BENJAMIN ADKINS -Prominent among the older residents of Harrison township is Benjamin Adkins, a man of venerable years, who has the distinction of having served his country in two wars. He is an honored representative of the early pioneers of Clay county, and a true type of the energetic, hardy and progressive men who have so ably assisted in the development of this fertile and productive agricultural region. A man of splendid physique, with mental faculties seemingly unimpaired, he bears with ease and dignity his burden of years, on his pleasant homestead enjoying the comforts of life. He was born January 29, 1830, in Pulaski county, Kentucky, about seven miles east of Somerset, in the same county that the birth of his father, William Adkins, occurred on September 2, 1802. Roland Adkins, great-grandfather of Benjamin, was born in Wales, came with his family to America about 1775, settled in Virginia, and' while serving as a soldier in the colonial army was killed during one of the battles of the Revolutionary war. He had eleven sons, one of whom, James, was born on the Atlantic ocean while the family were en route to America. James Adkins grew to manhood in Virginia, was there married, and subsequently, in 1801, removed to Kentucky, becoming one Of the early settlers of Pulaski county. He was a preacher in the Missionary Baptist church and very successful in his religious work, carrying the glad tidings of the gospel into remote places. He bought land near Somerset, and on the homestead that he improved spent the remainder of his life, passing away in the seventy-seventh year of his age. When he located there the country roundabout was in its pristine wildness, deer, bear, wolves and game of all kinds being plentiful. Fond of the chase, he was a famous hunter, and during his lifetime killed over four hundred deer and more than twenty bears. He married Chloe Hargis, a native of Virginia. She came to Indiana after his death and died in Green county in the eightieth year of her age. She was the mother of twenty-one children, sixteen of whom grew to years of maturity. Born and bred in Kentucky, William Adkins lived there until 1830, when, with his wife and six children, he carne overland with teams to Indiana, settling in Monroe county, where he lived about nine years. Coming from there to Clay county in the fall of 1839, he purchased a tract of land in what is now Harrison township. Ten acres of it was then cleared and the remainder was covered with. the virgin timber. The log cabin which stood in the opening became the first home of the family in this county. Having cleared almost the entire forty acres of his purchase, he sold at an advantage, bought land near by and here continued his residence until 1852. Selling out in that year, he migrated to Iowa, becoming one of the original settlers of Marshall county, locating there before there were any railways west of the Mississippi river. Buying a tract of government land, he commenced. farming, selling his surplus productions in Des Moines, which at that time was the nearest market. Meeting with success in his operations, he lived there many years, during which time he witnessed with gratification the development of Iowa into a well settled and wealthy state. Disposing of his Iowa farm in 1895, he moved to Missouri, and spent his last days in Cabool, Texas county, dying at the advanced age of ninety-three years. He married Polly Stogsdill, who was born in Virginia in 1803, a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Herron) Stogsdill, both natives of England. She died in 1838, in Monroe county, Indiana. Of her ten children, six grew to years of maturity, namely: Solomon, Eveline, Logan, Galathea, Benjamin and Mary. A boy of nine years when he came with his parents to Clay county, Benjamin Adkins saw it when it was in its primitive condition, almost the entire section roundabout being a dense wilderness, with here and there an opening that had been made by the axe of the brave pioneer. Deer, turkeys and other kinds of wild game abounded and furnished a large part of subsistence of the few inhabitants. There were no railroads in this part of the country, and Bowling Green, the county seat, was the largest town and the only post office in the county. There was but one store and no post office in Harrison township. In 1847 Mr. Adkins returned to Pulaski county to visit his grandfather, and while there enlisted in Company H, Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. Going with his command to the City of Mexico, he subsequently fought with valor in several engagements, including the memorable one at Cerro Gordo. After the signing of the treaty of peace in 1848 Mr. Adkins marched with his regiment to Vera Cruz, a distance of four hundred and eighty-six miles, then proceeded by sailing vessel to New Orleans, and from there going up the Mississippi in a steamer to Louisville, where he and his comrades were honorably discharged from service. Returning to Clay county, Mr. Adkins worked for a short time as a farm hand, and then bought eighty acres of land in section thirty-two, township ten, range six (Harrison township), and has since resided here. In February, 1865, he again offered his services to his country, enlisting in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was ordered to Decatur, Alabama, where he served until after the close of the war, being honorably discharged in September, 1865. Industrious, thrifty and an excellent manager, Mr. Adkins was successful as-a farmer, improving a valuable homestead for himself and assisting in advancing the agricultural prosperity of this vicinity. On November 3, 1853, Mr. Adkins married for his first wife Mary Fiscus, who was born in Owen county, Indiana, March 22, 1830, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Fiscus. She died November 9, 1876, while yet in the prime of life. Mr. Adkins married, second, April 8, 1880, Mrs. Mary M. (Snellinberger) Owen, widow of Evan Owen and daughter of George and Elizabeth (Neff) Snellinberger. Her parents, natives of Virginia, were pioneers of Indiana, locating first in Owen county and later in Clay county. Mr. Adkins' second wife died November 30, 1904, and the only child born of their union died at the age of two years. By his first marriage Mr. Adkins had eight children, namely: William Henry, Rebecca E., Sarah, Perry A., Margaret E., Rachel M., Nancy A. and James B. William Henry married Amanda Sidel, and they have nine children: Rose, Mary, Curtis, Pearl, Harry, Flora and three others: Rebecca E., who has two children, Simon P. and Stella, the wife of Benjamin Cox. Sarah J. married Joseph S. Fuller, and they are the parents of nine children: Freddie, Edie and seven others. Nancy, wife of Samuel Miller, has fourteen children: Bernetta, Grace, Emma E., Benjamin, Harley, George, Faustina, Maud, Fred and five who are. deceased. Perry died at the age of twenty-six years; Margaret died in infancy; Rachel lived to the age of five years; James B. died when eighteen years old. Since the death of Mrs. Adkins in 1904 Simon P. Adkins, Mr. Adkins' grandson, has lived on the homestead, caring for the place and for Mr. Adkins, making his home comfortable and pleasant. Simon P. Adkins married Anna Davis and they are the parents of four children, namely: Edith M., Edgar A., James B. and Kenneth G. Mr. Adkins has about thirty great-grandchildren, all living, as far as he knows. He has one of the old parchment deeds signed and executed by President Zachariah Taylor, which is a valuable heirloom in Clay county. He has as a curiosity a little Mexican coin which he brought from the City of Mexico, June 1, 1848, and there is possibly not another coin of this kind in the county of Clay. In 1849 Mr. Adkins was converted by Rev. William Sparks of the Missionary Baptist church, was baptized by Rev. James Beaman, and has since lived a consistent Christian life, being now the oldest member of Good Hope church, to which both of his wives belonged. For many years Mr. Adkins was an uncompromising Democrat, but now he is an ardent Prohibitionist. -From "The History of Clay County."