USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 94
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Judah, for two hundred acres in Highland county, Ohio. Her husband, Abel Roberts, was an ardent opponent of the liquor traffic. In the winter of 1838-39 Abel Roberts and his wife's brother. Joseph, went on horseback to Indiana, and bought forty acres of land in the northern part of Wash- ington township, Hamilton county. In the spring of 1839. Abel Roberts and his family came to Hamilton county and lived here the remainder of their lives. Catherine, another daughter of Abraham Roberts, married James Forsyth and emigrated to Highland county. Ohio, about 1816. Abigail the youngest daughter of Abraham Roberts, married Lewis Lewis, and moved to Ohio a short time after 1816. Thomas, the son of Abraham Rob- erts, from whom most of the family in Hamilton county, are descended. was born October 3. 1769. in Pennsylvania. He was five or six years of age when his mother died on their voyage to this country. He was bound out to a cabinet maker at Philadelphia and remained with him until he reached the age of twenty-one. After he was of age the scourge of yellow fever raged in Pennsylvania, and he spent nearly a year in making coffins, devoting all of his time to coffin-making. His employer died of yellow fever and in 1800. after his marriage to Hannah Burgess, he left the state. Hannah Burgess was the daughter of Daniel and Ruth Burgess, and was born in 1779.
Thomas and Hannah ( Burgess) Roberts lived in Bucks county. Penn- sylvania. until about 1820, when they moved to Ohio, and lived near Sugar Tree Ridge, in Highland county. Here Thomas Roberts built a house and painted it a bright red, and for almost a century this red house has stood. through the heat of the summers and the wintry blasts. In 1907 the house was painted white.
Thomas Roberts and wife were the parents of eight children: Abra- ham. John, Judah. Joseph. Lewis, Anna. Abel and Ephraim, all of whom were born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Thomas Roberts and his wife lived the remainder of their days in Highland county, Ohio, and are buried there.
Lewis Roberts. the father of Mrs. John Calvin Henley, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, August 3, 1811. and died at his home in West- field. Hamilton county. Indiana, November 13. 1895. Lewis Roberts grew to manhood in Highland county. Ohio. and during the thirties came to Indiana and bought land from the government in Hamilton county, north- west of Westfield. He and his brothers, Judah and Abel, each owned two hundred acres in that neighborhood and adjoining. He married Hannah Barker, who was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1817. a daugh- ter of Simon and Elizabeth ( Stewart) Barker. She came here at the age
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of seventeen from North Carolina, and settled with her parents west of Westfield. Eight children were born to Lewis Roberts and wife: Levi, who died at the age of seventeen; Ellis, a well known farmer of this county, who died in 1910; Sarah Ann, deceased, who was the wife of John Herrell; Martha, the widow of Thomas Perisho, of Westfield; Jane, the wife of John F. White, of Westfield; Elizabeth, the wife of John C. Henley, of Westfield; Elwood, who died several years ago, leaving a family of three children ; Enos, who died at the age of twenty-one in this county.
Lewis Roberts was a life-long farmer and spent his declining years in Westfield. He was a quiet, home-loving man, preferring his own fireside to the public forum. He and his wife reared a large family of children to lives of usefulness and honor. He left a name which will be cherished by his children and their children's children. .
HORACE W. CAREY.
The watchword of success is concentration. A man with only one talent who concentrates his powers upon one unwavering aim accomplishes more than the ten-talent man who scatters his energies and never quite knows what he can do to the best advantage. A man who strikingly exemplifies this prin- ciple of the advantage of concentration in life is Horace W. Carey, a former resident of Hamilton county, but now a valued citizen of Indianapolis. He has made his way to his present success because he has done everything as if his whole attention in life had been given to that one thing, but with all of his talents he has found time to do much also in works of general utility, humanity and benevolence, and while gaining material advancement for himself, he also has been a factor in the development of the higher human- ities.
