B
A documented family line

The Botkin Families of Randolph County, Indiana

Hugh Botkin's West River pioneers, four generations of country doctors, and two other households · 7 people named in the record

Hugh died in 1836, and his son William Miller Botkin, born in 1823, bought out the other heirs and built a brick house on the homestead, while another son, Dr. John W. Botkin, born in 1819, studied medicine with Dr. Jesse Delany and practiced in the county for some sixty years until his death in January 1901. Dr. John W. Botkin's son Thomas W. served in the 69th Indiana and practiced medicine at Farmland, and Thomas's sons Charles L. and Clyde E. became doctors too. The books also sketch J. A. Botkin, son of Peter and Elizabeth Botkin of Martindale's Creek, and William T. Botkin of West River Township, without saying how they were related to Hugh's family. Every fact below is cited to a public-domain Randolph County history.

Earliest in the record

Hugh Botkin and Rachel (Keener) Botkinborn 1774
→5 households
7 people

Most recent in our records

Charles L. Botkinborn 1878
At a glance

The families on this page

Each number matches a section below. Tap a name to jump to that person.

  1. 1The pioneers
  2. 2Their sons
  3. 3Grandson
  4. 4Great-grandsons
  5. 5Peter and Elizabeth Botkin's family, Martindale's Creek
  6. 6Also in the county histories
1
Family 1

The pioneers

Hugh Botkin and Rachel (Keener) Botkin Hugh 1774–1836

Pioneer settlers of West River Township

  • Hugh was born in Pendleton County, Virginia, November 17, 1774, and Rachel in Knox County, Tennessee, February 25, 1780; they married in Knox County in 1801, moved to Wayne County, Indiana, in 1815 and to Randolph County in 1817, where Hugh entered 120 acres1
  • Hugh died February 27, 1836, and Rachel January 24, 1857; they had thirteen children, seven of them living in 18821

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2
Family 2

Their sons

Dr. John W. Botkin and Mary (Peacock) Botkin John W. 1819–1901

Pioneer physician of the Eclectic school

  • Born in Randolph County September 1, 1819, son of Hugh Botkin, one of the earliest pioneers of the Martindale Creek settlement, who died about 18361
  • Began studying medicine at nineteen with Dr. Jesse Delany at New Burlington, Delaware County, staying until Christmas 1840; practiced near Huntsville, at Buena Vista from 1844, near Unionsport from 1862 to 1878, and then at Winchester. He attended the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati1
  • Married Mary Peacock, daughter of Judge William Peacock of West River Township, in 1841; a Methodist from 1842 and a Republican1
  • He and Mary had five children, and he died in January 1901; two 1914 sketches give his age at death as eighty-two2
  • His daughter Elmira married Giles P. Hunt; their son Dr. Bader S. Hunt was born near Union Port December 13, 1868, and practiced with his grandfather2

William Miller Botkin b. 1823

Farmer on the Botkin homestead; county commissioner

  • Born in Randolph County July 7, 1823, the eleventh of the thirteen children of Hugh and Rachel K. Botkin; he was thirteen when his father died, and he stayed on the farm with his mother until he was twenty-one1
  • Married Martha A. Hiatt, daughter of Louis and Charity Hiatt of Clinton County, Ohio, December 20, 1849, and bought out the other heirs' shares of his father's homestead; she died September 27, 1864, leaving seven children1
  • His second wife, Docia C. Butler, daughter of William and Thirza T. Butler, came from Campbell County, Virginia, in 1847 at the age of two; they had three children1
  • A 1914 sketch of her brother Augustus R. Butler calls her the widow of William M. Botkin2
  • Owned 320 acres with a two-story brick house; elected county commissioner for the Middle District for one term; a Methodist of the Huntsville charge and a member of Huntsville Lodge No. 248, F. & A. M.1
  • The 1882 history also prints the recollections of a W. M. Botkin, who lived on his father's original farm: his father was a tanner, general muster was held on the farm, and when a man named Jack who had escaped slavery in Kentucky was found by his master during a spelling school in the cabin, Peter Botkin opened the window and let Jack get away, and the family refused the master's offer of fifty dollars1
Read the original 130-word biography (excerpt)

WILLIAM MILLER BOTKIN.

