USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 76
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
Mr. Forrer was married September 14, 1890, to Clara Heiny, the daugh- ter of Benjamin and Julia A. (Lennen) Heiny, and to this union has been born one son, Raymond W., born in 1894. Raymond attended the high school at Noblesville and is now assistant to his father on the home farm.
Benjamin Heiny, the father of Mrs. Forrer, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, the fourth child of Samuel and Anna (Schock) Heiny. Benjamin came with his parents from Wayne county to Hamilton county, Indiana, in 1839, and lived in this county the remainder of his life.
The Heiny family is of German descent, the first of the family to come to America being Jacob Heiny, who came from Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, about the middle of the eighteenth century. The seventh son of Jacob Heiny, the first member of the family to leave his native land, was Samuel, who was born in 1771, and through him the family in this county have descended. Jacob Heiny was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was a member of. the artillery in a Pennsylvania regiment. Julia A. Lennen, the mother of Mrs. Forrer, was born in Wayne township, Hamilton county, Indiana. the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Davis) Lennen. Samuel Lennen was a son of Peter Lennen, who entered government land in this county among the first settlers and became a large land owner before his
Digitized by Google
755
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
death. Elizabeth Davis came to this county from Ohio, making the over- land trip on horseback with her parents. It is interesting to note that she met her future husband, Samuel Lennen, on the way from Ohio to this county, and he aided her in crossing a swollen stream. This chance acquaint- ance was later renewed and ultimately resulted in their marriage. Benjamin Heiny owned a saw mill at Clarksville, in partnership with his father, and managed it for several years. In later life he returned to farming and while living on his farm his wife died. Six years later he married Mrs. Watkins and moved to a farm one and one-half miles southeast of Noblesville, where his death occurred June 14, 1910.
Mr. and Mrs. Forrer are both consistent members of the Christian church, and Mr. Forrer takes an active part in all the work of the church. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife are both members of the Order of Eastern Star. He also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias.
CHARLES W. BOOTH.
It would be interesting to know how many of the citizens of Hamilton county, Indiana, have come from North Carolina. A large number of Quakers settled in that state early in the nineteenth century, but their hatred of slavery led them to leave the state and settle in the North, where slavery was not allowed. Indiana received thousands of her best citizens in the early history of this state from North Carolina, and the majority of these were of the Quaker faith. Since the Civil War many have come from North Carolina and located in Indiana, and among those who settled in Hamilton county may be mentioned Charles W. Booth, who is now a prosperous farmer of Fall Creek township.
Charles W. Booth, the son of Charles and Fanny (Mckinney) Booth, was born March 4, 1860, in Guilford county. North Carolina. His father died at the opening of the Civil War, and he lived with his mother until her death.
When Charles W. Booth was a lad of about thirteen years of age, he made a trip to Hamilton county, where his uncle, Joseph Booth, lived, but only stayed a short time and then returned to his old home in North Caro- lina. About 1884 he returned to Hamilton county, and worked on his uncle's farm by the month. He married in the following year and continued to reside on his uncle's farm until 1892, in which year Mr. Booth bought a
Digitized by Google
756
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
farm of one hundred and forty acres, which he still owns, and where he has lived since that time. He has a handsome house, which is set in attractive surroundings, and everything about the farm indicates that the owner is a man of thrift as well as of excellent taste.
Mr. Booth was married September 9, 1885, to Lizzie Caylor, who was born about four miles east of Noblesville, the daughter of David D. and Mary Ann (Gallaway) Caylor. Mrs. Booth's father was a native of Ohio, born near Dayton, the son of Abraham and Susannah Caylor. Abraham Caylor came to Indiana in pioneer times and settled on the Haverstick farm in Hamilton county, where he lived the remainder of his days. David D. Caylor, the father of Mrs. Booth, was a carpenter by trade, and lived most of his life in Clarksville, in Wayne township. The Caylors originally came from Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Booth are the parents of five children: Raymond, Emery, Vera, India and Mabel. Raymond married Jessie Manship, and has one son, Frank, and lives on a farm one mile north of his father's place. Emery married Maude Day, and lives one mile northwest of his father's farm. Vera is the wife of Charles Klepfer, of Oaklandon, and has one daughter, Lois. India and Mabel are still at home with their parents.
