Stephen  Howard

STEPHEN  HOWARD - The records of this family take us back over a hundred years, to the close of the eighteenth century, the stirring pioneer period of the early nineteenth century, in the upper Ohio Valley, with incidents occurring in the states of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.  Aaron Howard, founder of the western branch of this family, lived through the most dramatic part of modern history, his long career stretching from the administration of the elder Adams to the Presidency of Chester A. Arthur.  Born in Kentucky, August 21, 1795, he emigrated in early manhood to Ohio, located on a farm in Butler County, which he cultivated for many years, and in 1834 removed to Decatur county, Indiana.  Purchasing a farm of eighty acres, two miles west of Greensburg, he became prominent in local affairs, was a local leader of the Democracy, and served for nine years as Assessor of the county.  In 1870 he came to Shelby county, purchased eighty acres of land in Noble township, and spent the remainder of his days here.  He was noted for his wonderful memory of facts and faces, his power to recall long distant occurrences, and altogether, he was a fine sample of the western pioneer.  After a long, eventful and useful life, he ended his days January 19, 1881, at his homestead in Shelby county.  Martha Baldridge, who was born Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1798, was a cousin of  Aaron Howard, but they did not meet until both were grown.  There was a mutual liking, and a marriage, after which she accompanied her husband to the West and shared his sorrows as well as his joys, with a fidelity peculiar to the self-reliant women of the pioneer period.  This worthy couple became the parents of ten children, of whom the only survivors are Stephen and a son named  Nicholas, who lives in Missouri.
            Stephen Howard was born in Washington township, Decatur county, Indiana, February 6, 1843.  He assisted his father on the farm as he grew up, acquired a limited common school education and qualified himself for his chosen avocation, as a tiller of the soil.  April 13, 1865, he married  Sarah E. Barclay, a member of one of the well known families of her community.  She was born in Decatur county, Indiana, February 24, 1847, five miles southwest of Greensburg. He father,  E[lijah] D. Barclay, was a member of an extensive family connection, embracing some of the oldest representatives of this section of the Hoosier state.  When his father removed to Shelby county, in 1870, Stephen came with him as a member of the household, and after his death, inherited his home place . He has met with success in his farming operations and belongs to the class that is described as "well fixed."  Honest in his dealings, straightforward in his methods, and believing in the square deal, no man in Noble township stands higher as a citizen than Stephen Howard.  He is a member of Farmers' Lodge No. 247, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Sulphur Hill Lodge, Knights of Pythias.  Mary A., his oldest daughter, is the wife of  Benjamin Wasson, of Noble Twp.;  Harry, who has been a teacher for fifteen years, married  Huldah Mitchell, of Noble township;  Grace L. is with her parents.
From pp. 746-747 of Chadwick's 1909 History of Shelby County, Indiana
Submitted by Don T. Mitchell
Corrections & additions in [ ].

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