Hendricks County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1914 (part 15 of 19)

Henry C. Rodney

Among the citizens of Hendricks count)' who ha\-e luiilt up comfortable homes and surrounded themselves with many of the luxuries of life, no one has attained a higher degree of success than Henry C. Rodney. His stor}- reads like a romance, for there appears to be much of accident and the whims of fortune in his life's career. His family history goes back to France on one side and England on the other, and if his father had not been a Confederatfe soldier he would not be represented in this volume today. Michael Rodney, the father of Henry C. Rodney, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tulv 4, 1845. His father was a native of England and his mother was a French woman. Alichael's father was a merchant in New Orleans, and he had two brothers who were sailors, and one is still a pilot at the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Michael C. Rodney received part of his education in the common schools at New Orleans, then went to France for a year. On returning to New Orleans during the Civil War, he was immediately drafted into the Confederate army and sent to the front, and participated in the fighting around Vicksburg. Upon its surrender, he was captured and sent to Camp Morton, at Indianapolis, where he was released after eighteen months. After his release he was absolutely friendless, penniless and a mere lad less than twenty years of age. He started out to walk from Indianapolis and. going in a westerly direction, he came across J. M. Crawford, who lived southwest of Clayton on the National road. Mr. Crawford thought him a likely looking youth, took him in and gave him employ- nient, retaining him for two or three years. L.ater he worked for Milo Aloon on the Sprague farm. He then married Caroline Hufford, the daughter of Henry and Hulda (Snodgrass) Hufford. and after his marriage he moved to eighty acres of land in Center township, this county. About thirty-two years after he had gone into tlie Civil \Var he returned to New Orleans, where he found his mother and brothers still li\ing, his father having died in the meantime. Mrs. Michael Rodney died July 16, 1905.

Henrv C. Rodney, the eldest child of Michael C. and Caroline Rodney, was born on January 10, 1870, about three miles southeast of Danville. He was reared on the home farm and attended the neighborhood schools of his township. At the age of twenty-two he was married to Effie M., the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs was born on February 12, 1845. in Washington township, this county, and died January 15, 1905. He was the eldest son of George A. and Louisa ( Hubbard) Gibbs. His father, George .\. Gibbs, was born on August 2, 1822, in North Carolina, the son of Thomas and Tabitha Gibbs. In 1826 George A. Gibbs, with his parents, moved to Alorgan county, Indiana, and in 1830 to Hendricks county, this state, where they settled in Washington township. George A. Gibbs was reared on this place and followed the vocation of a farmer all his life. He began life in limited circumstances, but became well to do, owning at the time of his death two hundred and seventy acres of land. He married, in 1842, Louisa Hubbard, who was born near Mobile, Alabama, in 1827, the daughter of Samuel Hubbard. She came to ^^'ashington township when she was a girl of about sixteen years of age. George Gibbs and wife were loyal and earnest members of the Methodist church and active and liberal in its support. He was interested in everything that pertained to the betterment of the communitv. He helped to organize the church at Bartley's Chapel, and was a leading member and superintendent of the Sunday school at that place His death occurred in the early eighties. His wife still survives him and is a sincere Christian also and is still living a quiet, unostentatious life. She is remarkably well preserved for a woman of her years, being now eightyse\'en vears of age, and, if occasion requires, she can do the family washing, hitch up the horses or even climb into the mow and throw down the hay for the horses. Henry Gibbs grew up on the farm of his father and in July, 1863, enlisted in Company A, One Hundred Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served for six months in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1868 he married Elizabeth Van Treese, who died October 11, 1911.

what is known as the Jordan farm, in the southeastern part of Center township, where he remained for three years, at the expiration of which time he moved to a farm one mile west of Plainfield, where he Hved until 1898, when he moved to his present farm of two hundred and ten acres. However, he did not purchase all of this farm in 1898, but has added to the ninety-six and one-half acres which he bought at that time until he is now the owner of that amount of acreage. He raises all the crops common to this section of the country and also devotes considerable amount of attention to live stock.

Fraternally, Mr. Rodney is a member of the Knights of IVthias, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he is a liberal contributor. They are the parents of two children, Rollie and Clifford, who are being given the best advantages for an excellent education.

Politically, Mr. Rodney is a Progressive, feeling that in the principles as laid down by that party the welfare of the country will be advanced. His career has been a busy one, and it has been no less useful than busy, since he has always been an advocate of every enterprise which has for its object the improvement of his community. Being a man of pleasing personality, he has won a large circle of friends, who esteem him for his genuine worth as a man.

Robert Westerfield

One of the enterprising and successful farmers of Hendricks county, Indiana, who has succeeded in his chosen vocation solely through his own courage, persistency and good management, is Robert Westerfield, of Center township, a man who believes in lending what aid he can to his neighbors and the general public while advancing his individual interests, consequently he is regarded as one of our best citizens in every respect.

Robert Westerfield, the son of Davis and Betsey (Carter) Westerfield, was born in 1855, near Keokuk, Iowa. His parents were both natives of Kentucky, his father born in Mercer county and his mother in Washington county, that state. David Westerfield was a son of James Westerfield, who was a native of Xew Jersey, and came to Kentucky with his parents when he was six years of age. While James Westerfield was still a small boy the Indians came to their settlement and the settlers were compelled to flee to the fort in which Daniel Boone was also a refugee, and here they stayed for six months. James Westerfield grew up near Harrodsburg, the old fort being within two hundred yards of the present court house there. It is interesting to note that the fort was built around a large spring, which is still flowing. James Westerfield became county surveyor of Mercer county, and died in that county in 1866, being one of the prominent citizens of the county. David Westerfield was reared in Kentucky and there married Betsey Carter, who was born in Washington county, near the Mercer county line. David and wife lived in Kentucky until after seven children were born, then moved to Iowa, where they settled on a farm near Keokuk, and where they remained for about two years. During their sojourn in Iowa, Robert was born. In 1855 the family returned to Kentucky, where another child was born, and where the mother died in the spring of 1857. Shortly afterwards David Westerfield married and to this second marriage two children were born, after which the second Mrs. Westerfield died and Mr. Westerfield again married and to the third marriage nine children were born.

David Westerfield, although he was a citizen of Kentucky and his father an extensive slave owner, enlisted in the Nineteenth Regiment Kentucky Volunteers and fought for the Union nearly four years. He was in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and he had a son who took part in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, which was fought only four miles from his home. Robert Westerfield was then a boy of only eight years and could distinctively hear the cannon and musketry on that memorable 8th of October, 1862. He thought it was thunder in a clear sky until he saw both armies pass their home.

When David Westerfield was married the second time in 1857, Robert, then a mere lad of fourteen, left home and went to Illinois, where he hired out to work by the month. In August. 1874, he came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and located in Liberty township, where he has lived since. He hired out as a farm hand and his entire life has been spent in agricultural pursuits. Having left his home at so early an age. he has known what it is to meet all kinds of hardships and discouragements. His father was financially broken up during the Civil War, and his grandfather, James Westerfield, who owned more than seventy slaves at the time they were freed, was also financially ruined. Robert Westerfield started life from a very small beginning, indeed, as he landed in Illinois at the age of fourteen years with only thirty cents in money, and when he came to Hendricks county in 1874 he had fifty dollars, a horse, saddle and bridle, but, being of a frugal, thrifty turn of mind, he saved his money so that he was able to get married and start to housekeeping. He bought a team and started in to farm on his own account, settling on a tract in Liberty township, this county. At the end of three years he engaged in teaming and followed this occupation for the next three years. In 1885 he began farming operations in Center township, where he lived until 1896. The year previous to that he purchased eighty acres of land southeast of Danville and in the spring of 1896 moved to this place, and in the fall of that same year his barn, crops, wagons and tools were all destroyed by fire, but, with indomitable courage and energy, he started in anew, rebuilding his barn, purchased new tools, machinery and wagons and was soon on his feet again. Within a few years he was able to purchase forty acres additional, and is now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of iine farming land in Center township.

Politically, Mr. Westerfield is a Democrat and has always been actively interested in the deliberations of his party. During the past twenty-eight years he has been precinct committeeman every year but two, and served on election boards from the time the Australian ballot was introduced in 1883 down to the present time. He has also frequently been a delegate to the state conventions of his party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both subordinate and encampment.

