Hamilton County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1915 (part 14 of 14)

Wesley Hare was eleven years of age when his parents moved from Ohio to Hamilton county, Indiana, and consequently he received part of his education in the schools of Ohio. After coming to this state he attended the schools in the locality where his parents settled, and visited his father upon the farm while not in school. At the age of nineteen years he was apprenticed for two years to a wagonmaker and thus was laid the basis for the industry which is the most important in Hamilton county. By the time Wesley Hare had reached his majority he had qualified as a wagon and car¬ riage maker, and for a time after reaching his twenty-first birthday he worked as a journeyman at his trade. In 1849 he opened a shop in Noblesville, which from a very small beginning, gradually grew to be an establishment of large proportions with a reputation which extended over all the states of the middle west. From this insignificant beginning in 1849 has arisen the in¬ dustry which today is the pride of Noblesville and which has been for many years its most important manufacturing establishment. The factory now occupies a building four stories high, eightv-six by one hundred and thirtytwo feet and employs regularly more than fifty men all the year round. The "Hare" buggies and carriages have gained an enviable reputation and are sold mainly to jobbers. These vehicles are found throughout this state, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky and many other slates, although Indiana monopolizes a large share of the annual out¬ put. The motto of Wesley Hare was "Keep up the quality." During his long connection with the factory this rule was rigidly followed, and it can be truthfully said that this motto has been no less closely followed since his death, as the vehicles from this factory today are as stanchly and sturdily made as they were during the lifetime of the founder of the establishment.

Wesley Hare was married in 1852 to Mourina T. Harrison, a member of an early pioneer family. To this union were bom two sons and two daughters, Elbert M., a brief account of whose life history is presented else¬ where in this volume: Silas W., Stella, the wife of George Shirts, a promin¬ ent attorney in Noblesville; Emma, the wife of William H. Craig, one of the most prominent citizens of Noblesville, and for many years the editor and proprietor of the Noblesville Ledger. The sons, Elbert M. and Silas W. were associated in the business with their father before his death and it is still continued under the firm name of W. Hare & Sons.

Wesley Hare was a Democrat in politics and always deeply interested in local, state and national issues. However, his attention and energies were absorbed by his large business interests, with the result that he could never take an active part in politics. He was public-spirited to a marked degree, and at his death, was mourned as a citizen who had never failed in those high qualities which mark the true American citizen.

Elbert M. Hare

There. is nothing which stimulates a man to deeds of worth and a life of uprightness and rectitude more than the recollection of the strength of char¬ acter and examples of right living which have been created by his forbears. In this respect Mr. Hare is fortunate beyond the majority of men in having been descended from a line of ancestors who have been in their several com¬ munities men of strength and influence, doing their duty well, whether in the peaceful pursuits of ordinary life or in positions of public trust. A heritage of such a memory of the lives of one's forbears is of more value than a heritage of material wealth. In the business affairs of Noblesville Mr. Hare occupies a position of importance and among those who are today conserving the commercial and industrial prosperity of this community none occupy a higher standing among their associates.

Elbert M. Hare, one of the most substantial business men of Noblesville, Indiana, was born October 19, 1853, in the city where he always has main¬ tained his residence. He is the son of Wesley and Mourina T. (Harrison)

Hare, a brief resume of whose history is presented elsewhere in this volume. Wesley Hare was for many years before his death one of the most influential men of Hamilton county and built up a manufacturing business which was second to none in the county. His manufacture of vehicles made a reputation, which carried the name of the city of Noblesville throughout all of the states of the middle west and it is this industry which he has handed down to his son.

Elbert M. Hare has spent his entire life in the city of his birth, receiving his education in the common and high schools of Noblesville, later attending a commercial college at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1877 he became associ¬ ated with his father in the manufacture of vehicles, the firm being known as W. Hare & Son, and this firm name has been continued in use since the death of his father in 1902. The business has been expanded within recent years and now light road vehicles of all patterns and descriptions are manufactured, the firm also handling Btiick automobiles. In addition to his manufacturing interests, Mr. Hare also is interested in agriculture and owns a large farm in this county. Among many other varied interests, he is a director in the Wainwright Trust Company of Noblesville.

Mr. Hare was married January 26, 1882, to Emma Stevenson, the daughter of John and Margaret Stevenson, and to this marriage 'have been born three sons, Frank, Willard and Albert. Frank is now associated with his father in the vehicle business. He was a former student of Indiana Uni¬ versity, and while in attendance there he gained a great reputation as one of the best football players ever turned out by the university. Albert, the young¬ est son, is now a student in the State University.

Mr. Hare always has been actively interested in political affairs and, until 1912, was one of the influential factors in Republican politics in his county. He has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state con¬ ventions, but has never been an office seeker in any sense of the word. He always has stood for what he felt was for the best interests of his city, county and state, and never has failed to do his share towards furthering these inter¬ ests. In the summer of 1912 he became identified with the Progressive party, feeling that it offered reforms which the country was demanding. In the ranks of the Progressive party he took a prominent part as he had previously done in the Republican party. Fraternally, Mr. Hare is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife are regular attendants of the Presbyterian church, to which they contribute liberally of their means. The family lives in South Tenth street in Noblesville, one of the most beautiful residence districts in the city and h\ere they have a most attractive and modern home, where they dispense hospitality which leaves no doubt as to their kindliness of character and geniality. Mr. Hare is a man of genuine worth and justly merits the high esteem in which he is regarded by everyone with whom he has ever been associated.

Ulysses G. Michner

The subject of this review is a representative farmer and stock raiser of Delaware township, Hamilton county, Indiana, and is known as one of the alert progressive and successful agriculturalists of this favored section of the Hoosier state. In his labors he has not permitted himself to follow in the rut in a blind, apathetic way, but has studied and experimented and thus secured the maximum returns from his enterprising efforts, while he has.oo ordered his course at' all times that he commands the confidence and regard of the people of the community in which he lives, being a man of honorable business methods and advocating whatever tends to promote the public welfare in any way.

Ulysses G. Michner, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in this county, was born on his present farm, September 30, 1872. His parents, Samuel P. and Telitha J. (Spann) Michner, were natives of Penn¬ sylvania and Indiana, respectively, the former of whom was of German ex¬ traction and both of whom were early settlers of Indiana. Thomas Michner and family came from Pennsylvania to Indiana when Samuel P. was a small boy. Mrs. Michner was of English and French origin.

Samuel P. Michner was one of five children born to his parents and remained at home until 1861, when he enlisted in the Eighteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served as corporal throughout the whole of the Civil War and participated in many of the hard fought battles of that memorable conflict. In one of them he was wounded in the head, which caused him to be an invalid for twenty years before his death, this also being the ultimate cause of his death. Samuel P. Michner and wife were the par¬ ents of ten children, eight of whom lived to maturity and were reared to lives of usefulness and honor.

Ulysses G. Michner was only eleven years of age when he commenced to "work out'' by the month, receiving eight dollars per month for his first summer's work. Since he started to work so early in life his education was necessarily not very extended, although he has since been a wide traveler, close observer and thorough student and is therefore practically a self-edu¬ cated man. He worked out by the month until he was twenty-three years of age and then married, after which he began renting land in this county. He rented for seven years and then purchased the present fine farm where he is living, this farm being the one on which he was born. At the time of his birth, his father was working as a hand on the farm. In 1912 Mr. Michner built the buildings which are now on the farm and now has the satis¬ faction of feeling that he has as attractive and convenient buildings as are to be found in the rural districts of this county. His home is as modern as any city home, while his barns are* models of convenience and comfort. He carries on a general system of farming and stock breeding and feeds more cattle than any other man in Hamilton county today. He has been remark¬ ably successful in the handling of cattle and is looked upon as an expert in this line. He has extensive cattle sheds and every convenience for the feed¬ ing and management of large herds of cattle so as to secure the best results.

Mr. Michner was married December 24, 1895, to Anna Davidson, the daughter of Dr. Greenleaf X. and Susanna (Records) Davidson, who was born in Pendleton. Indiana. June n, 1871. Her parents were natives of Ohio and came to Indiana in 1865. Her father practiced medicine in Pendleton for thirty years. Dr. Greenleaf X. Davidson gave his services to the nation in the dark hour of its trial in the sixties, serving throughout the Civil War as a corporal in the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volun¬ teer Infantry. He was one of the founders of the Physio-Medical College of Indiana, in which for twenty years he was a professor. Doctor Davidson had the distinction of being the best botanist in the state of Indiana, and his colleagues in medical science credited him with the possession of more knowl¬ edge on the subject of materia medica and thereaputics than any other man then living.

