Category Archives: Clark County

Isaac McCoy

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Isaac McCoy
b. 13 June 1784, Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, to William H. and Elizabeth (Rice) McCoy
d. 21 June 1846, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

m. 6 October 1803, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Christiana Polk
b. 12 November 1784, Nelson County, Kentucky, to Charles and Delilah (Tyler) Polk
d. 6 August 1850, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri

Children with Christiana Polk:
• Mahala (1804-1818)
• Rice (1807-1833)
• Josephus (1808-1831)
• Delilah (1809-1844) married Johnston Lykins
• John Calvin (1811-1889) married (1) Virginia Chick, (2) Elizabeth Woodson
• Elizabeth (1813-1822)
• Sarah (1815-1835) married (1) Thomas Jefferson Givens, (2) Thomas Gilens
• Christiana (1817-1837) married William Ward
• Nancy Judson (1819-1850)
• Eleanor (1821-1839) married Husband Dononue
• Maria Staunton (1823-1824)
• Isaac (1825-1849) married Martha Stone
• Charles Rice (1827-1831)
• infant (1831)

The family moved to near Sellersburg, Clark County, in the Indiana Territory in 1804. Later, they moved to Vincennes, Knox County, where Isaac was a spinning wheel maker and a jailer. In 1805, they moved back to Clark County, where he was licensed as a Baptist minister. Isaac served at Mariah Creek Church in Knox County, starting in October 1810. In 1818, he established an Indian mission north of Terre Haute near Montezuma on Raccoon Creek in Parke County. In 1820 he went to Fort Wayne in Allen County to establish a church for Indians; Christiana had a school that taught spinning and weaving. In 1828, Isaac was appointed a member of the commission to arrange the removal of Indians to reservations in Kansas. He and two sons moved to the Kansas City, Missouri area. In 1843, Isaac returned to Indiana where he was appointed Secretary and General Agent for the Indiana Mission Association of Louisville, Kentucky.

Isaac wrote a book on the white man’s attempt to Christianize the Indians in 1840. A memorial book Early Indian Missions by W.N. Wyeth tells of the lives and mission work of Rev. and Mrs. McCoy. Many of his writings are in the Isaac McCoy Collection of the Kansas Historical Society. The towns of Niles and Grand Rapids, Michigan were originally McCoy Indian Missions.

Submitted by:
Christie Hill Russell
Paris IL
E-mail: christie@cartar.com

Joseph Charles Lightcap

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Joseph Charles Lightcap
b. 23 October 1882, Henryville, Clark County, Indiana, to Jacob W. and Nancy Ann (Beckett) Lightcap
d. 8 October 1939, Menard, Illinois

m. June 1905, Mansfield, Piatt County, Illinois
Lula Maud Brown
b. 14 January 1886, Mansfield, Piatt County, Illinois
d. 25 March 1966, Farmer City, Dewitt City, Illinois

Children with Lula Maud Brown:
• Dorothy Mae
• Mary Kathryn
• Russell Olander
• Martha

Joseph left Clark County, Indiana, before 1905.

Submitted by:
Jeannie Noe Carlisle
Nabb IN
E-mail: scjc@scottsburg.com

Joseph Thomas Harrell

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Joseph Thomas Harrell
b. 22 August 1833, Clark County, Indiana
d. 4 June 1906, Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois

m. 12 September 1861, Clark County, Indiana
Anna Catherine Makowsky
b. 17 September 1834, Clark County, Indiana
d. Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois

Children with Anna Catherine Makowsky:
• David Riley
• Parazyde
• Myrtle
• Taber
• Phyletus
• Ann Dale married [–?–] Hunt
• Walden

Joseph Thomas was born in southern Indiana and moved north to Johnson County, Indiana. During the Civil War he served with the Union Army in the 28th Indiana Volunteers, Company H, based in Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky. His one daughter, Parazyde, was named for the Army nurse that took care of Joseph while he was in the Army hospital. Prior to 1892, he emigrated to Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois.

Submitted by:
Irene “Rene” Denother
Alton IL

Stephen Nineveh Harmon, Sr.

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Stephen Nineveh Harmon, Sr.
b. 29 April 1820, Monroe, Clark County, Indiana, to Stephen Harmon
d. 9 July 1889, Lincoln, Dallas County, Missouri

m. 31 October 1838, Lexington, Scott County, Indiana
Rosanna Smith
b. 28 January 1822, Kentucky
d. 21 January 1911, Lincoln, Dallas County, Missouri

Children with Rosanna Smith:
• William R. (1839-1840)
• Mary Ann (1841-1872) married Stephen “Jessie” Osborne
• Sarah J. (1843-1847)
• Jabez Edward (1845-1879) married Mary Ann Quigley
• Almira Jane (1847-1896) married Henry Gray True
• Emily Ellen (1850-1916) married Henry Coatney
• Phelina Elizabeth (1852-1923) married James Knox Polk Simmons
• John W. (1854-1917) married Sarah Quisenberry
• Hulda Catherine (1858-1911) married James Berry Cox
• George W. (1859-1863)
• Union Victoria (1862-1863)
• Stephen Nineveh (1864-1932) married Mary Elizabeth Stidham

Stephen was in Scott County, Indiana, about 1840, but by about 1850, he had returned to Clark County. He remained there until he emigrated in 1855.

His Civil War pension record (#554671) shows that he served in Company G, 14th Regiment M.S.M. Volunteers. His marriage license is with the pension papers and provides a death date for both he and Rosanna.

