BOONE COUNTY INDIANA BIOGRAPHIES

David Holloman
    David Holloman was born in 1835 in Steelville, Missouri. When he was 16 years of age in 1851 he migrated to California. To pay his way he helped lead an oxen train and his daughter says that she can remember him saying that they thought they were going to be attacked by Indians but thankfully nothing happened. He spent some time in the Marysville and San Jose areas of California, and if he prospected for gold he was not successful. He returned to Missouri via ship and land. He sailed from San Francisco to the Panama area and then portaged across the Isthmus of Panama and by ship again to Norfolk, Va. While coming around Cape Hatteras there was a storm and he was afraid that they would be shipwrecked but were not.
    He returned to California in 1864 with his first wife, Elizabeth Dunlap, of Missouri. They had three sons and a daughter. The oldest son, Robert, died in Miami, Florida, in 1935; the next, Reed, was a lawyer and judge In New Mexico. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention when New Mexico was admitted to the Union in 1912. Reed died in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1957. The youngest son, Tom, was a barber and died in San Antonio, Texas, in the early 1960’s. The daughter died in infancy and is buried along with her mother, who died In 1877, in San Jose, California.
    David Hollornan came to Boone County in 1879 because his Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Will DeVol had a farm here. The DeVols had entered 640 acres from the Government and at their deaths, David received 105 acres (presently owned by Keith and Aretta Cunningham). He farmed this land and had a specialty orchard containing many varieties of fruit previously unknown in this area. Of the remaining acres, George Rigsby, whom the DeVols had raised, received 300 acres and the remaining acreage went to the DeVol heirs. In 1881 David married Frances L Henderson. They had three children: Lila (Mrs. Walter Hodge) who died in Lebanon in 1924, Newell T., who died in Lebanon in 1967, and Mae (Mrs. Stanley E. Jones), who is still living.
Mr. Holloman loved California and so they moved to the Bakersfield, California, area, living near what at that time was called Kern City, but today is known as East Bakersfield. David died in 1902 and is buried in Union Cemetery, Bakersfield. Frances and the children returned to Boone County about a year later.
Martin Hauser

    Martin Hauser was born November 11, 1696, in Germany. He was married to Margarett Schaffer in 1721 in Germany. The couple journeyed to North Carolina In 1752. Children of the couple were George Hauser, born in 1730, married to Barbra Deitz, January 11, l776; and John Lawrence Hauser, married Martha Clayton on July 26, 1802,  in Stokes County, North Carolina.
    Lewis Hauser was the son of John Hauser, born September14, 1803. His first marriage was to Levina Stultz and his second marriage was to Laura Lewis. George A. Hauser was a son of Lewis Hauser, born August 18, 1839. He and his wife, Lavina Neese, to whom he was wed August 8, 1861, had four children: Viola was born March 1, 1863, and married Emmett Pitzer, November 11, 1880. They had eight children: Harland, Estella, Riley. Caroline, Audra, Arnetta, Joyce, and Wayne.
    Riley was born September 25, 1864, and was married Nettle Garner in 1866. SIze died in 1910. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Worland on June 20, 1911. They had four sons Robert, George, Franklin, and Lewis.
    Robert married Margaret Graham. They had four daughters. Margaret Ann married Harry Stum and had two girls: Loretta Ellen and Rose Mary. Albert F. Hauser, born January 25, 1866, was married to Lenora Johns on February 10, 1887. Three children were born to the union. The first baby, a girl, was stillborn and is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery. Ethel was born December 19, 1888, and was married to Ernest Scott. They had three children: Devota, Gareth, and Ren. Devota married Delmar Ditzenberger and they had three children. Gareth married Zona Bennington and they had three children. Ren married Pheobe Moore. The couple lives north of Whitestown on the Scott farm.
    Elsie M., the daughter of George and Lavina Hauser was born October 17, 1875, and was killed September 23, 1879, while riding with her father on a sled in which he was hauling a cider mill. She is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.
    Glen E. Hauser, the son of Albert F. and Lenora Hauser, was born May 12, 1892, on the Hauser farm, located two miles south of Whitestown, His first marriage was to Pearl Lane. His second marriage was to Ruth Cook Updike on December 26, 1923.
    George A. Hauser was a politican. He was trustee of Worth Township. In 1880 he was elected Clerk of the Boone County Circuit Court. He lived in Worth Township all of his life, with the exception of four years when he resided in Lebanon.
Riley Hauser was deputy clerk for his father and for Michael Keefe for eight years. He was also in the under -taking business, in the firm of Hauser and Hogshire in the1800’s. He was secretary of the Boone County Fair Association for several years.
Joseph Ferneding Worland
1935-1919

