USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 41
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"Above all things be truthful. And if you are truthful, then you will be honest-and these two constitute the cardinal virtues of a good life.
"Again, be industrious. Labor assiduously, and complete with thor- oughness whatever you undertake. Indolence is the mother of poverty, un- happiness and crime.
"Be independent and self-reliant. Learn some independent trade or pro- fession where you can receive the rewards of your own industry.
"Practice economy, without being miserly. Give according to your means to worthy objects of charity-and be sure they are worthy.
"Pay as you go. I repeat it, pay as you go! This is the true secret of all substantial success. The percentage of your creditor will make you a bank- rupt if you run in debt.
"If possible, secure for yourself a competency, without striving to become rich. Get no wealth at the expense of conscience. If fortune should favor you, in your prosperity do not forget the poor and needy.
"Be courteous. Politeness is the highway to popularity and station.
"Seek the society of the pure and learned; avoid the low and vulgar. Your position and standing in society depend on the observance of this rule.
"Read good books, such as have received the commendation of compe- tent critics. Do not stuff yourselves on the current trash of the day-it is
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as reprehensible as gluttony. Time is the best critic. The books that survive his touch deserve to be studied.
"Be temperate in all things. Touch not the intoxicating bowl. It is full of vice, violence, misery and poverty. I beg you touch it not.
"Govern your temper. It is a fiery steed, and, unless put under severe discipline, will carry you into all manner of difficulties. Coolness is the bal- last of a wise head.
"Be cleanly and dress neatly, without ornamentation. The sloven car- ries with him the highest evidence of his thriftlessness and ill breeding, while on the other hand the brainless fop is equally abhorrent.
"Avoid all affectation and dissimulation. Be natural and sincere. Have the courage to say 'no' where your honor or integrity might suffer.
"Economize your time; do not procrastinate. Remember that you can not recall a single moment of your lives. There are no pauses in the steady, ceaseless revolutions of the ponderous wheel that hurries you on to the end. Make sure, then, of each moment, and out of it extract something for your moral, intellectual or financial progress. Recreate your minds with manual labor, your bodies with study.
"Remain at home at night. Let me entreat you not to mingle with the vile gossiping crowd on the street corners or in some den of iniquity. It is in such company that bad habits are contracted and moral depravity has its origin.
"Obey your dear mother in all things. She understands your rights and duties, and will make no unreasonable demands of you. Strive to make her life pleasant and happy.
"Last of all, revere your country and obey her laws. Cherish her insti- tutions of freedom and the rights of man. If these should be threatened, sacrifice your lives rather than see them perish.
"I might multiply indefinitely the minor duties of life; but I hope by the observance of these maxims, you will be actuated by higher motives, a high- er faith, a broader philanthropy and a sublimer patriotism than myself. God knows how sincerely I yearn for such a consummation. If I only knew you would grow up into perfect manhood and womanhood I would die content.
"On each recurring anniversary of my death, I desire you to read this and resolve that you will observe these simple precepts with renewed fidelity. As you read them, may they be to you as a message direct from my home in that celestial city where I expect to take up my everlasting abode.
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"May God bless and preserve you from all harm and save you finally in heaven, is my parting benediction. Farewell.
"Your much afflicted, but affectionate father,
"J. S. OGDEN.
"P. S .- I desire Horace to keep in his possession this original manu- script, and that he furnish James and Adella each with a copy when they grow up and separate from each other .- J. S. O.
"January 18, 1877."
D. MONROE REYNOLDS, M. D.
It is not always easy to discover and define the hidden forces that move a life of ceaseless activity and large professional success; little more can be done than to note their manifestation in the career of the individual under consideration. In view of this fact, the life of the successful physician and public-spirited man of affairs whose name appears above affords a striking example of well-defined purpose, with the ability to make that purpose sub- serve not only his own ends but the good of his fellowmen as well. Doctor Reynolds holds distinctive prestige in a calling which requires for its basis sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order, supplemented by the rigid professional training and thorough mastery of technical knowledge, with the skill to apply the same, without which one cannot hope to rise above mediocrity in ministering to human ills. In his chosen field of endeavor, Doc- tor Reynolds has achieved a notable success and an eminent standing among the medical men of his county. In addition to his creditable career in one of the most useful and exacting of professions, he has also proved an honor- able member of the body politic, rising in the confidence and esteem of the public, and in every relation of life he has never fallen below the dignity of true manhood nor in any way resorted to methods that have invited criticism or censure.