William Miller Botkin, a farmer and son of Hugh and Rachel K. Botkin, was born in Ramlolph County, Ind., July 7, 1823. He is the eleventh of a family of thirteen children, of whom seven are now living. His father was born in Pendleton County, Va., November 17, 1774, and his mother in Knox County, Tenn., February 25, 1780. They were married in Knox County. Tenn., in the year 1801, and removed to Wayne County, Ind., in 1815, and to Randolph ('county in 1817, where they settled on the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch; his father entered 120 acres of land, and continued to live on the farm until his death; his father died February 27, 1836, and his mother January 24, 1857.

As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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3
Family 3

Grandson

Thomas W. Botkin b. 1844

Physician at Unionsport and Farmland; son of Dr. John W. Botkin

  • Born in Randolph County April 14, 1844, son of Dr. John W. Botkin and Mary (Peacock) Botkin; studied medicine with his father1
  • Served through the Civil War in Company D, 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry1
  • He was also a student at the Eclectic Medical College of Indianapolis1
  • Married Mary E. Irvin, daughter of Lafayette Irvin, September 1, 1868; their sons were John L., Charles L. and Clyde E.1
Read the original 234-word biography (excerpt)

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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4
Family 4

Great-grandsons

Charles L. Botkin b. 1878

Physician at Farmland; son of Dr. Thomas W. Botkin

  • Born in Randolph County July 6, 1878, son of Thomas W. and Mary E. (Irvin) Botkin2
  • Graduated from the Indiana Medical College in 1904, served a year and a half as senior house surgeon at the Deaconess Hospital in Indianapolis, and began practice at Farmland in March 19062
  • Married Myrtle Garrett, daughter of Fremont and Adaline (Trueblood) Garrett, April 19, 19102
  • His brother John L. farmed near Farmland and married Suda Cheesman; his brother Dr. Clyde E. Botkin graduated from the Indiana Medical College in 1907, practiced at Parker City, married Ruby Wood, daughter of county auditor Henry F. Wood, and died in 1910 at twenty-eight2
Read the original 711-word biography

CHARLES L. BOTKIN, M. D.

Conspicuous among the younger physicians of Randolph county is Dr. Charles L. Botkin, of Farmland, a worthy representative of one of our sterling old families, members of which have long made their influence felt for the general upbuilding of this locality. The Doctor has led a well-regulated life, thereby gaining the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come into contact.

Doctor Botkin was born in Randolph county July 6, 1878. He is a son of Thomas W. and Mary E. (Irvin) Botkin, the mother a daughter of Lafayette Irvin. The Doctor had two brothers, namely: John L., a farmer in this county, married Suda Cheesm.an, and they have two children, Marvin T., born in 1897, and Harold D., born in 1899. The other brother, Clyde E., now deceased, was a physician at Parker City, was graduated from the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, with the class of 1907, after which he at once took up the practice of medicine at Parker City, and was making a great success. His death occurred here in 1910, at the early age of twenty-eight years. He married Ruby Wood, a daughter of Henry F. Wood, the present county auditor.

Thomas W Botkin, father of our subject, was born in Randolph county and here he has spent his life, being now sixty-nine years old. He, too, is a physician, his name having long been a household word throughout the county. He has practiced for a period of forty-five years, principally at Farmland. He was graduated from the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and, subsequently, took a post-graduate course in a Chicago medical school. He was a soldier in the Sixty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war.

Dr. John W. Botkin, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was also born and reared in Randolph county. He was the first of the Doctor Botkins here, having been also a graduate of the Eclectic Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio. He began practicing medicine at the age of twenty years and continued with uninterrupted success until the day of his death, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was one of the leading pioneer physicians of this section of the state, and was hailed as a leader among his professional brethren and was popular with all who knew him. His father was from North Carolina, and was one of the very earliest settlers in this part of Indiana. He was a sterling type of frontiersmen. The mother's people, the Irvins, also hailed from North Carolina, but she was born in Indiana. Her mother came from North Carolina to Kentucky, thence to Indiana. The great-grandfather of our subject took up a very large tract of land from the government.

