MATTHIAS BADER
Matthias Bader was a native of Germany, and the son of John and Katherine (Bihler) Bader; both of his parents died in Germany.
Matthias Bader was born December 3, 1826, in Wurtemberg, Germany, and came to this country in 1854, and located in Indiana in the same year. He went to work by the month on the farm, and continued to do so for about four years.
In 1858 he was married to Miss Mary Holwager, daughter of Frederick Holwager, a farmer of this county. After marrying, he rented a farm at money rent, and in 1861 he bought 40 acres of land, and since then has bought, at different times, land adjoining, until now he has a farm of 200 acres of good land, seven miles from Madison, very well improved and well stocked.
He has four children, three boys and one girl, viz: William and Annie, Charlie and Edward. William is now a farmer in Kansas; the others are at home.
Mr. Bader was drafted in 1864; for one year, was in Co. B, Fortieth Indiana Volunteers. He served nine months, and was in the battle of Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville, Tenn. He was taken sick and sent to the hospital at Jeffersonville, where he was sick about two months, when he took small-pox, and was sent to the hospital at Louisville. He is a member of the M.E. Church at Kent.
SAMUEL BAKER
Samuel Baker, farmer, Monroe township, was the son of a Dunkard preacher, Michael Baker, a native of Maryland, whose father came from Germany and was sold for his passage money, for which he broke hemp for some time.
The mother of Samuel Baker was Catherine Everly, and belong to one of oldest families of Pennsylvania.
The subject of this sketch was born in Fayette county, Pa., July 14, 1817, and was raised on a farm until 18 years of age, when he came West, with two brothers, one of whom was a cabinet-maker. They landed at North Landing, near Rising Sun, Ind.
Mr. Baker served an apprenticeship of three years, with his brother, at the cabinet-making business, and then set up a shop of his own at Barkworks; he was a house joiner also.
He married, at the age of 22, Miss Nancy Wallick, whose grandmother was a daughter of Col. Crawford, who was burned at the stake by Indians. Mrs. Baker’s grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, a ranger and Indian spy, or scout, in the early days of Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker were the parents of three children, Elzina, Sylvania and Nancy. Mr. Baker’s wife died about 1847. He remarried, in 1849, to Nancy J. Haddock whose parents were natives of Indiana; the result of this union was three children: Alice, Belle and John. This wife died in 1865. Mr. Baker was married a third time, in 1866, to Sarah Kelley, a daughter of William Kelley, a native of Pennsylvania. Some of his family are dead, the living are in Texas and Indiana. John, the youngest son, is at home.
The greater part of Mr. Baker’s life was spent in Switzerland county, Indiana, at his trade and in the undertaking business, though he had traveled in the Far West somewhat before the Territory was made into States.
In 1865 he bought a farm of 220 acres of good land in Jefferson county, near Bryantsburg, where he has since lived as a farmer.
He is an earnest Christian, a member of the Christian Church and a good citizen.
GEORGE BARBER
George Barber--firm of Barber & Cravens, paper manufacturers, Broadway and Fifth street Madison, Ind.--was born in Madison June 28, 1836, and reared here and attended the city schools. In 1854 he went on the river, learning the business of steamboat piloting from Cincinnati to New Orleans, which business he followed from 1858 to 1873. In the year 1873 he formed a partnership with Mr. Henry C. Watts, for the manufacture of paper, and built the mill in which he is at present making paper, the firm name being Watts & Barber. This firm continued until 1885, when Mr. Charles Cravens bought out Mr. Watts’ interest. Since then the firm name has been Barber & Cravens. The mill turns out about 2,400 pounds of paper every twelve hours. They employ seven men, and sell the paper principally in Louisville, St. Louis and Memphis. The parents of Mr. Barber were Timothy and Susan (Horton) Barber, and were natives of Connecticut and Ohio, both of them coming to Indiana when quite young. His father died in 1874, at the age of 71 years. His mother is still living. Mr. Barber was first married in 1859, to Miss Sallie Fisher of Madison Ind. She died in 1865, leaving two children, one of whom died the next year after its mother; the other Carrie is still living and married to Mr. Charles Friedersdorff, of this city. Mr. Barber was married a second time to Miss Mary Zuck daughter of Mr. Andrew Zuck, of this city. They have four children: Willie, Nellie, Clay W. and George Cravens. Mr. Barber is a member of the Christian Church. Mr. Barber is a good citizen, of quiet, retiring disposition, and well liked by those who know him.
