Hendricks County, Indiana
Biographies
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Amos
D. McCormick
Amos D. McCormick, the
son of Mr. and
Mrs. Aquilla S. McCormick, was born February 24, 1870, northeast of
Cartersburg, Hendricks county, Indiana. He remained at home until
eighteen years of age and then started to clerk in the store of Pruitt
Brothers at Cartersburg, where he remained for three or four years. He
then went to work in the store of W. T. Jordan at Pittsboro where he
remained until he was twenty-six years of age. He then went into the
poultry business at Cartersburg and followed this for the next two
years, when he went to farming on the farm where he was born. He was
ambitious, however, to get into the business world and when the
opportunity presented itself he left the farm and took a position with
a lumber company. On March 1, 1901, he went to Linton and took a
position with the Greer-Wilkinson Lumber Company, the largest lumber
company in Indiana, having at that time forty yards throughout the
state. He remained with this company a little more than two years and
then went into the employ of the New Union Lumber Company at the same
place as manager of their yards. From there he went to Indianapolis in
the winter of 1906 and became estimator for the Burnett-Lewis Lumber
Yards Company. Two years later he resigned his position and then spent
a year at Los Angeles, California, with the Wells Fargo Express
Company, but his love for the lumber business drew him back into that
again and in 1908 he returned to Indiana and became manager of the New
Union Lumber Company at Jasonville. He continued there until August 20,
1911, when he took his present position as manager of the Capitol
Lumber Company, yard Number Two at Forty-eighth street and Monon
railroad in Indianapolis. He has a thorough knowledge of the lumber
business in all its details and is rapidly pushing to the front as a
capable man in that line of business.
Mr. McCormick was married
in 1895 to
Kate Brent, the daughter of George and Marion (McVay) Brent. His wife
was born on the old Brent homestead, one and one-half miles southwest
of Pittsboro. Her father was born on a farm near Campbellsburg,
Kentucky, about 1844 the son of San-ford Brent and wife. He came to
Hendricks county while a young man and was married to Marion McVay, the
daughter of Molar and Mary (Bradshaw) McVay. The Bradshaws were early
pioneers of this county. George Brent was a farmer all of his life, and
died March 16, 1879, at the early age of thirty-five. After his death
his widow married Dr. J. S. French, of Crawfordsville, and has lived in
Pittsboro ever since. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick have
one son, Edwin, born February 2, 1901. They still own the
farm which was entered by Mr. McCormick's grandfather.
Mr. and Mrs. McCormick
are members of
the Third Christian church of Indianapolis and liberal supporters of
that denomination. Mr. McCormick is a man of excellent parts, and by
his strong and vigorous personality has won success in his chosen
field. He thoroughly understands every phase of the lumber business and
because of this fact he is a very valuable man to the company which
employs him. He is a wide reader and a close observer of men, and
enjoys a large acquaintance among the business men of Indianapolis. He
is a man of integrity and honor and lends his support to all measures
which make for the welfare of his community, and for this reason is
deservedly held in high regard by all who know him.
Obed
Underwood
In placing Obed
Underwood in
the front rank of the farmers of Hendricks County, simple justice is
done to a biographical fact universally recognized by all who are
familiar with his history. A man of sound judgment, wise discretion,
thorough agricultural knowledge and business ability of a high order,
he has managed his affairs with splendid success and has so impressed
his individuality upon the community as to gain recognition among the
leading citizens and public-spirited men of affairs.
Obed Underwood, the son
of William
and Harriett (West) Underwood, was born at Winchester, this county, on
September 21, 1854. William Underwood was born in Shelby County,
Kentucky, in 1824, the son of John and Rebecca (Radford) Underwood.
When William was still a small lad his parents came to Hendricks
county, Indiana, where they entered a large amount of government land
in Marion township, and here they spent the remainder of their lives,
rearing a family of seven children, William, the father of Obed, being
the eldest child; Franklin, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Catherine, Sarah" and
Ellen. William Underwood was reared in this township and married
Harriett West, who was a native of Kentucky, the daughter of Isaac and
Polly Ann West. She came to this county when a child with her parents.
Her father, Isaac West, now deceased, was one of the early pioneers of
Hendricks County. He was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, and was a son
of Alexander and Sarah West. He had no educational advantages in his
youth and was early compelled to earn his own living.
He married in
Kentucky and his wife, Polly, the daughter of George Turner, came to
Indiana in 1827 with her parents and settled in the woods one mile
south of New Winchester, where they entered one hundred and sixty acres
of land from the government. Here they lived until the death of Mr.
Turner, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years, and died on
August 29, 1898, having lived in this county seventy years. He began
life with nothing whatever, and by hard work, honesty and indomitable
courage, succeeded in clearing up a farm of two hundred and sixty-five
acres. He was a member of the Missionary Baptist church, a man noted
for his honesty and integrity and was held in the highest esteem by
every one. His wife died December 15, 1887.
After his marriage
William Underwood,
the father of Obed, began life on his own account as a farmer and so
successful was he that at the time of his death he had six hundred
acres of land in the county. He died September 1, 1875, at the age of
fifty-one. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
wife died April 7, 1912, on her eighty-fourth birthday. To Mr. and Mrs.
William Underwood were born six children: John F., who lives in
Danville; William I. and Robert L., of New Winchester; Mary Ellen and
Angeline, deceased, and Obed, of whom this narrative speaks.
Obed Underwood was reared
in this
county, spent his early days in the school room, and upon reaching
manhood was married to Louie Bousman, the daughter of John and Mary
(Haynes) Bousman, of Marion township. Her parents came from Clinton
county. Ohio, about 1854 and located in Marion Township, this county.
Mr. Bousman was a carpenter by trade, although after he came to this
township he bought a farm and continued farming and carpentering. In
1879 the Bousman family bought property in Danville, where they lived
the remainder of Mr. Bousman's life, his death occurring February 5,
1904. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while he
and his wife belonged to the Christian church. Mrs. Bousman is now
living with Mr. and Mrs. Underwood at New Winchester. After his
marriage, Mr. Underwood started farming for himself and became the
owner of various farms in Marion township. In September, 1912, he
retired from the active management of his farm and moved to New
Winchester, where he is living a life of ease and comfort. In politics
he is a Democrat and as a representative of his party has served as
township trustee on two different occasions, being elected the first
time in 1900 and again in 1904. He was an able and efficient official
and served his party and the citizens of his county, irrespective of
their political faith, equally well.
Mr. Underwood has two
daughters,
Maude and Jessie. Maude is the wife of Arthur Carter and lives in Clay
Township; Jessie is the wife of Olson Hunt
and lives in the eastern part of Marion township, and has one daughter,
Marvel. Mr. and Mrs. Underwood are faithful and consistent members of
the Missionary Baptist church and are interested in the various
activities of that denomination. Mr. Underwood is a man who is well
known throughout the community and is highly esteemed by all who know
him, since he has for many years been a potent factor in the civic life
of the community.
Nathan
Addison Tucker
Hendricks County is
indebted,
perhaps, to the Tucker family as much as to any other for its wondrous
transformation to one of the choicest sections of the Hoosier state,
for members of this family have been leaders in agricultural,
industrial and civic affairs since the early days. Each, with a
fidelity to duty and a persistency of purpose peculiar to that class of
men who takes the lead in large affairs, has performed well his duty in
all the relations of life, and while advancing their own interests they
have not been unmindful of the general welfare of their fellow
citizens. Thus they rightfully deserve an honored place in the history
of this locality.
Nathan A. Tucker, the son
of
Dandridge and Catherine (Davis) Tucker, was born four miles northeast
of North Salem, November 27, 1853. The reader is referred to the
history of Dandridge Tucker, elsewhere in this volume, for a complete
family genealogy of the Tucker family.
Nathan A. Tucker was
reared on his
father's farm and after taking the course in the local schools he
attended Valparaiso University and Wabash College. Upon his return from
college he worked with his father on the farm until his marriage.
Mr. Tucker was married
September 15,
1880, to Mary E. Carriger, of Boone county, Indiana, the daughter of
George and Sarah (George) Carriger, who came from Tennessee to Indiana
in 1840 and located in Boone county. Upon his marriage, in 1880, Mr.
Tucker started farming on eighty acres which was given him by his
father, and he has proved to be a very successful farmer, since he has
by his own energy and persistence added to his farm from time to time
until he now has two hundred and eighty acres of excellent farming land
in the county. He has his farm highly improved in every way and it
presents a striking appearance to the passerby. His home is placed back
from the road and is approached by a gravel roadway, lined on both
sides with beautiful shade trees at regular intervals. The
house is
placed upon an eminence, which renders it conspicuous in all directions
and from which an excellent view may be had all over his farm. He has
good barns, outbuildings and all the equipment which characterizes the
successful farmer of today. He raises all the crops of this latitude
and makes it a point to feed most of his grain to his own stock, his
annual sale of hogs, cattle and sheep adding not a little to his yearly
income.
The first wife of Mr.
Tucker died in
November, 1892, and in October, 1894, he was married to Anna M. Spears,
who died two years later and Mr. Tucker now lives on the old home farm
with his children. There is no more interesting family of children in
Hendricks county than Mr. Tucker's and no children in the county who
have been given better educational advantages. He has three sons and
three daughters and all of them have graduated from the North Salem
high school, while the three sons are all DePauw University men. The
sons are Lee, Carl A., and George D., while the daughters are Sarah
Catherine, Etta Agnes, and Louisa J., the last named being the only one
of the six children married. She is the wife of Logan R. Owen and lives
one and one-half miles north of North Salem. Agnes and Lee are both
teaching at North Salem, and all of the children, except the married
daughter, are living with their father.
Mr. Tucker is a member of
the Free
and Accepted Masons, and he and his children are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. His home is one where genuine hospitality
always manifests itself, and he is justly proud of his fine children,
who have all prepared themselves for useful members of society.
Peter
Greely
The life history of Peter Greely, one of the well known and
highly
esteemed citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, shows what industry,
good habits and stanch citizenship will accomplish in the battle for
success in life. His record shows duties well and conscientiously
performed in all the relations of life. Born on a foreign soil and
coming to this county many years ago, he has grown into the life of his
adopted country and has played his part in the drama of civilization.
He has ever been an advocate of wholesome living and has always stood
for the highest and best interests of the community in which he has so
long resided and which has been honored by his citizenship.
Peter Greely was born in
1840 in
county Galway, Ireland, the son of John
and Bridget (Eagan) Greely, the mother dying when Peter was a child of
three years. The subject grew up in Ireland, remaining on his native
soil until twenty-four years of age, when, in 1864, in company with
thirteen other young men and girls, he set out to try his fortune in
the new world. They had a delightful voyage and landed in New York,
where all found friends. Peter had a- sister in this county, Mrs.
Margaret Corliss, who had come to America in i860, locating near
Brownsburg and had married a year later. Mr. Greely had owned a farm in
Ireland and was well versed in the secrets of husbandry and upon
reaching his sister's home he found that her husband owned a farm of
forty acres in Brown township, later moving to Lincoln township, where
he had one hundred acres. Thus it was but natural that Mr. Greely
should turn to the work with which he was familiar, and he worked among
the farmers until in 1869, when he purchased sixty-eight acres one mile
northeast of Brownsburg. At the time he bought this land it was covered
with dense thickets and timber and was very swampy, the thickets so
dense in some places one could scarcely see ten feet ahead. There were
but ten acres cleared and the only building was an old log house. He
proceeded to clear this land, drain and tile it and has today some of
the finest land in the county, land for which he has refused two
hundred dollars per acre. He now has one hundred and forty acres in
all. In 1908 his home burned, and he then erected the handsome and
commodious dwelling in which the family now resides.
In 1870 Mr. Greely was
united in
marriage with Margaret Dugan, who was born in county Galway, Ireland,
the daughter of Patrick and Nora (Dugan) Dugan. She and Mr. Greely were
acquainted in Ireland and she came to America soon after Mr. Greely
did, finding friends in Indianapolis and in her earlier days here
worked in farm homes near the city. To their union were born ten
children and throughout the years Mrs. Greely proved herself to be a
most devoted wife and mother and a woman highly respected by friends
and neighbors. Her death occurred at midnight on March 1, 1910. John,
the eldest son, married Mrs. Isa (Ulry) Maloney, a widow, and they live
two miles northeast of the subject. Nora is the wife of Thomas
O'Connell and resides in Indianapolis. Her husband is foreman for the
Grocers' Baking Company. They have two children, Leo and Catherine.
