Among the sturdy, energetic and thriving agriculturists of Clay county 
who have a thorough understanding of their vocation and consequently 
are enabled to carry on that calling most profitably is 
Franklin P. Elliott, of Perry township, a well-known and
prosperous farmer. A son of Bluford Elliott, he was born November 16,
1852, in Washington county, Indiana, near Salem.
    Mr. Elliott’s paternal grandfather, William Elliott, lived in North
Carolina until sixteen years old. Ambitious then to try life on the frontier,
he came to the territory of Indiana, which seemed to him a land of bright
promise. Locating in Floyd county, he lived and labored there until
after his marriage with Nancy Biarly, who, it is thought, was born in that
county. Settling then in Washington county, he was employed as a tiller
of the soil near Salem until about 1860, when he went to Middletown,
Vigo county, where he continued his independent occupation during the
remainder of his active life. Both he and his wife there attained good
old ages, he being eighty-two years old at the time of his death, and she
nearly as old when she died.
    A native of Washington county, Indiana, Bluford Elliott was there
reared to agricultural pursuits, and there spent the earlier years of his
life. Locating in Vigo county in 1853, he rented land near Centerville,
and there as a general farmer met with good success. Seven years later,
having accumulated some money, he bought a tract of unimproved land
lying three and one-half miles northwest of Centerville, and having
cleared away a part of the brush and timber erected a substantial hewed
log house, which is still standing and is in excellent condition. He planted
fruit and shade trees, and made other improvements of value, and there
resided until his death, at the age of three score years. He married Mar-
garet Haugher, who was born in Washington county, Indiana, a daughter
of Solomon and Miss (Perkizer) Haugher. Her father, a native of
Pennsylvania, fought in the Indian wars. He was a pioneer of Washing-
ton county, Indiana, but afterwards located in Middletown, Vigo county,
where he purchased a small farm, which he managed as long as he was
able, and on which both he and his wife lived to advanced ages, her death
occurring about a year before his. Mrs. Bluford Elliott survived her
husband, passing away at the age of eighty years. She reared seven
children, namely: Franklin Pierce, Milton, Edward, Clifford, Mary,
Martha and Philander.
    But a year old when his parents settled in Vigo county, Franklin P.
Elliott was brought up amid pioneer scenes. There were at that time no
railroads in the state, transportation being made by teams, and Terre
Haute, the most convenient market, was but a small village. He began
as a boy to assist on the farm, remaining at home until twenty-five years
old. Working then by the day or month, he saved his earnings until he
had enough to buy a team, when he rented land and commenced his career
as an independent farmer. Prosperity greeting his efforts, he was enabled
in 1888 to buy in section thirty-four, Perry township, a farm which had
been partly cleared and had a fair set of farm buildings. Selling out in
1898, Mr. Elliott bought the place which he now occupies and has since
carried on general farming with good results. He has eighty acres of rich
land, well improved, and a substantial set of buildings, the whole estate
being a credit to his industry and good management.
    Mr. Elliott married first, November 16, 1882, Louisa Latham, who
was born in North Carolina, and died on the home farm in Perry town-
ship November 18, 1903. Her parents, Solomon and Elizabeth (Bolin)
Latham, came from North Carolina to Indiana in November, 1860, locat-
ing in Montgomery county at first, but afterwards living in Putnam
county, and then at Sugar Ridge township, Clay county, and later in
Perry township, where both spent their last days, Mrs. Latham surviving
her husband a few years. Mr. Elliott married second Mrs. Senna
(Goedeker) Latham, who was born in Holland, a daughter of Joseph
Goedeker. Mr. Goedeker was born, reared and married in Germany. On
leaving the Fatherland he lived for awhile in Holland, and then, accom-
panied by his wife, two children and his mother, emigrated to Indiana,
settling in Terre Haute, where he worked for awhile at the carpenter’s
trade. He subsequently bought land in Perry township, and was here
engaged in carpentering and farming until his death.
    Mrs. Elliott married for her first husband Noah Latham, who was
born in North Carolina, a son of Solomon Latham. He died in 1902, leav-
ing six children, namely: John F., Lon, Lana, Lizzie, Annie and Elsie.
John F. Latham married Mattie Gibbons, and they have four children,
Ruth, Carl, Daisy and Iretha. Lon Latham married Minnie Varner, and
they have two children, Clifford and Dorothy. Lana, wife of George
Cortner, has four children, Jessie, Rosa, Glendolin and Willis. Lizzie
married Oliver Bosley and they have one child, Esther. Mr. Elliott is a
Democrat.