USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 83
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10, 1891, lives at home; Leo O., born July 22, 1894, lives in Noblesville; Ralph R., born March 19, 1896, is deceased; Harold K., born October 23, 1898, is still at home with his parents; Mary E., born October 12, 1905, is deceased.
For several years Mr. Sowerwine has been engaged in the sewing ma- business in connection with his farm. He acted as manager for the Singer Sewing Machine Company for about seven years, since which time he has handled bicycles, sporting goods and pianos in connection with the sewing machine business.
Mr. Sowerwine was elected chief of the State Haymakers Association of Indiana in 1910, and served in this office for one year, during which time he lived in Noblesville. Politically, Mr. Sowerwine is a Republican. and was trustee of Noblesville township for four years. He takes a deep interest in all current events and is ever ready to promote the cause of good government. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the First Metho- dist Episcopal church, in the affairs of which they are actively interested.
EDWIN B. MURPHY.
Among the citizens of Washington township, Hamilton county, Indiana, who have built up a comfortable home and surrounded themselves with all the comforts and conveniences of modern life, there is no one more worthy of mention than Edwin B. Murphy. Born and reared in this county, he has passed all of his life within its precincts, and is therefore intimately ac- quainted with every phase of its history. As a chicken fancier, he is a leader not only in his own county but is recognized as one of the foremost poultry experts in the state.
Edwin B. Murphy, the son of Merrit and Martha J. (Chappell) Mur- phy, was born September 7, 1858, in Clay township, in this county. The Murphy family came from North Carolina to this state early in the last cen- tury, William, the grandfather of Edwin B., being born in that state April 30, 1806. The parents of William came from North Carolina to Indiana and settled in Miami county when William was only eighteen months old, and lived in that county until William was nine years old. They then moved to Wayne county, in this state, where they remained till 1834 when they per- manently removed to Hamilton county.
Merrit Murphy was born in 1833 in Wayne county, and in 1847 came to this county where he lived until his death, August 16, 1900. His wife,
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Martha J. Chappell, was born in Westfield and lived in this county all her life, dying June 26, 1880. To Merrit Murphy and wife were born five chil- dren: Edwin B., whose history forms the theme of this narrative; Mrs. John B. Stipp, whose husband is a minister in the Friends church at In- dianapolis; Elizabeth, a minister of the Friends church at Coloma; Earl W., who is living in Washington township on the old home farm settled by his grandfather; Elbert M., who is farming on the old home place in Clay town- ship.
Edwin B. Murphy was educated in the common schools of his immediate neighborhood and later attended Spiceland Academy, one of several excellent academies under the control of the Friends church in the state. After finish- ing his schooling he returned to his home county and has been engaged in agricultural pursuits ever since. When sixteen years of age he sent to Pennsylvania for some full-blooded single-comb brown Leghorn chickens, and from that time forward he has been very much interested in the raising of chickens. In addition to raising Leghorn chickens, he handles Barred Ply- mouth Rocks, and is widely recognized as one of the most successful poultry breeders in the country. He owns one hundred acres of fine farm land, and is now living in Carmel, though still continuing to give active direction to the affairs of his farm and dairy.
Mr. Murphy has been superintendent of the poultry department at the Indiana State Fair for the past sixteen years, superintendent of the Indiana Fanciers' Association for the past seven years and was assistant superintend- ent of the poultry department at the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904. He has taken prizes and premiums on his chickens and eggs all over the United States. At the egg exhibit at Purdue University in 1913 he won three firsts as well as the grand sweepstakes, with a total score of ninety- nine and one-half. In the same year he won the silver cup offered by the American Poultry Association for the best dozen eggs exhibited. In ad- dition to his poultry Mr. Murphy raises registered Poland China hogs, and has been very successful in handling them, having found stock-raising a valuable adjunct to his general farming.
Mr. Murphy was married January 22, 1885, to Mary Bunnell, the daughter of Reuben and Ascenath (Powell) Bunnell, both of whom were natives of Indiana, and the former of whom is now dead. To Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell were born four children: Anna, Mary, Ezra and Ella. All of the children but Mary, the wife of Mr. Murphy, are still living with their mother at Broad Ripple, Indiana.
