History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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

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and Mrs. McShane, married William Hensil and lives one mile east of her parents' home. Nona married John W. Day and lives three and one-half miles west of Noblesville. Alma married Edgar Michener and lives in Dead- wood, South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Michener have five children: Earle. Ester, Evalena, Frank and Silvy. Lena married John Eveleth. They have one child, Ruby. The mother of these children died July 4. 1906.

Mr. McShane has been a life-long Republican and always has been actively interested in its success. Several years ago he was trustee of Dela- ware township for one term, but has never held any other office. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Free and Accepted Masons in Carmel and of the George H. Thomas Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Indianapolis. He is a member of and an earnest supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church.

This sketch of Mr. McShane's life would not be complete without men- tioning the collection he has made of Indian relics. For more than fifty years he has been deeply interested in the collection of Indian arrow-heads. hatchets and other Indian relics, and has in the neighborhood of eight hun- dred different pieces in his private collection. He also has a large collection of old relics, such as mowing sickles, cabinetmaking tools, saddlebags, and Civil War relics. He also has all of the tools and implements which our forefathers used in spinning and weaving flax. He naturally takes a great deal of pride in his relics, and enjoys showing them to anyone who is inter- ested in seeing them.

WESLEY D. HARE.

A review of the life of the honored and lamented Wesley Hare must of necessity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting details of his career, touching the struggles of his early manhood and successes of later days, would far transcend the limits of this article. He filled a large place in the ranks of the enterprising and public-spirited men of his day and generation and the luster of his deeds and the memories which attach to his name and character form no inconsiderable chapter in the history of the community where he did his work and achieved his suc- cess. Sufficient is submitted. we believe, to prove him entitled to the honor- able position he long occupied among the brave and energetic self-made men of Indiana, who by enterprise and unswerving integrity forged to the front despite all opposition and won for the grand old Hoosier state a place second

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to none other in the bright constellation comprising the Union of American States. That he did his part nobly and well cannot be gainsaid, and, though dead, he yet speaketh in the work which he accomplished and in the many kindly deeds and wholesome influence which not only his friends, but the community as well, prize as a grateful heritage.

The late Wesley Hare, founder of the business which is now conducted by his son, was born September 4, 1825, in Ross county, Ohio, and died in Noblesville, Indiana, November 2, 1902. He was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Freshour) Hare, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia, re- spectively. Jacob Hare was one of the early emigrants to Ohio and a pioneer citizen of the Buckeye state. He later moved with his family to Green county, Ohio, and from there he finally settled in Hamilton county, Indiana, where he lived the remainder of his life. His wife, Elizabeth Freshour, came with her family from Virginia to Ohio, and in that state she and Wesley Hare were married. She was a devoted, self-sacrificing wife and mother. She and her husband reared a family of nine children to lives of honor and usefulness.

Wesley Hare was eleven years of age when his parents moved from Ohio to Hamilton county, Indiana, and consequently he received part of his education in the schools of Ohio. After coming to this state he attended the schools in the locality where his parents settled, and visited his father upon the farm while not in school. At the age of nineteen years he was apprenticed for two years to a wagonmaker and thus was laid the basis for the industry which is the most important in Hamilton county. By the time Wesley Hare had reached his majority he had qualified as a wagon and car- riage maker, and for a time after reaching his twenty-first birthday he worked as a journeyman at his trade. In 1849 he opened a shop in Noblesville, which from a very small beginning, gradually grew to be an establishment of large proportions with a reputation which extended over all the states of the middle west. From this insignificant beginning in 1849 has arisen the in- dustry which today is the pride of Noblesville and which has been for many years its most important manufacturing establishment. The factory now occupies a building four stories high, eighty-six by one hundred and thirty- two feet and employs regularly more than fifty men all the year round. The "Hare" buggies and carriages have gained an enviable reputation and are sold mainly to jobbers. These vehicles are found throughout this state, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Iowa, Kentucky and many other states, although Indiana monopolizes a large share of the annual out- put. The motto of Wesley Hare was "Keep up the quality." During his

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long connection with the factory this rule was rigidly followed, and it can be truthfully said that this motto has been no less closely followed since his death, as the vehicles from this factory today are as stanchly and sturdily made as they were during the lifetime of the founder of the establishment.