WILLIAM BAXTER
William Baxter (deceased) was the son of James Baxter, who was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to this country in the last century, first locating in Pennsylvania, afterward removing to Ohio and settling near Dayton, or rather where that city now is; here he remained for a number of years, when he migrated to Jefferson county, Ind., and settled in what is now Monroe township, where he died.
The subject of this sketch was born near the Little Miami, Ohio, in 1804, and came to Jefferson county with his father when quite young, and spent his youth and manhood days, and died August 25, 1861. He was a farmer, and by careful saving of what he made by his industry, he was enabled to own 360 acres of land at the time of his death.
He married Jane Kerr, August 29, 1828, and they begot the following named children: James R., born November 25, 1829; Josiah K., September 19, 1831; Daniel T., October 1, 1833, died January 5, 1859; Oliver H. P., October 31, 1835; William A., May 27, 1838, died September 15, 1877; Hiram P., September 22, 1840; George W., March 16, 1843; Alonzo H. H., August 31, 1845; Edward A. Z., October 14, 1847; Leonidas N., November 17, 1849; Havanna S., July 25, 1852; Emlona H., August 28, 1854, died when 16 months old. His wife died May 27, 1855, and on August 26, 1857, he was married to Margaret Kerr, a sister of his first wife. By this union there was one son, Erastus V., who was born February 3, 1859, who died at the age of two years and ten months.
Mr. Baxter was a man of prominence and never sought office. He was a member and an earnest supporter of the M. E. Church for twenty years before his death. Six of his sons were in the army during the war, and another served an enlistment in the United States army.
JAMES W. BAYLESS
James W. Bayless was born in Madison, July 1, 1829, was raised on a farm and educated in the common schools.
He has never sought office, and does not like secret societies.
He owns 157 acres of good land, and runs the farm, his sister Sophronia keeping house for him, as he has never married.
His father, Nathaniel Bayless, was born March 12, 1796, in Harford county, Maryland, near the head of Chesapeake bay; he came to Madison, Ind., about 1817. He was a house carpenter and joiner, and built many houses; among those he built was the house Mr. Chas. Alling lives in. He built the paper mill on Indian Kentucky creek, known as Sheets’ Paper Mill. He sharpened a dirk knife for Mr. John Sheets, which, it is said, was the one with which Sheets killed White, in Madison, some sixty-five years ago.
In 1824 he married Miss Mary A. Whedon, who was born in New York, in March, 1806, and came to Jefferson county when 12 years of age, with her father, Stephen Whedon, an early settler of Madison.
By this marriage there were six children: George, who died at the age of 48; James W.; Nathaniel, living in Monroe township; Stephen, who died in 1844; Anna M., who is married to John Riggle, and lives at North Madison, and Sophronia, who lives with James W., who furnishes this sketch. Mr. Nathaniel Bayless moved from Madison about 1837, to Madison township, where he bought 720 acres of land, and where he died in 1885. His widow died March 13, 1879.
There is a clock and fire shovel that has been in the family some sixty-four years.
PERRY E. BEAR
Perry E. Bear is a native of Jefferson county, Ind., and was born September 22, 1860. His parents were Joseph Bear, a farmer, who was born in Jefferson county, in 1834, and Margaret Whitmore who was born in Kentucky.
His paternal grandfather, Christian Bear, was a native of Pennsylvania, and settled in Jefferson county, Ind., before the State was admitted to the Union. He was of German origin, his father being a native of German.
Perry E. Bear was educated in the schools of the county, having graduated from the High School. He read law with Edward Leland, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1881. He was with Judge E. R. Wilson, of Madison, for two years.
In 1884 was elected City Attorney of Madison; was re-elected in 1885. In 1886 was appointed deputy prosecutor of Jefferson county. He became the nominee of his (Republican) party for prosecuting attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in the fall of 1888, and was elected. In 1883 was married to Miss Champney. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
WM. H. H. BENEFIEL
Wm. H. H. Benefiel, merchant and farmer of Barbersville, Jefferson county, Ind., was born in Jefferson county, March 8, 1825.