Horace W. Carey, son of Calvin and Eliza A. (Regan) Carey, was born on December 19, 1868, on a farm in Hendricks county, Indiana. His parents, both of whom were born in this county, are of Quaker ancestry, and both families have traced their history back to the Mayflower, in 1620. It is recorded that John Carey, one of the earliest ancestors of the family, was a tutor of Mary. Queen of Scots, and that another, William Carey, was a noted missionary in India. Several members of the family came to Penn- sylvania and were the followers of William Penn, and still others performed able service in the Revolutionary War from Pennsylvania. Different mem-
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bers of the family settled in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, and from these states scattered to the westward, some of them finally coming to Hen- dricks county, Indiana.
Joseph Carey and wife, the paternal grandparents of Horace W., were early settlers in Hamilton county and passed the remainder of their days in this county. Calvin Carey, the father of Horace W., was a farmer in the earlier part of his career, and later he and his wife took charge of the West- field Orphans' Home, managing that institution for several years. Later they became the superintendent and matron, respectively, of the Children's Home Society at Hadley, this county, and continued in charge of this in- stitution until the death of Mr. Carey's wife, in July, 1913, after which Calvin Carey gave up the management of the Children's Home and retired to Westfield, where he is now living. Calvin Carey and wife were the par- ents of seven children : Horace W., who is the eldest of the family ; Arthur J., a well-known business man of Westfield; Irvin, a business man of Nobles- ville; Bertha, the wife of H. W. Perisho, of Carmel; Jessie, the wife of Parker Zies, of Noblesville; Ernest, a newspaper man, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, and Florence, the wife of R. D. Horney, a construction engineer, of Indianapolis.
Horace W. Carey was educated in the common schools of his town- ship and later graduated from the Union high school at Westfield in 1878. He then entered Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana, and continued his studies in that excellent institution until he had finished his junior year. He then engaged in the wholesale grocery business in Indianapolis, retiring from that concern to become interested in a bank in Westfield. In 1890 he became the deputy county clerk of Hamilton county under Joel Stafford and served in this capacity for four years with Mr. Stafford and then continued his public service in the same capacity under the succeeding clerk, C. B. Williams, for another four years. In the fall of 1898 he was elected clerk of Hamilton county and continued in this office until 1903, since which time he has been living in Indianapolis, where he is engaged as state manager of the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Baltimore. He has been remarkably successful in the writing of casualty insurance, having written more insur- ance of this character in this state than any other man except the president of the company. He is a member of the Board of Trade of Indianapolis and takes an active part in the various social and commercial activities of the city.
Mr. Carey was married in October, 1891, to Cora Tomlinson. the daughter of Allen and Martha ( Perisho) Tomlinson, of Westfield, to which
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union there have been born three children, Lois, Allen and Horace R., Jr. Lois is a talented musician and a prominent figure in the musical life of In- dianapolis. Allen and Horace R., Jr., have offices in the Merchants National Bank Building, Indianapolis.
The Carey family are all earnest members of the Friends church and take an active part in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Carey is par- ticularly interested in the work of the Sunday school, and at the present time is superintendent of the Sunday school of his church in the city, as well as vice-president of the Marion County Sunday School Association. Mr. Carey always has been identified with the Republican party and has always been interested in every movement having as its object the advancement of the cause of good government and the civic welfare of his community. He was honored by his party by being nominated for the office of clerk of his county, and upon his election to that important office filled it to the entire satisfac- tion of every one, irrespective of party affiliations. Mr. and Mrs. Carey are people of refinement and culture and take a great deal of interest in the civic, moral and educational welfare of their community.
JOHN E. MACY.
