USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 68
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Edmund P. Whisman, Jr., the son of Edmund P. and Cynthia A. (Thatcher) Whisman, was born in Tipton county, Indiana, in 1875, and comes from a line of distinguished ancestry on both sides of his family.
Peter Whisman was the name of Mr. Whisman's grandfather, who was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on December 24, 1812. He was married in his native state on December 17, 1842, to Mary J. Miller, who was born in that state February 13, 1823. After his marriage he came to Wayne county, Indiana, and subsequently removed to Tipton county, where his death occurred June 30, 1861. His first wife died November 30, 1853, in Tipton county, and he was married a second time to Margaret Hoover on October 17, 1854. To the first marriage of Peter Whisman, the grandfather of the present head of the family in this county, there were born five children, .and to the second marriage were born two children.
Edmund P. Whisman, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, .was born in Wayne county, Indiana, February 1, 1845, and moved to Tipton county with his parents when a small child. In that county he was married in 1868 to Cynthia A. Thatcher. To this union were born five children, Edmund P., Jr., Jesse, Martha V. Whitsell, Eva J. Davis, and Cora, who died in infancy. Cynthia A. Thatcher was the daughter of Jesse Thatcher, born May 26, 1829, in Kentucky, and Celia (Coy) Thatcher. Jesse Thatcher and wife were married in 1840. His death occurred June 13, 1906, and he was buried in Tipton county. Jesse Thatcher and wife were the parents of six children, John, William, George, Joseph, Mary and Cynthia, the wife of Mr. Whisman. In 1858 Jesse Thatcher, grandfather of Edmund P. Whis- man. Jr., was married the second time to Eliza Mott, who died in January, 1894, leaving one daughter, Jessie, another daughter, Pallice, having died when an infant.
Edmund P. Whisman, Jr., was reared in Tipton county, and attended the common schools of his home neighborhood. Later he took the commercial course in the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, after which he returned to the farm and helped his father until his marriage, in 1898, when he immediately moved to his present farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres, where he has since been actively engaged in general farming and stock
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raising. No more industrious or hard-working farmer is to be found in the county than Mr. Whisman, and he is well deserving of the success which has come to him.
Mr. Whisman was married December 25, 1898, to Hattie A. Billhymer, who was born November 16, 1877, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Billhymer, of this county. Joseph Billhymer was born in Columbus, Ohio, March 5, 1835, and came to Wayne county, Indiana, with his parents when a small lad. Later he came with them to Tipton county, and after reaching manhood, moved to Hamilton county, where he lived the life of a farmer until his death, which occurred on June 3, 1911. The wife of Joseph Billhy- mer was born in this county December 8, 1840: To Mr. and Mrs. Billhymer were born six children, John J .; Mrs. Margaret R. Bangle; William F .; Mrs. Amanda E. Rhorer; Charles O., deceased, and Hattie A., the wife of Mr. Whisman. Mr. and Mrs. Whisman have one daughter, Ethel Lucile, who was born April 23, 1900.
. The Democratic party has claimed the support of Mr. Whisman since reaching his majority, and he is interested in such measures as he feels will improve the well being of his fellow citizens, but he has never had the in- clination to be a candidate for any public office or to take a very active part in public and political affairs. He and his wife are earnest members of the Christian church and contribute freely of their means to its support. Mr. Whisman is classed among the progressive farmers of his community, a man who is thoroughly abreast of the times and a firm believer in the future of farming.
WILLIAM E. AXLINE.
There are certain professions in which a technical training is necessary and among these there is no one which is more exacting than that of the druggist. Frequently in commercial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are known as the technical professions advancement is gained only through painstaking and long continued effort. The druggist in former days learned his trade by actual experience through years of apprenticeship at a drug store. At the present time there are many excellent schools of pharmacy in Indiana and the majority of our pharmacists of the present time are graduates of these schools. Twenty-five years ago practically all of the druggists of the state learned all of their trade in the drug store itself and were therefore educated in the
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school of actual experience. The earlier druggists became successful through their strong mentality, close application and daily work with drugs under experienced pharmacists. Among the druggists of Noblesville who have built up an excellent reputation because of their devotion to their chosen vocation there is no one who is more worthy of mention than William E. Axline, who has followed this profession for the past twenty-two years in Noblesville.