Joseph Ferneding Worland was born in Shelby County. Indiana, Nov. 30, 1835, the same day Mark Twain was born and thirty-nine years before Winston ChurchilL He was baptized by and named for Father Joseph Femeding, for whom he conceived a deep hatred and would therefore use only his middle initial. He never learned to read or write but was by no means stupid, and was so witty that the young bucks thought it great sport to get him out of bed to answer such questions as, “How far is it half a mile down the road?” because the answer was worth their time. In fact, my mother thinks that this prank was the basis of his hatred for her father, George Rader.
    He married first Marinda Allen, and they had three children, Olive, Cora and a baby that died. They moved to Boone County, Indiana in 1869. Marinda died in 1880. Olive was already married. She had hidden her clothes under the steps of Center Church when she went to young people's meeting on Sunday night, and the next day she and George stood up in the buggy in front of the church and were married, so that when her father got there with his shotgun to prevent the marriage, there was nothing he could do about it. When Joe's wife died he took Cora to some of the neighbors, but when he went to visit her he found she had head lice. He said, “If I can't hire anybody to take care of her, Ill find somebody!” This somebody proved to be Lizzie Brown, a tiny little woman who was very efficient and cheerful, and although quite deaf, a voluble talker. Her speech and manner were very precise. She and Joe had two children, Mattie and Albert. Mattie was just the age of her half-niece, Cora Rader, and they were always closer than sisters.
    Olive and Cora both had very hard lives. They both married against their father's wishes and he disinherited them. George Rader was a brilliant man and a mechanical genius, but was never able to make his talents pay off, so that his family lived
in great poverty. So did the family of Cora and Jim McNealy. However, when someone attempted to quiz Mattie about family relationships her black eyes snapped and with her machine -gun speech she fired back, “Olive always brings the children and comes home once a year, and she can truthfully say that her father's always glad to see her!”
    But when Mattie became old enough to be interested in the boys, Joe tried to shoo them all off. Finally Eli Rose succeeded in winning her love, with her mother's approvaL Before they went to town to be married, Lizzie had the man across the road teach her to load and unload the shotgun so that if Joe took after Eli, he could do him no harm. Fortunately, when she told Joe that Mattie was married he took it very well, and she reloaded the gun. He never knew it had been unloaded. She was prone to say on occasion, “Josie, behave yourself!” and sometimes he did.
    Joe was a man of violent temper and foul and profane tongue, but he had very strict standards of behavior for all small fry who came near him, particularly concerning table manners. Once when the Erp children were visiting there, they climbed up on the fence of the mule pen. Joe came on the run and grabbed them off. “Those mules will kick your heads off!” Zonda says, “I don't think he said, ‘Those mules will kick your heads off!”
    Joe always drove the fastest and finest buggy horses he could find, and, naturally, this high spirited kind of horse was skittish when the automobile came around. His buggy was upset a few times and he hated automobiles, never called them anything but “ old automobiles,” and refused to ride in them.
    Then came the awful fall of 1918. As the juggernaut of war slowly ground to a halt in Europe, “Kaiser Bill,” who now seems such an innocent villain in comparison with the evil, sinister Hitler of twenty years later, abdicated his throne and fled to Holland, and on Nov. 11, the Armistice was signed. But before the armies had stopped moving, another specter stalked the world: pestilence, in the form of influenza, soon known as “flu.” No one who is not old enough to remember that dreadful winter can imagine its horror, with schools, churches and all other public places closed for weeks at a
time. Not uncommonly, half the population of a community would be stricken at one time. Deaths world -wide reached 20, 000, 000, and there were more than half a million in this country. The disease brooked no defiance: those who did not stay in bed were likely to die. For this reason, farmers, who felt that they must take care of their livestock, were among its most numerous victims.
    Word came to Lizzie and Joe that their son, Albert, was dying. Lizzie expected Joe to hitch his horse and go, but the first thing she knew be had his hat and coat on. She said, “What are you going to do, Josie?” He said, “Why, I'm going to that boy,” and he crawled into the automobile and went. She begged people not to tease him about his first auto ride, because it had come under such tragic circumstances.
    Joe had been staunch as an oak when he reached his 82nd birthday, but Albert's death broke his heart and he only survived until the next summer. He had left the Catholic church as soon as he came of age, and hated it, but on the morning he died he murmured, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
    Years later Lizzie reminisced fondly of him and said, “Let him be fierce or let him be as he might, if I could have him back, I would!”