Bridget Delia is unmarried and makes her home in Indianapolis. Michael
is teaching school at Paoli, this state. Margaret is a stenographer in
Indianapolis. Patrick is on the farm with his father, and Kate also
remains at home. Nellie is an instructor in the high school at Sunman,
Indiana, having attended both Butler
College, Indianapolis, and the State University at Bloomington. Mary
lived to the age of twenty-two years and Kate died when three years old.
The entire family are
devout members
of the Roman Catholic church. When a youth in Ireland, Mr. Greely
received an excellent education, being versed in Latin, German and the
Gaelic tongues, as well as many other subjects. He is an unusually well
read man and exceedingly well versed in the Bible and history
pertaining to it. He is a man of high ideals and strong convictions and
throughout his life has lived according to his ideas of the essential
qualifications of perfect manhood. He is a man of influence among his
neighbors and highly respected by all.
James
B. Dooley.
The gentleman
whose
biographical record is here given was for a long lapse of years one of
the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Hendricks county. His
well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable
management of his business interests and his sound judgment have
brought him a fair measure of prosperity, and his life demonstrates
what may be accomplished by the man of energy and ambition who is not
afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors in the
face of seemingly discouraging circumstances. As a native son of
Hendricks County he patriotically served his country during our great
Civil War, and in all the relations of life he has commanded the
respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in
contact.
James B. Dooley was born
in 1837,
about one mile west of Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana. He is a son
of Moses and Elizabeth (Bohannan) Dooley. Moses Dooley was born in
Virginia in 1799, and at the age of thirteen years came to the state of
Kentucky with his mother, his father having died in Virginia. The
mother and son lived in Shelby County, Kentucky, and there Moses grew
to manhood and married Elizabeth Bohannan, a native of that state. In
pioneer days Moses Dooley and his wife came to Danville, Hendricks
County, Indiana. That was a primitive day, and he assisted in the
clearing of timber from the court house yard in Danville. Their eldest
child, Martha J., was born in Kentucky, and their other children were
born in Hendricks county. Moses Dooley's first farm was one mile west
of Danville, but later he moved to a farm of one hundred and sixty
acres situated between Belleville and Clayton. He met with
pecuniary
misfortune by going security
for a friend and crediting others, which caused him to lose his farm.
He had only three hundred and fifty dollars left, but later succeeded
in buying another farm six miles northwest of Danville, in Marion
township, where his son, James B., the immediate subject of this
sketch, grew to manhood.
James B. Dooley was
married in i860
to Mary Buntin, daughter of Harvey Buntin and a sister of John H.
Buntin, of North Salem, Hendricks County. In August, 1862, he enlisted
in Company H of the Ninety-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was
assigned to the Army of the Tennessee under General Logan and General
Sherman. Major J. B. Homan, of Danville, was captain of this company
and Rev. D. R. Lucas was chaplain. Mr. Dooley participated in some of
the important battles of the war, among them being the battles of
Dalton, Resaca, Atlanta, and many other engagements incidental to the
march to Atlanta. With his company he accompanied Sherman to the sea,
and was near Raleigh, North Carolina, when Johnson surrendered to
General Sherman. The Ninety-ninth Regiment did as much marching as any
in the service. Before going on the Atlanta campaign it saw much hard
service at Haines Bluff during the siege of Vicksburg. They also
participated in the battle of Mission Ridge and many other noted
engagements. From Raleigh the horses and mules and artillery were
loaded on cars and shipped to Washington, and the infantry was obliged
to walk. They marched through Petersburg, Richmond and on to
Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review, Mr. Dooley
receiving an honorable discharge at the close of the war.
After the war Mr. Dooley
returned to
Hendricks County, reaching home on June 15th, a late time of the season
for a farmer to start work. His good wife had saved five hundred
dollars from money he had sent her from the front, and she, like many
other patriotic women of that day, had, by dint of hard work in the
harvest fields and by other heavy labor, managed well. He was thus
enabled to buy a small farm, chiefly on credit, which he was able to
dispose of the following spring at a profit. He then purchased twenty
acres, paying cash, and this gave him a substantial start. He
subsequently traded this and secured more land in Marion Township, and
in time became the owner of a good sized farm, a part of which,
however, was inherited by his wife. He and his wife had eighty acres in
one tract and he had fifty-two acres in another part of the township,
where the family home was established. He farmed there until he was
unable longer to bear the burden of active work.
To
James B. and Mary (Buntin) Dooley were born four children: Hattie, the
first born, is the wife of William Bowman, and they live at Maplewood,
Indiana, and have two children, Ernest and Homer. Minnie is the wife of
Edward Dow and they live on East Twelfth street, Indianapolis, and have
six children, Mary, Lora, Ruby, Vivian, Phyllis and Byron. Lizzie is
the wife of John Crosby, a successful farmer, and they live two miles
north and three-quarters of a mile east of New Winchester, Indiana, and
they have two children, Ray and Carlos, both now students at Purdue
University, Lafayette, Indiana. .Lester, the youngest by Mr. Dooley's
first marriage, died at the age of eighteen months. The first Mrs.
Dooley died in 1903. She was a faithful member of the Christian church
at New Winchester, and a woman of many lovable traits of character. On
November 17, 1908, Mr. Dooley was married to Mrs. Leanah (Buntin)
(Walton) Wright, a sister of his first wife. She was born about two
miles west of New Winchester and grew to womanhood in Marion Township.
In January, 1861, she married William Walton. One son, Amos McClellan
Walton, born of this union, died at the age of two years, of
diphtheria. Mr. Walton and Mr. Dooley enlisted for service in the Civil
War at the same time and in the same company, and were together until
Mr. Walton's death by typhoid fever, near Lagrange, Tennessee, in the
winter of 1862-3. Mrs. Walton later married John Wright, a native of
Marion township, a son of William Wright and wife, who were pioneer
settlers in Marion Township. William Wright was in Missouri at the time
the Civil War began and came home and enlisted in the state militia
which was called into service at the time of Morgan's raid. Mr. Wright
was a farmer and did a great deal of teaming and hauling timber. After
their marriage Mr. and Mrs.Wright lived for seven years in the state of
Illinois, when Mr. Wright's health failed and they then returned to
Hendricks County, where he died. Mrs. Wright remained a widow
twenty-four years, during which time she lived on a farm in Marion
Township. There were seven children born of her marriage to William
Wright. Lena is the wife of Otis Hedge and they live near Valley Mills,
and they had two children, only one living, Edna, who is the wife of
Chester Jay. Retta, the second child, died at the age of twenty-one.
Oscar Wright is a grocer and horseman at Franklin, Indiana. Maude is
the wife of Fred Sears and they live in the eastern part of Marion
township, Hendricks County, and have one daughter, Maxine. Donna was
the wife of Charles Graham and both are deceased, leaving two children,
Vesta and Bernice. Alice is the wife of Raymond Rudd and they live at
Franklin, Indiana, where Mr.
Rudd is a partner with Oscar Wright in the grocery business; they have
two daughters, Farrell and Leanah. Homer Wright has been a government
employee in the Indianapolis post office for past eight years and makes
his home with his mother and Mr. Dooley.
James B. Dooley is
retired from
active life, and on September 15, 1909, removed to his present home at
No. 1902 Commerce avenue, Indianapolis, which they had bought a year
before. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and he
belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he was formerly
a Republican, but is now allied with the Progressive party.
Mr. Dooley has always
been a loyal
and patriotic man, loyal to the laws of his country in times of peace
and patriotic in defense of the flag in times of peril. He was one of
six sons, of whom five were soldiers in the Civil War, and none of them
were in the same regiment. ,Henry was wounded and Arthur was captured
and confined in a Confederate prison, but all came home alive.
Dandridge
Tucker
Among the
families
of
Hendricks County who have descended from Revolutionary stock is the
Tucker family, whose history is not only of general interest, but of
especial interest to the many descendants of that illustrious family.
Dandridge Tucker, one of
the most
highly respected and best beloved men of Hendricks county of a past
generation, was born in Casey county, Kentucky, March 3, 1827, and died
in Danville, in this county, on June 18, 1892. He was the only son of
Lee and Miranda (Durham) Tucker. Lee Tucker was one of the first
pioneers in Hendricks County, and was born in Bedford county, Virginia,
May 4, 1803. Lee Tucker was the eldest son and third child of a family
of ten children, born to Dandridge and Nancy (Settles) Tucker, who were
also natives of Virginia. The father of Dandridge Tucker was William, a
soldier of the Revolutionary War for seven years.
William Tucker, who grew
up in
Virginia, married Nancy Settles, and their son, Lee, became the father
in turn of Dandridge, whose history is herein presented.
Lee Tucker, the father of
Dandridge,
was eight years of age when his parents moved from Virginia to Casey
County, Kentucky. He was reared to manhood on his father's farm in
Kentucky and married, on March 7, 1826, Miranda
Durham, the daughter of Thomas and Frances (Moss) Durham, natives
respectively of Virginia and Maryland. Miranda (Durham) Tucker was born
December 16, 1805, in Mercer county, Kentucky, and after his marriage
he and his wife continued to live on the old homestead farm until the
fall of 1834, when, on account of his opposition to slavery, he came to
Indiana, arriving in Eel River township, Hendricks county, on September
12, 1834. He immediately entered one hundred and sixty acres of
unimproved land in this township, and afterwards entered one hundred
and twenty acres more. When Lee Tucker and his family came here in
1834, practically the only cleared land in the township was that of
Isaac Trotter, all the rest of the township being a dense wilderness.
In 1826 Mr. Tucker and his wife joined the Methodist Episcopal church
in Kentucky and soon afterwards he was appointed class leader. Upon
coming to Indiana he organized a church society of six members and his
own house served as the place of worship for some time. Later he
organized the first Sabbath school in Eel River township, which was
also held in his own home. He served as class leader, steward and
trustee in the church until his death. His house was always the
rendezvous of the ministers, and no man in the county ever took a more
hearty interest in this work than did Lee Tucker. He was an earnest
advocate of temperance and was the first man in his township to refuse
to furnish intoxicants at his log rollings or in the harvest field.
Politically, he was an old-line Whig, but upon the organization of the
Republican party he became affiliated with that political institution.
He was always among the foremost to aid in every good cause. His death
occurred June 23, 1884, his wife having passed away July 24, 1872.
Three children were born to Lee Tucker and his wife: Lee Ann, the wife
of John Durham; Dandridge, and Francis, who died when seven years old.
In addition to rearing these children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Lee
Tucker reared eight orphan children, all of whom grew to be useful
members of society.
Dandridge Tucker, reared
by such
parents, could not help but be a man who would be an ornament to any
community. Coming to this county when he was seven years of age with
his parents, he spent the rest of his life here. He assisted his father
to clear and improve the home farm and was given the meager education
which was afforded by the subscription schools of that period. He was
married on May 5, 1850, to Catherine Davis, who was born March 11,
1830, in Montgomery county, Kentucky, the daughter of Nathan and Nancy
(Kidd) Davis, her parents coming to this county in 1835. To Dandridge
Tucker and wife were born four children, David Lee and Nathan A., whose histories are presented
elsewhere in this volume; Miranda F. and Robert E.
After his marriage in
1850 Dandridge
Tucker settled on the farm where his sons, Nathan and David, now
reside, and gradually improved the farm until it was as productive as
any in the county.
Religiously, Mr. Tucker
was a loyal
and earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his wife of
the Christian church. His wife died February 15, 1883, an(* some years
later he married Jennie Hadley.
Mr. Tucker was always an
active
worker in the Republican party, and in 1847 he was appointed township
trustee. He was elected treasurer of the board and served in that
capacity until the new Constitution was adopted in 1852. He was a great
student of Masonry and was one of the oldest representatives of the
grand lodge of Indiana. He had taken all of the degrees and was one of
the first thirty-second-degree Masons in the state. He was a man of
broad, generous character, a good citizen in every sense of the word
and a man who was indeed and in truth "four square to every wind that
blew."
David
Lee Tucker
The Tucker
family
have played
an important part in the history of Hendricks county. The history of
this family, which has been traced back through the Revolutionary.War,
discloses the fact that its members have always played an honorable and
prominent part in the affairs of the various communities in which they
have resided.
David Lee Tucker, who has
lived more
than three score years in this county, is a man who stands high in the
estimation of his neighbors and friends, whose interests he has always
sought to promote while endeavoring to advance his own. He is a man of
courage, self-reliance and of the utmost integrity of purpose, with the
result that he has earned a full share of this world's goods and at the
same time has taken a part in the civic life of the community in which
he lives. He is a son of Dandridge Tucker and his birth occurred
February 13, 1852, on the farm where he now lives in Eel River
township, this county. Since the Tucker family history is given in the
sketch of Dandridge Tucker, the reader is referred to that biography
for the ancestry of David Lee Tucker.