In politics Mr. Murphy has always been identified with the Republican party, but owing to his private affairs, he has never taken an active part
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in the deliberations of his party in this county. He and his wife are loyal members of the Friends church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Fraternally, he is associated with the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Murphy is a progressive citizen who is interested in all measures which will in any way improve the welfare of his community and make it a better place in which to live.
ALFRED BURROUGHS.
A life of four score and three years in Hamilton county gives Alfred Burroughs the right to be classed among the pioneers of his county. Very few men have lived as long in the county and none has been more closely identified with its progress than he, since his whole life has been spent within the confines of the county. When he was born the county was still practi- cally a virgin wilderness with a few clearings scattered over the county, and he has seen it emerge from this primitive condition to its present state as one of the leading agricultural counties of Indiana. The state was in the same condition in 1832 as Virginia was two hundred years ago, and it is diffi- cult for the present generation to realize that Indiana has reached its condi- tion of to-day within such a short time. A man of the age of Mr. Burroughs has lived through nearly the whole span of Indiana's growth, and has seen the rise of every modern invention which is in use to-day.
Alfred Burroughs, one of Hamilton's most distinguished pioneers. was born in this county on October 6, 1832. His parents, Roswell and Kasias Burroughs, were natives of Kentucky and came to this county shortly after their marriage. His father followed teaming for a short time after coming to the county and then engaged in general farming the remainder of his life.
The education of Mr. Burroughs was secured in the subscription schools of his home neighborhood and was confined to "the three Rs"-readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic. The rude log school houses of his boyhood days have given way to handsome brick and stone structures which are found every- where in this county. The whole life of Mr. Burroughs has been spent in agricultural pursuits and with a success which stamps him as a man of energy and ability. In the course of an active life of more than eighty years he has accumulated a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which is one of the most highly improved and productive farms in the county.
Mr. Burroughs was married January 19, 1854, to Elizabeth Philis, and
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to this union there were born three children : Mrs. W. R. Walker, of Nobles- ville; Cassius, a farmer of Sullivan county, Indiana ; Mrs. Fanny Rollings, of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs have fifteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren living. Mrs. Burroughs was born May 9, 1835, in the state of Ohio and consequently is seventy-nine years of age. This estimable couple celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 1914, at their home southwest of Noblesville, and the occasion was a most enjoyable one in every particular. They have made their home on the same farm for more than sixty years, and in that time have endeared themselves to a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
The Republican party has always claimed the support of Mr. Burroughs and his vote has been cast for every Republican candidate for president from Fremont down to the present time. Mr. Burroughs and his wife have been life-long members of the Christian church at Hazel Dell and have been active in all church work. All who know this worthy couple hold them in high esteem and honor them for the excellent life they have led. Rarely, indeed, has a couple the honor of celebrating the sixtieth wedding anniversary, and for this reason the historian of the county takes peculiar pleasure in pre- senting the life history of this estimable couple for the consideration of the readers of this volume.
WILLIAM C. KENDALL.
The Kendall family of Hamilton county, Indiana, are descendants of Thomas Kendall, Jr., an English Quaker who came to America about the middle of the eighteenth century and settled in Bucks county in the state of Pennsylvania. Thomas Kendall was the son of Thomas Kendall and was born in Westmoreland county, England. The first definite records of the fam- ily are set forth in the report of the New Garden Monthly Meeting in Guil- ford county, North Carolina, held on November 26, 1763. It appears that in this year Thomas Kendall removed from Pennsylvania to North Carolina with his family, a fact which is set forth in the following statement taken from the record of New Garden Meeting of the date above mentioned. The record reads as follows : "Thomas Kendall produced a certificate of removal for himself, wife and five children, bearing the date of the eighth month, twentieth day, 1763, which was read and accepted by the Meeting." How- ever, the records show the births of only four children: William, born July 29. 1754: Benjamin, born December 31, 1756; Elizabeth, born March 20, 1759: John, born April 20, 1762. Thomas Kendall, the father of these
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children died on September 26, 1781, and his wife Margaret died on Septem- ber 22, 1775.
