History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 62

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 62

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins have two very interesting sons who are at the threshold of a very brilliant career, Halford L., born March 25, 1891, was graduated from the Carmel high school and then from Earlham college, and is now teaching history in Weston, West Virginia; J. Hobart, the other son, born January 17, 1896, also was graduated from the Carmel high school and is now teaching in Fessenden, North Dakota. He intends to take a college course, as did his brother. Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins are justly proud of their two sons whom they have given every educational advantage and who have responded nobly to the opportunities given them by their parents.

Politically, Mr. Hoskins is a Republican, and has always been interested in the civic life of his community. For several years he was superintendent of the roads of his township, and he also has served as county drainage commissioner. The family are earnest members of the Gray Friends' church, and take an active interest in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Hos- kins has been an elder in his church for several years. The history of Mr. Hoskins exhibits a career of unswerving integrity and wholesome social rela- tions, and being a man of clear character and impulses it is not surprising that he has endeared himself to the community where he has spent so many of his years.

MARION BLANTON.

One of the native sons of Hamilton county who has never been seized with the wanderlust is Marion Blanton, whose life of more than half a century has been spent within the limits of this county. Born and reared on the farm he has devoted his whole life to agricultural pursuits, and has met with a degree of success which is commensurate with his well directed efforts. Although he has met with many obstacles at various times, yet he has never been discouraged, always pressing steadily forward, with the re- sult that he is today classed among the substantial farmers of Jackson town- ship. He always has taken a keen delight in farming and has kept in close

Digitized by Google

622

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

touch with the latest ideas in agriculture, so that his farm always has yielded excellent results. He has not only been instrumental in securing a com- fortable competence for himself, but at the same time has taken such a part in the affairs of his community as to stamp him as a man of public spirit.

Marion Blanton, the proprietor of the "Maple Grove" farm, in Jack- son township, was born in 1861, about one and one-half miles north of Horton, this county. His father, Nathan Blanton, was born in Tennessee, and came to this county when a young man and settled on four hundred and twenty acres of land north of Horton. He was a prominent and influential citizen of his community, and lived to the advanced age of seventy-two years. Nathan Blanton and wife were the parents of seven children: John, who died in 1892; Mrs. Rebecca Haskett, whose husband is deceased; Mrs. Jane Johnson, who is also a widow ; Mrs. Emmeline Fodrea, Hiram, Samuel and Marion.

Marion Blanton received a good common-school education in the schools of his immediate neighborhood, and according to the custom of farmer boys of his day as well as those of the present time spent all of his summer vaca- tions on the farm. In this way he acquired the rudiments of agriculture by the time he had completed his common-school education and was compe- tent to take charge of a farm. He married at the age of twenty-five and immediately engaged in farming for himself in his home township, and has been successfully following agricultural pursuits down to the present time. His farm, which comprises eighty acres, is the equal of any in his lo- cality, both for productivity and the state of its improvements. He has always given his personal attention to every department of his farm work and allowed nothing to fail through neglect. He has always given intelli- gent directions to the scientific rotation of crops and all other features of successful farming. The great secret of Mr. Blanton's success is the fact that early in life he realized that labor is the only talisman of success.

Mr. Blanton was married to Anna Moore in 1886, and to this union were born four children : Ethel, deceased: Mrs. Opal David, Mrs. Halcy Munson and Lowell. The mother of these children died in 1900, and in 1901 Mr. Blanton was again married to Katie McGrath, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Hamilton county in 1869, where she has lived continuously since.

Politically, Mr. Blanton is a stanch Democrat, but has never felt any inclination to take an active part in politics. He is a loyal member of the Friends' church, while his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episco- pal church. In every avenue of life's activities Mr. Blanton has performed

Digitized by Google

623

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

his part to the best of his ability, believing that anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. He has a large number of friends and acquaintances throughout this section of the county, and wherever he goes he is always given a hearty welcome.

JACOB KINZER.