David L. Tucker grew up
on the farm
where he is now living and after
completing his common and high school education in the North Salem
schools he attended Wabash College. He was married December 31, 1903,
to Lillian G. Overstreet, the daughter of Aaron and Catherine (Elder)
Overstreet. Aaron Overstreet, the son of James and Susan Overstreet,
was born in Casey county, Kentucky, January 19, 1826. He was reared in
Kentucky, and on December 24, 1850, married Catherine Ann Elder, and
two years later came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and after living in
several different parts 01 the county he settled in Union township. In
August, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Union army in Company G,
Ninety-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served during the
remainder of the war. He was in the battles of Jacksonville,
Chattanooga, Vicksburg, all of the battles of the Atlanta campaign, and
was with Sherman on his march northward from Savannah to the final
surrender at Guilford court house in the spring of 1865, and in August
of that year he was mustered out of the service, when he immediately
returned to this county, where he lived as a farmer until his death,
which occurred June 22, 1910. To Mr. and Mrs. Overstreet were born
twelve children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Overstreet were active members of
the Christian church, and, fraternally, Mr. Overstreet was a member of
the Free and Accepted Masons and also of the Grand Army of the
Republic. He was an honest, industrious man who had great faith in the
better side of human life. He was truthful and optimistic to a marked
degree and not only mild when life looked dark and gloomy, but believed
that the man who is worth while he is the one who will smile when
everything goes against him. Mr. Tucker has one hundred and sixty acres
of well improved land in Eel River township, where he grows all the
grains, vegetables and fruits common to this section of the state. He
devotes a great deal of time and attention to live stock and has earned
a reputation more than local as a cattle raiser. He is a man of
progressive ideas and tendencies, and by adopting modern methods of
farming and keeping in touch with the more advanced thought on the
matter of agriculture and stock raising, has achieved definite success.
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Jamestown, while,
religiously, he and his wife are both members of the Christian church
at North Salem. He is a man of keen business discernment, is able to
foresee with remarkable accuracy the probable outcome of a transaction,
and is by nature a man always on the alert, progressive, yet
scrupulously honest, straightforward and unassuming, obliging and
courteous, kindly and hospitable and he numbers his friends only by the
limit of his acquaintances, and has won the good will and confidence of
all with whom he has come in contact.
Charles
E. Kurtz.
In the history
of
Hendricks
county, as applying to the agricultural interest, the name of Charles
E. Kurtz occupies a conspicuous place, for through a number of years he
has been one of the representative farmers of Marion township,
progressive, enterprising and persevering. Such qualities always win
success, sooner or later, and to Mr. Kurtz they have brought a
satisfactory reward for his well-directed efforts, and while he has
benefited himself and community in a material way, he has also been an
influential factor in the educational, political and moral uplift of
the community favored by his residence.
Charles E. Kurtz, the son
of Henry
and Margaret (Logan) (Vannice) Kurtz, was born in Marion township, this
county, September 10, 1867. His father was born in Nelson county,
Kentucky, February 10, 1823, and was brought to this state by his
parents when six months old. They settled in Putnam county on a farm,
where he was reared and, with the exception of the three years he spent
in the army during the Civil war, he always resided on the farm. He was
married October 9, 1851, to Margaret Logan Vannice, the daughter of
Lawrence and Caroline Vannice, after which they settled on a farm,
where they continued to live the remainder of their lives, the farm at
the time they took it being an unbroken wilderness. At the opening of
the Civil War there were four little children in the family and when
the husband and father enlisted, on August 13, 1862, to battle for the
Union, he left his family not knowing whether he would ever see them
again. He enlisted in Company G, Ninety-ninth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, and,
with his regiment, participated in all the campaigns and battles of
that command until July 22, 1864, when in the great two-days battle at
Atlanta, he was taken prisoner and confined to the stockade at
Andersonville. He was in this historic prison from August 1, 1864,
until October 24th of the same year, and during this time he
experienced all the horrors and privations of that terrible prison pen.
From Andersonville he was taken to the stockade prison at Florence,
South Carolina, and confined here for three months. On February 28,
1865, he was exchanged and sent north, being almost dead from the
hardships he had endured. He arrived home March 22, 1865, and, since
the war was nearly at an end, he did not re-enlist. While in the army
he wrote home as frequently as the mails would permit and his letters
give thrilling glimpses of the battles, marches
and incidents through which he was passing. Many a day his loving wife
took the little flock to the forest to gather such wood as she could
find for fuel. Many a night she put the children to bed, extinguished
the light and sat with her face pressed against the window, where she
saw men pass along the road to meet and plot against the government for
which her husband was risking his life, but he returned and their happy
life was resumed and they lived for fifty years after this terrible
struggle was over. In 1901 they celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary and in 1911 their sixtieth anniversary, and on these
occasions abundant testimony was given of the high regard with which
this venerable couple was held. To them were born eight children: Mrs.
Caroline F. Underwood; Jacob L.; Mrs. Eliza Hadley; William H.,
deceased; Mrs. Jennie Hadley; Charles E., Oscar and Wilbur, deceased.
Living together for more than sixty years, they were separated in death
only a few days, Mrs. Kurtz dying on May 28, 1913, and he dying a few
days later, on June 8, 1913.
Charles E. Kurtz received
his
education in the district schools of his township and grew to manhood
on the home farm, part of which is now owned by him. He has operated
his present farm since his boyhood days and has improved it in every
way. The farm is well drained, well fenced, and he has a fine home,
excellent barns and other outbuildings, the place being a model of
neatness and convenience. While he raises all of the crops peculiar to
this latitude, he makes a specialty of stock raising and breeding. He
breeds Hereford cattle and ships them to all points in the United
States. He has taken part in many fairs and expositions and has won
many prizes away from his home county and in different states. He has
displayed his cattle at the International Stock Show at Chicago and has
carried off prizes, winning over cattle from all over the United
States. He also is a breeder and raiser of Spotted Poland China hogs
and finds a ready sale for his surplus stock.
Mr. Kurtz was married in
1892 to
Alice Henry, daughter of Thompson and Esteline (Jesse) Henry. Thompson
Henry is a native of this county and grew to manhood on the old Nathan
Tucker farm in Eel River township. He and his wife, who also was a
native of this county, are now living retired at Jamestown. They reared
a family of eight children, Jesse, George H., Oliver, Alice, Effie,
Mattie, Reddie G., deceased, and one who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have four children, all of whom are at home, Ralph,
Verla P., Henry H. and Charles E. Mr. Kurtz is a member of
the
Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias at North Salem, and
also is a member of the Royal Arch Masons at Danville. He is a
Republican in politics and has always taken a more or less active part
in local political affairs. He has been a member of the Hendricks
county council and in that capacity has stood for all measures which
promise to better the condition of the county. He and the members of
his family are adherents of the Presbyterian church at New Winchester
and are generous contributors to its maintenance. Mr. Kurtz has been a
hard worker all of his life and is richly deserving of the success
which has come to him. On his fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres
he has the opportunity to show what a progressive farmer can accomplish
and it needs but a glance over his well-tilled fields to show that he
has taken advantage of the opportunity. Such men are welcomed in every
community, and the greater the number of this class the better it is
for the community, for it is people who live in any locality which
really make it what it is. Therefore, Mr. Kurtz can be justly regarded
as one of the best representative men of Hendricks county today.
Martin
Hession
The history of
the
Hoosier
state is not an ancient one. It is the record of the steady growth of a
community planted in the wilderness in the last century and reaching
its magnitude of today without other aids than those of continued
industry. Each county has its share in the story, and every county can
lay claim to some incident or transaction which goes to make up the
history of the commonwealth. After all, the history of a state is but a
record of the doings of its people, among whom the pioneers and the
sturdy descendants occupy places of no secondary importance. The story
of the plain common people who constitute the moral bone and sinew of
the state should ever attract the attention and prove of interest to
all true lovers of their kind. In the life story of the subject of this
sketch there are no striking chapters or startling incidents, but it is
merely the record of a life true to its highest ideals and fraught with
much that should stimulate the youth just starting in the world as an
independent factor.
Martin Hession, the
subject of this
review, was a native of Ireland, born in county Galway, and about the
year 1834, when fourteen or fifteen years of age, he came unaccompanied
to America. His mother had died previous to his coming, and some time
after he had established himself in
the new land his father joined him. He was the son of Daniel and Sarah
Hession and was one of a family of four children, the others being
Charles, Michael and Ellen. Mr. Hession first set foot in the new world
at New Orleans, after a long and tedious journey in the sail boats of
that day, and remained there for about two months before coming to
Indiana. After arriving in Indiana, he found friends in both Marion and
Hendricks counties and worked out among them on their farms at day
labor. In this manner he employed himself for eight or nine years, when
he felt able to invest in a farm for himself and purchased a forty-acre
tract in the eastern portion of Brown township, this county. He lived
there for three or four years, when he sold it and bought a forty-acre
farm in Boone county. There he resided for two years, when he traded
that farm to a brother for forty acres in Brown township, when he again
became a citizen of Hendricks county, and has since remained here. Mr.
Hession has carried on general farming and kindred interests and, by
reason of his unfailing energy and tireless efforts, he has prospered.
The forty acres secured from his brother has formed the nucleus for his
present holdings, comprising three hundred and fifteen acres of as fine
land as the county can boast, and the reputation of Hendricks county
for excellent soil is well known.
On January 4, i860, Mr.
Hession was
united in marriage with Mary Hagon, who was born in September, 1840, in
county Galway, Ireland. Her parents died in the old country when she
was young and when but fourteen years of age she journeyed to the
United States alone, landing at New Orleans and coming directly to
Marion county, this state, where three of her brothers and one sister
were already settled. These were John, Michael, Martin and Kate. After
arriving at the home of her brothers she went out as a domestic to
service on various farms in Marion county and in this way made her own
way until the time of her marriage. Her parents were James and Bridget
Reddington. To the union of Martin and Mary (Hagon) Hession have been
born nine children, two of which have passed away. The others are:
James, who married Belle Sharkey and resides on a farm about one mile
north of the subject; Sarah is the wife of Martin Hession and lives on
a farm in Middle township, this county; Delia married Darby Mulrine and
lives in Indianapolis. Her husband is employed by Kingan & Company,
Limited. They have two children, Nora and Martin. Martin. F. married
Nellie King, of Indianapolis, and they reside just east of the
subject's home; Daniel, John and Mary remain at home; they are the
parents of three children, namely: Elizabeth, Mary and Martha. Charles
died when thirty-three years
and six months of age and a little daughter, Julia, died in infancy.
The family is considered one of the very best in the community and has
a host of friends. The atmosphere of the home is thoroughly hospitable
and both friends and strangers find appropriate welcome there. Mr.
Hession, after a strenuous career, has practically retired from active
duties and is enjoying the fruits of many years of unceasing labor.
There is much that is commendable in his life's record, much that might
well be an inspiration to young men with life before them and without
influential friends to come to their aid. By his own effort and right
principles of living he has not only won for himself an enviable
competency for his declining years, but has so conducted his affairs
with his fellow men as to win for himself the reputation of one
absolutely trustworthy and honorable in his business dealings, and
worthy in every respect of the warmest personal friendship. The entire
family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and give liberally
of their substance to its support.
William
S. Dickerson
Among the
earnest
men whose
enterprise and depth of character have gained a prominent place in the
community and the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens is the
honored subject of this sketch. A leading farmer and stock raiser of
the township in which he resides and a man of decided views and
laudable ambitions, his influence has ever been exerted for the
advancement of his kind, and in the vocation to which his energies are
devoted he ranks among the representative men of the country.
William S. Dickerson, the
son of
Ennis and Anna (Ross) Dickerson, was born February 24, 1865, in Marion
township, Hendricks county, Indiana. His father was a native of
Virginia, and came to this state with his parents, Andrew R. and Mahila
(Dodd) Dickerson, when but a small boy. They settled in Marion township
about three and one-half miles north of New Winchester. Here Andrew R.
Dickerson bought a forty-acre farm which had been entered by Paul
Faught, and is known as the old Dickerson homestead. Ennis Dickerson
was a member of the Friends church and a farmer in this county until
his death, in 1899. He was an invalid most of his life, but in spite of
this affliction he was a hard worker and successful in life. His wife,
Anna Ross, was a native of Kentucky and came to this county with her
parents when she was a small child. She
is now seventy-four years of age and is living in Indianapolis. Mr. and
Mrs. Ennis Dickerson were the parents of six children: John Calvin,
deceased; William S., whose history is herein set forth; Mrs. Eva E.
Hadley; James Ora; Frank 0. and Ella, who died at the age of eight.
