"COUNTIES OF MORGAN, MONROE & BROWN, INDIANA. HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL."
CHARLES BLANCHARD, EDITOR. CHICAGO: F. A. BATTEY & CO. PUBLISHERS. 1884.
F. A. BATTEY. F. W. TEPPLE
BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE
PAGE 240
ELI J. SUMNER was born in Highland County, Ohio, May 28, 1812. His
parents, Absalom and Priscilla (Jackson) Sumner, were natives of Surrey
County, N.C., and of Welsh and Scotch extraction respectively. Eli J.
Sumner received a respectable common school and academic education, and
subsequently became a teacher in Union Seminary, in his native county. In
the fall of 1830, he visited Morresville for the first time, spent a few
weeks in prospecting, and then returned to Highland County, where, June 13,
1833 he married Anna E. Boxley, daughter of George Boxley, of Spottsylvania
County, Va. May 5, 1834, Mr. Sumner's wife died. In the fall of the same
year, he came on horseback to Mooresville, and the following winter taught
in the Moon Schoolhouse, near by. January 21, 1836, he was married in
Morgan County to Jane E., daughter of Joshua Carter, and at once settled on
a tract of land presented to him by his father, about six miles west of
Mooresville. In the fall of 1849, he purchased a large flouring and saw
mill near the village, and operated it until the spring of 1853, when he
removed to Sharpsville, Tipton County, and engaged in the manufacturing and
shipping of lumber for a few months, and then returned to his farm near
Mooresville, where he remained until 1865 (in the meanwhile carrying on a
lumber trade in the Wabash Valley), when he moved to Wabash. In the spring
of 1868, he moved to Indianapolis, and in the fall of 1869 returned to
Mooresville. By his second wife he became father of seven children, all
born in Morgan County--Thomas C., William C., Caswell B., James O., Anna E.,
Hannah C. and Nancy E.; of these, the eldest two only are living. Mr.
Sumner has been identified with several religious denominations, but is now,
with his wife, a consistent Methodist. In politics, he is a Republican, and
he has always been an active worker in the cause of temperance.
Data Entry Volunteer: Diana Flynn "ivie@tima.com"
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