History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 95

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

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Charles A. Cook was educated in the district schools of Washington township and spent his summer vacations upon his father's farm. In this way he early became acquainted with the details of agricultural life and upon his marriage, in 1880, was ready to engage in regular farm work for him- self. He continued to farm in this township until 1892, when he moved to Noblesville and engaged in the livery business, which line he followed for ten years, after which he moved to his farm of eighty-eight acres, where he has since resided. This farm is well improved in every respect and in the

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tilling of the soil and the proper care of crops Mr. Cook is thoroughly mod- : ern and up-to-date. He has a splendid set of farm buildings, all having been built with the idea of permanency and convenience, and he always has taken pride in keeping his farm in an attractive state.

Mr. Cook was married December 16, 1880, to Belle Scott, the daughter of Charles N. and Sarah A. (Hayworth) Scott, natives of Hamilton county and Ohio, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of three chil- . dren : Burnie, who married and has one son; Herman, who died June 15, 1887, and Anna May, born October 29, 1893, and now living with her par- ents.

The Progressive party has claimed the support of Mr. Cook since its organization, in the summer of 1912, he believing that the principles advo- cated by this new party eventually will bring about a better condition in the affairs of our nation. Mr. Cook atways has been interested in good govern- ment, though never having been active in political affairs to the extent of being a candidate for any office. He and his family are members of the Friends church, and in the advancement of its interests they have been prominent factors in their community. Fraternally, Mr. Cook is a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which organization he takes a deep interest. Mrs. Cook's father is living with her at the advanced age of seventy-three, her mother having passed away March 9, 1892. Personally. Mr. Cook is a man of quiet and unassuming demeanor, though genial and friendly in all of his relations with his fellow citizens. He is a man of decided convictions on the leading questions of the day and gives his earnest support to all move- ments for the upbuilding of the community socially, educationally, morally and materially. The result is that he has enjoyed, in a large measure, the warm regard and confidence of all who know him.

FREEMAN JOHNSON HAIR.

The Hair family came to Hamilton county, Indiana, from ' Ohio in 1844, and for the past ninety years the members thereof have been prom- inent factors in the advancement of the county along various lines of develop- ment. The first member of the family to locate in this county was James Hair, who was born in Ohio, either in Brown or Highland counties, and came here when a young man with his parents, John Hair and wife. They were compelled to cut a road through the farm which they had entered, and

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the night before they reached it they had to camp out in a cabin near Pendle- ton, in Madison county. The same night that they were in this cabin a man was lying concealed beneath the floor, hiding from the officers of justice who were seeking to apprehend him. He was one of a gang which had massacred some Indians, and he, with three others, was hanged near Pen- dleton shortly afterwards for this crime.

Raymond Johnson Hair, the grandson of James and Polly (Richey) Hair, the first members of the family to locate in this county, was born in the northeastern part of Wayne township, in this county, July 8, 1865. Raymond J. Hair is the son of John S. and Caroline (Fisher) Hair. John S. Hair was one of nine children born to his parents, and was born in the state of Ohio. James Hair was twice married, his first wife being Polly Richey, by whom he had nine children, his second wife being Betsy Wright. by whom he had one child.

John S. Hair was reared to manhood in Hamilton county, Indiana, and here married Caroline Fisher, who was born and reared in Wayne town- ship. She was a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Fisher. natives of Cler- mont county, Ohio. Samuel Fisher and his family came to Wayne township during its early settlement and in 1835 he received the deed for his land from the government. Samuel Fisher was a Democrat in his earlier years, but later joined the Republican party.

After John S. Hair's marriage he began farming on the Fisher home- stead, where his son, Freeman J., is now living. He was a quiet and unos- tentatious man, thoroughly honorable and upright in all of his dealings and always lived in accordance with the promptings of a good conscience. His death occurred August 21, 1901, and his wife died in February, 1891. They reared a family of five children : Mrs. Lucretia T. Wright, the wife of Wil- bur Wright; Mrs. Clara Stanford, of Lapel; Mrs. Serepta Woodard, also of Lapel; Freeman J., a resume of whose history is here recorded, and Mc- Carty, who lives in Madison county, this state.