William S. Dickerson
spent his
boyhood days on the farm, and lived with his parents until he was
twelve years of age in Marion township. They then removed to Center
township, near Mill Creek, where he remained until he was nineteen
years of age, returning to care for his grandmother, with whom he lived
until his marriage. He moved on his present farm of fifty-three acres
in 1905, and has improved his farm until it presents a very attractive
appearance in every way, built fences, put up buildings and a neat
country home.
Mr. Dickerson was married
January 30,
1887, to Lizzie Faught, the daughter of Henry H. and Martha J.
(Armstrong) Faught. Henry H. Faught was born August 23, 1841, in this
county, the son of George Washington and Annie Jane (Hayes) Faught.
George Faught was reared in this township, being born in 1818, the son
of Paul and Elizabeth (Liszt) Faught. Paul Faught was one of the first
settlers to enter land in this county. His wife, Elizabeth, died April
26, i860, and he died one month later, May 26, i860. Their son, George
W., lived and died in the same locality and was a farmer all of his
life, dying June 26, 1880. His wife, Annie Jane, died September 4,
1874. Henry H., the son of Mrs. Faught, was married August 27, 1863, to
Martha J. Armstrong, the daughter of William and Mary Ann (Ross)
Armstrong. William Armstrong was born in 1818 in Shelby county,
Kentucky, the son of Levi and Susan (Johnson) Armstrong. Levi was born
February 27,1791, and his wife in 1793. Levi was a son of George, born
in 1763, and Sarah Armstrong, born in 1766. The Armstrong family has
traced their ancestry back to a much earlier date in the state of New
York. They came to Kentucky in wagons and have lived in that state for
several generations. William Armstrong grew up in Kentucky and in 1837
married Mary Ann Ross, a native of Kentucky. Soon after marriage they
came to Indiana and settled near New Winchester, where they lived and
died. His first wife, the mother of Mrs. Faught, died in 1875. In 1876
he married Amanda Harris, and died July 15, 1899, at the age of
eighty-one, having spent a very busy and useful life. After Henry H.
Faught was married he moved to Edgar county, Illinois, where he
remained for five years. He then came back to Marion township,
Hendricks county, and located two miles north of New Winchester
on a farm, which belonged
to his
father. After his father's death, Mr. Faught bought his brother's
interest in the farm, thus becoming the owner of one hundred and twenty
acres. He lived here the rest of his life, farming and trading in live
stock. He was a Mason and both he and his wife were members of the
Christian church, although at the time of their marriage she was a
member of the Baptist church. He died March 30, 1911, after nearly half
a century of married life. He was an earnest believer in the faith of
the Gospel and his life was one devoted to making friends and keeping
them. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Faught: George W.,
a clothing merchant of Indianapolis, who married Mrs. Catherine
(Morris) Adams; they have one child, Cecil. Dora May, the deceased wife
of John C. Himes of Ladoga. She left one son, Fred C, who was only nine
months old at the time of his mother's death. He was reared by Mr. and
Mrs. Faught and has been a member of the home ever since. Lizzie Etta
is the wife of W. S. Dickerson and has two children, Harry B., born
February 8, 1890, and Lester F., born January 26, 1895.
Harry B., the oldest son
of Mr. and
Mrs. Dickerson, married Kate Christie July 2, 1911, and is a farmer in
Putnam county. Lester is still at home with his parents. Mr. Dickerson
is a Democrat, but is not active in politics. His wife is a member of
the Christian church at New Winchester, Indiana. Mr. Dickerson is
liberal in his views and charitable to the faults of his neighbors. He
has advanced ideas on farming and does not hesitate to put them into
operation, with the result that he is rightly regarded as one of the
representative farmers of this county.
Fred
Albert Hays
The subject of
this review as
one of the most enterprising of our younger generation of farmers in
Hendricks county, who has believed from the outset of his career that
the "wisdom of yesterday is the folly of today," and that while the
methods of our grandfathers in tilling the soil were all right in their
day, yet in the twentieth century we are compelled to adopt new methods
and farm along different lines, in view of the fact that conditions of
climate, soil, grains, etc., have changed since the days of the
pioneers. He has been a close observer of modern methods and is a
student at all times of whatever pertains to his chosen life work, and
he has therefore met with encouraging success all along the line, and,
judging from
his past record, he
will
undoubtedly
achieve much in the future years and take his place among the leading
agriculturists of a community noted for its fine farms and adroit
husbandmen.
Fred Albert Hays, the son
of James
and Mary (Kelley) Hays, was born in Marion township, Hendricks county,
Indiana, June 3, 1876. His father was born in this township March 10,
1836, the son of John and Catherine (Munday) Hays. John Hays was a
native of Virginia and was a son of William and Mary Hays. When John
was about eight years of age his parents moved to Mercer county,
Kentucky, and there he grew up and married Catherine Munday, who was a
native of Mercer county, the daughter of Woodson and Nancy Munday. In
1829 John Hays and his wife came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and
entered land not far from New Winchester, where they lived, reared
their family and there they both died. John Hays was a life-long farmer
and owned between three and four hundred acres of land at the time of
his death. James Hays, the father of Fred Albert, is one of nine
children, only two others being alive at the present time, Harvey Hays,
of New Winchester, and John Thomas Hays, who lives two miles southwest
of Danville, in Center township.
James Hays was married
twice, his
first wife being Mary Kelley, a native of this county and the sister of
his second wife. After his marriage on March 24, 1857, he began farming
on the place where he is still living. At that time the land was
heavily timbered and he had to clear off a plot of ground large enough
to build his cabin, a task of no small magnitude in those days. On this
farm he has built three houses, his first two having been destroyed by
fire. To his first marriage there were born four children: Annie Belle,
the wife of James Clark, of Danville, died in 1898, leaving three
children, Mabel, Rennice and Carlos; Hattie lives south of New
Winchester, where she owns a farm; Frank, who married Ida Myrtle Sears,
the daughter of Jeptha and Emily (Hamrick) Sears, lives on a farm
adjoining his father's place on the east. He has a farm of one hundred
and twenty-seven acres; the youngest child of this first marriage is
Fred Albert, whose history is herewith outlined. After the death of his
first wife, in 1882, James Hays married Mrs. Margaret (Kelley) Rose in
1889, who was a sister of the first Mrs. James Hays. She is the mother
of William M. Rose, of Eel River township, this county, whose history
will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Fred Albert Hays spent
his early days
on his father's farm, and has been a tiller of the soil all his
life.
He moved to his present farm in March,1902,
and now has one hundred and twenty acres of land which he operates in
an up-to-date manner. In addition to his general farming he makes a
specialty of buying, feeding and selling cattle.
Mr. Hays was
married June
2, 1901,
to Emma L. Hardwick, the daughter of Warren and Nancy
(Graham)
Hardwick.Warren Hardwick was born September 25, 1839, in
Marion
township, this county. He was the son of Silas and
Rhoda (Cook)
Hardwick. Silas Hardwick was born about 1809, in
Montgomery county,
Kentucky, and moved to Shelby county, in the same state, when a child,
where he remained until 1830. In 1832 he came to Hendricks
county,
Indiana, with his parents, Charles and Elizabeth Hardwick.
Charles
Hardwick entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land in
Center township, Hendricks county, and one hundred and sixty acres in
Marion township. Both Charles and his son, Silas, were
blacksmiths
and started the first shop in Danville. Silas
Hardwick was an
all-around mechanic, a good carpenter and an excellent cabinet-maker
and in addition was a farmer of more than ordinary ability.
Warren
Hardwick grew up on the home farm and received his education in the old
academy at Danville. He taught school for several
terms in Indiana,
Illinois and Iowa, and was married March 16, 1871, to Nancy G. Graham,
the daughter of Young W. and Emily (Harris) Graham. Mr. Graham came
from Mercer county, Kentucky, in November, 1840, and bought
two
hundred acres of school land in section 16, of Marion township, this
county, and here his death occurred on April 22, 1846, at the age of
thirty-five years, his wife surviving him for forty years, her death
occurring on April 14, 1886. Warren Hardwick spent
the rest of his
life in Marion township, where he followed the occupation of a farmer
and stock raiser. He became the owner of several fine
farms and
owned nine hundred acres in Marion township. Mr. and
Mrs. Hardwick
reared a large family of eight children, one of whom died in infancy;
the other seven are still living and are as follows: Glenn; Silas;
Emily L., the wife of Mr. Hays; Everett W.; Harry J.; Florence R., the
wife of Fred Creech, and Bessie E. n the fall of
1907 Mr. Hardwick
bought a fine residence on the Danville and North Salem road, where he
lived until his death, which occurred May 6, 1909. Mrs. Hardwick and
all her children except the two married daughters still reside at this
home. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hays have a daughter. Irene,
born May 8,
1902.
Mr. Hays is a Democrat in
politics,
but has never been active in the affairs of his
party. He is
interested in all public enterprises and takes a
kindly interest in the welfare of his fellow citizens. His wife is a
member of the Missionary Baptist church at New Winchester and is a
woman of refinement and culture who adds grace and charm to the home.
Mr. Hays is a congenial man and one who is well liked by every one. He
and his wife are prominent in the best social circles of their
community and still have many years of usefulness before them.
Warren
Hardwick.
The Hardwick
family have been
in Hendricks county since 1832 and from the day that the first
representative of the family arrived in the county until the present
time they have played an important part in its history. They belong to
that early group of pioneers who paved the way for the present
civilization of the county and in all of these years they have always
taken a leading part in promoting public enterprises which affected the
weal of their community.
The Hardwicks trace their
ancestry
back to the latter part of the eighteenth century, the first of the
family to come into this county being Charles Hardwick, who was born
during the Revolutionary War. Silas, the son of Charles and Elizabeth
(Crook) Harwick, was born in 1809 in Montgomery county, Kentucky, and
came with his parents to this county in 1832. Charles entered one
hundred and sixty acres in Center township and he and his son Silas at
once opened the first blacksmith shop in the little village of
Danville, Silas being an excellent mechanic, carpenter and cabinetmaker.
Silas Hardwick married
Rhoda Cook and
they were the parents of Warren, whose interesting career is briefly
set forth here. Warren Hardwick was born September 25, 1839, on the New
Maysville road in the northeastern part of Marion township. He grew to
manhood on the home farm and after completing the course in the common
schools of the neighborhood, he attended the old Methodist Academy in
Danville. He then taught school for several years in Indiana, Illinois
and Iowa, and made an enviable record as a teacher.
Mr. Hardwick was married
March 16,
1871, to Nancy E. Graham, the daughter of Young W. and Emily (Harris)
Graham. His wife was born in Marion township, her parents having come
from Kentucky in the fall of 1840. Mr. Graham entered
two hundred
acres of school land in
section 16 in Marion township and died on this farm on April 22, 1846,
his wife surviving him until April 14, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Hardwick have
reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are still living:
Glenn; Emily L., wife of Fred A. Hays, whose history is given elsewhere
in this volume; Everett W.; Harry J.; Florence R., the wife of Fred
Creech, whose career is presented in another part of this volume, and
Bessie.
After his marriage, Mr.
Hardwick
retired from teaching and devoted the remainder of his life to farming
and stock raising. He was very successful and at the time of his death
owned several fine farms, aggregating more than nine hundred acres. In
the fall of 1907 he purchased a fine residence on the Danville and
North Salem pike and there his widow and all the children except the
two married daughters are now living. Mr. Hardwick enjoyed his new home
only two years, passing away on May 6, 1909.
Mr. Hardwick was a man of
unusual
power and concentration and achieved success because he was a skillful
manager and a keen observer of men and conditions. His career was such
that his honesty and integrity were never questioned and the result was
that he was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and
acquaintances in the county.
George
Montgomery
In the year that
the United
States opened up its second war for independence there was born in the
state of North Carolina a lad whom destiny was to make one of the
pioneers of Hendricks county as well.as one of its wealthiest men.
North Carolina has sent its thousands into Indiana, but no one of its
early emigrants made a more pronounced success in the Hoosier state
than did the youngest, who uttered his first cry on July 22, 1812. On
this date there was born in the old state of North Carolina George
Montgomery. His father was Samuel Montgomery and he came from sturdy
old colonial stock, that could handle the musket and hoe with equal
facility.
The first pictures of
young George
were filled with the terrible struggle which was then being waged
between the United States and England, and those were stirring events
which were happening just one hundred years ago. The girl whom he was
to marry was born in the same year that General Jackson won his famous
victory at New Orleans, and when Nancy Sturman, who was his future
wife, was born, on February 24, 1815, the territory of Indiana was just getting
ready to apply to Congress for state-hood.