In 1876 ]\Ir. Westerfield was married to Elizabeth Lookebill, the daughter of Peter O. and Nancy (Faircloth) Lookebill, both natives of North Carolina, who came to this county in 1853. Mrs. Westerfield was bom in Liberty township, this county, and grew up near Clayton. Her mother died at the home of Mr. Westerfield on Thanksgiving day, 1909. Mrs. Westerfield's father was a soldier in the Mexican War, and also served in the Civil War, being a member of the Seventieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. To Mr. and Mrs. Westerfield have been born fifteen children, ten of whom are living. Of the five who are deceased, four died in infancy and Lulu was killed in a railroad accident at the age of fifteen. The ten living children are Oliver, who married Lillie Pett_\-, and li\es on the home farm with his father; he has three children, Hubert, Florence and Beulah; James William married Mrs. Nora Cornet, and lives at Brownsburg, and has one daughter, Mary Elizabeth. William has been principal of the schools at Brownsburg, and now holds the same position at Pittsboro; Amos lives at Newton, Kansas, and married Birdie Johnson, and has four children, Leo. Harold, Oral and Mary Elizabeth; Rose became the wife of Alfred Williams and lives at Racine, Wisconsin, and his three children, Leona, Alfred and Robert; Harlis married Elsie Miklesby, and also lives at Racine, Wisconsin, and has one son, Harlan ; Emma married Wiley Stone and resides in Liberty township, this county; Clede is in Racine, Wisconsin, while the other children.

Mr. ^Vesterfiekl has e\'er enjoyed the respect and esteem of those who know him for his friendly manner, business ability, his interest in public affairs and upright living, and he is regarded by all as one of the substantial and public-spirited citizens of the locality.

Carey M. Hamrick

An enumeration of the representative citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, would be imcomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old and highly esteemed families of the central part of the state and for many years one of the public-spirited men of affairs, he has stamped his individuality upon the community and added luster to the honorable name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might benefit his own condition as well as that of his neighbors and friends, consequently he has long ago won the fa\'or of a great number of people of Marion township, where he maintains his home.

Carey M. Hamrick, the son of William F. and Dicey (Blackburn) Hamrick, was born in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indiana, July lo, 1855. A complete history of his father, William F., is given in the history of Mrs. J. A. Tinder, which may be found elsewhere in this volume. Carey M. Hamrick was reared on the home farm and was given such education as was afforded by the subscription schools of his period. Upon reaching manhood, he was married to Aggie Smith, the daughter of William and Harriett Smith, and her birth occurred on August 6, 1855, near Taylorsville, Kentucky, and came to Danville, Indiana, with her parents several years before her marriage. The one child which was born to this union died in infancy, and the wife and mother died October 29, 1890. Mr. Hamrick then married, on September 25, 1894, Florence Wheeler, the daughter of Harper and Elizabeth (Scott) Wheeler, of Clay township, this county. Harper Wheeler was the son of Elijah and Melinda Wheeler, who cam.; from North Carolina to Clay township. Elizabeth (Scott) Wheeler grew up in L'nion township, this county, where her parents settled upon their arrival m thif county from their nati\-e state of Pennsylvania. Mr.

and Mrs Wheeler bc.th died when their danghter, Florence, was a small child and she was th.en taken into the home of Joseph Feree, of Danville, and there reared to womanhood.

After his second niarriage Mr. and Mrs. Hamrick mo\td U: the northea.'tern part of Marion township, where they purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which they now reside. They have one sou, Clarence, born October 26. 1895. who graduated in the spring or 19:4 in the high school at North Salem. Mr. and Mrs. Hamrick are both devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Danville and are active participants in all of the various departments of their church work. Mr. Hamrick has never taken an active part in politics, or sought for public oflice, being essentially a domestic man of modest and retiring dispusition. He is an entertaining conversationalist and often regales his younger friends v> ith stories oc the days when the old court house was l)eing started, as as the stirring incidents of the Civil \\'ar. He is a wA\ read man and is well informed on all the current issues of the day. He has a large list of friends in the county who honor him for his many sterling qualities of character and upright manner of living.

David A. Clements

The biographies of successful men are instructi\'e as guides and incentives to those whose career are yet to be acheived. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and consecutive endea\or strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. The gentleman whose life history herewith is briefly set forth is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and achieved a definite degree of success in the special sphere to which his talents have been de\oted.

David A. Clements, the son of John N. and Alary \'. ( Hendron) Clements, was born in North Salem, Hendricks county, Indiana, on January 22. 1858. John N. Clements was born in Clements Valley, Kentucky, and grew up and married in that state. Mary V. Hendron was a native of Virginia. Immediately after their marriage the young bridal couple took their honeymoon trip to Putnam county, Indiana. They came through on horseback, following blazed trails, forded rivers and threaded their way through the wilderness. They located first in Putnam county, afterwards going to Boone county, this state, but after a short stay in that county, settled in Eel River townshi]3, Hendricks county, about one and one-half miles south of North

Salem, in what was then known as the Round Town neighborhood. There the)' started pioneer Hfe with their rude log cabin and all that went with it. They lived here until David A. was sixteen years of age, when they moved into North Salem and spent the remainder of their lives. The panic of 1873 brought disaster to the family and the farm had to be sold. John N. Clements and two sons, John E. and George H., were in the Civil War and served throughout that fierce struggle. John N. Clements enlisted tnree times and was wounded twice and permanently disabled. After the panic of 1873 he recovered his finances and died in comfortable circumstances. He was a stanch Republican all his life and active in the party organization. Religiously, he was a member of the Regular Baptist church from boyhood, his father being a Baptist minister. He lived to be ninety-one years of age. his wife dying at the age of sixty-five.

David A. Clements received his education in the district schools of his township, and when he was sixteen years of age he moved with his parents to North Salem, where he completed his educational training, after which he started to learn the trade of a machinist and for fourteen years was an engineer at North Salem in a flouring mill. He was then left without a position upon the burning of the mill. He came to Indianapolis, where he worked for about sixteen months in ^Vasson's department store, following which he was appointed superintendent of the Hendricks county poor farm and held that position for six and one-half years, his term ending March I, 19 14. After leaving the county farm he purchased a farm near Brownsburg, where he now resides.

Mr. Clements was married September 14, 1880, to Lettie M. Waters, the daughter of Harney Waters, and to them has been born one daughter, Anna Maude, wife of U. W. Parsons, a lumber dealer of Brownsburg, and they have two children, David Vanuel and Beatrice Pauline. They also had a daughter, Maurine. who died on Christmas day, 1913. at the age of two years and seven months. Mr. and Mrs. Clements were the parents of three other daughters: Delia G., who died at the age of two years; Nellie C, who died at the age of four, and Delia C, who died at the age of two years.

The father of Mrs. Clements was born in Kentucky December 7, 1842, and was the son of William and Julia Ann (Waters) Waters. When he was a balje in arms his parents moved to North Salem, where his father followed farming all his life. In the fall of 1862 Nathan Harney Waters married Rosena Zimmerman, the daughter of John and Nancy (Myers) Zimmerman. He was born near North Salem, his parents coming here from

Kentucky. The Zimmermans were a well-known pioneer family and reared a family of fifteen children. For the past ten years Air. Waters has Deen sexton of the Fairview cemetery at North Salem. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and have been married for more than a half century.

Fraternally, Mr. Clements is a member of the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife both belong to the Order of the Eastern Star. Religiously, Mr. Clements and his family are loval ana consistent members of the Christian church at North Salem and are interested in all of the work of that church. They have a hospitable home and have a large number of friends and acquaintances who esteem them for their many good qualities.

William R. Bowman

Many states in the L'nion have contributed to the present population of Hendricks county, Indiana, but it is probable North Carolina furnished as many of the early pioneers of this county as any other state in the Union. Most of the people who came from North Carolina to Indiana in the early history of the state were members of the Friends church, who left the state of their nativity because of their opposition to slavery. When North Carolina changed her constitution in the early part of the nineteenth century, she permitted slaves to be held in that state, and as soon as the Friends found that slavery was to be tolerated they made preparations to leave the .state. Wayne county, Indiana, was practically settled by North Carolina Friends, and other counties in the state received large delegations of native citizens of North Carolina. Wherever these native sons of North Carolina settled, they became prosperous and influential citizens.

Among the Friends of North Carolina who settled in Hendricks county, there is no one who has led a more highly respected and honorable career in this county than William Romulus Bowman, who was born March 22. 1850, in Guilford county. North Carolina. His parents were Richard and Polly Ann (Little) Bowman, natives of Guilford county, that state. Richard Bowman was a farmer in his native state and spent all of his days there. His wife was born in 1823, and died in October, 1910, in her native state. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bowman were the parents of ten children : Leroy W. ; Lysandry A., deceased ; Mary, deceased in infancy ; William Romulus, whose historv is here presented; Cornelia, deceased; Edmond, a resident of North

Carolina: Martha, deceased; Rnfiis, of Xorth Carolina; Victor, deceased, and Mrs. Xanna Emma Hoggins, who lives in Xorth Carolina. Richard was a great worker in the church, as was his wife.

William R. Bowman spent his boyhood days on his father's farm in X'orth Carolina, but upon reaching his majority he came to Henry county, Indiana, and shortly afterwards went to Rush county, this state, where Inremained a }ear. He then remo\ed to Hamilton county, Indiana, and three years later came to Hendricks county, where he remained for the next three years, later going to Morgan county, Indiana, where he married, after which he returned to Hendricks county in 1881 and settled on his present farm.