Freeman J. Hair was reared to manhood in Wayne township, and after his marriage he lived for ten years one mile west of Durbin, in Wayne township. He then bought out the interests of the other heirs in the old home place where his father had lived, and in addition bought out the inter- est of his wife's twin brother, so that now he has altogether one hundred and sixty acres. For about ten years Mr. Hair drilled gas wells in the gas belt of Indiana, and also water wells in various parts of Hamilton and Madison counties. He also went over into Ohio and drilled several oil wells in that state. As a farmer he ranks among the most progressive and enterprising

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of his county. He handles only the best breeds of live stock, and his Poland- China hogs and Shorthorn cattle are pure bred, although their pedigrees are not registered. For twenty years he has been raising pure-bred stock and sells hogs every year for breeding purposes to men who deal in regis- tered stock.

Mr. Hair was married November 6, 1890, to Martha S. Passwater, a sister of Enoch Passwater, a sketch of whose life's history appears else- where in this volume, where further details of the family history are given. Mrs. Hair was born and reared in the western part of Wayne township, in this county. Mr. Hair and his wife are the parents of six children, all of whom are still at home: Celia Grace, John E., Kenneth, Richard, Russell and Robert.

The members of this interesting family are all members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church at Lapel, in the affairs of which they take a warm and active interest. Mr. Hair and his son John are members of the Lapel Lodge of the Knights of Pythias and are actively interested in its affairs. Mr. Hair formerly was a Republican, but upon the organization of the Pro- gressive party, in 1912, he gave his allegiance to the new party, believing that the success of the principles propounded by the leaders of that political organization was essential to the continued welfare of the nation.

THOMAS E. McDONALD.

A prominent farmer and the present trustee of Wayne township, Ham- ilton county, Indiana, is Thomas E. McDonald, who is one of the leading citizens of his township. The McDonald family is of sturdy Scottish ancestry and has had prominent representation in this county since 1837. The McDonald brothers, Thomas. a cripple, and John, came from Scotland to America about 1750 and located in Pennsylvania. Thomas McDonald is the great-grandfather of Thomas F., the present representative of the fam- ily in Hamilton county. One of the sons of Thomas McDonald was Jacob, who was the first of the family to locate in Hamilton county. He came here in . 1837, and bought a farm in the northeastern part of Wayne township, where he lived until his death, January 24, 1864.

George McDonald, a son of Jacob, and the father of Thomas E., did not come here with his parents in 1837, but remained in Ohio, where he married Amanda Seabrooke. who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania,

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April 24, 1819, the daughter of Archibald and Mary (Knight) Seabrooke. Mary Knight was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of John and Maria Christina (Grosscross) Knight. Maria Christ- ina Grosscross was born in Germany, and came with her parents to Adams county, Pennsylvania, and settled near Gettysburg. She had two brothers in the Revolutionary War. Archibald Seabrooke was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, and was one of the nine sons of Moses and Nancy (Scott) Seabrooke. The father of Moses Seabrooke was born in England, while his wife was a native of Wales. Moses was killed by the Indians on the ground where Williamsport, Pennsylvania, now stands. Archibald Sea- brooke and his wife moved to Ohio and made a permanent home in Holmes county. Amanda ( Seabrooke) McDonald, the mother of Thomas E., has two sisters who are worthy of special mention. One of these sisters is "Aunt Mary Ann" Robinett, of Wayne township. Her husband, Elijah Robinett, and three of her children died in 1854. She came to this county in 1852 and still lives on her farm near the Prairie Baptist church. She was ninety years old May 22, 1914, and is, considering her age, a remarkably well-preserved woman. She still is blessed with an excellent memory and sews and reads print without glasses. About ten years ago she walked over ten miles to Noblesville to pay her taxes, and now walks to and fro from church twice each Sunday, does all of her own housework, and. for one of her age, is probably the most active woman in the county. The other sister of Mrs. McDonald, who has an interesting history, was the wife of Major Peter J. Birchall, who was an intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln, and who often visited the Lincoln home. After Lincoln's death Mrs. Lincoln was cared for at the Birchall home for about three months. The mother of Mrs. Birchal, Mrs. Robinett and Mrs. McDonald, died August 21, 1882, at the advanced age of ninety-six years and nineteen days.