When George Montgomery
and Nancy
Montgomery were married they at once, if not before, began to plan to
go West. It must have taken brave hearts to face a trip in those days
to the plains of the Mississippi, but our grandfathers and grandmothers
were never daunted by any fears. So George and Nancy talked it over
with his people and her father and mother with the result that in the
spring they decided to cast their fortunes in the rising state of
Indiana. They induced the Sturmans to accompany them and the little
party made their overland journey in the spring of 1837, arriving in
Hendricks county, Indiana, when nature was at her loveliest. George and
his young bride settled at Plainfield and the Sturmans located in
Marion township. For seven years George worked as a farm hand for
Jonathan Hadley, at the end of which time he felt able to purchase a
forty-acre farm in Marion township. When they first located at
Plainfield they occupied a rude log cabin with a dirt floor and a bed
which was built into the wall. In this cabin their first three children
were born and here was where they planned how they could buy the little
farm. When they moved to the farm they put all of their possessions on
a small sled and to the casual onlooker it would hardly have seemed
possible that in a few years this little family would be one of the
wealthiest in the whole county. But George Montgomery was a man who
knew how to work and, what is more important, how to save his money.
The result was that in the course of a few years he owned seven hundred
and forty-five acres of land and was considered one of the wealthiest
and best known men in the county. It is not every man who can start out
in life with a wife, thirty-seven cents in cash and a roan horse, as
did Mr. Montgomery, and accumulate over seven hundred acres of land,
but that it has been and can be done is strikingly shown in his case.
He and his good wife also reared a family of eight children: Julia, who
died September 16, 1907, at the age of seventy-two; Jonathan, who was
born October 11, 1836, and died June 6, 1851; Hannah, who was born
December 31, 1839, and married Taylor. Mills; James, who was born
December 14, 1841, and whose life history is set forth in this volume;
Harlan, who was born July 6, 1843, an(is now living at Bedford, Iowa;
Samuel Thomas, who was born February 12, 1846, and died June 28, 1869;
Mary Jane, who was born September 17, 1848, and died August 3, 1851;
and Tyra, who was born December 9, 1852, and whose history is presented
elsewhere in this volume.
The mother of these
children died
April 8, 1881, at the age of sixty-six, and the father lived to the
ripe old age of ninety-one, not passing away until October 26, 1903.
They were truly good people and were a blessing to the community in
which they lived so many years. The day of the log cabin is gone, the
dirt floor is passed away forever, but the memory of such people as
these will never die. They fought the good fight and the victory is
theirs and their children and grandchildren shall always have cause to
cherish their memory with filial reverence.
Tyra
Montgomery
Descended from
an
illustrious
family, one of the earliest pioneers of Hendricks county, Tyra
Montgomery is an excellent type of the sturdy sons who have placed this
county in the foremost ranks among the agricultural counties of the
state. He has been one of the factors in the material development of
his particular locality and has always been foremost in lending his
encouragement to worthy causes of every kind.
Tyra Montgomery, the son
of George
and Nancy (Sturman) Montgomery, was born in Marion township, Hendricks
county, in 1852. In as much as a history of George Montgomery is
presented elsewhere in this volume, it is not necessary to go into
detail concerning his interesting career at this place. Suffice it to
say that he was one of the best known of the early pioneers of the
county and a man who left a deep impress upon the county.
Tyra Montgomery received
an excellent
common school education and continued to reside under the parental roof
until after his marriage. As a boy he was ambitious and worked his own
way through the graded schools at Amo by working out and fattening hogs
of his own, thus early showing a dependence upon his own efforts. At
the age of twenty-three he was married to Amanda Wilson, the daughter
of Peter and Delilah Wilson, and to this union there were born two
children, Alice and Grace Ann.
Mr. Montgomery continued
to farm
until 1891, when he decided to quit farming and go on the road for the
Huber Threshing Machine Company. He was in the employ of this company
for the next seven years, part of the time being on the road and part
of the time in their offices doing clerical work of various kinds. He
is an expert penman and accountant and made a valuable man in the
office for that reason. In 1898 he returned
to Marion township and married Mrs. Mary Riley, the widow of William
Riley, she being a native of Orange county, Indiana. She is the
daughter of Mahlon and Charity (Morris) Leonard, and has one daughter
by her first marriage, Nora, who has been adopted by her stepfather.
Mr. Montgomery is a
stanch Democrat,
but does not take an active part in the political game, preferring to
devote his time and energies to his agricultural interests. He has two
highly productive farms. One consists of eighty acres near the
northwest part of Danville, where he has just built a modern home in a
beautiful location commanding a very broad view of the country. His
other farm is one of eighty acres in the northeast part of Marion
township. The family are very fond of music and have several musical
instruments in the house, the daughter being an accomplished musician.
Mr. Montgomery is a very genial man who easily makes the stranger feel
at home and is known throughout the neighborhood as a man who is
charitable to the faults of others and who tries to help all those who
are in distress in any way. He has a big, whole-souled heart, which
makes him friends everywhere he goes.
Oliver
Sayer Gowin
The one of whom
this narrative
speaks is one of those strong, self-reliant and determined characters
who are occasionally met with and who are of such a distinct type as to
seem born leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr. Gowin courts that
distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great force of
character and his zeal and energy in whatever he undertakes naturally
places him at the head of the crowd, and he has been a potent factor in
the development of Hendricks county, where he has long maintained his
home and where he is well known to all classes for his honorable and
industrious life, both in private and public.
Oliver Sayer Gowin, the
son of Steven
and Eliza (Debery) (Walton) Gowin, was born in Marion township,
Hendricks county, Indiana, two miles from his present farm, on October
16, 1854. His father was left an orphan at a tender age, his parents,
James and Mary Gowin, both dying shortly after his birth in Virginia.
He was sent to Frankfort county, Kentucky, where he was reared to
manhood by his uncle. Steven Gowin was twice married, his first wife
being a native of Kentucky, and to this first marriage
were born twelve children, only one of whom, Jane, is living at the
present time, the other eleven being as follows: Etna, James, William,
Allen, Sarah, Mary, Steven Merritt, Elizabeth, Robert, John and two
unnamed, who died in infancy. After his first marriage, in Kentucky,
Steven Gowin moved to Ripley county, Indiana, where his first wife
died, and some time after this he was married to Mrs. Eliza (Debery)
Walton, and to the second marriage six children were born: Love,
deceased; Emily Adeline; Oliver Sayer, whose biography is set forth in
this review; Alexander Campbell Buchanan; Cynthiana Ellen and Ann
Eliza. While living in Ripley county, this state, Steven Gowin
purchased a farm, but in 1852 he sold this place and moved to Hendricks
county, where he settled in Marion township, about seven miles
northwest of Danville. Here he purchased eighty acres and later added
thirty acres more, and on this farm of one hundred and ten acres he
lived the remainder of his life. He was a Whig in politics in the early
days, and upon the dissolution of that old party, in 1852, he became a
Democrat. He was a member of the Christian church at New Winchester and
a man who was well known and highly respected in the community where he
lived.
Oliver Sayer Gowin, the
third child
of his father's second marriage, was given his elementary education in
the district schools of Marion township and spent his boyhood and early
manhood days on his father's farm. Upon reaching his majority, in 1875,
he was married to Mary E. Blanton, the daughter of John and Delilah
(Ragland) Blanton. John Blanton was born in Kentucky in 1811 and came
to Hendricks county with his parents when a young man. He was a farmer
all his life and died in 1873. His wife was also a native of Kentucky,
her birth having occurred there in 1825, and her death occurred in this
county in 1907, at the advanced age of eighty-two.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Gowin
have seven
children: Esther Ann, the wife of Daniel Dodds, a farmer of Eel River
township, in this county; Alva Porter, who married Mamie Rooker, and
who lives on a farm in Marion township, this county: he has four
children living and one who died in infancy, Cecil, Ollie, Tennie and
Raymond; Charles, who died at the age of thirteen; Edgar M. married
Emma Eggers, and is a farmer in Marion township, has one daughter,
Dorothy, living, while three children died in infancy; Lilly Tessie,
who became the wife of Maurice Sutherlin, who was formerly a teacher,
but is now a farmer in Putnam county, this state, and they have one
son, Howard; Mamie, the wife of Allen Eggers, a farmer of Putnam county, Indiana, and Clarence
B., the youngest in order of birth, who is still under the parental
roof.
Mr. Gowin has been a
farmer since the
age of ten, starting out at that early age by renting a small tract
from his father and tending his crops with the enthusiasm which
characterizes boys of that tender age. Upon his marriage, he rented a
farm of eighty acres four miles northwest of New Winchester and
remained on this farm for the first three years of his married life. He
then moved to the eighty acres adjoining his present farm and lived
here for twelve years, after which he moved to his former farm of
eighty acres and spent the next three and one-half years there. He then
returned to his other eighty acres and, after living there for about a
year and a half, he moved to his present place in 1895, where he has
since re¬sided. By close attention to his business and by good
management he has succeeded in accumulating a fine farm of two hundred
and forty acres. He is what the world delights to honor, a self-made
man, and is not at all ashamed of the fact that he started out in life
with nothing.
Mr. Gowan is a
Progressive Republican
and is well informed upon all the political questions of the day, being
a wide reader of magazines and newspapers. He has never held any office
except that of township supervisor. He and his wife are members of the
Christian church at New Winchester, and he has been a trustee of the
church for a number of years. Mr. Gowan has managed his affairs in such
a way as to keep his reputation unblemished before the world, and in
his whole life of three score years in this county no act of his has
ever been the occasion for censure upon the part of his fellow
citizens. He has lived the quiet, unostentatious life of the good
American citizen and is an honor and credit to the community in which
he lives.
Bertrand
M. O'Brien, M. D.
Hendricks
county,
Indiana, has
reason to take pride in the personnel of her corps of medical men from
the earliest days in her history to the present time, and on the roll
of honored names that indicates the services of distinguished citizens
in this field of endeavor there is reason in reverting with
gratification to that of Dr. Bertrand M. O'Brien, of Danville, who has
attained eminence in his chosen profession and for a number of years
has stood among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a
community long distinguished for the high order of its medical
talent. He realized early that there is a
purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and no
respect not founded on accomplishment. His labors have been eminently
worthy because they have contributed to a proper understanding of life
and its problems.
Bertrand M. O'Brien, the
son of John
O. and Rachel (Anderson) O'Brien, was born in Putnam county, Indiana,
October 5, 1880. His father was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, in
May, 1819, and was the son of James O'Brien. At the age of twenty-one
John O'Brien came to America and for the first four or five years
worked on the steamboats on the Mississippi river. He then came to
Greencastle, where he worked for three years and then moved to Hamrick
Station, bought land and followed the occupation of a farmer for the
remainder of his life. His wife was a native of Putnam county, this
state, and a woman of great strength of character. John O'Brien became
a prominent citizen of Hamrick Station and vicinity and as an
indication of the esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens it
may be noted that he was elected as township trustee on two different
occasions, and served with fidelity and efficiency throughout his whole
term of office. He was a member of the Catholic church, while his wife
adhered to the Christian church. His death occurred February 6, 1905,
and his widow is still living in New Winchester, this county.
Dr. Bertrand M. O'Brien
was reared on
the home farm and while a youth farmed on the shares in the
neighborhood in order to get money for his education. After graduating
from the Manhattan high school in his county, he attended the Central
Normal College at Danville. However, he was determined to obtain a
medical education, and he entered, in the fall of 1899, the St. Louis
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and worked his way through,
graduating with honor in April, 1903. He at once began the practice of
medicine at Hazel wood, in Putnam county, this state, but after a year
he entered into a partnership with another physician at Filmore. This
partnership continued for one year, after which he came to New
Winchester on March 1, 1905, where he has since continued to reside.
Here he has built up a very large and lucrative practice and is justly
regarded as one of the best physicians of this section of the state. In
1913, in order to keep fully abreast of the times, tie took a
post-graduate course at the State University of Illinois, at Chicago.
He is a wide reader of all literature bearing upon his profession and
takes a deep interest in all the associations which deal with his
profession.
Doctor O'Brien was
married May 18,
1902, to Candace Bowman, the daughter of John M. and Sarah
Bowman.
Her father is a farmer in Putnam
county. Doctor O'Brien and wife are the parents of two children,
Berenice and Waldo. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while he and his
wife are both members of the Christian church of New Winchester. The
Doctor is a very genial gentleman to meet and has an ever-increasing
number of friends who take delight in his success. His career is a
splendid example of what can be accomplished by a determined American
youth when he makes up his mind to qualify himself for any particular
profession and should be a source of inspiration to others who are
forced to make their own way in the world. Doctor O'Brien is just
entering into the period of his life where his usefulness is increasing
and in the course of time he bids fair to become one of the most
valuable members of the community in which he is living.
Henry
C. Rodney
Among the
citizens
of
Hendricks county who have built up comfortable homes and surrounded
themselves with many of the luxuries of life, no one has attained a
higher degree of success than Henry C. Rodney. His story reads like a
romance, for there appears to be much of accident and the whims of
fortune in his life's career. His family history goes back to France on
one side and England on the other, and if his father had not been a
Confederate soldier he would not be represented in this volume today.
Michael Rodney, the father of Henry C. Rodney, was born in New Orleans,
Louisiana, on July 4, 1845. His father was a native of England and his
mother was a French woman. Michael's father was a merchant in New
Orleans, and he had two brothers who were sailors, and one is still a
pilot at the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Michael C.
Rodney received part of his education in the common schools at New
Orleans, then went to France for a year. On returning to New Orleans
during the Civil War, he was immediately drafted into the Confederate
army and sent to the front, and participated in the righting around
Vicksburg. Upon its surrender, he was captured and sent to Camp Morton,
at Indianapolis, where he was released after eighteen months. After his
release he was absolutely friendless, penniless and a mere lad less
than twenty years of age. He started out to walk from Indianapolis and,
going in a westerly direction, he came across J. M. Crawford, who lived
southwest of Clayton on the National road. Mr. Crawford thought him a
likely looking youth, took him in and gave him employment,
retaining him for two or three years. Later he worked for Milo Moon on
the Sprague farm. He then married Caroline Hufford, the daughter of
Henry and Hulda (Snodgrass) Hufford. and after his marriage he moved to
eighty acres of land in Center township, this county. About thirty-two
years after he had gone into the Civil War he returned to New-Orleans,
where he found his mother and brothers still living, his father having
died in the meantime. Mrs. Michael Rodney died July 16,
1905.
Henry C. Rodney, the
eldest child of
Michael C. and Caroline Rodney, was born on January 10, 1870, about
three miles southeast of Danville. He was reared on the home farm and
attended the neighborhood schools of his township. At the age of
twenty-two he was married to Erne M., the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs was born on February 12, 1845. m Washington
township, this county, and died January 15, 1905. He was the eldest son
of George A. and Louisa (Hubbard) Gibbs. His father, George A. Gibbs,
was born on August 2, 1822, in North Carolina, the son of Thomas and
Tabitha Gibbs. In 1826 George A. Gibbs, with his parents, moved to
Morgan county, Indiana, and in 1830 to Hendricks county, this state,
where they settled in Washington township. George A. Gibbs was reared
on this place and followed the vocation of a farmer all his life. He
began life in limited circumstances, but became well to do, owning at
the time of his death two hundred and seventy acres of land. He
married, in 1842, Louisa Hubbard, who was born near Mobile, Alabama, in
1827, the daughter of Samuel Hubbard. She came to Washington township
when she was a girl of about sixteen years of age. George Gibbs and
wife were loyal and earnest members of the Methodist church and active
and liberal in its support. He was interested in everything that
pertained to the betterment of the community. He helped to organize the
church at Bartley's Chapel, and was a leading member and superintendent
of the Sunday school at that place His death occurred in the early
eighties. His wife still survives him and is a sincere Christian also
and is still living a quiet, unostentatious life. She is remarkably
well preserved for a woman of her years, being now eighty-seven years
of age, and, if occasion requires, she can do the family washing, hitch
up the horses or even climb into the mow and throw down the hay for the
horses. Henry Gibbs grew up on the farm of his father and in July,
1863, enlisted in Company A, One Hundred Seventeenth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infantry. He served for six months in Tennessee and Kentucky.
In 1868 he married Elizabeth Van Treese, who died October 11, 1911.
After his marriage,
in
1892, Mr.
Rodney began farming two miles southeast of Plainfield, and after
remaining there for a year he moved to
what is known as the Jordan farm, in the southeastern part of Center
township, where he remained for three years, at the expiration of which
time he moved to a farm one mile west of Plainfield, where he lived
until 1898, when he moved to his present farm of two hundred and ten
acres. However, he did not purchase all of this farm in 1898, but has
added to the ninety-six and one-half acres which he bought at that time
until he is now the owner of that amount of acreage. He raises all the
crops common to this section of the country and also devotes
considerable amount of attention to live stock.
Fraternally, Mr. Rodney
is a member
of the Knights of Pythias, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist
Episcopal church, to which he is a liberal contributor. They are the
parents of two children, Rollie and Clifford, who are being given the
best advantages for an excellent education.
Politically, Mr. Rodney
is a
Progressive, feeling that in the principles as laid down by that party
the welfare of the country will be advanced. His career has been a busy
one, and it has been no less useful than busy, since he has always been
an advocate of every enterprise which has for its object the
improvement of his community. Being a man of pleasing personality, he
has won a large circle of friends, who esteem him for his genuine worth
as a man.
Robert
Westerfield
One of the
enterprising and
successful farmers of Hendricks county, Indiana, who has succeeded in
his chosen vocation solely through his own courage, persistency and
good management, is Robert Westerfield, of Center township, a man who
believes in lending what aid he can to his neighbors and the general
public while advancing his individual interests, consequently he is
regarded as one of our best citizens in every respect.
Robert Westerfield, the
son of Davis
and Betsey (Carter) Westerfield, was born in 1855, near Keokuk, Iowa.
His parents were both natives of Kentucky, his father born in Mercer
county and his mother in Washington county, that state. David
Westerfield was a son of James Westerfield, who was a native of New
Jersey, and came to Kentucky with his parents when he was six years of
age. While James Westerfield was still a small boy the Indians came to
their settlement and the settlers were compelled to flee to the fort in
which Daniel Boone was also a refugee, and here they stayed for six
months. James Westerfield grew up near Harrodsburg, the old
fort
being within two hundred yards of the present court house there. It is
interesting to note that the fort was built around a large spring,
which is still flowing. James Westerfield became county surveyor of
Mercer county, and died in that county in 1866, being one of the
prominent citizens of the county, David Westerfield was reared in
Kentucky and there married Betsey Carter, who was born in Washington
county, near the Mercer county line. David and wife lived in Kentucky
until after seven children were born, then moved to Iowa, where they
settled on a farm near Keokuk, and where they remained for about two
years. During their sojourn in Iowa, Robert was born. In 1855 the
family returned to Kentucky, where another child was born, and where
the mother died in the spring of 1857. Shortly afterwards David
Westerfield married and to this second marriage two children were born,
after which the second Mrs. Westerfield died and Mr. Westerfield again
married and to the third marriage nine children were born.
David Westerfield,
although he was a
citizen of Kentucky and his father an extensive slave owner, enlisted
in the Nineteenth Regiment Kentucky Volunteers and fought for the Union
nearly four years. He was in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and he
had a son who took part in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, which
was fought only four miles from his home. Robert Westerfield was then a
boy of only eight years and could distinctively hear the cannon and
musketry on that memorable 8th of October, 1862. He thought it was
thunder in a clear sky until he saw both armies pass their home.
When David Westerfield
was married
the second time in 1857, Robert, then a mere lad of fourteen, left home
and went to Illinois, where he hired out to work by the month. In
August, 1874, he came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and located in
Liberty township, where he has lived since. He hired out as a farm hand
and his entire life has been spent in agricultural pursuits. Having
left his home at so early an age, he has known what it is to meet all
kinds of hardships and discouragements. His father was financially
broken up during the Civil War, and his grandfather, James Westerfield,
who owned more than seventy slaves at the time they were freed, was
also financially ruined. Robert Westerfield started life from a very
small beginning, indeed, as he landed in Illinois at the age of
fourteen years with only thirty cents in money, and when he came to
Hendricks county in 1874 he had fifty dollars, a horse, saddle and
bridle, but, being of a frugal, thrifty turn of mind, he saved his
money so that he was able to get married and start to
housekeeping.
He bought a team and started in to farm
on his own account, settling on a tract in Liberty township, this
county. At the end of three years he engaged in teaming and followed
this occupation for the next three years. In 1885 he began farming
operations in Center township, where he lived until 1896. The year
previous to that he purchased eighty acres of land southeast of
Danville and in the spring of 1896 moved to this place, and in the fall
of that same year his barn, crops, wagons and tools were all destroyed
by fire, but, with indomitable courage and energy, he started in anew,
rebuilding his barn, purchased new tools, machinery and wagons and was
soon on his feet again. Within a few years he was able to purchase
forty acres additional, and is now the owner of one hundred and twenty
acres of fine farming land in Center township.
Politically, Mr.
Westerfield is a
Democrat and has always been actively interested in the deliberations
of his party. During the past twenty-eight years he has been precinct
committeeman every year but two, and. served on election boards from
the time the Australian ballot was introduced in 1883 down to the
present time. He has also frequently been a delegate to the state
conventions of his party. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both subordinate and encampment.
In 1876 Mr. Westerfield
was married
to Elizabeth Lookebill, the daughter of Peter O. and Nancy (Faircloth)
Lookebill, both natives of North Carolina, who came to this county in
1853. Mrs. Westerfield was born in Liberty township, this county, and
grew up near Clayton. Her mother died at the home of Mr. Westerfield on
Thanksgiving day, 1909. Mrs. Westerfield's father was a soldier in the
Mexican War, and also served in the Civil War, being a member of the
Seventieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. To Mr. and Mrs.
Westerfield have been born fifteen children, ten of whom are living. Of
the five who are deceased, four died in infancy and Lulu was killed in
a railroad accident at the age of fifteen. The ten living children are
Oliver, who married Lillie Petty, and lives on the home farm with his
father; he has three children, Hubert, Florence and Beulah; James
William married Mrs. Nora Cornet, and lives at Brownsburg, and has one
daughter, Mary Elizabeth. William has been principal of the schools at
Brownsburg, and now holds the same position at Pittsboro; Amos lives at
Newton, Kansas, and married Birdie Johnson, and has four children, Leo,
Harold, Oral and Mary Elizabeth; Rose became the wife of Alfred
Williams and lives at Racine, Wisconsin, and his three children,
Leona,Alfred and Robert ; Harlis married Elsie Miklesby, and also lives
at Racine, Wisconsin, and has one son, Harlan; Emma married Wiley Stone
and resides in Liberty township, this county; Clede is in Racine,
Wisconsin, while the other children, Calla, Lilly, Robert, Melvin and Martha
Ellen, are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Westerfield has ever
enjoyed the
respect and esteem of those who know him for his friendly manner,
business ability, his interest in public affairs and upright living,
and he is regarded by all as one of the substantial and public-spirited
citizens of the locality.
Carey
M. Hamrick
An enumeration
of
the
representative citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, would be
incomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular
gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old
and highly esteemed families of the central part of the state and for
many years one of the public-spirited men of affairs, he has stamped
his individuality upon the community and added luster to the honorable
name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his
relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he
might benefit his own condition as well as that of his neighbors and
friends, consequently he has long ago won the favor of a great number
of people of Marion township, where he maintains his home.
Carey M. Hamrick, the son
of William
F. and Dicey (Blackburn) Hamrick, was born in Marion township,
Hendricks county, Indiana, July 10, 1855. A complete history of his
father, William F., is given in the history of Mrs. J. A. Tinder, which
may be found elsewhere in this volume. Carey M. Hamrick was reared on
the home farm and was given such education as was afforded by the
subscription schools of his period. Upon reaching manhood, he was
married to Aggie Smith, the daughter of William and Harriett Smith, and
her birth occurred on August 6, 1855, near Taylorsville, Kentucky, and
came to Danville, Indiana, with her parents several years before her
marriage. The one child which was born to this union died in infancy,
and the wife and mother died October 29, 1890. Mr. Hamrick then
married, on September 25, 1894, Florence Wheeler, the daughter of
Harper and Elizabeth (Scott) Wheeler, of Clay township, this county.
Harper Wheeler was the son of Elijah and Melinda Wheeler, who came from
North Carolina to Clay township. Elizabeth (Scott) Wheeler grew up in
Union township, this county, where her parents settled upon their
arrival in this county from their native state of
Pennsylvania. Mr.
and Mrs Wheeler both died when their daughter, Florence, was a small
child and she was then taken into the home of Joseph Feree, of
Danville, and there reared to womanhood. After his second marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Hamrick moved to the northeastern part of Marion township,
where they purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which
they now reside. They have one son, Clarence, born October 26. 1895.
who graduated in the spring of 1914 in the high school at North Salem.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamrick are both devout members of the Methodist Episcopal
church of Danville and are active participants in all of the various
departments of their church work. Mr. Hamrick has never taken an active
part in politics, or sought for public office, being essentially a
domestic man of modest and retiring disposition. He is an entertaining
conversationalist and often regales his younger friends with stories of
the days when the old court house was being started, as well as the
stirring incidents of the Civil War. He is a well read man and is well
informed on all the current issues of the day. He has a large list of
friends in the county who honor him for his many sterling qualities of
character and upright manner of living.
David
A. Clements
The biographies
of
successful
men are instructive as guides and incentives to those whose career are
yet to be achieved. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and
consecutive endeavor strongly illustrate what is in the power of each
to accomplish. The gentleman whose life history herewith is briefly set
forth is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and
achieved a definite degree of success in the special sphere to which
his talents have been devoted.
David A. Clements, the
son of John N.
and Mary V. (Hendron) Clements, was born in North Salem, Hendricks
county, Indiana, on January 22, 1858. John N. Clements was born in
Clements Valley, Kentucky, and grew up and married in that state. Mary
V. Hendron was a native of Virginia. Immediately after their marriage
the young bridal couple took their honeymoon trip to Putnam county,
Indiana. They came through on horseback, following blazed trails,
forded rivers and threaded their way through the wilderness. They
located first in Putnam county, afterwards going to Boone county, this
state, but after a short stay in that county, settled in Eel River
township, Hendricks county, about one and one-half miles south of North
Salem, in what was then known as the Round Town neighborhood. There
they started pioneer life with their rude log cabin and all that went
with it. They lived here until David A. was sixteen years of age, when
they moved into North Salem and spent the remainder of their lives. The
panic of 1873 brought disaster to the family and the farm had to be
sold. John N. Clements and two sons, John E. and George H., were in the
Civil War and served throughout that fierce struggle. John N. Clements
enlisted three times and was wounded twice and permanently disabled.
After the panic of 1873 he recovered his finances and died in
comfortable circumstances. He was a stanch Republican all his life and
active in the party organization. Religiously, he was a member of the
Regular Baptist church from boyhood, his father being a Baptist
minister. He lived to be ninety-one years of age, his wife dying at the
age of sixty-five.
David A. Clements
received his
education in the district schools of his township, and when he was
sixteen years of age he moved with his parents to North Salem, where,
he completed his educational training, after which he started to learn
the trade of a machinist and for fourteen years was an engineer at
North Salem in a flouring mill. He was then left without a position
upon the burning of the mill. He came to Indianapolis, where he worked
for about sixteen months in Wasson's department store, following which
he was appointed superintendent of the Hendricks county poor farm and
held that position for six and one-half years, his term ending March 1,
1914. After leaving the county farm he purchased a farm near
Browns-burg, where he now resides.
Mr. Clements was married
September
14, 1880, to Lettie M. Waters, the daughter of Harney Waters, and to
them has been born one daughter, Anna Maude, wife of U. W. Parsons, a
lumber dealer of Brownsburg, and they have two children, David Vanuel
and Beatrice Pauline. They also had a daughter, Maurine, who died on
Christmas day, 1913, at the age of two years and seven months. Mr. and
Mrs. Clements were the parents of three other daughters: Delia G., who
died at the age of two years; Nellie C, who died at the age of four,
and Delia C, who died at the age of two years.
The father of Mrs.
Clements was born
in Kentucky December 7, 1842, and was the son of William and Julia Ann
(Waters) Waters. When he was a babe in arms his parents moved to North
Salem, where his father followed farming all his life. In the fall of
1862 Nathan Harney Waters married Rosena Zimmerman, the daughter of
John and Nancy (Myers) Zimmerman. He was born near North
Salem, his
parents coming here from
Kentucky. The Zimmermans were a well-known pioneer family and reared a
family of fifteen children. For the past ten years Mr. Waters has been
sexton of the Fairview cemetery at North Salem. He and his wife are
members of the Christian church and have been married for more than a
half century.
Fraternally., Mr.
Clements is a
member of the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, and he
and his wife both belong to the Order of the Eastern Star. Religiously,
Mr. Clements and his family are loyal and consistent members of the
Christian church at North Salem and are interested in all of the work
of that church. They have a hospitable home and have a large number of
friends and acquaintances who esteem them for their many good qualities.
William
R. Bowman
Many states in
the
Union have
contributed to the present population of Hendricks county, Indiana, but
it is probable North Carolina furnished as many of the early pioneers
of this county as any other state in the Union. Most of the people who
came from North Carolina to Indiana in the early history of the state
were members of the Friends church, who left the state of their
nativity because of their opposition to slavery. When North Carolina
changed her constitution in the early part of the nineteenth century,
she permitted slaves to be held in that state, and as soon as the
Friends found that slavery was to be tolerated they made preparations
to leave the state. Wayne county, Indiana, was practically settled by
North Carolina Friends, and other counties in the state received large
delegations of native citizens of North Carolina. Wherever these native
sons of North Carolina settled, they became prosperous and influential
citizens.
Among the Friends of
North Carolina
who settled in Hendricks county, there is no one who has led a more
highly respected and honorable career in this county than William
Romulus Bowman, who was born March 22, 1850, in Guilford county, North
Carolina. His parents were Richard and Polly Ann (Little) Bowman,
natives of Guilford county, that state. Richard Bowman was a farmer in
his native state and spent all of his days there. His wife was born in
1823, and died in October, 1910, in her native state. Mr. and Mrs.
Richard Bowman were the parents of ten children: Lerby W.; Lysandry A.,
deceased; Mary, deceased in infancy; William Romulus, whose history is
here presented; Cornelia, deceased; Edmond, a resident of North
Carolina; Martha, deceased; Rufus, of North Carolina; Victor, deceased,
and Mrs. Nanna Emma Hoggins, who lives in North Carolina. Richard was a
great worker in the church, as was his wife.
William R. Bowman spent
his boyhood
days on his father's farm in North Carolina, but upon reaching his
majority he came to Henry county, Indiana, and shortly afterwards went
to Rush county, this state, where ho remained a year. He then removed
to Hamilton county, Indiana, and three years later came to Hendricks
county, where he remained for the next three years, later going to
Morgan county, Indiana, where he married, after which he returned to
Hendricks county in 1881 and settled on his present farm.
William R. Bowman was
married on
December 12, 1878, to Jane Rachel McCollum, the daughter of Joseph and
Matilda (Weesner) McCollum. Joseph Milton McCollum was born April 24,
1828, in Randolph county, North Carolina, and, when a young man, came
to Guilford township, Hendricks county, Indiana, where he worked for
Mr. Blair and others. When he came to the county he had sixty-five
cents and two suits of jeans and spent thirty cents of his capital for
a Bible. He worked for a short time in this county, then went to Morgan
county, where he worked two years for Mr. Weesner, and while working
there he became acquainted with Mr. Weesner's daughter, and
subsequently married his employer's daughter in Morgan county, and
began farming for himself in that county. He bought eighty acres of
land in Monroe township, that county, and by diligent effort and thrift
he and his wife accumulated nearly three hundred acres before his
death, which occurred on July 15, 1908, at the advanced age of eighty.
Joseph Milton McCollum was a great Bible student all his life and was a
prominent worker in the Friends church at West Union, Morgan county.
Throughout his life in that county he was an active worker in the
church and attributes his success to the fact that he was one of the
tithers of his denomination. Mr. McCollum was a prosperous farmer and
specialized in the raising of Poland China hogs. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Milton McCollum were the parents of nine children; Mrs. Delphiana
Lawrence, who is living in Kansas; Mrs. Elmina Johnson, of Liscomb,
Iowa; Mrs. Mary Page, who resides on the old home place in Morgan
county, Indiana; Jane, the wife of Mr. Bowman; Louisa, deceased; John
L., who lives in Michigan, and twins who died in infancy. Mrs.
McCollum, now eighty-nine years of age, is living with Mr. and Mrs.
Bowman. She came from her home in North Carolina to Henry county,
Indiana, when a small child with her parents and soon afterwards the
family came to Morgan county, Indiana, where they
both died. The father lived to the advanced age of ninety, and her
mother passed away at the age of sixty-six. Mrs. McCollum is now an
invalid, and has been for eight years, but is kindly cared for by Mr.
and Mrs. Bowman.
William R. Bowman and
wife are the
parents of five children: John Alfred, who died at the age of fourteen
months; Urban, who married Elsie Thompson and has three children,
William Harold, Blanche Maria and Richard Merlin; Urban is a farmer
living in Marion county, near Bridgeport; Milton Richard, the third
child of Mr. and Mrs. Bowman, married Ione Dillon; he is a
skilled
machinist at Bridgeport, Indiana; William Gurney died at the age of
twenty years, and Jennie died in infancy.
Mr. Bowman and his wife
are both
faithful and loyal members of the Friends church and give to it their
earnest and zealous support. Politically, Mr. Bowman is a
Prohibitionist, feeling that the principles as advocated by that party,
if put into effect, would insure the more rapid advancement of
civilization in this country. Mr. Bowman has been a resident of this
county for about forty years,, and in that time has impressed his
individuality upon his community. He is a man of generous impulses and
a firm believer in those principles of honesty and integrity which he
has always employed in his business. He is a man essentially of
domestic taste and is devoted to his family and to his church, and
because of the clean and wholesome life which he has lived in this
county he has won the esteem of his friends and neighbors.
James
E. Daugherty
A farmer of
Hendricks county,
Indiana, who has attained to a position of influence in his community
is James E. Daugherty, one of the native sons of the Hoosier state,
whose life of more than three score and ten years has been spent wholly
within this state, and he has been a witness of the remarkable growth
which has taken place during that long period. He has always led a
quiet life and during his long career he has never forsaken the soil
and the independent existence which characterizes the successful farmer.
James E. Daugherty, the
son of James
and Mary Ann (Mills) Daugherty, was born in Montgomery county, Indiana,
February 8, 1841. His parents were natives of Kentucky, and came to
this state and settled in Montgomery county in 1830. His mother died on
July 31, 1872, at the age of sixty-six years, and his father died at
Ladoga, Indiana, on January 9, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty, Sr.,
reared a family of five children: Wesley W., who
died March 10, 1902; Mrs. Nancy Lee Stover, who died March 12, 1908;
Mrs. Catherine Bird, who died in August, 1881, and Mrs. Minerva
Harsh-berger, who died March 12, 1906; James E., whose history is here
presented. . James E. Daugherty was reared on his father's farm in
Montgomery county, Indiana, and received his education in the schools
of his home neighborhood. He was married May 27, 1869, to Eliza Jane
McCoun, who was the daughter of John W. and Melvina (Talbott) McCoun,
and born in Jackson township, Hendricks county, on August 31, 1849. To
this union were born the following children: Henrietta, who married
Homer Paterson and died on August 21, 1890; Edgar, a farmer in Center
township; Charles, Mary and Grace, who are at home.
In the fall of the same
year he was
married, Mr. Daugherty bought a farm in section 31, Center township,
Hendricks county, Indiana, and he proved to be a very successful farmer
from the start of his agricultural career. As a result of his thrift
and economy he was able to add to his possessions from time to time
until he is now the owner of five hundred and fifty-six acres of well
improved land in the county. In addition to his heavy farming
interests, he has engaged in the buying and selling of all kinds of
live stock. He raises considerable live stock himself, making a
speciality of pedigreed Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs.
Politically, Mr.
Daugherty is a
Democrat, while in religion the family are identified with the
Christian church. Mr. Daugherty has given satisfaction as executor of
several estates.
Rev.
Peter W. Raidabaugh.
There is no
earthly station
higher than the ministry of the Gospel, no life can be more uplifting
and grander than that which is devoted to the amelioration of the human
race, a life of sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of man,
one that is willing to cast aside all earthly crowns and laurels of
praise and fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly
Nazarene. It is not possible to measure adequately the height, depth
and breadth of such a life, for its influences continue to permeate the
lives of others through successive generations, so the power it has can
not be known until the "last great day when the trumpet shall sound and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible." One of the self-sacrificing,
ardent, loyal and true spirits that has been a blessing to the race,
who has left in his wake an influence
that ever makes the world brighter and betters the lives of those who
follow, is the Rev. Peter W. Raidabaugh, whose life forcibly
illustrates what energy, integrity and a fixed purpose can accomplish
when animated by noble aims and correct ideals. He has ever held the
unequivocal confidence and esteem of the people among whom he has
labored, and his career can be very profitably studied by the ambitious
youth standing at the parting of the ways.
A man who has played a
large part in
the work of the Friends church and its allied organizations is Peter W.
Raidabaugh, of Plainfield. A man of broad scholarship, fine business
ability and lofty ideals, he has long occupied a conspicuous place as a
churchman and as a citizen of the community where he has resided. He
was born in Lewisburg, Union county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1849, the
son of Adam and Eve (Winegarden) Raidabaugh. Both of his parents were
natives of Pennsylvania, his father being a plasterer and a man of more
than ordinary ability. He was a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow and was
an officer in the grand lodges of both orders. He had the reputation of
being one of the best informed men on Masonry in the whole state. He
died in the state of his nativity in 1892 and his widow survived him
just ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Adam Raidabaugh were the parents of six
children, all of whom are living: George P., of Baltimore, Maryland;
Daniel, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; Charles A., of Atchison, Kansas;
Minerva, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; Henry W., of Baltimore, Maryland;
and Peter W., the immediate subject of this sketch.
