Maxine Kruse - Bedford

Joseph Rawlins was born in 1796 inDanville, Kentucky. He and his brotherCharles and his uncle Roderick and theirfamilies came to early Indiana before1818. Joseph fought against the NativeAmericans on the northwest frontier andreceived a pension for his service. He wasa flatboat man and piloted produce to NewOrleans during the 1820s and 1830s. Hewas in the merchandise business and alsothe first county assessor. Joseph Rawlinsnamed the town of Bedford. Legend has itthat the name came from his earlier homeof Bedford County, Tennessee.

Dr. Joseph and Enola Lee Gardner were close friends of Clara Barton, founder of the AmericanNational Red Cross. Barton visited their home many times. They had met during the CivilWar, taking care of the dead and wounded. The Gardner family deeded their farm, just south ofBedford, to Barton to be used as the national headquarters, but it was soon decided it should bemoved to Washington, D.C.

Mary I. Rariden(ne Howland) wasthe wife of Dr. SamuelA. Rariden who wasa popular doctor inBedford during theearly 1900s.

The Tom Chapman family is pictured here. His wife was Della Chapman (ne Bass) and his sonswere Wayne, Lewis, and Oran. Tom was an early Lawrence County treasurer.

Dr. T. Ellison and the Honorable judge Moses Fell Dunn were close friends and early leaders ofBedford. Judge Dunn was a lawyer and a well-known politician. He traveled throughout Europe,was quite an orator, spoke several languages, and was a collector of first editions and very rarebooks. He was a generous man and gave much to the community. The local county hospitalbears his name; he donated money along with his exceptional library to the Bedford Masoniclodge and funded the Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument statue on the courthouse lawn.This photograph was taken in 1900.

David Newkirk and Robert N. Palmer sit loafing in front of this early business, House of Paints. Itis not known just where this business was located in Bedford. Newkirk was the son of BenjaminNewkirk and Eupha Newkirk (ne White). Palmers parents were James W. Palmer and LauraPalmer (ne Newland) who came to Lawrence County from Fauquier County, Virginia, andsettled early in the county. Palmer became a well-known attorney in Bedford. This picture wastaken around 1890.

Joe and Sarah L. Johnson lived in Bedford in the early 1900s at Thirteenth and K Streets. Therewere several unrelated branches of the Johnson family living in this area.

Hester Ann Crane sits in her hickory wickerrocker on her front porch with her twowell-loved pets, Scamper the dog and Figerothe yellow stripped cat. Crane was quite thestoryteller in the 1930s, remembering whenher mother and father came to Indianaaround 1855 from Tuscarawas County, Ohio,by covered wagon.

The Frank Smith family is shown outside their home. In the early 1900s, this kind of familyportrait was quite popular.

Arthur and Effie Crane, brother and sister, posed for this photograph in the 1920s. The earlyCrane family of this area is said to have come from Calvert County, Maryland.

Fred Bishop Otis and his sisters lived inBedford. The three sisters are, from leftto right, Frances, Hattie, and Fannie.Fred was a newspaperman who nevermarried. He was born on February 28,1863, and died at the age of 81. Otis Parkis named after him.

This vintage photograph is of the Emery family. Those family members pictured are, fromleft to right, (first row) John G. Emery (grandfather), Charles H. Emery, and Mary Emery(grandmother); (second row) Dr. Trainer, Florence Emery, Mrs. Trainer, Mary Alice Emery (wifeof George Rowe), Rose E. Emery (wife of Charles Emery), Dr. Charles H. Emery, John HowardEmery, Cora Ferris, and Dorothy Trainer.