Kentucky. His father settled on the hill near Madison, Ind., in 1828, on a farm; afterward opened in the grocery business, and continued in that for about ten years. He died in 1889, seventy-five years old. Mr. William Condrey, was reared in Madison, has farmed and followed carpentering; engaged also in the grocery business, and boated on the river. The last fifteen years of his life he has been in the ice business. He started in life a poor boy, and by his pluck, honesty and perseverance has made for himself a good living. He has a comfortable home in West Madison, and own twenty acres of land adjoining the city of Madison, and considerable real estate in West Madison. He is a good citizen, a member of the Trinity M.E. of many years standing, and a leading man in his church. In the year 1849 he was married to Miss Vashti Smith, a native of Bartholomew County, Ind. They have had three children of whom two only are living---James W., and Anna M., wife of James Crozier, Auditor of Jefferson County. Mr. Condrey is a member of I.O.O.F. He was out with Gen. Geo. Morgan, at Cumberland Gap, during the war.
E. B. Coyle, was born October 16, 1854, in Madison, Ind., and was brought up in this city and attended the public schools. After leaving school he apprenticed himself to learn the moulder's trade, and served over three years. In 1873 he went to Johnson's starch factory, and took the job papering starch, and continued there for three years. In 1880 he engaged in the saloon business, and continued in that for eight years. In 1887 he engaged in the hardwood lumber business, and is still in that business, and has been quite successful.
His parents were both of Irish descent, Thomas Coyle, his father, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and came to Madison Indiana where he learned the trade of machinest, at which he worked for a number of years. He was killed while engineer at Johnson's starch works. His mother's maiden name was Ladosky McClaran. She was born in Kentucky, and came to Indiana when quite young, and died at an early age, leaving a family of four children, two boys and two girls, the subject of our sketch being the oldest.
James Craig, deceased, was born April 20, 1807, in Ireland near Belfast. He was married in 1834 to Miss Margaret Roberts, daughter of Mr. John Roberts, of Belfast, Ireland, a noted merchant in the linen business.
In 1838 Mr. Craig came to America, leaving Belfast in May of that year. He engaged in the coal business in Pittsburgh, Pa., for about two yearsw, when he came to Jefferson County, Ind., and settled on a farm in Monroe township, where he continued to reside to the end of his life. He died, after a short illness, at his home, May 26, 1876.
In later life, he combined farming and school-teaching as his professions, and was an energetic man in both lines of business. He occupied many positions of profit and trust at the gift of voters of his township, with credit to himself and benefit of the township. He was a prominent Mason. He was a man of strong convictions, and when once fixed in an opinion would hold out tenaciously.
He enlisted, with four of his sons, in the Sixth Indiana Regiment, and served until he was disabled, when he returned home and taught school the balance of his life. He had many prominent men of the county and State among his pupils.
His family consisted of ten children, viz: Charlotte, Maggie, William R., John T., George D., Lizzie, Robert T., Susan, Hunter (died when two years old) and James.
His widow resides on the old homestead, with her youngest son, James.
John Crawford, blacksmith and farmer, was born in Scotland, in 1842, in Ayrshire, and emigrated to America in 1856, and settled in Jefferson County, Ind. He worked four years at farming, and then commenced to learn the blacksmith trade.
In 1864 he was married to Mary Scott, daughter of John Scott, a native of Scotland. The same year he enlisted in Co. B, One hundred and fortieth Reg., Ind. Vols. and served to the end of the war; was in all the battles of the regiment. Came home and settled to work in his trade, and has been at that and farming ever since. He is a first-class mechanic, and has the best shop and tools in the county. His business is the repair of farming machinery, principally. He owns ninety acres of land, well improved and good land.
Mr. Crawford received but a limited education, but is determined that his children shall have a better one than he had. His father's name was James Crawford, who died before his son was five years of age, leaving him to make his own living; which he has succeeded in doing by his own good and honest labor and thrift. Mr. Crawford is a good citizen and honored by his neighbors.
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