Peter W. Raidabaugh was
educated in
the public schools of Lewis burg, Pennsylvania, and very early in life
decided that he would make the ministry his life work. When he was only
twenty years of age he began to fill the pulpit in the Evangelical
Association church and at the age of thirty-two he was the presiding
elder of the Lewisburg district of the Central Pennsylvania conference,
of that church. He continued in the ministry until 1883, when he was
elected editor of the Sunday school publications of that church. He
then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived for the next ten years.
In 1889, on account of a division in the Evangelical Association,
resulting in two denominations, the subject did not feel clear to go
with either faction and he united with the Friends church and was
immediately installed as pastor of the society at Cleveland, retaining
this charge for two years. The Publishing Association of Friends then
put him in charge of the Sunday school and other publishing interests
of the Friends church throughout the United States and Canada, and he
located at Chicago. In addition, he was editor of the Christian Worker
until 1894, when the paper was consolidated
with the Friends Review
of
Philadelphia, and the two papers merged into the American Friend, the
present church organ; and since that time Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh has
given all of his time to the editing and publishing of the Sunday
school literature of the Friends church, with his headquarters at
Chicago. The business was removed to Plainfield in 1901 and remained
there until 1913, when it was transferred to the Friends Bible School
Board at Fairmount, Indiana. In 1904 he bought the Plainfield Progress
and changed the name of the paper to the Friday Caller, and, with his
son Walter as editor, the paper was a decided success. He sold the
paper in 1910 to C. C. Cumberworth, but two years later he took it back
again, and finally disposed of it in 1913 to Fred E. Warner, the
present editor and owner.
Reverting to an earlier
period in
Rev. Raidabaugh's career, during the year 1885, while he was serving as
Sunday school editor in the Evangelical publishing house at Cleveland,
Ohio, a city election occurred, the question of closing the saloons on
Sunday becoming the leading issue in connection with the election of
councilmen. Rev. Raidabaugh being a resident of the twenty-third ward,
the largest resident ward of the city, he was requested by a large
number of citizens to stand for election to council on the Republican
ticket. At the primary he was nominated over two other candidates and
was subsequently elected. For two years he was active in the affairs of
the city, being chairman of the committee on printing and a member of
the committees on fire and water and on ordinances. His voice and vote
were constantly used in favor of a higher moral tone for the city.
After the incorporation
of the town
of Plainfield, Rev. Raidabaugh became the first treasurer of the town,
and was re-elected, serving for six years, with eminent satisfaction to
his fellow citizens.
In 1889 Rev. Raidabaugh
was sent as a
delegate from the state of Ohio to the first world's Sunday school
convention, held in the city of London, England.
Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh now
finds
himself out of active business for the first time since early manhood,
although he is still the pastor of the Friends church at Bridgeport,
Indiana, and has been in charge of that church for the past ten years.
Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh was
married
October 15, 1872, to Sarah W. Walter, of Union county, Pennsylvania,
and to this union there have been born three children: Walter, who was
a very promising young man and associated with his father in the
newspaper at Plainfield, and died in 1910; Mrs. Elizabeth Newsom, of
New York city, and Helen, deceased.
Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh has
lived an
eminently useful life. He has always been calm and dignified, never
demonstrative, yet his life has been a persistent plea, both by precept
and example, as well as by written and spoken word, for the purity and
grandeur of right principles and the beauty and elevation of wholesome
character. He has always had the greatest sympathy for his fellow men
and has ever been willing to aid and encourage those who were
struggling to aid themselves against adverse fate, yet in this, as in
everything else, he was entirely unostentatious. To him home life has
been a sacred trust and the church a sanctuary of faith, and nothing
has ever been able to swerve him from the path of rectitude and honor.
William
Henry Arnold
Practical
industry, wisely and
vigorously applied, never fails of success. It carries a man onward and
upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful
stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are
often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary
qualities of common sense and perseverance. This everyday life, with
its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for
acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide
a true worker with abundant scope for effort and improvement. The fact
having been recognized early in life by the subject of this sketch, he
has seized the opportunities that he encountered on the rugged hill
that leads to life's lofty summit where lies the ultimate goal of
success, never attained by the weak, ambitionless and inactive. Mr.
Arnold is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise in
Hendricks county, Indiana, with that discretion and energy which are
sure to find their natural sequence in definite success, and in such a
man there is particular satisfaction in offering in his life history
justification for the compilation of works of this character not
necessarily that the careers of men of Mr. Arnold's type have been such
as to gain them wide reputation or the admiring plaudits of men, but
they have been true to the trusts reposed in them, have shown such
attributes of character as entitled them to the regard of all and have
been useful each in his respective sphere of action, while at the same
time he has won and retained the esteem of all with whom he has come in
contact as a result of his industrious and upright career.
William Henry Arnold was
born on
September 15, 1852, in Putnam
county, this state, the son of Richard and Levina (Potts) Arnold, the
former of whom was a native of Kentucky and came to Harrison county,
this state, with his parents, Richard, Sr., and Rebecca Arnold, being
but five years of age at that time. Richard, Sr., was born in Kentucky
on March 15, 1765, and Rebecca was born in the same state in July,
1773. Their marriage took place in 1790 and Richard, Jr., was born
August 1, 1805. He grew to manhood in Harrison county, this state, and
was there married on November 10, 1825, to Levina Potts. His life-long
vocation was that of farming and at an early date in the history of
this section he came to this county, settling on what is now known as
the old Bowen farm. Here he probably entered about a quarter section of
government land. He was a hard working man and cleared up his land,
nicely fencing it and preparing it for cultivation. He remained on this
farm for several years and then sold out and moved to Arkansas. He made
the trip overland in a covered wagon, but so disappointed was he with
the prospects upon arriving there that he did not even unload his
wagon, but after a short rest started back to the good old Hoosier
state. He went to Putnam county, where he obtained a farm and where he
remained for several years and reared his family. He later disposed of
this property and returned to this county, taking up his residence in
Franklin township. Near the close of his life he retired from active
farm work and went to Stilesville to live, his death occurring there.
Levina Potts, his wife, who was a Kentuckian by birth, also died at
their home in Stilesville. They were the parents of fifteen children.
Jacob, Beckie, Margaret, Nancy, Maria, Rebecca, Richard, Malinda, John,
Vina Ann, Columbus, and an infant, all deceased. These living, besides
the subject, are George and Alonzo.
William Henry Arnold
spent his
boyhood days in this county, coming with his parents from Putnam county
when fourteen years of age. When a youth he attended the early schools
of the township, acquiring the best education the opportunities of that
day afforded in this community. On September 22, 1876, he was united in
marriage with Sarah Cosner, daughter of John and Louisa (Rolla) Cosner.
She is a native of this county, having been born at Stilesville. John
Cosner was a native of North Carolina, born there on May 9, 1822, and
died at Stilesville on January 31, 1893. He was a farmer all his life,
a man of excellent character and ability. He was twice married, his
first wife being Eliza Wicker, to whom he was united in marriage in
1846. Her death occurred on November 1, 1848, and she left one child, a
son, Alfred. In 1851 John Cosner was again
married,
this time to Louisa
Rolla, and by
this marriage became the father of six children. Besides Sarah, wife of
the subject of this sketch, there are Miranda, Elizabeth, Leander,
Lafayette and Margaret. Louisa (Rolla) Cosner was a native of Ohio,,
born February 16, 1834, and died at Stilesville, this state, on October
24, 1883. To the subject and his wife have been born three children,
Glenn, Earle and Irvin. All his life Mr. Arnold has been engaged in
farming and kindred pursuits. Shortly after, his marriage he came to
reside on his present farm, containing one hundred and sixty acres. He
is one of the best farmers of the county, progressive in. all his
methods. He is thorough and systematic in his work, makes a careful
study of his soil and determines by scientific methods what it is best
adapted for and then proceeds to carry out his theories with energy and
ability. The soil with which he has to deal is exceptionally fine and
for the last five years he has put a great deal of thought and labor on
the nursery business, devoting particular attention to fruit trees,
etc. He is the originator of,an excellent pear known as the "Arnold"
pear, which has acquired a wide reputation and is highly advertised by
nurserymen. Mr. Arnold has been highly compliment-ed on his success in
this line of endeavor by men who have devoted a life of study and
experiment to the same line. In addition to this line of work, he has
considerable reputation as a raiser and breeder of cattle and at all
times feeds considerable stock. He is an eminently successful man and
has won his enviable position through tireless endeavor and well
directed energy. He is a great reader, a deep thinker, a thoroughly
sound and sane man and. as may be expected, is a delightful companion.
Mr. Arnold's political
affiliation is
with the Democratic party in the affairs of which he takes a quiet,
though keen, interest. He is too busy with his own affairs to desire
public office of any sort, but at one time was induced to serve as
township supervisor, which place he held for four years. Mrs. Arnold is
a member of the Missionary Baptist church at Stiles ville, and while
Mr. Arnold is not connected with any church society, he is. interested
in the progress of all. The family is one of the best known and most
highly respected in the county, with a strong influence for right in
all phases of life. Mr. Arnold can honestly claim all the honor
accorded him for what he has accomplished, for he started in life with
practically nothing, but is now one of the substantial men of his
community as a result of his close application to business and his
persistency. He has a host of friends, for his life has been honorable
in every respect.
George
W. Wise
Among the
honorable and
influential citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, is the subject of
this brief review, who has here maintained his home for many years,
winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to
which he has devoted his attention during the years of an active
business life. His career has been without a shadow of wrong or
suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the confidence and
esteem of his fellow men.
George Washington Wise,
the
proprietor of a one-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm in Marion township,
this county, was born in Granger county, Tennessee, in 1845. His
parents were William and Patience (Sherrod) Wise, both of whom were
natives of Wayne county, North Carolina, where they were reared,
married, and spent their earlier married life, later moving to
Tennessee, where they remained until their death, which occurred in
1875. George W. Wise lived in Wayne county, North Carolina, until
sixteen years of age, and then went to Garrett county, Kentucky, where
he had relatives, with whom he lived until he grew to manhood and
married.
Mr. Wise was married in
1866 to Nancy
Jane Mallicoat, the daughter of Joel and Martha (Allen) Mallicoat.
George Wise and his wife were playmates when they were children in
Tennessee, and the friendship which was established in those early days
was broken when he moved to Kentucky, but after Nancy Mallicoat grew to
young womanhood she happened to go on a visit with her brothers to
Kentucky, and visited in the same neighborhood where George was
working, and they again met, and the friendship which was the joy of
their childhood days ripened into a deeper affection with the result
that they were united in marriage before her return to her native
state. Her father was a prosperous farmer in Tennessee and a man of
fine character in every way. He lived to an advanced age, his death
occurring in his ninety-third year on October 20, 1910, and when he
passed away it was said that he did not have an enemy in the world. His
wife, the mother of Nancy, died when she was only four years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Wise
remained in
Kentucky but five years after their marriage, and then came to
Hendricks county, where they located in the eastern part of Marion
township in July, 1873. in this township they have lived for the past
forty years. At first they were not able to purchase a farm, having
come here with practically nothing, and as a result they had to rent
land, but they were industrious and frugal and managed so that they
might save and have a home of
their own. They first bought sixty acres of land just west of New
Winchester, and from time to time added acre by acre to this until they
now have one hundred and fifty acres of fine farming land, all of which
is clear of encumbrances of any kind. They have done this and yet have
played an important part in the material, social and moral welfare of
their community. They have one son, William Henry, who was born in
1867. He married Ida Lasley, the daughter of Gabriel and Nancy Lasley,
and is now living at Gonvick, Minnesota, where he is following the
occupation of a farmer. He and his wife have nine children living,
Clyde, Minnie, Fred, Martha, William, Fanny, Gertrude, Kitty V. and Ida
May. Paul died when he was three and one-half years old.
Mr. Wise has lived a
clean, upright
and straightforward life and there is not a man who has ever had cause
to question his integrity. His and his wife are loyal members of the
Baptist church at Danville and are firm believers in the efficacy of
church work. They have always stood for the best ideals and have always
endeavored to cultivate that sweetness which is the saving grace of
civilization and the benediction of mankind in general.
Genealogy Trails 2008
Biographies transcribed from the book "The History of Hendricks County"
by J.V. Hadley 1914
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