William R. Bowman was married on December 12, 1878, to Jane Rachel ]\IcCollum. the daughter of Joseph and Matilda (Weesner) McCollum. Joseph Milton jNlcCollum was born April 24, 1828, in Randolph county, X'orth Carolina, and, when a young man, came to Guilford township, Hendricks county, Indiana, where he worked for Mr. Blair and others. When he came to the county he had sixty-fi\'e cents and two suits of jeans and spent thirty cents of his capital for a Bible. He worked for a short time in this county, then went to Morgan county, where he worked two years for Mr. \\'eesncr, and while working there he became acquainted with Mr. \\^eesner"s daughter, and subsecjuently married his employer's daughter in Morgan county, and began farming for himself in that county. He bought eighty acres of land in Monroe township, that county, and by diligent efifort and thrift he and his wife accumulated nearly three hundred acres before his death, which occurred on July 15, IQ08. at the advanced age of eighty. Joseph Milton JMcCollum was a great Bible student all his life and was a prominent worker in the Friends church at \A^est Union, JMorgan county. Throughout his life in that county he was an active worker ifi the church and attributes his success to the fact that he was one of the tithers of his denomination. Mr. McCollum was a prosperous farmer and specialized in the raising of Poland China hogs. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Milton ^McCollum were the parents of nine children : Mrs. Delphiana Lawrence, who is living in Kansas: l\lrs. Elmina Johnson, of Liscomb. Iowa; Mrs. Mary Page, who resides on the old home place in Morgan county, Indiana; Jane, the wife of Mr. Bowman; Louisa, deceased; John L., who lives in Michigan, and twins who died in infancy. Mrs. McCollum, now eighty-nine years of age, is living with Mr. and ]\Trs. Bowman. She came from her home in X'orth Carolina to Henry county, Indiana, when a small child with her parents and soon afterwards the family came to ^Morgan county, Indiana, where the}' both died. The father H\ ed to the advanced age of ninetv, and her mother passed away at the age of sixty-six. Airs. McColhini is now an in\ahd. and has been for eight years, but is kindl\- cared for, by Mr. and Mrs. Bowman.

WilHam R. Bowman and wife are the parents of five children: John Alfred, who died at the age of fourteen months; Urban, who married Elsie Thompson and has three children, \Villiam Harold, Blanche Maria and Richard Merlin ; Urban is a farmer living in Marion county, near Bridgeport ; Milton Richard, the third child of .Mr. and Mrs. Bowman, married fone Dillon; he is a skilled machinist at Bridgeport, Indiana; William Gurney died at the age of twenty years, and Jennie died in infancy.

Mr. Bowman and his wife are both faithful and loyal members of the Friends church and give to it their earnest and zealous support. Politicall}-, Mr. Bowman is a Prohibitionist, feeling that the principles as advocated by that party, if put into effect, would insure the more rapid advancement of civilization in this country. Mr. Bowman has been a resident of this county for about forty years, and in that time has impressed his individuality upon his community. He is a man of generous impluses and a firm believer in those principles of honesty and integrity which he has always employed in his business. He is a man essentially of domestic taste and is devoted to his family and to his church, and because of the clean and wholesome life which he has lived in this county he has won the esteem of his friends and neighbors.

James E. Daugherty

A farmer of Hendricks count}'. Indiana, who has attained to a position of influence in his community is James E. Daugherty. one of the native sons of the Hoosier state, whose life of more than three score and ten years has been spent wholly within this state, and he has been a witness of the remarkable growth which has taken place during that long period. He has always led a quiet life and during his long career he has never forsaken the soil and the independent existence which characterizes the successful farmer.

James E. Daugherty, the son of James and Mary Ann (Mills) Daugherty. was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, February 8. 1841. His parents were natives of Kentucky, and came to this state and settled in Montgomery countv in 1830. His mother died on July 31, 1872, at the age of sixtysix vears, and his father died at Ladoga, Indiana, on January 9, 189T. Mr. and I\Irs. Daugherty. Sr., reared a family of five children: Wesley W., who died March lo, 1902; Mrs. Nancy Lee Stover, who died March 12, 1908; Mrs. Catherine Bird, who died in August, 1881, and Mrs. Minerva Harshberger, who died March 12, 1906; James E., whose history is here presented.

James E. Daugherty was reared on his father's farm in Montgomer}' county, Indiana, and receiA^ed his education in the schools of his home neighborhood. He was married May 27, 1869, to EUza Jane McCoun, who was the daughter of John \Y. and Melvina (Talbott) McCoun, and born in Jackson township, Hendricks county, on August 31, 1849. To this union were born the following children : Plenrietta, who married Homer Paterson and died on August 21, 1890; Edgar, a farmer in Center township; Charles, Mary and Grace, who are at home.

In the fall of the same year he was married, Mr. Daugherty bought a farm in section 31, Center township, Hendricks county, Indiana, and he proved to be a very successful farmer from the start of his agricultural career. Ac a result of his thrift and econom}' he was able to add to his possessions from time to time until he is now the owner of five hundred and fifty-six acres of well improxed land in the county. In addition to his heavy farming interests, he has engaged in the buying and selling of all kinds of live stock. He raises considerable live stock himself, making a speciality of pedigreed Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs.

Politicallv, Mr. Daugherty is a Democrat, while in religion the family are identified with the Christian church. Mr.' Daugherty has given satisfaction as executor of several estates.

Rev. Peter W. Raidabaugh

There is no earthly station higher than the ministry of the Gospel, no life can be more uplifting and grander than that which is devoted to the amelioration of the human race, a life of sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of man, one that is willing to cast aside all earthly crowns and laurels of praise and fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly It is not possible to measure adequately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its influences continue to permeate the lives of others through successive generations, so the power it has can not be known until the "last great day when the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." One of the self-sacrificing, ardent, loyal and true spirits that has been a blessing to the race, who has left in his wake an in- tliience that e\er makes the world brighter and betters the lives of those who follow, is the Rev. Peter W. Raidabaugh, whose life forcibly illustrates what energy, integrity and a fixed purpose can accomplish when animated by noble aims and correct ideals. He has ever held the unequivocal confidence and esteem of the people among whom he has labored, and his career can be very profitably studied by the ambitious youth standing at the parting of the ways.

A man who has played a large part in the work of the Friends church and its allied organizations is Peter W. Raidabaugh, of Plainfield. A man of broad scholarship, fine business ability and lofty ideals, he has long occupied a conspicuous place as a churchman and as a citizen of the community where he has resided. He was born in Lewisburg, Union county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1849, the son of Adam and Eve (Winegarden) Raidabaugh. Both of his parents were natives of Pennsylvania, his father being a plasterer and a man of more than ordinary ability. He was a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow and was an officer in the grand lodges of both orders. He had the reputation of being one of the best informed men on Masonry in the whole state. He died in the state of his nativity in 1892 and his widow survived him just ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Adam Raidabaugh were the parents of six children, all of whom are living: George P., of Baltimore, Maryland; Daniel, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; Charles A., of Atchison, Kansas; Minerva, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; Henry W., of Baltimore, Maryland; and Peter W., the immediate subject of this sketch.

Peter W. Raidabaugh was educated in the public schools of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and very early in life decided that he would make the ministry his life work. When he was only twenty years of age he began to fill the pulpit in the Evangelical Association church and at the age of thirty-two he was the presiding elder of the Lewisburg district of the Central Pennsylvania conference, of that church. He continued in the ministry until 1883, when he was elected editor of the Sunday school publications of that church. He then mo\ed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived for the next ten years. In 1889, on account of a division in the Evangelical Association, resulting in two denominations, the subject did not feel clear to go with either faction and he united with the Friends church and was immediately installed as pastor of the society at Cleveland, retaining this charge for two years. The Publishing Association of Friends then put him in charge of the Sunday school and other publishing interests of the Friends church throughout the United States and Canada, and he located at Chicago. In addition, he was editor of the Christian Worker until 1894, when the paper was consolidated (44) with the Friends Review of Philadelphia, and the two papers merged into the American Friend, the present church organ ; and since that time Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh has given all of his time to the editing and publishing of the Sunday school literature of the Friends church, with his headquarters at Chicago. The business was removed to Plainfield in 1901 and remained there until 1913, when it was transferred to the Friends Bible School Board at Fairmount, Indiana. In 1904 he bought the PlainHeld Progress and changed the name of the paper to the Friday Caller, and, with his son Walter as editor, the paper was a decided success. He sold the paper in 1910 to C. C. Cumberworth,-but two years later he took it back again, and finally disposed of it in 191 3 to Fred E. Warner, the present editor and owner.