Wesley Hare was married in 1852 to Mourina T. Harrison, a member of an early pioneer family. To this union were born two sons and two daughters, Elbert M., a brief account of whose life history is presented else- where in this volume: Silas W., Stella, the wife of George Shirts, a promin- ent attorney in Noblesville: Emma, the wife of William H. Craig, one of the most prominent citizens of Noblesville, and for many years the editor and proprietor of the Noblesville Ledger. . The sons, Elbert M. and Silas W. were associated in the business with their father before his death and it is still continued under the firm name of W. Hare & Sons.

Wesley Hare was a Democrat in politics and always deeply interested in local, state and national issues. However, his attention and energies were absorbed by his large business interests, with the result that he could never take an active part in politics. He was public-spirited to a marked degree, and at his death, was mourned as a citizen who had never failed in those high qualities which mark the true American citizen.

ELBERT M. HARE.

There is nothing which stimulates a man to deeds of worth and a life of uprightness and rectitude more than the recollection of the strength of char- acter and examples of right living which have been created by his forbears. In this respect Mr. Hare is fortunate beyond the majority of men in having been descended from a line of ancestors who have been in their several com- munities men of strength and influence, doing their duty well, whether in the peaceful pursuits of ordinary life or in positions of public trust. A heritage of such a memory of the lives of one's forbears is of more value than a heritage of material wealth. In the business affairs of Noblesville Mr. Hare occupies a position of importance and among those who are today conserving the commercial and industrial prosperity of this community none occupy a higher standing among their associates.

Elbert M. Hare, one of the most substantial business men of Noblesville, Indiana, was born October 19, 1853, in the city where he always has main- tained his residence. He is the son of Wesley and Mourina T. (Harrison)

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Hare, a brief resume of whose history is presented elsewhere in this volume. Wesley Hare was for many years before his death one of the most influential men of Hamilton county and built up a manufacturing business which was second to none in the county. His manufacture of vehicles made a reputation, which carried the name of the city of Noblesville throughout all of the states of the middle west and it is this industry which he has handed down to his son.

Elbert M. Hare has spent his entire life in the city of his birth, receiving his education in the common and high schools of Noblesville, later attending a commercial college at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1877 he became associ- ated with his father in the manufacture of vehicles, the firm being known as W. Hare & Son, and this firm name has been continued in use since the death of his father in 1902. The business has been expanded within recent years and now light road vehicles of all patterns and descriptions are manufactured. the firm also handling Buick automobiles. In addition to his manufacturing interests, Mr. Hare also is interested in agriculture and owns a large farm in this county. Among many other varied interests, he is a director in the Wainwright Trust Company of Noblesville.

Mr. Hare was married January 26, 1882, to Emma Stevenson, the daughter of John and Margaret Stevenson, and to this marriage ·have been born three sons, Frank. Willard and Albert. Frank is now associated with his father in the vehicle business. He was a former student of Indiana Uni- versity, and while in attendance there he gained a great reputation as one of the best football players ever turned out by the university. Albert, the young- est son, is now a student in the State University.

Mr. Hare always has been actively interested in political affairs and, until 1912, was one of the influential factors in Republican politics in his county. He has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state con- ventions, but has never been an office seeker in any sense of the word. He always has stood for what he felt was for the best interests of his city, county and state, and never has failed to do his share towards furthering these inter- ests. In the summer of 1912 he became identified with the Progressive party, feeling that it offered reforms which the country was demanding. In the ranks of the Progressive party he took a prominent part as he had previously done in the Republican party. Fraternally, Mr. Hare is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife are regular attendants of the Presbyterian church, to which they contribute liberally of their means. The family lives in South Tenth street in Noblesville, one of the most beautiful residence districts in the city and

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here they have a most attractive and modern home, where they dispense hospitality which leaves no doubt as to their kindliness of character and geniality. Mr. Hare is a man of genuine worth and justly merits the high esteem in which he is regarded by everyone with whom he has ever been associated.

