Hamilton County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1915 (part 7 of 14)

Mr. Beales has long been identified with the Republican party, and has always been interested in its welfare. His worth as a citizen is shown by the fact that his party nominated and subsequently elected him a member of the county council of Hamilton county, his term of office expiring in December, 1914. He and his family are loyal members of the Friends church and he is a trustee of this denomination at the present time. He is also a trustee of the Western Yearly Meeting of the Friends, and takes a great deal of in¬ terest in the general welfare of the church. Mr. Beales has in his possession a hook written bv William Penn, the founder of the state of Pennsylvania, in 1762, the tenth edition of the book being issued in that year. Mr. Beales has always stood for the highest standard of right and morality, and among his fellow citizens there never has been breathed a word of suspicion against his character. He has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him, and is justly regarded as one of Hamilton county's most sub¬ stantial and worthy citizens.

David C. Hobbs

Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will inevitably result in the attainment of a due measure of success, but in the following out the steps of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which made such accom¬ plishment possible, and thus there is granted an objective incentive and in¬ spiration, while at the same time there is enkindled a feeling of respect and admiration. The qualities which have made David C. Hobbs one of the prominent and successful farmers of Hamilton county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow citizens, for his career has been one of welldirected energy, strong determination and honorable methods.

David C. Hobbs, a prosperous retired farmer of Jackson township and a member of the advisory board of his township, was born June 9, 1862. in Lee county, Virginia. His parents, Vincent and Clara (Scritch) Hobbs, were natives of the same state and his father was a soldier in the southern army during the Civil War. He was captured at Cumberland Gap and taken a prisoner to Chicago, where he was confined until the close of the war. He was then discharged with the other prisoners from the military prison in Chicago and started to return home, but died en route in the spring of 1865 at White Sulphur Springs, Montgomery county, Virginia. Vincent Hobbs and wife were the parents of eight children: Henry, deceased; Vincent, de¬ ceased; Zachariah T., deceased; Marv, deceased; Nancy, deceased: George W., William H. and David C., whose history is here briefly narrated. Vin¬ cent Hobbs was a fine Christian gentleman and was a farmer, having been quite successful as a tiller of the soil before engaging in the great struggle between the states, in which he practically met his death. His wife died at the age of sixty-nine or seventy years.

David C. Hobbs received a little education in his native state. When he was seventeen years of age he, with one of his brothers, started to walk the one hundred and thirty-five miles from their home in Virginia to the home of an uncle of theirs, D. C. Hobbs. Sr., in Tipton county, Indiana. They started in the fall of 1879 and walked through the mountains into Kentucky, where they took a train and came to Tipton county, this state, where David remained with his uncle, D. C. Hobbs, for seven years. After coming to this state, Mr. Hobbs continued his education by attendance at Valparaiso University for three years, after which he taught school for a while in Tipton county, and proved to be a successful instructor. The school room lost an excellent teacher when he decided, in 1888, to leave the teach¬ ing profession and enter the drug business at Atlanta, this state. He con¬ tinued actively in the drug business until 1895, when he started to engage in farming, though still retaining an interest in the store. He bought a farm in Tipton county, this state, but later disposed of this and purchased his present farm in Jackson township, this county, and he is now the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and sixty acres four and one-half miles southwest of Atlanta, on which he raises excellent crops and high class registered Shorthorn cattle. He feeds all of his grain to his stock, having found by experience that this is the most profitable phase of farming at the present time.

Mr. Hobbs was married June 18, 1893, to Anna Gwinn, the daughter of Sylvester and Elizabeth (Keck) Gwinn. Sylvester Gwinn was born in Madison county, this state, his father having come from West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Gwinn are the parents of four children, James M. ; Anna, the wife of Mr. Hobbs; Mrs. Alta Robinson and Mrs. Sarah Sowerwine. Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs have no children of their own.

Politically, Mr. Hobbs is a Democrat and always has been active in the deliberations of his party. He was for one term on the advisory board of his township and in that capacity exerted his influence in behalf of all measures which he felt would benefit his township. In addition to his agricultural interests; Mr. Hobbs is a director in the Atlanta steel plant and the First National Bank of Atlanta. He still carries his pharmacist license, being still connected with the drug store of Warren Goodykoontz at Atlanta, where he owns one of the finest homes in the village. Besides this property and his farm, he also owns other property in Tipton county, Indiana, and city lots in Clarke's addition to the city of Indianapolis. Mr. Hobbs is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Arcadia and of the Maccabees Lodge at At¬ lanta.

Mr. Hobbs is a fine example of the self-made man, and while laboring for his individual interests, has never forgotten his obligations to the public, and his support of such measures and movements as make for the general good can always be depended upon. He has won his success solely through his own individual efforts, and yet has done it without bringing the censure of his neighbors upon him, never swerving from the path of rectitude and honor. Prompt in the discharge of his private obligations as well as his public duties, he is justly deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of his township and county.

Henry M. Caylor

An honored veteran of the Civil War who has for the past sixty-five years been an influential citizen of Hamilton county is Henry M. Caylor. He has been identified with the commercial interests of this county for many years and has built up one of the most prosperous manufacturing interests of the county. During his service of three years in the Civil War he per¬ formed gallant and meritorious service for his beloved country and for the past fifty years he has been a prominent figure in the Grand Army of the Republic in this state and has acted as department commander of Indiana. As a member of the state Legislature he was instrumental in getting the bill passed which provided for the placing of all the flags of the military or¬ ganizations of Indiana in the state house at Indianapolis in special cases. He also introduced the bill while in the Legislature that placed the bust of General Lew Wallace in Statuary Hall in the capitol at Washington. In every relation of life Mr. Caylor always has measured up to the full stand¬ ard of American citizenship, whether in his private life or in his career as a state official, and he never has shirked the duties which befell him.

Henry M. Caylor, the son of Michael and Elizabeth (Miller) Caylor, was born August 27, 1841, in Wayne county, Indiana. Michael Caylor was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, while his wife was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, coming to this country with her parents when she was eight years of age. The Miller family were early settlers of Henry county, Indiana, and became one of the most prominent families in that county. Michael Caylor located in Wayne county, this state, in 1822, where he fol¬ lowed the trade of a cooper, and in 1849 he moved with his family to Ham¬ ilton county, settling upon a farm adjacent to the city of Noblesville. Here he followed agriculture during the summer seasons and the trade of a cooper in .the winter. He prospered from the start and in the course of a few years became known as one of the substantial men of his countv. He was a Re- (46)

Henry M. Caylor was eight years of age when his parents moved from Wayne county, Indiana, to this county, and consequently had already received some schooling in the county of his birth. After coming tQ this county he entered school for a short time in a rude log cabin in his immediate neigh¬ borhood, and was brought up under truly primitive conditions. From his earliest boyhood he took his place on the farm and assisted his father in every possible way to make the living for the family.