WILLIAM H. BEAVER.
There are few older native citizens of Hamilton county than William H. Beaver. He was born in the same township where he is now living, January 13, 1836, and was reared under pioneer conditions and endured all of the privations and hardships, as well as all of the pleasures incident to life in a new country. He started in life with practically nothing, and by his own efforts and good management he has accumulated an estate of four hundred and twenty-seven acres in the township where he was born. He has been a diligent and industrious man throughout his long career, and has looked forward to the time when he could retire from active labors. While his life has been devoted primarily to his own interests, yet he has not neglected to bear his share of the burdens of his community. Born, as he was, in pioneer times he well remembers the time when all of his clothing was made at home: in fact, he never had a suit of "store" clothes until he was twenty-two years of age. He is remarkably well preserved for a man of his years, and is still able to read fine print without the aid of glasses.
1
Digitized by
757
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
William H. Beaver, one of the most substantial farmers of Fall Creek township, Hamilton county, Indiana, was born January 13, 1836, in the township, where he has always lived. He is the son of Henry and Annie (Sellers) Beaver, natives of North Carolina and Ohio, respectively. His father grew to manhood in North Carolina, and later came to Ohio, where he met and married his first wife. In 1830, or probably before that date, he came with his family to Hamilton county, Indiana, and entered a tract of government land containing half a section, and lived on this farm until his son, William H., was about thirty-five years of age. The first wife of Henry Beaver died when William H. was a babe in arms and so young that he has no recollection of his mother. His father later married Mrs. Anna (Branham) Sloan, a widow of Hamilton county, and William H. Beaver was reared by his stepmother. There were nine children by both marriages, William H. being the youngest child by the first marriage.
William H. Beaver received only a very limited education in the sub- scription schools of his day and remained at home until he reached his majority and then began to work in a tanvard on the old National road. However, when his father and stepmother were getting along in years, he returned home and managed his father's farm. Before he died Henry Beaver gave each of his children some of his property, dividing the farm among the children, or rather giving them notes for five hundred dollars each, which were to stand as liens against his estate. After the death of his father, William H. Beaver, took the farm subject to the claims represented by the notes and went to work with a will, gradually paying off every note. Thus William H. Beaver acquired his father's farm, and has been tilling it since that time. He not only owns the three hundred acres of the paternal estate, but has since purchased one hundred and twenty-seven acres in the same township.
After his father's death William H. Beaver married Sarah Emily Grice, who died about eight years after her marriage, leaving no children. He then married her sister, Catherine, and her death occurred about six years after their marriage, she likewise leaving no children. The first wife of Mr. Beaver inherited sixteen acres and Mr. Beaver bought out the other Grice heirs and still owns the forty acres which he thus acquired. His second wife had one hundred and twenty-nine acres, in which Mr. Beaver has a life interest. In addition to these extensive tracts of land in Fall Creek township, Mr. Beaver also owns a tract of thirteen acres in Hancock county.
About a year after the death of his second wife Mr. Beaver returned
Digitized by: Google
758
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
to the old homestead and now makes his home with Mr. Rushton, who rents the farm. The whole life of Mr. Beaver has been devoted to farming, with the exception of four years which he spent in the tan-yard. He started with only a very small share of his father's estate, but by assuming heavy in- debtedness, bought out the other heirs and thus became the owner of the farm, which, as a lad, he had helped to clear. His first wife, though not strong physically, was a good manager, and willingly helped her husband in many ways, for which he gladly gives her credit. His second wife, like her sister, was a true helpmate, and his efforts were ably seconded by her. As a result of his life-long endeavors he has accumulated a large amount of land, acquiring a competence, when others with better chances have but little to show for their efforts. He has seen young men who made three times the wages he did in his youth, squander their, opportunities and so conduct their affairs as to be compelled to live from hand to mouth. The career of Mr. Beaver is interesting in showing what can be accomplished by a man who starts out with the intention of accumulating a good farm, and the life of the subject of this biography should be an inspiration to the young men of the coming generation.
LEANDER FRANKLIN WHETSEL.