There are not many men living in Hamilton county today who have lived here more than seventy-five years, but the interesting history of Jacob Kinzer, whose biography is here presented, began in this county more than seventy-seven years ago. The family history of the Kinzers has been traced back to the eighteenth century, at which time the family was living in Pennsylvania. The first member of the family concerning whom definite information has been obtained is John Kinzer, who was born, reared to man- hood and married in Pennsylvania. He married Mary Deerdoff, and after his marriage moved to Ohio and located in Highland county where he fol- lowed the occupation of farming. John Kinzer and his wife reared a family of seven children, Jacob, David, Daniel, John, the father of Jacob, with whom this narrative subsequently deals; Margaret, who married David Oc- kerman; Sarah, the wife of John Bailey, and Catherine, the wife of Daniel Davis. John and Mary Kinzer were devout members of the Dunkard church.

John Kinzer. the father of Jacob, was born in Ohio in 1804 and reared to manhood in Highland county. that state. In 1828 he came to Indiana and entered a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of government land one mile east of Carmel. working out in the immediate neighborhood for money with which to pay for this land. About 1830 he married Ruth Wilkinson, the daughter of William and Mary (Moffitt ) Wilkinson. She was a native of Randolph county, North Carolina. while her parents were natives of Ire- land and England. respectively, coming to this country when children and paying for their passage on the ship by work after they reached this country. William Wilkinson first came to Indiana in 1822 and entered land, and then went back to North Carolina for his family. He started back to Indiana with his family, but was stricken with illness on the way and died while they were crossing the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia. John Kinzer cleared and improved his farm and added to it from time to time until he owned at least three hundred and forty acres. John Kinzer and wife reared a family of seven children : William, Mary. the wife of Sylvanus

Digitized by Google

624

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Carey; David, Jacob, Levi, Sarah, the wife of Lewis Metzker, and Ira J., who died in 1892. John Kinzer died in 1850 and his wife passed away ten years later. Of all this family the only survivors are Jacob and Levi who live on adjoining farms.

Jacob Kinzer lived at home until his marriage, receiving the best educa- tion which the district schools of his day afforded. His father died when he was about fourteen years of age and he and his brothers remained with their mother and attended the home farm. Mr. Kinzer was not married until he was thirty-nine years of age, and then he moved into a small house on his present farm, the framework of which was hewed from the nearby timber. Here he lived until about 1885, when he built his present attractive home in which he is living today. Upon the settlement of his father's estate he received eighty acres and sufficient money to enable him to purchase another eighty acres. The land was for the most part in its primeval condi- tion when he located upon it, and it required much hard labor to bring it to its present state of high cultivation.

Mr. Kinzer was married October 15, 1876, to Hannah Louisa Ballard, daughter of Harvey and Luzena Ballard, born in Guilford county, North Carolina, June 29, 1851. Her parents came to Indiana when she was a small child. Mr. and Mrs. Kinzer are the parents of five children, four of whom are living. Irvin L., Edward Everett; Alma Pearl and Curtis J. Wiley Roscoe, the first child, died in infancy: Irvin L. married Clova Patten and lives in Noblesville. They have four children, Ola, Juanita, Densel and Wil- lard. Edward Everett married May Randall and has two children: Archie and Vera. Edward and his family are residing with his parents; Alma Pearl married Walter Thompson and lives two miles west of Cicero, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have five children: Edna, Louana, Leon- ard, Howard and Myron; Curtis J. married Myra Smith, who died soon after their marriage, and he lives at present in Oklahoma.

Mr. Kinzer was a Republican until the organization of the Progressive party in the summer of 1912, at which time he affiliated with the new party. Though he always has taken an active interest in the great issues of the day, he never has been an aspirant for any political office. He and his wife are members of the Friends church and active workers in behalf of all its enterprises and benevolent projects. Mr. Kinzer has been a strictly temperate man all of his life. never having used tobacco or intoxicants in any form. His whole life has been singularly free from any fault, and no man in the county bears a more irreproachable reputation than he. Several.