The military history of Mr. Caylor began in July, 1862, when he en¬ listed as a member of Company D, Seventy-fifth Regiment Indiana Volun¬ teer Infantry, and from that day down to the present time he has been very much interested in the military history of his county and state. His regi¬ ment was attached to the Second brigade, Third division, Fourteenth Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. At the time he was mustered into the service. General George H. Thomas, familiarly known to his men by the title of "Pap" Thomas, was in command of the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Caylor participated in all of the battles in which the Army of the Cum¬ berland was engaged from 1862 until the end of the war. He participated in all the fighting in the eastern part of Tennessee, taking an active part in the battles of Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. When Sherman started on his memorable march through Georgia to the sea, the regiment to which Mr. Caylor was attached was assigned to the command of General Sherman. Accordingly, Mr. Caylor participated in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign. He made the trip of three hundred miles across Georgia when Sherman cut a swath from forty to sixty miles in width. By the middle of December, 1864, General Sherman came in sight of the Atlantic ocean, and on the 21st of December, of that year, the Union forces entered Savannah. It was on this occasion that General Sherman sent to President Lincoln the well-known dispatch, "I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Mr. Caylor followed the army of Sherman north from Sa¬ vannah, leaving that city February 1, 1865. Sherman's march from Savan¬ nah was far more difficult than his more famous march from Atlanta to the sea, for now he had to cross the rivers instead of following their courses, and he found more opposition from the enemy. There were also vast swamps and marshes to be crossed. The right wing of the army was still commanded by Howard and the left bv Slocum. At Orangeburg a slight battle was fought and another before Columbia, the enemy being led by General Wade Hampton. Columbia surrendered on February 17, 1865, Hamilton escaping after setting fire to five hundred bales of cotton. From Charleston, General Sherman pushed forward to Goldsboro, North Carolina, reaching that city on March 23d, where he was joined by Scofield. When General Johnson, who was opposing General Sherman in North Carolina, learned that Lee had surrendered on April 9th and saw that there was no more need of pro¬ longing hostilities, he sought Sherman and the two agreed on terms of sur¬ render, and on April 26 the final terms were agreed upon and from Goldsboro Sherman immediately took his forces to Washington, and in the national capital participated in the Grand Review, which occurred on May 24th and 25th of that year. Mr. Caylor was mustered out in August, 1865, and dis¬ charged at Camp Morton, Indianapolis. He had been in the active service a little more than three years and was fortunate to escape without being wounded, captured or having his health seriously impaired in any way. Mr. Caylor has been very much interested in the Grand Army of the Republic since it was established, in 1866. The original constitution for the Grand Army of the Republic was drawn up by Major Benjamin S. Stephenson, surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Regiment, and three other army friends, who drafted this constitution in the spring of 1866 and established the first post in Decatur, Illinois. The secret ritual was first printed by veterans in the office of the Decatur Tribune , all of whom were members of the order. Its purpose was the "establishment and defense of the late soldiery of the United States, morally, socially and politically, with a view to inculcate a proper appreciation of their services and claims by the American people." The first national encampment was held in Indianapolis in 1866. General S. A. Hurlbut became the first commander-in-chief. Today there are more than five thousand Grand Army posts in the country. The order reached its high water mark in point of membership in 1890, when there were a total of four hundred thousand four hundred eighty-nine men enrolled. Today it has been reduced by death to one hundred and seventy thousand, and the death rate is becoming higher each year. The order has held a national en¬ campment every year since its organization, excepting 1867, an<3 has gath¬ ered in nearly every important city in the country. It was the originator of May 30th as Memorial Day, the first day so observed being May 30, 1868. Mr. Caylor is a member of Lookout Post No. 133, at Noblesville, and for the past twenty-two years has been a delegate to all state and national en¬ campments. In 1896 he was elected Department Commander for Indiana by acclamation at the state encampment held at South Bend, Indiana. One other feature of the military history of Mr. Caylor, which should be men¬ tioned in this connection, concerns his service during the Legislature which met in 1907. As a representative from Hamilton county in that session he introduced the bill which placed the bust of General Lew Wallace in Statuary Hall in the capitol at Washington and also presented the bill looking toward the collection, preservation and subsequent mounting of all the regimental flags of Indiana. Thus it is seen that for the past fifty-two years Mr. Caylor has been intimately connected with the military history of Hamilton county and the state which he served so well for three long years at the front.

Immediately after being mustered out of the service at Indianapolis, August, 1865, Mr. Caylor returned to his home 'in Hamilton county, and began to work at whatever he could find to do. For a time he shoveled gravel on the streets of Noblesville, and was not afraid of any honest labor which would yield him an adequate return for his services. He had learned the cooper's trade with his father before going to the army and finally found employment in this occupation in Noblesville, where he worked until 1872, after which he took employment in the Oil Barrel Stave factory of Walton & Whetstone, of Atlanta, Indiana, remaining with this firm for about six years. In 1874 he also became interested in the timber and lumber business for himself in addition to his work in the factory at Atlanta. He opened a saw mill in Noblesville and made a specialty of cutting wagon, plow and car stock for the eastern markets. In 1878 he withdrew from the Walton & Whetstone factory at Atlanta and devoted all of his attention to his own factory in Noblesville. In 1880 he added a planing mill with a full equip¬ ment of machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of house building sup¬ plies and still later he added a department for manufacturing screen doors and window screens, also a full line of building material. At the present time he handles everything which enters into the construction of a building. In recent years he has added a coal department and is now one of the leading coal dealers of Noblesville. Mr. Caylor is still in active charge of his many interests and gives them his constant supervision. In all of his business transactions he is just and reasonable and has never violated in the slightest degree the confidence the people have placed in him. He has taken an active and influential part in the upbuilding and development of this community and has been a man of marked force and power in everything to which he has given his attention.

Mr. Caylor was married February 20, 1870, to Melissa George, the daughter of Jesse and Marv (Haynes) George. The George familv came from Ohio and settled in Hamilton county early in its history. Mr. and Mrs.

Caylor are the parents of two sons, Roy G., a successful dry goods merchant of Noblesville, and George H., who is associated with his father in business.

Mr. Caylor has been a life-long Republican and has always been active in the service of his party. He is a campaign speaker of wide reputation and his services are in constant demand during campaign years. He was especially active in campaigning for McKinley in 1896. The only office which he ever held, with the exception of that of state representative, was that of city marshal of Noblesville. He was elected to this position in 1866. In addition to his duties as conservator of peace he had to collect the taxes, and for this double service he received the munificent salary of fifty dollars annually. He has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state Republican conventions and for many years has been a member of the county campaign committee. He was elected in the fall of 1906 to the state Legis¬ lature as a member of the lower house and served in the Sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly of Indiana, which sat from January 10 to March 1 1, 1907. His important services as a member of the Legislature have already been indicated. Mr. Caylor and his wife have been life-long members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have always been, active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Caylor was president of the church board which had charge of the construction of the new Methodist church in Noblesville. As a citizen, Mr. Caylor is public-spirited and enterprising, while as a friend and neighbor he combines the qualities of head and heart which win the confidence and command the respect of his fellow men. His long and praise¬ worthy career in this county has made him one of its most representative citizens.

John Fremont Neal

It is family tradition that three Neal brothers emigrated from England and landed in Virginia more than one hundred and fifty years ago. Trace of one of them was lost; the others served in the Revolutionary War, one under General Nathaniel Greene and one in the command of General George Washington. The last named was Micajah Neal, the Colonial progenitor of the branch we are dealing with. He took part in the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777, endured the bitter winter at Valley Forge, 1777-78, and wit¬ nessed the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown October 19, 1781. He settled in Farquier county, Virginia, and took to wife Mildred Beasley, a native of the same county. Sometime after the war they emigrated to Shelby county.

Kentucky, where he lived the life of a southern planter, dying at a ripe old age. He owned a large tract of land and possessed numerous slaves, who received kind treatment. One of his sons, James Neal, grandfather of John Fremont Neal, was born in the Old Dominion, Farquier county, October 13, 1783, and was a lad of thirteen when his parents moved to their new home. In 1811 he was united in marriage with Mary Martin, who was born and reared in Shelby county, Kentucky, the daughter of Morris and Sarah (Sin¬ gleton) Martin, natives of Virginia. They were the parents of ten children, the fourth being William, father of our subject. The grandfather, James, was a soldier in the War of 1812 under General William Henry Harrison, and was at the battle of Fort Meigs, and witnessed the surrender of Proctor on the Thames, October 5, 1813. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1823 he removed from Kentucky to Harrison county, Indiana, and later located at Salem, Washington county, where his wife died and was buried. After this event he returned to his old home in Kentucky, remaining there until 1835, when he went to St. Joseph county, Indiana. Subsequently he came to Hamilton county and resided with his son, William, for a time. Again he sallied forth and located one hundred and sixty acres of land in Brown county with his soldier's land-warrant, and having remarried, con¬ tinued to reside there until his death, at the advanced age of ninety-two. He was reputed to be temperate and a man of integrity : in church affiliation he was a Baptist, and in politics adhered to the party of Clay and Webster.

We might pause to state that the great grandparents Martin also were slave holders, but the conscience of Morris Martin began to trouble him and he determined to free the slaves held by him. His wife, taking the southern view, preferred to keep her black servants. So they compromised by agree¬ ing to divide them, and he conducted those that fell to him across the Ohio into Indiana and set them free. However, his wife's brothers, who had surreptitiously followed him, ran down and captured the freed slaves and sold them south. Thus, long prior to the emancipation proclamation of Lin¬ coln opposition to slavery developed in this family. The grandfather James was against the institution and his son, William, while a resident of Hamil¬ ton county, refused to accept money derived from the sale of slaves and rode horseback from Cicero to Salem to sign emancipation papers. Prior to the Civil War, when the anti-slavery agitation was hot, he was called by certain southern sympathizers a "black Abolitionist."

William Neal was born May 2, 1818, in Shelby county, Kentucky, and was quite young when brought to Indiana by his parents. His mother died when he was onlv thirteen and he returned to his native state and made his home with a bachelor uncle until 1835. He learned the tailor's trade, which he followed at various points and came back to Indiana, going from place to place as a journeyman tailor until he finally located at Cicero about 1840.

He was a man of great energy and activity and engaged in numerous lines of business. For example, he operated a saw and grist mill, rafted lumber down Cicero creek, White river and the canal to Indianapolis, man¬ aged a warehouse and conducted a general store. He also carried on farming to the end of his life. Greatly interested in public affairs, he was chosen recorder, associate judge, county treasurer and served many years on the town and school boards of Cicero. In August, 1861, he resigned as treas¬ urer and organized Company B, Thirty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, was elected captain and commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton. In 1862, his health having broken down, he resigned his command at Mumfordsville, Kentucky, and returned home. Moses Neal, his brother, enlisted in the same company, was promoted second lieutenant and was killed at Stone River while acting adjutant of the regiment.