Reverting to an earlier period in Rev. Raidabaugh's career, during the year 1885, while he was serving as Sunday school editor in the Evangelical publishing house at Cleveland, Ohio, a city election occurred, the question of closing the saloons on Sunday becoming the leading issue in connection with the election of councilmen. Rev. Raidabaugh being a resident of the twentythird ward, the largest resident ward of the city, he was requested by a large number of citizens to stand for election to council on the Republican ticket. At the primary he was nominated over two other candidates and was subsequently elected. For two years he was active in the affairs of the city, being chairman of the committee on printing and a member of the committees on fire and water and on ordinances. His voice and vote were constantly used in favor of a higher moral tone for the city.

After the incorporation of the town of Plainfield, Rev. Raidabaugh became the first treasurer of the town, and was re-elected, serving for six years, with eminent satisfaction to his fellow citizens.

In 1889 Rev. Raidabaugh was sent as a delegate from the state of Ohio to the first world's Sunday school convention, held in the city of London, England.

Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh now finds himself out of active business for the first time since early manhood, although he is still the pastor of the Friends church at Bridgeport, Indiana, and has been in charge of that church for the past ten years.

Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh was married October 15, 1872, to Sarah W. Walter, of Union county, Pennsylvania, and to this union there have been born three children : Walter, who was a very promising young man and associated with his father in the newspaper at Plainfield, and died in 1910; Mrs. Elizabeth Newsom, of New York city, and Helen, deceased.

Rev. P. ^^^ Raidabaugh has lived an eminently useful life. He has always been calm and dignified, never demonstrative, yet his life has been a persistent plea, both by precept and example, as well as by written and spoken word, for the purity and grandeur of right principles and the beauty and elevation of wholesome character. He has always had the greatest sympathy for his fellow men and has ever been willing to aid and encourage those who were struggling to aid themselves against adverse fate, yet in this, as in everything else, he was entirel}^ unostentatious. To him home life has been a sacred trust and the church a sanctuary of faith, and nothing has ever been able to swer\-e him from the path of rectitude and honor.

William Henry Arnold

Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success. It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. This everyday life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and improvement. The fact having been recognized earlv in life by the subject of this sketch, he has seized the opportunities that he encountered on the rugged hill that leads to life's lofty summit where lies the ultimate goal of success, never attained by the weak, ambitionless and inacti\e. Mr. Arnold is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise in Hendricks county, Indiana, with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite success, and in such a man there is particular satisfaction in offering in his life history justification for the compilation of works of this character - not necessarily that the careers of men of Mr. Arnold's type have been such as to gain them wide reputation or the admiring plaudits of men, but they have been true to the trusts reposed in them, have shown such attributes of character as entitled them to the regard of all and have been useful each in his respective sphere of action, w hile at the same time he has won and retained the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact as a result of his industrious and upright career.

county, this state, the son of Richard and Levina (Potts) Arnold, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and came to Harrison county, this state, with his parents, Richard, Sr., and Rebecca Arnold, being but five years of age at that time. Richard, Sr., was born in Kentucky on March 15- i/f^S' ^nd Rebecca was born in the same state in July, 1773. Their marriage took place in 1790 and Richard, Jr., was born August i, 1805. He grew to manhood in Harrison county, this state, and was there married on November 10. 1825, to Levina Potts. His life-long vocation was that of farming and at an early date in the history of this section he came to this county, settling on what is now known as the old Bowen farm. Here he probably entered about a quarter section of government land. He was a hard working man and cleared up his land, nicely fencing it and preparing it for cultivation. Pie remained on this farm for several years and then sold out and mo\-ed to Arkansas. I-le made the trip overland in a covered wagon, but so disappointed was he with the prospects upon arriving there that he did not even unload his wagon, but after a short rest started back to the good old Hoosier state. He went to Putnam county, where he obtained a farm and where he remained for several years and reared his family. He later disposed of this property and returned to this county, taking up his residence in Franklin township. Near the close of his life he retired from active farm work and went to Stilesville to live, his death occurring there. Levina Potts, his wife, who was a Kentuckian by birth, also died at their home in Stilesville. They were the parents of fifteen children, Jacob, Beckie, Margaret, Nancy, Maria, Rebecca, Richard, Malinda, John, Vina Ann, Colum- Inis, and an infant, all deceased. These living, besides the subject, are George and Alonzo.

William Henry Arnold spent his boyhood days in this county, coming with liis parents from Putnam county when fourteen years of age. When a youth he attended the early schools of the township, acf|uiring the best education the opportunities of that day afiforded in this community. On September 22, 1876, he was united in marriage with Sarah Cosner, daughter of John and Louisa (Rolla) Cosner. She is a native of this county, having been born at Stilesville. John Cosner was a native of North Carolina, born there on May 9, 1822, and died at Stilesville on January 31, 1893. He was a farmer all his life, a man of excellent character and ability. He was twice married, his first wife being Eliza Wicker, to whom he was united in marriage in 1846. Her death occurred on November i, 1848, and she left one child, a son, Alfred. In 185 1 lohn Cosner was again married, this time to Louisa Rolla, and by this marriage became the father of six children. Besides Sarah, wife of the subject of this sketch, there are Miranda, Elizabeth. Leander, Lafayette and Margaret. Louisa (Rolla) Cosner was a native of Ohio, born February i6, 1834, and died at Stilesville, this state, on October 24, 1883. To the subject and his wife have been born three children, Glenn, Earle and Irvin. All his life Mr. Arnold has been engaged in farming and kindred pursuits. Shortly after his marriage he came to reside on his present farm, containing one hundred and sixty acres. He is one of the best farmers of the county, progressive in all his methods. He is thorough and systematic in his work, makes a careful study of his soil and determines by scientific methods what it is best adapted for and then proceeds to carry out his theories with energy and ability. The soil with which he has to deal is exceptionally fine and for the last iive years he has put a great deal of thought and labor on the nursery business, devoting particular attention to fruit trees, etc. He is the originator of an excellent pear known as the "Arnold" pear, which has acquired a wide reputation and is highly advertised by nurserymen. Mr. Arnold has been highly complimented on^ his success in this line of endeavor by men who have devoted a life of study and experiment to the same line. In addition to this line of work, he has considerable reputation as a raiser and breeder of cattle and at all times feeds considerable stock. He is an eminently successful man and has won his enviable position through tireless endea\'or and well directed energy. He is a great reader, a deep thinker, a thoroughly sound and sane man and. as may be expected, is a delightful companion.

;\Ir. Arnold's political affiliation is with the Democratic party in the affairs of which he takes a quiet, though keen, interest. He is too busy with his own affairs to desire public office of any sort, but at one time was induced to serve as township supervisor, which place he held for four years. Mrs. Arnold is a member of the Missionary Baptist church at Stilesville, and while Mr. Arnold is not connected with any church society, he is interested in the progress of all. The family is one of the best known and most highly respected in the county, with a strong influence for right in all phases of life. Mr. Arnold can honestly claim all the honor accorded him for what he has accomplished, for he started in life with practically nothing, but is now one of the substantial men of his community as a result of his close application to business and his persistency. He has a host of friends, for his life has been honorable in every respect.

George W. Wise

Among the honorable and influential citizens of Hendricks count}', Indiana, is the subject of this brief review, who has here maintained his home for many years, winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to which he has devoted his attention during the years of an acti\e business life. His career has been without a shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his fellow' men.

George Washington Wise, the proprietor of a one-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm in Marion township, this county, was born in Granger county, Tennessee, in 1845. His parents were William and Patience (Sherrod) Wise, both of whom were natives of Wayne county. North Carolina, where they were reared, married, and spent their earlier married life, later moving to Tennessee, where they remained until their death, which occurred in 1875. George W. Wise lived in Wayne county. North Carolina, until sixteen years of age. and then went to Garrett county, Kentucky, where he had relatives, with whom he lived until he grew to manhood and married.

Mr. Wise was married in 1866 to Nancy Jane Mallicoat, the daughter of Joel and Martha (Allen) Mallicoat. George Wise and his wife were playmates when they were children in Tennessee, and the friendship which was established in those early days was broken when he moved to Kentucky, but after Nancy Mallicoat grew to young womanhood she happened to go on a visit with her brothers to Kentucky, and visited in the same neighborhood where George was working, and they again met, and the friendship which was the jov of their childhood days ripened into a deeper affection with the result that they were united in marriage before her return to her native state. Her father was a prosperous farmer in Tennessee and a man of fine character in everv way. He lived to an advanced age. his death occurring in his ninetv-third year on October 20, 19 10, and when he passed away it was said that he did not have an enemy in thl world. His wife, the mother of Xancy. died when she was only four years of age.

