USA > Indiana > Henry County > Hazzard's history of Henry county, Indiana, 1822-1906, Volume II > Part 76
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One of the most pleasing incidents in the long lives of Mr. and Mrs. Millikan was the observance of their golden wedding, August 5, 1888. This event was celebrated at the home farm in Liberty Township and was attended by more than two hundred relatives and friends. An elaborate dinner was served at six long tables, each accommodating twenty six guests, and each presided over hy one of their six surviving children, Mrs. Thomas Benton Hunt, Mrs. Hamilton Z. Beck, Davault K., Frank M., Thomas Benton and Isaac N. Millikan.
John R. Millikan died September 12, 1895, and his wife, Martha (Koons) Millikan, died June 25, 1900. Both are buried in Batson Cemetery, Liberty Township. He lived some years beyond the allotted three score and ten of man and his loss was most deeply and sincerely mourned by a large circle of relatives, neighbors and friends. The directors of the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle, among others, expressed the sentiment of the community at his loss in the following resolutions:
"Resolved, that in his long career of nearly sixty years spent in the county as mechanic, farmer, business man and bauker, legislator, public spirited citizen, hushand, father, neighbor, friend and Christian gentleman, he has ever been actuated by nohle impulses and has maintained the strictest integrity of purpose and character. Able, hon- est. industrious and sincere, his life has been successful and has earned for him and he has received the respect and love of the entire community. His career is worthy the emulation of old and young. He has walked in virtue's path and his sun has set in peace."
During the Civil War, he was very active in support of the government and was one of the trusted advisers of Governor Morton. In addition to sending his own son to the front, he aided in recruiting for the army and was solicitous of the welfare of the wives and children of those who were serving their country in the ranks. Up to the time of his death his children all resided in the same neighborhood with him which was a source of great consolation and enjoyment to him. It will be noted, too, that up to the present time there have been only two deaths among his children.
Frank m, Millikan
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FRANK M. MILLIKAN. .
( Son. )
Frank M. Millikan, a citizen of Indianapolis, was born December 2, 1851, on his father's farm in Liberty Township, Henry County, Indiana, near New Castle. He is the son of John R. and Martha ( Koons) Millikan, the former of Scotch-Irish and the latter of German descent. Mr. Millikan is fortunate in his ancestry, no race combination pos- sessing in greater degree those elements of brain and brawn which exert a healthy and ennobling influence in solving the problems of life and in elevating the standard of citizenship.
He received his early education in the common schools of Henry County and the academies of New Castle and Spiceland. These institutions were semi-collegiate and had their societies of which he was a member. His aptitude for acquiring knowledge at- tracted the attention of his teachers, and at the early age of seventeen years he was elected to the position of teacher, over one of his then preceptors in the New Castle Academy. He engaged in teaching for several terms, meanwhile working on his father's farm and attending the academies to secure a more thorough education.
While the academy rated lower than the college, young Millikan's business edu- cation made up for every deficiency, besides he had acquired a knowledge of human nature which has contributed greatly to his success in life-something that is not found in the university curriculum, and for wbich no amount of Greek or Latin is a substitute. To read men and fathom their motives is to a certain extent intuitive, but experience adds largely to such acquirements, and in business it is a qualification in the highest de- gree valuable, preventing serious mistakes and often solving most complex problems in human affairs. Mr. Millikan's early ambition was to become a lawyer. He contemplated attending a law school for that purpose, but his business qualifications attracted the at- tention of Thomas S. Lines, ex-representative and treasurer-elect of Henry County, and he became his deputy treasurer, serving in that capacity also under William S. Bedford and Thomas I. Howren, succeeding treasurers, in which position he became well known as prompt in business and courteous in demeanor, qualities of head and heart which the people appreciated, an evidence of which was manifested by the Republicans of Henry County, who nominated him for county treasurer, April 1, 1878, by a large plurality over his competitors, when but twenty six years of age, to which office he was afterwards elected.
