Carroll County IN Archives Biographies.....Sims, Joseph Allen 1861 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 26, 2006, 5:39 am Author: John C. Odell (1916) JOSEPH ALLEN SIMS. The life history of Joseph Allen Sims, one of the well-known and highly esteemed citizens of Carroll county, Indiana, shows what industry and good habits and stanch citizenship will accomplish in the battle for success in life. His record is one replete with duty well done and conscientiously performed. Both by birth and by marriage he is connected with two of the oldest and also the most distinguished families of the great Hoosier commonwealth. By right of inheritance he deserves to rank as one of the foremost citizens now living in Carroll county. By right of achievement he has won an honorable place in the hearts of his fellow citizens, having always stood for the highest and best interest of the community. Born at Delphi on August 10, 1861, Joseph Allen Sims is the son of Joseph Allen, Sr., and Susanna (Hawkins) Sims, the former of whom was born in Union county, Indiana, on August 24, 1826, and the latter in Hamilton county, Ohio, and who with her parents moved to Tippecanoe county. Joseph Allen Sims, Sr., was the pioneer settler of this section of the state. His wife grew to womanhood in this section. They were married at Lafayette in 1857. They had six children, of whom only two, Louise B. and Joseph Allen are living. The latter is the subject of this sketch. The former is the wife of Joseph N. Rose, a botanist of Washington, D. C, who is now connected with the United States department of agriculture and the Smithsonian Institute. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph N. Rose have had five children, four of whom are living, George, Joseph, Martha and Rebecca. Walter D. is deceased. The latter was killed in an accident. Joseph Allen Sims, Sr., was a graduate of Asbury, now DePauw University. He studied law in the office of Hiram Allen, of Delphi, having come to Carroll county from Union county, Indiana, in the early fifties after his marriage. He continued the practice of law until his health failed, when he removed to his farm, where he remained until his death. The old Sims farm is located east and north of Delphi and is now occupied by the children of his second wife. Susanna (Hawkins) Sims died in 1876 and four years later Mr. Sims was married to Ella Schigley, who bore him the following children: Josephine is the wife of Walter Grim, of Terre Haute, Indiana; Charles N. lives in Carroll county with his mother; Paul lives in Carroll county; Ralph lives in Chicago, being a sculptor and connected with the studio of Larado Taft; Helen is at home; two died in infancy. The second wife of Joseph Allen Sims, Sr., is living on the farm in Carroll county. Joseph Allen Sims, Sr., was a captain of the Twenty-fourth Artillery during the Civil War. He took an active part in the Tennessee campaign. He served two years in the army and resigned only on account of ill health. Joseph Allen Sims, Sr., was the son of John L. and Irene K. Sims, who were born in the Old Dominion state and Allentown, Pennsylvania, respectively. They moved to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, in pioneer times and, after farming for a few years, removed to Union county, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their lives, passing away after having attained ripe ages. They had a family of nine children, namely: Lewis B., born on July 30, 1824; Joseph Allen, Jr., August 24, 1826; Amanda, August 17, 1828; John M., July 21, 1830; Charles N., May 18, 1835; Hiram, February 28, 1837; Catherine, August 4, 1838; James L., November 4, 1841, and Luela Irene, August 31, 1847. Susanna (Hawkins) Sims was the daughter of James Hawkins, who married a Miss Smith. The latter was born in Butler county, Ohio, and the former in North Carolina. They had the following children: Elie; James; William; Eliza, the wife of Moses Fowler; Martha, the wife of Adam Earl; Susanna, the wife of Mr. Sims; Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. Oscar Vanderbilt; Hannah, the wife of Frank B. Kennedy. The parents lived and died in Tippecanoe county. James Hawkins was a farmer by occupation and owned a tract of nearly fourteen hundred acres of land in Tippecanoe county. He was identified with all worthy public movements during his life time and was one of the leading citizens of the state of Indiana during his day and generation. His land holdings were not confined to the state of Indiana, but he also owned a large tract in Kankakee county, Illinois. Joseph Allen Sims, Jr., was educated in the Delphi high school and at DePauw University, which he attended two terms. He lived at home until he had attained his young manhood and on May 16, 1883, was married to Caroline F. Milroy, the daughter of John R. and Matilda (Stansel) Milroy, the former of whom was born on January 8, 1820, and who was the son of Samuel Milroy and his second wife, who was Martha Houston. They were both natives of Pennsylvania and were married on August 6, 1810. The fruit of this second marriage were ten children, namely: James E., born on June 3, 1811; Nancy, April 25, 1813; Almira A., September 17, 1814; Robert H., June 11, 1816; Joseph W., January 25, 1818; John B., January 8, 1820, was commissioned colonel in the Civil War and had been major before being commissioned colonel; William Reed, January 18, 1822; Samuel L., January 17, 1823; Francis M., February 17, 1825; and James W., July 19, 1827. Of these children, Robert H., who was a graduate of the military academy of Norwich University, was a major general in the Civil War. By his first marriage, Samuel Milroy had two children, Bruce and Margaret. Samuel Milroy was a well-known politician in his day. He campaigned throughout the states of Ohio and Indiana and held important offices. He was land agent at Crawfordsville for a time and Indian agent by appointment of the President. He was a stanch Democrat and a great friend of President Andrew Jackson. He assisted in framing the first Constitution of the state of Indiana and, when the government removed the Indians to a reservation west of the Mississippi river, he was one of the men who had charge of their removal. He was commissioned major in the Indiana militia by Governor Posey in 1816 and colonel by Governor Jennings in 1817. Two years later he was commissioned a brigadier-general by Governor Jennings. In 1826 he sold his farm in Washington county, Indiana, ann [sic] in company with his son, Henry Bruce Milroy, removed to the Wabash valley, locating finally at Carroll county, Indiana. Near the close of 1820, he was elected representative for the counties of Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe and Carroll and, after his election, unexpectedly received the appointment as examiner of the land office from President Jackson. Soon after he received from President Jackson the appointment of register of the land office at Crawfordsville, the salary of which was then three thousand dollars a year. He therefore had his choice among three different offices. It was to him a matter of deep solicitude as to which office he should accept. He finally resigned two offices and accepted the post of register of the land office at Crawfordsville. One of the sons of Samuel Milroy, Samuel Lafayette, by name, was a lieutenant in the Mexican War. The parents of Samuel Milroy and the great-grandparents of Mrs. Joseph Allen Sims, Jr., were Henry and Nancy (McCormick) Milroy, the former of whom was born on February 5, 1751, in Scotland, and who died on September 29, 1791. The latter was born on February 4, 1759. They were married on November 21, 1776, and had seven children, as follow: John, born on October 12, 1777; Samuel, August 14, 1780; Henry, August 30, 1783; James, November 2, 1785; Elizabeth, April 27, 1788; Patty, March 27, 1790, and died on July 30, 1811; Nancy, January 22, 1792. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Allen Sims, Jr., have had two children, namely: Mary Hawkins, born on August 2, 1884, is the wife of Dr. A. C. Clauser and has borne him three children, Stewart Sims, William Joseph and Charles Robert; John M., born on July 2, 1886, was graduated from the Delphi high school and was a student at Purdue University for two terms, and married Jessie Wells and they have had two children, Sarah Jane, who died at the age of eight months, and Virginia Wells, born in March, 1915. Mr. Sims owns one hundred and sixty acres of land which is well improved. His farm is located east and south of Delphi about three miles in a fertile farming region. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Biographical Section of HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY INDIANA ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS BY JOHN C ODELL With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families ILLUSTRATED 1916 B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/carroll/bios/sims256nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/infiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb