History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 72

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

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Dr. Charles C. Ray, a prominent physician and surgeon of Arcadia, this county, was born in Marion county, Indianapolis, February 2, 1870, the son of Chesley and Eliza (Shanklin) Ray, his father being a native of Boone county, Indiana. Chesley Ray is a merchant at Trader's Point, In- diana, and has been engaged in business in one building for forty-two years, a record which would be hard to beat. Chesley Ray is a son of John Ray, one of the leading men in the early history of Zionsville, as well as of Boone county.

Doctor Ray is the only child of his parents, and as a youth attended the common schools at Trader's Point, near his home. Early in life he deter- mined to become a physician, and with this end in view, matriculated in But- ler College and took such work as would help him towards getting a medical degree. After attending Butler College for a time, he entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he was in attendance for two years. He now not only had the preliminary training for a good medical education, but also a broad education in the liberal arts, and when he entered the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis he easily took his place among the best students of the college. He completed the course at the Indiana

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Medical College with the class of 1892, but since that time has taken post graduate. work in New York. Immediately after his graduation. in 1892, from the Medical College at Indianapolis, Doctor Ray began to practice his . profession in Indianapolis, but a year later came to Arcadia, and has prac- ticed continuously in that place for the past twenty years. He keeps fully abreast of the times and is a deep student of everything pertaining to his chosen life work. He has built up a large and lucrative practice and by his genial manner and never failing courtesy, as well as by reason of his un- doubted technical ability he has caused his name to become a household word in scores of families in this community.

Doctor Ray was married August 6, 1892, to Lusa A. Smith, the daugh- ter of Preston and Amanda (Moore) Smith, and to this union have been born two sons, Chesley, Jr., and Eugene.

In politics, Doctor Ray has always been an ardent Republican, and has always been deeply interested in the welfare of his party. From 1898 to 1910 he was coroner of his county and discharged the duties of that office in a manner highly satisfactory to every one concerned. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. Doctor Ray has not only attained a wide reputation in his chosen vocation, but has also established a name for uprightness and noble character in all the relations of life.

MILTON C. BEALES.

One of the conspicuous names on the list of Hamilton county agricul- turists is that of Milton C. Beales, proprietor of the "Crescent Valley Farm" in Washington township. He is a man of high standing, to whom has not been denied a full measure of success. Long recognized as a factor of im- portance in connection with the farming and stock raising industries of the county, he has also been prominently identified with the material growth and prosperity of this part of the state. He has also taken his share of the burdens of citizenship, and in the office of county councilman he recently served his fellow citizens in a way which stamped him as a man fully abreast . of the times.

Milton C. Beales, the son of Lemuel and Emily (Bray) Beales, was born May 22. 1852, in Washington township. this county, in the- house

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where he is now living. Lemuel Beales was born in Ohio, and came to this county in 1847, locating on the farm where his son is now living. Upon · reaching his maturity, he married Emily Bray, who was a native of Hen- dricks county, this state, and to this union there were born five children, T. E., of Jackson township; Edward N., a farmer of Washington township; John W .. a farmer of Jackson township: Milton C., with whom this narra- tive deals, and Mrs. Elizabeth E. Tomlinson, whose husband is a farmer in Washington township.

Milton C. Beales was educated in the district schools of Washington township and early in life decided to follow the vocation of a farmer. In his boyhood days he assisted his father on the home farm and in this way acquired a practical knowledge of all of the details of agricultural life. He is energetic and obliging, and carries on a diversified style of agriculture, raising all the crops adapted to the soil of this section of the state, while at the same time he gives a good deal of attention to the raising of live stock for the market. He is a practical and scientific farmer, giving his personal attention to every detail of the farm work, and on his farm of three hundred and nine acres he raises as good crops as any farmer in the county. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance, and the notably sys- tematic and honorable methods he has followed have won for him the un- bounded confidence and respect of all who have formed his acquaintance.

Mr. Beales was married August 31, 1887, to Ida Macy, the daughter of Rev. P. T. and Charity ( Mills) Macy, natives of Wayne county and Morgan county, Indiana, respectively, and to this union have been born two sons, John Waldo, born December 27, 1888. and Herbert M., born October 28, 1894. The older son graduated from the common schools of Washing- ton township, and since that time has been assisting his father on the farm. The younger son was graduated from the high school at Westfield in the spring of 1914, and is now assisting on the farm.