John Kendall, the grandfather of William C. Kendall, was born at War- rington, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on April 20, 1762, and was about one year old when he went with his parents to North Carolina. He grew to manhood in the latter state and married Ann Underhill. To this union eight children were born: Margaret, Hannah, Thomas, Lydia, Sarah, Ruth, John and Nathan. The first wife of John Kendall died February 22, 1800, and he then married Elizabeth Griffin. To this second union were born seven children: Nancy, Ascenath, James G., Gula Elma, Ahimaaz, Ahira and Elvira. The mother of these seven children died June 14, 1843. .
Ahimaaz Kendall, the father of William C. Kendall, was born in Ran- dolph county, North Carolina, October 5, 1813, and grew to manhood in that state. After leaving the state where he was born he was married to Rhoda Stalker, a sister of David Stalker, who had married Elvira, the sister of Ahimaaz. The first wife of Ahimaaz Kendall came with her father and family to Hamilton county, Indiana, and died in this county in 1848, at the age of thirty. The daughter of Ahimaaz Kendall by his first wife was named Rhoda, and she became the wife of Barkley Jones.
The second wife of Ahimaaz Kendall was Elizabeth Carter. She was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, and at the age of five or six came with her parents, John and Sarah Carter, to Indiana and settled in Hendricks county, about four miles south of Danville. The Carter family came from Ireland to Chester county, Pennsylvania, and moved from thence to Hen- dricks County, Indiana. There Elizabeth Carter lived until her marriage to Ahimaaz Kendall. To this marriage were born two children: Elimina, who died at the age of three weeks, and William C., with whom this narra- tive deals. Ahimaaz Kendall died March 8, 1865, and in 1868 his widow married Richard Moore. She lived until January 28, 1892.
Ahimaaz Kendall came to Indiana about 1838 and located first in Mor- gan county and two years later settled in Hamilton county on the farm in Washington township where his son, William C., is now residing. He en- tered one hundred and sixty acres of government land, started to clear the land and the first year only put out two acres of crops. The second year he had cleared five acres, which he planted. The rude log cabin which he first built had no door, and a quilt was used to cover the one opening in the cabin. The bed was made of poles and shucks and the furniture was like- wise all home-made. Ahimaaz Kendall prospered year after year and suc- ceeded in accumulating a farm of three hundred and sixty acres. He and
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his wife were both loyal members of the Friends church and took an active part in the various activities of their denomination.
William C. Kendall, the only son of Ahimaaz and Elizabeth (Carter) Kendall, was born on the farm where he is now living, June 30, 1856. He grew to manhood on the paternal farm and received a good common school education which he has since supplemented by wide reading and close obser- vation. Mr. Kendall was married in October, 1877, to Elizabeth Moore, born in Hamilton county, Indiana, the second daughter of Barkley and Phoebe (Barker) Moore. The Moores came from the state of Ohio and the Barker family from Holly Springs, North Carolina. Barkley Moore was. the son of Mordecai and Rachel (Stubbs) Moore and was born in Preble county, Ohio. Mordecai Moore came to Hamilton county in the early history of the county, bought a farm one and one-half miles south of West- field and lived there until his death in 1842, at the age of fifty-two, his wife surviving him many years, she passing away in 1879. Mordecai Moore and wife reared a family of nine children, three of them being Barkley, the father of Mrs. Kendall; Ann, the wife of Isaac Wells, and Joseph, who subsequently moved to Iowa. Barkley Moore died October 18, 1860, leav- ing three children: Vincent, who lives southwest of Noblesville; Anna, the wife of Levi Kendall, of Whitestown; Elizabeth, the wife of William C. Kendall.
After his marriage William C. Kendall started farming on a farm north of his present home, but two years later moved on the old homestead where he has since resided. In the spring of 1822 he built a new house on the farm in which he and his. family have since made their home. He has followed general farming and met with success commensurate with his efforts.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kendall: Ione and Otto G. Ione is the wife of Grant Hinshaw and lives in Mountain Creek, Ala- bama. Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw are the parents of four children, only one of whom is living, Edna. Herbert died of scarlet fever at the age of eleven and the other two died in infancy. Otto married Emma Tracey and lives on the home farm. He and his wife have one daughter, Irene, living and three deceased : Chalmer, John William and Glenn.
