Elma Maria SMILEY

Father: John S. SMILEY
Mother: Nancy Jane STEVENS

Family 1: HARVEY Edward TUCKER
  1. Opal TUCKER
  2. Ruth TUCKER
  3. Virgil Dewey TUCKER
  4. Paul Edward TUCKER
  5. Irene Zula TUCKER
  6. Edna Elzora TUCKER
  7. Mildred Jeanette TUCKER
  8. Catherine Deloris (Lena) TUCKER
  9. Roscoe Edward TUCKER
Family 2: DAY 

                       ____________________
 _John S. SMILEY _____|
|                     |____________________
|
|--Elma Maria SMILEY 
|
|                      _Gideon STEVENS ____
|_Nancy Jane STEVENS _|
                      |_Mariah Jane OWENS _
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:00 1998 I40: John S. SMILEY (11 JAN 1845 - 3 JUN 1923)

John S. SMILEY

Family 1: Nancy Jane STEVENS
  1. Eliza May SMILEY
  2. Anna Ryan SMILEY
  3. Elma Maria SMILEY
  4. Carle SMILEY
  5. Laura Grace SMILEY
  6. Edward Oran (Ora) SMILEY 
    __
 __|
|  |__
|
|--John S. SMILEY 
|
|   __
|__|
   |__
INDEX