William E. Axline, the son of Dr. John A. and Clara A. (McMillan) Axline, was born October 6, 1872, in Rush county, Indiana. Doctor Axline was born in Knox county, Ohio, his ancestors coming to this country from Germany in the eighteenth century. One of his progenitors, Christopher Axline, served in the German army under Frederick the Great, and came to America before the Revolutionary War. He settled in Virginia and became a manufacturer of saltpetre in that state. During the Revolutionary War, when Virginia was overrun by the British, his property was confiscated with the result that he was practically financially ruined. After the close of the War of the Revolution one branch of the family came to Ohio, and in Knox county, Ohio, Dr. John A. Axline was born on March 5, 1847. His parents were Charles W. and Elizabeth (Sumner) Axline. Doctor Axline's early education was obtained at the academy at Martinsburg, in Knox county, a Quaker institution of excellent reputation at that time. At the age of nine- teen Doctor Axline began teaching in the Clinton county, Ohio, schools and later taught at New Burlington, Greene county, in the same state, and still later he came to Indiana and taught in the Rush county schools, at the same time studying medicine; but having firmly made up his mind to enter the medical profession, he retired from teaching and attended a course of lectures at the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis. Later he entered the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati, taking his degree from the latter institution in 1873, at once beginning the practice of his profession at Raleigh, Indiana, where he continued for the next eighteen years as a successful practitioner. In 1891 he came to Noblesville, where he established a large and lucrative prac- . tice, which continued until 1912. He gradually withdrew from his practice during the last few years of his life, owing to the health of his wife, who was an invalid, her death occurring in March, 1911. His wife, Clara A. McMillan, was born October 5, 1853, and was the daughter of John C. and Elizabeth McMillan. Doctor Axline and wife were the parents of two sons, William E., whose history is here presented, and John A. Doctor Axline was a stanch Republican in politics, casting his first vote for Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and ever thereafter voting the Republican ticket. His
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father was a Whig, but voted for Fremont in 1856, and then allied himself with the new Republican party. Doctor Axline was a member of the Hamil- ton County, Indiana State and National Medical Societies and contributed many valuable papers to the County Medical Society, which were read at the annual meetings of that body. He was a member of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons and attained to the Royal Arch degree. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Encampment degree of that lodge. He also held membership in the Royal Arcanum. He had an excellent professional and miscellaneous library and was a great reader. He was a splendid Christian gentleman and one of the most earnest support- ers of the Christian church in Noblesville for many years. He died in December, 1912, greatly beloved and respected by every one who knew him.
William E. Axline was reared at Raleigh, Rush county, Indiana, and was given the best education which the village schools afforded. He then attended Butler College for a time and after his parents moved to Nobles- ville he attended the Noblesville high school for one year. In 1892, when he was twenty years of age, he became a drug clerk in the store of Dr. T. A. Abbott, where he remained for four years. During this time he learned the drug trade and was able to qualify as a pharmacist. He then worked for Frank F. Ross, who maintained a drug store in the same place, for the next four years. R. S. Truitt became the next proprietor of this drug store and Mr. Axline worked for him a short time. In 1899 Doctor Axline and his son, William E., purchased this drug store and continued together in . partnership .until Doctor Axline's death, in December, 1912. Since that date Mr. Axline has been in full charge of the drug store. In addition to carry- ing a complete line of drugs and proprietary medicines, such as are to be found in drug stores, Mr. Axline handles jewelry, books, wall paper, paints, stationery, school supplies and such miscellaneous articles as are usually found in drug stores. The jewelry department is conducted by Mr. Axline in partnership with Mr. Zink. His goods are attractively displayed and by his earnest efforts to please all who enter his store and his sound business judgment he has met with well deserved success in his business. In addition to his drug store, Mr. Axline is interested in the American National Bank and is a director in that financial institution. H is also a director in the In- diana Loan Association.