William Neal and Hannah Rollings were united in marriage at her home, west of Cicero, in 1840. She was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, February 14, 1822, the daughter of William K. and Susan (Hershman) Rollings. Her father was born at Harper's Ferry, Maryland. The family came from the Ohio home as pioneers to Hamilton county about 1837, trav¬ eling by wagon along a "blazed trail." The mother succumbed to the hard¬ ships of pioneer life not many years after settling in Jackson township. William K. Rollings remarried and reared another family. We note that two half-brothers of Hannah gave their lives as soldiers to the Union cause. Charles died in a hospital at Camp Chase, Ohio, April 1, 1864, and Robert Edward was killed at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain June 18, the same year. William and Hannah were the parents of a large family. Of their children James S., Mary A., Lucullus G., Charles M., and Moses died very young. Those who grew up were Sarah C., married to Dr. A. B. Menden¬ hall; William Worth, who died at twenty from a terrible accident; Thomas D., intermarried with Francis Martin; Martha H., wife of James M. Little; Francis A., who died at fifteen; Richard P., .intermarried with Dovey J. Parent; John F., Susan L., and Edward E., intermarried with Mabel Beall. All the married children reared families. Richard died at his home in Cicero September 30, 1906, aged forty-nine.

William Neal was an omnivorous reader with a wonderful memory. He included law in his studies and when a young man began trying causes in the justices' court as a matter of accommodation to his friends. His practice of law was carried on in this fashion in connection with his other activities for many years, until, subsequent to the war, the demands upon him as an attorney and counselor increased to such an extent that he en¬ gaged in the practice as his chief vocation and continued therein until dis¬ abled by old age. He was markedly successful, conscientious and of almost unerring judgment. The large number of his clients and the character of his business gave him a position as one of the prominent members of the Hamilton county bar for many years. His death occurred at his home in Cicero, September 25, 1901, he then being over eighty-three years of age. His wife preceded him in death, she having departed this life March 20, 1895. She was a thoroughly domestic woman, entirely devoted to her hus¬ band and children. These parents endured sufferings and losses far beyond the ordinary, yet bore them with unfailing courage and fortitude.

John Fremont Neal was born in Noblesville, Indiana, where his parents were residing temporarily, December 18, 1859, and was reared at Cicero, mostly on a farm which is now a part of the town. He there attended the grade and high schools, read law with his father and attended law school at Indianapolis, receiving his degree in 1880. He was admitted to practice in Hamilton county and in the Supreme court before he had attained his majority. For about five years he was in partnership with his father until his election as prosecuting attorney.

He was united in marriage to Lydia Elzina Stehman, October 17, 1883, and shortly afterwards they began housekeeping in Noblesville, where he set up a law office. In 1886 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the Twenty-fourth judicial circuit, composed of Hamilton and Madison coun¬ ties, serving two years. The term was a busy one and of the great number of causes prosecuted, many of which were quite important, an exceptional percentage of convictions was attained. With this office he began a long career of public service, continuing, however, to care for his general practice, save only when on the bench. In September, 1889, he was chosen at a spe¬ cial election the second mayor of Noblesville to fill out an unexpired term, declined to be a candidate for re-election, and was appointed city attorney. During his eight years of service to the city the water works was installed, the first brick street pavements laid, electric light system put in, ordinances revised, and important litigations conducted in state and federal courts, in all of which he necessarily had an important and laborious part. -He was chosen chairman of the Republican County Committee in 1892, although not a candidate and results were such that he was selected again for the next campaign. During the four years that he was the official head of the party in the county it reached the high tide of its numbers ^nd strength. The memorable campaign of 1896 came on and he became a candidate for circuit judge. Entering the contest with three other strong and well-equipped law¬ yers, at the end of what was probably the most exciting primary election ever held in the county, he was nominated by a handsome plurality. At the following general election he received a large majority.

The term to which he was elected began October 19, 1897; however, his predecessor resigned on September 20 of that year and Governor James A. Mount commissioned the judge-elect to fill out the remainder of the term. During his incumbency of that high office the business *of the court was exceedingly heavy, long day and frequently night sessions being held. Es¬ pecially the change of venue causes that came from other counties were very numerous. Some of the civil and criminal cases attracted state-wide atten¬ tion, and involved issues of great importance. Besides his duties that were strictly judicial he was called upon to make numerous appointments to official positions. He appointed the first members of the county council and all of the township advisory boards. In making appointments men were selected from different political parties upon their individual merits.

After leaving the bench, in 1903, Judge Neal resumed the general prac¬ tice of the law, in which he has continued ever since, his partner at the pres¬ ent time being his son, N. C. Neal. He has also served for several years as a member of the board of school trustees and has taken a great interest in education. Through the years he has frequently been named as a delegate to various political conventions and in 1908 was alternate delegate to the Re¬ publican national convention which nominated William Howard Taft for President. In 1912, condemning the action of the Republican national con¬ vention at Chicago, he allied himself with the Progressive movement, and without in any manner seeking the favor, the Ninth district convention of the new party unanimously nominated him as its candidate for Congress. Al¬ though not elected, he received nearly ten thousand votes. Fraternally, he has long been a member of the Free and Accepted Masons of Cicero, and Bernice Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Noblesville, in which he has been active. Most of the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

His wife was the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Mundorf) Stehman, who came from Lancaster county. Pennsylvania. Mr. Stehman was a farmer, owning a large body of land in White River township, and also owned and operated the flour mill at Cicero for many years. He served as county com¬ missioner, and during his term the new court house at Noblesville was comigitized by CjOOQie

Mr. and Mrs. Neal are the parents of four children, namely, Noel C., who married Miss Mabel Dunn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Dunn, of Noblesville, June 12, 1914; Hazel, a teacher in the city schools; William S., a newspaper man of Indianapolis; and Lillian, a high school teacher. The four children were educated in the grade and high schools of Nobles¬ ville and various colleges in the state.

Judge Ernest E. Cloe

The career of the man who is essentially self-made is in many respects the most interesting, because people are naturally attracted to perseverance and sterling worth as exemplified in their fellow men. Ernest E. Cloe, of Noblesville, judge of the Hamilton circuit court, affords a fine example of the successful self-made man who has reached his present place of promi¬ nence only through hard and exacting work. His career presents a notable example of the operation of those qualities of mind and character which over¬ come obstacles and win success, and every ambitious youth who has to fight the battle of life may peruse with profit this brief history of Judge Cloe's rise to his present eminence.

Ernest E. Cloe, son of Henry and Jane (Clark) Cloe, was born August 2, 1873, on a farm in Clay township, Hamilton county, Indiana. His parents were both natives of Hamilton county, originating from Clark county, Ken¬ tucky. Henry Cloe was left an orphan at the age of three and at a very early age was thrown upon his own resources. He worked for several years as a farm hand and after marrying in his native state he bought his first farm. He is now living a retired life in Carmel, Indiana. His wife died April 2r, 1911. The Clarks were prominent people in the early history of this county. Nathan Clark, the grandfather of Ernest E. on his mother's side, came from Manchester, Adams county, Ohio, to this county early in its history. His wife, Rachel McDuffv came from Kentucky as a child three years of age with her people and settled in Clay township near the Clark family. The Clarks were prominently identified with the various affairs of the community. Henry Cloe and wife were the parents of two sons: Will¬ iam, who is married and is now engaged with a clothing firm at Noblesville, and Ernest E. whose interesting history is here presented.

Ernest E. Cloe was reared upon the farm in this county and attended the country schools, working for his neighbors during the summer months. He graduated from the Carmel high school in 1895 and then began teaching in the rural schools of this county. He taught until 1900 with success and the teaching profession lost an excellent instructor when he decided to forsake the school room for the legal profession. In 1898 he attended the Valparaiso Normal School and took the twenty weeks' law course, receiving one year's credit for the work he did. In 1900 he entered the law office of Christian and Christian at Noblesville where he completed his legal education. He was admitted to- the Hamilton county bar in 1901 and remained with the firm of Christian and Christian for the next two years. He then practiced alone for one year, after which he formed a partnership with C. M. Gentry, which is still being continued. This firm has been very successful and has been connected with much of important litigation which has been tried in the local courts for a number of years. Judge Cloe is considered a sound and safe practitioner, being well versed in law, and has been particularly strong in his pleading before juries. He is a jurist of the highest type, a man of in¬ tegrity and honor, and since entering the practice of his profession in this city has impressed His fellow citizens as a man who is absolutely sincere in all that he does.

Mr. Cloe has taken an active part in Republican politics and has served as secretary of both the county and city Republican organization. His worth as a citizen and his ability as a lawyer is shown by the fact that he was elected county attorney two terms and city attorney for three terms, and on Novem¬ ber 3, 1914, he was elected circuit judge of Hamilton county on the Repub¬ lican ticket. His party has sent him faithfully as a delegate to county, dis¬ trict and state conventions and he has always acquitted himself with credit to his party. Not only in the law has Judge Cloe been accorded evidences of popular prominence and regard, but in every other direction he has so ordered his course as to win the commendation of his fellow citizens. He has been a member of and attorney for the board of children's guardians for Hamilton county ever since the law was enacted establishing these boards. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Noblesville, and in the Fifth National Bank of Arcadia, the firm of Gentry & Cloe being the attor¬ neys for both financial institutions.