Thomas E. McDonald, with whom this narrative deals, was born November 7, 1860, in the northeastern part of Wayne township, Hamilton county, Indiana, and was the youngest son born to George and Amanda (Seabrooke) McDonald. His father was born in Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, November 30, 1815. George McDonald lived five miles southeast of Wooster. Wayne county, Ohio, after his marriage until November, 1852, when he moved to Hamilton county. Indiana, and located near his father's home. In the spring of 1855 George McDonald moved one-quarter of a mile farther south and rented a farm until the fall of 1857. when he pur- chased a farm in the northern part of section 19. With the exception of eight acres of timber which had been deadened by Thomas Castor. this land was still covered with dense woods. On this farm George McDonald

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lived until his death July 28, 1894. He was a life-long farmer, a quiet, home-loving man, but active in all of those things which make for the better- ment of the community. No worthy cause appealed to him in vain, and he was a liberal and free hearted man who always was willing to share his good fortune with his neighbors. His wife died January 29, 1877. Seven chil- dren were born to George McDonald and wife: Alwelda, who died in infancy; Archibald, who died at the age of fifteen; Sarah, who died at the age of two and one-half years; Jacob, who lives near the old home place; George, who died at the age of one year; Grafton, who lives near the old home farm, and Thomas E.

The education of Thomas E. McDonald was received in the district schools of his home neighborhood. His mother died when he was sixteen years of age and for several years afterwards he kept house for his father and his two brothers. After his marriage in 1880, Mr. McDonald lived on his father's home place and took care of his father until the latter's death in 1894. He continued to reside on the home farm until 1900, and then moved on to the James Fisher farm west of Lapel, where he has since resided.

Mr. McDonald was married August 27, 1880, to Sarah Alice Fisher, who was born on the farm where Mr. McDonald now lives in 1861, a daugh- ter of James and Nancy (Sterns) Fisher. On August 24, 1900, Mr. Mc- Donald and his family moved on to the Fisher farm, their present home. Mr. McDonald and his wife are the parents of five children living and one deceased : Amy, James, Fortner Socrates, Perry Grafton, Thomas Chester and George Lester. Amy is the wife of Scott Anderson, a farmer of Wayne township, and has one daughter living, Helen Louise, and a son, Russell, who died at the age of fourteen months. James died at the age of five months. Fortner Socrates married Mabel Fern Edrington, and lives on the farm where his father was born. He has one son, Thomas Morton. Perry Grafton married Eva Agnes Bartholomew, and lives one-half mile east of his father's home. They have two children, Alwilda and Woodrow Neal. Thomas C. and George L., who are twins, born May 11, 1894, are single and still living with their parents.

Mr. McDonald has been a stanch Democrat since reaching his majority. and has been very active in the local councils of his party. He was elected trustee of Wayne township in 1907, taking office January 1. 1908, and filling this responsible position to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens until the expiration of his term January 1. 1915. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Improved Order of Red Men. He and his wife both belong to the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. McDonald is a genial man and has so lived as to win the esteem of his fellow citizens.

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ALBERT A. HASKETT.

It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness of a community or state lies not in the machinery of government, or even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity for high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars Albert A. Haskett has conferred honor and dignity upon his county and for this reason his life history should be recorded here with the biographies of the representative men of his county. As a distinguished veteran of the Civil War, as a school teacher of many years' experience, as a public official and as a private citizen, he has measured up to the highest standard of American manhood.

