History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 61

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 61

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Mr. Cox is a man of great influence in his community, and he and his wife are recognized as leaders in all worthy movements. Both Mr. Cox and his wife are well educated and well read and keep in close touch with the cur- rent problems of the day. It is safe to say that no worthier people are con- tributing to the welfare of Hamilton county, and a history of this county would not be complete without the inclusion of the biographies of this estim- able couple.

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ALBERT E. MENDENHALL.

Among the farmers of Hamilton county, Indiana, who believe in fol- lowing twentieth century methods is Albert E. Mendenhall, of Clay town- ship. He comes of a splendid family, one that has always been strong for right living and industrious habits, for education and morality, and for all that contributes to the welfare of the commonwealth. Such people are wel- comed in any community, for they are empire builders, and as such have pushed the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving the green, wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beautiful with green fields; they have constituted that sterling horde which caused the great Bishop Whipple to write the memorable line, "Westward the course of empire takes its way."

Albert E. Mendenhall, the son of Richard C. and Marris (Wilkinson) Mendenhall, was born August 27, 1863, east of Carmel, in this county. Rich- ard C. Mendenhall was born in Delaware township, of this county, on the banks of Cool creek, October 7, 1831. He was the son of Benjamin and Mary (Campbell) Mendenhall. Marris Wilkinson, the wife of Richard C. Mendenhall, was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (West) Wilkin- son, natives of North Carolina and early settlers of Hamilton county, where Marris was born. The history of Mary Sanders, found elsewhere in this volume, gives more details of the Wilkinson family history.

The Mendenhall family originally came from Wales. The great-great- grandfather of Albert E. Mendenhall was John Mendenhall, and lived all of his life in Wales. He had three sons who emigrated to North Carolina before the Revolution, namely: John, William and Richard. Richard Men- denhall married Sarah E. Harris, the daughter of Obediah Harris. Soon after his marriage he went to Green county, Ohio, where he entered govern- ment land and improved one hundred and sixty acres. Later Richard Men- denhall came to Hamilton county where he improved a fine farm of two hun- dred and forty acres. He made his home in this county until his death, at the age of eighty-four. He was a member of the Friends church and a Whig in politics. His wife survived him only a few months, passing away at the age of eighty-three. They were the parents of five children: Ben- jamin, the grandfather of Albert E., who history is related in this con- nection ; Obediah, Ira, David and James.

Benjamin Mendenhall studied surveying in his youth and afterwards managed a linseed-oil mill in Ohio. In Ohio, Benjamin Mendenhall married

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Mary Campbell, a native of South Carolina and the daughter of Ralph C. and Sarah ( Haskett) Campbell, natives of Scotland. After living for twenty years in Greene county, Ohio, Mr. Mendenhall and his family came to Hamil- ton county in 1826 and made the first settlement on Cool creek, where he entered two hundred and thirty acres of land. He built the first saw mill in Delaware township, and for some time lumber was hauled from his saw mill as far as Noblesville and Indianapolis. He was the organizer of the Richland Friends' church, and was a strong Whig in politics. He had just made arrangements to build a linseed-oil mill when he died, in September, 1833, before it was completed. His wife passed away in 1868 at the age of seventy-two. They were the parents of eight children : Zebulon, Ira, Lydia, who married Thomas Hazel; Rebecca, the wife of Hinchman Haynes; Sarah, the wife of William Haynes; Carrie, Elizabeth, the wife of I. W. Stanton, and Richard C., the father of Albert. E., whose history is subsequently re- lated.