The Whetsel family have been identified with the history of Hamilton county since 1850, when the first members of the family arrived in this county. Leander F. Whetsel has spent his entire life since his birth, in 1868, in Fall Creek township, in Hamilton county, Indiana, and has so con- ducted his affairs as to win the esteem of his fellow citizens. He has been a life-long farmer, and if to one class of people more than another the United States owes a debt of gratitude, it is to the diligent, perserving farmers, on whom our prosperity as a nation so largely depends.
Leander Franklin Whetsel, the son of Theodore and Elzina (Birch) Whetsel, was born February 14, 1867, in Fall Creek twonship, Hamilton county, Indiana. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, born December 2, 1822, and grew to manhood in his native state. He was married Febru- ary 5, 1850, after coming to Hamilton county, Indiana, to Elzina Birch, who was born in New York state May 4, 1832. Soon after his marriage he and his wife located in Fall Creek township, on a farm adjoining the one where L. F. Whetsel is now living. Theodore Whetsel first entered eighty acres of government land at one dollar and a quarter an acre, and after clearing
Digitized by Google
759
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
part of the land and improving it he traded it for the farm on which his son, Leander, is now living. His eighty-acre farm was well improved and when he made the exchange in 1881 he secured one hundred and sixty acres, which was only partly improved. It had some buildings on it, but nearly all of it was in timber. Theodore Whetsel eventually became the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Fall Creek township and one hun- dred acres near Pendleton, Madison county. He was an extensive breeder of Poland China hogs, being recognized as one of the most successful hog raisers in the county. He was a home-loving man and looked after his farming interests diligently. He and his wife started in a primitive log cabin with puncheon floors, stick and mud chimneys, greased-paper windows and home-made furniture. When they first settled in it the township was largely swamps, with no roads and very few cabins scattered over it. Theo- dore Whetsel died December 2, 1901, his wife having died January 27, of the same year, after having lived nearly fifty years together. Theodore Whetsel and wife were the parents of ten children: Wilbur, who died at the age of forty, leaving a wife and two children; Daniel A., who lives in Fall Creek township; Cynthia E., the deceased wife of Branson Smith; Cornelia, the wife of John H. Sylvester, of Wayne township; Mattie M., the wife of David Adams, of Madison county, Indiana; George M., of Indianapolis; Leander Franklin, with whom this narrative deals; Alfred O., who is now living on part of the old home farm; Pierson, who died in childhood, and one who died unnamed in infancy.
Leander F. Whetsel was thirteen years of age when his father moved on the one hundred and sixty-acre farm in 1881, and did his full share to- ward helping to clear the land. He remained at home until his marriage, in 1889, and since his marriage has continued to reside on the old Whetsel homestead. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of the old home farm and has bought forty acres across the road, so that he is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine farming land in the township.
Mr. Whetsel was married November 10, 1889, to Edna Keeling, who was born in Fall Creek township, this county, the daughter of Richard and Mary (Nicholson) Keeling. Richard Keeling was a native of Shelby county, Indiana, born in August, 1839, and was the son of Richard F. and Mary Keeling. Richard Keeling Sr., died in Shelby county, and his son, Richard, Jr .. grew to manhood there and came to this county with his mother, where they located near the center of Fall Creek township. Richard, Jr., married Mary Nicholson in this county, his wife being a native of North Carolina, and coming to this county with her parents when she was about twenty years
..
Digitized by Google
760
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
of age. Her parents, Abel and Prudence Nicholson, settled in Wayne township, this county, and lived to advanced ages. She lived to be ninety years of age, and Abel Nicholson, who was a soldier in the Civil War, died at the age of seventy.
Mr. Whetsel and his wife have one son, Guy Loren, who was born January 1, 1894. He was graduated from the high school at Fortville, In- diana, and married India Fisher, the daughter of Hiram Fisher, and lives on his father's farm. Mrs. Whetsel's grandmother, Mrs. Nicholson, whose maiden name was Prudence Sayles, was born in North Carolina, and she was a child of slave-holding Southerners. Her father gave each of his chil- dren a slave at their marriage, giving her a negro girl who had cared for her in babyhood. When Prudence Sayles came to Indiana she sold the slave her father had given her for five hundred dollars.