ULYSSES G. MICHNER.

The subject of this review is a representative farmer and stock raiser of Delaware township, Hamilton county, Indiana, and is known as one of the alert, progressive and successful agriculturalists of this favored section of the Hoosier state. In his labors he has not permitted himself to follow in the rut in a blind, apathetic way, but has studied and experimented and thus secured the maximum returns from his enterprising efforts, while he has. so ordered his course at all times that he commands the confidence and regard of the people of the community in which he lives, being a man of honorable business methods and advocating whatever tends to promote the public welfare in any way.

Ulysses G. Michner, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in this county, was born on his present farm, September 30, 1872. His parents, Samuel P. and Telitha J. (Spann) Michner, were natives of Penn- sylvania and Indiana, respectively, the former of whom was of German ex- traction and both of whom were early settlers of Indiana. Thomas Michner and family came from Pennsylvania to Indiana when Samuel P. was a small boy. Mrs. Michner was of English and French origin.

Samuel P. Michner was one of five children born to his parents and remained at home until 1861, when he enlisted in the Eighteenth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served as corporal throughout the whole of the Civil War and participated in many of the hard fought battles of that memorable conflict. In one of them he was wounded in the head, which caused him to be an invalid for twenty years before his death, this also being the ultimate cause of his death. Samuel P. Michner and wife were the par- ents of ten children, eight of whom lived to maturity and were reared to lives of usefulness and honor.

Ulysses G. Michner was only eleven years of age when he commenced to "work out" by the month, receiving eight dollars per month for his first summer's work. Since he started to work so early in life his education was necessarily not very extended, although he has since been a wide traveler,

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close observer and thorough student and is therefore practically a self-edu- cated man. He worked out by the month until he was twenty-three years of age and then married, after which he began renting land in this county. He rented for seven years and then purchased the present fine farm where he is living. this farm being the one on which he was born. At the time of his birth, his father was working as a hand on the farm. In 1912 Mr. Michner built the buildings which are now on the farm and now has the satis- faction of feeling that he has as attractive and convenient buildings as are to be found in the rural districts of this county. His home is as modern as any city home while his barns are' models of convenience and comfort. He carries on a general system of farming and stock breeding and feeds more cattle than any other man in Hamilton county today. He has been remark- ably successful in the handling of cattle and is looked upon as an expert in this line. He has extensive cattle sheds and every convenience for the feed- ing and management of large herds of cattle so as to secure the best results.

Mr. Michner was married December 24, 1895, to Anna Davidson, the daughter of Dr. Greenleaf N. and Susanna ( Records) Davidson, who was born in Pendleton, Indiana. June 11, 1871. Her parents were natives of Ohio and came to Indiana in 1865. Her father practiced medicine in Pendleton for thirty years. Dr. Greenleaf N. Davidson gave his services to the nation in the dark hour of its trial in the sixties. serving throughout the Civil War as a corporal in the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volun- teer Infantry. He was one of the founders of the Physio-Medical College of Indiana, in which for twenty years he was a professor. Doctor Davidson had the distinction of being the best botanist in the state of Indiana, and his colleagues in medical science credited him with the possession of more knowl- edge on the subject of materia medica and thereaputics than any other man then living.

