BUCK; DEU>VA,USA>IN,USA; 1808-1971 Contributed by Gregory L. Bender Henry BUCK, born June 1, 1808, was the son of Martin BUCK of Germany. Henry BUCK married Jemima CHAMNESS. Jemima is believed to have been born February 5, 1825, the daughter of Willliam CHAMNESS (b.6/15/1795 in Orange County, North Carolina). Henry and Jemima BUCK had 4 children: John M,. BUCK, born June 2, 1853; Lavina Catherine BUCK; Clinton BUCK; and, Alice BUCK. Henry BUCK died in 1867 in Madison County, Indiana. Jemima CHAMNESS BUCK died September 25, 1905 Lavina Catherine BUCK married William Elsworth. They had a daughter names Elizabeth ELSWORTH who married a Mr. CROWELL. Clinton BUCK married Elizabeth WORTS. Clinton and Elizabeth BUCK had 6 children: Alta, Byron Alva, Iver, Arla and John. Alice BUCK married a Mr. SLOAN of Muncie, Indiana. They had a daughter, Mertie SLOAN and a son, Yeager SLOAN. About 1880, in Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana or Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana, John M. (possibly Martin) BUCK married Caroline PUGH born May 5, 1859 to William R. PUGH and Messilla R. J. GERARD on a farm near Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana. John and Caroline BUCK had three children: Roland Carlton "Carl" BUCK, born January 20, 1881; Clyde Duval BUCK, born in Redkey, Jay County, Indiana December 7, 1882; and, Alline R. BUCK, born January 5, 1887 in Redkey, Jay County, Indiana. Martin BUCK died May 9, 1909 in Bluffton, Wells County, Indiana. Caroline PUGH BUCK died Jan 10, 1939. John & Caroline moved to Somerset, Pulkaski County, in southern Kentucky where John and a friend bought a sawmill. Unfortunately, John's partner had a number of undisclosed debts and soon his creditors foreclosed on the sawmill. In February 1881, in the cold of winter, John, Caroline and two-week-old baby Carl were forced to return to their old hometown (Muncie or Alexandria ?) with all of 10 cents in their pockets. John, undaunted, soon acquired a shoe store in Redkey, Jay County, Indiana. Clyde and Alline were born in Redkey. John often recalled the story of an free-loader who often loafed about the cracker-barrel in the store and frequently helped himself to cigars. John set a trap for the man by loading one of the cigars with a small charge of gunpowder. When the old fellow fired up the cigar, it exploded blackening his face in most places and burning off a few of his whiskers. The miscreant ran home yelling to his wife "Soda, Kate, Soda!!" John is reported to have burst into laughter, calling "Soda, Kate, Soda!!" whenever the word soda was mentioned in his presence. In another incident, on night Caroline awakened to loud noises coming from the summer kitchen. John grabbed his revolver and Caroline lighted a lamp. Together they went to investigate and saw the form of a man swaying from side to side. More clattering was heard as the man knocked over the jars of fruit that Caroline had just canned that day and had left sitting on the table on which the man now rested. John realized that the man was drunk and chased him away. The next morning, as John went to the store, he noticed a stranger sitting in front of the town saloon. He inquired of the stranger if he might be the man whom he had run off the previous night. The stranger admitted as he was and offered to pay for the damaged fruit. John said he was just thankful that he hadn't shot the stranger and that that was reward enough. The BUCK family next moved to Geneva, Adams County, Indiana near Gene Stratton Porter's home. Alline BUCK remembered Porter's daughter attending the school there. The Porter girl was not allowed to play with the other girls in the neighborhood preferring instead the older brother of one of Alline's friends. While living in Geneva, John BUCK built three small houses. BUCK's Geneva factory there was not particularly successful, and the family moved the 18 miles to Bluffton, Wells County, Indiana. The BUCK family drove a wagon to Bluffton. Carl and Clyde took turns walking behind the wagon and driving the family cow, Star. Star was so named because of a white "star" on its forehead. John BUCK's business prospered in Bluffton and he built a lovely home for his family. IN about 1865, when she was about 6, Caroline PUGH’s father had gone off to fight in Civil War. Caroline, her mother and 3 small brothers lived on farm near Alexandria, Indiana. Caroline, her brothers and possibly her father moved in with her grandparents following her mother's death from typhoid. Caroline’s father remarried about 1867-70 and the children move back in with their father and his new wife. The PUGH family moved to a farm in Missouri in about 1871 when Caroline was about 12. Caroline, her father, her uncle