Mrs. Michner was the youngest of seven children born to her parents, six of whom lived to maturity. After receiving a good common-school and high-school education she entered the Physio-Medical College of Indiana at Indianapolis, from which she later was graduated. She then practiced medi¬ cine for two years in Connersville and while practicing in that city was ap¬ pointed county physician, being the first woman to hold that office in the history of Indiana. Her success in public work is proved by the books of the Fayette County Poor Farm, the records for her term of office showing the best degree of health and happiness of the inmates ever recorded in the history of that institution. Since her marriage she has discontinued the practice of her profession and now devotes all of her attention to her home duties. Mr. and Mrs. Michner are the parents of five children: Forrest, Kenneth, Russell (deceased), Hazel and Lawrence. The two elder children are now attending high school at Carmel, while the two younger are still in the common school.

In politics, Mr. Michner is a stanch Republican and has always been interested in the civic affairs of his community, while Mrs. Michner is a Prohibitionist, born and bred. At the present time Mr. Michner is serving on the township advisory board and is carefully looking after the interests of his constituents. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a deep interest in the affairs of this fraternal organization. Mrs. Michner belonged to the first lodge of the Daughters of Veterans in the state. Lucinda Morton Tent No. i, Connersville, Indiana, while residing there, and naturally has always been much interested in the welfare 'of this worthy organization, Mr. and Mrs. Michner are not members of any particular church but are attendants and supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Michner is a self-made man and from the time he was fourteen years of age has known the responsibility of taking care of himself. He takes a keen interest in the affairs of his community and was never known to withhold his support from any worthy cause. Such men are a blessing to any community since they are the men who are the backbone of our nation and the hope of the future.

E. E. Neal

One of the best known men in Hamilton county, Indiana, and one of the residents of this county who is known throughout the state of Indiana for the prominent place he has occupied for many years in the councils of the Republican party, is E. E. Neal, who was born in Hamilton county, the son of Jabez and Mary (Bowman) Neal.

Mr. Neal is a graduate of the Xoblesville high school, the Union high school and the National University Law School at Washington, D. C. Mr. Neal has also studied and traveled extensively in Europe, having spent one year there. He has been a school teacher, served as deputy county auditor, was connected with the war department at Washington for two years and was a court reporter for sixteen years. At one time he was a proofreader on the Chicago Herald. He has been a newspaper editor for the past thirteen vears. four years of which he has been editor of the Noblesvijle Enterprise.

That paper was consolidated with the Noblesville Ledger on June i, 1913, and the Ledger is now published by the Enterprise Publishing Company, and Mr. Neal is the editor, his younger brother, Charles S. Neal, being the busi¬ ness manager.

Mr. Neal served in the Indiana General Assembly during the sessions of 1899 and 1901, having been a member of the House and secured the passage of many worthy laws, including the forestry law, the teachers' minimum wage law, and laws for the benefit of labor. Mr. Neal also served three and one-half years in the state auditor's office and during this period had charge of eighteen million dollars worth of securities in the insurance department.

Mr. Neal was a candidate for Congress on the Republican ticket in 1910 and was defeated by only five hundred and ninety-three votes. Throughout his life Mr. Neal has been a member of almost all of the fraternal orders and is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Neal is married and has three daughters. He lives in Noblesville and is one of the most highly respected citizens of Hamilton county. He has been an active member of the party with which he is identified and is active in many lines that make for the public good.

The Boxley Family

The Boxlev family were the first settlers in Adams township. Hamilton county, and for ninety years have featured prominently in the history of this county. The family originally came from Virginia. George Boxlev, the first settler and grandfather of the generation now found in the county, took such an active part in freeing slaves in his native state that he sacrificed his fortune, and nearly lost his life in the cause of liberty. Bv the act of emanci¬ pating his own slaves, he caused quite a little insurrection and for which he was imprisoned. Through the connivance of his wife, Hannah Jenkins Boxlev, he made his escape and made his way west with a reward of five thousand dollars on his head. He traveled through Missouri, Illinois and Ohio, eluding capture and finally located in Adams township, where he entered the land that has ever since been the Boxlev homestead. Here his faithful wife, after many vicissitudes, finally joined him, making the journey from Virginia in ox-carts. Among the things she brought with her from her old home was a hand mill to grind corn, consisting of two large flat stones that fitted together and ground the corn between them. This relic is. vet in possession of the granddaughter living on the old homestead. George Boxley was the first school teacher in Adams township. Voluntarily, he collected the boys of the neighborhood, with his own children, into a little hut and gave them instruction and read history and good literature aloud to them, as they did not have books to study. He also instructed them in law and political economy, instilling into their minds his own views - the most intense hatred of slavery and injustice - telling them daily at this early period that they would live to see slavery abolished, and he had the pleasure of living to see the emancipation. P. G. Pearson, an early settler of Adams town¬ ship, loved to recall this early school and the instruction he received, and tell how it had moulded his own views. George Boxley had been a soldier of the war of 1812 and for an act of bravery was presented a sword which was lost during these rough years of pioneer life.

In George Boxley's family were eleven children. The seventh son, Caswell Boxley, inherited the home place. He was born in 1817 in Spottsylvania county, Virginia, being nine years old when his parents settled in Hamilton county, where he lived until his death, in 1891. He was a suc¬ cessful school teacher, an able lawyer, public spirited and generous to friend and foe. He was in the Civil War as a member of the One Hundred and First Volunteer Infantry, enlisting on August 18, 1862, and was discharged April 28, 1864. He was twice married. His first wife was Cordelia Davis, who bore him four children, Elijah, Caswell, Jr., Hannah Boxley Spencer and Clara Boxley Myres. His second wife was Sarah A. Kercheval, the mother of Annie Boxley Martin, who lives in the old Boxley home. The latter has followed her grandfather and father in the profession of teaching and was for twenty years a teacher in Adams township, keeping in touch with community welfare and education. On August 5, 1908, Annie Boxley was married to Charles L. Martin, one of the abler teachers of the county and for several years principal of the graded schools of Sheridan.

Thomas J. Lindley

The Union soldier during the great war between the states fought even better than he knew. Through four years of suffering and hardships, through the horrors of prisons and amid the shadows of death, he laid the superstructure of the greatest temple ever built and dedicated to human freedom. The world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach out the mighty arm gf power and strike the chains from off the slaves, preserve the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled to the breeze the only flag that ever made tyrants tremble and whose majestic stripes and scintillate stars are still waving a message of universal liberty to all the earth. For all their unmeasured deeds the living present will never repay them. Pensions and political power may be thrown at their feet, art and sculpture may preserve upon canvas and in granite and bronze their unselfish deeds, history may commit to books and cold type and give to the future the tale of their sufferings and triumphs, but to the children of the generations yet unborn will it remain to accord the full measure of apprecia¬ tion and undying remembrance of the immortal characters tried out in the American soldiers in the dark days of the early sixties, numbered among whom is Thomas J. Lindley, one of the best known residents of Hamilton county.

Thomas J. Lindley was born on the farm where he now lives near Westfield, Hamilton county, Indiana, October 7, 1843, the son of Aaron and Elizabeth B. Lindley, the latter being the second wife and the mother of six children. Aaron Lindley was born in North Carolina, May 16, 1799, and on account of his hostility to slavery moved to Indiana in 1836. His first wife was Ann Justice by whom he had six children, William, Henry, David, Oliver C, Aaron and Rebecca, all of whom are deceased, the two latter dying in infancy. The mother of these children died about 1839. The six children born to Aaron Lindley 's second marriage were Rhoda Ann, born in January, 1842; Thomas J., the subject of this sketch; Phoebe, born in February, 1846; Emily, born in T850; Gula Elma. born in 1852; and John P., born September 24, 1854. Of these children all are deceased except Thomas J. and Mrs. Phoebe Doan. Emily was scalded to death when a little child and John P. was drowned in White river when twenty-four years old.

Thomas J. Lindley was married November 28, 1867, to Harriett J. Blair, of Henry county, Indiana, who was born August 18, 1849, the daughter of Archibald and Susannah Blair. To this union have been born five chil¬ dren, Aaron Archibald, born October 24, 1868; Georgiana, born November 9, 1869; Laura Lee, born June 30, 1874; Mabel Clare, born August 10, 1876; and Thomas Blair, born March 3, 1890. Aaron Archibald married Lena Louise Schoettle in August, 1899, and to them have been born three children, Louise, Aaron Thomas and Lawrence. The mother of these children died shortly after the birth of the third child and her husband later married Lula Nash. To this second union, one son, William Nash, has been born. Georgiana married Arthur Lyndon Kittredge, of Dayton, Ohio, August 26, 1903, and to this union two children have been born, Thomas Arthur, born

January 20, 1905, and Mary Harriett, born September 28. 1908. The father of these children died two weeks after the birth of the second child, October 14. 1908. Mabel Clare married Homer H. Beals, June 7, 1905 and to this union two children have been born, Thomas Lindley El wood, born June nf 1907, and Lyndon, born October 16. 1910. Thomas B., the youngest child of his parents, was married to Edna Wheeler, December 31, 1913, and on January 10, 1915, a son, Thomas Joseph, was born to them.