Mr. and Mrs. Wise remained in Kentucky but five years after their marriage, and then came to Hendricks county, where they located in the eastern part of Marion township in July. 1873. Tn this township they have lived for the past forty years. At first they were not able to purchase a farm, having come here with practically nothing, and as a result they had to rent land, but they were industrious and frugal and managed so that they might save and have a home of their own. They first bought sixty acres of land just west of New Winchester, and from time to time added acre by acre to this until they now have one hundred and fift}' acres of fine farming land, all of which is clear of encumbrances of any kind. They have done this and yet have played an important part in the material, social and moral welfare of their community. They have one son, William Henry, who was born in 1867. He married Ida Lasley, the daughter of Gabriel and Nancy Lasley, and is now living at Gonvick, Minnesota, where he is following the occupation of a farmer. He and his wife have nine children living, Clyde, Minnie, Fred, Martha, Willam, Fanny, Gertrude, Kitty V. and Ida May. Paul died when he was three and one-half years old.

Mr. Wise has lived a clean, upright and straightforward life and there is not a man who has ever had cause to question his integrity. His and his wife are loya! members of the Baptist church at Danville and are firm believers in the efficacy of church work. They have always stood for the best ideals and have always endeavored to cultivate that sweetness which is the saving grace of ci\"ilization and the benediction of mankind in general.

The subject of this sketch is one of those strong, self-reliant and aetermined characters who are occasionally met with and who are of such a distinct type as to seem to be born leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr. McCoun courts that distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great force of character and his zeal and energy in whatever he undertakes naturally place him at the head of the crowd, and he has been a potent factor in later years in the development of his community. While still a young man, Mr. McCoun has attained a degree of success which might well be the pride of one of a far greater number of years, and which promises great things for a wider field of influence as the years go on. He is well known to all classes for his honest and industrious life, both in private and public.

Samuel C. McCoun was born on March 25, 1884, on the old homestead farm, northwest of Danville, Hendricks county, Indiana, and he is the son of John W. and Elizabeth (Carrington) McCoun. John W. McCoun was a native of the state of Kentucky, born in 182 1 at Winchester, that state. When but five years of age he was brought to Indiana by his par- ents, James and Eliza McCoun. They first settled in Marion township, this county, where they farmed for about fifteen years. They were among the large land owners of the county and it is believed that they had entered from the government the land which they possessed. They went to Putnam county, this state, accompanied by their son, John W., and about the year 1856 moved to Missouri. There John W. remained for about a year, when he returned to Center township, this county, and farmed here until his death, in 1900, on the homestead farm. John W. McCoun was considered one of the successful farmers of his community, being very methodical and thorough in his work. Beside the attention he gave to general farming, he took great interest in his herd of Shorthorn cattle, which was truly a pride. He raised considerable stock at all times. John W. McCoun had no fraternal affiliations whatever, and in his early life had been aligned with the Whig party, later endorsing the platform of the Democratic party. He always took a keen interest in politics, but never aspired to office of any sort. For many years he was a faithful member of the Christian church and ordered his life according to the tenets of that faith. He was twice married, his first wife being Melvina Talbott, of Putnam county, by whom he had a family of seven children, namely: John T., deceased; James L., deceased; Eliza, Mrs. Daugherty; Amelia, Mrs. Williams; Robert; Anne, Mrs. Johnson: and Boone. The first Mrs. McCoun died in 1880 and his second wife was Elizabeth Carrington, by whom he had one child, the subject of this sketch. She is a native of Hendricks county, born in 1839. and makes her home on the old homestead with her son, the subject.

Samuel C. McCoun spent his boyhood days on the home farm in Center township, this county, attending the township schools, and later took a twoyear agricultural course at Purdue University, at Lafayette, this state. In addition to general farming, he makes a specialty of raising and breeding Berkshire hogs, and has raised and sold many animals of value. His farm is known as the Locust Grove farm and consists of two hundred and eightyeight acres of excellent land, having the advantage of being located close to the city of Danville. Every bit of this land is under careful cultivation and observation and in addition there are many large and substantial buildings, one large building being devoted exclusively to the raising of hogs. The farm residence is a handsome brick structure of modern design, considered one of the finest homes in the county. Mr. McCoun is a most progressive farmer and an indefatigable worker. He is considerable of a student along the line of his vocation and uses his technical knowledge to the best possible advantage. He is generous in this respect, not retaining the results of his studies for his own use alone, but being glad to be of assistance to others, and in that way he is making for himself an enviable name throughout the county.

On November 15, 1905, Mr. McCoun was united in marriage with Mabel McCoun, a native of Hendricks county, and a daughter of Edward and Alice (Steward) McCoun. To their union has been born one child, Alice.

Mr. McCoun's fraternal atfiliation is with the ancient order of Freemasonry, toeing identified with Lodge No. 26 at Danville, and he is also a chapter member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Since attaining his majority, Mr. McCoun has been identified with the Democratic party and of later years takes the more progressive view of the leaders of that party. While not a member of any church, Mr. McCoun's religious sympathies are with the Christian church, of which his wife is a member and to whose support he contributes of his means. Mr. McCoun is a man of sterling character, quiet and unassuming in his manner, with a kindly word for his neighbors, of excellent personal habits and undoubted veracity. Needless to say, .'uch a broad-minded and helpful man stands high in public estimation and has won to himself many who hold him in high regard.

Melville C. Ensminger

A community is judged largely b}- the lix'es of comparatively fe\v of its members. Few residents of Hendricks county were as widely and favorably known as the late Meh-ille C. Ensmingcr, whose life's record was finished November 11, 190 1. No man stood higher in the esteem and confidence of the community in which he resided than he. and his whole life was of such a nature as to justify the statements that he was man "whom to know was to love."

Melville C. Ensminger, son of Samuel J- and Mary (^IcGee) Ensminger, was born November 19, 1842. on what is known as the old Ensminger homestead, northeast of Dan\-ille, Hendricks county, Indiana, and died No- \-emljer 11. igoi, the result of injiu-ies received in a railroad accident, which occurred between Danville and his home. He was descended from one of the pioneer families of the county, a history of which is given in the sketch of his brother, Samuel B. Ensminger, elsewhere in this \'oIume. He grew to manhood on the farm where he was born and reared, receiving his education in the old Danville Academ}'. After leaving school he taught for twelve years, and in the meantime read law for three years with Col. Christian Nave, of Danville, and was admitted to the bar, but never engaged in the active practice of the profession, spending his entire life upon the farm.

Mr. Ensminger was married December 31, 1874, to Samantha A. Lineinger, the daughter of Aaron and Margaret (Duzan) Lineinger. A sketch of the Lineinger family is given in the biographical mention of Alfred S. Lineinger, elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Ensminger was born and reared a short distance east of Danville and has lived in that neighborhood all her life. To this marriage have been born four children, three sons and one daughter, Mary, who died at the age of three months. The three sons are Julian, Aaron M. and Chesley Bailey. Julian married Esta May Smith, the daughter of William and Viola Smith, and they li\-e four miles northeast of Danville on one of the farms which was owned by his father. The other tW'O sons and Mrs. Ensminger live on the old home farm east of Danville. For two years after his marriage Mr. Ensminger continued to reside on the farm where he was born, at which time he moved to a farm which he inherited from his mother. From time to time he purchased more land and at the time of his death he was owner of two hundred and eighty-five acres of fine farming land. He built a fine, attractive home and had good barns and other outbuildings and all his farms were in first class shape in every particular. He carried on extensive farming and stock raising and was considered one of the most substantial farmers of the county, having farmed for many years about four hundred acres.

Mr. Ensminger was a Republican in politics all his life and actively interested in the welfare of his party. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his father having been a Methodist minister, and he was reared in the faith of that denomination and was a liberal contributor to its support. He was a man of strong convictions, earnest, fearless and frank in his denunciation of what he considered was wrong. He was a man of strong domestic tastes, loving his family and home, and took great enjoyment in pro\'iding for his family. He was a close student and great reader, and a man whom it was a pleasure to meet. His life was well spent and affords a good example for the coming generation of the county. Aaron M. Ensminger, the son who remains on the home farm, is actively engaged in the buying and raising of shorthorn cattle and graded stock.

Charles P. Duncan

Among the younger farmers of Hendricks county, Indiana, who have buih up a comfortable home by their own efforts is Charles P. Duncan, of Liberty township, who was born June 12. 1880, on the farm where he is now living. His parents were William G. and Matilda (Barnes) Duncan. William Duncan was a native of this county, his birth having occurred on June 21, 1843, and his death occurred June 17, 191 1. William Duncan was the son of Charles and Delilah (Blunk) Duncan, and he spent his entire life in this county, with the exception of four years, when he was in the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 in Company A, Thirty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for the three-year service. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and after serving two and one-half years he re-enlisted and served until the end of the war, being mustered out in July, 1865, at Indianapolis. He was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea and took part in all those hard-fought battles and skirmishes which characterized that campaign. He was disabled and sent to the hospital on account of injuries, but recovered sufficiently to rejoin his regiment and be vv-ith them when they were mustered out. Immediately upon the close of the war William Duncan returned to this county and resumed farming. He was a prominent citizen of his township and served on the advisory board for some years. He was a member of the Christian church and a deacon in that denomination on all occasions. He was a strong believer in righteous living and upright conduct in all business affairs.