OUR 100th YEAR
October 6, 1939 - Oct 6, 1939
by Carmon Caplinger
( On October 6th 1939, the children of James M. Caplinger observed the 100th anniversary of the
birth of their father who was the founder of the Caplinger Family in Boone County, Indiana)
Below The Mason-Dixon Line

South of Madison, Indiana, and not far below the Mason and Dixon’s line in the Blue Grass State of Kentucky, on October the 6th of 1839, James Madison Caplinger was born, The habitation was close enough to the Ohio River that the whistles of the steamboats could be heard in the distance on a still evening.
James M, Caplinger came from a family of pioneers who had arrived in America before the War of 1812. Some of the records of the family were destroyed during that war when the British burned the capitol at Washington, D. C. Other records may now be found in the State House and the State Library at Frankfort, Kentucky.
It was a typical southern family. The branches of the Caplinger family owned plantations and were a part of that social system which flourished in the south before the Civil War. The tax books of many Kentucky county seats enumerate the number of slaves, designated the amount of wealth in those days. One of these slaves held by the father of James M. Caplinger was a Baptist preacher. When the family moved north in 1851, the slaves were not sold but were given their freedom. This preacher was left to minister to his colored flock.
At the age of twelve, James M. was brought north with his family through Madison, Indiana, up to Johnson County. There he went to school a little in a one -room school house where he learned something about the elementary subjects such as reading, writing, and a little ciphering, as arithmetic was called in those days. The evening singing  school and the spelling bee played a prominent part in the social life of young people then.

The Caplingers Move To Boone

The Billingslys were neighbors of the Caplingers in Johnson County and it was there that James met and fell in love with Louisa Jane Billingsly. He married her and shortly after the Civil War they moved to what is now known as the Ben McClain farm in Jefferson Township, Boone County. They resided there about a year during which time a deal was made to buy a farm which became the Caplinger homestead. This farm, located approximately a mile north of Advance, Indiana, was purchased from Morgan Brineger. The first payment, one thousand dollars in cash, was brought out from Lebanon one night. Mr. Caplinger carried it on his person and walked the grade of the Midland Railroad. The ties and rails had not been laid at that time.
   
During the first year a little log cabin was built on the farm - - one mile north and a quarter west of Advance. By way of parenthesis it should be said that there was but one store in Advance (Osceola) then. It was a little shack almost completely hidden from the dirt or mud road by a clump of bushes. Tom Melson was the proprietor.
   
The work of clearing the farm and draining it began at once. It was largely covered with stick ponds, and the Johnson County relatives delighted in calling the Caplingers web -footed. Fever and ague were the natural consequences of excessive moisture, but Mr. Caplinger, like others of his day, was an artist with an ax and spade; Gradually the endurance of hardships gave way m a more pleasant life as the rich, black soil began to produce abundantly.

The farm which he carved out of the forest and stick ponds produced sufficiently to sustain a large family. There were Manda, Sam, and Sant, Laura, Dud, Jim, and Carm. All except the older ones were born on this Boone county farm.
   
And those days were not without their thrills and excitement. For example, there was the old peddler, Calvin Henry, known to all children as “Old Cal” who came twice a year to stay a week with the family. What child’s heart would not leap with joy at the prospect of sitting around the open fireplace to hear him tell his stories of ghosts and witches arid Indian massacres? Far into the night these stories ran and sleep never once touched the wide -eyed youngster who counted himself lucky to sit up for these sessions. No, a double feature thriller of today does not hold the power that “Old Cal” unleashed.
   
And, again, there was that dreadful day when Sam and Sant found the dead body of Doc Montgomery in the straw stack across the road from the house. He had been there a long time and his body had begun to decompose. Too much laudanum had been used by him in an effort to sober up after a drunken spree. Is it any wonder that the old house which stood across the road by the straw shack was thought to have been haunted?
   
As time went by, Mr. Caplinger became a leader in church and community activities. He was an Elder in the Shiloh Christian Church, which stood just across the road from the northeast corner of the farm. His home was known as the ministers’ home because they so frequently came there to stay over from the Saturday to the Sunday evening services.
He was also intensely interested in politics, being a life¬long Democrat. Candidates for office frequented his home, often staying to partake of the food so hospitably offered and so superbly prepared for them. His political philosophy, he lived as scrupulously as he pronounced. it from day so day. It was this: “Honesty is the best policy.”
   
Therefore, the two subjects which seemed in dominate his waking hours and before which all else faded into in -significances were the Bible and Democracy. His family had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
   
In going through some old papers the other day, the writer found a telegram dated July 14, 1913. It reads, “Father died this morning.” It is signed, D, G. Caplinger.
   
October 6th, 1939, marked the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Caplinger family in Boone County. He was one of the early settlers who helped to clear and drain the rich soil of the county. He was puritanically uncompromising with all wrong and injustice, tender hearted and sympathetic with those in trouble, and intensely patriotic. He never was known to fight a public improvement and he gave generously to the support of churches and other worthwhile causes. To the poor, his orchard and fields yielded their fruits without cost and they were given without grudge or mental reservation.
   