Thomas J. Lindley had the benefit of a common-school education which he supplemented with a course of one year at Adrian College in Michigan. He was a student at the outbreak of the Civil War and upon returning home enlisted at the organization of the Fifty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry in Company H, October 19, 1861. After nearly two years of service he was discharged on account of failing health. He taught school the following winter and in the spring of 1864 enlisted for one hun¬ dred days in the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was chosen color bearer of the regiment and was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service with the regiment. He taught school again during the succeeding winter and in the following March, 1865, he once more enlisted for one year in the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served in this regiment in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, until the close of the war. He was mustered out with the regiment at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in August, 1865, at which time he held a lieutenant's commission.

Returning home, Mr. Lindley resumed his occupation of farming, his physical condition being such that he was not able to resume his studies in school, and in 1868 he was nominated by the Republican party to the office of sheriff and was elected with more than thirteen hundred majority. In the year 1869 during Mr. Lindlev's term of office as sheriff an event occurred, a record of. which is worth preserving in the history of the county. One morning upon reaching his office at the court house sheriff Lindley was met bv Thomas J. Kane, an attorney at the bar, who handed him the following telegram : "A party of Kentucky rebels are aboard the train with a Union man under arrest charged with murder during the war. Have sheriff with posse at train. (Signed) C. Richardson and Stephen Lowly." The train was about due and there was no time to be wasted, not even time to procure some arms. So hastily summoning a few deputies from among the by¬ standers, the sheriff, with his little posse, started on a run and bareheaded for the station. Arriving there the train was already approaching and Messrs. Richardson and Lowly of Tipton, who had sent the telegram, were leaning from the car steps anxiously watching to see if their appeal had been in vain. When the train stopped the sheriff requested the conductor to hold his train a minute. Richardson headed the posse as guide. Leading to a place about midway of the car he pointed out the prisoner, who sat beside his wife and a great big man of near two hundred and seventy-five pounds weight on the same seat.

Sheriff Lindlev addressed the prisoner, saying, "I am the sheriff of Hamilton county. I want you to come with me." "What do you want with him?" inquired the large man on the seat. Lindley answered, "I want to take him before the court and have you establish the identity of your prisoner and see that you do not take the wrong man out of the state." The large man answered, "He's not going." To this Lindley replied, "He is. going," at the same time seizing the prisoner by the coat collar. Instantly the whole car was in a tumult, though Lindley clung to his man. Upon reaching the platform with his most willing prisoner safe in hand some one called out, "Look out, Lindley ; he's going to shoot," meaning the big man, who was upon the point of shooting the sheriff in the back. At that moment Elisha Mills, auditor of the county, hit the big man on the side of the head with a stone. The sheriff took the prisoner, whose name was Moses Ray, to a blacksmith shop and had his handcuffs ait off and set him free. He and his wife were doubtless, for the time, the happiest couple in the county. Those members of the posse who were most active in assisting in the rescue and who showed that they had the genuine grit were Elisha Mill, auditor of the county, who was a veteran of the Seventy-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteers; Frank A. Hawkins, a veteran who had been shot to pieces and lay unattended upon the field of Gettysburg for several days; Thomas J. Kane and Joseph R. Gray, attorneys; J. Joseph, and others whose names the biographer does not now recall. It should be mentioned that Hon. Joel Stafford, w-ho was judge pro tern, of the local court did not shirk his duty as a patriot by hiding in his judicial ermine, but rolled up his sleeves and was in the thick of the fight. The sheriff's posse cleaned up a good collection of revolvers and bowie knives which the Kentucky gang neglected to call for when they made their precipitated flight for their "OK Kentucky Home."

This is without doubt the last battle of the Civil War between Union and Rebel forces in which a good man's life was saved and all the blood that was shed came from the veins of the rebels.

At the expiration of his term of office Mr. Lindley returned to the farm and applied himself diligently to his business with a large degree of success. (62)

In 1878 he was nominated and elected a member of the lower house of the State Legislature to represent Hamilton county. His services were obviously satisfactory to his constituents, for in 1880 he was re-nominated and re¬ elected. In 1890 the Hamilton county delegation gave him a solid vote for fifty-one consecutive ballots for the nomination for Congress in the Repub¬ lican convention. The choice, however, went to another party who has since left the Republican party and become a Progressive. In 1900 Mr. Lindley was chosen to represent Hamilton and Tipton counties in the State Senate, and was one of the leaders in the Indiana General Assembly during this term. He served on many important committees and his counsel and influence were sought upon all important measures.

Mr. Lindley has a birthright in the Quaker church, but he married a young woman who was a Methodist and after his marriage cast his lot with the Methodist church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and for sixteen years served as presiding officer over the lodge to which he is attached. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. Although seventy-one years of age, he still retains great interest in his business as a farmer, a vocation which he believes is bound to grow in importance year by year, furnishing the best opportunities for young* men, who will shake themselves free from bad habits and apply themselves diligently to this business. The active life which Mr. Lindley has led in the army and before the public has thrown him in contact with all classes of men. Yet he has persistently refused to be led into such habits as the use of intoxicating liquors and tobacco, the latter of which he believes is almost as bad as the former.

Thomas J. Lindley is one of the most highly respected and one of the best known citizens in Hamilton county. His long life in public service, in¬ cluding his many public duties well done, has earned for him the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens, a confidence which he today enjoys to the very highest degree.

Edwin M. Hinshaw

The life of the eminent and successful business man, though filled to re¬ pletion with activity and incident, presents fewer salient features to excite the interest of the general rader than the man whose place in the public eye has been won through political or military achievement. But to acquire dis¬ tinction in the business pursuits which give to the country its financial strength and credit requires ability of as high if not higher order than that which leads to victory at the polls or on the field of battle. This will be readily ap- predated by all who tread the busy thoroughfares of trade. Eminent busi¬ ness talent is composed of a combination of high mental and moral attributes. It is not simply energy and industry; there must be sound judgment, breadth of capacity, rapidity of thought, justice and firmness, the foresight to per¬ ceive the course of the drifting tides of business and the will and ability to control them, and, withal, a collection of minor but important qualities to regulate the details of the pursuits which engage attention. The subject of this review affords an exemplification of this talent, and notwithstanding the limited theater of his operations, he has achieved a reputation which places him among the successful financiers of Indiana's capital city.

Edwin M. Hinshaw, of Indianapolis, was born on a farm near Westfield, Hamilton county, Indiana, August 13, 1870. He is the son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Beals) Hinshaw, the former a native of the state of North Carolina, and the latter of near Westfield, Hamilton county, Indiana. Solo¬ mon Hinshaw came to Hamilton county in 1862, settling near Westfield on a farm. He has lived on one farm for thirty-nine years. He is one of the highly esteemed citizens of Hamilton county, prominent in the Friends church, of which he was for many years one of the overseers. He is a son of Michael Hinshaw, a native of Chatham county, North Carolina, where he lived and died. Solomon Hinshaw married Elizabeth Beals, daughter of ex-Commissioner John Beals, one of the venerable and highly respected citizens of Ham¬ ilton county, now in his eighty-sixth year. Three children were born to Solomon and Elizabeth (Beals) Hinshaw. Ella is the wife of John Briles, a farmer living near Westfield, Hamilton county, Indiana, on the old John Beals farm. Edwin M., the immediate subject of this sketch, is the second child in order of birth. J. L. Hinshaw is a resident of Cicero, Indiana.