Judge Cloe was married October 31, 1900, to Louisa Carey, the daugh¬ ter of Martin and Martha (Hussey) Carey of Clav township in this county. Her father died when she was an infant and the mother when she was only

Judge Cloe is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and is a member of the Chapter and Commandery degrees. He also holds member¬ ship in the Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Modem Woodmen of America. He and his wife are earnest members of the Chris¬ tian church and Judge Cloe has been a deacon in this church and superintend¬ ent of the Sunday school for years. Such in brief is the life history of Judge Ernest E. Cloe, a man who, with few opportunities, has worked up to an enviable position in his chosen profession. He is a public-spirited man of affairs and a fine type of the good American citizen.

Clarence E. Morris

Among the younger farmers of Hamilton county who have made a pronounced success of stock raising as well as farming there is no one more worthy of mention than Clarence E. Morris, the manager of the "Long Branch Stock Farm." He is an excellent type of young man of the day who, after receiving a good education, returns to the farm instead of engaging in professional or business pursuits. It has been said that the modern ten¬ dency of education is to ween the young man from the farm and it is gratify¬ ing to note that an increasingly large number of them are devoting their lives to agriculture after leaving college and high school.

Clarence E. Morris, the son of Herman E. and Mary S. (Webb) Mor¬ ris, was born April 30, 1892, on a farm one mile east of Strawtown, in this county. His parents were both born in this county and his father is now a prominent retired farmer living in Cicero. Mr. and Mrs. Herman E. Morris are the parents of two children, Clarence E. and Dorotha, the latter of whom is still at home. Herman E. Morris was born in White River township, Hamilton county, January 12, 1870,. the son of James and Sarah (Cryan) Morris, both natives of Ohio, who were among the early settlers of White River township, and who reared three sons, Samuel, William and Herman E., the latter of whom married Mary S., daughter of James C. and Elizabeth (Carey) Webb, the former of whom was a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana, both early settlers of White River township, where they spent all their clays on the farm, his death occurring at the age of eighty-two years, in 1900; her death occurring at the age of sixty-nine years, in 1897. James and Elizabeth (Carey) Webb reared six children, as follows: Marcus, Sam¬ uel, Octava, Virginia, Martha J. and Mary S,, all of whom, with their par¬ ents, were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1902 Herman E. Morris retired from the farm on which he had lived for so many years and moved into the village of Cicero, Hamilton county, where he bought the beautiful home in which he now resides and where he and his wife are surrounded by the comforts to which their long lives of industry so fully entitle them. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he has always voted the Democratic ticket.

The early education of Clarence E. Morris was received in the Bethle¬ hem school of his home neighborhood, while his high school education was received in the Walnut Grove and Cicero high school. While attending school in Cicero he worked in a hardware store and carried newspapers in order to pay part of his expenses. After leaving the high school he returned to his father's farm and assisted with the work until his marriage, in 1911. Bv this time he had convinced his father that he was able to manage the farm himself, so his father retired from the farm and left his son in full charge of the farm. While he raises all of the crops indigenous to this sec¬ tion of the state, he makes a specialty of stock raising and has one of the finest herds of Chester Whites to be found in the county. Mr. Morris takes a great deal of pride in keeping the farm in an attractive manner and is altogether one of the most enterprising and progressive young men of the county.

Mr. Morris was married February 9, 1911, to Carrie Schildmeier, the daughter of Henry and Anna (Bardoner) Schildmeier. The father of Mrs. Morris came from Hancock county, Indiana, to this county, where he became a prosperous farmer. Mrs. Morris is one of four children bom to her par¬ ents, the others being Minnie, the wife of George Ruschaupt ; Ezra, who is still at home, and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have one daughter. Ruby, born May 16, 1913.

Politically, Mr. Morris is independent, but having only recently at¬ tained his majority he has not yet had a chance to participate in political matters. However, being a young man of excellent education, he is well informed upon the various political issues of the day and can discuss them in an intelligent manner. His wife is an earnest member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. This young couple are on the very threshold of life and, with a long and prosperous career before them, they have everything for which they should be thankful.

Ralph Kent Kane

The ancestors of the Kane family came to this country from Ireland, the first member of the family to come to the United States being Hendricks D. Kane, who was born in County Antrim, near Belfast, Ireland, and his wife, Elizabeth (Laughlin) Kane, was born in County Derry, not far from the town of Londonderry. Hercules D. Kane and Elizabeth Laughlin were married in Ireland and came to America after the birth of their two eldest children and settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, near Waynesburg. Elizabeth Laughlin was of Scotch parentage, her parents having come from Scotland and settling in Ireland during the eighteenth century. The father of Hercules D. Kane was a farmer and linen manufacturer, who lived all his days in Ireland, his death occurring there at the advanced age of eighty years.

Thomas J. Kane, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1833, and is the son of Hercules D. Kane and wife, who had shortly before settled in that county. When Thomas J. Kane was about six months old his parents moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he lived until he was fifteen years of age. He attended the academy at Tarlton, then spent one year in the Ohio Uni- 'versitv at Athens, and afterwards returned to the academy to complete his education. He engaged in teaching for a short time, but desiring to enter the legal profession, became a student in the law offices of Judge John Cradlebaugh, of Circleville, Ohio. In 1855 he came to Noblesville, Indiana, and entered the law office of G. H. Voss, where he continued his legal studies for about one year, when he formed a partnership with his preceptor, which connection lasted until about 1862. Thomas J. Kane was married in No¬ vember, 1862, to Sophia W. Smith, the daughter of Rev. David and Cath¬ erine W. Smith. To Thomas J. Kane and wife were born the following children: Ralph K. ; Thomas E. ; Allen D., who died at the age of two years: Sophia: Mrs. Grace Binford, of Tampa, Florida, and Donald S. Thomas J. Kane continued to practice law in this county until his death, June 28, 1908. His widow is still living in Noblesville.

Ralph Kent Kane, horn June 9, 1868, was reared and educated in Noblesville, graduating from the high school in 1887. He continued his education under the private tutelage of Rev. John M. Craig, a Presbyterian minister and a man of high intellectual attainments, continuing his studies under the direction of Mr. Craig for several years, during which time he secured a broad and thorough training in the classics. At the same time he was studying law with his father and when twenty-one years of age, was admitted to practice at the Hamilton county bar. However, he had his first case in court before he was admitted to practice and it resulted in acquittal for his client. Some boys in Westfield had been arrested for disturbing a meeting in the Methodist church and the case was tried before Squire Rich¬ ards of Eagletown. The boys demanded a jury and, with young Kane as their attorney, they were cleared of the charge.

From that day Mr. Kane dates his success at the bar. His long experi¬ ence in this county has served to place him in the first rank of the lawyers, not only of his county, but of this section of the state. He has been ad¬ mitted to practice in all the state and federal courts, and is the only member of the bar at Noblesville who is a member of the American Bar Association. He has a large general practice and an extensive corporation clientele as well. He and his brother, Thomas E., are associated in practice and have built up a large clientele throughout this section of the state. Since January i, 1915, Mr. Kane has been practicing in Indianapolis as well as in Nobles¬ ville, being a member of the law firm of Matson, Kane and Ross, 947-955 Lemcke Annex.

Mr. Kane was associated with his father and Judge Davis after his ad¬ mission to the bar until January I, 1893, when Judge Davis retired from the firm to accept a place on the appellate bench of Indiana. The firm then be¬ came Kane & Kane, father and son. In 1897 a brother, Thomas E. Kane, came into the firm and the firm continued with the father and two sons as partners until the father's death in 1908, since which time the two brothers have practiced together.

Mr. Kane has always been a Republican in politics and always has been interested and active in political campaigns, frequently representing his party in county, district and state conventions. He is a popular and forceful cam¬ paign orator, and is frequently called upon by his party to make speeches. In November, 1908, he was elected state senator from Hamilton and Tipton counties, being nominated for this position without opposition. While in the Legislature he served on the judiciary and election committees, as well as several others of lesser importance. He was an active and influential senator and took an important part in all legislative matters.

Mr. Kane was married December 22, 1897, to Flora B. Hereth, the daughter of Henry and Regina M. Hereth, natives of Germany and residents of Indianapolis. Mr. and Mrs. Kane have one child, a daughter, named Regina M., after her maternal grandmother.

