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(From "Biographical Memoirs of Wabash County, Indiana, pub. 1902, pp 673-676)
Henry Lee Purdy, one of the oldest and most experienced agriculturists of Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, was born in Clermont County, Ohio (also known as Noble Township), July 25, 1835, three years before the Blackhawk War, the fourth of the six sons and seven daughters that constituted the family of Alfred and Elizabeth (French) Purdy, of whom there are still living, namely: Margaret, widow of Henry Gwynne, of South Wabash; Henry L., the subject of this sketch; Belle, wife of Charles Clayton, of Paw Paw Township; Nelson; Tillie,...
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(From "Biographical Memoirs of Wabash County, Indiana, pub. 1902, pp 673-676)
Henry Lee Purdy, one of the oldest and most experienced agriculturists of Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, was born in Clermont County, Ohio (also known as Noble Township), July 25, 1835, three years before the Blackhawk War, the fourth of the six sons and seven daughters that constituted the family of Alfred and Elizabeth (French) Purdy, of whom there are still living, namely: Margaret, widow of Henry Gwynne, of South Wabash; Henry L., the subject of this sketch; Belle, wife of Charles Clayton, of Paw Paw Township; Nelson; Tillie, widow of Alexander Freeman, of Paw Paw Township; and Janiette, wife of Christopher Guatner, owner of the old Purdy homestead.
Alfred Purdy was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, January 1, 1804; was there married and there his two elder children were born. Mr. Purdy was a tobacco planter, and in 1832 he and his family removed to Ohio and located in Clermont County, thence moving to Wabash County, Indiana, in the fall of 1856, where he purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of virgin land, the timber on forty acres having been deadened and only two acres cleared, and on which stood a small log cabin. Deer and wild turkeys abounded in the forest. The soil was fertile, and after clearing away the greater part of the timber Mr. Purdy succeeded in developing a first-class farm.
Mr. Purdy was one of the most upright of men, and was honored by all who knew him. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward became a Republican. He was a stanch supporter of Henry Clay, and later of John C.. Fremont, the early presidential candidates of those respective parties; but later voted for Lincoln and his successors.
Mr. Purdy was reared a Methodist, to which faith he adhered until late in life, when he became identified with the New Light Church, in Paw Paw Township, and in this faith he died, January 21, 1888.
Mrs. Elizabeth (French) Purdy was born May 7, 1809, also a native of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, a daughter of Daniel and Isabella French. She was a very kind-hearted and benevolent lady, and not only reared her own children in respectability, but also three orphans. The poor and needy never went from her door empty-handed, and she died blessed and beloved by all who knew her on the 25th of August, 1898.
Henry Lee Purdy was reared in his native county until he attained his majority, and was classed as a tiller of the soil. he was educated in the ordinary log school of his youthful days, which he describes as having measured 18 x 20 feet square, with a mud and stick chimney, and seats of hewed puncheons with no backs; the writing desk for the larger boys and girls to sit at was a broad board, resting on slanting arms or pegs driven into the wall; the pens in use were made of goose-quills. The room was heated by wood burned in a wide fireplace, and many a time Mr. Purdy assisted in rolling in from the outside of the school-house the huge back-log. The books in use were an elementary spelling book and Pike's arithmetic. The school, which was open but three months in the year, was supported equally by the public fund and subscription fees from the parents of the pupils. The teacher was more muscular than he was educated, and the birchen rod was more frequently used by him than moral suasion. The old dunce-block, much in vogue in that day in the schools of the backwoods, was also quite often brought into requisition as a means of discipline.
At the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Purdy was possessed of no cash capital and continued to remain at home with his parents until he was twenty-two, when he went to work as a farm hand for his neighbors, April 13, 1860. He wedded for his first wife Miss Anna Maria Giek, who bore three sons, of whom two still survive, namely: Alfred, who is married and a resident of Wabash; and George, who is also married and is a farmer in Paw Paw Township. The first Mrs. Purdy was born in Wabash County, of German descent, and died a member of the Methodist Church, in 1864.
The second marriage of Mr. Purdy took place July 9, 1867, to Miss Josephine Brown, and this union has been blessed with twelve children, of whom nine are still living, namely: Mary Elizabeth, wife of Calvin Dawes, and the mother of five children, now residing in Lagro Township; William H., a resident of Spiker, Wabash County, and the father of four children; Rosa Belle, who has finished the seventh grade in school; Elisha F., a farmer of Pleasant Township; Edward V., a farmer in Taber, Fremont County, Iowa; Nora, wife of Benjamin F. Smyers, of Noble Township; Clara, who has finished a public school education and is proficient in vocal and mandolin music,is the wife of Philip Cramer, a hatter in Wabash, Indiana; Harley M., who has finished the eighth grade in school, is now assisting his father on the farm; and Clarence Leroy, youngest child, has finished the seventh grade.
