The Moorman Family of Randolph County, Indiana

TARLTON MOORMAN, one of the early pioneers of Randolph County, Ind., was born in Richmond County, N. C, in 1783. In 1819, he married Rebecca Webb, and, in 1822, came to Indiana, locating in Randolph County, with whose early and later history he waa prominently identified. Pc purchased a tract of land, from which he developed a fine farm, and in all the public improvements inaugurated within his time he bore his full share of the burden by contributing liberally of hia means and encouraging whatever seemed to him to be for the public welfare. He was twice married, first to Hannah Way, and after her demise to Rebecca Webb. He had a family of thirteen children, of which number seven are now living. Henry and Richmond reside in Wayne County, Ind.; Thomas, at Winchester; John A., at Farmland; Stephen, in White River Township, and William and Sarah on the old home farm. Mr. Moorman was an active, energetic man, and was always regarded as one of the best citizens of the community. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and in his daily life a consistent Christian. In politics, he was at first a Whig, and espoused and advocated the cause of abolition. He took an active part in the anti-slavery movements that were enacted in this county, and upon the rise of the Republican party adopted its principles, and was identified with that party during the residue of his life. He died on the 30th of December, 1875, in the ninety-third year of his age, leaving behind him the record of an honest man, and a memory still revered by all who knew him in life.

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

JAMES MOORMAN. The subject of this sketch is the youngest son of Thomas and Susannah (Crew) Moorman. His parents both emigrated from the James River country, in Virginia, to Richmond County, N. C, prior to the Revolutionary war, and grew to maturity and were married in the latter county. There were born to them five sons and two daughters, Tarleton Moorman, formerly of Randolph County, being the eldest. James, the youngest son, was lion near Rockingham, Richmond Co., N. C, on the east side of the Big I'ecdee River, on the 26th day of June, 1795. His father died on the 27tii day of the eleventh month, 1801, and the subject of this sketch, from the time he was six years of age, was reared without the care end protection of a father. In 1822, the mother emigrated with her family from North Carolina to Wayne County, Ind., where Thomas, a brother, had located at an earlier date. They located at what is known as Kenworthy's mill, on Green's Fork, in Wayne County, Ind., where the mother died on the fifth day of the tenth month, 1836. While living in Wayne County, he was known to have been, perhaps, the first to introduce fine cattle into that county. James Moorman is, perhaps, as widely known as any resident of the county. Personally, he is a man of about six feet in stature, and stands erect, with a high, broad forehead, large brain in front, with a well-balanced head of the finest type. He has a pleasant, open countenance, and though not talkative, he has a pleasant word for all, and is familiarly called by everybody Uncle.Jimmy. He generally keeps his own counsel, and seldom asks advice; and what lie docs he does quietly, and is willing to risk his judgment on all matters of importance. He inherited little wealth from his parents, not over $100 or $200, perhaps, but he inherited what was far better, a strong, athletic frame, a hardy, robust constitution, temperate habits, with an economical disposition, exacting all that was his dues, and always giving the same, with a willingness to labor at anything honorable. In true pioneer style, he took his ax and went into the forest and cleared % farm. When he had accumulated a few dollars, he did not cease to labor, and spend his money in pleasure or high living, but loaned it out safely at interest, and labored on for more; and thus day by day he added to his store, until, in 1860, he was known as one of the wealthiest men in Eastern Indiana. In that year, he located at Winchester and started what was known as the Winchester Bank. Since that time, by careful and judicious investments, and a constant personal attention to his business, his prosperity h.is been such that Ids wealth has more than doubled. His motto as a financier has always been: Pay as you go, and make each day more than you spend. He was never of % speculative turn of mind, and never attempted to make money by speculation, preferring the sewer and sure way to success, and by his good judgment he met with but few losses in his investments. He is a man of sound judgment and great will-power, and when his mind is made up, his decision is final. His " Little rather not" is understood by those who know him to be a very emphatic No 1 While he has not been extravagant in his liberality, he seldom turns his back upon a good cause, and has contributed olieerfuUy to all moral and religions enterprises that have sought public encouragement, and no doubt before his life closes he will employ at least a portion of his great wealth in such a manner as will bless mankind, tn his religious relations, he is a friend of the orthodox branch, having had a birth-right in the church. In his later years, he has taken great interest in the church at Winchester, and has been very faithful in his attendance, being seldom absent from his seat. Politically, he is a Republican, and has been identified with this party over since its organization. Prior to that, he was anti-slavery in his political sentiments, as were all the Friends in this county at that time. Though his church was opposed to the war, he took a lively interest in the results of the conflict, the freedom and enfranchisement of the slaves; and no one paid his income-tax more cheerfully than he. He still has in his heart a warm place for the soldiers who periled their lives in the cause of freedom and the defense of the Union. He is now eighty-seven years of age, and, though growing feeble, he still retains the free and full use of all his fine mental faculties, and with his temperate and regular habits may live to see an extreme old age. He has retired from the drudgery of active business life, and has placed the affairs of his bank largely in the hands of Capt. Joseph R. Jackson, of Union City, who, with his excellent business ability, has taken the burden from his shoulders to a great extent, while he awaits, quietly and patiently, the end of a long and successful business life. His career demonstrates the possibilities attainable by industry and determination, and illustrates the fact that the sure road to wealth is through honest toil and frugality.