Mr. Kane is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He always has been actively interested in educational matters and has served on the school board of Noblesville, being president of the board for a. number of years. Mr. Kane has won an enviable reputation as a lawyer, with the result that his practice extends into other counties, while he frequently appears before the court at Indianapolis for his clients. He is an earnest and able advocate of any case which he espouses and in his pleadings before the jury he sometimes becomes truly eloquent. He is a man who is genial and companionable in his man¬ ner and wins friends because of his personality. He always has been a diligent worker and a close student of the law, always making it a rule care¬ fully to study every case he is called upon to plead. No man in the county stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than Mr. Kane.

Eli Brooks

It is very gratifying to be able to go back to the early history of this state to tell about the brave men and women who first invaded its wilderness and from whom sprang the hardy and superior race of people who have made Indiana what it is today. Among the distinguished residents of Hamilton county is the gallant old veteran, Eli Brooks, who is now living a retired life in this county, after having attained to a success which stamps him as a man of more than ordinary ability. Mr. Brooks is one of those strong, sturdy characters who have contributed largely to the welfare of this county, and as a citizen he has been public-spirited and progressive in all that the term implies. In all the essential elements of good citizenship, he is a man among men and by his earnest life, sturdy integrity and strict regard for the higher ethics of life he has earned and retains the warm regard of all who know him.

Eli Brooks, the son of Madison and Nancy A. Brooks, was born Janu¬ ary 15, 1837, in Jefferson county, Indiana. His parents were natives of North Carolina and came with their parents to this state in an early day. The father of Madison Brooks settled in Jefferson county, Indiana, and in that county he grew to manhood and married at the early age of nineteen. He lived in the county of his birth for several years, and in 1853 came to Hamilton county, settling in Fall Creek township on a farm of one hundred and thirtv-three acres. Madison Brooks became one of the most successful farmers of the county and at his death, which occurred on May 28, 1909, he was the owner of three thousand acres of excellent farming land in this county. His wife died in August, 1854.

Eli Brooks received part of his education in the district schools of Jeffer¬ son county, this state, being sixteen years of age when his parents moved from that county to Hamilton county. He completed the district school course in this county and worked upon his father's farm in this county until he was of age, when he went to Kansas and entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land, on which he lived for six months, after which he returned to Hamilton county and remained with his father until his marriage, in 1861, when he began farming on eighty acres of land which his father gave him and where he has spent his whole career, with the exception of the short time spent in the service of his country during the Civil War. He has been a remarkably successful farmer and has given to his five living children eighty acres of land and still owns a fine farm of one hundred and eightyseven acres.

Mr. Brooks enlisted for service in the War of the Rebellion in 1863, being a member of the Third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. He was immediately sent east and in the battle of Gettysburg, which was the fourth in which he was engaged, he met with a serious casualty on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863, when his arm was fractured with a musket shot. It become necessary to amputate the arm, with the result that Mr. Brooks was discharged from the service on account of total disability.

Mr. Brooks was married March 14, 1861, to Mary J. Rogers, the daugh¬ ter of Stephen and Rebecca (Manford) Rogers, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. Stephen Rogers died in 1890, and his wife in 1897. To Mr. and Mrs. Eli Brooks have been born six children: Lucelia, deceased; Mrs. Nancy A. Smith, of Noblesville; Mrs. Katie Horlock, whose husband is a farmer in this county; Frank, who lives on his father's farm; Mrs. Grace Heinv, whose husband is a farmer in this county; Eben H., a farmer of this county.

In politics, Mr. Brooks has always been identified with the Republican party, but he has never been a candidate for any public office, nor taken an active part in political affairs. He and his family have always been earnest and loyal members of the United Brethren church and have contributed in various ways to its advancement. Mr. Brooks is one of the oldest Masons in the county, having been a member of Lodge No. 53, at Noblesville, for more than half a century. He is also proud to hold membership in the Grand

Army of the Republic Post at Noblesville. His integrity is of the most in¬ sistent and unswerving character and no shadow has ever rested upon any portion of his career. His course of life has always been above suspicion, and those who are most intimately acquainted with him are unanimous in their praise of his upright character and well-regulated life.

Charles F. Roberts

Farming is becoming recognized as a profession and the future farmers of our country will be trained as are our ministers and our physicians. Pur¬ due University now gives a four-year course in agriculture, leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The 1913 Legislature of this state created a new official known as the county agent, whose duties are to give expert advise to farmers on all subjects pertaining to agriculture. The short courses given at Purdue every year are being attended by thousands of farmers and their sons. The tendency of all this points to a new era of farming. Farmers institutes are being held throughout the state and have been the means of keeping the farmers abreast of the times. Farming is becoming a science and the most successful farmer today is the man who studies his business. Such a farmer is Charles F. Roberts.

Charles F. Roberts, one of the most prosperous farmers of Clay town¬ ship, Hamilton county, Indiana, was born January 14, 1872, in Preble county, Ohio, the son of Elihu H. and Sarah (Stubbs) Roberts, both natives of that same county. Elihu H. Roberts, was the son of Samuel and Mary (Pucket) Roberts, and lived in Ohio most of their lives. Mary (Pucket) Roberts was a Quaker preacher and preached up to the time of her death. Her very last words were spoken from the pulpit. The Roberts family trace their an¬ cestry back to forbears who came to this country in Colonial times. Elihu Roberts is a farmer, he and his wife still living in this county. His wife was left an orphan at an early age, her mother dying when she was an infant. Elihu Roberts and his wife are the parents of eleven children, ten of whom are still living; Alonzo died when he was about thirty-five years of age, the other ten children are as follows: Mary, Otis, Alpheus, Charles F., whose life history is here presented, Edwin, Margaret, Lindley, Roscoe, Sadie and Bessie.

Charles F. Roberts, was reared on the home farm in Preble county, Ohio. He attended the public schools in Ohio and finished his education in

Indiana, where he prepared for teaching. In 1889 he came to Hamilton county, Indiana, from Ohio, and worked by the month for farmers in this county. He did this for several years, teaching during the winter seasons of two years. At the age of tw'enty-five he rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres two miles west of Carmel and for the next eight years lived upon the rented farm. In the meantime he saved his money and, before he quit renting, he purchased an eighty acre farm in 1903. He has been a prosperous farmer and now has one of the most attractive farms in the county. He has since added twenty acres to his original farm, which with eighty acres which his wife inherited from her father's estate gives him a tract of one hundred and eighty acres. In 1906 he built his present modern home on the southern part of the farm. He has one of the largest and most modern barns in the township, and all the rest of his buildings are of the best. He has improved his farm in every way and always keeps it in a high state of cultivation. He carries on general farming in a systematic way and raises as much stock as he can feed from his own crops, preferring to market his stock instead of his crop. He has found by actual experience that this is a more profitable way of conducting a farm at the present time.

Mr. Roberts was married August 23, 1894, to Rhoda Collins, who was born July 18, 1874, one-half mile north of where Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are now living, the daughter of John R. and Elizal)eth (Jessup) Collins. Her father was a native of New York, and was a son of Hezekiah and Rhoda (Kinyon) Collins. John Collins' mother died when he was three weeks old and his father then married Jerusha Bound, who died a year later, the father then marrying, thirdly, Mary Underhill. They came to Indiana in 1850 and Hezekiah Collins bought the farm where Mrs. Roberts was born, paying therefor ten dollars an acre, giving sixteen hundred dollars for the one hundred and sixty acre farm. In 1870 he sold the farm to his son for ten thousand dollars. His wife Rhoda Kinyon, was the daughter of. Thomas and Mary Kinyon. Elizabeth Jessup, the mother of Mrs. Roberts, was a daughter of Alfred and Henrietta (Todd) Jessup.

The Collins family in Hamilton county traces its ancestry back to Jedediah Collins, of Irish descent, who emigrated to America in 1610. In the line of direct descent are: Jedediah, born in 1660; John, in 1685: Hezekiah, in 1715; Jabes, 1741; Solomon, born in Rhode Island in 1776; Hezekiah, born September 27, 1798; John R., born in New York, August 7, 1831, was the father of Mrs. Roberts. His wife, Eliabeth Jessup, was the daughter of Alfred and Henrietta (Todd) Jessup, born in Hamilton' county, Indiana, her parents being natives of Wayne and Marion counties, Indiana, respec- tively. Her grandfather was an American sea captain, and while smuggling sugar into France during the French Revolution was captured and held a prisoner two years. He served in the War of 1812, and while he was in the trenches before Baltimore the British landed on his farm and destroyed all his property. Further mention of the Collins family is to be found in the biography of Robert H. Collins elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have one daughter, Elizabeth, who is now attend¬ ing school in Carmel. They have also reared an orphan boy, Charles J., who is now a junior at Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are both members of the Friends church by birthright and have always taken an active part in church and Sunday school work. Mrs. Rob¬ erts is a woman of refinement and culture, and is very prominent in the life of the literary clubs of Hamilton county. Mr. Roberts by virtue of his strong individual qualities has won his way to a high standing among his fellow citizens, having by his force of character won his way from an humble beginning to his place of prominence in his community. He has maintained a comfortable home and he and his family have a large circle of acquaintances and align themselves with all movements for the upbuilding of their com¬ munity.