and her oldest little brother traveled by covered wagon. Caroline’s step-mother, her youngest two brothers and her half-brother followed by train. In those days, a group traveling by wagon would stop in the evenings to set up camp for the night. One night the menfolk rode off on horses in search of supplies leaving Caroline to watch the camp with only their dog, Spot. A farmer, on whose land they were camped, saw the smoke from the fire and decided to investigate. Caroline was very scared upon seeing the approaching stranger and drew the dog close to her. The farmer called out to her not to be afraid, that he was just curious as to who was camped on his land. The farmer was very friendly and soon the PUGH men returned and had a nice chat with the landowner. The next morning, after a substantial breakfast of bacon and eggs, the PUGHs were again on their way. One evening after stopping for the night, Caroline's father sent her to a nearby farm to fetch some water. Caroline was astonished to find the farm children wearing wooden shoes. Another night, Caroline cried and couldn't sleep because of an infected thumb. Her father was somewhat angry at her because of her crying and keeping everyone awake. Her uncle lanced the thumb with his knife and with the pressure relieved, she was able to sleep. Caroline's most thrilling experience on the trip occurred when the PUGHs approached the big city of St. Louis with its horse-drawn street cars. Caroline’s excitement soon turned to fear as her father and uncle climbed out of the wagon to walk alongside of the wagon while Caroline drove through the busy shopping district amid heavy traffic, streetcars and muddy streets. Although she made it through without any serious problems, she was terribly frightened and never really forgave her father for making her drive. After the PUGHs were settled on their farm in Missouri, one of their neighbors, Mr. HUGBETH, came one day to the farm to ask if Caroline could return with him to his farm to help his wife care for their children. Caroline was eager to go since she did not like living with her step-mother. It is unclear whether Caroline considered herself or her step- mother to be the principal source of the friction. Agreement was reached, and a few days later, Caroline moved to the nearby farm. Caroline was very happy on the HUGBETH farm. Mrs. HUGBETH was very kind to Caroline and taught her how to set and serve tables as well as many other things. Sometimes the HUGBETHs had dinner guests. Among the regular visitors were two men who came and left in the night. They never unsaddled their horses and always wore their gunbelts. The two men were always nice to Caroline and the HUGBETHs. They often brought Mrs. HUGBETH, who was their cousin, gifts of jewelry. At the time, Caroline didn't question about these men and their mysterious habits. It wasn't until several years later, after moving back to Indiana, Caroline discovered that Mrs. HUGBETH's cousins were the infamous outlaws Frank and Jesse JAMES. Following her employment at the HUGBETH farm, Caroline went to work in the home of a Mr. CARVER, the uncle of one of her close friends. She helped Mrs. CARVER take care of her young daughter and served the table. Mr. CARVER was a circus man as well as being a farmer. He cared for the circus animals and wagons through the winter months and had a separate wing on his home to house the men who cared for the animals. Sometimes Caroline served tables in this wing as well as in the main part of the house. In addition to their young daughter, the CARVERs had two sons. Eventually Caroline and one of the CARVER sons, Nimrod, fell in love. Mr. Carver did not approve of the match since Caroline came from a poor family. Nimrod was sent off to college, and Caroline was dismissed and soon moved to Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana about 15 miles east of her childhood home to learn the dressmaking trade. The dress shop in which Caroline apprenticed catered to Muncie's elite. She found the work to be most enjoyable and continued to work there until in about 1881 she met and married John M. Buck. Through the years, Nimrod CARVER had never forgotten his "Carry" and eventually, hearing of the magnificent BUCK home, his curiosity got the better of him. Caroline chased Nimrod away but not until promising him that if fate should one day find them widow and widower, she would marry him. One day Caroline received a letter from Nimrod. Although Alline recalled being old enough to know better, she remembered opening the letter addressed to her mother and being amused at the contents. Nimrod said that he was heading west with his son to make a new start. He had become an unsuccessful gambler and had failed