Albert A. Haskett, the son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Godfrey ) Haskett. was born May 15, 1843, in Henry county, Indiana. Daniel Haskett was born in North Carolina and shortly after his marriage, in that state, brought his family to Indiana in order to get away from slavery, an institution which he abhorred. He was a strong Abolitionist and after coming to this state took a very active part in the local operation of the "Underground Railway." He first settled in Henry county in 1842 and five years later moved to Tipton county and located near the town of Tipton. In 1857 the family permanently settled in Hamilton county, in Adams township. Daniel Haskett died Janu- ary 15. 1901, his wife having passed away in 1854.

Albert A. Haskett was the third of seven children born to his parents and was fourteen years of age when they settled in Hamilton county. Part of his education was received in Tipton county and the remainder of it in Hamilton county. At the age of seventeen he had just made arrangements to take a four-year course in school, but the Civil War then coming on he gave that four years to the service of his country. In November, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Fifty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was shortly after assigned to the Twenty-first Brigade of the Sixth Division of the Army of the Ohio, which was later incorporated in the Army of the Cumberland. During his service of more than four years, Mr. Has- kett never was absent from his company and participated in every battle in which his regiment was engaged. Among the many battles in which he fought may be mentioned the following: Shiloh, Perryville, Stone's River. Missionary Ridge, Buzzard Roost, Resaca, New Hope Church, Dallas, Kene- saw Mountain, Marietta, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesborough, Spring- hill, Franklin and Nashville. In June, 1863, Mr. Haskett was appointed

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first sergeant of his company, and when his regiment was veteranized in January, 1864, was commissioned first lieutenant and was mustered out in December, 1865, at Port Lavaca, Texas, with this rank.

Mr. Haskett returned to Hamilton county immediately after the war, but remained in the county only a short time. He went to Champaign county, Illinois, in February, 1867, and lived there for the next fourteen years, during which time he was engaged in the teaching profession most of the time. While living in Illinois, Mr. Haskett was married on October I, 1873, to Mary Zell, of Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, and to this union there were born six children: Carrie, Albert, John Charles, Anna, Robert and Elsa.

Carrie, the eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Haskett, was born October 12, 1874, and died April 29, 1908. She was one of the most successful teachers of Hamilton county for many years. Albert was born January 31, 1876, and is now living in New Mexico, where he is employed by the United States government as a cattle inspector. He formerly was a teacher in the schools of Hamilton county. In addition to his duties as government inspector, he is acting as correspondent for the Arizona Globe and the Los Angeles Times. John Charles was born January 1, 1878, and died November 29, 1907. He was married September 20, 1903, to Cora Myers and left his widow with one daughter, Katherine. Anna was born February 20, 1880, and died September 20. 1900. Robert was born March 28, 1882, and married Janu- ary. 24, 1912, to Laura Stanley. They have two children, Ruth and Anna. Elsa, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Haskett, was born April 8. 1884. and taught school for several years before her marriage to C. R. Mitchell, the cashier and bookkeeper of the Strawboard Company at Noblesville. In- diana. All of these children except Elsa were born in Champaign county. Illinois.

Mr. Haskett came back from Illinois in 1881 'and has since lived in Hamilton county. In 1888 he was elected treasurer of the county on the Republican ticket and served in that office for one term to the entire satis- faction of everyone in the county. He has been a life-long member of the Republican party and one of its valued leaders in the county for many years. Fraternally, Mr. Haskett is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic. He became a member of the Grand Army Post at Noblesville at the second meeting of the local organiza- tion and has been officially connected with it ever since.

Mr. Haskett and his family are all members of the Methodist Episco- pal church and always have been liberal supporters of its various activities.

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The life of Mr. Haskett has been commendable in every respect, his daily walk and conversation ever having been such as to command the respect of his friends and acquaintances, among whom he is held in the highest esteem. He has ever been interested in the welfare of his fellow citizens and has con- sistently favored every movement which would make his community a better one in which to live.

ROY B. CASTOR.