Notes

! John was in the Civil War Co.D 17 Ind.Inf. He has a military stone on his !grave. Date of muster Feb 25, 1864 - mustered out Aug. 8, 1865. John's cousin !Henry C. Smiley also went in the same day, and mustered out the same day. He !was mustered out as a Corporal. He evidently went in with his two cousins !James L. and Henry C. Smiley. ! ! Following is an abstract of John's Civil War record obtained from the U.S. !Archives. ! Form 3-380 Department of the Interior ! Bureau of Pensions ! Washington, D.C., January 2, 1915 !Sir: Please answer, at your earliest convenience, the questions enumerated !below. The information is requested for future use, and it may be of great !value to your widow or children. Use the inclosed envelope, which requires no !stamp. ! Very respectfully, ! G.M. Saltzgabey ! Commissioner ! John Smiley ! Franklin, Ind ! 423344 Act May !1. Date and place of birth? answer ..January 11th 1845 Johnson Co., Ind. ! The name of organization in which you served? answer..Cumberland Army !2. What was you post office at enlistment? answer..Amity Johnson Co., Ind. !3. State your wife's full name and her maiden name. answer..Nancy Jane Smiley ! maiden name Stevens !4. When, where, and by whom were you married? answer..August 20, 1868 at ! Franklin, Ind. by Reven't McClain !5. Is there any official or church record of your marriage? (blank) ! Is so, where? answer.. (blank) !6. Were you previously married? Is so, state the name of your former wife, !the date of the marriage, and the date and place of her death or divorce. If !there was more than on previous marriage, let your answer include all former !wives. answer.. (blank) !7. If you present wife was married before her marriage to you, state the name !of her former husband, the date of such marriage, and the date and place of !death or divorce, and state whether he ever rendered any military or naval !service, and, if so, give name of the organization in which he served. If she !was married more than once before her marriage to you, let your answer include !all former husbands. answer.. (blank) !8. Are you now living with your wife, or has there been a separation? ! answer.. Living together. !9. State the names and dates of birth of all your children, living or dead. ! answer.. Eliza May Smiley August 4, 1869 ! Annie Ryan Smiley March 4, 1872 ! Elma Maria Smiley April 9, 1877 ! Carl Smiley June 27, 1879 ! Laura Grace Smiley October 6, 1885 ! Edward Oran Smiley September 24, 1887 !Date..April 16th, 1915 Signature..John Smiley !(The above document was filled in by John Smiley in his own hand.) ! ! The National Archives Cert. No. 939221 Pensioner Nancy J. widow of John !Smiley Can. No. 68726 Bundle No. 12 ! ! Widow Division ! W.O. No. 1 207 836 ! Nancy J. Smiley ! John S. Smiley ! D-17th Indiana Inf. ! State of Indiana ! SS ! Johnson County ! Oliver C. Murphy being duly sworn upon his oath !says: -- ! That he is sixty years of age and is an actual bona fide !resident of the City of Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana and that his post !office address is Franklin, Indiana and that he is now and was on the 3 day of !June 1923 and prior thereto a duly licensed and practicing physician in said !city and the vicinity thereof. ! That he was personally acquainted with and was the attending !physician of said John Smiley at the time of his death, that he saw the body of !said John Smiley both before and after his death and made a death return upon !the death of said Smiley and that he knows of his own personal knowledge that !said John Smiley died in the City of Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana on the !3 day of June 1923. ! Affiant further sayeth not. ! signed Oliver C. Murphy !(Notarized this 21 day of August 1923.) ! ! Widow Division ! W.O. No. 1 207 836 ! Nancy J. Smiley ! John S. Smiley ! D 17th Indiana Inf. ! State of Indiana ! SS ! Johnson County ! Clancy C. Vandivier being duly sworn upon his !oath says:-- ! That he is thirty three years of age and is an !actual bona fide resident of Johnson County, Indiana, that his post office !address is Franklin, Indiana and that he is an undertaker engaged in the !practice of his profession in said city of Franklin, Indiana and that he knew !the John Smiley above named and that said John Smiley, the husband of Nancy !Smiley died in the city of Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana on the 3 day of !June 1923. ! That as such undertaker he embalmed and buried the !body of said John Smiley and affiant knows of his personal knowledge that the !body that he embalmed and buried was the body of John Smiley and that said John !Smiley died on the 3 day of June 1923. ! Affiant further sayeth not. ! signed Clancy C. Vandivier !