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Biography of Andrew Loop


Andrew Loop (1816-1910) was the second son
and third child of Christian Loop Jr. and Eva Airhart.
This biography, with his portrait, was published in
Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery, Parke and
Fountain Counties, Indiana in 1893.¹

ANDREW LOOP, a retired farmer of ample means, occupies a pleasant home at Mace, where he has valuable property, and is still identified with the agricultural interests of Montgomery County as the owner of a large farm in Walnut Township.  A native of Augusta County, Va., Mr. Loop was born March 24, 1816.   He is of German descent, his paternal grandfather, Christian Loop, having been born in Germany.²

Christian Loop, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Rockingham County, Va., November 17, 1788.  In early manhood he removed to Augusta County, where he married Eva, daughter of Christian Airhart [Earhart].  He continued his residence in that county, giving his attention to farming, until 1834, when he came to Indiana, and cast in his lot with the pioneers of Boone County, where he bought land, and also entered some from the Government.  His first purchase comprised a quarter section, for which he paid $1,000.  About fifteen acres of it was cleared, and he devoted himself to the further improvement of his property during the twenty years that he resided upon it.  In the meantime he added to his landed estate until he possessed a half section at the time of his death.  In the latter part of his life he removed to Beckville, and lived retired until his death, November 20, 1879, at the advanced age of ninety-one years and three days.  Mrs. Loop was born April 7, 1779, and died in 1867.  Mr. Loop was a member of the Lutheran Church and always led a consistent Christian life.  Politically he was a Democrat.

Mr. and Mrs. Loop had eight children, all of whom grew to maturity.  John is a farmer in Texas; Sallie, who resides in Iowa, is the widow of John Bowman; Andrew is the subject of this sketch; David, deceased, was a farmer of this county; Elizabeth married William Bowman and is now dead; Catherine married John Airhart of Boone County; Rebecca, deceased, was the wife of John Simmons of Missouri; Polly married Jacob Fall and lives with our subject.

Andrew Loop was eighteen years old when he came to Indiana with his father, with whom he remained until he was twenty-two, affording him valuable assistance in clearing and cultivating his farm.  After he was married he first located in Walnut Township, on a quarter section of land that he purchased of his father, and carried on the business of farming and stock-raising.  His land was partly cleared when it came into his possession, and he actively set to work to fell the remainder of the standing timber and to place the soil under cultivation.  The fine condition in which we find it to-day indicates the perseverance and industry with which he has labored, for it is now one of the best appointed farms in this section of the country, all the improvements being the work of his own hand.  He has dealt extensively in real estate, increasing the size of his farm to four hundred and fifty-seven acres, all in Walnut Township, and at one time he owned one thousand acres of realty in Iowa.

Mr. Loop's first marriage, which occurred December 27, 1837, was with Elizabeth, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Airhart, of Augusta County, Va.  She died, leaving one daughter, Mary Jane, now the wife of James G. Johnson, of Mace.  Mr. Loop's second wife was Harriet, daughter of William Farlow, a farmer of Boone County.  She was the mother of two children:  Harriet E., the wife of Adam Gasgell, a farmer of Kansas, and Amanda C., wife of William Chambers of Walnut Township.  Mr. Loop took for his third wife Mrs. Lydia Lockridge, widow of James Lockridge and daughter of James W. Wheat, who came from England.  There are three children born to the third marriage:   William C., a resident of Walnut Township, who married Eupema J., daughter of Christopher Dice; Virginia A., wife of William A. Stafford, a farmer of Union Township, and Lydia L., wife of Charles M. Broughton, of Union Township.

Mr. Loop was a pioneer of Montgomery County, and relates many interesting incidents which occurred in the early years of its settlement.  When the family came to Indiana they had to transport their household goods through the wilderness with horses and wagons, and were four weeks making the trip.  The Airharts came with them, and five of the girls walked all the way.  At that time Crawfordsville was only a hamlet, and the nearest mill was on the Cox river, ten miles distant.  Many of the farmers took their wheat to Chicago to market.  The pioneers here lived in log houses, wore clothes made of flax and wool, raised on their farms, and woven, cut and made by the wives and daughters, and their food was of home production, varied by game from the forests.

Mr. Loop's ability and solid worth have received due recognition from his fellow-citizens, who have called him to various responsible offices.  He was a member of the County Board of Supervisors two years, was Justice of the Peace eight years, and Notary Public twelve years.  He was also elected Constable, but declined to serve.   He has acted as administrator of eight different estates, which fact proves that the integrity and conscientiousness of his life in the community have led the people to accord him entire respect and confidence.  He belongs to the Horse Thief Detective Association, and was its treasurer a number of years.  Politically he leans toward the Democracy, and always votes that ticket in presidential elections.  Religiously our subject is a Presbyterian, and is an Elder in Union Church, two miles east of Mace, while his wife has identified herself with the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Their children had good home training and are all church members, but do not all belong to the same church.

1. Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain Counties, Indiana (Chicago, Ill.: Chapman Bros., 1893), pp. 454-57.
2. It is believed that his paternal grandfather was Phillip Lupp and that he was born in Pennsylvania.