Mr. Millikan has always been a staunch Republican. He has worked with unfal- tering zeal for the welfare of his party, and his abilities have been appreciated. In 1884 he was appointed a member of the Republican State Executive Committee, serving in that capacity and as secretary of the Republican State Committee until January, 1898. He was its secretary from July, 1889, to January, 1894, of that period, and was chairman of the executive committee in the great campaign of 1896. He was closely identified with both nominations of President Harrison in the campaigns of 1888 and 1892, and likewise with the nomination and election of William McKinley as president in 1896. In the Republican State Convention of 1896, Mr. Millikan was elected delegate- at-large from Indiana to the St. Louis Convention by a large representative vote, receiv- ing the full delegate vote of twenty eight counties and one half or more of the delegate vote of twenty five other counties, an evidence of popularity and confidence of which, he might feel justly proud; but Mr. Millikan, having chosen business pursuits for his life work, has not sought, by election or appointment, preferment in political life.
In December, 1893, he accepted the responsible position of special loan agent for Indiana of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, which position he still occupies, lending a million or more dollars annually for said company, whose business has prospered in his field until the aggregate of its loans in the State is from five to six millions of dollars. Such facts bear eloquent testimony regarding Mr. Millikan's business qualifications and his fealty to the great institution which he represents.
Mr. Millikan is a man whose superb physique would attract attention anywhere, and bespeaks robust health, incalculable endurance and application to business, and
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these are characteristic attributes of him. He is a member of the Columbia Club of Indianapolis. In social life he responds to all its amenities in a way that makes his beautiful home on North Delaware Street, Indianapolis, the center of elegant refinement.
On September 16, 1874, Mr. Millikan was married to Emma F. Boyd, daughter of William and Hannah (Peed) Boyd, of Henry County. One son, Harry Boyd Millikan, blessed this union, who as a member of the 27th Battery, Indiana Volunteers-old Battery A, of Indianapolis-under Captain Curtis, served his country creditably in the war with Spain, and had a taste of soldier life in Porto Rico. Mrs. Millikan, the mother of Harry, died August 22, 1888. On February 25, 1897, Mr. Millikan married Elma Elliott Barhour, daughter of Evans Elliott, deceased, who was a Mexican War soldier, and who died a merchant, resident at Shelbyville, Indiana.
Honorable and upright in all his dealings, blessed with a competency, Mr. Milli- kan's career has been bright in business as well as in a political way, and socially he and his family stand deservedly high, having many friends throughout the State and country. He has proved himself a worthy and influential citizen in all respects, and being yet comparatively a young man, has before him a future in which still further to emulate those attributes of character which make one esteemed and honored by one's neighbors and fellow_ citizens.
He is a member of Crescens Lodge, Number 33, Knights of Pythias, New Castle, Indiana, it being a matter of pride with him to keep his membership in his old home lodge, and was a trustee of the lodge from 1884 until he took up his legal residence in Indianapolis. While serving as a trustee the financial condition of the lodge, largely through his efforts, improved to such an extent that the order undertook the construc- tion of and completed its magnificent building in New Castle. From the foregoing it will be seen that Mr. Millikan's business and political associations in the Capital City date back nearly twenty years, yet he did not give up New Castle and make his legal residence in Indianapolis until 1897, soon after his second marriage. A sketch is appended to this article relating to Emma Florence (Boyd) Millikan and her ancestry. Also appended is a sketch of their son, Harry Boyd Millikan.
THOMAS BENTON MILLIKAN.
( Son.)
Thomas Benton Millikan, the fourth son of John R. and Martha (Koons) Millikan, was born on his father's farm in Liberty Township, Henry County, Indiana, March 28, 1854. He was reared on the farm and as a boy did his proper share of the farm work. He obtained his early education in the common or district school and afterwards attended the public schools of New Castle, at the time they were under the efficient direction of Professor George W. Hufford, now of Indianapolis, and for many years a teacher in the Shortridge High School of that city. Mr. Millikan also attended the Holbrook Normal School at Lebauon, Ohio. His school days ended in 1874 and in Septemher of that year, he entered the service of the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle, as assistant cashier.
In 1891, when James N. Huston, of Connersville, Indiana, resigned the treasurer- ship of the United States and Enos H. Nebeker, of Covington, Indiana, was appointed to succeed him, the latter selected Thomas B. Millikan as his representative to count with others the cash in the United States Treasury, preliminary to the transfer of the office to Mr. Nebeker. This selection was highly complimentary to Mr. Millikan, who accepted the trust and spent the time from May 20 to July 1, 1891, in Washington, D. C., ascertaining the balance in the treasury and during that period handled funds or their equivalent, amounting to over $614,000,000.