Edwin M. Hinshaw was reared as a farmer boy, and his boyhood days gained to him through personal experience an appreciation of the dignity and value of honest toil. His rise to a position of definite success has not been one marked by apathy or sybaritic ease, for he has been significantly the archi¬ tect of his own fortunes, and has builded the ladder on which he has risen to higher things. As a boy he attended school at old Grassy branch schoolhouse, one of the famous Hamilton county schools. Here he pursued his studies un¬ til twelve years of age, at which time he became a scholar at Union High academy at Westfield. His aptitude for learning gained for him a diploma from the common school branches after only eight weeks of study at this in¬ stitution. His graduation from the high school of the academy was pre¬ vented by the illness of his father. From the time he was fourteen until he was nineteen years of age he worked on the farm, receiving his due quota of the generous beneficences that ever comes to those who are thus given the privilege of closely touching gracious nature "in her visible forms/' the while he waxed strong in mind and body under the discipline involved, learning the lessons of industry, self-reliance and sturdy integrity that have proved so. potent in guiding his career as a man. In 1889 Mr. Hinshaw entered the em¬ ploy of the Bank of Westfield as bookkeeper, and here he was engaged for a period of five years, learning the rudiments of business and gaining a knowledge of banking that proved valuable in later years. On September 24, 1894, in partnership with T. E. Beals, until recently president of the First National Bank of Noblesville, Indiana, Mr. Hinshaw opened the Bank of Cicero, but his connection with this bank was severed in 1903, when he was appointed state bank examiner, a position he held for nearly eight years, his commission being approved by three governors - Governor Durbin, Governor Hanly and Governor Marshall. His record as bank examiner was creditable alike to his state and to his own fidelity and discrimination, and he was gen¬ erally conceded to be one of the most thorough, painstaking and efficient of¬ ficials who ever served the state in like capacity. Mr. Hinshaw was vicepresident of the First National Bank of Noblesville, resigned and became in¬ strumental in the organization of the Indiana State Bank of Indianapolis, which opened its doors November 12, 1912, and served as president of this bank until June, 1914, since which time he has devoted his time to his numer¬ ous business interests, the bank being recognized as one of the sound and conservative financial institutions of the state. Its rapid growth and notable success are due in no small measure to the executive ability and business acu¬ men of Mr. Hinshaw, who, in the capacity of president, necessarily carried the burden of responsibility.

Edwin M. Hinshaw was married in 1895 to Miss Olive Clark, daughter of Caleb Clark, of Hamilton county, Indiana. To them came one son, Clark Hinshaw, born January 16, 1901, on which date the wife and mother was called by death. On August 5, 1910, Mr. Hinshaw was married to Miss Frances Fortner, of Indianapolis, daughter of Capt. Alfred Fortner, who was captain of the Eighth Indiana Cavalry during our Civil War, and member of the firm of Fortner, Floyd & Co., one of the well-known wholesale no¬ tion firms of Indianapolis. Mrs. Hinshaw died without issue July 21, 1912. Mr. Hinshaw and his son Clark reside at 1654 College avenue, Indianapolis. Fraternally, Mr. Hinshaw is a Mason, Knight of Pythias and a Modem Woodman. Politically, he is a Republican, and he holds membership in the Commercial club of Indianapolis.

impregnable integrity of purpose, but also by energy, persistence and close application, and to his own well-directed efforts is due the success which he has attained and which places him among the essentially representative busi¬ ness men of the Indiana capital. A man of exemplary habits, he has con¬ served his energies and devoted himself to things worth while. As a former Hamilton county boy, who, to use the expressive phrase, has "made good," this brief resume of his successful career will be especially gratifying to his boyhood friends of his native county.

Henry C. Mabrey

A farmer and business man of Washington township, Hamilton county, Indiana, who has made a marked success in life, is Henry C. Mabrey. He has spent his entire life thus far in the township where he was born. Be¬ ginning in life with a suit of cotton clothes and 50 cents in cash, he has ac¬ cumulated a very comfortable competence, while at the same time he has taken an active part in the life of his community. He has always made it a point to look ahead and see how an investment would come out. He is a large stockholder in various banks in his county and has exercised excellent judgment and foresight in his investments. As a farmer he has given the most of his attention to the raising of hogs, while he has also dealt extensively in the buying and selling of live stock and real estate. He has made it a prac¬ tice to confine his operations to matters with which he is familiar and thor¬ oughly understands. His whole business career has been characterized by good and careful management and thorough knowledge of every venture into which he entered. He believes that one should seek the line of endeavor to which his desires and natural ability lead him.

Henry C. Mabrey, the son of Willis and Polly (Pew) Mabrey, was born in Washington township, Hamilton county, Indiana, in 1858. His parents were both natives of Guilford county, North Carolina, his father's birth oc¬ curring in 1824, and his mother's in 1823. They were married in North Carolina, and in about 1851 came by wagon from North Carolina to Hamilton county, Indiana, and located in Washington township. For about ten years Willis Mabrey rented land in this county, and then bought a farm one and one-half miles east of Jolietville, and there made his permanent home. He was a life-long farmer, a member, with his family, of the United Brethren church, and a citizen who was highly respected in his community. Willis Mabrey and wife were the parents of seven children, three of whom are now living: George W., of Sheridan; Alfred G, of Jolietville, and Henry C. The father of these children died June 12, 1902, and the mother on August 16, 1881.

Henry C. Mabrey was reared on his father's farm in Washington town¬ ship. He received a good common school education, and after his marriage he started in farming one mile north and two miles east of Jolietville, and one year later moved to a farm one-half mile north of Jolietville, where he has since lived, he and his wife starting in with a farm of fifty acres at the time of their marriage. They have since added to their holdings Until they now own one hundred and fifty acres. They have not invested in la'nd, but, rather, in bank and insurance stock, deeming this to be more remunerative. They have built the second house with slate roof on their farm. This house has a large concrete porch and is surrounded by beautiful grounds. It con¬ tains sixteen rooms, is thoroughly modern, with hot and cold cistern water, acetylene lighting plant, furnace and every convenience which can be obtained. Besides the two residences on his farm, he owns real estate in Jolietville, now occupied by the telephone exchange. He is president of the Farmers National Bank of Sheridan, a bank with a capital and surplus of $100,000. He is also a heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of Sheridan, a stockholder in the First National Bank of Noblesville, and has a large amount of stock in the Sterling Fire Insurance Company of Indianapolis and the Lexington Life Insurance Company, of Lebanon, Indiana. Mr. Mabrey has held only one official position, which was that of county drainage commissioner, holding this position for five years, beginning in 1901.

Mr. Mabrey was married January 1, 1880, to Hulda J. Fouch, who was born in Washington township, this county, and is the daughter of John P. and Anna (Coppock) Fouch. To this union have been born two children, Fred J. and Pearl L. Fred J. graduated from Indiana university in 1906 and during the summer of 1914 was in attendance at Columbia university, New York City. He has taught school several years, starting in as a teacher in the district schools of his county, and after two years spent in the rural dis¬ tricts became the principal of three different schools. In 1909 he took a posi¬ tion with the United States government as a member of the geological sur¬ vey and spent two years in the employ of the government. He then accepted the chair of history and mathematics in the Frankfort, Indiana, high school, and taught there two years. In the fall of 1913 he took charge of the high school at Industry, Illinois. In the fall of 1914, he took charge of the high school at Genessee, Illinois, where he has eleven teachers under his charge. Fred Mabrey was married in June, 1913, to Blanche Barnett, of Frankfort, who was a teacher in the high school at that city at the time of her marriage. Pearl L. Mabrey, the. other child of Mr. and Mrs. Mabrey, was married March 16, 1909, to Berney Spaugh, and they live two miles south of Jolietville on a farm, which they own. They have one daughter, Maxine Lucile, a beautiful little child, who has taken first prize in two different baby shows. Mrs. Spaugh is a graduate of the Westfield high school.

Mrs. Mabrey's parents were natives of Kentucky and Ohio, respectively. John P. Fouch was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, April 5, 1826, and was the son of Daniel and Catherine (Wilson) Fouch, also natives of the same state. The ancestors of the Fouch family were French, while the Wil¬ sons were of Irish ancestry. Anna Coppock, the mother of Mrs. Mabrey, is the daughter of Isaac and Eliza (Richardson) Coppock, natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fouch were the parents of seven children, among whom are James, Mary A., John and Hulda J., the wife of Mr. Mabrey.

Mrs. Fouch, mother of Mrs. Mabrey, died in May, 1866. John P. Fouch, father of Mrs. Mabrey, enlisted in the Civil War in August, 1862, in Com¬ pany K, Sixty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was a valiant soldier, who served his country until the end of the war and received his hon¬ orable discharge. Mr. Fouch died on March 24, 1895.

George W. Scott

There is no profession in which more good can be accomplished than in the teaching profession, and the man who is an able instructor of the youth is performing as useful a function as a man in any other profession. Horace Mann said many years ago, "The common schools are the hope of our country," and no truer statement was ever made. It is education that will bring about the millennium in this country, and for this reason the publicschool teachers of qur land are the most important civilizing agents that we have. The career of George W. Scott in Hamilton county is replete with work well done, and in his threefold capacity as a private citizen, school teacher and public official, he has played an important part in the life of this county.

George W. Scott, the son of John L. and Mary (McGrew) Scott, was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, January 7, 1852. John L. Scott was bom in Virginia, and his wife in Ohio. At the age of sixteen John L. Scott came to Wayne county, Indiana, and lived with his brother-in-law, Richard Hearst, remaining with him until he was twenty-one years of age. He then came to Hamilton county, settled on a farm and in this county he and his wife reared their family of children. He died in 1864 and his widow survived him many years, not passing away until 1885. To John L. Scott and wife were born ten children, seven of whom are still living: Andrew C., William L., Charles M., Mrs. Melissa Presnall, Mrs. Malinda Newby, Mrs. Lucy Clevenger, and George W.