Robert H. Collins

There are not many families who can trace their ancestry back more than four generations, and very few indeed who can trace their lineage back three generations. The Collins family trace their ancestry back to a mem¬ ber of the family who came over to this country in 1610. The name of this early ancestor has been lost in the mazes of antiquity, but his son, Jedediah, who was born in 1660, was the beginning of the line in America. The direct descendants of Jedediah Collins, who was bom in Rhode Island in 1660, down to the Robert H. Collins, the present prosperous farmer of Clay town¬ ship, Hamilton county, Indiana, are as follows: Jedediah, born 1660; John, born 1685; Hezekiah, born 1715; Jabes, bom 1741; Solomon, born 1766; Hezekiah, born 1798; John R., born 1831, and Robert H., bom June 3, 1870. It is not possible in this brief review to give the history of the different branches of this family. However, it will be interesting to follow the family from Solomon down to the present time.

life near Utica, that state, dying there on October 15, 1823. His wife Sarah, was born August 25, 1766. Solomon Collins and wife were the parents of nine children, Elizabeth, the wife of Jonathan Teft; Solomon, Hezekiah, grandfather of Robert H., with whom this narrative subsequently deals; Stephen R, Mrs. Sarah West; Nathan, Emma, the wife of James K. Larkin; Martha and Anna. Several members of Solomon Collins' family moved to the present site of the city of Elgin, Illinois, and entered government land there.

Hezekiah Collins, grandfather of Robert H., was born September 27, 1798, in New York. When twenty-eight years of age he married Rhoda Kinyon. For many years he taught school in New York during the winter seasons and farmed during his summer vacations. After- his marriage he embarked in the merchandising business until 1836 and several years later went to Cayuga county, New York, where he followed agriculture until he moved to Indiana about 1850. He settled in Hamilton county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, part of which is still owned by his grand¬ son, Robert H. He made this purchase on June 19, 1851, paying two thou¬ sand dollars for the one hundred and sixty acres. In 1871 he sold the tract to his son, John R., the father of Robert H. for ten thousand dollars. Heze¬ kiah Collins was thrice married. To him and his first wife, Rhoda Kinyon, were born three children, Susan, the wife of Judge David Moss; Martha, who died at the age of sixteen, and John R., the father of Robert H. His first wife died in 1831 and in 1835 Mr. Collins married Jerusha Bowne, who died shortly afterwards and Mr. Collins married for his third wife Mary Underhill, and to this last marriage were born seven children, Hannah J., Sarah, Anna M., Jerusha, Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. J. D. Garner; Edward H. and Robert. Three of the daughters, Sarah, Anna and Hannah, were for many years prominent teachers in the public schools of this county. Hezekiah Collins was an active member of the Friends church and in politics was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party and then joined the new party. Prior to the Civil War his home was a station on the famous "Underground Railway" through Indiana. His death occurred February 27, 1877, after which his wife made her home with her son, John R., until her death, October 23, 1879.

John R. Collins, the father of Robert H., was born in New York, August 7, 1831, and came to this county with his father, Hezekiah, when he was nineteen years old. At the age of twenty-one he rented his father's farm and began life for himself. He was educated in a high school in New York and later attended the Poughkeepsie Quaker school, and for several years afterwards engaged in teaching. When thirty-two years of age he married Elizabeth Jessup, the daughter of Alfred T. and Henrietta (Todd) Jessup. She was born in this county, while her parents were natives of Wayne and Marion counties, Indiana, respectively. Her grandfather was an American sea captain and while smuggling sugar into France during the French revolu¬ tion was captured and held a prisoner for two years. He served in the War of 1812 and while in the trenches before Baltimore the British landed on his farm and destroyed all his property. John R. Collins and wife were the parents of six children, Jerusha, wife of Albert Carey; Robert H., Rhoda and three who died in infancy. The mother of these children died January 20, 1875. Alfred Jessup, the maternal grandfather of Robert H. Collins, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, November 30, 1822, and was the son of Jehu Jessup, whose wife was a Wright. His wife, Henrietta Todd, was a relative of the wife of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Jessup lived in Carmel for many years, where he was a merchant and postmaster. Thpy reared a family of four daughters. John R. Collins was justice of the peace in this township for many years and lived the life of a plain farmer until his death August 7, 1910.

Robert H. Collins received a good,' common-school education and re¬ mained at home until he was twenty-two years of ag*. He then went to Carmel, where he lived for ten years, during which time he managed a livery stable and engaged in the drilling of gas wells. In the spring of 1903 he moved back to the farm and has been following agricultural pursuits since that time. He has made a specialty of the raising of thoroughbred Percheron horses, as well as roadsters. He makes frequent exhibits at the state, county and local horse fairs and has won many first and second premiums. He also raises registered Holstein cattle and is a member of the Hamilton County Draft Horse Association.

Mr. Collins was married August 24, 1895, to Dora E. Applegate, the daughter of James and Eliza (Ray) Applegate, born April 12, 1868, in Marion county, Indiana. The Applegate family originally came from New Jersey, James Applegate being a native of Ohio. He was a son of Ebenezer Applegate, a large land owner of Hamilton and Marion counties, who gave each of his children a large farm when they married. When Dora Applegate was five years of age her mother died, and five years later her father died. She then made her home with an uncle, Isaiah Applegate, with whom she lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are the parents of one son. Curtis John, who was born August 25, 1902.

though taking an active interest in all public affairs of the day, has never been an office seeker. Fraternally, he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. He also holds membership in the National Horse Thief Detective Association. Mr. Collins and the members of his family are all loyal ad¬ herents of the Friends church in Carmel and take an active interest in all church and Sunday school work.

Milton Hanson

A man with a notable career, who has spent a large part of his life in Hamilton county, Indiana, is Milton Hanson, whose whole life has been de¬ voted to public work of various kinds in addition to his regular occupation. As a teacher, lawyer, member of the state Legislature and public-spirited citizen in all things, he has taken a prominent part in the life of his com¬ munity. He was one of the organizers of the Prohibition party in Indiana, and was its candidate for Congress at one time. He remained with the party until the Free Silver issue made its appearance, and then allied himself with the Republican party, which he has since continued to support most of the time. He is a man of unusual intellectual attainments and has always been interested in everything which pertains to the welfare of those about him.

Milton Hanson, who is now living a retired life in Westfield, Indiana, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, May 6, 1842, the son of Borden and Rachel (Cox) Hanson. His father was born in Wayne county, North Caro¬ lina, in March, 1800, and was the son of Elijah and Susannah (Scruven) Hanson. Rachel Cox was born December 12, 1799, near Wrightsboro, Georgia, and was the daughter of John and Rachel (Stubbs) Cox. Elijah Hanson was in the Revolutionary War, serving as an orderly sergeant in a North Carolina regiment, his parents having moved from Virginia to North Carolina in 1755. The Hansons are of English ancestry, who went to Eng¬ land at the time of the Danish conquest in the ninth century. When Elijah Hanson was in the War of the Revolution he was taken sick during his service and was quartered in the Scruven home in North Carolina, and while there fell in love with the daughter of the house, Susannah, and afterwards mar¬ ried her. She was a member of the Friends church, and he later joined the same denomination.

In 1805 Borden Hanson and his future wife both went to Ohio with their parents from North Carolina, and located near Barnes ville, in Belmont county, and they were married in that county in 1820. In 1831 Borden Han¬ son and his wife moved to Wayne county, Indiana, where he farmed and there his death occurred, July 18, 1846. The widow and the younger chil¬ dren, including Milton, with whom this narrative deals, moved to Howard county, Indiana, in 1851, and settled four miles west of New London, where the mother died, May 11, 1853. There were twelve children in the family and Milton was the eleventh, being only eleven years of age at the time of his mother's death. Borden Hanson was also the youngest of a large family, and his father, Elijah, was also the youngest of a large number of children. Rachel (Cox) Hanson's mother was Rachel Stubbs, a member of a large family with several relatives still living in Hamilton county. After the death of his mother, Milton Hanson lived with his brother, Thomas, on the home farm until he was about seventeen years of age. He then went to work for himself in the summer and attended school in the winter, having an ardent desire for an education. He attended the high school at New London, an institution of the Friends church, and much above the usual graded schools of the state at that time. In fact, it approached the order of a college, the teachers, Lewis A. and Hulda C. Estes, having previously taught in Earlham College. Mr. Hanson early showed a predilection for mathematics and was unusually proficient in this branch of science. He also studied Latin and Greek and after leaving high school taught school for several years in Howard and Clinton counties, and also in Dublin, in Wayne county, and in Georgetown, Illinois.