From 1894 to 1902, both inclusive, he served as the State Bank Examiner of Indiana, an office, the duties of which are very onerous and responsible, involving a complete examination into the condition of each of the several State banks. Mr. Millikan discharged the duties of this position with such signal ability that during his eight years' incumbency only one or two such institutions of the State failed in business.
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Mr. Millikan's long familiarity with the banking business was very useful to him as State Bank Examiner and as the personal representative of Mr. Nebeker in taking over the funds of the United States Treasury. While making these several incursions into other fields, he retained his position with the Citizens' State Bank and counts thirty two years of continuous service with that institution, during all of which time he has been associated with Mr. David W. Kinsey, the cashier of the bank. It means a great deal to be thus identified for so many years with a single business, especially when it is a hank. The continued trust and confidence of the stockholders and deposi- tors and the esteem of the general public have been uniformly extended to him during that long period of time and his best years have been freely given to the growth and prosperity of that institution. He has never lost an opportunity to advance its interests and is entitled to no small measure of credit for the popularity which the bank enjoys.
Aside from his duties as a banker, which ordinarily absorb the energy of the individual engaged in that pursuit, his life has been a busy one. He is a man of posi- tive character and has made his influence felt not only within the boundaries of his home county but throughout the State. He is animated by a laudable ambition for the "widest public usefulness and his motto has always been, "do something all the time." He is a man of even temper and calm and deliberate in his actions, with a pleasing deportment which enables him to smooth over the rough places and to avoid unpleasant antagonisms.
Ever since attaining his majority, he has been a member of the Republican party and very active in support of the party principles and policies. In the Republican State Convention of 1902, he was a prominent candidate for the nomination of Treas- urer of the State of Indiana. There were four candidates for this position and though Mr. Millikan was unsuccessful in his candidacy, he stood next in order on the ballot to the winner of the nomination. He has been for twenty two years continuously a member of the Henry County Republican Central Committee. He is still comparatively a young man and with his assured standing in financial and political circles, his future career hids fair to equal, if it does not surpass, that of any of his contemporaries. He is an attendant upon the services of the Christian Church and is a member of the fraternal orders, belonging to Crescens Lodge, Number 33, Knights of Pythias, of which he served for several years as trustee; he is also a member of Iroquois Tribe, Number 97, Improved Order of Red Men, and of New Castle Lodge, Number 484, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
On October 26, 1877, Thomas Benton Millikan and Alice, daughter of the late James C. and Martha Jane (Boyd) Peed, were united in marriage, the ceremony being per- formed by Elder William J. Howe, of the Christian Church. James C. Peed was the son of the late well known James Peed, and Martha Jane (Boyd) Peed was the daughter of Robert and Narcissa Boyd, old settlers of Liberty Township, Henry County, and a sister of James M. Boyd, now on the staff of the rural route carriers, with headquarters at New Castle.
Thomas B. and Alice (Peed) Millikan were the parents of three children, namely: John R., born September 8, 1884, who is now an employe of the Citizens' State Bank of New Castle; Louise, born April 5, 1892; and Martha Janet, born March 10, 1897; the daughters are each accomplished far beyond their years and are possessed of delightful dispositions, happy amid their pleasant surroundings and the pride of their father, who since the death of their mother has given to them and to their education his loving and devoted attention. They are admired and beloved by all who know them.
Alice (Peed) Millikan, his heloved wife, died July 25, 1902. She joined the Flatrock Christian Church in 1870. She was educated in the country schools of Liberty Town- ship and in the New Castle High School. In 1874-5 she taught school in the Boyd school house in Liberty Township. She was a woman of high character but of a do- mestic disposition and was wrapped up in the happiness of her family; and when the light of her life went out, grief and sorrow filled the household; she too rests in that most beautiful of rural cities of the dead, Batson Cemetery, where, with but one or two exceptions, all of the dead of the Millikan family are buried. Further reference might be made to the Peed family and to the ancestry of Mrs. Alice (Peed) Millikan, but as the
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civil history of Liberty Township can never be properly considered nor written withont extended notice of the Peed and Boyd families, further reference to them is not made here.