George W. Scott was educated in the schools of his home neighborhood and later became a student of Butler College, at Indianapolis. Desiring to secure the best possible education in order to qualify as a teacher, he entered a university at Chicago, from which institution he was graduated. After completing his college course, Mr. Scott returned to this county and has spent practically all of his life in the school room, having taught for fourteen years in Sheridan. In fact, he has taught for the past forty-two years with the exception of four years when he was trustee of Clay township, and during his present incumbency as trustee of Adams township, which office he will hold until 1916. During his long career as a teacher in this county he established a high reputation as an instructor and as a mentor of the youth of the county. His record in the school room makes him peculiarly well qualified for the arduous duties of the township trusteeship, and in this capacity he is still doing everything possible for the schools of his township. Few men in the county have been longer or more intimately connected with school work than Mr. Scott, and none have given it more conscientious service.

Mr. Scott was married August 30, 1876, to Allie E. Harvey, whose parents were natives of Wayne county, Indiana. To Mr. Scott and wife have been born two children, Mae J. and Joyce O. Mae J. was born May 30, 1883, and is the wife of Gregg Timmons, a druggist of Sheridan; Joyce O. was bom November 24, 1894, and is the wife of O. B. Mace, a stockman of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Mace have two children, Mary Alice and Edwin Scott.

Mr. Scott has always been identified with the Republican party and has been the recipient of positions of honor and trust at the hands of his party. No more efficient township trustee has ever performed the duties of that office in this county, and he was supported not only by the members of his own party, but by those of other parties who wished to see a wellqualified man in this position. The family are all earnest members of the Christian church and have long been active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Scott is a member of the Knights of Pythias and has been active in the work of that fraternal organization. In all the essentials of good citizenship he is a man among men and by his earnest life, sturdy integrity and strict regard for the highest ideals of citizenship, he has earned and retains the warm regard of all who know him.

Charles F. Myers

It is generally considered by those of the habit of superficial thinking that the history of so-called great men only is worthy of preservation, and that little merit exists among the masses to call forth the praises of history or the cheers and appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake never was made, for no man is great in all things, and very few are great in many things. By a lucky stroke many have achieved lasting fame who before had no reputation beyond their own neighborhood. It is not a history of the lucky strokes which benefits humanity most, but the long, steady efforts which made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the methods that serve as a guide for the success of others. Among those in this county who have won success by steady, persistent efforts is Charles F. Myers, former cashier of the Citizens' National Bank of Carmel.

Allen Myers, himself a well-known banker and public spirited Citizen, was born in Delaware township, this county, March 15, 1837, the son of Charles M. and Isabel (McGrew) Myers. Charles M. Myers was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1800, his ancestors being of German descent. Charles M. Myers accompanied his parents to Ohio when a child. He grew to maturity in that state and then settled in Wayne county, Indiana, about 1822. Shortly after coming to Wayne county he married Isabel McGrew, a native of Wayne county and the daughter of William and Charlotte (Cheva¬ lier) McGrew. The McGrews were of Scotch descent, while Isabel McGrew's mother was French, her father having served as a French interpreter with the Indians. The McGrews settled in Wayne county in the early part of the last century and reared a family of eight children. Immediately after his mar¬ riage, Charles M. Myers came to Hamilton county and bought forty acres of land in Delaware township. The nearest neighbor at that time lived a mile and a half away. Charles M. Myers was a weaver by trade and followed this occupation in connection with fanning. He was a man who had known what responsibility was from his earliest boyhood, his father having died when he was only ten years of age. From that time until he came to Indiana he had helped to support the family, there being eight children. Charles M. Mvers prospered as a farmer and at the time of his death in t86=; he owned one hundred and sixtv acres of land in this countv. His wife died in the fall of 1858.

his family in the wilderness, and, while he was not molested beyond endur¬ ance, his wife's brother fell a victim to the savages after having killed six of the invading party.

Charles M. and Isabel (McGrew) Myers were the parents of eight chil¬ dren: Louis, deceased; Naomi, the wife of John Wise, one of the old set¬ tlers of Hamilton county and now deceased ; Allen, the father of Charles F. Melissa, deceased, who was the wife of S. H. Moffitt, who owned six hundred acres of land in Hamilton county ; Charlotte, deceased, who married John F. Nutt, a farmer and blacksmith; Mary A., who married Pulaski Eller, former¬ ly a soldier, but now a farmer and merchant; Amanda, the widow of William Nutt; and Ellen, who died at the age of fifteen.

In 1872 Allen Myers moved to Marion county and engaged in farming. He began working for himself in 1858, when he had attained his majority. He can easily recall the days when he cut his wheat with a sickle, .and later with cradle, and still later when these crude implements were laid away for the self-rake and the old wood binder. The old wood binder was considered the acme of agricultural machinery. Allen Myers became an extensive land owner about Carmel. In 1900 Mr. Myers moved to Carmel and he and his son, Charles F., went into the banking business and continued in it until Jan¬ uary, 1915. In the spring of 1859 Mr. Myers was married to Tasa Mofiitt, the daughter of Silas and Hannah (Wilkinson) Moffitt. The Moffitts were North Carolina people, who came to Hamilton county in 1822 and built a little cabin in the woods. The Indians still lived in this locality and there were few white settlers. The courage required to start a home and to rear a family under such conditions, with only savages for neighbors, can scarcely be un¬ derstood by the present generation. Everything worn and used was made at home. The deprivations and hardships suffered by these early settlers would seepi intolerable to the descendants of these hardy people. Mrs. Myers died, leaving her husband with two children, Rev. Elmer L., who is now a minister of the Methodist Protestant church at Garrett, and Artemis H., a farmer and prominent citizen of Hamilton county and a member of the legislature.

Rev. Elmer L. Myers was born May 22, i860. He is the father of eight children: Oren, Mrs. Lillie Horney, Ellis, Mabel, Ivan, Paul, Errol and Lois. Artemis Myers was born July 14, 1866. He is a prosperous farmer of Dela¬ ware township and has taken a very active part in the management of the Hamilton County Fire Insurance Company. He is president of the board of directors of the Carmel Mutual Telephone Company and is now serving a term in the Indiana Legislature. He is the father of five children: Tilford, Mavme and Marie (twins), Chauncey and Raymond. ,

Allen Myers' second marriage was to Mrs, Ellen (Martin) Wright, the widow of Isaac Wright and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Martin. Isaac Wright was a millwright and later a prosperous farmer. He died, leaving two living daughters and one deceased : Alffaretta, the wife of A. J. Bailey, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Harriett Blue, the wife of Rev. Elmer L. Myers ; and June, who died at about the age of twelve.

The present Mrs. Myers was born in Salem, Washington county, Indiana, September 30, 1835. Her parents were John and Eliza (Clark) Martin and were natives of Kentucky and among the early settlers of Washington county, Indiana. By his second marriage Allen Myers is the father of one son, Charles F., the subject of this sketch.

v Allen Myers is a Republican and was township trustee during the Civil War. From early manhood he has enjoyed an enviable reputation for sterling, upright character and has always possessed the trust and confidence of his fel¬ low citizens. He is a Mason and belongs to Carmel Lodge No. 421. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Charles F. Myers was educated in the schools of Mapleton and northern Indianapolis. After leaving school he became a clerk in one of the largest Indianapolis banks. Here he learned the banking business, and in 1901 moved to Carmel, where he and his father opened the Citizens Bank under their own management. It was conducted as a private bank until 1909, when it was reorganized with additional stockholders as the Citizens' State Bank and incorporated for $25,000. Allen Myers and Charles F. Myers retired from the management of this bank in 1915.

Charles F. Myers was married in 1894 to Clara Davenport, the daughter of Frank and Phoebe Davenport, of Marion county. Frank Davenport was the son of James and Barbara Davenport, and was born in Preble county, Ohio. He came to Marion county with his parents when he was fourteen years of age and remained at home until he was married. He was drafted for the Civil War, but, on account of sickness in his family, he was released from service. His wife was the daughter of William and Mary McCune, na¬ tives of Nicholas county, Kentucky. In 1850 the McCune family moved from Kentucky to Rush county, Indiana, where they lived for a short time before moving to Decatur county, Indiana. Subsequently, they moved to Marion county, where they lived until their' death. After Frank Davenport was mar¬ ried he rented a farm near Traders Point in Marion county and lived in that vicinity until about 188©, when the family moved to Fairview Park, north of Indianapolis. Here he lived until 1895, when he bought property in Irving¬ ton, the eastern suburb of Indianapolis, where he lived until his death in

February, 1901. His wife then went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Myers and remained with them until her death, August 4, 1909. Frank Davenport and wife were the parents of four children, William, Albert E., Charles, and Clara, the wife of Mr. Myers. Clara was born at Traders Point March 13, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are the parents of three chil¬ dren, Charles F., Jr., Juanita and Eldred, all of whom are attending the pub¬ lic schools at Carmel.