He is the son of Wm. B. Benefiel, who at the age of 23 years, came from Kentucky to Indiana Territory among the pioneer settlers, and located in the neighborhood of Buchanan’s Station (or fort), Jefferson county, in the spring of 1814; and was married, in 1816, to Miss Phoebe Conner, daughter of Lewis Conner, a native of Tennessee, and who emigrated to Indiana Territory prior to 1814.
George Benefiel and Mary Buchanan Benefiel, father and mother of Wm. B., came with their family of seven sons and five daughters, to Indiana in the fall of 1814. The seven sons and five daughters all lived to raise large families and to an average age of seventy-three years, reckoning the ages of the deceased at time of death and the living at present age.
George Benefiel, father of this family of twelve children, was a native of Virginia, and the head of a numerous branch of the Benefiel family, emigrated to Kentucky in early time, and thence to Indiana; was a pioneer of Kentucky and also of Indiana, and did much to improve this State. His descendants are in almost every State and Territory of United States, and in religion in general adhere to the Presbyterian faith, and in politics uphold the principles of the Republican party.
Wm. H. H. Benefiel, subject of this sketch, was raised on a farm and educated at the district schools and Hanover College. He was married in 1856, to Marand Johnson, daughter of Wm. Johnson, a native of Kentucky. The result of this union was three children--Nancy A., Wm. T. and Mary A. All are married and live in this (Jefferson) and the adjoining (Ripley) counties.
In 1857 he engaged in the dry-goods and grocery business, at Barbersville, Jefferson county, Ind., and has continued in the same business, in the same place, ever since (thirty-two years). He has also carried on farming the greater part of the time. He owns a part of the farm his father owned before Indiana was a State, 290 acres, which is well improved and very productive.
He was among the first to introduce and advocate the use of commercial fertilizers in his section, and has lived to see the great benefits derived therefrom.
He belongs to an old Whig family, and at the organization of the Republican party espoused the principles of that, and has been an ardent supporter of that party ever since.
Mr. Benefiel has been successful in his business, and has accumulated some valuable property.
He has an uncle and aunt, aged 88 and 80, the last of the original settlers of the twelve brothers and sisters of the second generation of his branch of the Benefiel family.
GEORGE R. BOLEN
George R. Bolen, hardware merchant, was born, in Madison, November 14, 1860. He attended the public schools of Madison; and is a graduate of Halbert’s Business College.
After leaving college he entered the post-office as clerk, under the late Col. M. C. Garber, and continued with him for four years.
In 1879 Mr. Bolen took a position with Mr. F. G. Wharton, who was in the hardware business, with whom he remained until July 1, 1888, when he bought him out.
The firm name being Geo. R. Bolen & Co., they carry a full line of shelf hardware and carpenters’ tools; and make a specialty of breech-loading shot guns and small arms. They have a fine trade, and the long experience of Mr. Bolen in the business gives him a great advantage in the trade, as he is complete master of it.
Mr. Bolen is a member of the K. of P., and a past chancellor of the order. He is a member of the Trinity M. E. Church, of which he is an officer.
He is the son of Sims B. and Elizabeth Bolen, natives of Kentucky, who came to Madison just before the war. Mr. Sims Bolen, the father, has been superintendent of the Gas Co.’s works for about thirty years.
He was a member of the 67th Ind. Vols. during the late war, and a man respected by all who know him.
Mr. Geo. R. Bolen, the subject of this sketch, is a man of integrity and good business habits and qualifications, affable and pleasant in manner. He made many friends while in the postoffice, a place which tries the patience of both the patron and the employe, but George came out of it with more staunch friends than when he went in to it, and with his pleasant ways only made brighter by the constant trial.
JOSEPH T. BRASHEAR
Joseph T. Brashear, Mayor of the city of Madison, is a native of Washington county, Pa. Was born May 10, 1832. His parents were Basil and Margaret (Trotter) Brashear, who were born in Steubenville, Ohio, and Claysville, Pa. His father was a tailor by trade. His mother died when he was three years old.
Mr. Brashear received only the education afforded by the common schools of the county.
In 1848 he removed to Steubenville, Ohio, where he commenced the trade of blacksmithing, and worked there until 1851,when he came to Madison, Ind.
He continued at his trade here, and started in to work for J. S. & R. E. Neal, foundrymen, for whom he worked up to 1860. In that year he, with others, began the steamboat building, at which he continued until 1865, when he went into partnership with Mr. A. Campbell, in the manufacture of steam boilers, and remained in this for three years.