Physically he was a big man, six feet two tall and weighing well over two hundred pounds. In his prime he was- strong and rugged, the picture of physical strength.

He lies buried in the Old Union Cemetery, northeast of Advance, which is the burying grounds of the Caplingers.

The story of the life and times of James M. Caplinger was written by a son, Carmon 0. Caplinger, who at one time was principal of the school at Advance and later was super - intendent of the Boone County schools. The time came when Carmon Caplinger left Boone County arid went to Union City. Later he traveled to Ohio, where he was a lawyer. He died in 1964.


The Obituary of
Louisa Jane Caplinger
Louisa Jane Caplinger, daughter of Samuel and Mariah Billingsly, was born in Johnson County, Indiana, December 11th, 1845. She was the fifth child in the family of eleven children.

She was married to James M. Caplinger in Johnson County on March 7, 1867. To this union, eight children were born: Mrs. Amanda A, Shelley, Samuel H., Santford M., Mrs. Laura I. Hedge, Dudley G,, James S., and Cannon 0. George W. died August 1875 at the age of eight months.

She was preceded in death by her husband, who died July 14, 1913.

She, with her husband and three children, moved to Boone County in October of 1872 and resided for a short time on the Ben McClain farm north of Advance. As soon as a log house could be erected and fitted out for occupation, they moved to the Caplinger home, one mile north and a quarter west of Advance, where they cleared and drained the farm and made their home until after her husband’s death. At the time they moved to the farm it was covered with brush, trees and ponds and the struggle for supremacy over nature was one which required great courage and hard labor. Their victory has meant a great deal to those who now live.

In the fall of 1915 she moved to Advance where she lived until her death, which occurred Friday afternoon, May 15th, 1925, at 3:10 o’clock.

Soon after moving to Boone County she united with the Shiloh Christian Church under the pastorate of the Rev. Ab Carney. The church then stood a mile north of Advance. She was ever been faithful to her God and to her fellowmen. Quiet and unassuming, she has gone about her work and has always been untiring in her efforts to serve. Her home has always been open to church people and the pastors made the Caplinger home their headquarters while the Church stood at the Shiloh corner. All her life she has enjoyed to go to the house of the Lord, and while she was able seldom missed a service.

As a mother she was devoted to her family and was never happier than when she had her children gathered around her. They will miss her tender love and nothing in the whole wide world can take its place. No more shall they hear her gentle voice giving its good council and expressing a mother’s sympathy. No more shall they be blessed with that sweet smile until they meet where parting shall be no more and they have a hope because it is written that “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, yea sayeth the spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.”

Besides her children she is survived by one brother, Samuel Billingsly of Greenwood, a sister, Sarah A. Lafary also of Greenwood; twenty-three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, and a great number of other relatives and friends
The Sons and Daughters of James M. and Louisa Jane Caplinger
by Loretta Frances Hunt


The fist child was Amanda Alice Caplinger, born May 15, 1868. She was married to Jefferson M. Shelley, September:7, 1890  To the union four children were born. Ada Valeria, born May 21, 1895, and Noble Shelley, born in September of 1903 One daughter, Ruthie, and one son are deceased. Ada Valeria died September 9, 1969. Noble married Gladys
Wright. Jefferson M. Shelley is deceased.

The second child of James M. and Louisa Jane was Samuel Henry Caplinger, born January 22, 1870. He was married to Cordelia May Wall on October 11, 1893. To this union four children were born: Estella Caplinger; Walter Caplinger, born September 26, 1896; Edgar Caplinger, and Lester Caplinger. Estella married George Lyle Johnson. Walter married Lora F. Abbott. He died October 21, 1959. Lora F. Caplinger died July 7, 1973. Edgar Caplinger was born March 8, 1898, and was married to Ruth Riner on September 20, 1926. Edgar died March 2, 1960. Lester’s one daughter died in infancy.
 
The third son of James M. was Santford Marion Caplinger, born February 2, 1872. He was married to Rella Florence Deatrick, August 21, 1898. To this union six children were
born. Loretta Frances Caplinger, born January 26, 1900. Webster Buren Caplinger, born January 3, 1902. Mary Alena Caplinger born July 2, 1904. Florence Jane Caplinger born October 11, 1906. Ivan Sanford Caplinger born September 15, 1908. Lillian Dale Caplinger born September 3, 1911. Loretta Frances married Earl James Hunt on January 22, 1919. Webster Buren married Freda Hill. Florence married John Ostler. Ivan Sanford married Edna Douglas, August 21, 1943. Lillian married Lloyd Cecil Scott, divorced, then married Milford Hayes. Donald Greene died September 27, 1965.John Ostler died December 27, 1966. Ivan died June 30, 1975. Milford. died June 20, 1975. Earl James Hunt died August 8, 1938.