(Notarized this 21 day of August 1923.) ! ! DECLARATION FOR INVALID ARMY PENSION ! State of Indiana County of Bartholomew ! On this 28th day of December one thousand eight hundred and eighty seven !personally appeared before me Gabriel M. Miller, Clerk of the Circuit Court, a !Court of Record, within and for the County and State aforesaid, John Smiley !aged 42 years, a resident of Franklin in the county of Johnson in the state of !Indiana, who being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the !identical John Smiley who enlisted in the service of the United States at !Indianapolis, County of Marion, State of Indiana, on the 22 day of February, !1864, as a Private in Company "D" of the "17" Regiment of Indiana Vol., !commanded by Capt. Wm. A. Owens, and was honorably discharged at Macon, State !of Georgia on the 8 day of August 1865. That his personal description is as !follows: Age 42 years; height 5 feet 8 inches; complexion light; hair gray; !eyes gray. That while a member of the organization aforesaid, in the service !and in the line of his duty, at or near a place called Kenewaw Mountain, State !of Georgia, on or about the 15 day of June 1864. ! (1) Contracted malarial poisoning and chronic diarrhea caused by drinking ! impure water, eating improper food, exposure and malaria. ! (2) While in line of duty at or near a place called Gravelly Springs, ! Ala. incurred injury to right eye and resulting impaired vision of ! right eye caused by being struck in the eye by a limb while cutting ! timber for stables for cavalry horses. This injury was incurred on ! or about Jan. 15, 1865. ! That he has not been employed in the military or naval service otherwise !that as stated above NONE ! Since leaving the service he as resided in Johnson Co., Indiana and his !occupation has been that of a farmer. That prior to his entry into the service !above named, he was a man of good, sound, physical health, being enrolled a !farmer. That he now Physically disabled from obtaining his subsistance by !manuel labor by reason of his injuries above described, received in the service !of the United States, and he therfore makes this declaration for the purpose of !being placed on the invalid pension roll of the United States. ! ! Following are sworn affidavits, by various persons acquainted with John !Smiley verifying his disabilities as a result of the Civil War. ! State of Indiana ! SS ! County of Tipton ! In the matter of Claim #634,439 of John Smiley, late private Co. !"D" 17 Reg't Ind., Vol, Inf. ! Personally came before me, a Clerk of Circuit Court in and for !said County and State, George M. Collins, aged 50 years whose post office is !Tipton state of Indiana, well known to me to be reputable and entitled to !credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relation to the aforesaid case as !follows: ! That he was Asst. Surgeon of the 17th Ind. Vols. and that while in !Camp at Gravelly Springs, Ala. in the spring of 1865, he treated John Smiley of !Co. D 17th Reg't for an injury to right eye caused by a limb striking him in !the eye while he was chopping. ! I also treated the said soldier for malarial sickness and chronic !diarrhea. The particular dates and treatment I do not now remember, except as !above stated and while said soldier was in line of duty. etc... ! notarized 19 Oct. 1888 received...Nov. 3, 1888 ! ! State of Indiana ! SS ! County of Bartholomew ! In the matter of Claim #634,439 of John Smiley Pvt. Co. "D" 17 !Reg't Ind. Vols. ! Personally came before me a Notary Public in and for said County !and State, William B. Adams, aged 50 years, a citizen of Franklin, County of !Johnson State of Indiana, well known to me to be reputable and entitled to !credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relation to the aforesaid case, !as follows: Was in same organization and personally acquainted with above !named claimant while in the service and was with the Company at or near Kenesaw !Mountain, Ga. in June 1864 and know that claimant took the diarrhea had a !severe running off the bowels and became weak and unable for duty and had to !visit the sink very often. I was not an eye witness to his injury of eye at !Gravely Springs, Ala. but know that he incurred the injury there and his eye !was swollen and black for sometime after the injury which was received while !out cutting timber. ! notarized 13 June 1888 received...June 27, 1888 ! !State of Indiana !County of Bartholomew ! !In the matter of Orig. Inv. Pension Claim No. 634439 of John Smiley, Private !Co. "D" 17th Reg. Ind. Vol. ! Personally came before me, a Notary Public in and for said County and !State Milford D. Adams, aged 48 years, whose post-office address is Franklin !County of Johnson State of Indiana, well known to me to be reputable and !entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relation to the !aforesaid case, as follows: ! Was a member of same company and regiment and intimately acquainted with !above named claimant while in the service and was personally present with the !organization near Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. in June 1864 and know that claimant !took sick, had a bad color, became weak and lost flesh - had a severe running !off at the bowels and was unable for duty on account of diarrhia several days. ! Affiant also says that while at Gravelly Springs, Ala., in January or !February 1865 the exact date I do not remember, claimant incurred an injury to !one of his eyes while cutting timber for stables. His eye was black and !swollen for sometime after the injury, and he further says that his knowledge !of the above facts is obtained from following sources, viz: As a comrade and !present as herein stated. !Notarized 13 June 