Mr. Beales has long been identified with the Republican party, and has always been interested in its welfare. His worth as a citizen is shown by the fact that his party nominated and subsequently elected him a member of the county council of Hamilton county, his term of office expiring in December, 1914. He and his family are loyal members of the Friends church and he is a trustee of this denomination at the present time. He is also a trustee of the Western Yearly Meeting of the Friends, and takes a great deal of in- terest in the general welfare of the church. Mr. Beales has in his possession a book written by William Penn. the founder of the state of Pennsylvania, in 1762, the tenth edition of the book being issued in that year. Mr. Beales

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has always stood for the highest standard of right and morality, and among his fellow citizens there never has been breathed a word of suspicion against his character. He has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him, and is justly regarded as one of Hamilton county's most sub- stantial and worthy citizens.

DAVID C. HOBBS.

Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will inevitably result in the attainment of a due measure of success, but in the following out the steps of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which made such accom- plishment possible. and thus there is granted an objective incentive and in- spiration, while at the same time there is enkindled a feeling of respect and admiration. The qualities which have made David C. Hobbs one of the prominent and successful farmers of Hamilton county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow citizens, for his career has been one of well- directed energy. strong determination and honorable methods.

David C. Hobbs, a prosperous retired farmer of Jackson township and a member of the advisory board of his township, was born June 9, 1862, in Lee county. Virginia. His parents, Vincent and Clara (Scritch ) Hobbs, were natives of the same state and his father was a soldier in the southern army during the Civil War. He was captured at Cumberland Gap and taken a prisoner to Chicago, where he was confined until the close of the war. He was then discharged with the other prisoners from the military prison in Chicago and started to return home, but died en route in the spring of 1865 at White Sulphur Springs, Montgomery county. Virginia. Vincent Hobbs and wife were the parents of eight children: Henry, deceased: Vincent, de- ceased; Zachariah T .. deceased: Mary, deceased: Nancy, deceased : George W., William H. and David C., whose history is here briefly narrated. Vin- cent Hobbs was a fine Christian gentleman and was a farmer, having been quite successful as a tiller of the soil before engaging in the great struggle between the states, in which he practically met his death. His wife died at the age of sixty-nine or seventy years.

David C. Hobbs received a little education in his native state. When . he was seventeen years of age he, with one of his brothers, started to walk the one hundred and thirty-five miles from their home in Virginia to the

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home of an uncle of theirs, D. C. Hobbs, Sr., in Tipton county, Indiana. They started in the fall of 1879 and walked through the mountains into Kentucky, where they took a train and came to Tipton county, this state, where David remained with his uncle, D. C. Hobbs, for seven years. After coming to this state. Mr. Hobbs continued his education by attendance at Valparaiso University for three years, after which he taught school for a while in Tipton county, and proved to be a successful instructor. The school room lost an excellent teacher when he decided, in 1888, to leave the teach- ing profession and enter the drug business at Atlanta, this state. He con- tinued actively in the drug business until 1895, when he started to engage in farming, though still retaining an interest in the store. He bought a farm in Tipton county, this state, but later disposed of this and purchased his present farm in Jackson township, this county, and he is now the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and sixty acres four and one-half miles southwest of Atlanta, on which he raises excellent crops and high class registered Shorthorn cattle. He feeds all of his grain to his stock, having found by experience that this is the most profitable phase of farming at the present time.

Mr. Hobbs was married June 18, 1893, to Anna Gwinn, the daughter of Sylvester and Elizabeth (Keck) Gwinn. Sylvester Gwinn was born in Madison county, this state, his father having come from West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Gwinn are the parents of four children, James M .; Anna, the wife of Mr. Hobbs; Mrs. Alta Robinson and Mrs. Sarah Sowerwine. Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs have no children of their own.

Politically, Mr. Hobbs is a Democrat and always has been active in the deliberations of his party. He was for one term on the advisory board of his township and in that capacity exerted his influence in behalf of all measures which he felt would benefit his township. In addition to his agricultural interests; Mr. Hobbs is a director in the Atlanta steel plant and the First National Bank of Atlanta. He still carries his pharmacist license, being still connected with the drug store of Warren Goodykoontz at Atlanta, where he owns one of the finest homes in the village. Besides this property and his farm, he also owns other property in Tipton county. Indiana, and city lots in Clarke's addition to the city of Indianapolis. Mr. Hobbs is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Arcadia and of the Maccabees Lodge at At- lanta.

Mr. Hobbs is a fine example of the self-made man, and while laboring for his individual interests. has never forgotten his obligations to the public, and his support of such measures and movements as make for the general

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good can always be depended upon. He has won his success solely through his own individual efforts, and yet has done it without bringing the censure of his neighbors upon him, never swerving from the path of rectitude and honor. Prompt in the discharge of his private obligations as well as his public duties, he is justly deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of his township and county.

HENRY M. CAYLOR.