Mr. Myers has always taken an interest in Republican politics, but has never held an office other than that of town clerk, having served the town in that capacity for four years. He and his wife are members of the Carmel Methodist church. Mr. Myers was instrumental in building the church at Carmel, and he and his wife have always been active workers in this denomi¬ nation. Mr. Myers has always been interested in the affairs of his home town and taken an active part in any movement which he felt would better it in any way. He is a man of good business ability and is regarded as one of the sub¬ stantial business men of his community.

Jacob G. Kepner

The name of Kepner has been for more than thirty years an honored and respected one in Hamilton county, Indiana, and the gentleman of that name who is the immediate subject of this sketch is richly deserving of the uni¬ versal respect and esteem which is accorded him in the community in which he lives. He is numbered among the progressive and enterprising citizens of the county, and he has also been accorded definite recognition in the political circles of the county, being now the trustee of Jackson township, in which position he is rendering efficient and satisfactory service.

Jacob G. Kepner, a prosperous farmer and the present trustee of Jackson township, was born March 10, 1850, in Noblesville township, this county. He is the son of F. F. and Charlotte (Engerman) Kepner, his father being born in Putnam county, Pennsylvania, the son of Jacob and Hannah (Craw¬ ford) Kepner, Jacob being the first of the family to come to this county. F. F. Kepner is a substantial farmer and land owner of Jackson township, and he and his wife have reared a family of five children: Jacob G., Manuel, John, Mrs. Alice Day and Leander.

Jacob G. Kepner received his common school education in the "Baton Rouge,, school of his immediate neighborhood. He spent the winters of his boyhood in school and assisted his father on the farm during the summer vacation. In this way he not only acquired a good common school education, but also the rudiments of the science of agriculture. He continued to assist with the work at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began to work in a tile factory in Noblesville township. He was working here when he was married in 1885, but some years later he retired from the tile factory and devoted all of his attention to general farming and stock raising.

Mr. Kepner was married November 24, 1885, to Emma Rouls, and to this union have been born four children, Edith, Paul, Mary and Alice. All of these children are still living with their parents except Edith, who married Henry Kiser, and they have one son, Jacob.

Mr. Kepner has always taken an active interest in politics in his county. That he is regarded as a man of ability is shown by the fact that he was elected to the important office of township trustee, and since assuming the duties of the office has administered its affairs in such a way as to command the confidence and esteem of the citizens of his township, irrespective of their politics. There is no more important official in the state today than the town¬ ship trustee, and, as has been said, he holds more power in his hands than any other one official. In his hands lie the educational interests of his town¬ ship, and for this reason it is absolutely necessary that only men of the highest qualifications should be elected to this office. It is safe to say that no more efficient incumbent of the office has held the position since it was created. Mr. Kepner and his family are loyal members of the Lutheran church and contribute generously of their means to its support. Mr. Kepner is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. As a private citizen and as a public official he has made a noteworthy record and measures up to the full standard of American citizenship, and is in every way worthy of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of his tpwnship and county.

Robert E. Washington

Hamilton county, Indiana, enjoys a high reputation because of the excellent character of her citizenship, and none of her citizens today occupy a more enviable position in the esteem of his neighbors than Robert E. Washington, a member of the present county board of commissioners. Al¬ though he has been a resident of this county only five years, yet in that time he has impressed his individuality upon the people of the county, a fact which was shown by his election to the important office he now occu¬ pies. His rapid rise in the affairs of the coqnty is due solely to his innate ability and high character and is a glowing tribute to his worth as a citi¬ zen and public-spirited man of affairs. He is essentially a self-made man and can attribute his present success to his self-reliance and self-denial. It was that quaint philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, who made the remark that to be thrown upon one's own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune, a maxim, the truth of which is strikingly shown in the career of Mr. Washington.

Robert E. Washington, the son of James E. and Anna (Kealer) Wash¬ ington, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, October 4, 1869. His parents were both natives of the same county, and his father is now living in Tipton county, this state, his mother having died October 2, 1909.

Robert E. Washington is one of six children born to his parents, and the only one of four sons living. He was educated in the district schools of Franklin county, and grew to manhood and married in the county of his birth. In the fall of 1909 he moved to Hamilton county and purchased ninety-four and one-half acres of land, where he is now living. He has devoted all of his active life to the vocation of agriculture, in which he has attained an eminent success. His farm is well improved in every respect, and in the tilling of the soil and the care of his crops and his live stock, Mr. Washington pays due attention to modern ideas and methods relative to all phases of agricultural science. His five years' residence in this county has found him prominently identified with its various interests, and no one in his community has labored more zealously for the upbuilding and advance¬ ment of the public's interests. In return for this zeal and interest he has received in a definite degree the esteem and confidence of all who know him, and today is highly respected in the community in which he makes his home.

Mr. Washington was married on February 21, 1891, to Susan R. Julian, the daughter of Ferdinand and Christina (Wilkins) Julian, natives of Penn¬ sylvania and Ohio, respectively. Mrs. Washington died September 30, 1913, leaving a family of five children, Lelia Marie, born July 11, 1893, a graduate of the high school; Eva Mabel, born March 5, 1895; Carrie, born July 4, 1898; Loren F., born March 25, 1901, and Anna C., born May 13, 1904.

Mr. Washington is a Democrat in politics and has always been interested in the welfare of his party in this county. In the fall of 1912 he was elected as one of the county commissioners, taking his office in January I, 1913. In this position he is giving his fellow citizens the benefit of his ability and is favoring every measure which he believes will redound .to the credit of his county. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and actively interested in the work of the church. In all of his operations he is actuated by the highest motives, and his relations with his fellow citizens have been such as to gain their confidence and good will. He is a man of genial dis¬ position and enjoys a large measure of prosperity in the community where he is living, while in every avenue of life's activities in which he has been engaged he has been true to every trust and is eminently deserving of the high position which he is now holding.

William Sherman Swain

A substantial farmer of Washington township, Hamilton county, Indiana, is William Sherman Swain, who has lived within this county practically all his life. He has been a successful farmer and has kept adding to his hold¬ ings from year to year since his marriage, until he is now the owner of one hundred and thirty-eight acres, as well as a general store. This success has not come to him without hard work and good management, and while he has been attending primarily to his own advancement in a material way, Mr. Swain has not forgotten the duty which he owes to his community as a public-spirited citizen.

William Sherman Swain, the son of John W. and Melvina (Stephenson) Swain, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1866. His parents were northern sympathizers and during the reconstruction period which fol¬ lowed immediately after the Civil War they found that their neighbors in North Carolina looked upon them with disfavor. Accordingly, in the summer of 1866, John W. Swain and his family left their native state and came directly to Hamilton county, Indiana, and settled near Hazel Dell. Shortly afterwards John W. Swain moved to Carmel, Indiana, and engaged in the shoe trade until his death, which occurred in 1871. At the time the Swain family came from North Carolina to Hamilton county, Indiana, there were a number of families made the trip together, among them being two sisters of Mr. Swain with their husbands and children. One of the sisters and family remained in Indiana, and one went farther west.

William Sherman Swain is one of a family of eight children, and when his father died in 1871, the mother had a very hard time to take care of her family. One was a babe in arms and Mr. Swain himself was only five years of age at the time. The mother of these eight children died in 1878, in the northwest part of Washington township, this county, where she had located soon after her husband's death. At the time of the death of the mother, the children were scattered, some of them being sent to an orphans' home, while others were taken in by the good people of the neighborhood. The fact that the family had no relatives in the state at all made it very hard on the children.