The fourth child was Laura Isabelle Caplinger, born August 30, 1877. She was married to David Donald Hedge on August 25, l901 To this union were born four children: Opal Fay, Lola Pauline and Donald Wall Hedge. One child, Marshall, died in infancy. Opal married Basil Smith; one child, Morine, was born. Lola married Ernest Wright. Donald married Helen Krukewitt on December 24, 1936. To this union were born six children: John Hedge, James, Mrs. Carl Allen, Mrs. Bill Higginbotham, Mrs. David Richards, and Martha Hedge. Donald died September 27, 1965.

The fifth child was James Sylvester Caplinger and he was married to Beulah Dale on February 15, 1911. To this union were born four children. Mrs. Lester (Helen) Utterback,
Members of the family of James M. and Louisa Jane Caplinger met at the home of James Sylvester Caplinger, southwest of Advance. The event was in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of their father, who died in 1913. Mrs. Otis (Eleanor) Connor, and Kenneth Caplinger. James died April 22, 1954.

The sixth child was Dudley Grafton Caplinger, born January 3, 1880. In 1909 he was married to Hazel Sullivan, who died in 1919. To this union was born Mrs. Edward (Jean) Lucius, and Victor, who married Evelyn Kernodle of Jamestown. In 1944 Dudley married Grace Caldwell, who died in 1950. Dudley died March 1, 1959.

The seventh child, Cannon Oscar Caplinger, was born February 9, 1892, He was married to Pearl Alfrey of Crawfordsville. Four children were born: Thelma Caplinger, Haas, Norman, Robert, and Carmon, Jr. Carmon Oscar died August 20, 1964. Pearl died January 11, 1972.
(Originally printed in the Boone County Magazine 'The Hoosier Hysteria' March 1977 transcribed by me for Genealogy Trails)





EVANS FAMILY HISTORY
John B. Evans was born in Pennysivania in 1806,

The family settled in Marion Township of Boone County in 1832. In 1842, John B. Evans was married to Minerva King, born 1814 in Estel County, Kentucky, the daughter of John King and Jane Kimer, who also settled in Marion Township.

Four sons were born to the union: James, 1845; John, 1847; Thomas, 1850; and Isaac, 1857. Isaac Evans married Anna McGregor in 1882. She was the daughter of Donald McGregor, born 1828 in Scotland, and Ellen Mooney, born in Dublin, Ireland. They also settled in Marion Township. Children born to the union were Milford M., 1883 -1967, married Alice Hoffman; Lowell, born 1898, married Nellie E. George; and Zelda Evans, 1904 - 1952, married Giles McKinney.

Children of Lowell and Nellie are Betty, Anita, Marcia, Loretta and Thomas Evans. The family is the fourth generation to live on the farm located in the north eastern part of Marion Township, Section 28 -twp. 20, north, range 2 east.

A brief history of the Evans farm follows:
“Deeded by the United States of America to Thomas A. Armstrong entry 12-18-1846, the East half of the South West Quarter of Section 28 - twp. 20, north, range 2 east, containing 80 acres.

“Thomas Armstrong and wife Sarah 11-11-1841 to Eli Izzard and heirs $500. Thomas Izzard and wife Elizabeth Izzard to John B. Evans 7 acres of the North East Corner of the East half of the South West Corner 1873, $175.

“Thomas Izzard and wife Elizabeth to John B. Evans the undivided 1/3 of South West Quarter of section 28-twp. 20 range 2 east Boone Co. Incl, Marion Twp.

“Elizabeth Ann Roberts to John B. Evans all claims as lawful heir North half of the east half of the south east quarter of section 28 -twp, 20-range 2 Boone Co. Ind. $25, 1875.

“John B. Evans and Minerva his wife to Isaac S. Evans 10-27-1877 $500 Warnanty deed Oct. 27, 1877, recorded 11-22 -1877 the following tract of land. The North half of the east half of sputh west Quarter of section 28- twp, 20- range 2 Boone County Ind. Marion Twp.