Richard C. Mendenhall was educated in the log school house, and when but a mere child began life for himself. He never had a store suit until he was eighteen years of age, all of his clothes being home spun and home made. For a number of years he worked in a distillery, and drove cattle to Indianapolis at a time when there were only two butcher shops in the city. He was a very trusty and energetic young man and gradually accumulated considerable money. When he was twenty-five he married Marris Wilkin- son, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (West) Wilkinson, and to this marriage were born three children: Sarah, the wife of Milton Cooper, of California ; Charles W., who married Mary Edson, and after her death May Holmes, and Albert E., the immediate subject of this review. The mother of these children died in 1853, and Mr. Mendenhall afterwards married Mrs. Eliza J. Clayton Wies. Mr. Mendenhall was a charter member of Pontius Lodge, No. 63, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at the time of his death in the summer of 1910 was the oldest member of Carmel Lodge. No. 401, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he had filled all the offices.

Albert E. Mendenhall was only a few weeks old when his mother died, and he was reared by his grandmother Wilkinson, with whom he lived until he was eleven years of age. He was then bound out to his great uncle, David Wilkinson, receiving the munificent sum of four dollars per month for his services. From the age of eleven he "paddled his own canoe," performing the hardest kind of manual labor. Necessarily his school career was very short, but he has since acquired a good education by wide reading and close

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observation of men and events. He lived with his uncle until he was seven- teen and then went to work on the Monon railroad and worked there for a year. He then returned to the home of his uncle, where he lived until he was nineteen years of age, at which time he married and bought twenty- eight acres of land one and one-fourth miles east of Carmel, farming it to- gether with land which he rented adjoining his home farm. He lived on this farm for sixteen years and then purchased his present farm of ninety acres three miles southwest of Carmel, and his since resided upon this farm, farm- ing not only it but much more of rented land. He is recognized as an up-to- date farmer, and does not hesitate to adopt the latest agricultural methods. While raising all the grains and fruit to which the soil of this locality is adapted, he has made a specialty of raising live stock for the market. He keeps only thoroughbred stock on his farm, having found by experience that it pays to keep only the best grade.

Mr. Mendenhall was married November 4, 1884, to Nancy J. Hinshaw, who was born October 16, 1863, in Clay township, in this county. She was the daughter of John F. and Mary J. (Cruse) Hinshaw. John Hinshaw, son of Stephen and Julia Elma ( Hoover) Hinshaw, natives of North Caro- lina, was born in Greensboro, in that state, and came to Indiana in the fall of 1830. Stephen Hinshaw was the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Holliday) Hinshaw, and Thomas Hinshaw was born near Castle Bellingham, county of Tyrone, Ireland, and came to this country in 1793. Julia Elma Hoover was the daughter of John and Milicent (Winslow) Hoover. The Win- slows first came to this country in the Mayflower in 1620.

To this first marriage of Albert E. Mendenhall were born four chil- dren, three of whom are still living: Dessie, Nira B., Madge and Ina R. Dessie married Orris Heather and lives in Carmel. They have three chil- dren: Arthelma, Martha and Sarah Ella. Nira B. married Arthur Lewis and lives in La Porte, and has one son, Richard M. Madge married Herbert Talbert and lives in Marion county on a farm. Ina R. died when she was six years of age. The mother of these four children died November 9, 1898. Mr. Mendenhall was married a second time, on September 13, 1904, to Melissa Applegate, a daughter of Thomas J. and Sarah E. (Middleton) Applegate, born September 22, 1872. in the northern part of Marion County, Indiana. Her parents were born in Ohio near Urbana. Thomas Applegate being the son of Ebenezer and Martha ( Richardson) Applegate, also natives of Ohio. The Applegates came to Hamilton county, Indiana, at an early date and entered about five hundred acres of land just east of Carmel. The Applegates are of Irish descent, and the Richardsons trace their ancestry

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back to Colonial times. By her first marriage Mrs. Mendenhall has one son, Earl Applegate, who married Bessie Quick and now lives on the Elliott farm just west of the Mendenhall farm. The Mendenhall family have all been Quakers, while the Applegates are all Methodists.