In 1868 he, with John W. Vawter, engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements a N. Madison for four years, at which time he sold out his interest and engaged again in blacksmithing as foreman for Cobb, Stribling & Co., foundrymen, in Madison.
In May, 1875, he made the race for mayor of Madison on the Democratic ticket, beating the incumbent, Alexander White, 157 votes. Served for two years when he was re-nominated, and ran against Captain Powers whom he defeated by 474 votes. This was the election of 1877. In 1879 he again made the race for mayor, this time against John W. Linck, and was elected by forty-two votes.
In 1881 he was defeated in the Democratic Convention for the nomination, and Mr. S. J. Smith, a Republican was elected. In 1883 the Republicans re-nominated Mr. Smith, and the Democrats nominated Mr. Brashear, and he was elected by 183 majority. In 1885 he was again nominated as a candidate by the Democrats and defeated Mr. John Pattie, Republican nominee, fifty-five votes. In 1887, ran again, his opponent being Capt. H. B. Foster, whom he beat by a majority of twenty-four.
September 3, 1853, he was married to Miss Nancy Conaway, of Madison. They have eight children.
He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Knights of Honor. In ten years he has been absent but two times from meetings of the City Council.
WILLIAM P. BROWN
William P. Brown is a native of Scotland. He was born July 9, 1841. He came to the United States in 1845, with his parents, who located in Jefferson county, Ind.
He was bought up on a farm in this county, and attended the common schools of the county.
He came to Madison in 1871, and worked at the carpenter’s business until 1874, when he formed a partnership with Thomas Dow in the lumber business, under the firm name of Dow & Brown, making walnut lumber a specialty, which business they have been successfully engaged in ever since.
This firm has recently bought the sawmills situated on the corner of Front and Plum streets, Block No. 12. Their lumber yard office is on Mulberry street. They are the largest and most prominent lumber merchants in the city.
Mr. Brown was married in 1871 to Miss Mary Graham, of this county, daughter of Mr. James Graham, and has four living children: William A., Thomas M., James G. and Agnes W.
His parents were Alexander and Isabella (Martin) Brown. His father was a prominent farmer of this county, and died in 1882, at the age of 92 years. His mother died in 1858, at the age of 50 years.
E. BUCHANAN
E. Buchanan (deceased), formerly of Shelby township, Jefferson county, Ind., was born October 21, 1821, in Ripley county, and was the son of Wilson Buchanan, a native of Pennsylvania. Wilson and his three brothers came to Indiana at an early day, and made the first settlement in this neighborhood, and helped to build the first fort or blockhouse here, as a place of refuge for the settlers and of defence against the Indians. The fort was called Buchanan’s Station. They raised families under the difficulties attending pioneer settlement. The subject of this sketch was one of the children, and was raised a pioneer, getting an education of the best afforded at that time, which was of the simplest, and of what could in these days of advanced schools be considered the poorest, kind.
At the age of 19, in 1841, he married Miss Lucinda Connor, daughter of Mr. Louis Connor, who was also an early settler. The result of this union was six children: Wm. H. H., who enlisted in the Twenty-second Indiana Volunteers, and returned home in six months and died the same year from illness contracted in the service; Minerva J., Lavina H., Eliza E., John W. and Edith E. His wife died September 2, 1857, and he re-married Feb. 14, 1859. This time he married Miss Rebecca Hillis, daughter of Hiram Hillis, a native of Indiana. Her mother was Louisa Atherton, daughter of Joseph Atherton, a native of Virginia. The result of this marriage was seven children: Mary E., Hannah, Victoria, Hattie L., Effie M., George T. and Nellie S.
The subject of this sketch died February 19, 1883. He had been successful in life, educated his children well, and at the same time, by careful management and patient industry, had accumulated quite an amount of valuable property. At the time of his death he owned some 900 acres of well improved land in Ripley and Jefferson counties, which is still owned by the heirs. All of his property was obtained by his own efforts, nothing having been given to him by his father.
At the marriage of this first set of children he presented each of them with $1,500. His sale bill amounted to $3,000.
Mrs. Buchanan still lives on the homestead, which belongs to her and her daughters and son, who is now 14 years of age and who is walking in the footsteps of his father and alive to all home interests, and loves his books and will make his mark in the world. Mary E. and Hannah have married; the other five are at home with their mother. Mr. Buchanan was a good citizen and a choice man.