"Joseph Leopard and wife  to Isac S. Evans 1/8/1885 reorded the south half od the south west quarter of section 28- Twp. 20-North Range 2 east containing 40 acres in boone county, Ind.
"At the death of Isaac S. Evans this eighty acres was willed to Lowell and Nellie E. Evans and ask to care for Thomas Evans, a brother of Isac S. Evans 3rd generation
JAMES ARGALUS AND JEMIMA JANE NEAL SMOCK

    Mr. and Mrs. James Argalus Smock, noted pioneer family, lived and farmed in Boone County all their lives. Mr. Smock also served as a commissioner of Boone County in 1916. They were members of the Fayette Baptist Church.
    Mr. and Mrs. S. Argalus Smock were married February 11, 1385, by the Rev. William Hambrick. Mrs. Smock was the former Jemima Jane Neal.
The couple first started farming on the Todd farm, one mile south of Road 334 on Road 52. In two years they moved to a home eight miles south of Lebanon on Road 52 in Perry Township. A log cabin served as home for a short time while the Smock’s built a new house.
    The couple had six children: Mrs. Tommy (Hazel) Caldwell, Mrs. Elza (Rut) Harmon, Mrs. Fred (Vessie) Cooper, Edna Smock, Lawrence Smock, and David
Smock. All are deceased.
Mr. Smock died September 2, 1929. Mrs. Milna Smock then made her home with her daughter, and family, Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Caldwell until her death June 27, 1947.
Mr. and Mrs. Argalus Smock have several living grandchildren. They include Mrs. Alfred Belt, Mrs. Joe Wood, Harold Smock, all of Lebanon; Earl Smock, of Zionsville; Marlin Smock, of Danville; Don Smock, of Indianapolis; and Fred S. Cooper, of New Augusta. A niece of Mrs. Smock, Mrs. Ruie Tanselle, resides in Lebanon.
In the 1920’s Mr. and Mrs. Smock were featured in an article in the Lebanon Reporter when they installed a Ben Hut Lighting and Cooking Plant in their home. The Ben Hut was manufactured by the of Crawfordsville. Johnson Acetylene Gas Co., Mr. Smock says, “We tried them all  both acetylene cellar plains and electric; at the poor farm, They not only would not do the business, but I was scared an the time for fear that some one who didn't understand would get a hand torn off while they were oiling and adjusting the machinery or would be disfigured for life by the fumes of the acid that sputters and boils in the batteries. The Ben Hur Plant goes out in the yard, like a cistern, and there is noting that could harm anyone.’
A Bit of Lane Family History
by Mrs. Athel (Florence Lane) Witt

 
My father, Ora Franklin Lane, born June 19, 1871, was a two-term Boone County assessor, and no doubt was known by many in Boone County. His great-grandparents, Samuel and Margaret (McCarty) Lane came to Boone County in 1830. Their oldest son, Cornelius McCarty Lane, after his marriage on December 19, 1829, was given the home place in Ohio, as was a customary practice in those days, and the parents moved on into Indiana. Samuel Lane passed away on October 18, 1842, and is buried in Mts. Run Cemetery. Some of the family went to Kansas and sent back glowing reports of the good crops, etc. In 1848, Margaret decided to go where her children were, and sent for my great-grand -father to again come to take over. He couldn't get away on such short notice, so she rented the farm out for one year.
They came back to Boone County in January, 1850, but the people living in the house couldn’t move at that time, so they found an empty house north of Whitestown where Rush Livengood now lives. They rented it until March 1st, and then moved to the house at the end of the Whitestown Road where the road jogs on State Road 32 to go on north to Gadsden. They stayed there until the first of April when the home place on Road 32 became vacant.
My grandfather, Samuel Lane, who was nine years old at this time, remembered about all the moving, and I can see him yet, telling about their experiences that spring. He wore chin whiskers, and he would sort of chuckle to him -self and say, “We moved so many times that spring that our old hens would lay down and stick their feet up to be tied when ever they saw us getting out the coops.”
The picture accompanying this article is of my grand -parents, Samuel Harvey and Elizabeth Ann (Carr) Lane. They were born in Ohio, he in Butler County, snd she in Clinton County. The Madison Carr mentioned in the Gadsden story in the August, 1975, issue of Boone Magazine, was her uncle, and Millard F. Carr was her brother.

They bought this farm in 1884. The house, without the shed added to the east end, was what they and their two Sons lived in until his father came to visit in 1884 and stayed on to help his sons do some building including a new kitchen for my grandparents and a new house for his son, James, who had been living in Tennessee.

I can well remember the beautiful American Beauty rambler rose just starting beneath the window in the picture, and the pretty tulips grown in the little square enclosure. The boys picked a lovely bouquet and took them to grand-mother’s funeral, along with many other flowers. She was a lover of flowers and gave people flower starts of many different kinds.
There were many Samuel Lanes. There was one who was just one day younger than grandpa. This Samuel Lane was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, the first son of Christopher Hardwick Lane.
Doctor Williar Wood
By Elsie Sanders and Ina Wood
Dr. Willard L. Wood, of Stony Island, Chicago, a former resident of Boone County, is still active at Rush -Presbyterian-St. Luke Hospitals in Chicago at the age of 81

Born near Zionsville in 1895 and attending a one -room school west of Zionsville, he began a teaching career after a summer course at Indiana State University at a one-room school, Buzzard’s Roost, northwest of Zionsvile. Continuing teaching and going to school, the farm boy received an A. B. from Indiana State in 1920 and a M. S. in chemistry in 1925 while at Garfield High School in Terre Haute.