Digitized by Google

625

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

years ago he retired from active farming and is now living on his farm northeast of Carmel, surrounded by all the conveniences of modern life. Upon retiring from active farming he divided two hundred and eighty acres of land among his children, and now has only forty acres and the old home- stead. His life has been well and worthily spent, and no man in Hamilton county is more deserving of a place in a biographical volume of this charac- ter.

JOHN L. GOOD.

From faraway Pennsylvania there have come several excellent citizens of Hamilton county, and among these John L. Good occupies a prominent position. A man of earnest and sincere life, whose enterprise and depth of character have gained him a prominent place in his community, he has lived for more than half a century in Jackson township, this county. For many years a leading farmer and stock raiser, he is now living in honorable re- tirement after a strenuous life of activity in connection with his agricultural pursuits. He has ever been a man of decided views and laudable ambitions, and his influence has always been exerted for the advancement of his fellow citizens. With few opportunities except such as his own efforts were capable of mastering and with many discouragements to overcome, he has made a . success in life, and in his old age has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he has resided for so many years has been benefited by his life and works therein.

John L. Good, the son of Peter K. and Mary Ann (Zigler) Good, was born February 15, 1850, in Columbia county, Pennsylvania. Peter Good was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and as a young man learned the carpenter's trade, which he carried on in conjunction with farming. About 1845 he came to Indiana on a prospecting trip and decided to invest in land in Hamilton county. Upon his return to his native state he married Mary Ann Zigler, who was also a native of Lancaster county, and lived in his native state until 1860. when he came to Hamilton county and purchased eiglity acres of land. and lived the life of a simple, unostentatious farmer until his death, which occurred in September, 1901. He was a successful agriculturist and prominent citizen of his township, and at his death left a fine farm of eighty acres which is now owned by his son, John L. To Peter K. Good and wife were born four children: Albert, deceased; John L.,

(40)

Digitized by Google

626

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with whom this narrative deals; Mrs. Sarah C. Meissen and George A., who resides in Cicero, this county, now a retired farmer.

John L. Good was ten years of age when his parents came to Hamil- ton county, Indiana, from Pennsylvania, and consequently received the rudi- ments of his education in the schools of his native state. After coming to this county he attended school for a short time and then assisted his father on the home farm until his marriage, at the age of twenty-three, at which time he rented a sixty-acre farm a short distance west of Cicero, where he lived for four years. He then moved onto his father's farm, and has continued to reside on this place ever since. As a farmer his career is not essentially different from that of hundreds of other successful farmers in this section of the state. He has successfully combined the raising of crops and live stock, and by keeping carefully abreast of the times has been able to acquire a comfortable competence for his declining years.

Mr. Good was married October 19, 1873, to Amanda E. Sourwine, who was born and reared in Hamilton county, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Cora M., who is the wife of J. H. Evans. Mr. Evans was born in Henry county, this state, in 1878, his father having been a prominent merchant at Spiceland, in that county, for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are now living on the farm with, her father, her mother having died May 4, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are the parents of two children : Edgar G. and Edna A., twins, born on Christmas day, 1907.

Mr. Good has never been a partisan in politics, and has always cast his vote for the best man irrespective of their political affiliations. Public office has never had any attractions for him, and although deeply interested in good government and all that it implies, he has never been active in political matters. He is a member of the English Lutheran church, and fraternally is a Mason, having joined Deming Lodge No. 130, Free and Accepted Masons, in 1873. He also is a member of the Knights of Pythias, being a charter member of Lodge No. 175 at Cicero. Mr. Good's career in this county has been one of honor, and no higher tribute can be passed upon him than a statement of the simple truth that his name has never been coupled with anything disreputable, and that there has never been the shadow of a stain upon his reputation for integrity and unswerving honesty. He has been a consistent man in all that he has even undertaken, and his career in all the relations of life has been above pretense. His actions are the result of careful and conscientious thought, and when once convinced he is right no suggestion of policy or personal profit can swerve him from the course on which he has decided.

