Martin V. Montgomery
Family Gathering at Home of M. V. Montgomery,
Center Township
A half a century ago hundreds of thousands of men and boys marched away from comfortable homes and dear ones, to offer up their lives on the altar of patriotism. Some dyed that altar with their life blood and never returned; others came back but have borne through the succeeding years the indelible imprint left by the hardships and privations of war. Those who were spared to return found difficulties awaiting them; after years of strenuous endeavor, when each minute might be their last -when a nation's life hung upon their bravery and endurance, it was o easy matter to resume the ordinary occupations of work-a-day life. Yet thousands did this very thing, and even today a larger proportion of the best citizenship of this country is composed of veterans of the great struggle between the North and the South -men of sound principle, possessed of high moral and physical courage who have rounded out lives that will set an enduring example for generations to come. Grant County furnished its full quota of volunteers during the dark days of the Civil War, and among these was Martin V. Montgomery, now a highly respected farmer-citizen of Center Township, where he has passed many years in the tilling of the soil.
Martin V. Montgomery was born March 26, 1841, in Guernsey County, Ohio, and is a son of James and Jane (Smith) Montgomery, also natives of that State. Some time after their marriage, Mr. Montgomery's parents removed to Vinton County, Ohio, and in 1854 came to Grant County, Indiana, locating in Center Township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. They were honest sturdy people, industrious and thrifty, and Mr. Montgomery was well known in public affairs in his community, serving in a number of offices. They had a family of ten children, of whom two are living at this time: Martin V.; and Thomas M., now a resident of Pekin, Illinois, who during the Civil War served for three years as a member of Company C, Eighty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
Martin V. Montgomery received his education in the district schools of Vinton County, Ohio, and Grant County, Indiana, and was still little than a lad when he enlisted for service in Company H, Sixtieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, after the outbreak of hostilities between the States. This company was later attached to Company D, of the same regiment, and of the 104 men who originally composed the organization, but four returned to Grant County at the close of the war, Mr. Montgomery being one of the four. Mr. Montgomery participated in some of the most sanguinary engagements that marked the great struggle, and at all times deported himself as a gallant and faithful soldier, ever ready and eager to perform the duties which fell to his lot. At the battle of Mumfordsville he was taken prisoner, and confined for seventeen days, and after Vicksburg took part in the operations on the Mississippi, being again captured by the Confederates at New Iberia, Louisiana, when he was held for three months before receiving his exchange. Later, under Gen. U. S. Grant, he served in Arkansas.
At the close of the war Mr. Montgomery returned to Grant County, and in the same year was married to Miss Martha J. Taylor, now deceased. He moved to Michigan in 1873, and was there married to Mary E. Camper. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery never had children of their own, but hey raised three boys and one girl. Mrs. Montgomery died October 24, 1913. While a resident of Big Rapids, Michigan, Mr. Montgomery met with an accident which cost him an arm, and following this misfortune he returned to Grant County, Indiana, and again engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he has continued to the pres4ent time. He makes a specialty of raising Poland-China hogs. His farm is in excellent condition and is located on the Soldiers' Home Pike, about five miles southeast of Marion. He is a Republican in his political views, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in public matters. He receives a pension from the government in recognition of his services in behalf of his country's flag at a time when secession reared its gory head.
Source: Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 956.