Milton Byron Waugh

By: Karen Zach

While researching for the September Montgomery Memories, I found 5-6 men who were interesting but didn’t quite fit into one of our topics, thus I decided my favorite (love his unusual name) would be our subject for the Around The County Article this week. Enjoy learning about Milton Byron Waugh from the Darlington area of our county.

Milt was born in this county on the 11th of February in 1837 and died here 20 October 1904, the son of Milo (from Ross County, Ohio) and Elizabeth (Kious) Waugh, a native of Fayette County, Ohio. Milton was married (13 August 1857 in Clinton County) to Sarah Saulsberry who was the mother of their seven children. At a reasonable length of time after Sarah’s death (30 August 1892), Milton married Margaret Herron 18 Oct 1894 (MoCo of course). He and Sarah lived together for about 35 years as she was a fairly young 55 at her death (obit). Well loved, her funeral was huge with over 175 buggies going to the Plainview Cemetery near Colfax for her burial (as more than one obit states) but instead they are buried together in Oak Hill but still the 175 buggies went that way instead (or he later moved her)! The second wife (Margaret Herron who was about his age and I believe had not been married until that time) is buried there, as well.

So, with a wife, and son, James Milo, he joined up at the first call for soldiers of the Civil War. First was Co K, 11th Infantry which were known as the Indiana Zouaves for six-months. When their time was up, several re-upped for three years with the group when it was reorganized. Not sure how quickly but a bit later, he joined Co B 116th Indiana Infantry that group being in a few good tiffs (Walker’s Ford; Blue Springs; Tazewell) losing one in battle and 64 by disease. He returned to the family farm and got to work, raising crops but his specialty was Clydesdale horses and Shorthorn cattle.

Not exactly sure when Milton and second wife moved to Crawfordsville but Milt in 1894 had a large amount of wheat stolen (evidently by Daniel White of the Darlington area, too), as it seemed White felt it was easier to let the other guy do the work but he could reap the rewards. In the fall of 1895 White’s father-in-law (Almond Davis) took his name off of White’s recognizance bond and was planning on letting him rot in jail as he felt the man’s quilt. That may have been when and the reason why Milt moved into C’ville (definitely about that time as he and 2nd wife were to “reside among us upon their return from their wedding tour through California” – Review 10 Nov 1894 p2) originally planned for mid-March but was not until May but in March, he did send home a huge box of fruits, shells, stalactites and quite a “nice lot of goodies and relics.” For sure, it didn’t take Milton long to wrack-up many friends as he appears as the city treasurer in the 1900 census having been elected two years before. Think they had been living in “Maggie’s” home on Washington Street.

Milt was involved with various farmers’ groups, being president of the board of directors at the end of the 20th century of the Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company of FoCo and MoCo and had served in that position several times, determined to make it the ideal insurance for the farmer.

Milton loved his children, four daughters and three sons. Milt’s father Milo passed away in May 1859 and his son whom he named James Milo was born less than two months later. He helped Milton deal with that loss as a bright, fun little one. James graduated from Purdue and made a successful career of engineering. John M. born 20 Nov 1861 on the Colfax-area farm and died in Colfax on the 4th of July in 1942. He married Sarah Jane Clouser and they were parents of I believe, two children, Lloyd and Maude. The first daughter was Emma O. born 14 Oct 1863 (if one was smart in math you could probably figure when Milton was home from the service) married Fielden Rice (one daughter Clare) and passed away in Dec 1922 – buried Darlington IOOF. Next was a daughter Mollie b Sept 14, 1865, married John D. Shriver,

a farmer and stock raiser with a 200-acre farm in Tippecanoe. Next was Martha whom they called Mattie (April 5, 1867) who married William Fisher also a farmer of the township. Clara Belle was next born 11 April 1869 married on Valentine’s Day, 1889 to William M. Reeves a local lawyer. Lastly was Frank William born 13 March 1872 and married Eleanor Stuckey. A prominent farmer, active in the Masonic Lodge, like his parents he was an avid member of the Colfax Methodist Church. He was father of two daughters (Aver and Alva). May be more grands but these are the ones I caught.

Milt was fairly involved in politics way back in the 1870s. In 1874 he helped to create the Reform group in the area. He was elected secretary of their county convention. One of the speakers noted that both the Republican and Democratic party were composed of rings and cliques and weren’t working for the better of the citizens of the country. John Mitchell noted that he was a Republican and knew that they had strong principles and believed in what they purported – temperance; people against monopolies; free schools; then said, “For years to come the contest will be between the Republican and Democratic parties and there is no room for a third party.” That said, I returned to the happenings of 2023.

Well, I loved Milton Byron Waugh’s name and am impressed with the man. One good looking fellow (see photo from FindAGrave added by Sandra Lennox), he was also generous, smart, religious, active for his community, and was one to be looked up to in each aspect of his life! Bless ya’ Milton Byron!

– Karen Zach is the editor of Montgomery Memories, our monthly magazine all about Montgomery County. Her column, Around the County, appears each Thursday in The Paper of Montgomery County. You can reach her at [email protected].