My Genealogy Hound

Elliott W. LaDuke, one of the older residents of Posey county, Indiana, whose memory harks back to the days of diamond plows, grubbing stumps and raising wool for clothing, was born in Harrison county, Indiana, October 23, 1858, son of Harrison and Mary (Johnson) LaDuke, natives of the same county where the grandfather of the subject settled upon coming from France. Harrison LaDuke was a farmer and also engaged in brick making, in which he used the old method by hand. Mr. LaDuke, our subject, was raised in Harrison county, attending the country schools of those times. He worked at farming, first as a hired hand, saving money enough to start for himself at the time of his marriage. Oxen were used in hauling timbers in those days, and the old-fashioned farm implements were still in vogue. His first farm had to be grubbed of stumps. Fourteen years ago he bought his present farm, which is one of the best in this section of the country. He has always been successful in his farming and stock-raising. Percheron horses, Poland China hogs and cattle have been his specialties. Upon one occasion he sold in Mt. Vernon a Short Horn from his herd which weighed 1,960 pounds. His entire farm of 128 acres is under cultivation and he also farms eighty acres near his home. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, but public office has never appealed to him. He was one of the active factors in the organization of the Farmers’ Elevator Company of Mt. Vernon. On November 13, 1883, Mr. LaDuke married Miss Mary Alldredge, daughter of Jefferson and Isabelle Alldredge, natives of Indiana, mother born in Lawrenceburg, Ind. She was born in Posey county, Indiana, February 20, 1868, on the farm where her parents still reside. Here she was raised and attended the country schools. As a girl she carded cotton to make quilts, picking the seeds out by hand. She has helped plant corn by dropping it by hand into the hill, someone following with a hoe to cover the grains. Those were the days when wheat was cut with a cradle, and Mr. LaDuke used to do his harvesting in this manner. Clover was cut with a scythe, and raking was done by hand. Threshing was done in the same way that it was done in Biblical times, by tramping out the grain. Mrs. LaDuke remembers the first threshing machine. It was horse power, and was purchased by her brother. It is well within the memory of both our subject and his wife when their parents raised sheep for wool with which they made clothing, using the old spindle and hand loom. They became the parents of seven children: Elmer, born March 12, 1885; Edith, born September 18, 1886, married S. W. Frease, and lives in Black township; Mabel, born February 25, 1889, graduated from the Mt. Vernon High School, and is now teaching school at Stewartsville, Ind.; Nora, born May 13, 1892, married Earl Miller, and lives in Black township; Vivian, born December 17, 1897, graduated from the common schools; Malcolm, born January 1, 1899, and Floyd, born October 7, 1902, are now attending school. The LaDuke family are members of the Methodist church, in which Mr. LaDuke is a trustee.