An honored veteran of the Civil War who has for the past sixty-five years been an influential citizen of Hamilton county is Henry M. Caylor. He has been identified with the commercial interests of this county for many years and has built up one of the most prosperous manufacturing interests of the county. During his service of three years in the Civil War he per- formed gallant and meritorious service for his beloved country and for the past fifty years he has been a prominent figure in the Grand Army of the Republic in this state and has acted as department commander of Indiana. As a member of the state Legislature he was instrumental in getting the bill passed which provided for the placing of all the flags of the military or- ganizations of Indiana in the state house at Indianapolis in special cases. He also introduced the bill while in the Legislature that placed the bust of General Lew Wallace in Statuary Hall in the capitol at Washington. In every relation of life Mr. Caylor always has measured up to the full stand- ard of American citizenship, whether in his private life or in his career as a state official, and he never has shirked the duties which befell him.

Henry M. Caylor, the son of Michael and Elizabeth (Miller) Caylor, was born August 27, 1841. in Wayne county, Indiana. Michael Caylor was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, while his wife was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, coming to this country with her parents when she was eight years of age. The Miller family were early settlers of Henry county, Indiana. and became one of the most prominent families in that county. Michael Caylor located in Wayne county, this state, in 1822, where he fol- lowed the trade of a cooper, and in 1849 he moved with his family to Ham- ilton county, settling upon a farm adjacent to the city of Noblesville. Here he followed agriculture during the summer seasons and the trade of a cooper in the winter. He prospered from the start and in the course of a few years became known as one of the substantial men of his county. He was a Re-

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publican in politics and he and his wife were members of the German Luth- eran church. Both passed away many years ago.

Henry M. Caylor was eight years of age when his parents moved from Wayne county, Indiana, to this county, and consequently had already received some schooling in the county of his birth. After coming to this county he entered school for a short time in a rude log cabin in his immediate neigh- borhood, and was brought up under truly primitive conditions. From his earliest boyhood he took his place on the farm and assisted his father in every possible way to make the living for the family.

The military history of Mr. Caylor began in July, 1862, when he en- listed as a member of Company D, Seventy-fifth Regiment Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, and from that day down to the present time he has been very much interested in the military history of his county and state. His regi- ment was attached to the Second brigade, Third division, Fourteenth Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. At the time he was mustered into the service. General George H. Thomas, familiarly known to his men by the title of "Pap" Thomas, was in command of the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Caylor participated in all of the battles in which the Army of the Cum- berland was engaged from 1862 until the end of the war. He participated in all the fighting in the eastern part of Tennessee, taking an active part in the battles of Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. When Sherman started on his memorable march through Georgia to the sea, the regiment to which Mr. Caylor was attached was assigned to the command of General Sherman. Accordingly, Mr. Caylor participated in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign. He made the trip of three hundred miles across Georgia when Sherman cut a swath from forty to sixty miles in width. By the middle of December, 1864, General Sherman came in sight of the Atlantic ocean, and on the 21st of December, of that year, the Union forces entered Savannah. It was on this occasion that General Sherman sent to President Lincoln the well-known dispatch, "I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Mr. Caylor followed the army of Sherman north from Sa- vannah, leaving that city February 1, 1865. Sherman's march from Savan- nah was far more difficult than his more famous march from Atlanta to the sea, for now he had to cross the rivers instead of following their courses, and he found more opposition from the enemy. There were also vast swamps and marshes to be crossed. The right wing of the army was still commanded by Howard and the left by Slocum. At Orangeburg a slight battle was

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fought and another before Columbia, the enemy being led by General Wade Hampton. Columbia surrendered on February 17, 1865, Hamilton escaping after setting fire to five hundred bales of cotton. From Charleston, General Sherman pushed. forward to Goldsboro, North Carolina, reaching that city on March 23d, where he was joined by Scofield. When General Johnson, who was opposing General Sherman in North Carolina, learned that Lee had surrendered on April 9th and saw that there was no more need of pro- longing hostilities, he sought Sherman and the two agreed on terms of sur- render, and on April 26 the final terms were agreed upon and from Goldsboro Sherman immediately took his forces to Washington, and in the national capital participated in the Grand Review, which occurred on May 24th and 25th of that year. Mr. Caylor was mustered out in August, 1865, and dis- charged at Camp Morton, Indianapolis. He had been in the active service a little more than three years and was fortunate to escape without being wounded, captured or having his health seriously impaired in any way. Mr. Caylor has been very much interested in the Grand Army of the Republic since it was established, in 1866. The original constitution for the Grand Army of the Republic was drawn up by Major Benjamin S. Stephenson, surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Regiment, and three other army friends, who drafted this constitution in the spring of 1866 and established the first post in Decatur, Illinois. The secret ritual was first printed by veterans in the office of the Decatur Tribune, all of whom were members of the order. Its purpose was the "establishment and defense of the late soldiery of the United States, morally, socially and politically, with a view to inculcate a proper appreciation of their services and claims by the American people." The first national encampment was held in Indianapolis in 1866. General S. A. Hurlbut became the first commander-in-chief. Today there are more than five thousand Grand Army posts in the country. The order reached its high water mark in point of membership in 1890, when there were a total of four hundred thousand four hundred eighty-nine men enrolled. Today it has been reduced by death to one hundred and seventy thousand, and the death rate is becoming higher each year. The order has held a national en- campment every year since its organization, excepting 1867, and has gath- ered in nearly every important city in the country. It was the originator of May 30th as Memorial Day, the first day so observed being May 30, 1868. Mr. Caylor is a member of Lookout Post No. 133, at Noblesville, and for the past twenty-two years has been a delegate to all state and national en- campments. In 1896 he was elected Department Commander for Indiana by acclamation at the state encampment held at South Bend, Indiana. One

