HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY                  295

trustees under our former township system, and in 1864 was elected trus-
tee of the township under our present system. In 1866 he was nominated
by the Democratic party for commissioner for the first district and was
elected, then renominated and re-elected, serving two full terms, or six
years. It was within his second term of service that the order was made
relocating the county seat. He died May 6, 1891, aged seventy-one years
four months and seventeen days.

    George Worth Bence, native of Kentucky, born in Jefferson county,
near Louisville, November 11, 1846, son of Philip and Anna (Genavieve)
Bence, youngest of ten children. The family came to Indiana in 1853,
locating in Putnam county, where the subject of this sketch attended the
public schools. Later he attended the University of Virginia, graduating
in the medical course in the month of June, 1871, then located in the prac-
tice at Carbon, in the month of August of the same year. In 1873 mar-
ried Kizzie Pratt, who lived only three weeks; married Libbie Loftus in
1876, who lived six years; married Minnie Brandon in 1884. There are
two daughters in the family—Eva and Edna. While living at Carbon, in
1874, Mr. Bence was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly,
serving at both the regular and special sessions of 1875; was chairman
of the committee on temperance and drafted the license law which was
passed, repealing the Baxter local option law of the previous session. In
the month of July, 1879, he left Carbon and located in the practice of his
profession at Greencastle. He is still a Democrat and active in politics,
as well as in the work of his profession.

    John Andrew, native of Scotland, son of John and Janet (Thomp-
son) Andrew, was born at Culochrig, April 27, 1827. At the age of
twenty-three years—on the 4th day of June, 1850—he married Jessie Wier
Anderson, of Bothwell Parish, Scotland. To this union were born seven
children—five sons and two daughters. At the age of nine years the sub-
ject of this biographical sketch began work in the mines of his native
country. About the time of his marriage he engaged in the coal industry
for himself, leasing the Boghead mines. It was here that he discovered
the famous parrot coal, from which oil is produced, which should have
been to him the source of a large fortune, but as his lease did not include
and cover this quality of coal, the stream of material wealth flowing from
this discovery went to others. Discouraged over the situation, he sailed
for America, landing in New York on the 4th day of June, 1853, just
three years from the day of his marriage. For a short time he worked in
the silver mines of Connecticut, then came to Indiana, stopping at Brazil,
and soon after his arrival was employed by Superintendent Peck, of the
Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, to prospect for coal along the line
of the road, when he proceeded to drill at various points from near Terre
Haute as far east as Eaglesfield’s.
    In 1854, in company with John Kennedy, David Thomas and Will-
iam Campbell, he sunk and operated the first coal shaft in Clay county,
which was at Brazil, near the point of South Meridian street’s crossing
the railroad. The work of excavating this shaft was all done by hand
power, after the manner of digging a well, and the coal hoisted by horse
power. Having disposed of his interests here, he opened mines at Clover-
land station. After operating a couple of years at this point, he went
back to Brazil, and in company with Butsch & Dickson, of Indianapolis,