After his marriage in 1865 Mr. Hanson continued teaching and taught several years in Clinton county, this state, where he resided. He was first married July 23, 1865, to Mrs. Susan J. (Lehman) Sims, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, the daughter of David D. and Margaret .Lehman, her death occurring May 11, 1874. About two years after the death of his wife Mr. Hanson was admitted to the bar at Frankfort, in Clinton county, Indiana, and in 1878 moved to Kokomo, where he began the active practice of law March 29, 1880. He purchased a farm near Gray, in Hamilton county, and moved to that place, giving up the active practice of law in the same year to engage in farming, which occupation he continued to follow until he retired from active life.

Mr. Hanson was married the second time on February 2, 1876, at West Newton, Marion county, Indiana, to Elizabeth Mendenhall, who was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, near Hinkle Creek Friends church, the daughter of Jesse and Phoebe Mendenhall. Her death occurred November 29, 1904, four daughters, Grace, Blanche, Mavme and Elsie being left to mourn the loss of their mother. Blanche is the wife of Earl Kirkman, and lives on her father's farm near Gray. She has three children, Ernest, Ward and Julia. Mayme is the wife of Raymond Hinshaw, and lives near Thorntown on a farm. She has two children, Helen and Caroline. Grace has been teaching school for the past fourteen years and is now teaching in the schools of Sheridan, Indiana. Elsie married Hollis Royster and died at Frankfort, Indiana, December 16, 1910, within six months after her marriage.

On August 8, 1906, Mr. Hanson was married to Mary Emma Newsom, who was born near Azalia, Bartholomew county, Indiana, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Newsom. When she was about seven years of age her parents moved to Coatesyille, Hendricks county, Indiana, and seven years later, moved to Indianapolis, where her father was engaged in the commis¬ sion business for about five years. At the end of that time her father became a missionary to the Indians in Indian Territory and left for that field in 1872.

About this time Mrs. Hanson went to Bartholomew county, Indiana, to an academy to finish her schooling. Her father, however, was taken ill and she had to give up her intended college course. In nursing her father she became interested in professional nursing and has had all the training and experience to qualify for a trained nurse, although she never took the exam¬ ination for a diploma. For twenty years before her marriage to Mr. Hanson she was engaged in professional nursing, and while following her occupation at the home of a friend of Mr. Hanson in Kokomo she first met him. Mrs. Hanson's mother was Elizabeth Hollowed. After Mrs. Hanson left the academy in Bartholomew county she became a teacher missionary with her father in Indian Territory and remained there seven years. Her father was one of the founders of the Colored Orphans' Home in Indianapolis. Mrs. Hanson was reared in an atmosphere of humanitarianism and helpfulness, and throughout her life has taken a deep interest in that line of educational work.

The public career of Mr. Hanson has been of a very active nature. In 1882 he was elected to the State Legislature of Indiana on the Republican ticket, and two years later helped to organize the Prohibition party in Indi¬ ana, from 1888 to 1890 being the district chairman of that party. In 1890 he was the Prohibition candidate for Congress in his district, and in 1896, after the party divided at Pittsburg over the Free Silver issue, he re-united with the Republican party, and made speeches all over Hamilton county advocating the election of McKinley. He voted for Roosevelt in 1912, but voted for the largest part of the Republican county ticket, and helped to nominate it. He is a notary public and is a trustee of the State Anti-Saloon

League. He called the county convention which was organized in the fall of 1909, and which finally resulted in making Hamilton county "dry" by a twenty-four hundred majority.

In March, 1900, Mr. Hanson moved from his farm near Gray, to Westfield, where he has since resided. He and his wife have long been members of the Friends church and active workers in its cause. Such, in brief, is the history of a man who has been a credit to the county where he has lived so many years. He is the kind of a man who is a valuable asset to any com¬ munity.

Dr. Zeri H. Fodrea

The entire career of Dr. Zeri H. Fodrea, a prominent physician of Westfield, Hamilton county, Indiana, has been spent within the limits of this county. The Fodrea family was one of the many families to come to Hamilton county, Indiana, from North Carolina, leaving the state of their birth on account of their hatred of slavery. Doctor Fodrea has spent his whole life in the immediate vicinity of his present place of residence, and by his upright life and the character of the service which he has rendered his fellow citizens, he is universally respected and esteemed. For the past quarter of a century, he has been engaged in the active practice of his pro¬ fession at Westfield and no physician of the county has met with more pro¬ nounced success.

Dr. Zeri H. Fodrea, son of David and Tamer (Davis) Fodrea, was born June 3, 1856, two miles north of Westfield. His parents were both born in North Carolina, and his father came when a small lad to Indiana with his mother, locating in Hamilton county, about 1840. David Fodrea grew to manhood in this county and married Tamer Davis, the daughter of Benjamin and Ruth Davis, natives also of North Carolina. David Fodrea was a man of much prominence in his community, and was a leader of the Abolitionists and a warm friend of temperance. He and his family were active workers in the Friends church, and contributed in every way to the advancement of the community where they settled. David Fodrea died in 1887 and his wife lived until 1907. Eight children were born to David Fodrea and wife, six of whom are living: Benjamin D. and Alfred H., of Indianapolis: Levi P., of Noblesville; Mary M.. the widow of John L. Moore, of Westfield: Rebecca, the wife of Eli Kane, of Kansas, and Dr. Z. H., with

Doctor Fodrea was given a^ good common school education and later graduated from the high school at Westfield. He then entered Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana, and after leaving Earlham, he attended the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he took the medical course. He graduated in the spring of 1888, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Doctor Fodrea had charge of the Westfield schools for the following year, 1888-89. On July 1, 1889, he began the active practice of his profession at Westfield, and for the past twenty-five years has devoted his full time and attention to this noble profession. 'In addition to taking an active part in the various medical associations of which he is a member, he is prominently identified with the various community interests which are found in his locality.

Doctor Fodrea has never married. He belongs to the Friends church, and has always given it his unreserved support. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and has attained to all the degrees including the thirtysecond, being a member of the Mystic Shrine at Indianapolis. In addition to his Masonic affiliations Doctor Fodrea also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias at Westfield.

George W. Osborn

There are individuals in nearly every community who, by reason of pro¬ nounced ability and force of character, rise above the heads of the masses and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personalities serves as a stimulus and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class George W. Osborn very properly be¬ longs. Mr. Osborn has devoted himself to his adopted profession and to the public duties to which he has been called, and, because of his personal worth and his accomplishments, he is clearly entitled to representation among the enterprising and progressive men of his locality. Mr. Osborn is an efficiently trained lawyer and has the background of a practical education, having taken the five-year literary and law course offered by the Indiana State University at Bloomington. Since engaging in the practice of his pro- fession in his home county he has rapidly forged to the front and in the fall of 1912 was elected prosecuting attorney for this county, assuming this office January 1, 1913.

George W. Osborn, the son of David S. and Hannah (Roberts) Osborn, was born October 20, 1879, on a farm in Marion county, Indiana. Both of his parents were born in Marion county, his grandfather, John Osborn, being born in Virginia in 1771. John Osborn was one of the earliest pioneers of Marion county, Indiana, where he died in 1875, having reached the unusual age of more than one hundred years. Jacob Roberts, the father of Hannah Roberts, mother of George W. Osborn, was bora in Ohio county, Pennsyl¬ vania, in 1800 and was one of the early pioneers of Marion county. His father, John Roberts, entered nine hundred and sixty acres of land in Marion county near the city of Indianapolis. Both families were prominent in the early history of Marion county and among the most substantial citizens of the county. David Osborn and his family moved from Marion county to Hamilton county in 1882, settling on a farm in Clay township, where David Osborn engaged in farming until his death February 26, 1894, his wife dying August 31, 1904.. David Osborn was a Democrat in politics and a man who was always interested in the welfare of his community, being a citizen who stood high in the estimation of his fellowmen. He and his wife were both loyal members of the German Lutheran church.

George W. Osborn was about three years of age when his parents moved from Marion county to Hamilton county and since that time he has been a continuous resident of this county. He attended the schools of his home township and later was graduated from the Zionsville high school with the class of 1901. He at once entered Indiana' University and took the combined literary and law course, graduating from that institution on June 20, 1906. He was admitted to the practice of law in January, 1907, and on February 4 of that year he opened his office for practice in Sheridan in this county. His ability as a lawyer is widely recognized and during the years he has been identified with the legal history of this county he has been' connected with many of the most important cases tried in the local court. His learning, capacity, aptitude and persistency are readily recognized and his friends prophesy that he will be favored with many additional honors in the future. He has an unblemished record, having always been upright and honorable in all his relations with his fellow men and has set a worthy example of the public-spirited, honest, energetic and wholesome citizen whom the public de¬ light to reward and honor. Affiliated with the Democratic party he has been active in its councils in this county and has been honored by this party 'on several occasions. He has been town attorney for the corporation of Sheridan for several years and in the summer of 1912 was nominated by his party for the office of prosecuting attorney of Hamilton county. He was elected in November, 1912, to this office and assumed its duties January 1, 1913. Because he has an earnest and conscientious desire to apply his legal knowledge impartially he has gained the confidence and respect of the attor¬ neys of the county as well as of the public he has served in his capacity of state's attorney. He is always master of himself in the trial of cases and is rarely not at his desk. He is courteous and deferential to the court and kind and forbearing to his opponents. As a speaker he is direct, logical and not in¬ frequently, truly eloquent. He is not only an able and reliable counselor of jurisprudence, but his honesty is unimpeachable and his official career has beien animated only bv those lofty motives which should actuate every good American citizen.