In politics, Mr. Mendenhall has been a life long Democrat, but has never been a seeker after political honors. The only office which he ever held was that of road supervisor. Fraternally, he is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and also maintains membership in the National Horse Thief Detective Association, an organization which enrolls a large number of farmers in this county. Mr. Mendenhall is essentially a self-made man, having won his present success solely through his own un- aided efforts, and for this reason is highly esteemed by every one who knows him. While he has gained a definite material success he has not been blind to the duties which he owes to his neighborhood at large, and accordingly has heartily given his support to all worthy measures which he thought would in any way benefit his community and his fellow citizens.

DENNIS GARRITY.

In the respect that is accorded to men who have fought their own way to success through unfavorable environment we find an unconscious recogni- tion of the intrinsic worth of a character which can not only endure so rough a test, but gain new strength through the discipline. The gentleman to whom the biographer now calls the reader's attention was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this, by perse- verance. industry and wise economy, he has attained a comfortable station in life. making his influence felt for good in his community in Clay township, Hamilton county, where he has long maintained his home, and because of the honorable career he has known here and also because of the fact that he is numbered among those patriotic sons of the North who assisted in saving the Union's integrity in the dark days of the sixties, he is eminently worthy of a place in this book.

Dennis Garrity, a prosperous farmer of Clay township, this county, was born in Delaware county, Indiana, February 12, 1843, the son of William and Eliza (Casey) Garrity, who were both natives of Ireland, and who came to this country about 1825. William Garrity was a contractor and farmer and when the present Lake Erie & Western railroad was built through Hamilton

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county, he was one of the contractors who helped to grade the right of way through this county. William Garrity and wife were the parents of eight children, Patrick, John, James. Dennis, William, Mary, Elizabeth and one who died in infancy.

When Dennis Garrity was about eight years of age both of his parents died and he was then bound out to a farmer in the neighborhood in accord- ance with the custom of that time. When the Civil War opened he ran away from the farmer with whom he had been living and joined the army, enlisted in Company I, Fifty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which company he served for four years and four months. He took part in all the hard fought battles in which his regiment was engaged until he reached Georgia. At Rome, Georgia, he, with the entire brigade, was taken prisoner by the Confederates and taken to Richmond where he was confined on Belle Isle in the James river. Four months later he was exchanged and then re- joined his company, serving until his final discharge at the close of the war.

Mr. Garrity returned to this state immediately after being mustered out of the service and engaged in farming and teaming. He rented twenty or thirty acres of land and teamed when he was not engaged in tilling his fields. He did this for several years and then bought a farm in Marion county, this state. He only kept this farm one year, when he sold it and purchased a farm in Blackford county, this state, but becoming dissatisfied with this farm, sold it shortly afterwards and returned to Marion county, where he rented a farm. After living here a short time he went to Clay township in Hamilton county, where he purchased fifty-five acres, where he is now living. He has prospered as a farmer and added to his original purchase from time to time until he is now the owner of one hundred and fifteen acres of highly pro- ductive land in Clay township. He is classed among the progressive farmers of his locality and has made a specialty of the raising of registered Chester White hogs, in which line he has been very successful.

Dennis Garrity was married April 10, 1872, to Hannah Williams, the daughter of James and Mary ( Richards) Williams, a native of England, who was born October 28. 1846. The Williams family came to this country when Hannah was five years of age, making the trip in one of the old fashioned sailing vessels, and the voyage to this country occupied six weeks and five days. Mr. Williams had come to the United States the year before his family came in order to look for a suitable home. He was a tailor by trade and first located in Pennsylvania, subsequently moving to Ohio and then to Indiana, where he lived until his death. Mr. and Mrs. James Williams were the parents of nine children, Ann, Elizabeth, James, Hannah, Henry, Amelia,

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Henry, Thomas and William. There were two children by the name of Henry, the first one dying in infancy. Before her marriage to Mr. Garrity, Hannah Williams taught school for six or seven years. To this marriage of Mr. Garrity were born five children, Essie, Mary A., Elizabeth G., Alfred D. and James W. Essie is still at home; Mary A. is the wife of Earl Murphy and lives one and one-half miles northwest of her father's farm, and they are the parents of two sons, Kenneth A. and Myron E .; Elizabeth G. and Alfred D. still live at home with their parents; James W. died in infancy.