Politically, Mr. Whetsel is a Democrat, but has never cared to take an ' active part in the councils of his party. However, he lends his hearty sup- port to all public-spirited measures, and never fails to register his honest convictions on any subject of importance to his community. He is a mem- ber of the Improved Order of Red Men. and Mrs. Whetsel is a devoted member of the Christian church.
CLARK MILLIKAN.
The ninety years which have elapsed since the birth of Clark Millikan in Randolph county, North Carolina, have covered a period of more than three-fourths of the history of the United States. The history of Mr. Milli- kan is replete with many interesting incidents, and particularly that part of his life which concerns the Civil War. Mr. Millikan is one of many ex- cellent citizens of Hamilton county who lived in North Carolina prior to the Civil War, and his experience during that memorable struggle is similar to that of many other members of the Friends church at that period.
Clark Millikan, the son of Samuel and Sallie (Clark) Millikan, was born April 12, 1824, in Randolph county, North Carolina. His parents both were natives of the same county, his father having been born in 1789 and his mother in 1800. Samuel Millikan was the son of Benjamin, who in turn was the son of William Millikan, of Irish ancestry. The Millikan family has traced its history back to Normandy, as far back as 800, A. D., and members of the family have been prominent in several of the countries ot
Digitized by Google
761
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
western Europe. Benjamin Millikan, grandfather of Clark, lived in North Carolina on land which his father, William, had entered. During the Revo- lutionary War, Benjamin Millikan and his family were harried by the Tories and at one time the soldiers captured Benjamin and his wife, but owing to the laxity of the guard which was placed around them they were able to escape.
Clark Millikan grew to manhood in Randolph county, North Carolina, and on December 18, 1851, married Nancy Adams, who died on October II, 1852, leaving one daughter, Nancy Angeline, who is still living with her father in Hamilton county, Indiana. Mr. Millikan was married a second time, on January 4, 1855, to Lydia Hinshaw, and to this second marriage seven children were born: Lewis Elwood, born October 10, 1855; an infant, born in November, 1857, who died in the following December; Florence Ellen, born June 30, 1860; Lunda Martisia, born October 2, 1862; Alice Martha, born August 7, 1864; Anna Florence, born December 5, 1869, and Lucetta Jane. born December 19, 1874, who died August 30, 1878.
A brief summary of the history of each of these seven children is here given : Lewis Elwood married Martha Ellen Barker, February 23, 1882. and resides on a farm two miles south of Sheridan. He is an active and prominent member of the Friends church, and has two children, Arza Homer and Edna Pearl. Arza is now running the farm of his grandfather. Flor- ence Ellen was married April 8, 1879, to L. R. Michaels, a carpenter, now living in Indianapolis. She has five children, Clifton C., Beecher A., Edgar E., Florence F. and Merritt R. Clifton married Grace Hanson and lives in Indianapolis. He is a brick mason and has a son, Robert. Beecher married Ella Maufin, and lives in Indianapolis, where he follows the trade of a brick mason. Edgar died in 1913, at the age of twenty-three.' Florence E. is the wife of James Stewart, of Indianapolis, and has one child, Helen Irene. Merritt R. is still living with his parents in Indianapolis.
Lunda Martisia, the fourth child of Clark Millikan and wife, was married March 17, 1881, to Vinson M. Moore, of Moores Crossing, near Noblesville, and has five children : Nora L., wife of Orrin Myers, of Gray. Indiana. and the mother of two children, Lowell and Harriett; Flossie G., the wife of Rev. Pliny Cox, a minister of the Friends church, of Messick, Michigan, and the mother of two children, Leota and Larue; Cecil R., a job printer of Indianapolis, who married Ruth Layton and has one daughter ; Orace C., born December 5, 1900, and Helena, born in 1902.
Alice Martha, the fifth child of Mr. and Mrs. Millikan, married Novem- ber 6, 1884, Owen D. Cox, who died February 23, 1894. Mrs. Cox had
Digitized by Google
762
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
two children, Stella A., who died in 1899, at the age of thirteen, and Carrie L., who is a nurse with headquarters at Indianapolis. Mrs. Cox makes her home with her father and mother near Sheridan.
