William H. Albea was born on March 4, 1862. He is the son of William an Elizabeth (Hayse) Albea. William Albea was born on April 11, 1828, and died on May 14, 1871. He was the son of Zaccheus Albea, who was born in Maryland and who later moved to North Carolina, where he lived on a farm for the remainder of his life. He died in 1860. William Albea was twice married, his first wife, who was the mother of the subject of this sketch, was Elizabeth Hayse, who was born on January 13, 1831, and who died on July 23, 1863. She was a daughter of Charles and Martha (Rutledge) Hayse, who were farmers in Iredell county, North Carolina, but who later moved to Davy county, North Carolina. William Albea lived his entire life in North Carolina. He was a slaveholder and owned a tract of four hundred acres of land. At the time of the Civil War he was a soldier in the Southern Army. To his first marriage were born the following children: Joseph W., who was born on June 9, 1849, and who died on June 23, 1849; R.A., July 27, 1850; Mary B., October 20, 1852; Martha, August 3, 1855; Charles, Novembr 18, 1857; James, November 30, 1859, and William H., March 4, 1862. All of these latter are living, and R.A., the eldest of the family, came first to this state and county, and then the other brothers and sisters followed. After the death of Elizabeth (Hayse) Albea in 1863, William Albea married Jane West, who was born on December 24, 1843, and who died on June 16, 1883. To this union were born the following children: A.C., born on December 5, 1864; Thomas M., October 2, 1866, and John W., October 2, 1870.

William H. Albea, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools. He married Effie J. Murphy, who was born in Hancock county on February 18, 1869, and who was the daughter of John P. and Clara (Wilson) Murphy, who were farmers in Hancock county. They are members of the United Brethren church. John P. Murphy was a soldier in the Civil War and was wounded in the leg. Mr. and Mrs. Albea are the parents of the following children: William P., who lives in the township and who married Dora Fuqua; Clara E., who married Ott Bolander, and to them two children have been born, Pauline, who died aged nine months, and Henry H. and Lillie May, at home. Mr. Albea is a Mason and also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Improved Order of Red Men of America. He is a Democrat in politics and has been county commissioner for four years. He is the owner of a farm of one hundred and thirty-seven acres. He lived for nineteen years in Mohawk, where he ran a general store, which he sold and moved onto the farm in 1903.

Transcribed from History of Hancock County, Indiana, Its People, Industries and Institutions by George J. Richman, B. L., Federal Publishing Co., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1916. Pages 842-43.

Submitted by Sylvia (Rose) Duda, Laingsburg, MI September 12, 2001.

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