| Notes |
Samuel W. Stafford. An active, esteemed and thriving member of the agricultural community of Hamilton Township, Samuel W. Stafford is prosperously engaged in his independent vocation on Section 5, his well improved and judiciously cultivated farm being a model one in its appointments and equipments. A native of this township, he was born January 9, 1852, a son of the lat Thomas Stafford, Jr. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Stafford, Sr., was one of the early pioneers of Indiana, coming here from Ohio. The journey through the wilderness was made with a team, which was the most expeditious mode of traveling in those primitive days before the country was spanned by the network of railways that now render journeying so rapid and pleasant. Settling in the woods, the father cleared the land and was actively employed in tilling the soil the remainder of his years.
Thomas Stafford, Jr., was born on January 1, 1819, in Clark County, Ohio, and died in Delaware County, Indiana. A child when his parents brought him here, he grew to manhood on the parental homestead, as a youth taking kindly to agricultural pursuits. Prudent and economical, he saved his earnings, and when ready to establish a household of his own purchased a tract of land that was still in its original wilderness, cleared a space, and on it erected a log cabin as his first dwelling. As a farmer he succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations, in course of time becoming the owner of four hundred acres of good land, which he had earned through his own sturdy efforts. He added to the size of his cabin by additional rooms, and in it lived until his death. He was a man of honor and integrity, a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics a Whig. On January 20, 1846, he married Matilda J. Black, who was born in Clinton County, Ohio, and died on the home farm there. Of the five children born to them three survive, as follows Sylvester, living in Muncie, married Clara Gerard; Joseph M., of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this work; and Samuel W.
Brought up on the parental homestead, Samuel W. Stafford had such educational advantages as were afforded by the pioneer schools of his district, which he attended three months each winter. On attaining his majority his father bought him eighty acres of heavily timbered land, built a two-room frame house for a domicile, and he began his career as an independent farmer. Meeting with encouraging success in his labors, Mr. Stafford has added by purchase to his original acreage, and has now a finely improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres, all but twenty of which he has himself cleared from its pristine wildness. In 1904 Mr. Stafford erected his present substantial frame residence, and is continuing his energetic labors as a tiller of the soil, carrying on general farming and stock raising with exceptionally good pecuniary results.
Mr. Stanford married first, in 1871, Annie Flinn, who was born in this county, and here spent her entire life, dying in 1894. Her parents, James and Melissa (Taylor) Flinn, were born, bred and married in Miami County, Ohio, from there coming to Indiana and locating in Union Township as pioneers. Mr. Flinn was a man of much force of character, of Jeffersonian Democrat in politics, and, with his wife, belonged to the Christian Church. On January 6, 1898, Mr. Stafford married for his second wife Susan Oral Gable, who was born in Blackford County, Indiana, February 2, 1862, a daughter of William H. Gable. Mr. Gable was born in Pennsylvania eighty-two years ago and is now residing in Hartford City, Indiana, a strong and vigorous man of one of his years. He learned the trade of a cabinetmaker when young, and followed it for a time in his native state. Of a daring and venturesome spirit, he started for California in 1844, going in a sailing vessel by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Arriving at his point of destination, he was engaged in mining until 1850, when he returned eastward as far as Indiana. Two years later, in 1852, Mr. Gable located in Hartford City, his present place of residence, as a cabinetmaker. In those early days he used to make coffins by hand from black walnut and had to go to Muncie to buy the linings for the coffins, oftentimes making the round trip on foot in twelve hours. He is now living retired from active pursuits, enjoying a well-earned leisure from business cares and troubles. During the Civil War Mr. Gable served valiantly in the Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was identified with the Whig Party until 1856, when he joined the Republican ranks, and for many years he has been a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is prominent in social organizations, belonging to both the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Mason.
Mr. Stafford has three children, all born of his first marriage, namely Cora, wife of Frank McClain; Harry; and Viloa. He is a man of sterling qualities and has always enjoyed the fullest confidence and esteem of his neighbors and friends. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and in religion is a member of the United Brethren Church.
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Census:
- Listed as a farmer with wife and daughter. Parents born in OH.
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1852 - 1930 (78 years)