Mrs. Michner was the youngest of seven children born to her parents, six of whom lived to maturity. After receiving a good common-school and high-school education she entered the Physio-Medical College of Indiana at Indianapolis. from which she later was graduated. She then practiced medi- cine for two years in Connersville and while practicing in that city was ap- pointed county physician, being the first woman to hold that office in the history of Indiana. Her success in public work is proved by the books of the Fayette County Poor Farm, the records for her term of office showing the best degree of health and happiness of the inmates ever recorded in the history of that institution. Since her marriage she has discontinued the practice of her profession and now devotes all of her attention to her home

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duties. Mr. and Mrs. Michner are the parents of five children : Forrest, Kenneth, Russell (deceased), Hazel and Lawrence. The two elder children are now attending high school at Carmel, while the two younger are still in the common school.

In politics. Mr. Michner is a stanch Republican and has always been interested in the civic affairs of his community, while Mrs. Michner is a Prohibitionist, born and bred. At the present time Mr. Michner is serving on the township advisory board and is carefully looking after the interests of his constituents. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a deep interest in the affairs of this fraternal organization. Mrs. Michner belonged to the first lodge of the Daughters of Veterans in the state. I.ucinda Morton Tent No. I, Connersville, Indiana, while residing there, and naturally has always been much interested in the welfare of this worthy organization, Mr. and Mrs. Michner are not members of any particular church but are attendants and supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Michner is a self-made man and from the time he was fourteen years of age has known the responsibility of taking care of himself. He takes a keen interest in the affairs of his community and was never known to withhold his support from any worthy cause. Such men are a blessing to any community since they are the men who are the backbone of our nation and the hope of the future.

E. E. NEAL.

One of the best known men in Hamilton county, Indiana, and one of the residents of this county who is known throughout the state of Indiana for the prominent place he has occupied for many years in the councils of the Republican party, is E. E. Neal, who was born in Hamilton county, the son of Jabez and Mary ( Bowman) Neal.

Mr. Neal is a graduate of the Noblesville high school, the Union high school and the National University Law School at Washington, D. C. Mr. Neal has also studied and traveled extensively in Europe, having spent one year there. He has been a school teacher, served as deputy county auditor. was connected with the war department at Washington for two years and was a court reporter for sixteen years. At one time he was a proofreader on the Chicago Herald. He has been a newspaper editor for the past thirteen years. four years of which he has been editor of the Noblesville Enterprise.

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That paper was consolidated with the Noblesville Ledger on June 1, 1913. and the Ledger is now published by the Enterprise Publishing Company, and Mr. Neal is the editor, his younger brother. Charles S. Neal, being the busi- ness manager.

Mr. Neal served in the Indiana General Assembly during the sessions of 1899 and 1901, having been a member of the House and secured the passage of many worthy laws, including the forestry law, the teachers' minimum wage law, and laws for the benefit of labor. Mr. Neal also served three and one-half years in the state auditor's office and during this period had charge of eighteen million dollars worth of securities in the insurance department.

Mr. Neal was a candidate for Congress on the Republican ticket in 1910 and was defeated by only five hundred and ninety-three votes. Throughout his life Mr. Neal has been a member of almost all of the fraternal orders and is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Neal is married and has three daughters. He lives in Noblesville and is one of the most highly respected citizens of Hamilton county. He has been an active member of the party with which he is identified and is active in many lines that make for the public good.

THE BOXLEY FAMILY.

The Boxley family were the first settlers in Adams township. Hamilton county, and for ninety years have featured prominently in the history of this county. The family originally came from Virginia. George Boxley, the first settler and grandfather of the generation now found in the county, took such an active part in freeing slaves in his native state that he sacrificed his fortune, and nearly lost his life in the cause of liberty. By the act of emanci- pating his own slaves, he caused quite a little insurrection and for which he was imprisoned. Through the connivance of his wife. Hannah Jenkins . Boxley, he made his escape and made his way west with a reward of five thousand dollars on his head. He traveled through Missouri, Illinois and Ohio, eluding capture and finally located in Adams township, where he entered the land that has ever since been the Boxley homestead. Here his faithful wife, after many vicissitudes. finally joined him, making the journey from Virginia in ox-carts. Among the things she brought with her from her old home was a hand mill to grind corn, consisting of two large flat stones that fitted together and ground the corn between them. This relic is, yet