Mr. Kendall and his wife enjoyed excellent educational advantages in their youth and have kept will informed on the current topics of the day. They have always been interested in the welfare of the Friends church and have been generous contributors to its various enterprises. Politically, Mr. Kendall has given his hearty support to the Republican party but has never been a candidate for any public office.
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ELI STALKER.
The whole career of Eli Stalker has been spent in Hamilton county, In- diana, and on the farm where he was born seventy years ago. As a life-long. resident of the county he is well known to its citizens, and such has been his part in the life of his community that he is highly respected by everyone who knows him. Serving as a public school teacher for several years and as a public official for more than twenty years, he has been very active in the civic and educational life of his community.
Eli Stalker, the son of David and Alvira (Kendall) Stalker, was born on the farm where he is now living in 1844. His father was a native of Ohio, born in 1811, and was the son of Nathan and Mary Stalker. About 1842 the Stalker family moved to Hamilton county, Indiana, and David Stalker bought one hundred and sixty acres of school land from the state in Washington township, and on this farm Eli Stalker was born, reared and is still residing. Alvira Kendall was born about 1816 in North Carolina, near where High Point now stands. She walked nearly all the way from North Carolina to Indiana, being about thirteen years of age when her mother moved to Hamilton county, Indiana. Her father had died in North Carolina and her mother had married again and came to this state and county with her second husband, locating in Washington township. Here Alvira Kendall grew to womanhood and married David Stalker. After his mar- riage David Stalker lived the remainder of his life on a farm he had bought from the state. He came here during the winter season, cleared a place for his cabin and made ready to move in. At that time wild game of all kinds was very abundant and when he cleared his ground and piled the brush near his little log cabin, a wild turkey built her nest in the brush, and Mr. Stakler secured the eggs and later hatched them. There were six children born to David Stalker and wife: Aaron, who died in Tipton county, Indiana, some years ago; Eli, with whom this narrative deals; Ezra, of Westfield: Mrs. Mary Ellen Barker, who now lives on the eastern half of the old farm; one who died in infancy, and Emily, who died when she was about twenty-one years of age. The father of these children died February 11, 1903, and the mother on May 10, 1914. Both were loyal members of the Friends church.
Eli Stalker received a good common school education and later was graduated from the Union high school at Westfield. He was a youth of studious habits and devoted himself so assiduously to his studies that when he was graduated from the high school he had no difficulty in securing
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a license to teach. For eleven years he taught school, spending most of his time in Jackson township. After he stopped teaching he resumed farm- ing on the old home farm and has since continued to reside there. While teaching he spent part of his time in the dry goods business at Arcadia.
In 1872 Mr. Stalker was married to Mary Waltz, of Jackson township. She was born and reared in Jackson township, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Knause) Waltz. Her parents were Pennsylvania-Dutch and came to this state from Pennsylvania, making a permanent home in Jackson town- ship. To this first union of Mr. Stalker were born two children, one who died in early childhood, and Clarence, who died at the age of twenty-one. The mother of these children died in September, 1875.
In 1882 Mr. Stalker married Olive Stanbrough, who was also a native of Washington township, the daughter of Ira H. and Mary (Gause) Stan- brough. Her father was a carpenter and farmer and lived on the farm south of Mr. Stalker. Mr. Stanbrough built the house and barn where Mr. Stalker now lives. There were two children born to the second marriage of Mr. Stalker : Roxie, who is at home with her father, and Le Barron, who died in childhood. The second wife of Mr. Stalker died March 28, 1890.
In September, 1892, Mr. Stalker married Catherine Knause, a cousin of his first wife. She was born at Arcadia, Indiana, and is the daughter of Jonathan and Matilda (Waltz) Knause. Her father was a brother to Mr. Stalker's first wife's mother. Matilda Waltz was born in Indiana, and spent most of her life in Jackson township, this county, dying there in March, 1914, while Mr. Knause still lives in Jackson township. The chief occupation of Mr. Knause has been house moving, in which he still is actively engaged.