1888 ! !State of Indiana !County of Bartholomew ! In the matter of Orig Pension Claim No. 634,439 of John Smiley, Prvt. Co. !D 17th Reg. Ind. Vol. ! Personally came before me a Notary Public in and for said County and !State, David Devoor, aged 49 years whose post office address is Franklin, !County of Johnson State of Indiana, well know to me to be reputable and !entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relations to the !aforesaid case, as follows: ! Am well acquainted with the claiment both in the service and have lived a !near neighbor to him ever since his discharge and have seen him and worked with !him very frequently every year since the service. Was in same Company and Reg. !with him and present with the orgainization at or near Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. !about June 1864 and from personally know that he incurred chronic diarrhorel !while in the service there. He had a severe running off the bowels, became !weak and unable for duty from the diarrhora. ! Afterward in Feb. 1865 claimant got one of his eyes badly injured while !cutting timber - saw his injury soon after while his eye was black and swollen !from the injury. This was at Gravelly Springs, Ala. ! Since the service I know he has suffered and complained of bowel trouble. !Once in particularly while driving team in harvest he had diarrea very !severely. Generally he suffers or complains most during the summer and fall !months and has been incapacited for the performance of manuel to the extent of !one-half. ! And he futher says his knowledge of the above facts is obtained from the !following sources, viz: As a comrade and neighbor. !Notarized 14 June 1888 ! !State of Indiana !County of Bartholomew ! In the matter of Orig. Pension Claim No. 634439 of John Smiley, Private. !Co. D 17th Reg. Ind. Vols. ! Personally came before me, a Notary Public in and for said County and !State, John Smiley, aged 43 years, whose post-office address is Franklin, !County of Johnson, State of Indiana, well known to me to be reputable and !entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relation to the !aforesaid case, as follows: ! Am claimant above named and connot furnish affidavit of Commissioned !Officer of my company relative to the disabilities set out in my declaration !for pension for the reason that the Captain and both Lieutenants are dead and !after protracted effort have failed to ascertain the where about of 1st !Sargeant and claimant asks that his claim be adjudicated upon such evidence of !comrades as can be procured. John Smiley !Notarized 13 June 1888 ! !Hospital Statement of Claimant ! John Smiley a citizen of Franklin, Indiana am claimant above named and was !not treated in any hospital for the disabilities set out in my application for !pensions. !May 19, 1888 John Smiley ! ! John Smiley Franklin Indiana 423344 Act May ! Drop Report - Pensioner ! Act of May 1, 1920 Group 2 ! Disbursing Division ! June 6, 1923 ! Check No. 9291287 $72.00 dated June 4, 1923 Section 4 returned by !postmaster with information that the above described pensioner died June 3, !1923 has been canceled. ! E.E. Miller Disbursing Clerk ! Finance Division ! June 7, 1923 The name of the above described pensioner who was !last paid at the rate of $72.00 per month to May 4, 1923 has this day been !dropped from the roll because of death. ! O.J. Randall Chief, Finance Division ! ! DECLARATION FOR WIDOW'S PENSION !State of Indiana County of Johnson on this 13th day of July 1923 personally !appeared Nancy J. Smiley before me the undersigned; who makes the following !declaration as an application for pension under the provisions of the act of !Congress approved May 1, 1920. ! That she is 78 years of age, that she was born September 19, 1844 at !Hensley Township, Johnson County, Indiana, and that her post office address is !Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana, 276 S. Forsyth Street. ! That she is the widow of John Smiley who enlisted February 22, 1864, at !Franklin, Indiana, under the name of John Smiley, in Co. D. 17th Regiment, !Indiana Infantry. ! Discharged August 8, 1865, having served ninety days or more, or was !discharged for, or died in service of the United States of a disability !incurred in the service in the line of duty, during the Civil War and who died !June 3, 1923, at Franklin Johnson County Indiana. ! That he also served __________________ and that, except as herin stated, !said soldier was not employed in the military or naval service of the United !States; ! That she was married to said soldier (or sailor) August 19, 1868 at !Johnson County, Indiana by Rev. J.F. McClain that she had not been previously !married, that he had not been previously married; ! That she was not divorced from the soldier (or sailor) and that she has !not remarried since his death; ! That the following are the only children of the soldier (or sailor) who !are now living and or under sixteen years of age; ! That she is not heretofore applied for pension, the number of her former !claim being------ that said soldier (or sailor) was a pensioner, the number of !his pension being 423,344. ! sign. Nancy J. Smiley ! ! Declaration accepted as a widow's claim under Act of May 1, 1920.