In politics, Mr. Garrity is a Republican and while he takes a deep interest in public affairs, has never been an aspirant for any public office. He and his family are earnest members of the Friends church and contribute gener- ously of their means to its support. He has been a close observer and dili- gent student of the progress of the world and has been an important factor in the community where he has lived so many years. He gives his support to all worthy enterprises which he feels will benefit his fellow citizens in any way, and is deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by them.

FREDERICK L. BROWN.

Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages, and -

as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses as well as those of energy and thrift have been patrons of husbandry. The free out-of-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that inde- pendence of mind and self-reliance which characterizes true manhood, and no truer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature, in the healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned states- men and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and were in- debted largely to its early influence for the distinction they attained.

Frederick L. Brown, a prosperous farmer in Clay township, this county, was born May 11, 1864, in Marion county, Indiana. His parents were Leander S. and Rose (Huffman) Brown, both natives of Indiana. Leander S. Brown was born near Plainfield, Indiana, his parents having come from North Carolina, settling in Hendricks county in pioneer times. . Leander S. spent most of his mature life in Marion and Hamilton counties, and died March 28, 1914. His mother died shortly after her son's birth, and conse-

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. quently but little is known of her ancestry. She was the daughter of Jonas and Matilda Huffman, natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers of Marion county, Indiana. When Frederick L. Brown was a small boy his grand- mother told him of the many trials and tribulations which befell the early pioneers of this state. The first cabin of the Huffmans in this state was, of course, made of logs and a door was made of green timber, the logs being hewed with a broad axe. As this door dried it shrank and left a large crack at the bottom. One time when his grandfather had gone to Nobles- ville to the mill his grandmother brought a small calf into the house for fear that the wolves would get into the stable and carry it off. That night the wolves, which were howling around the house, smelled the calf in the house and came up to the door. They stuck their paws in at the crack of the door and. his grandmother and a neighbor woman who stayed with her that night took their axes and chopped the paws of the wolves off.

Frederick L. Brown was one of fourteen children born to his parents, consequently early in life be began to help in the support of the family. He received a good common school education which he has supplemented by wide reading since leaving school. He lived at home until his marriage, in 1884, and then moved on a forty acre farm which he had previously purchased three miles east of Carmel. He and his young wife did not live here very long, selling this farm and buying another where they are now living. The second farm had forty acres in it, and since buying it he has added nineteen acres. In 1894 Mr. Brown built a story and a half house on his farm, and in 1908 he remodeled this, making a splendid and hand- some home of two stories. Mr. Brown has always been a hard working man, and deserves a great deal of credit for the success which he has made in life. He has attained his prosperity solely through his own unaided efforts, and is therefore a type of the highest class of American citizen.

Mr. Brown was married February 9, 1884, to Minnie Bristow, who was born June 15. 1866, in Johnson county, in this state. Her parents, Thomas and Easter (Sells) Bristow, were also natives of Johnson county, and reared a family of three children.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown have an interesting family of twelve children, all of whom are living. The children in the order of their birth are as fol- lows: Frank, Lena, Claude, Ethel, Ina, Goldie, Harry, Walter, Ernest, Bernal, Loren and Hershel. Frank married Ruth Dillehunt and lives in Broad Ripple, Indiana. He is an employe in. the Federal building, in In- dianapolis, in the post office department. Lena is the wife of Samuel Ray- mond and lives in Pennsylvania. Claude is a cutter in the factory of the

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Kahn Tailoring Company, at Indianapolis, and lives there. Ethel married Vernon Gish, a railroad employe, living in St. Louis, Missouri. Ina mar- ried Otis Brattain and lives with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Brattain have one son, Arnold Edwin. The seven youngest children are still living with their parents.