Digitized by Google

627

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

FORIS L. SANDERS.

The life history of the late Foris L. Sanders, one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Hamilton county for more than a genera- tion, shows what industry, good habits and strong citizenship will accom- plish in the battle for success in life. His record was one replete with duty well and conscientiously performed in every relation of life. Born in the pioneer period of this county, he lived through that wondrous era of trans- formation which has made Hamilton county what it is today. He was al- ways an advocate of wholesome living and cleanliness in politics as well, and always stood for the highest and best interests of the community in which so many of his active years were spent. He was a man who was devoted to his family, and although he never had any children of his own he showed his kind character by rearing four adopted children. He was always interested in worthy causes, and lived such a blameless life that when he passed away he was sincerely mourned not only by his immediate family but by every one who knew him.

Floris L. Sanders, one of the best beloved citizens of Hamilton county during his life time, was born December 11, 1836, in Hendricks county, Indiana, and died at his home in Carmel, Indiana, on November 6, 1913. He was the son of Joseph and Clarrissa (McVay) Sanders. Both of his parents were natives of Ohio. Joseph Sanders was the son of James and Phoebe (Beeson) Sanders, both of whom were natives in Virginia. James Sanders was reared to manhood in Virginia, and after his marriage, in that state, he moved to North Carolina where he conducted farming pur- suit for a number of years. Early in life he followed the profession of a school teacher. He was a noted hunter, and in the same fall in which his death occurred he killed fifty deer. James Sanders, with his family, came to Fayette county, Ohio, about the year 1800 and settled in the woods among the Indians, where he remained until his death, and in that state Joseph, the father of Floris L. Sanders, was born.

Joseph Sanders grew to manhood in Ohio, and when twenty-two years of age was married to Clarrissa McVay, the daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Rude) McVay. The McVays were natives of Pennsylvania and of Irish parentage. About 1833 Joseph Sanders, accompanied by his family, came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and entered a tract of eighty acres of land from the government. He also purchased the farm, which was partly im- proved, adjoining the eighty acres he received from the government. Four

Digitized by Google

628

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

years later he sold his farm in Hendricks county and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Hamilton county, later adding another one hundred and sixty acres. He lived on his farm of three hundred and twenty acres until 1859, when he sold it and bought land in Marion county, where he lived until his death, in 1865. His wife passed away about a year previous to his death. They were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church and reared their children in the tenets of this faith. Joseph and Clarissa Sanders were the parents of ten children, all of whom are now desceased but Sarah and Joseph. The children are as follows: Herbert B., Isaac, Albert, Foris L., with whom this narrative deals; Martha A., John W., Lydia E., Benja- min F., Clara J. and Joseph.

Foris L. Sanders received the meager common school education which was afforded by the subscription schools of his time. In the little log school house which he attended he received very limited instructions in arithmetic, reading, writing and grammar. He assisted his father on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, and then rented land of his father for six years, after which he married. He then bought one hundred and five acres of land in the southern part of Hamilton county, and later his wife's father gave him fifty-three and one-third acres of land adjoining it. On this farm of one hundred and fifty-eight acres they lived for the next twenty-five years. He then moved in with the father of Mrs. Sanders in order to care for him in his old age. They remained with him until his death, and in 1890 purchased their beautiful home in Carmel, where Mr. Sanders lived until his death and where Mrs. Sanders is still residing.

Floris L. Sanders was married June 9, 1864, to Mary M. Wilkinson. She is the daughter of David and Mary. M. (Eller) Wilkinson and was born near Carmel, in this county, May 27, 1838. Her parents were natives of North Carolina and Ohio, respectively, the father being the son of William and Mary ( Moffitt ) Wilkinson, natives of England. William and Mary Wilkinson came to the United States from England shortly after their mar- riage and settled in North Carolina. later moving to Indiana where they en- tered government land.

William Wilkinson went back to get his family after entering his land, and while there he died of typhoid fever. His wife then took the rest of her family and started towards the home which her husband had prepared for her. On the way here one of her sons died. David Wilkinson and wife were the parents of four children: John W., David E., Charles I. and Mary M., the wife of Mr. Sanders.

