JAMES D. HOWARD.-An honored representative of the brave, daring and energetic pioneers who came to this section of the country when it was in its primitive wilderness, and by heroic work actively assisted in developing it into a fertile and productive region, James D. Howard, of Carlisle, is eminently worthy of especial mention in this biographical work. A son of Cornelius Howard, he was born September 4, 1844, in Jefferson township, Sullivan county, on the home farm. His grandparents, Joseph and Sarah Howard, were born, reared, and married in North Carolina. They afterwards lived for awhile in Kentucky, and their first child was born in Daniel Boone's fort. Coming from there to Sullivan county in 1820, he took up land, and was there employed in tilling the soil until his death, in the fall of 1838. He was buried in the Indian Prairie Cemetery, in that township, his body being the first there interred.
Cornelius Howard was born, June 13, 1805, in Oldham county, Kentucky, and died October 28, 1896, in Jefferson township, Sullivan county, Indiana. He was a farmer from choice, being engaged to a considerable extent in stock raising and dealing, and at one time was owner of four hundred acres of land. He married first, Nancy Jarrel, who lived but a short time after their marriage. He married second, Naomi Mayfield, who was born in Jefferson township, Sullivan county, June 20, 1819, and died in the same township, May 9, 1894. Her father, James Mayfield, who served in the war of 1812, married Amelia Hinkle, in Kentucky, their native state, and was subsequently one of the original settlers of Jefferson township. Of the marriage of Cornelius and Naomi (Mayfield) Howard, eleven children were born, as follows: Joseph T., of Jefferson township; Naomi Elizabeth; James D., of this sketch; W. W., residing on the old Howard homestead; R. M., deceased; Franklin P., deceased; John S., engaged in the fruit business in Florida; Sarah E., wife of Edward C. Shake, of Haddon township; Wilton M., also of Haddon township; Jasper, deceased; and Daniel V., engaged in farming in Fairland, Indiana.
Brought up on the home farm, James D. Howard was given excellent educational advantages, attending first the district schools, afterwards continuing his studies at what is now the DePauw University, in Greencastle. He subsequently taught school three terms in Jefferson township, and was then in the drug business in Carlisle until 1870, when, in company with James L. Berry, he embarked in the drug business in Carlisle, being junior member of the firm of Berry & Howard. In January, 1874, he returned to Jefferson township, and resumed work on his farm of one hundred acres, residing there until September, 1888. Locating in that year in Franklin, Mr. Howard was there employed in the grocery business for three years, when he traded one hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson township for a farm in Haddon township, an estate of two hundred acres, subsequently selling his store and property in Franklin, Indiana. Immediately assuming possession of his property, he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Haddon township from 1891 until 1905, as a general farmer and stock raiser, meeting with genuine success. Since that time, Mr. Howard has been a resident of Carlisle, where he is living retired from active pursuits, although he still supervises the management of his farm. He is highly esteemed as a man and a citizen, and is an influential member of the Democratic party, and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, into which he was initiated January 8, 1872. He has filled all of the offices of his lodge and encampment, and has been a delegate to the grand lodge.
On February 28, 1867, Mr. Howard married Nancy Jane Robbins, who was born in Knox county, Indiana, January 10, 1846. Her parents, John and Lucy (Bowen) Robbins, came from Kentucky, their native state, to Indiana, and were among the very first settlers of the northern end of Knox county. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He had a family of seven children, as follows: James, deceased; Julia, wife of William A. Perry, of Freelandsville, Indiana; Mary, deceased; Thomas, residing on a part of the Robbins homestead, in Knox county; Nancy Jane, wife of Mr. Howard; Isabella, deceased; and Alexander M., living on a portion of the old homestead. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Howard, namely: a child that died in infancy; Edward C., deceased; Carrie B., deceased; Flora E., born October 3, 1874, is the wife of Thomas A. Grizzle, of Carlisle; and Icie Nora, born April 11, 1877, married Frank Corbin, of Carlisle, and has one child, James V. Corbin. Forty-one years ago Mr. Howard united with the Missionary Baptist church, to which his parents belonged, and of which his wife is a member, and he has filled all of the offices connected with the church.