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I276: Laura Grace SMILEY (5 OCT 1885 - 1957)

Laura Grace SMILEY

Father: John S. SMILEY
Mother: Nancy Jane STEVENS

Family 1: Will M. ALEXANDER
Family 2: STINSON 
                       ____________________
 _John S. SMILEY _____|
|                     |____________________
|
|--Laura Grace SMILEY 
|
|                      _Gideon STEVENS ____
|_Nancy Jane STEVENS _|
                      |_Mariah Jane OWENS _
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I5379: Harry SPARKS ( - )

Harry SPARKS

Family 1: Frankie C. STEVENS 
    __
 __|
|  |__
|
|--Harry SPARKS 
|
|   __
|__|
   |__
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I205: Jean Cordease SPROWL (30 APR 1930 - )

Jean Cordease SPROWL

Family 1: Everett Edward RIDER
  1. Robert Eugene RIDER\POE 
    __
 __|
|  |__
|
|--Jean Cordease SPROWL 
|
|   __
|__|
   |__
INDEX

Notes

! Jean Sprowl was located Aug. 30, 1995. Garnet Geneva (Lewis) was located in the I.O.O.F. cemetery in Lafontaine, Ind. and from there I was able to obtain the information needed to locate Jean. Seems Jean took back her maiden name after divorce and now goes by the name of Jean C. Sprowl. Her address is 210 Village Green Apt. #5 in Converse, Ind. Phone # 395-5417. Her son Bobby was contacted on the 30 Aug. 1995, from here it's all up to him. The marriage license to Everett Rider had her name as Jean Kinsey - Sprowl. That was an error. Jean's stepfather was a Kinsey.

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I5338: Hephzipha (Hepsey) STARBUCK ( - )

Hephzipha (Hepsey) STARBUCK

Family 1: James OWENS 

    __
 __|
|  |__
|
|--Hephzipha (Hepsey) STARBUCK 
|
|   __
|__|
   |__
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I272: Dora STEVENS (ABT 1842 - )

Dora STEVENS

Father: Gideon STEVENS
Mother: Mariah Jane OWENS

Family 1: HARVEY E. TODD 
                      _______________
 _Gideon STEVENS ____|
|                    |_______________
|
|--Dora STEVENS 
|
|                     _James OWENS __
|_Mariah Jane OWENS _|
                     |_Mary SETTLES _
INDEX

Notes

! WIFE OF MR. H.E. TODD.

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I5377: Frankie C. STEVENS (ABT 1850 - )

Frankie C. STEVENS

Father: Gideon STEVENS
Mother: Mariah Jane OWENS

Family 1: Harry SPARKS 
                      _______________
 _Gideon STEVENS ____|
|                    |_______________
|
|--Frankie C. STEVENS 
|
|                     _James OWENS __
|_Mariah Jane OWENS _|
                     |_Mary SETTLES _
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I275: George F. STEVENS (ABT 1857 - )

George F. STEVENS

Father: Gideon STEVENS
Mother: Mariah Jane OWENS 

                      _______________
 _Gideon STEVENS ____|
|                    |_______________
|
|--George F. STEVENS 
|
|                     _James OWENS __
|_Mariah Jane OWENS _|
                     |_Mary SETTLES _
INDEX

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998 I42: Gideon STEVENS (24 DEC 1812/1813 - 18 APR 1906)

Gideon STEVENS

Family 1: Mariah Jane OWENS
  1. John W. STEVENS
  2. Dora STEVENS
  3. Nancy Jane STEVENS
  4. Mary E. STEVENS
  5. Frankie C. STEVENS
  6. Sarah STEVENS
  7. George F. STEVENS 
    __
 __|
|  |__
|
|--Gideon STEVENS 
|
|   __
|__|
   |__
INDEX