Mr. and Mrs. Sanders never had any children of their own, but out of

Digitized by Google

629

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the kindness of their hearts they reared four adopted children. Two of these children were Dora and Lillian, the daughters of John Sanders a brother of Foris. Dora married George Clark and lives in Oklahoma. She has two children: Albert and Grace. Lillian married Austin Bond and lives in Carmel. The other two children whom Mr. and Mrs. Sanders reared were Reta M. Wilkinson, a great-niece of Mrs. Sanders and Rosa Day, the daughter of Noah Day, who was no relative to the family at all. Reta M. Wilkinson married Clifford Carey and lives in Carmel. Rosa Day married John F. Randall and lives near Gray, this county. They have ten children : May, Orva, Odie, Edward, Frieda, Edith, Curtis, Eva, Chester and Earn- est. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders were life long members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, in the affairs of which Mr. Sanders always took a great deal of interest. He was always generous to the faults of his neighbors and liberal in the support of every movement which would better his fellow citi- zens. He lived a long and useful life and was a man of high integrity whom no consideration could swerve from the right. Mr. Sanders was genuinely sympathetic and always courteous, and every one admired his open hearted- ness and honesty.

X JONATHAN W. MOFFITT.

The ancestral history of the Moffitt family has been traced back to the Emerald Isle, the first member of the family coming to this country being Charles Moffitt. He came to this country before the Revolutionary War and located in North Carolina where he married and reared a family. Silas Moffitt, the father of Jonathan W., with whom this narrative subsequently deals, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, in 1794, and was reared upon his father's farm where he acquired a fair knowledge of agri- cultural pursuits. In his native state he was married to Hannah Wilkinson, who was born in North Carolina in 1799, the daughter of William and Mary (Moffitt) Wilkinson.

Silas Moffitt came to Hamilton county from North Carolina in 1822. He entered five tracts of land of eighty acres each and built a cabin on a tract belonging to his father-in-law, and then returned to North Carolina for his wife and family of two children. A long overland trip from North Carolina to Hamilton county, Indiana, was made in 1823, the family coming with a four-horse team with all of their possessions in one wagon. The family settled in the little log cabin which Mr. Moffitt had built the previous

Digitized by Google

630

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

year and here they lived for three years, and then Silas Moffitt erected a brick house out of bricks which he himself made, the house being the second house built of bricks in the township. He was a man of unusual energy and ability, and at the time of his death, in 1873, was the owner of several hundred acres of land in this county. In his early days he served as county commissioner and was for two terms treasurer of the board of trustees of his township at a time when there were three trustees and a treasurer and a clerk. Silas Moffitt and wife were the parents of nine children: Charles, Mary, who was the wife of Joseph White; Rhoda, Hannah, William, Mar- garet, who married Isaac Burrows, and after his death Cyrus Hunt; Taca, who married Allen Meyers; Silas H., and Jonathan W., whose life history is here recorded.

Jonathan W. Moffitt, the youngest of the family, was born May 8, 1841, in Delaware township, in this county. He received only a meager education, as the schools of his days were not equipped for giving very much instruction. In fact the education of that day was confined practically to the "three R.'s" Upon his marriage, in 1863, Jonathan W. Moffitt rented a farm from his father, and after farming it for a short time he bought the farm from his father. He lived upon this farm for twelve years and then moved to his present home one-half mile south of Carmel. Mr. Moffitt has always carried on a general system of farming, and raised as much stock as he could feed from his own land.

Mr. Moffitt was married in 1862 to Mary Roberts, the daughter of Henry Roberts and wife, born January 10, 1846) in Wayne county, In- diana. Her parents were natives of Wayne county, Indiana, and were of English descent. Mrs. Moffitt was one of seven children born to her par- ents and lived at home until she was married. Her parents moved to Hamil- ton county about 1852.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 62

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

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