Source: History of Boone County, Indiana, by Hon. L.M. Crist, 1914.
AMERICUS C. DAILY Americus C. Daily, for years a prominent
business man of
Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana, and a well-known politician whose
reputation was state
wide, was the descendant of an old and well-known family of Luzerne
county,
Pennsylvania, and sprung from the sterling Scotch-Irish stock
which added so much
character to the early history of the Keystone state. His great-grandfather,
David Daily, a
native of the north of Ireland, came to America in company with
two brothers in the time
of the colonies. He was a patriot in the war of Independence,
throughout which he served
with distinction. One of his brothers settled in Virginia, the
other in Montreal, Canada,
and both became widely and favorably known in their respective
localities. David Daily,
grandfather of Americus C., was for some years a farmer of Luzerne
county,
Pennsylvania, in which state he married Elizabeth Overfield, a
member of a distinguished
family, and reared ten children. He was a pioneer of Ohio, moving
to Miami county, that
state, as early as 1816, and resided there until 1833, at which
time he came to Boone
county, Indiana, locating near Thorntown, where his death occurred
in 1860, at the ripe
old age of eighty-two years. Charles Daily, son of the above and
father of Americus C.,
was born December 23, 1810, in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and
by occupation was a
harness maker, which calling he followed at various places for
a period of twenty-five
years. He married in Clark county, Ohio, Mary Hay, daughter of
Joseph and Nancy
(Johnson) Hay, and became the father of six children, the following
being their names:
Benjamin O., who was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana; Americus
C., Henry H., Samuel
R., Charles O. and David H., who were born in New Carlisle, Ohio.
It is a fact worthy of
note that no death occurred in the family of Mr. Daily or in any
of the families of his
children until he had been married over sixty years. Charles Daily
became a resident of
Boone county, Indiana, in 1880 and retired from active life about
the same year in very
comfortable circumstances. Financially, he met with most encouraging
success, was for
many years a class leader in the Methodist church and died ripe
in years and full of
honors at Lebanon, November 2, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-three.
The chief
characteristics of this most excellent man were strict integrity,
a high sense of honor and
a retiring disposition, and he is remembered as a great lover
of his home and family. Mrs.
Daily was in every respect a fit companion and helpmate of such
a husband and followed
in his footsteps a few years later.
Americus C. Daily, the principal facts of whose life are herewith
set forth, was born
March 10, 1835, in New Carlisle, Ohio, in the schools of which
place he received his
elementary education. Later he pursued his studies for some years
in the Linden Hill
Academy, where he obtained a knowledge of the higher branches
of learning under the
instruction of Prof. Thomas Harrison, A. M., D. D., a noted educator
of Ohio, formerly
assistant editor of the Western Christian Advocate, and subsequently
president of Moores
Hill college. The following notice of Mr. Daily, given without
solicitation by Professor
Harrison, was indeed a most flattering testimonial to the young
man's assiduity and worth
as a student: "Over thirty years ago, while I was principal
of Linden Hill Academy in
Ohio, Mr. A. C. Daily was a student of the institution. His parents
were upright and
industrious citizens and he early learned from them the importance
and advantage of a
correct life. Too much can not be said of his many excellent qualities.
As a student he had
a strong, clear and vigorous intellect, and he readily grasped
the various branches of
knowledge he studied. His industry and perseverance were unceasing.
His moral
character was without a blemish. He was always respectful to his
instructors and obedient
to the regulations of the institution. He was kind and obliging
to his fellow-students, and
among them was a universal favorite. His parents assisted him
in obtaining an education
and he faithfully co-operated with them in the great work."
In 1855, when twenty years of age, Mr. Daily came to Boone
county, Indiana, and
accepted the position of deputy county treasurer under his uncle,
John C. Daily, in which
capacity he continued until the expiration of the latter's term
of office, when he became
clerk in the auditor's office, discharging the duties of the same
until 1860. In that year he
was appointed clerk of the Boone county circuit court to fill
a vacancy occasioned by the
death of Henry Shannon, and in 1861 was elected trustee of Center
township. In 1862,
Mr. Daily was complimented by being elected to the office of county
auditor, the duties
of which position he discharged in a manner highly creditable
to himself and satisfactory
to his constituency for one term, and in 1867, in partnership
with Judge L. C. Daugherty
and Maj. Harvey G. Hazelrigg, organized the Lebanon Bank, a private
institution, which
from the beginning had the confidence of the people and proved
highly successful. In
1882 the bank was reorganized as the Lebanon National bank, with
A. C. Daily as
president; Levi Lane, vice-president, and Samuel S. Daily, cashier;
the capital stock at
that time being $60,000.
Mr. Daily was public spirited in all the term implies and was
untiring in his efforts
toward building up the city of Lebanon and developing the resources
of Boone county.
For six consecutive years he was secretary of the Boone County
Agricultural Society,
much of the success of which is due to his executive ability and
he was always liberal
with his means in the promotion of any and all enterprises having
for their object the
moral and material well being of the community. For some years
he was treasurer of the
Indiana Trotting and Pacing Horse Dealers' Association, a state
organization.
Fraternally, Mr. Daily was a Mason of the thirty-second degree
and also belonged to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both subordinate lodge and encampment,
in the
former of which he held every official position. He was a member
of the grand lodge of
the state and was honored by being chosen to represent Indiana
in the Sovereign grand
lodge at Topeka, Kansas, in 1890, and in St. Louis in 1891. It
will thus be seen that Mr.
Daily's life was one of great activity; his official and business
career was without the
slightest taint of suspicion and he stood deservedly high among
the people of Boone
county, who learned to respect him for his integrity and other
excellent traits of character.
Mr. Daily was a Republican in politics and as such was untiring
in his efforts to promote
the interests of his party in Boone county and throughout the
state. In April, 1894, he was
nominated for the office of auditor of the state and in the November
following was
triumphantly elected by a state plurality of forty-four thousand
seven hundred
seventythree, his majority in his own county of Boone being one
hundred and fifty-eight
ahead of his ticket, showing him to be a prime favorite. In 1896
he succeeded himself
with a favorable majority. For this position his abilities eminently
fitted him and in this
connection it is proper to quote from the note of Professor Harrison,
to which reference
was made in a preceding paragraph, relative to his ability to
fill positions of trust, in the
event of his election: "That he has succeeded so admirably
as a noble American citizen is
only what may be expected. To whatever position the votes of the
people may elevate
him, he will most assuredly fill with the highest credit."
Mr. Daily married Maggie F. McCorkle, daughter of Solomon and
Ruth Culver
McCorkle, of Champaign county, Ohio, and two children were born
to this union,
Charles E. and Blanche. Mrs. Daily was a member of the Methodist
church and Mr. Daily
held for years the position of trustee in the Lebanon congregation.
He died June 4, 1907.
DAILY DAUGHERTY HARRISON HAY HAZELRIGG JOHNSON LANE
MCCORKLE OVERFIELD
Submitted by Amy K Davis