Notes

! (abt. 1903) OLDEST INDIANIAN ! IS A RESIDENT OF JOHNSON COUNTY WHERE HE HAS LIVED FOR ! EIGHTY-TWO YEARS-A REMARKABLE MAN. ! A resident of Johnson County for eighty-two years and a continuous !resident of the state of Indiana for ninety-two years is a record which Gideon !Stevens of near this city, claims cannot be equaled by anyone now living in the !state and this is the record he himself holds. Sitting in his cozy little home !one mile east of Franklin, on the Greensburg road, Mr. Stevens may be found at !any time, as he seldom leaves his room now, and although he has passed his !ninety-third birthday still he resents being called an "old man" and in many !ways he is as vigorous as a man a half century his junior. ! Remarkable in many ways is the history of the life of this remarkable man !and as he relates the story of his early life, Mr. Stevens can recall dates !with a clearness of intellect that falls little short of marvelous. When !asking for a date of any unusual occurance fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty !years ago the questioner is answered with a reply so prompt that he doubts for !a minute the correctness of the answer, but when after a few minutes and after !various other questions have been put he innocently repeats his former question !he finds the previous answer verified to the day, and in a few cases to the !very hour. ! Mr. Stevens was born in Knox County, Tenn, on the day before Christmas of !the year 1812. When but one year old, his parents emigrated to Indiana coming !in ox carts through the wilderness of Kentucky, across the Ohio river at !Louisville, which was then a small town, and from there to a point in Jackson !County, six miles east of the present city of Brownstown. Mr. Stevens was then !but a babe in his mother's arms, but this pilgrimage of three hundred miles or !more was attended with the hardships that formed the foundation for rugged !health with which he has always been blessed. ! After living in Jackson County for a few years, the elder Stevens and a !near neighbor, by the name of Richardson Hensley, decided to go with their !families to a point farther north in the new state of Indiana, and following a !blazed trail, which was almost parallel to what is now the Louisville division !of the Pennsylvania railroad, they came to Nineveh, in this county, and from !there they blazed their own trail a few miles farther northwest to where the !little town of Samaria is now located. The last vestage of civilization was !seen at Nineveh, or Woodruff's store, as it was then called, and the journey !from there to Samaria was made through a wilderness, which previous to that !time had never been traversed by any white person. The two pioneers with their !families arrived at the city of Samaria on the 20th day of October, 1823, about !four o'clock in the afternoon and they chose this place as it seemed to be high !and dry and free from the swampy dews which bred the much feared fever and !ague. The township which they settled was afterward named in honor of !Richardson Hensley. ! Mr. Stevens with his family settled on a clearing one mile south of !Samaria on the banks of Little Indian creek, and Mr. Hensley settled about !one-half mile west of what is now Samaria. The farm where Mr. Stevens, Sr. !settled is now owned by John Paskins and Gideon Stevens says that if he were !taken to Samaria at the present time and blindfolded he could go to the very !spot where they pitched camp that first night they stayed in Johnson county. !Much of the country was then dense underbrush and in their journey from Ninevah !to their new home they were compelled to hew their way for hundreds of rods !through the thickest shrubs and bushes. As it was late in the fall when they !reached here nothing could be done but prepare for the winter and when the !first snows came they had erected small but comfortable log cabins and cleared !away the shrubbery from a few acres ready for the spring planting. ! There were then three tribes of Indians in this county and all three of !these tribes were located within a few miles of Samaria. The Miamis were !located in a little village near the present town of Morgantown, and numbered !about one hundred men, women and children. These Indians were very friendly to !the new white settlers, although they would steal from the "pale faces" at !every opportunity. The Indian men spent most of their time in hunting, and the !white settlers often joined them. Gideon Stevens states that he has killed !everything in way of wild game in this county from a ground mouse to a bear. !The Pottowattomi tribe of Indians, numbering about forty persons, was situated !near Samaria, and the Cherokees, another tribe whch numbered about thirty !people, was located near the present site of Stott's creek church. When a !reservation was provided for all the Indian tribes in the new state of Indiana, !the members of all three of these tribes went stolidly away and were never !heard from again. ! In 1831, Gideon Stevens entered the land that is now occupied by Samaria, !and here he erected a small log cabin. On February 15, 1837, he was united in !marriage to Miss Polly Jamison, a daughter of one of the neighbors, and after !the birth of their first child, however, the life of the mother was sacrificed. !From this young daughter four generations have come, and it is her great-great !granddaughter, Miss Ethel Foster of Kokomo, who appears on the knee of Gideon !Stevens, her great-great grandfather, in the accompanying picture. ! The death of his young wife was the first reverse that came to Mr. !Stevens, but in those days one could not cherish his grief for long, as it was !a hard fight for existence, so in less than a year he was again married !