The wife of William Duncan, Matilda Barnes, was a member of one of the pioneer families of this county. Her family history appears elsewhere in this volume in the sketch of W. D. Barnes, who is a brother of Mrs. Duncan. She is still living in Hazelwood, this county.

Charles P. Duncan spent his boyhood days on the home farm southwest of Hazelwood and received his education in the district schools of his township. He has spent his whole life on the farm where he is now living with the exception of ten years he spent on a rented farm of one hundred and eight acres in Franklin township, this county. He now owns eightv acres, which includes the old farm, and is bringing the farm to a high state of cultivation by his skillful system of crop rotation. After leaving Franklin township, this county, he bought sixteen acres north of his present farm, but sold this in the fall of 1913 before moving to where he now resides.

of Lee and Anna (Kavanus) Skaggs. Lee Skaggs was born in Tennessee, and his wife was a native of Liberty township, this county. -Mr. and Mrs. Skaggs are now Hving at Indianapohs. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan are the parents of five children, Ollan, who died at the age of five years, Lloyd, Chrystine. Pauline and Kathryn Dee.

Mr. Duncan is an active Republican, but has never been identified as an aspirant for any public office. He and his wife are members of the Church of Christ at Hazelwood, and both take an active part in the affairs of their church. Mr. Duncan is a quiet, unassuming man, with a friendly disposition. Because of his high character he is respected by every one with whom he has been associated. He and his wife are the owners of a beautiful home, where thev entertan their many friends with genuine hospitality.

Willlam S. Elmore

Hendricks county is widely known for its beautiful homes, rich, fertile farms, the high state of cultivation to which its land has been brought, and, above all, for the very active, progressive farmers who reside within her borders. These are business men in the best sense of the word - men who work with their hands to produce sustenance for their fellow men, as well as their own immediate families, yet guided by an active intelligence which lifts their toil above drudgery and places them in the front rank of our independent, prominent citizens. In this admirable class of clean-cut, broadminded men, few are better known throughout the county than the subject of our present sketch. Born in Franklin township, he has been ready to grasp the opportunities which lay nearest him, and by his unremitting energy has given to the world a large family of useful citizens and amassed for himself a competence.

William S. Elmore, son of John and Mary (Wood) Elmore, was born October 23, 1864, and received his education in the schools of Franklin township. Here his youth was spent, living near to nature and learning from his father many of the principles of the science of agriculture; and that he has continued to study and put into practice these principles and theories is evidenced by his success as a farmer.

On the 20th day of March, 1887, he was married to Ollie Tharp, a native of Center township, this county, a daughter of Joshua Tharp and wife; and after seven years of residence in the environment of his youth.

he brought his family to Middle township and there purchased his present home, a beautiful, productive, well-kept farm of eighty acres. Nine children have been born to them, as follows: Mabel (Mrs. Sparks), Cecil (who died in infancy), Roy, Gladys, Ova, Jesse, Byron, Charles and Robert.

The father of the subject, John Elmore, is also one of the well known citizens of the county. One of the early pioneers, he has watched with pleasure the changes and improvements which have come to the surrounding country, and now, in his declining years, after a long and fruitful life, he is spending his days "beneath his own vine and fig tree," the homestead where his family has been reared. Finding his greatest happiness in the independent life of the farm, he has spent his days tilling the soil, living near to the heart uf Mother Nature and rearing a large family to perpetuate his name and principles, and revere his memory in the future.

John Elmore was born ^larch ii, 1832, in Monroe county, coming to Hendricks county with his parents, Samuel and Elizabeth Elmore, in 1834, while he was yet a child. They made their permanent home in Franklin township, where they entered land from the government. There John Elmore grew up amid pioneer surroundings, later, however, purchasing a tract of land in Union township, where he has since remained. In the year 1853 he was married to Mary Wood, who was also a native of this state. Six children were born to them, Jerry, Moses, William S., Martha (Warren), Minnie (Montgomery) and Emaline (Foxworthy). In the year 1877 the faithful wife and mother passed away. About two years later he was married to Fanny Elmore, of Kentucky, and to them one child was born, a daughter, Elizabeth, now Mrs. Woodward. Mrs. Elmore died in July, 1912. Mr. Elmore has been a home-loving man. devoting his time to the family, which has carried his influence abroad; but he has also been interested in the various movements for the good of the community which have taken place during his long residence. A stanch Democrat, he has adhered strictly to the principles of his party, active in promulgating the principles of true Democracy at all times, and non- happy in its supremacy. His son William,, like his father, is a firm belie\-er in the teachings of Jefiferson, and has consistently \-oted the Democratic ticket. Fraternally, William is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Pittsboro, and, with his wife and four of his children, is a member of the Christian church of that place.

Personally, the subject of this sketch is genial, broad minded and well informed, a man who holds the confidence of the community at large. Mrs. Elmore, who has been his best friend and most helpful ally in all his un- dertakings, has a charming personahty and is widely known and greatly admired among the young people of the community, many of whom have enjoyed her hospitality. Taking a deep interest in the social, as well as the spiritual life of the church to which she is devoted, she is indeed a worthy helpmate for a prominent citizen.

Robert E. Parker

Middle township, Hendricks count}-, has been especially honored in the character and career of Robert E. Parker, who, in the face of obstacles that would have discouraged and defeated many another, has forged his way to the front by a strong inherent force and well directed intelligence and judgment and who for many years has ranked among the substantial and prominent men of this locality, few having occupied a more honored place in the estimation of his fellow citizens than he. He is a man of public spirit, who, while laboring for his individual advancement, has never neglected his broader duties to the public in general, and his character has been exemplary in all the relations of life.

Robert E. Parker, the son of William G. and Martha (Wells) Parker, was born in Pittsboro, Indiana, in 1863. William Parker was a native of Kentucky and when a small boy came to this county with his parents. Upon reaching manhood he remained on the farm for a time and later engaged in the mercantile business in Pittsboro for a number of years. During the war he bought and shipped mules for the go\-ernment and throughout his whole life he was interested in the buying and selling of stock. In 1872 William Parker moved to Indianapolis, but four years later moved back to Pittsboro. where he remained until his death, January 8, 1877. While he was primarily interested in business ventures of one kind and another, he was, nevertheless, greatly interested in politics and always took a prominent part 'in the affairs of his community. He was trustee of his township for eight years and was always active in Republican politics. Mrs. William Parker was born in North Carolina and came in a wagon to this county with her parents when she was a small girl. She is still living in Pittsboro. Mr. and Mrs. William Parker reared a family of nine children: Mrs. Mary E. Lewis; Loyd; Wilson; Jennie, deceased; Robert E., whose history is herein presented; William; Ruth, deceased, and two who died in infancy.

Indianapolis, a part of the time in Indianapolis, while his parents were living there from 1872 to 1876, and later in Pittsboro. Upon the death of his father in 1877, he went on to the home farm, where he has resided since. In addition to his general farming, he also raises hogs and good road horses, which he finds a very successful and lucrative part of his farming.

Mr. Parker was married August 21, 1890, to Mary E. Dillon, a native of Middle township, daughter of Luke and Julia (Ashby) Dillon, and to this marriage were born three children, Chester, Margaret, deceased, and Edgar. On January 22, 1905, Mr. Parker was married to Cora Keeney, the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Bursott) Keeney. Charles Keeney is a native of Montgomery county, Indiana, and now lives with his son-inlaw, Mr. Parker. He owns a farm in Raintown. Mrs. Keeney was a nati\'e of Kentucky and died in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Keeney had eight children: Mrs. Sarah J. Money, David D., Mrs. Olive Ann Ellis, Cora (the wife of Mr. Parker), Orin F., George, and two who died in infancy.

Mr. Parker takes a keen interest in politics and has been identified with the Republican party since he was able to cast his first ballot. He has never been tempted to make the race for any ofifice, being content to devote his time to his agricultural interests. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and is a devout member of the Christian church, in which he has been a deacon for many )-ears. ]\Irs. Parker is a member of the Baptist church. His earnest labors and honest dealings with his fellow men have resulted in a large measure of success in a material way, and at the same time he has won the confidence and admiration of his neighbors and fellow men.

Charles Everett Kesler

The prosperity of a town depends in large measure upon the activity and aggressiveness of its business men, and Pittsboro, in this respect, is to be congratulated upon the progressive, energetic spirit shown by her merchants. Among these few, if any, are more widely known throughout the district nor more highly respected than the man who supplies the hardware, tools and farming implements of various kinds used in the surrounding country.