Transferring to the University of Chicago and Rush Medical he completed his medical degree. Later appointments include Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Rush) and consultant in Medicine at Presbyterian -St. Luke’s Hospital where he has been an attending physician for 41 years. He also has received the Doctor of Science degree from Indiana State University.

In recognition of the achievements of Dr. Wood in the field of arthritis and internal medicine, an endowed professorship was established in his name at Ruth Medical College. It is called the Willard Wood Endowed Chair of Rheumatology.

The Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center,Chicago, says the funding has surpassed $1 million.Voluntary contributions come from patients whom Dr.Wood has served for 41 years.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Rheumatism Association, Central Society for Clinical Research, Chicago Society of Internal Medicine, American Arthritis Foundation, American Association for theAdvancement of Science and other professional organizations.

A former Army officer, Dr. Wood did post graduate work in Paris and Vienna, Austria, in 1932 and was certified as a Specialist in Internal Medicine in 1938. Well known in medical circles as a writer and speaker, he addressed a foreign branch in Vienna in 1960 of the  International Congress of Chest Physicians.

He is a member of the Indiana Academy of Science and is listed in Who’s Who in Midwest American Men of Science, Dictionary of International Biographies from 1964 to 1968. Sons of Indiana carried a biography of Dr. Wood in their 1967 edition.

Dr. Wood is married and the father of two daughters and has three grandchildren. He was one of a family of eight of John D. and Hester E. Wood, residing in Eagle and Union Townships, all of whom attended one -room schools and all became teachers before branching into other professions. All ar.e eligible to belong to the pioneer families of Indiana, and one member does.
Elizaville Pioneers
Carved Heritage in County by Mrs. Maurice Stephenson


Little is known of the early life of Robert Stephenson, Jr. He was the son of Robert Stephenson, a Revolutionary War soldier.

Robert Stephenson journeyed to Paris, Kentucky, in 1788, from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He then went to what is now Carlisle, settling about four miles east. He died in 1795 and was buried in Shioh Cemetery near his homestead. He was the father of three children:
Robert Jr., Joseph, and Jane Campbell.

Robert Stephenson, Jr., was married to Martha McAnulty in Nicholas County, Ky., on April 6, 1802. Three children were born.

After the death of his wife, Stephenson served in the War of 1812. In 1813 he was married to Sarah J. McDole.To this union were born John A., married Mary Adams;William 1., married Mary (Polly) Wiley; Aris J., married Margaret Jane Wiley; Thomas M., married Jane Carroll,Frances B. Moore, and Sarah (Eaton) Ransdell; George W.;Margaret I., married Samuel H. Kirkpatrick; and JosephS., married Elizabeth Stephenson, daughter of William andRuth Campbell Stephenson.

In 1833, Robert Stephenson and his family left Kentucky and settled in Clinton Township, Boone County, in October. It is believed the family left Kentucky because of their disapproval of slavery.

Robert purchased land in Section 26, on Nov. 7, 1833; 160 acres in Section 25 on Nov. 7, 1833; and another 160 acres in Section 25, an October 25, 1835. The deeds
were signed by Martin Van Buren, President of the United States.

The winter of 1837, the fifth son, George, age 14, was engaged in felling a tree. Having nearly completed his task he started to run as the tree began to topple, but he ran in the
wrong direction. The huge trunk fell upon him and he was killed. This was the first death recorded in Clinton Township. He was the first to be buried in Salem Mud Creek Cemetery.

Robert and Sarah Stephenson were charter members of the Salem U. P. Church. There were sixteen other members, including a brother, Joseph, and his wife, Ann.

Thomas M., the fourth son, purchased 160 acres in Section 25 from his parents on April 2, 1840. This was signed and sealed in the presence of James H. Sample and Robert Stephenson, J. P., a cousin of Robert Stephenson, Jr.

On February 15, 1844, Thomas M. was married to Jane Carroll, the daughter of James and Lucy Gregory Carroll. They were married by the Rev. John H. Bonner, first pastc of Salm U. P. Church.