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other feature of the military history of Mr. Caylor, which should be men- tioned in this connection, concerns his service during the Legislature which met in 1907. As a representative from Hamilton county in that session he introduced the bill which placed the bust of General Lew Wallace in Statuary Hall in the capitol at Washington and also presented the bill looking toward the collection, preservation and subsequent mounting of all the regimental flags of Indiana. Thus it is seen that for the past fifty-two years Mr. Caylor has been intimately connected with the military history of Hamilton county and the state which he served so well for three long years at the front.

Immediately after being mustered out of the service at Indianapolis, August, 1865, Mr. Caylor returned to his home'in Hamilton county, and began to work at whatever he could find to do. For a time he shoveled gravel on the streets of Noblesville, and was not afraid of any honest labor which would yield him an adequate return for his services. He had learned the cooper's trade with his father before going to the army and finally found employment in this occupation in Noblesville, where he worked until 1872, after which he took employment in the Oil Barrel Stave factory of Walton & Whetstone, of Atlanta, Indiana, remaining with this firm for about six years. In 1874 he also became interested in the timber and lumber business for himself in addition to his work in the factory at Atlanta. He opened a saw mill in Noblesville and made a specialty of cutting wagon, plow and car stock for the eastern markets. In 1878 he withdrew from the Walton & Whetstone factory at Atlanta and devoted all of his attention to his own factory in Noblesville. In 1880 he added a planing mill with a full equip- ment of machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of house building sup- plies and still later he added a department for manufacturing screen doors and window screens, also a full line of building material. At the present time he handles everything which enters into the construction of a building. In recent years he has added a coal department and is now one of the leading coal dealers of Noblesville. Mr. Caylor is still in active charge of his many interests and gives them his constant supervision. In all of his business transactions he is just and reasonable and has never violated in the slightest degree the confidence the people have placed in him. He has taken an active and influential part in the upbuilding and development of this community and has been a man of marked force and power in everything to which he has given his attention.

Mr. Caylor was married February 20. 1870, to Melissa George, the daughter of Jesse and Mary ( Haynes) George. The George family came from Ohio and settled in Hamilton county early in its history. Mr. and Mrs.

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Caylor are the parents of two sons, Roy G., a successful dry goods merchant of Noblesville, and George H., who is associated with his father in business.

Mr. Caylor has been a life-long Republican and has always been active in the service of his party. He is a campaign speaker of wide reputation and his services are in constant demand during campaign years. He was especially active in campaigning for Mckinley in 1896. The only office which he ever held, with the exception of that of state representative, was that of city marshal of Noblesville. He was elected to this position in 1866. In addition to his duties as conservator of peace he had to collect the taxes, and for this double service he received the munificent salary of fifty dollars annually. He has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state Republican conventions and for many years has been a member of the county campaign committee. He was elected in the fall of 1906 to the state Legis- lature as a member of the lower house and served in the Sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly of Indiana, which sat from January 10 to March II, 1907. His important services as a member of the Legislature have already been indicated. Mr. Caylor and his wife have been life-long members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have always been active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Caylor was president of the church board which had charge of the construction of the new Methodist church in Noblesville. As a citizen, Mr. Caylor is public-spirited and enterprising, while as a friend and neighbor he combines the qualities of head and heart which win the confidence and command the respect of his fellow men. His long and praise- worthy career in this county has made him one of its most representative citizens.

JOHN FREMONT NEAL.

It is family tradition that three Neal brothers emigrated from England and landed in Virginia more than one hundred and fifty years ago. Trace of one of them was lost: the others served in the Revolutionary War, one under General Nathaniel Greene and one in the command of General George Washington. The last named was Micajah Neal, the Colonial progenitor of the branch we are dealing with. He took part in the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777, endured the bitter winter at Valley Forge, 1777-78, and wit -. nessed the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown October 19, 1781. He settled in Farquier county, Virginia, and took to wife Mildred Beasley, a native of the same county. Sometime after the war they emigrated to Shelby county,

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 72

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

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