William Sherman Swain was taken by George Johns, and lived with him until he was sixteen years of age, at which time Mr. Johns retired from farming and Mr. Swain then began to work out by the month on farms in the neighborhood. When about twenty-one years of age he rented a farm three miles west of Sheridan in the eastern edge of Boone county, this state, and farmed one hundred and seventy acres alone for a year. He then rented a farm of two hundred and fifty acres, and operated it for five years, during which time he was married. After his marriage Mr. Swain con¬ tinued to farm for a year on this rented farm of two hundred and fifty acres, and then bought eighty acres one-half mile west and one-half mile south of Lamong. He moved on this farm in the fall of 1893, a year after buying it, and into a house which he had himself erected. About 1902 he bought twenty acres across the road from this farm and in 1906 bought twenty acres more. In 1905 he moved to a farm between his farm and Lamong, and in 1907 moved to his present home at Lamong, which he had purchased in 1907 of John G. Allen. In 1909 he bought twelve acres of land of Lydia Moore, adjoining his Lamong property on the west, and for the past seven years has been engaged in farming and general merchandising. With his one hundred and thirty-eight acres, four dwelling houses, and general store, he has the means to make a very comfortable living. He is a good business man and has always so managed his affairs as to win the esteem of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Swain was married in 1890, at the age of twenty-four, to Nora A. Neal, who was born in Boone county, Indiana, near Lebanon, the daughter of James F. and Anna (Stone) Neal. Her father was born in Jennings county, Indiana, June, 1840, and is the son of Dora and Vina (Butler) Neal. Vina Butler was a relative of General Benjamin Butler, of Civil War fame. Anna Stone was a native of Illinois, and came here with her parents in infancy, and located near Lebanon. Mrs. Swain's parents lived west of Lebanon until about thirty years ago, when the father bought a farm west of Sheridan and lived there until about 1913, when the family moved to Sheridan. He was a stanch Republican and even refused to vote for a near relative on the Democratic ticket.

The Neal family is a remarkable family in many respects. Mr. and Mrs. Neal have been married over fifty years, and have five sons and three daughters, all of whom are grown, married and have families of their own.

Every member of this large family is a person of. strong, upright character, broad minded and well regarded in the community in which they live. Mrs. Swain's father was reared in the Baptist church, but he and his wife now are active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Neal are as follows : Oliver M., Mrs. Minnie Smith, Charles, Dora, Mrs. Nora Swain, Albert, Mrs. Ethel Lambert, and Earl. Albert is a very active member of the Methodist church, and has been the organist of the church for several years, as well as superintendent of the Sunday school. All of the children also are loyal members of the Methodist church.

Mr. and Mrs. Swain are the parents of eight children, six daughters and two sons : Russell died at the age of two, and a little girl, Florence, died when only fourteen months old. The living children are Nell E., Alpha, Mary, Esther, Juanita and Neal.

Mr. Swain is a Republican and active in the affairs of his party, although he has never been an aspirant for any . public office. He has not missed a primary, a convention or an election since his first vote. He and his family belong to the Friends church. His parents were Wesleyan Methodists, in which denomination his mother was an active worker.

Edward V. Brigham

The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished. An enumeration of those men who have succeeded in their special vocation in Hamilton county, and at the same time are impressing their personalities on the community, men who are conferring honor on the locality in which they reside, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of Edward V. Brigham. He is an important factor in the business life of his community, and the splendid success which has come to him has been the direct result of the salient points in his character. With a mind capable of laying judicious plans and a will strong enough to carry him forward to a position in the front rank of the successful men of his community, he has carried forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken, and his business methods have ever been in strict conformity with the standard ethics of commercial life. He has taken an intelligent interest in the civic life of the community and has earned the high regard in which he is held by all who know him.

and the general manager of the Union Sanitary Manufacturing Company, of Noblesville, was born January io, 1867, on a farm near Lansing, Michigan. His parents, Frank B. and Martha N. (Packard) Brigham, were pioneer settlers of Michigan. The father was a farmer and later in life became a building contractor.

Edward V. Brigham was reared upon the farm and attended the country schools of his home neighborhood. After finishing the course in the common schools he entered the Lansing high school for a time, leaving school to clerk in a general store in Diamondale, Eaton county, Michigan. He worked there for about five years and then went to Detroit, Michigan, where he was in the employ of the Edison-Moore dry goods firm for two years. His next employment was as bookkeeper in Denver, Colorado, for a plumbing com¬ pany and there he first became interested in the line of work which eventually became his chosen field of endeavor. He next became identified with the L. Wolfe Manufacturing Company of Chicago, as a traveling salesman. This company manufactures plumber's supplies and while in their employ Mr. Brigham traveled out of Denver. The company later transferred him to Dallas, Texas, and in 1900 stationed him in Detroit, Michigan. During his service with this company he had the opportunity to learn the plumber's trade from every angle. A short time after being transferred to Detroit by the Wolfe Manufacturing Company, he resigned his position with that company and joined the forces of the J. L. Mott iron works of New York City. This company also handled plumber's supplies and for a time after joining their sales forces he continued to reside in Detroit. F rom there he moved to Chi¬ cago, still continuing to work for the same firm in New York City. A year later he resigned his position with this company and entered the employ of the Great Western Pottery Company, with plants at Kokomo, Indiana, and Tiffin, Ohio. He then moved to Kokomo, where he lived for four years, after which he resigned his position with the pottery company to become salesmanager for the Union Sanitary Manufacturing Company of Nobles¬ ville, a company manufacturing plumber's supplies of all kinds. This was the kind of work with which he was most familiar, and his ability in this field was soon recognized by the company and he was made general manager, a position which he is still holding. The company has a large plant at Noblesville and ships its supplies to all parts of the Union, as well as having a large export trade to Mexico. Mr. Brigham is a thoroughly efficient and trained man in this business, having learned it by years' experience as a salesman dealing with plumbing supplies. He is a man of great business ability, a quality which has made him a pronounced success, in this particular line of business. He is also president of the Kline-Macy Foundry Company of Noblesville, one of the thriving manufacturing establishments of the city. He is connected with the Citizens' State Bank of Noblesville, is a director in the Noblesville Water Works Company and is connected with other busi¬ ness enterprises in the county. A man progressive by instinct and yet wisely conservative, he has contributed greatly to the progress and stability of the companies with which he is associated.

Mr. Brigham was married December io, 1891, to Elizabeth Patton, of Denver. He and his wife live at No. 107 South Ninth street in Nobles¬ ville, in one of the most attractive homes of the city. They are promi¬ nent in the social life of their community and are both interested in the intellectual, moral and religious life of their city.

Mr. Brigham is a Republican and thoroughly awake to the best interests of the civic life of his city and county. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to the thirty-second degree in that ancient fraternity. He also holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Noblesville. In the business circles of his city he has been a leader, while in all that goes to make his community a better place in which to live, he is always found ready to assist in every way. . His influence has been potent and his sympathies broad, so that he has been able to call forth the best in those with whom he has been associated. Those who know him are unstinted in their praise of his genial disposition and superior ability, and consequently he holds the confidence and esteem of everyone who knows him.

Although but a short time a resident of Noblesville, Indiana, and but four years out of college, Dr. James B. Shoemaker has by his professional ability and high personal character, already stamped his individuality on those with whom he has come in contact, and he is today numbered among the progressive and enterprising citizens of Noblesville. In the realm of medicine and surgery he has achieved a splendid reputation, while by virtue of his excellent training in the best homeopathic medical college of the country he has well qualified himself to combat disease in its various forms. The suc¬ cessful physician of today realizes that all cures are not the result of mere drugs, but that there is a wonderful theoretic value in the smile of the phy¬ sician and in his personal magnetism. As a matter of fact every successful physician of today is a student of phsyco-thereaputics, and psycho-therapy is the handmaiden of all great physicians. It is this personal magnetism which has enabled Doctor Shoemaker to forge to the front in his profession as rapidly as he has during his four years of experience in this county.

James B. Shoemaker, the son of Allen and Nancy (Taylor) Shoemaker, was born on a farm in Wayne township, Hamilton county, Indiana, November 3, 1884. His parents are still living, his father being a prosperous farmer of this county. Allen Shoemaker and his wife are both earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally of their means to its support.

Doctor Shoemaker was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools of his home neighborhood and was graduated from the Noblesville high school with the class of 1900. He was only sixteen years of age when he was graduated from the high school and the next two years he spent on the farm assisting his father. However, he was not satisfied to remain on the farm, but wished to become a physician. Having made up his mind to take up the medical profession he entered the Homeopathic Medical College at St. Louis in the fall of 1906 and remained in continuous attendance there for the next three years, after which he entered the Pulte Homeopathic Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in the spring of 1910. He made an excel¬ lent record as a student, and immediately upon his graduation was recom¬ mended as an intern for the Cincinnati city hospital, where he remained for the next seven months, gaining much valuable experience, which has been of incalculable benefit to him in his career. In August, 1910, he located in Fortville, Hancock county, Indiana, for the active practice of his profession, but three months later moved to Noblesville, where he has since resided. In the short time that he has been practicing in this county, he has exhibited those qualities which are bound to make him a prominent physician of his community in the future. He has that excellent theoretical training which the modern physician must have and in addition he has much patience and sympathy, which are the necessary concomitants of the mental equipment of every able practitioner. He keeps fully abreast of the advances in his sci¬ ence and is a member of the Indiana Homeopathic Association, as well as the American Institute of Homeopathy. In the fall of 1913 he was appointed a member of the United States pension examining board for Hamilton county, and is now president of the board.