ANCESTRY OF EMMA FLORENCE (BOYD) MILLIKAN.
The Boyd family came originally from Mason County, Kentucky, at an early day and settled in Wayne County, Indiana, near the village of Jacksonburg. The head of the family in Wayne County was Samuel Boyd, who was the father of five sons and six daughters. One of the sons was named Robert, born October 24, 1798, who moved from Wayne to Henry County in 1826, prior to which time he was married in the former county to Narcissa Stevenson. He located in Liberty Township, Henry County, six miles southeast of New Castle, which locality has ever since been known and recognized as the Boyd neighborhood. It was here that Robert Boyd and his estimable wife, Nar- cissa (Stevenson) Boyd, born November 1, 1796, lived until their respective deaths. Robert Boyd died February 22, 1853, and his wife died October 20, 1885. Both are buried in the Batson Cemetery. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. One son, Alcander, died in infancy. The other children were William L., James M., Martha Jane, afterward wife of James C. Peed; Louisa, who after the death of her sister, Martha Jane, married her husband, James C. Peed; and Mary, who married Henry T. Bond, of Wayne County. All of the above named are dead, except Henry T. Bond, who still resides in Wayne County, near Jacksonburg, and James M. Boyd, who is now a resident of New Castle, and connected with the rural route mail service.
William L. Boyd, eldest of Robert and Narcissa (Stevenson) Boyd's children, was born March 12, 1822, and was married first to Hannah Ann, daughter of the late well known James Peed, father of Evan H. Peed, of New Castle, August 18, 1846. They were the parents of Emma Florence Boyd, who subsequently became the wife of Frank M. Millikan. She was born at the farm home east of New Castle, October 18, 1850, and died at her home in New Castle, August 22, 1888. Her mother, Hannah Ann (Peed) Boyd, died October 28, 1852, when Emma was but two years of age. Frank M. Millikan and Emma F. Boyd were married September 16, 1874, and to them was born one son. Harry B., now a resident of Indianapolis. Following the death of his first wife, Wil- liam L. Boyd was again married, his second wife being Martha J. Hixson, of Daviess County, Indiana. She died and he subsequently married Harriet A. Carter, of Henry County, January 31, 1865. The latter still survives her husband, who died August 12, 1898, and she now resides at her well appointed home on South Twelfth Street, New Castle. William L. Boyd, aside from his daughter, Emma Florence (Boyd) Millikan, was the father of Augustus, born November 20, 1848; Gertrude, born November 1, 1856, now Mrs. Davault K. Millikan; Anna Martha, born November 23, 1862; Lynn C., born April 7. 1868: Horace W., born May 22, 1870; and Walter H., born February 16, 1882. All of the foregoing children are now living in New Castle, except Augustus, who resides in Columbus, Indiana, and Walter H., who resides on the old home farm in Liberty Township. In private as well as public life, William L. Boyd was the ideal citizen. He was a model farmer and public spirited man. When called upon to serve the people in an official capacity, he discharged the duties appertaining to the office with the same fidelity and zeal as characterized his whole life. He was one of Nature's noblemen every day in the year. Among the public duties he performed, were those of a member of the board of county commissioners, as is shown by the register of Henry County officials elsewhere in this History, and during the Civil War, he was military agent for Liberty Township, a highly important position.
Too much cannot be said in praise of the sweet, gentle and saintly character of Emma Florence (Boyd) Millikan. Deprived of a mother's love and protection at an early age, the great responsibilities of caring for her father's household, on the death of his second wife, devolved upon her when she was twelve years old, but with a brave heart she took vp the duties and carried forward the work in all of its departments with skill beyond her years. She was the light and life of the household and her young womanhood was crowned with deeds of love and labor performed for those near and
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dear to her. In the few brief years of wifehood and motherhood that were allotted ber, she was all in all, so that when Death claimed her, it was hard, indeed, for those who loved her so to realize that her bright smile and cheery words and loving kindnesses were gone from their lives forever, and as was said by one of the members of the Woman's Working Society of the Christian Church, of which she was a devoted mem- ber, "the voice of one of our sweetest singers is hushed to earth's music. Her remains as well as those of all of the above who are deceased are buried in the Batson Cemetery.