the wife, son and daughter. After John BUCK passed away on May 9, 1909, Caroline enjoyed owning and renting five lake cottages at Lake George on the Indiana/Michigan border and wintering in either California with relatives or in Florida where she and some old Redkey friends had bought several properties during the Florida land boom. It was during one of these visits to California in the winter of 1929-30 that Caroline, many years a widow and having lost a small fortune in the failure of several banks, contacted Nimrod himself then a widower. At the urging of her nephew Henry, Caroline returned to Bluffton that spring to announce that she and Nimrod would be wed in the Fall of 1930 (she was then 70 years of age). Nimrod then owned a small farm with his son, and it appears that both Nimrod and Caroline believed the other to be better off financially that the facts would bear out. Alline recalled that she knew nothing of the impending marriage and was surprised when one day Nimrod and his sister whom Caroline had cared for as a child drove up to Lake George to see "Nim" and Carry married. Caroline later told everyone that she then felt so strange about the whole thing that she couldn't bring herself to get married. Everyone went back home. A week later, Caroline reported feeling more natural about it. She wrote Nimrod, and he came back out (alone this time) and they were married on a Saturday afternoon in 1930 in Angola, Lake County, Indiana and they then drove to Nimrod's home near Alexandria, Indiana. The following Monday, Caroline called up a relative and asked him to take her to Bluffton. He refused. A week or so later, Nimrod, shaking his head as if to say, "I just don't understand," brought Caroline home. Caroline tried time and again to live with Nimrod until finally giving up. Alline recalled Nimrod finally coming to her for advice. She told him to give up, go home and forget Caroline as her mother (Caroline) did not care for him. Nimrod got a divorce and Caroline was much relieved. She told Alline, " It was then only thing I ever did that I was ashamed of. I got into it and tried to carry on, but just couldn't." Alline said that Caroline and John never argued in her presence and seemed to get along quite congenially. However, Alline felt that Caroline had always felt that there was a change for happiness with Nimrod and that the two of them, getting on in age and having lost most of their wealth might better their mutual situation through marriage. Caroline died on Jan 10, 1939 and is buried in the BUCK family mausoleum in the Elk Grove Cemetary in Bluffton, Indiana. Caroline and Alline joined the Bluffton Methodist Church in 1899. Caroline Pugh BUCK was the subject of a Reader's Digest article written by her granddaughter, Elizabeth BENDER CROSBIE. In 1899, Roland Carlton "Carl" BUCK was in the military when he died in the Philippines when he died. He is believed to be buried there. Clyde Duval BUCK was a prolific inventor who was responsible for the invention of any early automatic transmission. His wife’s name was Ann. He died in 1963 a Lake George, Coldwater, Michigan. Alline R. BUCK married Herbert Houtz BENDER. Herbert, or "HH" as he was known, and Alline had five children while living in Bluffton, IN. These five children included: Elizabeth "Libbie" BENDER, born Oct 15, 1909; John Samuel "Jack" BENDER, born October 12, 1913; Pauline "Polly" BENDER, born August 12, 1915; Richard Paul "Dick" BENDER, born October 21, 1921; and, Carolyn Jane BENDER born in 1927. HH BENDER owned the Leader Department store in Bluffton, IN, and Alline BUCK was heir to her father’s business which made wooden handles for a wide range of tools, brushes and other implements. They lived at 428 W. Wabash St. in the John L. Buck House. This Queen Anne style house built for Alline’s father in 1899 was designed by local architect William H. Powers and was one of the grandest homes in Bluffton when built. Business was good and they bought another large home in Angola in Northeasten Indiana’s lake country. This home was reported to be so large that it had a gymnasium in the attic where the boys used to play basketball during bad weather. HH and Alline also bought a number of lake cottages at Lake George on the Indiana-Michigan border that they would rent out during the summers. Between the stock market crash and the ensuing depression, both businesses were lost and the grand house in Bluffton was sold at a sheriff’s auction. By this time HH had taken to drinking and he and Alline were divorced. Alline moved to Angola, IN with her five children and turned the house there into a boarding house for students at nearby Tri-State University. HH died in 1959 in Bluffton, and Alline died in Septemeber 