There is no word in the English language which is susceptible of so many different interpretations as the word "success." To some it means the mere accumulation of wealth without any particular regard as to the means of its acquisition; to others it means the acquisition of knowledge with all that it may bring; while to others the word signifies the amount of good one may do in the world. The proposition that these three considera- tions may be summed up in the life of a single man is granted without ques- tion. Success to a man like John D. Rockefeller means one thing, to Edison another, to a Napoleon still another thing, while to Moody it means some- thing totally different. But no matter what interpretation a man may give to the word, there can be no doubt that he who succeeds must have a definite program. He fixes his course and adheres to it. He lays his plans and executes them. He is not quickly discouraged every time a difficulty is thrust in his way. If he cannot go over it he goes through it. What a sublime spectacle is that of a man going straight to his goal, cutting his way through difficulties and surmounting obstacles which dishearten others, as though they were mere stepping stones. Those who make the great failures in life are
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the aimless, the purposeless, the indifferent, the blundering, the shiftless, the half-hearted. There is no trend of purpose running through their work unifying their efforts and giving direction or meaning to their lives. A man with an all-obsorbing purpose within him excites our admiration because he is lifted above the leanness and feebleness, the meanness and pettiness of common lives. One of the young men of Hamilton county who is making a success of his life is John E. Macy, a prosperous farmer of Noblesville township.
John E. Macy, the son of Benedict and Mary (Jessup) Macy, was born in Noblesville township April 9, 1870. Benedict Macy was born in North Carolina and his wife in Henry county, Indiana. He came to Hamilton county, Indiana, when he was eighteen years of age and settled on a farm, where he lived until his death, August 29, 1910. In addition to farming he carried on a blacksmith trade for many years. His wife died in July, 1896.
John E. Macy was educated in the common schools of his township and later attended the high school at Westfield for a time. After leaving school he returned to the farm, where he lived until his father's death. Marrying in 1893, in 1910 he purchased a farm of fifty-nine and one-half acres in this township, and has been managing it ever since. He carries on a general system of farming, paying particular attention to the raising of as much live stock as he can keep on his farm. He has a fine home, with com- modious barns and other outbuildings, and takes a just pride in keeping his farm in a neat and attractive manner.
Mr. Macy was married August 9, 1893, to Mary A. Chance, the daugh- ter of Joshua and Lydia (Jessup) Chance. Mr. and Mrs. Chance were the parents of ten children : Ira, a farmer of this county; Enos, a farmer of this county ; Mrs. Loretta Stanley, who lives in Michigan; Mrs. Dora Hinshaw, whose husband is a farmer in Kansas; Isaac L., a farmer of Michigan; Oscar, a contractor and builder, who resides in Detroit, Michigan; Alvin, a farmer residing. in Michigan; Mary A., the wife of Mr. Macy; Mrs. Nora Hinshaw, whose husband is a farmer living near Sheridan, and Elva, who is still at home. Mr. Chance died March 15, 1895, while his wife is still living at the advanced age of seventy-seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Macy are the parents of four children : Freda L., Lester B., Lawrence J. and J. Willard. Freda L. was born November 13, 1895. was graduated from the common schools of the township and later took one year in the high school at Westfield: Lester B. was born February 9, 1897, and was graduated from the common schools of this county; Lawrence J ..
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born April 20, 1900, and J. Willard, born March 13, 1905, are now attending the common schools.
Politically, Mr. Macy is a stanch adherent of the Prohibition party and a firm advocate of temperance in all things. He believes that the evils of the liquor traffic are such as to be a real menace to our nation, and that until this traffic is suppressed, the Prohibition party should continue as a separate or- ganization. He and his family are earnest members of the Friends church, and are interested in all the activities of that denomination. Mr. Macy is a useful citizen and his tastes are decidedly domestic. He has taken advantage of his opportunities and his career in this county has been unstained by word or act of dishonesty. As a man his reputation for honor and veracity and conscientious service cannot be questioned and no one in the community enjoys a higher meed of respect.
IVA S. HODGIN.
The man who thrives in any calling is not always the ablest, the shrewd- est, or the most laborious, but he is invariably one who has shown a willing- ness to please and be pleased, who has responded to the advances of others, not now and then, with conscious effort, but heartily, through nature and habit, while his rival has sniffed and frowned away every helping hand. The way any man treats the members of his family and his friends is a sure index to his character and disposition. He who is gentle with his family and considerate towards his friends reasonably may be depended upon for court- esy and consideration in all the relations of life. A man who measures up to a high standard is Iva S. Hodgin, who has lived more than half a century in the county which gave him birth.