Mr. Osborn was married December 23, 1908, to Bessie S. Kercheval, the daughter of Robert G. and Anna (Davis) Kercheval of Sheridan, and to this union have been born two sons, John R. and George W., Jr. The wife and mother died March 29, 1913. She was an amiable woman of pleasing personality and her kindly deeds and loving ministrations will be long remem¬ bered by those with whom she was associated. Mr. Osborn is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men. In his church affiliations he is an earnest member of the Christian church. He is one of those strong, sturdy men who are a positive benefit to their community and consequently his name well deserves a place in the record of Hamilton county's representative citizens.

Joseph Augustus Brooks

The whole career of Joseph Augustus Brooks has been spent in Fall Creek township, Hamilton county, Indiana, where he was born fifty-six years ago. As a farmer he has been one of the most successful men of the county, as is attested by his fine farm of two hundred and seventy-four acres in this county. Mr. Brooks and his wife have reared two children, who have become useful members of society. They have given both of them a high school and university training and have the satisfaction of knowing that they are amply able to provide for themselves. Mr. Brooks is a hos-

Joseph Augustus Brooks, familiarly known as "Gus" Brooks, was born March 5, 1858, in the township where he is now residing. He is the son of Madison and Mary Jane (Hurlock) Brooks. His father was a life-long farmer in this county and died May 28, 1909. His mother is still living.

Joseph A. Brooks was reared in Fall Creek township, on his father's farm and lived there until his marriage. He then moved on the farm in the western part of Fall Creek township, where he is now living, and for the past thirty-five years has been actively engaged in general farming and stock raising. He has a beautiful country home, surrounded by spacious and wellkept grounds. His barns are large and commodious and bespeak the in¬ dustry, as well as the taste of the owner. He has erected all of the buildings on his farm and placed upon it all of the improvements which now make it one of the most attractive places in the county.

Mr. Brooks was married October 2, 1879, to Clara Fisher, who was born May 10, 1861, in this county, the daughter of John and Ellen (Steffy) Fisher. John Fisher and his wife were both natives of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry. John Fisher came to this county with his father, George Fisher, and his wife came here with her parents from Pennsylvania. Ellen Steffy used to tell of an interesting incident in her girlhood when a veritable "rain" of stars was witnessed in the community in which she was living. The people were so powerfully impressed by the phenomenon that they thought that the world was coming to an end. George Steffy, the father of Ellen, was a cabinet maker and made his home at Clarksville.

Joseph A. Brooks and wife are the parents of three children. The first¬ born, Ernest, was born June 29, t88o, and died six months later; Earl, born March 23, 1883, graduated from the Noblesville high school, and then spent two years in Indiana University, after which he entered the Indiana Dental College at Indianapolis, and graduated in 1907, and has since been practicing dentistry in Noblesville. His biography appears elsewhere in this volume. Lola Ellen, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, was born September 28, 1892, graduated from the Noblesville high school in 1900, and from Indiana University in the spring of 1914. She is now teaching domestic science and English at the Bremen, Indiana, high school.

Mr. Brooks is a Republican and a member of the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife and daughter are consistent members of the Christian church. His son belongs to the Methodist Episcopal denomination.

Edward Franklin Klepfer

The "Sunnvmeade Farm" of Edward F. Klepfer, which is located in Fall Creek township, Hamilton county. Indiana, is recognized as one of the best improved farms in Hamilton county. Mr. Klepfer is a man of broad education. He and his wife taught school both before and after their mar¬ riage. For ten years Mr. Klepfer taught school in this county, and five years of this time he and his wife taught together, and at the same time they farmed during the summer seasons. They are both descended from sterling families who have left their impress upon the communities in which they resided. The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Klepfer have been a blessing to the community in which they have lived so many years.

Fdwrard Franklin Klepfer, the son of Noah and Elizabeth (Pickel) Klepfer, w?as born March 10, 1857, in Marion county, Indiana, near Oaklandon. His father was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1832, and was the son of Henry and Elizabeth (S'wann) Klepfer. Noah Klepfer was about four years of age when his parents moved from Penn¬ sylvania, to Wayne county, Indiana, and he came with them to Marion county when they moved there a short time later. In Marion county Noah Klepfer grew to manhood and married Elizabeth Pickel. She wras born in Ohio, September n, 1829, and is now enjoying good health at the advanced age of eightv-five. She still reads without glasses, has an excellent memory, and is able to do her housework. She came with her parents to Marion county, Indiana, w hen a child.

After Noah Klepfer was married he farmed for about seven years in Marion county, w^here his father had entered a large tract of government land. In 1859 Noah Klepfer bought the farm his father had entered in Fall Creek township, in Hamilton county. This tract of eighty acres was covered with forest trees with the exception of about twTo acres, and had no house or buildings of any kind on it. When Noah Klepfer and his wife moved there in 1859 they started to clear their land and Mr. Klepfer sold some of the best hardwood logs for twenty-five cents apiece. On this farm he made his home until his death, April 1, 1914, being nearly eighty-two years of age at the time of his death. Noah Klepfer was always interested in public affairs and was often called upon by his neighbors to perform public services in various capacities. At one time the law' provided for a township road superintendent in each township, and he held this office for several years. He was frequently called upon to appraise real estate, locate ditches, administer estates, and give advice of a general legal nature. In fact, he was the Xestor of his community, being a man who was regarded as ex¬ ceptionally well qualified to perform all kinds of executive and administrative work. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and deeply interested in the work of that fraternal organization. Two sons were bom to Noah Klepfer and wife: Nelson Wallace, who was born May 9, 1854, died on his farm in this county in 1900. The other son, Edward Franklin, is the immediate subject of this review.

Edward F. Klepfer was about two years of age when his parents moved from Marion county to Hamilton county, Indiana. He received such educa¬ tion as was afforded by the district schools of his day and remained on the home farm until his marriage. Before his marriage, however, he had begun to teach school, and having spent two years in the Union high school at Westfield, he had no difficulty -in qualifying as a teacher. He began teaching at the old Young school house in Fall Creek township, where as a lad he had attended his first school at the age of eight. Later he taught nearer home, at the Klepfer school house, for four years. After his marriage in 1885 he and his wife taught together at Cicero for one year, and for a short time Mr. Klepfer engaged in the livery business in that city. His wife's parents, however, were getting old and asked Mr. Klepfer and his wife to come and live with them on their farm near Madison, Indiana, and went there and Mr. Klepfer farmed in the summer and taught for five years during the winter seasons in Hamilton county. Altogether he taught ten years, his last term being in the old school house where he taught his first year. When he stop¬ ped teaching he rented a farm near his old home place for tw'o years and then bought eighty acres on which he has since lived a short distance west of his boyhood home. He has added to his original farm from time to time until he now' has one hundred and fifty-five acres, while his wife owns eighty acres in the same neighborhood. He has two sets of farm buildings on his land and his wdfe's farm is also well equipped. He is a breeder of pure¬ bred Percheron horses and finds a ready sale for all that he cares to dispose of.

Mr. Klepfer was married June 3, 1885, to Lucile R. Rogers, who was a native of Switzerland county, Indiana, and was reared in Jefferson county, near Madison, the daughter of Stephen and Rebecca (Manford) Rogers. Her father was an extensive farmer and at one time owned several hundred acres of land in southern Indiana. In t86o Stephen Rogers and his brother invested heavily in land along the Ohio river, but financial reverses caused him to lose over forty thousand dollars on his investment. Mrs. Klepfer is

Mr. and Mrs. Klepfer have no children, their only child, Harry, dying in early infancy. Both are loyal and earnest members of the United Brethren church, and give it their hearty support at all times. Politically, he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party. Mr. Klepfer is an ambitious, diligent and industrious man, and one of those citizens of whom any community should be proud. He is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens and is frequently called upon to administer estates and perform matters of executive nature.

Martin Van Buren Forrer

One of the notably useful men of Hamilton county, Indiana, is Martin Van Buren Forrer, whose whole career has been spent within the limits of this county. For eighteen years he was a public school teacher of this county, and during that time gave his best efforts towards making good citizens out of the young people whom he taught. That he succeeded well is shown by the fact that he is held in high esteem by those whom he instructed, a tribute not only to his excellence as a teacher, but to his high character as a man. For the past twelve years he has been a rural mail carrier, while at the same time he has given his careful attention to his fine farm in Wayne township. He is the kind of a public-spirited citizen who stands for the best ideas in government, religion, education and morality, and his life has been but the reflex of his own high ideals.