Mr. Axline was married June 26, 1898, to Nellie Aldred, a daughter of Marion and Margaret (Gentry) Aldred, a prominent farmer of this county. Mr. Aldred died in December, 1910, and his widow is still living in
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Noblesville. Mr. and Mrs. Axline are the parents of one daughter, Mar- garet, who is now in school in Noblesville.
In politics, Mr. Axline has always adhered to the Republican party, but while interested in all public affairs, has never been active in partisan politics or sought political preferment in any way. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Encampment and also the Can- ton. He is a man of high ideals, a successful business man and stands high in the estimation of every one in his community. He is public spirited and progressive and at all times willing to lend his aid and influence in behalf of all enterprises for the material, moral or intellectual advancement of his city and county.
GRANT CACA.
Grant Caca is one of those strong, self-reliant and determined charac- ters 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. Caca 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 the development of Hamilton county, where he has always maintained his home and where he is well known to all classes for his honorable and industrious life, in both private and public.
Grant Caca, a prominent miller of Noblesville, was born on a farm in White River township, Hamilton county, Indiana, March 15, 1866. He is the son of Charles and Malinda ( Mock) Caca, his father being of German descent and his mother of Irish descent, both being born in America. The father died when he was seven years of age and his mother later married Franklin Newby, of Omega, a village in White River township. Mr. Newby is dead and his widow, the mother of Grant Caca, is still living in Omega.
Grant Caca was reared to manhood in Omega and received a limited common school education in the schools of that village. When a very small lad he went to work in order to help support the family, working at any- thing which he could find to do. He was only thirteen years of age when he went to work in the Smock saw mill in Omega, receiving fifty cents a day. He started in as assistant engineer and was subsequently promoted to the mill department with an advance in salary. He proved to be an indus- trious youth and quickly learned the intricacies of the saw mill business. In
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1884, when he was only eighteen years of age, his employer, Mr. Smock, was elected county commissioner and Mr. Caca was made superintendent of the saw mill at Omega. Mr. Caca was a bright, industrious young man and not only found favor in the eyes of his employer, but also the eyes of his employer's daughter, Gertrude. When he was twenty-one years of age he was married to Gertrude Smock and remained as superintendent of his father-in-law's mill at Omega, shortly afterwards becoming the owner of the mill. He continued to operate the saw mill at Omega until 1901, when he moved to Noblesville and became connected with his father-in-law, Finley Smock, in the flour and feed milling business. At the death of Mr. Smock, January 26, 1912, Mr. Caca became the owner of the flour mill in Nobles- ville and has since been operating it, as well as managing his saw mill in Omega. The flour mill in Noblesville is what is known as a custom mill and does a large business in Hamilton county. It is the oldest mill site in the county, three mills on the same site having previously been destroyed by fire. It is located on the bank of White river at the foot of Connor street in Noblesville. In addition to his mills at Noblesville and Omega, Mr. Caca has various other business interests in the county. He is a man of excellent executive ability and has always so conducted his business as to win the commendation of all who have been associated with him in any way.
Mr. Caca was married September 22, 1887, to Gertrude Smock, the daughter of Finley and Lydia (Meyers) Smock. To this union have been born five children: Raymond. a telegraph operator who is now associated with his father in business; Finley, who is also associated with his father; Ruth, a stenographer who is still making her home with her parents; Clifton, a student in the high school at Noblesville, and Mildred, who is also in the high school. Mr. and Mrs. Caca have given their children an excellent edu- cation and are justly proud of the record they have made so far in life. They are conscientious young people who are well fitted to become useful members of society, which reflects great credit upon the training given them by their parents.