Anna Florence, the sixth child. married February 1, 1891, Clark Stout, a grocer and meat dealer at Sheridan. They have three children: Lester M., living at Noblesille, who married Bertha Cox, and has one son, George Clark, who was born October 25, 1914; Larue C. and Lydia S.
Mr. Millikan and his family were still living in North Carolina at the opening of the Civil War. He was reared in the Friends church and was opposed to war and slavery. He was drafted for service in the Confederate army, but hired a substitute to take his place. The limit age was raised later in the war and he was drafted and sent to the front. Before this he and three other members of the Friends church had paid a man forty dollars to write a memorial to the Confederate Congress, asking that Friends be al- lowed to pay five hundred dollars and be relieved from war duty. He and his three friends were ordered to drill and refused to do so until they heard from Congress. They were arrested and tied up by their thumbs for half a day in the rain and snow. During the forenoon that they were thus sus- pended the water ran down their arms into their shoes, and after dinner they were bucked and bound and punished until one of their number declared he would die if the punishment was not stopped. To save their comrade, the other three agreed to drill. They drilled but watched closely for a chance to escape. After several months at detail work near home, for which they received sixty-five cents a day and board, they were sent to a regiment and within a month, while on picket duty near Petersburg, Mr. Millikan and a number of others, left the lines and slipped over to the Yankee lines. more than one-half mile away. This happened one night while they were on duty and was probably the most exciting night's experience through which Mr. Millikan ever passed.
On this particular night when he made his escape, Mr. Millikan and three others were guarding with a campfire behind a screen of limbs. Other guards were stationed in little groups along the lines with a fire to each group. In the group of guards next to Mr. Millikan and his friends was sta- tioned one man whose duty was to watch the Friends constantly. About mid- night this man who was watching Mr. Millikan and his friends drew his cape up over his head to protect himself from the cold wind and leaned down over the fire to warm. Immediately the four men, of whom Mr. Millikan was one, made a dash for liberty. They crawled rapidly as close to the ground as possible until they were thirty or forty yards over into the pine brush, then jumped to their feet and made a dash for the Yankee lines, going up to the
Digitized by Google
1
763
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
first Yankee sentry and surrendering. The four men, Millikan, Bell, Stewart and Beckerdite, immediately made themselves known. When they got to the guard and the Yankees saw the Confederate uniforms, the sentry shook hands and said, "Howdy, Johnnies," and treated them well. The four men had been on one-fourth rations and were now given the first good meal they had had for several days. After they had fully explained their position the United States government took them in charge and pursuant to a proclama- tion just issued by President Lincoln they were sent where they would be safe from the Confederates. Mr. Millikan and about eighty others accepted the offer of the United States government and Mr. Millikan, along with some of the others, asked to be sent to Hamilton county, Indiana, where he had friends. Thus closed the war experience of Mr. Millikan, and certainly he should be honored as much as those who fought for the flag.
After reaching Hamilton county, Mr. Millikan traded his North Caro- lina farm of two hundred and nine acres for an eighty-acre farm two miles southeast of Sheridan, and four hundred and twenty-four dollars. This farm had a hewed log house and about nine acres of land cleared, and here he started to work in the summer of 1865. His wife and children came from North Carolina soon afterwards and joined him. He cleared this farm and improved it with a good home and barns and outbuildings. He has since added seventeen acres, and now has a well improved farm, which is managed by one of his grandsons.
On January 4, 1915, Mr. Millikan and his wife celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. They are both well preserved and are still interested in everything which concerns the welfare of their community. Both are devout members of the Friends church, as are all of their de- scendants. Mr. Millikan is an ardent Prohibitionist and is active in ad- vancing the principles of that party. He is a genial, kindly man, upright in every way, widely known and esteemed for his sterling character.
SYLVANUS MOORE.
There were several hundred enlistments from Hamilton county, Indiana, during the Civil War, and many of those thus enlisting were boys who had not yet reached their majorities. One of these many boys was Sylvanus Moore, who was not only the youngest soldier to enlist from his county, but was probably one of the youngest in the whole state. His father served in the war as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regi-
Digitized by
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.