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

JOHN A. MOORMAN was born Aug. 19, 1820, in Richmond Co., North Carolina- His father, Carlton Moorman, was a native of the same county, and grew to manhood there. In 1819, he married Misi Rebecca Webb, a native of North Orolina, and in April, 1822, oime with his wife and son to Indiana, identifying himself with the pioneer history of Randolph t'county. They located near the present site of Farm'aad, at a time when the region was almost completely a wilderness, and educational and religious privileges limited. The father was possessed of ample means, and gave his children access to nil the sources of instruction then extant in the neighborhood. During the boyhood of his son John, these sources of information were never more than country schools of the crudest order, and the latter is indebted to his own studious mind, more than to schools, for a fund of information and a store of knowledge. At the age of sixteen years, the subject, of this sketch accepted a position in the store of Goodrich Brothers, at Winchester.

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

STEPHEN MOORMAN, farmer, P. 0. Winchester. The subject of this sketch is a native of this county, and waa born April 26, 1822. His parents were Tarlton and Rebecca Moorman, natives of North Carolina. He waM brought up a farmer boy, and received a limited education in subscription schools taught for about forty days each winter. For a description of the schoolhouse, in which he received his rudimental lesson?, see biography of James J. Clayton. He was married, March 2, 1848, to Miss Priscilla Digga, a native also of this county, and a daughter of Armsby Diggs. They have two children— Alfred T. and Henry A. Mrs. Moorman died March 30, 1868, and he again m.tried March 10, 1870, this time to Mrs. Malinda A. Niokson. Mr

Moomun is a member of the M. G. Church, as was also his first wife. His second (present) wife is a member of the Society of Friends. There is a found on his farm, and also an oblong charity in the ground, twenty feet in diameter, agd was, at the time he purchased the place, six feet deep. Around this CUT ity is an embankment of earth upon which is an oak stump twenty inches in diameter. Mr. M. has dealt more or legs in stock, but is now giving his attention to farming and raising stock. He owns 178 acres of valuable land in the White River Valley.

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

LUTHER L. MOORM.VN, farmer, P. 0. Ridgeville, was born March 14, 1844, in White River Township, Randolph Co., Ind., arid has been a resident of this county ever since. His father, John A. Moorman, was born in North Carolina. His mother's maiden name was Naqcy Hialt. At the outbreak of the rebellion in 1801, the subject of this sketch (then a mere boy) enlisted in Company C, Nineteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted on the 6th of July, 1861, for three year-', but soon after entering the field his health failed, and he was honorably discharged on the 16tb of the following Decernin recruiting a red in as First ny F. He was ber. Regaining his health, in (he spring of 18tj2 ! company for the Fifty-fifth Indiana Regiment, and Duly Sergeant of that company, which was known tendered a Lieutenancy in the Fifty-fourth Regiment, uni lue ()ii:i;;i.riuu= outi of his health would not permit him to accept the office. On the loth of Novemher, ISOS, he was married to Amanda McCraoken. Her father, Robert McCracken, was born in Fayette County, Penn., and her mother, Sarah Highambotham, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio. They came to Stony Creek Township, Randolph Co., Ind., in 1837, and removed lo Green Township in 1867. Her father died in this township on the 15th of.June, 1872, and in the sixty-second year of his age, and the mother died in her sixty-third year. By the first marriage, Mr. Moorman und wife were the parents of four children, two of whom are now living, viz.: Robert R. and.Jessie. James A. and an infant are deceased. Mrs. Moorman died March 9, 1874. On the 27th of March, 1S7.5, Mr. Moorman was married lo Elizabeth McCracken,.sister of his first wife. They have one child— Clyde A. Mr. Moorman was elected Justice of the Peace, and is now serving his second term as Trustee of Green Township. Mr. Moorman is a member of the M. P.

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

THOMAS F. MOORMAN.

The name of Thomas F. Moorman, banker, agriculturist and all-around man of affairs needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, he having for a number of decades been one of the leading financiers in this section of Indiana, one of this county's most deserving and representative native sons and one who has done much toward the later-day progress of the city of Winchester. Mr. Moorman's extensive business interests are the legitimate fruitage of consecutive effort, directed and controlled by good judgment and correct moral principles. He has forged his way to the front over obstacles that would have thwarted men of less heroic settle, gradually extending the limits of his intellectual horizon until he is not only one of the leading business men of his county but also one of the most symmetrically developed mentally, having always been a student and kept fully abreast of the times, and one of the most influential in civic and social circles. Taken as a whole his career presents a series of continued successes rarely equalled in this locality. In the most liberal acceptation of the phrase, he is the architect of his own fortune, although springing from a family of noted bankers, yet he preferred carving out his own career with as little assistance as possible, and his entire business record has been such as to entitle him to the high esteem in which he is universally held.