Iva S. Hodgin, the son of Erastus and Lydia (Johnson) Hodgin, was born February 5, 1866, on the farm where he is now living. Erastus Hod- gin was born in North Carolina and came to this county when a young man and bought eighty acres of land on which he began farming. He was a very successful farmer and at the time of his death, in 1889, he owned over four hundred acres of land in this county. His widow died March 21, 1905. To Erasture Hodgin and wife were born eight children: Rhoda, deceased; Mrs. Matilda Beales, whose husband is a farmer in this county; Jesse, a farmer of this county; Alvas D., living in parts unknown; Jonathan, de- ceased : Charles C., of Westfield; Iva, with whom this narrative deals: Ira, deceased, a twin brother of Iva: and Oliver, a farmer of Hancock county.
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Iva S. Hodgin was given a good common school education in the schools of his home neighborhood, and spent his summer vacations on the farm as- sisting his father. In this way he early developed a love for the life of a farmer and has always followed that occupation. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres, on which he raises all the grains and fruits of this section of the state and, at the same time, as much live stock as he can feed from his own crops. He has a beautiful home and excellent barns and outbuildings and takes a great deal of pride in keeping his farm in a neat and attractive manner.
Mr. Hodgin was married February 26, 1910, to Viola Nelson, the daughter of John W. and Sarah (Posey) Collp, natives of Hamilton county, Indiana and Kentucky, respectively. Mrs. Hodgin has one daughter, Mrs. Gladys Anderson, by her first marriage, her daughter now living in Madison county, Indiana.
The Republican party claims the support of Mr. Hodgin, and, although interested in good government, he has never been a candidate for any public office. He and his wife are members of the Friends church and give freely of their means to its support. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Westfield and interested in the work of that fraternal organization. The life of Mr. Hodgin has much to commend it because of his clean and whole- some way of living. He is alive to the best interests of his community and gives his hearty support to all worthy movements calculated to benefit it in any way.
BARNABAS C. WHITE.
It is altogether fitting that the representative citizens of Hamilton county have their lives recorded in a permanent manner for the benefit of the succeeding generations. The civilization of the present day is so far different from that of the state fifty years ago that the people of today little realize conditions under which their forefathers had to live. In biographical his- tory there is found a power to instruct man by precedent. to enliven the mental faculties and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this county from its primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly the pioneers of this county who in their prime entered the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage are passing to their graves. The number remain-
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ing who can relate the incidents of the first days of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that the necessity exists for the collection and preservation of events without delay before all of the early settlers are cut down by the scythe of Father Time. One of the old pioneers of this county is Barnabas C. White, who has been a part of this county's history for more than half a century, a period of time which has seen more changes than all the pre- ceding years of its history put together.
Barnabas C. White, the son of Stephen and Mary A. (Harold) White, was born September 17, 1849, in Guilford county, North Carolina. His parents also were natives of the same state and left there during the Civil War in order to make their homes in a free state. They crossed the Ohio river into Indiana May 8, 1862, with the intention of coming to the central part of the state to make their home. They crossed the river at Jefferson- ville, and here they got their first glimpse of the old Jefferson & In- dianapolis Railroad. They conceived the idea of chartering a car and ship- ping their household goods, horses and wagons and thus getting located soon enough to put out their crops for that year. They had no difficulty in char- tering a car and within two days after they crossed the river they loaded their household utensils, horses, wagons, etc., and shipped them as far north as Columbus, Indiana. Upon arriving at Columbus, Stephen White and his family moved on a farm ten miles east of Columbus, where they re- mained for one year. when they moved three miles farther east and remained on this second farm for another year. They then moved back westward ten miles, where they remained for four years, and in the fall of 1868 the whole family, consisting of the father, mother and a large number of children, came to Hamilton county, and since that date members of the family have lived within this county.