Mr. Brown is a stanch Republican in politics, and is always interested in the success of his party. He has been a road supervisor for eight years in his home township, and has taken a great deal of pride in keeping the roads in this township in excellent condition. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, while his wife holds membership in the Daughters of Rebekah. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are highly respected throughout the community in which they live, and have many warm friends who admire them for their many good qualities of head and heart.

JOHN B. HOSKINS.

All callings, whether humble or exalted, may be productive of some measure of success, if enterprise and industry, coupled with a well directed purpose, form the motive force of the person directing the same, and in no case is this fact more apparent than in agricultural pursuits. It is a well authenticated fact that success comes as the result of legitimate and well ap- plied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance as well as the above enumerated qualities. When a course of action is once decided upon these attributes are essential. Success is never known to smile upon the idler or dreamer and she never courts the loafer, only those who have diligently sought her favor being crowned with her blessings. In tracing the history of John B. Hoskins, a prosperous and influential agriculturist, of Delaware township, we find that the above named elements have entered largely into his make-up and therefore we are not surprised at the large and ever-growing success which he has attained.

John B. Hoskins, the son of Moses S. and Phoebe P. (Mendenhall) Hoskins, was born July 20, 1863, one and one-half miles east of Westfield, in this county. His parents were natives of North Carolina and came to Indiana in 1859 because of their strong aversion to slavery. The families of his parents were wealthy people in Carolina, but when it was seen that war was inevitable, the state of North Carolina began to confiscate the property of Abolitionists in their state. Both families had their property confiscated and

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were practically forced to leave the state. Accordingly they came to Indiana, as did thousands of other people of their state, and eventually settled in Ham- ilton county, near Westfield. Moses Hoskins was a son of John Hoskins and wife, while Phoebe Mendenhall was the daughter of Moses Mendenhall. The Hoskins family are of English descent with a strain of Welsh blood flowing in their veins. They have traced their history back to the Revolu- tionary times and have found that their family was loyal to the king during the Revolution. The family history of the Mendenhalls has been much obscured by the lapse of years, and it is practically impossible to get defi- nite data back more than three generations.

John B. Hoskins was one of the six children born to his parents, and remained at home until the death of his parents. He was given a good common school education, and being a man of more than ordinary ability he taught in the public schools for four years in his young manhood. He then married and purchased the farm where he now lives, which, when he purchased it, was not cleared or improved in any way and had no buildings on it; but he began with characteristic determination to clear the land and make a home for himself. In the course of time he had his land cleared, fenced, drained and excellent buildings erected, so that the farm today is not only one of the most attractive farms in the township but one of the most productive as well. On this farm of one hundred and twenty acres he carries on general farming, but of recent years has paid particular at- tention to the dairy business. He also has found the raising of Poland China hogs and pure bred white Plymouth Rock chickens very remunera- tive.

Mr. Hoskins was married August 28, 1889, to Cicely Lancaster, the daughter of Robert and Cicely (Haworth) Lancaster, who was born two miles east of Carmel on July 16, 1867. Her father was from North Caro- lina, and both parents of English descent. Robert Lancaster was born in 1816 and. received but a very meager education, having attended school only three months and one week altogether and was between four and five years getting even that much education. In 1838 he came to Indiana and stopped in Wayne county where he remained for four years. In 1843 he came to Hamilton county and bought forty acres of land, paying three hun- dred and twelve dollars and fifty cents for the tract. He made the trip from Wayne county to this county on horseback and gave his horse as first pay- ment for the land, valuing it at seventy-five dollars. He built a cabin eighteen by twenty feet, with puncheon floor, clapboard roof and stick and clay chimney. He and his wife were both industrious and hardworking

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people and gradually accumulated a farm of about four hundred acres. Here he reared a family of thirteen children, having been married three times. At the time of his death he had one hundred and forty descendants and had known seven generations of his family, from his grandfather to his great-great-grandchild. Cicely, the wife of Mr. Hoskins, who lived at home until her marriage, was graduated from the academy at Westfield and later attended college one year at Earlham.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 61

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051