(September 20, 1838), this time to Miss Mariah Owens, who lived east of !Franklin on Sugar Creek. After living four years on Sugar creek the young !couple moved to Howard County, and, as this county had not at that time been !opened up by the government, Mr. Stevens took "squatter sovereignty" on a !section of land four miles south of the present city of Kokomo, and here they !lived until February of 1856, when they again returned to Johnson county. ! While living in Howard county there came to Mr. Stevens the honor of !driving the stakes which marked the public square of the now populous city of !Kokomo. It was early in June of 1850 when the above event occurred. Mr. !Stevens had gone to Kokomo, or rather to the Indian store of one David Foster !(as this was all that was then to be found at Kokomo) for the purpose of !purchasing supplies for his family. When he arrived at the settlement he !learned that Mr. Foster had as his guests, a party of government surveyors, and !as it was their intention to stake off the nuclirs for a new town that !afternoon, Mr. Stevens was asked to delay his return home and assist them. !After consenting to do so he was detailed to make a number of stakes as he was !known all over the new country as being "very handy" with an axe. After he !made about a dozen stakes he was called to drive them, and at about three !o'clock in the afternoon he drove the first stake that established the city of !Kokomo. Mr. Stevens recalls very clearly that the first stake was driven at !the southwest corner of the public square. ! The years which he spent in Howard county were very busy ones. Besides !tending his own small "clearing" he hired to a neighbor and cleared five acres !of ground for him, often working far into the night by the light of brush heap !fires. the nearest grist mill was over thirty miles away and as there were no !roads, a trip to the mill was a two days' task. ! When he left Howard county in 1856 he had accumulated $1,000 in gold and !this he gave to a relative for the purpose of buying for him a quarter section !of land in the eastern part of Johnson county. The relative violated the !trust, however, and Mr. Stevens saw the savings of years of hard labor swept !away. ! Undaunted he again set to work and bought of Baldwin & Payne, who then !operated the Valentine mill, the small farm which he now occupies and owns. !Although he had no money to pay on the farm he was allowed easy payments, and !Mr. Baldwin and Paynes help he, succeeded in getting out of debt. ! In 1890 Mr. Stevens second wife died and since that time he has been !making his home with his daughter, Miss Sarah Stevens. Some of the things !which he points to with a great deal of pride are that he has always been a !democrat; has always chewed tobacco; has never thrown a card or played any kind !of a gambling game, has never taken but one drink of whisky in a saloon, and !has never knowingly wronged any one. ! Mr. Stevens cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson, although, at the time !he was under age, and since that time he states that he has never "scratched" !his ticket but twice and then only for minor offices. He does not believe that !the use of tobacco is injurous as he has used it for more than eighty years and !has never been troubled with any of the common ills of life. For a half !century he has been member of the Baptist church and until he became too feeble !was a regular attendant. ! Mr. Stevens has such a vast store of information as to the early condition !of affairs in Franklin and Johnson county that it would take a volume to !include all that is interesting and those persons who have the opportunity to !converse with him are indeed fortunate. ! In his own words he has the following to say: "Yes, I'm perfectly !contented. I have plenty to eat and wear and as I have always lived right and !am conscious of that fact I have about all that this world can give me. If I !had a million dollars I would in all probability be unhappy. I have seven !children living, fourteen grandchildren, twenty-three great grandchildren and !one great-great grandchild. I love all of them and I feel sure that they all !love me, so why shouldn't I be happy." ! Mr. Stevens children are as follows: Mrs Squire Hendricks, Mrs. John !Smiley, Mrs. Phil Brown, Mrs. H.E. Todd, Mrs. Harry Sparks, George F. Stevens, !and Miss Sarah Stevens.

Created by GED2HTML v2.4a-UNREGISTERED (1/1/96) on Sat Jul 18 20:37:01 1998