Doctor Shoemaker was married to Nettie McCarty, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James D. McCarty, of Fall Creek township, this county, and to this union have been born three children: Cecil, born July 12, 1903; Louis, born April 4, 1905; and Ralph, bom June 24, 1909. Doctor

Shoemaker is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also belongs to the Encampment of the Odd Fellows and to the Daughters of Rebekah. When in medical college he was a mem¬ ber of the Greek letter fraternity, Phi Alpha Gamma, a fraternity open only to medical students. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take an interest in all of the various activities of that denomi¬ nation. The residence of Doctor Shoemaker is at No. 212 East Maple street, while his office is in the First National Bank building at Noblesville.

Daniel I. Neher

In every community there are men whom to take away would be to remove the stalwart pillars of the economic and commercial life and thereby cause the community to deteriorate industrially, socially and commercially. Hamilton county is a remarkably well developed locality in the light of the above defi¬ nition, and here are found men who are leaders in agriculture, manufacturing, the professional life and in the various occupations which are found in our modern civilization. There are always some men in every community who forge to the front and it is these men who reap the reward of their perse¬ verance. Such a man is Daniel I. Neher, who, although he has spent but a few years in Noblesville, yet has stamped his individuality upon this county in no uncertain manner. He has not attained to this position without long years of steady toil and good management, but he has been a man who never permitted any stone to remain unturned whereby he might advance himself. He has also so ordered his private life as to keep his name untarnished before the world and thus justly merits the high esteem in which he is held by the people of this county.

Daniel I. Weher, one of the most prominent saw-mill operators of this county, was born February 20, i860, in Ross township, Clinton county, Indiana. He is a son of Joseph and Susannah (Cripe) Neher, his father having been born in Virginia on December 23, 1833, coming to Clinton county, Indiana, in his young manhood. Joseph Neher was a young man with scturdy constitution and by his perseverance, made a name for himself as a farmer, and at his death in 1876, was mourned as a man who was in every respect a noteworthy citizen. He was twice married, his first wife being Hannah Arrion, his second wife Susannah Cripe. To his first marriage were born three children, George, John and Joseph C., while to his second marriage were born three children, Daniel I., Stephen (decased) and Salome (de-

Daniel I. Neher was reared in the same manner as the other country boys of his time, going to school in the winter time and spending his summer vacations on the farm assisting his father. The rural schools in his day were never more than three months in length, consequently he received a very limited schooling, his actual education being obtained by hard knocks in the wide school of experience, where diplomas are granted only to those of high rank. When twenty years of age Mr. Weher was married and at once began farming in Ross township, Clinton county. A few years later he engaged in the saw-mill business, starting out in the Frank Hamilton woods in his home township. With no resources except his confidence in his own ability, he purchased a ten-horsepower saw mill and with twenty oak trees, for which he paid sixty dollars, he launched out into a business which with the succeeding years has brought him a very comfortable fortune. In a short time he had his saw mill outfit paid for and was in a fair way to make a comfortable living. He and his good wife were economical and frugal in their living and so managed their, affairs that they prospered from the start. Within a short time they moved the saw mill to Cambria, in Owen township, Clinton county, where Mr. Meher built up a good business, al¬ though until 1894 he still remained upon his farm. In that year he moved his family nearer to his saw mill and lived there until 1899, when he purchased a saw mill in Frankfort, at No. 608 West Jefferson street, where he installed a modern saw mill, equipped with all of the latest machinery for high-grade work. The plant is one of the most modern in the state and he is still manag¬ ing this mill, although residing in Noblesville. He deals largely in hardwood lumber and finds a ready market over a wide territory for his output. While engaged in Frankfort he also purchased a saw mill in Rushville, Indiana, but subsequently moved this plant to Noblesville, where he now lives, and gives it his personal supervision. In addition to his saw-mill interests, Mr. Neher is a land owner of no small holdings. He owns a farm comprising sixtvseven and one-half acres near Cambria, Clinton county, this state; thirteen acres in Ross township, Clinton county; one hundred and forty-five acres in Boone county, Indiana, one mile south of Mechanicsburg, ad a fourth interest in twelve hundred and seventy-six acres of valuable land in the state of Missis¬ sippi. The Mississippi land is in a fine timber territory, the timber alone being easily worth the amount paid for the land. On his farm near Cambria, in Clinton county, Mr. Neher has a beautiful country home with excellent barns and outbuildings of various kinds. His farm in Boone county is one of the most modern and highly improved farms in central Indiana and is known as the North Lebanon Farm. Since modving to Noblesville Mr. Neher has taken an active part in the welfare of his city and always allies himself with those who are seeking to improve the city and make it a better place in which to live.

Mr. Neher was married first on January i, 1880, to Wilmina Cripe, who died in the spring of 1882, leaving one son, Clyde, who is also de¬ ceased. The second marriage of Mr. Neher occurred December 31, 1882, his second wife, Sarah Saylor, being bom in Carroll county, Indiana, June 16, 1862, the daughter of Sanford and Sarah (Bates) Saylors, a highly re¬ spected old family of Carroll county. To the second marriage of Mr. Neher have been born eight children, Alice (deceased), Inez, Ada, Stella, Hattie, Susan, Elda R. and Lloyd D.

The Republican party has always claimed the support of Mr. Neher, although his heavy business interests have so demanded his time and atten¬ tion that he has not been active in the affairs of his party. He is a zealous member of the German Baptist Brethren church and contributes generously of his means to its support. In every sphere of endeavor in which he has taken a part his unpretentious bearing and strict integrity have elevated him in the confidence- of his fellow citizens and no one has more worthily discharged his manifold duties or shown himself more worthy of the high regard in which he is universally held.

George B. Kline

There is no more promising young business man of Noblesville today than George B. Kline, the superintendent of the Kline-Macy Foundry Com¬ pany. Starting in at the age of nineteen as superintendent of the foundry used in connection with the Union Sanitary Manufacturing Company of Noblesville, he learned the business so thoroughly that in a few years he was able to establish a company of his own. His success has not been the result of accident, but has been achieved as the result of unflagging industry and steady persistence. Many men give their entire lives to toil and yet never acquire a competency for the simple reason that their endeavors are not well directed. Mr. Kline is a man whose work has been directed along the proper channels and by careful management and excellent foresight he has been able to build up a business which stamps him as a business man of more than ordinary ability.

George B. Kline, son of John F. and Alice (Olvey) Kline, was born November 28, 1882, in the city of Noblesville. His parents, who are still living, are both natives of Hamilton county. His grandfather, John Kline, was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, and was one of the earliest settlers of this county. John Kline, Sr., was a woolen-mill operator from 1856 to 1863, when he retired from active work on account of old age. John F. Kline was a wagon maker in early life, and for twenty years worked with George C. Richwine, of this city. He later became a partner of Mr. Richwine, and the firm of Richwine & Kline continued in the same business for the next seven years. At the present time Mr. Kline is a traveling salesman for the Mier Carriage & Buggy Company, representing the company in the state of Illinois.

George B. Kline was reared and educated in. Noblesville and as a lad was of a mechanical turn of mind. Before reaching his majority he started a bicycle repair shop in Noblesville, which he successfully conducted for two years, after which he worked with his father for one year in a vehicle¬ manufacturing business in this city. At the age of nineteen he became su¬ perintendent of the foundry connected with the Union Sanitary Maufacturing Company in Noblesville, and continued in the employ of this company until January 1, 1913, at which time he organized the Kline-Macy Foundry Company, of Noblesville, and became its vice-president and general manager. The company began operations on May 13, 1913, and is rapidly building up a large trade of its products. It manufactures window weights, cistern tops, washers, wall grates, manhole covers and a general line of heavy castings of various sorts. The company has already established an extensive trade, although it has been in operation for only a year and employs thirty men. This company has a bright future before it in its line and promises within a few years to be one of the most substantial establishments of the city.

Mr. Kline is an unmarried, hustling, enterprising young business man who inspires everyone with the utmost confidence in his ability. He has never been seized with the wander-lust spirit which has led many men from their native county, but has felt that there was opportunity in his native city to build up a successful business. That he has succeeded remarkably well is attested by the business which he has built up within a remarkably short time. He is a stockholder in the Union Sanitary Manufacturing Company of Noblesville, in addition to his large interests in his own company.

Mr. Kline is a Republican and while he is deeply interested in all public matters affecting the welfare of his community, yet he has never had time to indulge in the political game. He is alive to all enterprises calculated to pro- mote the best interests of Noblesville and gives his hearty support to all such movements. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles and is identified with the Christian church, to the support of which he gives liberally of his means. Mr. Kline's well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment have brought to him wellearned prosperity, his life demonstrating what may be accomplished by a young man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work. He is a man of genial personality, easily approached, straightforward and unassuming, and commands the respect and admiration of all with whom he comes into contact.