Charles Everett Kesler, the leading hardware dealer of this place, was born April 7. 1881, on a farm near Danville, Hendricks county. He is truly a son of the county, both parents, John C. and Sarah (Pierson) Kes- ler, being also native to the place. Here they both spent their childhood and youth, receiving their schooling in the township schools; both trained to the free, natural life of the farm, finding not only their work but their pleasure also in compelling the good earth to yield her abundance for the sustenance of themselves and their family. Congenial in their tastes, both were content to remain in the home of their childhood and youth until, in 1908, they were separated by the death of the faithful wife. Five children were born to them, as follows: Nettie (Dinsmore), deceased; Myrtle (Woods); Novella; Ernest, deceased also; and Charles Everett, the subject of this article.

Charles Everett Kesler was married October 11, 1900, to Lucena Dinsmore, daughter of William Frank and Rachel (Holmes) Dinsmore. Two sons have come to them to brighten their home. Floyd Eugene and Harrold Glenn. Mrs. Kesler was born and reared in Boone county, as were also both her parents, who are still residing in that place, being well known and generally respected. Mr. Dinsmore is the holder of eighty acres of well cultivated, productive land, and by his industry, thrift and intelligent management of this farm, together with the never failing assistance of his faithful helpmate, he reared a large family and laid up for his declining years a competence. Fourteen children have been born to them: Jacob, Eliza (Ragsdale), John. Charity (Bailifif), Mary ("Linton), Dora (Griggs), Marion, Delia (Wiley), Lucena (Kesler), Artie, and four others whom death has claimed, two of them in infancy.

Mr. Kesler spent his boyhood days upon the farm with his father, receiving his elementary education in the township school and later attending the high school of Pittsboro. Here he remained until his marriage, when he left the farm and entered the grocery business at New Ross. After two years in this place, he sold the grocery and spent a year at Advance as proprietor of a livery barn. Disposing of this, he returned to Pittsboro, continuing in the livery business, however, for two years more. Following this, he was owner of a restaurant for a year, after which he acquired his present thriving establishment. His varied experiences in the business world and his wide acquaintance throughout the county have proven valuable assets in this field, and his genial manner and shrewd business acumen have been large factors in its upbuilding. Hence, after five years as an active, energetic dealer in hardware and implements, we find him crowned with success in business, the possessor of hosts of friends and enjoying to the fullest the confidence and respect of his fellow men.

However, his activities have not been confined solely to the upbuilding of his financial success, for he is interested in several fraternal orders, being a member of the Knights of Pythias at Brownsburg; the Red Men at Advance, and the Haymakers. He is affiliated with the Republican party and is a strong advocate of its doctrines, and, while not a member of any church, is in sympathy with the Baptist church of Pittslioro, where his wife is a member.

George D. Junken

That life is the most commendable that results in the greatest good to the greatest number, and of the thousands of occupations which are open to the citizens of the United States today, there is no one in which there is a better chance to help mankind than in the profession of teaching. It is not necessary that one have a college education, a fine brick building and a well stocked library in order to make a successful teacher. What is essential is that natural sympathy and tact which always characterizes the most successful teachers. In the record of George D. Junken, of Hendricks county, we have the life history of a man who has spent thirty-five years of the best part of his life instructing the youths of his county, and during all of those years he has tried to instill the right principles, aim and ideals into his pupils. His actions have always been the result of careful, conscientious thought, and. once convinced that he is right, no suggestion of policy or personal profit could swerve him from the course on which he had decided.

George D. Junken, who is now living retired at Pittsboro, this county, was born in Middle township November 8, 1850. His parents were David A. and Margaret (Banner) Junken. David A. Junken was born December 2^, 1825, in Wayne county, Indiana, and lived there until his marriage. He and the girl whom he had selected for his wife added to the gaiety of the country in 1847 by being married on July 4th of that year, and immediately after the ceremony mounted their horses and took their honeymoon trip through the dense forests and along the blazed trails to this state, and after a short time in Rush county, they settled in Middle township, this county. David's father had been here before this time and had entered about twelve hundred acres for his children near Pittsboro. so that the C45) young bridal couple already had a farm to settle upon when they reached their destination. David was a blacksmith and a mechanic of more than ordinary ability and followed this trade in Pittsboro for the first fifteen years after coming to this county. He then went onto the farm and continued to farm until 1883, when he went into the hardware and grocery business at Pittsboro. Eight years later he sold out a successful business and retired from active life. He built the fine brick business block where his store was established. He had commenced in a rented brick building, which burned down two years after he went in business, and then he built the brick building which is still standing in Pittsboro. About two years after he sold out the store he went blind, but suffered his terrible affliction patiently until the end. He died March 18, 1907, and his wife two years later. Both of them were consistent and devoted members of the Christian church and he was a member of the Masonic order. Mr. and Mrs. David Junken reared a family of seven children : James, who died in infancy, George D., Joseph M., William N., Oliver P., Alonzo Frank, and one who died in infancy.

George D. Junken spent his boyhood days in Middle township and received his education in the township and high school at Brownsburg. Later he began teaching in 1870 and for the next thirty-three years taught in Middle and Brown townships, teaching his last year in 1905. During this long service in the school room, he taught the children of some of the children who had gone to him in his earlier years of teaching.

For the past eight years he has done the assessing and gathering of statistics of his township, and knows his township most thoroughly. Probably he could describe every piece of land from memory, and tell the owners thereof. His work was said by the county board to be the most accurate, and his records kept the best, of any assessment records in the county.

Mr. Junken is a member of Pittsboro Lodge No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Danville Chapter No. 46, Royal Arch Masons, and has been a life-long Republican, although, due to the nature of his profession, he has never taken an active interest in politics. He and his wife are both members of the Christian church at Pittsboro and he has been an elder in the church for the past twenty years. He has often been called on to conduct the services at funerals, knows the people thoroughly, and for years past has written the obituaries of most of those who have died in his community.

Liitie J. Worrell. Mr. Junken is a quiet, unassuming man and no one in the township has a higher standing in every way than he. His influence has always been cast in favor of all worthy enterprises and measures, and everything which he has done has been directed toward the betterment of his community.

James Malrey Leak

A half century ago, more than two hundred thousand of Indiana's young men, strong and active in body, exulting in their young manhood, offered themselves for their countr)''s service, and of these many thousands who went from Indiana there are today but few left and these few are old men who have long ago passed their meridian and are now looking eagerly forward to the time when they will answer the last roll call. The soldiers who fought so bravely in the Civil War soon will all have passed to another world, but so long as this nation shall endure, their memory will be revered high above other men. Hendricks county sent many brave young men to the front, but no man fought more valiantly than James M. Leak, who, through four long years of hard service, participated in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. Although he was twice wounded before his four years' enlistment was up, yet such was his courage and patriotism that he re-enlisted in February, 1865, as a substitute and served until his final discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1865.

James Malrey Leak, a distinguished veteran of the Civil War and one of Hendricks county's best loved citizens, was born October 20, 1841, in Bracken county, Kentucky. His parents were Louis and Elizabeth Leak, who were both natives of Kentucky. Louis Leak was born in Kentuck}' in 1808, grew to manhood and was married there before coming to this county. Early in the history of this county he and his family entered eighty acres in Union township, north of Lizton, where he farmed until his death. He was a public-spirited citizen and was township trustee for several terms. He and his wife were both members of the Christian church. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Leak were the parents of nine children : Mrs. Susan Jane Runnels, who died in 1859; David V., who married Julia Ann Waters and died September 4, 1912; Belle, deceased, the wife of Allen Hayden; John Robert, deceased ; James Malrey, whose career is herein set forth ; Francis Marion, born January 15, 1843, and died in April, 1903; William M., of MisyoS HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.

James Malrey Leak grew to manhood on the old home farm and when twenty years of age enlisted for service under his country's flag. He was mustered into Company H, Seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for three years, in August, 1861, and was first assigned to the Army of the West, but later transferred to the East and his regiment was made a part of the Army of the Potomac. While serving in Virginia he was twice wounded in battle, first at Fairfax Gap and later at Spotsylvania Court House. At Louisville, Kentucky, at the end of his three years' enlistment, he re-enlisted in February, 1865, as a substitute for a man who was drafted in this county. While acting as a substitute, he received five hundred dollars in money and a deed for forty acres of land in Union township. He was finally mustered out August 27. 1865, at Louisville. Kentucky, after having seen four years of service in the midst of the bloodiest civil war which has ever happened in the history of the world.

Immediately after his discharge, Mr. Leak returned to this county and commenced farming in Union township. He was married August 6, 1865, to Mary Dickey, who died November 9, 1872, leaving one daughter, Vada. Vada married John A. Leak, whose history is delineated elsewhere in this volume. James M. Leak was married a second time to Margaret (Davidson) Winters, who died February 15, 1899. There were two children born to this second marriage, Eva, who died December 24. 1887, and Omer, a farmer of this township, who married Bessie Walter, having one daughter, Lurene. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Leak was married to jNIrs. Frances (Gott) Hedge.