Mrs. Josephine Purdy was born in Miami county, Indiana, august 27, 1846, and is a daughter of George M. and Elizabeth (VanMeter) Brown, who were the parents of eleven children, but have now only three living, namely: Helen Mar, widow of James Coleman, a resident of Indianapolis; Josephine, now Mrs. Purdy; and Olive L., wife of Guy Schoone, of Wabash.
George M. Brown was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1811, and was but ten years of age when his father died, and he came with his mother to Madison County, Indiana. He was reared a carpenter and joiner, and was principally educated by his wife. In politics he was first a Whig and then a Republican. In religion he was a Methodist for many years, but late in life became a member of the Christian Church and died March 9, 1887, in the latter faith. His wife was born in Fayette County, Indiana, February 18, 1811, and died in 1850. He descended from Mohawk Dutch ancestry. the name, Van Meter, is strictly of Holland origin, while that of Brown has been traceable to the English and Irish. Mrs. Purdy's grandfather, Thomas Brown, married Mary Blake, who was heir to a large estate in England, which is still in abeyance. It is through a certain bachelor in the Blake family, who was very wealthy, and his cash is still locked up in the Bank of England. Mrs. Purdy is heir to a portion of this wealth.
Grandfather Blake was a soldier in the war for American Independence, and this fact entitles the children of Mr. and Mrs. Purdy, as well as themselves, to membership in the great American order of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution.
Mrs. Purdy has been reared in Wabash County and educated in its common schools and is a lady who has improved her time in the perusal of instructive books. She has been a valuable assistant to her husband in acquiring a competence. He began his married life as a renter and lived as such for seven years, and when his first wife died he was completely broken up, and for awhile worked out for wages.
The first land Mr. Purdy purchased was a tract of eighty acres in Pleasant Township, partially improved, with a log house and stable, and for this he assumed a debt of $1,600. this farm he sold to advantage and purchased eighty acres of his present estate in Noble Township, of which twenty acres were cleared and improved, with a little one-story log house and a small stable; but the place was not ditched. There are now sixty-five acres cleared and one thousand eight hundred rods of tiling laid. In 1888 he erected the present dwelling, which is a credit to the township, and he also has a commodious barn, 34 x 58 feet in size, which he built in 1884.
On Thanksgiving night, 1899, his large barn, with all its grain, hay and agricultural implements, was destroyed by a conflagration, entailing a loss of $2,000. But this disaster did not by any means discourage Mr. Purdy, who went to work with renewed energy, and built on the same site another barn, 60 x 36 feet, which he finished in 1900. Besides his home of eighty acres, Mr. Purdy owns twenty-five acres in Paw paw township, and the best part of this record is that Mr. Purdy, although he began without capital, does not owe a dollar on his property.
In politics, Mr. Purdy is a Democrat, although he cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln. he and wife are stanch friends of Public education, and Mr. Purdy has been a liberal donor to and an active worker in the church.
Mr. and Mrs. Purdy stand among the foremost residents of Noble Township, and their cosy and comfortable home is made hospitable to friend and stranger.
(From "History of Wabash County, Indiana" by Clarkson Weesner, pub. 1914, pp. 905-907)
Henry Lee Purdy. A son of that fine old pioneer couple, Alfred and Elizabeth (French) Purdy, Henry Lee Purdy is himself now one of the oldest living residents of Noble Township and his long and enterprising career has identified him closely with the affairs of this county. He is the owner of an estate of eighty acres in Noble Township, about five miles north of Wabash and on the east side of the Laketon Road. Henry Lee Purdy was born in Clermont County, Ohio, July 25, 1835, three years after the Black hawk War. He was about twenty-one years old when the family came to Wabash County, and his education had been acquired by attending a log schoolhouse in Ohio. A short time after the family came to Wabash County he started to work for a neighbor as a farm hand. Mr. Purdy first married Anna Maria Giek, who died in 1864, and who was the mother of three sons: Alfred married Della King, and has three sons: Lamoine, born May 1, 1888; Homer F., born January 4, 1891, and Russell L., born January 21, 1894. George Purdy, the second son of A. L. Purdy, married Sarah Dawes, and their two children are Hazel M., born June 27, 1892, and Lawrence, born August 27, 1902. Charles Purdy, the third son, died aged twenty-three years.