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in possession of the granddaughter living on the old homestead. George Boxley was the first school teacher in Adams township. Voluntarily, he collected the boys of the neighborhood, with his own children, into a little hut and gave them instruction and read history and good literature aloud to them, as they did not have books to study. He also instructed them in law and political economy, instilling into their minds his own views-the most intense hatred of slavery and injustice-telling them daily at this early period that they would live to see slavery abolished, and he had the pleasure of living ' to see the emancipation. P. G. Pearson, an early settler of Adams town- ship, loved to recall this early school and the instruction he received, and tell how it had moulded his own views. George Boxley had been a soldier of the war of 1812 and for an act of bravery was presented a sword which was lost during these rough years of pioneer life.

In George Boxley's family were eleven children. The seventh son, Caswell Boxley, inherited the home place. He was born in 1817 in Spottsyl- vania county, Virginia, being nine years old when his parents settled in Hamilton county, where he lived until his death, in 1891. He was a suc- cessful school teacher, an able lawyer, public spirited and generous to friend and foe. He was in the Civil War as a member of the One Hundred and First Volunteer Infantry, enlisting on August 18, 1862, and was discharged April 28, 1864. He was twice married. His first wife was Cordelia Davis, who bore him four children, Elijah. Caswell, Jr., Hannah Boxley Spencer and Clara Boxley Myres. His second wife was Sarah A. Kercheval, the mother of Annie Boxley Martin, who lives in the old Boxley home. The latter has followed her grandfather and father in the profession of teaching and was for twenty years a teacher in Adams township, keeping in touch with community welfare and education. On August 5, 1908, Annie Boxley was married to Charles L. Martin, one of the abler teachers of the county and for several years principal of the graded schools of Sheridan.

THOMAS J. LINDLEY.

The Union soldier during the great war between the states fought even better than he knew. Through four years of suffering and hardships, through the horrors of prisons and amid the shadows of death, he laid the superstructure of the greatest temple ever built and dedicated to human freedom. The world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach out the mighty arm of power and strike the chains from off

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the slaves, preserve the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled to the breeze the only flag that ever made tyrants tremble and whose majestic stripes and scintillate stars are still waving a message of universal liberty to all the earth. For all their unmeasured deeds the living present will never repay them. Pensions and political power may be thrown at their feet, art and sculpture may preserve upon canvas and in granite and bronze their unselfish deeds, history may commit to books and cold type and give to the future the tale of their sufferings and triumphs, but to the children of the generations yet unborn will it remain to accord the full measure of apprecia- tion and undying remembrance of the immortal characters tried out in the American soldiers in the dark days of the early sixties, numbered among whom is Thomas J. Lindley, one of the best known residents of Hamilton county.

Thomas J. Lindley was born on the farm where he now lives near West- field, Hamilton county, Indiana, October 7, 1843, the son of Aaron and Elizabeth B. Lindley, the latter being the second wife and the mother of six children. Aaron Lindley was born in North Carolina, May 16, 1799, and on account of his hostility to slavery moved to Indiana in 1836. His first wife was Ann Justice by whom he had six children, William, Henry. David, Oliver C., Aaron and Rebecca, all of whom are deceased, the two latter dying in infancy. The mother of these children died about 1839. The six children born to Aaron Lindley's second marriage were Rhoda Ann, born in January, 1842; Thomas J., the subject of this sketch; Phoebe, born in February, 1846; Emily, born in 1850: Gula Elma, born in 1852: and John P., born September 24, 1854. Of these children all are deceased except Thomas J. and Mrs. Phoebe Doan. Emily was scalded to death when a little child and John P. was drowned in White river when twenty-four years old.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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

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