Mr. Moorman was born in Stoney Creek township, Randolph county, Indiana, May 28, 1852. He is a son of Thomas Moorman, who was born in North Carolina, March 13, 1815, and in 1821 he was brought by his parents to Randolph county. Indiana, who settled four miles west of the present city of Winchester, and were thus among the earliest pioneers of this county. They found here a wilderness, indeed, where the ring of the axe had yet been but little heard, for their neighbors were few and far between. Amid such an environment Thomas Moorman grew to manhood, knowing the meaning of hard work on the farm and he was denied the liberal education which he so much desired. In 1838 he entered land in Stoney Creek township, where he was engaged successfully in farming until

1865, when he removed to Winchester and became connected with the Winchester Bank, which connection he retained until 1878, when he became vice-president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, with which he remained until his death, which occurred on December 23, 1905.

On April 19, 1838, Thomas Moorman married Eunice Diggs, who was born on a farm two miles west of Winchester, April 19, 1821.. She was a daughter of William Diggs, who was an early settler of this county. Her death occurred December 9, 1892. * She was a woman of beautiful Christian faith and fortitude. Seven children were born to Thomas and Eunice Moorman, namely: Thomas P., subject of this sketch; Tarlton W., born April II, 1839, died September 22, 1860; Agnes, born April 30, 1842, died October 13, 1860; William D., born August 25, 1844, died December 26, 1848; Hannah married William P. Marlatt, who became an employee of the government at Indianapolis; she was born April 30, 1848; Hiram D., born March 7, 1855; William A., born January 5, 1860, became a banker at Portland, Indiana.

Thomas F. Moorman, of this review, grew to manhood in his native county and received his early education in the schools of Winchester, which he attended until eighteen years of age; he then went to Richmond, Indiana, for the purpose of obtaining a more extended education, but was compelled by illness to abandon the plan, and consequently he returned home to labor upon the farm, and he continued general farming until 1872, when he located in Winchester, assuming a position in the Winchester Bank. Upon the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, in 1878, he was elected cashier, which responsible position he held to the satisfaction of the stockholders and patrons of the bank until the expiration of its charter, in 1898, or a period of twenty years. During that time he did much to increase the prestige and substantial growth of the institution, rendering it one of the sound and safe banks of this section of the state, and to his good management and financial experience belongs the credit of taking the bank successfully through the panics of 1882 and 1893. He has also long been interested in a bank at Union City, Randolph county, and in one in Portland, Indiana, and he is still a director in the Farmers and Merchants Bank, of which he declined to continue as cashier when the bank was reorganized in 1898. Aside from the banking business, he is also interested in agriculture, owning three large, productive and well-improved farms in Randolph county, and has considerable valuable city property. At one time he owned farming land of more than one thousand acres. His three farms, which lie in White River and Washington townships, contain over five hundred acres. Since 1908 his large agricultural interests have occupied his time and attention almost exclusively, and he has carried on general farming and stock raising on an 'extensive scale. In 1893 he erected the magnificent and substantial block at the northeast corner of the public square in Winchester, which is still one of the best commercial blocks in the city, and he has' a beautiful home at 414 South Main street He also erected the Masonic, the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men's blocks.

Mr. Moorman was married December 4, 1877, to Elvira A. Hiatt, a lady of many estimable characteristics. She is a daughter of A. R. and Mary A. (Clark) Hiatt, the former for many years one of the highly respected and influential merchants of Randolph county, where Mrs. Moorman grew to womanhood and received her education. Allen R. Hiatt was born February 20, 1829, and died October 22, 1910. Mary A. (Clark) Hiatt was born November 8, 1829, and died April 29, 191 2. Mrs. Moorman was born near Winchester, September 21, 1851. To our subject and wife three children have been born, all of whom graduated from the Winchester high school, namely: Walter H., born March 4, 1879, married Otho F. Farlow, and his death occurred September 2,j, 1907; Herbert R., born December 28, 1883, married Nellie Butler, and he is an electric engineer in the employ of the New York Telephone Company, stationed at Buffalo, New York; Lester F., born November 2, 1887, married Horace Marshall; he is a rising young lawyer of Indianapolis.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Moorman are leading members of the Society of Friends, of which he became, years ago, treasurer of the quarterly meeting, and one of the trustees of the yearly meeting, and has been a member of the board of trustees for over thirty years. Politically, he is an ardent Republican and has been deeply interested in public matters, and he served two terms in the city council. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and has filled all the chairs in the lodges, and for two years was worthy patron of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. To show the undoubted confidence the philanthropist, James Moorman, had in him, it may be well to state that he was appointed administrator of the philanthropist's estate, which was valued at over a half million dollars, and was also elected by the testator as one of the trustees of the Orphans' Home, which is located just west of Winchester. He is a plain, unostentatious gentleman, charitable, broad-minded, genial and neighborly.

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