Mr. Leak continued in active service on the farm until December, 1905, when he retired from the farm and moved to Lizton. Politically, Mr. Leak is a Republican of the progressive type, and has been voting the Republican ticket ever since the days of Abraham Lincoln. While he has always taken an intelligent interest in politics, he has never been a seeker after political preferments. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Lizton. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and he is a deacon in that denomination. He is a man who is always willing to help those in distress and has lived a life of a quiet, unostentatious farmer ever since the day he returned from the battle field of the sixties. He is an ideal citizen in every respect and is highly honored and respected by every one in the community.

Chester Alvin Weaver

It is generally considered by those in 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 the historian or the cheers and the appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake was never made. No man is great in all things. Many by a lucky stroke achieve lasting fame who before that had no reputation beyond the limits of their immediate neighborhoods. It is not a history of the lucky stroke which benefits humanity most, but the long study and effort which made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the method, that !;erves as a guide for the success of others. Among those in Monroe county who have achieved success along steady lines of action is the subject of this sketch.

Chester Alvin Weaver, former merchant of Pittsboro and now one of the leading farmers of Middle township, was born in Pittsboro, Indiana, December 7, 1867. He is the son of Amos C. and Marian (Wills) Weaver. Amos Weaver is also a native of this township and is now living retired in Indianapolis. He formerly operated a drug store at Pittsboro for five years, afterwards he built a store building and engaged in the dry-goods business in 1872, continuing this for the next thirty years. Mrs. Amos C. Weaver was also a native of this county and is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Amos Weaver are the parents of five children, Hollis, Chester Alvin, Mrs. Grace Wood, Urban and Mrs. Francis Kyle.

Chester Alvin Weaver received his early education in the Pittsboro rchools. Upon reaching his maturity he went into his father's store. In 1887 his father sold out to his sons and they continued to operate the store for the next ten years. In 1897 Chester Alvin bought out the interest of his brothers and managed the store himself until 1905, continued to live in Pittsboro three years after selling the store and then bought a farm 01 one hundred and sixty acres, one mile northeast of Pittsboro, where he is now residing. He handles a great deal of stock, buying and selling all the time. He also makes a specialty of raising chickens and turkeys, and has his farm improved in such a way as to net him the largest maximum income annually. While he was prosperous as a business man, he is no less successful in the agricultural field, and is rapidly forging to the front as one of the leading farmers of the township.

daughter of Luke and Julia (Ashby) Dillon. Luke Dillon, a native of Kentucky, and a Union soldier, came to this county immediately after the war and settled in Middle township about one and one-half miles west of Pittsboro. He dealt a great deal in real estate. He returned to Hillsboro, Kentucky, about 1900, where he is still living. Airs. Dillon was also a {native of Kentucky, and died in 1S97. Mr. and Mrs. Dillon were the parents of nine children: Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Parker, deceased; Edwin; Nellie, the wife of Mr. Weaver; Thomas L. ; Mrs. Daise Buergelin; Mrs. Margaret Leachman; Mrs. Emma Biggs; Mrs. Lora Duntington and Mrs. Ruth Pavey. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have a daughter, Frances, and a son, Marvin. Mr. Weaver is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Owing to the nature of his business he has never taken an active part in politics, although he now takes more interest in public affairs than ever before. He is a member of the new Progressive party and beliexes in the principles which are advocated by the leaders of this party. He and his family are members of the Christian church, to which they give freely of their means. Mr. Weaver is a farmer who has gone into this profession simply because he likes it and enjoys the life which is the lot of the farmer. He is a man of excellent judgment, good business discrimination and one who is thoroughly honest and upright in all of his dealings. In his county he represents the Home, Hartford and Phoenix fire insurance companies and does a large amount of business throughout the county. Mr. Weaver is widely acquainted and numbers his friends everywhere throughout the county.

Calvin Warrick

As a farmer, public official, soldier or private citizen, Calvin Warrick was always true to himself and his fellow men, and the tongue of calumny has never touched him. As a soldier he proved his loyalty to the government he loved so well on the long and tiresome marches in all kinds of situations, on the tented field and amid the flame and smoke of battle, where the rattle of the musketry, mingled with the terrible concussion of the bursting shell and the deep diapason of the cannon's roar, made up the awful chorus of death. To such as he the country is under a debt of gratitude which it can not repay and in centuries yet to be posterity will commemorate their chivalry in fitting eulogy and tell their deeds in story and in song.

Calvin Warrick, a distinguished veteran of the Civil War and a prosperous farmer of Middle township, was born in Rush county, Indiana, October 19, 1840. His parents were Edward H. and Ruth (Whiteman) Warrick. Edward Warrick was a native of Delaware and a school teacher in his young days, and taught in Rush county before moving to Hendricks county. He came to this county when Calvin was about four years of age and bought eighty acres two miles north of Brownsburg, which he farmed until 1858. He then sold it and made a prospecting trip through the West, but decided that Indiana was good enough for him, and returned to Hendricks county where he bought two hundred acres in Middle township. He lived on this farm until his death, October 30, 1864. Mrs. Edward Warrick was a native of Virginia and died in Nebraska in December, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Warrick were the parents of eight children : Samuel, who died in 1912, Mrs. Ann Crawford, Calvin, Amos, Mrs. Esther E. Hale, Mrs. Mary Jane Job, Mrs. Harriet Talbott, and Mrs Madora Towell.

Calvin Warrick was given a good education under the tutelage of his father and grew to manhood on the farm in this county, with the exception of a year or so spent in the West. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted, on September 14, 1861, in Company B, Seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac and he participated in all of the engagements in which his regiment participated, and was mustered out December 20, 1864.

On December 14th of the same year Mr. Warrick was married to Evaline Smith, the daughter of Joel and Susan Smith. Joel Smith was a native of Kentucky, as was his wife, and after their marriage they came to this county and entered two hundred acres near Brownsburg, where they lived until their deaths. He died in 1863 and she seven years later. Mr. and Mrs. Joel Smith were the parents of eleven children: William Jackson; Benjamin Thomas; Mrs. Almanda Rupp; Mrs. Xancy Susan Wells; Levi; Alfred, deceased; America; Lucinda, deceased; Evaline, the wife of Mr. Warrick ; Mrs. Henrietta Ward and Mrs. Mary Ann Hughes. Mr. and Mrs. Warrick have five children, all of whom are living, Shiles M., William E., Oliver C, Edward H. and Mary May. Mary May married Fred Parker, who farmed a part of Mr. Warrick's farm.

Mr. Warrick has farmed in this county since he was sixteen years of age, with the exception of the four years which he spent in the war. When a boy he had to walk two miles to school and incidentally had to perform all of those chores which the boys of his day had to perform each day. In addition to his general farming he has always handled a great deal of live stock, especially cattle. He always kept a high-class grade of shorthorn cattle.

Mr. Warrick is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Free and Accepted Masons at Pittsboro. He has been a life-long Republican, and was old enough to cast his first vote for the second election of Lincoln in 1864. At the close of the war he served two years as assessor of Middle township and at one time made a strong race for nomination for county auditor. As a rule, however, he has never taken an active interest in politics generally, preferring to devote his energies to his agricultural affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Warrick are both members of the Baptist church and contribute generously to its support. He is a keen business man, unassuming in manner and a good friend who is always glad to help any one in distress.

Francis Fi. Hall

The character of a community is determined largely by the li\-es of a comparatively few of its members. If its moral and intellectual status be good, if in a social way it is a pleasant place in which to reside, if its reputation for the integrity of its citizens has extended to other localities, it will be found that the standards set by the leading men have been high and their influence such as to mold their characters and shape the lives of those with whom they mingle. In placing the subject of this sketch in the front rank of such men, justice is rendered a biographical fact universally recognized throughout Hendricks county by those at all familiar with his history. Although a quiet and unassuming man, with no ambition for public position or leadership, he has contributed much to the material adx'ancement of the communit}', while his admirable qualities of head and heart and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life ha\'e tended greatly to the moral standing of the circles in which he moves and gi\en him a reputation for integrity and correct conduct such as few achieve.

Francis H. Hall was born in Canfield, Ohio, January 28, 1839. His parents were Solomon and Maria (Austin) Hall, his father being a native of New York state and his mother of Connecticut. Solomon Hall was a carder and fuller by trade and, when a young man, came west and settled in Ohio, where he married. In 1849 he went to Iowa with his family, when Francis H. was about eleven years of age. He remained in Iowa about three years, when he returned to the east. settHng in Wells county. Indiana. After a three years' residence in that county, he remo\-ed to Danville in the spring of 1856. and subsequently moved to Needmore. about five miles west of Danville. A few years later he moved to Groveland. in Putnam county, Indiana, where he engaged in the mercantile business, and there he spent the remainder of his life, death occurring at the age of eighty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Hall were the parents of nine children, five of whom are still living: Mrs. Ella Dooley, who is living in California; Mrs. Sarah J. Blatchley, of Putnam county, Indiana; Chester F.. of Danville; Seldon. of Alexandria. Indiana, and Francis H., of whom this is written.