Stephen White and wife were the parents of eleven children, whose names are here given in the order of their birth: Barnabas C., born Septem- ber 17, 1849: Delphina, born December 2, 1850, died at the age of two years : Isaac N., born January 30, 1853. died at the age of eighteen months ; Mrs. Abigail Hubbard, born July 15. 1854, whose husband is superintendent of the county farm; Abel C., born February 7, 1856, died April 14, 1880; Daniel W., born September 22, 1857, now the proprietor of the elevator at Hillisburg. Clinton county, Indiana; Phoebe N., born July 12, 1859, de- ceased : Shubael H., born March 31, 1861, now a resident of Carmel, In- diana : Walter R., born September 26, 1863. now a resident of Noblesville; Mary A., born May 15. 1865, died in infancy: Owen A., born October 20,
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1868, deceased. All of these children, except Walter, Mary and Owen, were born in North Carolina, the last three having been born in Indiana.
Barnabas C. White received only a common school education and sup- plemented this with wide reading all of his life. He is a self-made man in every sense of the word, having started out in life with but ten acres of land, which he paid for by hard work. To this first small tract he has added from time to time until he and his wife now own one hundred and six and one- quarter acres of excellent farming land in the county. They have worked together and Mr. White feels that his wife deserves as much credit for his success as he does himself. He has a good home, excellent barns and out- buildings of all kinds, while the farm is well equipped with the latest im- proved machinery for successful agriculture.
Mr. White was married March 6, 1878, to Ruth A. Macy, the daughter of Benedict and Mary (Jessup) Macy, natives of North Carolina and Henry county, Indiana, respectively. Benedict Macy was born February 9, 1819, in North Carolina and came to Henry county, Indiana, when he was eighteen years of age. He followed the dual occupation of a farmer and blacksmith and lived a long and useful life in this county, passing away August 29, 1910. His wife died July 17, 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. White are the parents of four children, Claudia, Bernice Lula, Cora Bessie and Freddie. Claudia was born November 28, 1878. and died August 6th of the following year. Bernice Lula was born July 24, 1880, and is the wife of Ulysses S. Moser, a farmer of Noblesville township. to whom were born Mervin S., died December 11, 1899, Samuel W., Wilma. Edward and Leah. Cora Bessie was born December. 26, 1881, and died November 4, 1882; Freddie was born March 26, 1885, and died September Ioth, of the same year.
Mrs. White is one of ten children born to her father, who was twice married, and who by his first marriage had three children: Lambert, who lives in Newcastle, Indiana ; Bartlett, deceased, and Richard. deceased. The second wife of Mr. Macy was the mother of Mrs. White. To his second marriage were born seven children: Samira, deceased; Mrs. Samantha Jes- sup, of Jennings county. Indiana; Ruth, the wife of Mr. White: Mrs. Julia Woodward, of this county; Lydia, deceased; Elizabeth, who is now residing in Texas, and John E.
In politics. Mr. White always has been a stanch Republican. but has never held any office other than that of road supervisor. He and his family are all faithful and earnest members of the Friends church, and he is one of the officials of Providence church. Mr. White has acted well his part in
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life, and while primarily interested in his own affairs, he has not been un- mindful of the interests of others, contributing to the extent of his ability to the advancement of the public good and the welfare of his fellowmen. Personally, he is a man of pleasing address, sociably inclined and enjoys a wide acquaintance and a large circle of warm and loyal friends.
CHARLES A. COOK.
It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer reverts to the life of one who has attained success in any vocation requiring definiteness of pur- pose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, consecu- tive endeavor or of sudden, meteoric accomplishments, must abound in both lesson and incentive and prove a guide to young men whose fortunes and destinies are still matters for the future to determine. Charles A. Cook is distinctively one of the representative agriculturists of Hamilton county. For a number of years he was engaged in the livery business, since which time he has directed his efforts toward the goal of agricultural success and by patient continuance in well-doing has succeeded in overcoming the many obstacles by which his pathway was beset, being today considered one of the foremost farmers of the county.
Charles A. Cook, the son of Levi H. and Mary J. (White) Cook, was born September 24. 1858, in Washington township, this county. His par- ents were natives of Wayne county and Hamilton county, respectively. and his father was a merchant for many years in Noblesville. Levi H. Cook spent his latter years upon his farm, where he died in August 1899. He had been given a practical education and was a man of good business ability, a fact which led to his appointment as the administrator of many estates, a service invariably performed with satisfaction to all concerned. His wife died in February, 1900.
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