Mr. Caca has always been a Democrat in politics and has always been active in the declarations of his party in this county. In 1911 he was his party's candidate for the office of county treasurer. Although he was de- feated, he reduced the Republican majority of fourteen hundred to two hun- dred and sixteen, a fact which attests the popularity and recognized ability of Mr. Caca. Several years ago he was the candidate for county commis- sioner in his district and carried his own township. overcoming the large Republican majority, his opponent living in the same townshp. Since mov-
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ing to Noblesville he served four years in the city council, although his ward is normally Republican. He has served upon the county Democratic central committee and has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state conventions. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men. He and his family are members of the Christian church and always have been active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Caca has always manifested a good business judgment and has been an indefatigable worker from his earliest boyhood. He is strictly a self-made man and has so ordered his life in all its phases that he has received that recognition which comes as a result of honest endeavor.
PERRY A. BRAY.
A citizen of Noblesville who has been very largely dependent upon his own resources from his early youth is Perry A. Bray, who is now a rural . route mail carrier out of Noblesville. He is a member of one of the old and highly esteemed families of this county, his father having been for many years one of the most influential men of his locality. For many years Mr. Bray was identified with the agricultural interests of this county, but for the past eight years has been an employe of the postoffice department, a position which he has filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to nis patrons. Like most men, he has encountered obstacles and met with reverses, yet he has pressed steadily forward, ever willing to work for the end he has in view. His tenacity and fortitude are due in a large measure to the worthy traits he inherited from his sterling father, whose high ideals and correct principles he has ever sought to emulate in all the relations of life.
Perry A. Bray, the son of Henry and Betsy (Mills) Bray, was born April 22, 1861, in Washington township, this county. His father was born October 23, 1811, in Kentucky, and his mother was born January 25, 1819, in Tennessee. Henry Bray came to this state with his parents in 1815, and settled with them in the southern part of the state, where he grew to man- hood. After his marriage. in 1841, Henry Bray moved to Hamilton county, this state, where he settled on a farm, living there the remainder of his life. He was a man of unusual ability and served for a long time as justice of the peace, and was frequently called upon to act as guardian and administrator. At one time he had six cases of guardianship on his hands, and he discharged his duties in all these cases with such fairness that he always had all the
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work along this line he could manage. While not educated as a lawyer, yet he was learned in many phases of the law, and was frequently called upon by his neighbors to adjudicate small cases. He also served for several terms as county commissioner on the Republican ticket, and in every capacity in which he was found he was always a faithful servant of the people who elected him. In addition to his farming Henry Bray also manufactured tile, and derived no inconsiderable part of his income from this source. Henry Bray and wife were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daugh- ters, three of whom are living: Rev. A. M. Bray, of Newberg, Oregon; Mrs. Jonathan Stalker, whose husband is a farmer in Washington township, this county, and Perry A., with whom this narrative deals.
Perry A. Bray was given such education as was afforded by the common schools of his immediate neighborhood, and early in life decided that he would follow the vocation of a farmer. Marrying at the age of twenty-five, he at once began farming for himself and continued to operate his own farm of ninety-two acres in Washington township until 1906, when he removed to Noblesville upon his appointment as a rural mail carrier out of Nobles- ville. As a farmer he raised all of the crops common to this section of the state, as well as such live stock as he could feed from his own crops. Since assuming the duties of a mail carrier he has been faithful in the discharge of his duties and has made an excellent record for efficient service in the department.
Mr. Bray was married November II, 1886, to Elizabeth Perry, the daughter of William and Emmeline (Teague) Perry, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Bray has two brothers living-Anderson, a grocer of Westfield, this county, and O. C. Perry, a farmer of Noblesville township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Bray are the parents of five children, Pauline, who was born October 29, 1888, and is a graduate of the Nobles- ville high school; Leah, who died in August, 1893; Paul, who died Septem- ber 1, 1897; Rachel, who was born December 2, 1898, and is now a student of the high school in Noblesville; Mary, who was born October 10, 1904, now a student in the graded schools of Noblesville.
The Republican party always has claimed the loyal support of Mr. Bray, and although deeply interested in everything pertaining to good government. he has not been active in political affairs. He and his family are earnest members of the Friends church and Mr. Bray is a trustee of the Hinkle Creek Friends church. Fraternally, Mr. Bray is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment at Noblesville, and has always been deeply interested in the affairs of this organization. Because
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of his clean and wholesome life and his influence in local affairs, there is accorded Mr. Bray the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem by his fellow citizens and neighbors.