To this union the following children were born:
Joseph Edger, 1846-1870, married Mary E. Pressley. H served in the Civil War, was a doctor and is buried in Mud Creek Cemetery;
Charles Carroll, 1848 -1880?, served in the Civil War, never married;
Miranda Ann, 1850 -1910, married John E. Richey, son of James and lane Richey. Miranda and her husband were proprietors of the Rose -House, located at 215 -216 West Main Street in 1887, and the Perkins House, located at 215 -217 South Lebanon St., from 1888 -1909;
William Jerome, 1851-1922, married Laura J. Baird, Marion Township, Boone County. William taught school in Marion Township before becoming a doctor. In 1886 he and his wife went to Nebraska where he worked as a physician on the Winneabago Indian Agency. He later practiced in Decatur, Nebraska. Laura died in Decatur in 1888 and is
buried in Spencer Cemetery, Hamilton County. William is buried in Nebraska;
Albert 13., 1853-1923, was married to Sadie F. Moore, the daughter of Robert and Mary Ann Cornell Moore. A teacher, Albert taught school several years then moved to Sheridan, md., where he had a barber shop;
George W., 1857 -1921, traveled to Nebraska with his brother, William. He was married to Anna W. Rahn, of Nebraska. He worked as a Government meat inspector on the Winneabago Indian Agency and later lived in Lincoln, Neb., and Sioux City, lowa;
Thomas M Stephenson

Oscar Thomas, 1859—1928, was married to Rosa Alice Wiley, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (McAnulty). They were the parents of Frank B. Stephenson, husband of the late Drubell (Immel) Stephenson, of Lebanon;
Ella Belle, 1861-1938, was married to Charles Daily in Lebanon. He was the son of John and Martha Daily, early settlers in Lebanon. The couple later lived in Pender, Neb.;
U.S. Grant, 1863 -1887, never married;
Harry, 1868 -1872, he was two months old when hismother died.
In 1872 Thomas M. Stephenson was married to Frances B. Moore, of Marion Township, Boone County. She diedeight days after the birth of twin sons on July 28, 1873.
The infant sons, Franklin and Francis, died shortly after.
The third wife of Thomas Stephenson was Sarah Eaton RansdelL A daughter was born to the union, she was named Jennie. She was the first wife of Dora Neal and the mother of Zelda Neal Costlow.
Thomas M. Stephenson died June 16, 1892. He is buried in Mud Creek Cemetery.
Thomas Stephenson has five grandchildren living: Fairie Stephenson Miller, of Noblesville; Zelda Neal Costlow, of Largo, Fla.; Ethel Stephenson Norton and Ralph T. Stephenson, both of Hemet, Cal.; and Maurice G. Stephenson, of Sioux City, Iowa.

Strange N. Cregun

Who now is at the head of educational affairs of the county, is a native of Boone County, having been born in Eagle Township in 1853, his father, Hiram Cregun, being one of the pioneers of that part of the county. S. N. Cregun received all the advantages of the common school of the county and is a regular graduate of the best high school in the country. He attended West Point military school for two years. He has been identified all his life with school and school matters, either as student or teacher. Served several years as principal of the Lebanon schools with entire satisfaction to all, and was elected county superintendent in March, 1887. He was married to Miss Booher, daughter of Benjamin Booher, of Worth Township, and has an interesting family living in the city of Lebanon.
Source: Early Life and Times in Boone County, Indiana Harden & Spahr, Lebanon, IN. May 1887
Contributed by Darlene Anderson

The Van Nuys Family Of Boone County
by James L. Ranney
Andrew Van Nuys            Mrs. Van Nuys

A landmark of the Boone County landscape for almost a century is the farm, with its unique round bam, which for many years belonged to the Andrew B. VanNuys family. It is now the home of Mrs. Nellie Quellhorst. The Van Nuys genealogy, written by Carrie E. Allen in 1916, gives this record of the family's founders.
    "Andrew Banta Van Nuys, born August 4, 1837, In Switzerland County, Indiana, married October 5, 1866, Harvenia Frances Mount, who was bom May 10, 1847, in Montgomery County, Indiana. She is a sister of Ex-Governor Mount of Indiana. They live on a farm near Lebanon, Indiana. On October 5, 1916, they happily celebrated the 50m anniversary of their marriage."
    The Van Nuys family built the stately brick house in 1882, and made it their home as long as they lived. Their son, Ashton Mount Van Nuys, born August 7, 1872, became a well-known attorney In Muncle. Ind.  He died
November 20. 1922.   Andrew Van Nuys died March B,1919, aod Mrs. Van Nuys died January 30, 1922.
    The Van Nuys' daughter. Mabel Estella Van Nuys, was bom April 15, 1879.   She married Chester F. Kanney on June 27, 1301, and they had five children.  They lived on die Van Nuys farm from about 1918 until after her death In 1927.
All the Ranney young people attended the old Number 11 and Center Number 1 schools. Two of mem. Ralph Ranney and Wllma Yates, still live at Lebanon. Mildred Ranney lives in New York City, and Mabel Van Nuys Redden makes her borne at St. Clair Shores, Michigan. James Lowell Ranney lives In Portland. Oregon.
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