In September, 1867, she united with the Christian Church at Flatrock and after her marriage and removal to New Castle she was an attendant and supporter of the same denomination there and a loyal member of its societies but until her death she retained her membership with the Flatrock church with which she first pledged her faith to God.
In 1868-9 she attended the New Castle Academy, then under the direction of that well remembered educator, the Reverend Henry M. Shockley. In 1870-1 she taught in the New Castle Academy when Professor George W. Hufford, now of Indianapolis, was principal. In the Winter of 1871-2 and again in 1872-3, she taught school at Millville, in Liberty Township, being associated as teacher in the school for both terms with her fu- ture husband, Frank M. Millikan. In the Summer of 1872, she taught a private or sub- scription school at Millville. Prior to the winter school at Millville, in 1871-2, she taught two subscription schools in her home neighborhood at the old Devon church.
No woman ever lived in Henry County who left a wider circle of friends than Emma Florence (Boyd) Millikan. To know her was to love her.
HARRY BOYD MILLIKAN.
( Grandson.) -
Harry Boyd Millikan, son of Frank M. and Emma (Boyd) Millikan, was born in New Castle, Indiana, June 28, 1875. After reaching school age, he began his education in the public schools of New Castle. His mother died August 22, 1888, and Harry resided with his cousin, Clay C. Hunt, for about two years, and then with his grandfather, John R. Millikan, still continuing his studies in the public school until the Fall of 1894, when he entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, where he remained during two collegiate years, at the expiration of which he joined his father in Indianapolis, the latter having taken up legal residence there in 1897. Young Millikan at once began a business career and was appointed to the responsible position of general agent of the National Surety Company of New York for the State of Indiana in August, 1897, and was the first general agent that company had in this State. Early in 1898 he joined the Indiana Militia and became a private in Battery A of the Indiana National Guard. When the Spanish-American War began, this battery became the 27th Indiana Battery of Light Artillery, U. S. V., of which James B. Curtis, of Indianapolis, formerly speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, was the captain. Briefly the history 0. this battery is as follows:
The 27th Battery of Light Artillery, Indiana Volunteers, was Battery A, 1st Artillery, Indiana National Guard. The battery arrived at Camp Mount, Indianapolis, April 26, 1898, under orders from the Governor, for the purpose of being mustered into the service of the United States. After the officers and men had undergone the physical examination necessary, they were mustered into the volunteer service on May 10, 1898. The date of enrollment of officers and men was April 26, 1898, the day they were ordered to Camp Mount. They left Indianapolis, May 15, and proceeded to Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park, Georgia, arriving there May 17. At Camp Thomas the battery was assigned to a brigade of artillery consisting of eleven batteries commanded by General Williston, U. S. V. They left Camp Thomas, July 24, arrived at Newport News, Vir- ginia, and embarked for Porto Rico, July 28, arriving at Arroyo, Porto Rico, August 4; marched to Guayma, Porto Rico, August 11, and were on the firing line on the San Juan road when news of the peace protocol having been signed was received. They marched to Ponce, Porto Rico, August 28, and embarked for the United States Sep- tember 7, reached New York, September 15, and traveled by rail to Indianapolis, reach-
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ing there September 17 under orders for muster out. The battery was furloughed for two months on September 23 and was finally mustered out and discharged November 25, 1898.
At Newport News, Private Millikan was detached and joined the United States warship St. Paul, under Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, who commanded the Maine when that vessel was blown up in the harbor at Havana, Cuba. The St. Paul landed at Arroyo, Porto Rico, arriving there two days in advance of the transport bearing the 27th Battery, which private Millikan rejoined about August 5, and remained in Porto Rico with the battery until September, 1898, when the Spanish-American war being practically ended, the battery was ordered to Indianapolis, as above stated, and private Millikan was given an honorable discharge September 22, 1898, his discharge being endorsed under the head of remarks, "service honest and faithful," by order of the Secretary of War. Private Millikan did not take advantage of the two months furlough allowed before final muster out of the battery, but received his discharge in order that he might return to business pursuits. The statement published on page 678 of this History in connection with the Spanish-American war, that private Millikan was dis- charged on account of disability is an error, as he passed a perfect physical examination both at muster in and muster out.
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