Submitted by:
Thelma Harmon Cowan
Snohomish WA

Henry Thomas Edmonds

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Henry Thomas Edmonds
b. 9 October 1891, Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana, to George D. and Anna (Weissenberger) Edmonds
d. 17 October 1975, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Henry never married. He emigrated from New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana, in 1915.

Submitted by:
Joel K. Waszak
Louisville CO
E-mail: jwaszak@mho.com

William Dustin

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William Dustin
b. 5 April 1800, Washington County, Vermont, to William Dustin
d. 21 January 1851, Jefferson County, Iowa

m. 2 July 1822, Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana
Martha Ann Willey
b. 9 September 1802, Oneida County, New York

Children with Martha Ann Willey:
• John G. (1824-1869)
• William F. (1827-1904)
• Martha Ann (1829-1903) married William Logan Smith
• Elihu/Elisha (1838-1875)
• Mary Elizabeth (1841-1876) married Washington J. M. Smith

William came to Indiana from Vermont in 1820. He resided in Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana, and married there before moving on to Liberty Township, Jefferson County, Iowa in 1845.

Submitted by:
Laurel L. Posey
Granada Hills CA

James Harvey Wells

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James Harvey “Harve” Wells
b. 31 May 1834, Clark County, Indiana, to James and Malinda (Owens) Wells
d. 13 July 1902, Sangamon County, Illinois

m. 8 July 1852, Sangamon County, Illinois
Margaret Jane Sackett
b. 25 December 1834, Sangamon County, Illinois
d. 20 February 1914, Salisbury, Sangamon County, Illinois

Children with Margaret Jane Sackett:

  • Levi Marion
  • Harriett Ellen
  • Mary R.
  • James Harvey
  • Lelia
  • Richard R.

James was one of five children born to James and Malinda Wells. His father died in 1851 when James was just 16 or 17 years old, and his mother is said to have also died when James was young. James married at the young age of eighteen and started with little or nothing. Through hard work he became a large land owner in Sangamon County, Illinois.

Besides being a farmer, James was a musician with a beautiful tenor voice. To supplement the family income and buy land, he would sing and provide music for various events in the evenings and on weekends. His work caused him to travel so much that sometimes he would swim his horse a mile and even two across rivers and streams to avoid the longer distances roads presented.

James built a fine home near Salisbury, Illinois, with a spiral staircase right in the middle of the house. All the floors were of alternate pieces of ash and walnut. No boards with knots were acceptable. When his grandchildren would play in the basement, they would look up, looking for knots in the wood.

Submitted by:
Sharon Hohimer
Chatham IL

Katherine Adele Pittman

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Katherine Adele Pittman
b. 5 February 1871, Indiana, to Sherrod J. and Harriet (Dyre/Dyer) Pittman
d. 18 November 1950, San Diego, California

m/1. 16 August 1887, Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana
Lawrence Wilmer Jackson
b. June 1865, Bennington, Switzerland County, Indiana, to James Wallace and Elizabeth E. (Adams) Jackson
d. 25 June 1901, Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana

m/2. 9 December 1902, Clark County, Indiana
Kersey R. Battin

Children with Lawrence Wilmer Jackson:

  • Nest Harriet (1888-1962) married Hubert Victor Everly
  • Pauline Roberta (1890-1948) married Oscar Frederick Quarforth

Katherine moved to San Diego, California, before 1910.

Submitted by:
Jan Everly Williams
Honolulu HI
E-mail: jeverly@lava.net

Francis Marion Payne

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Francis Marion Payne
b. 26 October 1849, Clark County, Indiana
d. 4 November 1928, Bellingham, Washington

m. 19 June 1873, Saluda, Jefferson County, Indiana
Elizabeth Luella Wells
b. 23 July 1852, Saluda, Jefferson County, Indiana
d. 29 December 1907, Newton, Jasper County, Illinois

Children with Elizabeth Luella Wells:

  • Eva Grace (1874-1949) married James Lee Hesler
  • Estella May (1877-1975) married Albert Mellum
  • Claudia Laura (1880-1968) married Earl C. Applegate
  • Christina Florence (1883-1885)
  • Clyde Wells (1885-1952) married Balva May Mitchell
  • Winnie Luella (1889-1986) married Earl Palmer Hill
  • Edwin Francis (1892-1972) married Bertha Louise Adams

Francis and Elizabeth emigrated from Indiana to Newton, Jasper County, Illinois, after their
marriage in 1873.

Estella Mellum, Francis and Elizabeth’s second child, homesteaded a tract of land on Cyrus Island in Puget Sound, Washington, and later purchased an adjacent tract of 160 acres. She built her own cabin, as well as some of her furniture. Her father left Illinois to live with Stella at her island home after the death of his wife in Illinois.

Submitted by:
Marjorie P. Hoelzel
Wilmington DE

Luke Shawhan Beckett

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LUKE SHAWHAN BECKETT
b. 1799, Bourbon County, Kentucky, to William and Jane “Jennie” (Shawhan) Beckett
d. 9 July 1877, Camp Point, Adams County, Illinois

m. 10 February 1819
Nancy McComb
b. about 1790, Kentucky
d. 20 January 1870, Clark County, Indiana

Children with Nancy McComb:

  • Daniel
  • John
  • Miles W.
  • Hamilton

Luke came to Henryville, Clark County, Indiana, in 1804, and left from there in 1877.

Submitted by:
Jeannie Noe Carlisle
Nabb IN