Mrs. Purdy was a Methodist in religion and a faithful wife and kindly member of the community in which she lived. On July 9, 1867, Mr. Purdy married Josephine Brown. She became the mother of twelve children, of whom nine are living: Mary Elizabeth is the wife of John Calvin Dawes, and they have eight children: Ethel May, born May 24, 1887, and who died at birth; Elsie Marie, born October 7, 1888, married Lorin Richardson, and they have two children, Marvin and Wilma Richardson; Lonie Josephine Dawes, born January 24, 1891, married Hugh Richardson; Mabel Leora Dawes, born August 3, 1895, died September 2, 1910; Everett Lee and Ernest Albert, twins, born May 22, 1901, and Ernest Albert, died when not quite a year old; Wilbur Calvin, born June 22, 1904; and Kenneth Werlin, born November 30, 1906. William Henry Purdy, the second child of H. L. and Josephine Brown Purdy married Elizabeth Mills and lives in Canada. He had seven children: Ray M., Ruby June, wife of John Brown; Lester Elisha; Gladys Fern; Josephine Elizabeth; Clay, and Mary Rosabelle. Rosie Belle, the third child, married Walter S. Walker, and they have two children: Dorothy Mildred and Jennie Josephine. Elisha T., the fourth child, married Laura Tryon, and they have seven children: Lavone, Travis, Ella, Theodore (Teddy), Elisha Grant, Charlie and Corvin. Edward, the fifth child, married Miss Grace M. Morford, and their four children are: Leo Charles, who died aged six weeks; Ralph Gerald, Kermit Dewan, and Vesta. Nora, the sixth child, married B. F. Smyers, and has five children: Hugh, Wayne, Wanda, Robert Henry and Doris. Clara, the seventh child, married Philip Cramer and has two children: Bruce and Mildred. Harley M., the eighth living child of H. L. and Josephine Brown Purdy, married January 10, 1914, Jessie Riddle of Nebraska. They were married in Montana, where she had taught school. Roy, the ninth living child, married in Montana Myrtle M. Barnard, and they have one child, Millard Myrtle. Three children of H. L. and Josephine Brown Purdy are dead: John W., who died in infancy; Lillie, who also died when an infant, and Maudie May, who died aged two years, seven months and ten days.
Mrs. Josephine Purdy was born in Miami County, Indiana, August 27, 1846, a daughter of George M. and Elizabeth (Van Mater) Brown. She was one of a family of eleven children, and all are now deceased except three. her early life was spent in Wabash County, with an education in the public schools, and she has always been, in addition to the duties of her household and the responsibilities of community life, a great reader of instructive books.
After his first marriage, Mr. Purdy became a renter, and for seven years provided for his family in that way. The death of his first wife was a severe blow to him, and in his discouragement he spent some time working for wages. His first purchase of land was eighty acres in Pleasant Township. a few acres of that had been improved, and on it stood a log cabin and stable. Mr. Purdy had practically no money when he bought that place, and assumed a debt of sixteen hundred dollars, but used such good judgment that he subsequently sold it at a profit, and bought the eighty acres comprising his present homestead in Noble Township. Mr. Purdy during his active career has done a great deal to develop and increase the area of cultivated land in his section of the county. His farm when it came into his possession had twenty acres cleared and improved, and the building equipments comprised a one-story log house and a small stable. Then followed many years of arduous labor and thrifty management, and the farm has been improved in many ways, ditches have been dug, eight hundred rods of tile have been laid, tight fences have been placed around the fields, and sixty-five acres are now cleared up and produce crops every season. Mr. Purdy has also put up a number of new buildings, and the entire farm is a monument to his excellent business ability. In 1888, he erected a nice frame residence which is now his home, and in 1884 had built a barn on a foundation 34 x 58 feet. On Thanksgiving night of 1899, the barn with its contents of grain, hay and farm machinery, was burned to the ground, with a loss of two thousand dollars. This was only a temporary setback to his fortune, and in the following year he had completed a still more commodious barn on the same site, on a foundation of 60 x 36 feet. Besides his home farm, Mr. Purdy has twenty-five acres in Paw Paw Township. For a man who began his career without a dollar, and with many discouraging circumstances to thwart him, Mr. Purdy's success is all the more praiseworthy. he is now clear of debt, and with the aid of his hard-working and thrifty wife, has accumulated a prosperity that will last him till the end and will give something to the children, whom he and his wife have already provided with good schooling and home training and has started each on a path to worthy and useful living. Mr. Purdy is a Democrat, but his first vote went for Abraham Lincoln. He and his wife are stanch friends of public education, and are active and liberal in support of church and charity.
Note:
Henry Lee Purdy's first wife was Anna Marie Giek, dau of Johann Georg Giek and Anna Marie Wolf
Anna Marie Giek was born 17 May 1843 and died 1 Oct 1864.
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