Mr. Stalker is a member of the Friends church, his wife maintaining her membership in the Christian church. Politically, he has been a life-long Republican, and for about fifteen years was drainage commissioner for Hamil- ton county. He was elected to this office in 1885 and continued to hold it until 1900, in which year he resigned in order to take the office of town- ship trustee of Washington township, to which he had been elected. He held the office of trustee from November, 1900, until January, 1905, when his father-in-law was elected to succeed him. However, his father-in-law died while in office, and Mr. Stalker filled out his unexpired term, so that he held the office for a total period of more than five years. Mr. Stalker is a well known citizen of the community and county where he has spent his entire life, and is highly respected by a wide circle of friends and acquain- tances.
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LINDLEY CAREY.
The prosperity of our state is due in large measure to the farmer, whose honest industry, sturdy persistence and wise economy have made him one of the most important factors of our civilization. Among the many worthy farmers of this county who have been identified with the agricultural life of the same there is no more progressive farmer than Lindley Carey, a successful agriculturist of Washington township.
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Lindley Carey, the son of Eli and Mary (Barker) Carey, was born July 19, 1863, on the farm where he is now living. Eli Carey was born in Ohio, December 13, 1825, and as a young man learned the trade of a black- smith. He came to Hamilton county when he was nineteen years old with his parents, and settled in Washington township. He was married in 1847 to Mary Barker, who was a native of North Carolina. To Eli Carey and wife were born five children : Enos, born June 10, 1850, and deceased at the age of fifty; Mrs. Elmo Tucker, born April 20, 1853, who lives in New London, Howard county, Indiana: Mrs. Penina Williamson, born June 6. 1865, who is a resident of Westfield; Mrs. Cordelia Cook, born February 28, 1860, and Lindley, with whom this narrative deals. The mother of these children died December 28, 1885. Eli Carey farmed and worked at his trade of a blacksmith all his life. He and his wife were devoted members of the Friends church and for many years he was an officer in the church.
Lindley Carey was educated in the district schools and later attended the Union high school at Westfield. After leaving the school room he en- gaged in farming and has been continuously following that occupation since his marriage. He keeps his farm up to the highest state of efficiency and raises all of the crops suitable to the soil of this locality. He has a beautiful home, and everything about it is always kept in the most attractive manner.
Mr. Carey was married on November 26, 1891, to Alice Rich, daughter of Elias and Mary Ann (Coppock) Rich, natives of Indiana and Ohio, re- spectively, both of whom for many years were ministers in the Friends church. Mr. and Mrs. Rich are the parents of six children: Albert, de- ceased : Mrs. Julia A. Lewis, Peru, Indiana; Mrs. Luella Osborn, whose husband is a farmer of this county : Lindley M., who lives in Howard county, Indiana : Alice, the wife of Mr. Carey, and Francis E., who lives on a farm near Gosport, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Carey have three children : Lowell R., born June 6, 1894, a graduate of the Westfield high school and a student of the Muncie Normal School for four terms. He taught for a time in Leith, North Dakota, and
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is now teaching in Jasper county, Indiana. Mary Modenia, who was born April 1, 1896, died March 8, 1897, and an infant daughter died at the age of three months.
The Republican party claims the support of Mr. Carey, but he is not a rigid partisan in any sense of the word. He takes an intelligent interest in good government and supports all worthy enterprises in his community. All the family are devout members of the Friends church and are interested in its various activities. Mr. Carey is a man of domestic tastes and is never happier than when seated by his own fireside surrounded by the members of his family. He bears an excellent reputation among his neighbors and en- joys the confidence and esteem of everyone who knows him.
PAUL B. WRIGHT.
In the wonderful progress humanity has been making along so many lines in recent years, no more significant step has been taken in any direction than that which marks the, improvement in the methods of caring for the physical ailments of mankind. All "schools" of medicine have been affected by the irresistible demand of humanity for something that will actually touch at the roots of disease and provide correctives for the manifold bodily suffer- ings of humanity. In all of these "schools" there no doubt has been marked advance, due to this insistent demand. but in the field so rapidly being filled by the progressive school of osteopathy there has been an advance in the last few years that has been remarkable and which is being taken note of by thoughtful persons everywhere.
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