1971 at the Methodist Home in Warren, Indiana. On January 8, 1931, in Bluffton, Elizabeth "Libbie" BENDER married Lawrence Fredrick "Larry" CROSBIE of Bluffton, IN. Larry CROSBIE was the son of Mr. & Mrs. James Andrew CROSBIE also of Bluffton. Larry was a party politician and was at one time the Head of the Indiana Tollroad Commission. Libbie wrote stories for women’s magazines. She once wrote a story for Readers Digest about her grandmother, Caroline Pugh’s, covered wagon journey to Missouri. Libbie and Larry had three children Carol Aline CROSBIE; James Andrew CROSBIE II; and, Mack Herbert CROSBIE. Larry CROSBIE died in August 1976 in Indianapolis, where he and Libbie made their home. On February 12, 1938, John Samuel "Jack" BENDER married Henrietta CARNES of Keystone, IN. Henrietta was daughter of Ralph CARNES and Ethel FELTT. Jack graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in civil engineering. Jack played varsity football at Wisconsin, and is remembered for playing across the line from then-Ohio-footballer President Gerald Ford. Jack is said to knocked President Ford on his backside more time than he would care to remember. Jack served as a Naval Officer during World War II, and eventually headed a large construction company in the Richmond, IN area. Jack and Henrietta has two children: Constance "Connie" BENDER and John Samuel "Sam" BENDER II. Jack and Henrietta live year-round at their Michigan home at Lake George on the Indiana- Michigan border. On December 12, 1932, in Bluffton, Pauline "Polly" BENDER married Joseph Louis "Joe" VORE of Bluffton, IN. Joe VORE was born in Bluffton, IN. Joe managed a Texas ranch for a Mrs. Black who was in the oil business. Joe used to say that Mrs. Black had a horse tank (pond) bigger than the LBJ Ranch and was reported to have a $2.5 million "ranch house" (1964 dollars)" with 27 bathrooms. Joe and Polly had two children: Richard Paul "Dick" VORE and Diane Elizabeth VORE. Dick VORE, despondent over a breakup with his girlfriend, shot and kiiled himself in 1964 at the age of 19. Joe VORE died in September 18, 1967 in Dallas, TX. Polly died in 1997, also in Dallas, TX. On July 21, 1951, Richard Paul "Dick" BENDER married Natalie Rose TANNEHILL of Fort Wayne, IN and soon after adopted her small son Gregory Louis MEYERS. Natalie was the daughter of Vernon Louis "Vern" TANNEHILL of Belfast, Highland County, Ohio and Veronica Edna "Vera" GOCKE. Growing up, Dick worked parttime while attending school and during the summers. The family lived in Bluffton and Angola, IN, and he attended school in both places. He lived with his grandmother Caroline PUGH in St. Petersberg, FL during his 8th grade year and attended school there. Dick was very popular in High School and was both Captain of the Basketball team and Senior Class President. Dick BENDER studied engineering at Tri-State College in Angola. When, during the war, he dropped out for a semester to earn money to continue, he was drafted into the Army. His engineering education got him into the Army Air Corps and Officer Candidate School. After further training at Yale University and in Boca Raton, FL, he was assigned as aircraft maintenance officer for a stateside training squadron. He made his way overseas and was stationed in post-war Germany before being mustered out. Dick returned to Tri-State College to finish a degree in Civil Engineering under the GI Bill. After graduation, he worked on construction projects in Alaska, California and Texas before returning to Indiana. In Fort Wayne, Dick was a partner in Tri-State Builders Supply before starting his own company building first houses and later bridges. Dick and Natalie had a second child, Kathryn Ann BENDER. Dick and Natalie moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971, where Dick opened an office and headed the estimating department for a large construction firm specializing in water treatment and sewage treatment plants. Dick BENDER died October 1, 1994 in Mountain View, CA of cancer and emphysema. On December 18, 1949, Carolyn Jane BENDER married Robert Edwin "Bob" BROOKSBANK of New York City. Bob, born March 11, 1925 in New York City, was the son of William Arthur BROOKSBANK and Ethel May JACKSON. Bob graduated from Tri-State College in Angola with a degree in chemical engineering. He worked most of his life for Union Carbide at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and was recognized as a world expert in the nuclear fuel cycle. At one time Bob was mayor of Kingston. Bob and Carolyn had five children: Rebecca Ann "Becky" BROOKSBANK, Robert "Bob or Bobby" BROOKSBANK; Richard "Rick" BROOKSBANK; Roger BROOKSBANK; and, Beth Lynn "Betsy" BROOKSBANK . Bob and Carolyn made their home in Kingston, TN.