Dr. Charles L. Botkin received his early education in the Winchester high school, then was a pupil at the Indianapolis Business College, after which he entered the Indiana Medical College, from which institution he was grade;ated in 1904. He then spent a year and a half in the Deaconess Hospital, Indianapolis, as senior house surgeon, then took up the practice of medicine in Farmland, March 1, 1906 and here he has remained to the present time. He seems to have inherited many of the peculiar attributes of head and heart necessary to the success and popularity of the general physician and surgeon.

Doctor Botkin was married April 19, 1910, to Myrtle Garrett, a daughter of Fremont and Adaline (Trueblood) Garrett, a prominent lawyer of Randolph county, whose family consisted of three daughters and one son, namely: Edna, married Walter Ziegler, a salesman, of Toledo, Ohio, and they have four children; Nellie is the wife of J. D. Barger, a groceryman, of Ridgeville, and they have one son, James; Arthur, of Cleveland, Ohio, is with the Multigraph Sales Company, is married and has seven children; Myrtle, wife of Doctor Botkin. Mrs. Botkin's mother, Adaline Trueblood, was the daughter of Jonathan Trueblood, who was a native of North Carolina. The parents of the above named children are both deceased.

Politically, Doctor Botkin is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, is a Knights Templar, and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

As printed in the source2. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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5
Family 5

Peter and Elizabeth Botkin's family, Martindale's Creek

J. A. Botkin b. 1855

Farmer, sawmill man and tinner.

  • Son of Peter and Elizabeth Botkin; Peter was born in Knox County, Tennessee, November 2, 1804, came with his parents in 1815 to the site of Washington, Wayne County, and two years later to Randolph County; Elizabeth was born in Randolph County June 20, 18121
  • His parents married April 28, 1831, and lived on Martindale's Creek in West River Township until their deaths; his mother died August 29, 1863, and his father November 24, 1876. A list of deaths gives Peter Botkin, November 24, aged 721
  • Born July 5, 1855; married Ida M. Hunt November 17, 1875; with D. T. Harris built a tile factory at Farmland in 18761
  • He later moved to Lynn and kept a tin store …1
Read the original 289-word biography

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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6
Others

Also in the county histories

William T. Botkin b. 1842

  • Born in West River Township June 27, 18421
  • Married Martha F. Cropper, born in the county May 21, 1844; they had eight children, seven of them living in 18821
  • Served in Company D, 69th Indiana Infantry, and took part in all its battles; elected assessor of West River Township in 1872 and again in 18741
  • Owned a farm of 119 acres1
Read the original 226-word biography

WILLIAM T. BOTKIN, farmer, 1'. 0 Unionsport. The subject of this !"ketch was born in West River Township, this county, June 27, 1842; he was ilucated in the common schools in this county, and has gained much i information ft-.,ni reading and observation; he was united in the holy bonds of matrimony Nuvember 0, 1806, to Martha F. Cropper, who was born May 21, 1844, in this county. Mr. Botkin hive followed farming for a living, and by his industry and frugality h:is succeeded well in life; he owns a good farm of 119 acres of valuable land, and is considered to be a model farmer; he served in the war for the Union in Company 1), Sixty-ninth Indiana Infantry, participiitiug in all the battles of that organization; ho was elected Assessor of West River Township in the year 1872, and again in 1K74. The faithfulness and fidelity with which lie performed this trust imposed upon him by his fellow-citizens, demonstrates the high regard in which he is held by them. Those parents have been blessed by the birth of eight children, of which number seven are living — Mary K., born November 2fl. ISefi; Farra L., April 7, ISOS; Laura N., September 9, ISfi'j; Abbie A., December 5, 1871; Guy W., October 1, 1876; Orpha 0., AuguKt 23, 1877, and William II, July 31, 187!i.

As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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Sources

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  1. History of Randolph County, Indiana (1882)
  2. Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana (1914)

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