MARION ALDRED.
The success of men in business or in any vocation depends upon char- acter as well as upon knowledge, it being a self-evident proposition that honesty is the best policy. Business demands confidence and where that is lacking business ends. In every community some men are known for their upright lives, strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political standing. Their neighbors and acquaintances respect them, the younger generations heed their example, and when they "wrap the drap- ery of their couches about them and lie down to pleasant dreams" posterity listens with reverence to the story of their quiet and useful lives. Among such men of a past generation in Indiana was the late Marion Aldred, of Noblesville, Hamilton county, who was not only a progressive man of affairs, successful in material pursuits, but a man of modest and unassuming de- meanor, well educated, a fine type of the reliable, self-made American, a friend to the poor, charitable to the faults of his neighbors and who always stood ready to unite with them in every good work and active in the support of laudable public enterprises. He was proud of Noblesville and of the grand state of Indiana and zealous for their progress and prosperity. He was a man who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was uni- versally held, for he was a man of public spirit, high intellectual attainments and exemplary character.
Marion Aldred, one of the best known citizens of Noblesville, was born in Perry county, Ohio, November 29, 1842, and died in Noblesville, Indiana, December 22, 1910. He was the son of William M. and Mary (Henderson) . Aldred, and came with his parents from Ohio to Wayne township, Hamilton county, Indiana, in 1845, spending the rest of his life in this county. He was seven years of age when his parents moved to this county and consequently received the greater part of his education here. After finishing school he remained at home on the farm assisting his father in its cultivation. In April, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Union army in the Civil War, be- coming a member of Company B, One Hundred Thirty-sixth Regiment In- diana Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted for the one hundred days' service
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and at the close of his enlistment returned to this county, where he continued to reside until his death.
Mr. Aldred was a farmer primarily, although in the latter years of his life he was largely interested in the banking business of Noblesville. As a farmer he was one of the most progressive and successful in the county, and at his death was the owner of a large farm in the vicinity of Lapel, this county, and another of two hundred and eighty acres two miles north of Noblesville. He was intimately connected with the history of Hamilton county for sixty years and saw it emerge from a primitive wilderness to its present prosperous condition. Early in 1893 he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank, of Noblesville, and served as president of this institution for seventeen years. In 1909 he was instrumental in the or- ganization of the American National Bank, of this city, and was a member of the board of directors of the institution until the time of his death.
Mr. Aldred was married in February, 1865, to Mary J. Ford, who died in 1869, leaving one son, James W. Mr. Aldred's second marriage occurred February 13, 1873, to Margaret R. Gentry, and to this union was born one daughter, Nellie, who is now the wife of W. E. Axline, of Noblesville. Mr. Aldred was a man of domestic tastes and when a given task was accom- plished he would throw off all cares, retire to his home and devote himself to domestic and social enjoyment, for which he had the keenest interest and relish. His temper was always calm and his manners were emphatically those of a gentleman, plain, simple and dignified. His devotion to every duty was intense and his perception of truth and worth was almost intuitive. Although his life was a busy one, his private affairs and his home duties making heavy demands on his time, yet he never allowed this to interfere with his obligations as a citizen of the commonwealth. He loved, with all his energy and enthusiasm, the county in which he had been reared and in which he had ripened into well matured years. He was fond of the people with whom he mingled, fond of the country, fond of the picturesque setting of the hills and streams. He moved among men uprightly all his days. He was a splendid type of a sturdy race brought forth by a sturdy time. He had the charm of unaffectedness, simplicity and sincerity. The world's veneer never touched him, and to the end he was the plain, unaffected man that he was when he a struggling farmer at the beginning of his career. He lived in peace with his neighbors and was always an example of uprightness who compelled admiration. Mr. Aldred was a member of the Methodist church, to whose highest interests he ever was devoted.
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