One of the largest land owners of Hamilton county, Indiana, is Roy B. Castor, who has spent his whole life of thirty-five years in this county where he was born. He comes from a sterling family, one that has stood for high ideals during all its career. He is a generous-hearted and public-spirited citizen, systematic in everything he does, and has met with a degree of suc- cess commensurate with his efforts.

Roy B. Castor, the son of William H. and Mary ( Benham) Castor, was born in the house where he is now living in Wayne township, October 12, 1879. His father was born in this same township, one-half mile north of the place where his son is now living, on March 24, 1835, and lived and died within one-half a mile of his birthplace. He died May 26, 1914. The family history of his parents, John and Sarah (Beatty) Castor, appears elsewhere in this volume.

William H. Castor grew to manhood amidst pioneer surroundings and was married February 14, 1877, to Mary C. Benham, a daughter of Dr. Silas and Clemency (Pelair) Benham, who was born in Calhoun county, Illinois. Dr. Silas Benham, father of Mrs. Castor, was born in New York state and grew up with the design of becoming a coppersmith, in which trade, which he followed for a time, he became an adept artisan. Later determining to follow a professional career he studied for the practice of medicine and be- came a physician. After practicing this profession in different parts of New York for several years he came to Hamilton county, Indiana, and located in Noblesville, where he entered the practice of his profession, in which he became very successful and where he spent the remainder of his life, as did his wife, their deaths occurring at their home in Noblesville. Both Dr. and Mrs. Benham were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the various activities of which they were deeply interested, as well as in all the good works of the community. Dr. Benham was a mem-

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ber of the Masonic fraternity and took an active part in the deliberations of the Noblesville Lodge of that order. To Dr. and Mrs. Silas Benham were born four children : Mattie J., now deceased, who was a successful teacher in the schools of Hamilton county and who married Thomas Tuttle, to which union there was born one child, Thomas; Joseph Vincent, second child and first son of Dr. and Mrs. Benham, after having taught school in his younger days, gave his life for the preservation of the Union, being one of the many brave soldiers who were slain in the battle of Stone River in the Civil War; Mary C., the wife of Mr. Castor, and Charles, who died at the age of nine years.

William H. Castor was a farmer all of his life, although he was inter- · ested in many other enterprises. . He owned farm land in Wayne, White River and Noblesville townships, a total of about sixteen hundred acres. In addition to this he was the owner of valuable property in Noblesville. He was one of the builders of the Central Indiana railroad and was a heavy stockholder in the company. This is the railroad which runs from Anderson to Brazil. It had a very precarious existence for several years after it was constructed and Mr. Castor lost heavily as a result of his connection with it, in fact, losing practically all he had at that time. However, he was not dis- couraged. Though he was then forty-five years of age he began life over and succeeded to a remarkable degree. He made a specialty of feeding hogs and cattle and accumulated his extensive holdings of sixteen hundred acres and business properties after he was forty-five years of age. He and his wife were both active and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Castor built the largest barn in the county, a building one hundred and fifteen feet long and equipped with all the modern conveniences. He literally cut his farm out of the woods, since the place where he started in to build a home was in the midst of a primeval forest. He built a beautiful modern home and it still remains one of the most attractive places in the county. The house is large and substantial, has stained glass windows, fine verandas around the house and electric-lighting plant. William H. Castor and wife had two children, Marie, who died at the age of seven months, and Roy B.

Roy B. Castor has lived upon the same place and in the same house ever. since he was born. After completing the course in the district schools, he was graduated in the class of 1897 in the Noblesville high school. He then took a course in the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, and later a course in a business college at Indianapolis. He worked with his father until his marriage and then became a partner with his father, and for three

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years before his father's death had the active management of his father's extensive affairs. Since the latter's death he has been very busy in taking care of his large estate. He is a stockholder in the Citizens State Bank of Noblesville, and in addition to the properties which he inherited from his paternal estate, has farm lands of his own in Washington township and ex- tensive interests in the state of Louisiana.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 95

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

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