D. Monroe Reynolds was born at Georgetown, Illinois, on August 28, 1877, the son of William P. and Angeline ( Holliday) Reynolds, the former of whom was born at Bloomingdale, Parke county, this state, in 1844, and was the son of Mahlon and ( Reubottom) Reynolds, who came to Indi- ana from North Carolina and passed the remainder of their lives in Parke county. William P. Reynolds grew to manhood on his father's farm, in Parke county, and later went to Vermillion county, Illinois, where he pur- chased a farm and also worked at the carpenter's trade. It was there he
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met and married Angeline Holliday, who was a native of that county and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Hayworth) Holliday. Her parents came to Illinois from North Carolina. William P. Reynolds and wife remain- ed in Illinois for a number of years and about the year 1904 they returned to Indiana and located near Mooresville, where they now reside.
D. Monroe Reynolds passed his boyhood days on the homestead in Illinois, attending the township schools, where he received his elementary education, and later attending the Vermillion Academy, at Vermillion Grove, that state. Having decided to make the practice of medicine his life work, he matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis, from which seat of learning he was graduated in the year 1900. For one year after graduation he was an interne at Saint Vincent's Hospital, in Indianapolis, and after completing his course there he located in Clayton, Hendricks county, Indiana, where he has since resided in the practice of his chosen pro- fession. In 1902 Doctor Reynolds was united in marriage with Joanna Buchanan, born at Huntington, this state, a daughter of Samuel Buchanan and wife. She passed her girlhood in her native town, attending its schools and, being a young woman of intelligence with a broad outlook on life, de- cided to enter the ranks of trained nurses. She was received for training in Saint Vincent's Hospital, Indianapolis, and it was there she and Doctor Reynolds first met. Doctor Reynolds and wife have one son, Russell Perry. a remarkably interesting child of four years. In addition to his professional duties, Doctor Reynolds gives attention to the operation of a farm, com- prising two hundred acres, which he owns near the town of Mooresville, this state. Up-to-date methods of agriculture are followed in handling the business of this farm. Doctor Reynolds is also interested in the People's Bank, at Clayton, which he assisted in organizing in the fall of 1912. Doc- tor Reynolds' career, since locating in Clayton, has not only been successful from a scientific standpoint, but he has gained for himself the sincere regard and confidence of the entire community. A high order of skill in his calling, a broad-minded sympathy with the sick and suffering and an earnest desire to help others, have combined to make him unusually successful and he is held in the highest esteem by his brother physicians because of his genuine worth. Genial and cheerful, he carries sunshine and comfort into every sick-room which he enters, winning at once the confidence and co-operation of his patients. Indeed, he is a welcome visitor in any company which he chooses to enter, for he possesses to an eminent degree those qualities which commend a person to the good will of others.
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Fraternally, Doctor Reynolds is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, having attained the Royal Arch degree in the York Rite bodies, has the thirty-second or Scottish Rite degree and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. Doctor Reynolds was reared in the Quaker faith, his father being a member of the Old-Style church and his mother of the progressive branch, but in 1913 Doctor Reynolds identified himself with the Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Reynolds also is a member, both taking an active part in the affairs of the church and doing all within their power to forward its work. Doctor Reynolds is still a young man and his useful life, as one of the world's workers, has been one of devotion to his calling, with an earnest desire to assist in the better- ment of his community along moral, educational and material lines as well. The opening vista of years holds much of promise for him and, through him, for the community honored by his residence.
WILLIAM COSNER.
Among the men who have been material factors in the development of Hendricks county, there is no one who occupied a more prominent position than the late William Cosner. In every community there are some men who are known for their upright lives, strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political standing, and among such men was Mr. Cosner, who was not only a progressive man of affairs, successful in business pursuits, but a man of modest and unassuming demeanor, a fine type of the reliable, self-made American, a friend to the poor, charitable to the faults of his neighbors and ready to unite with them in every good work and active in the support of laudable purposes. He was a man who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was universally held, for he was a man of public spirit, intellectual attainment and exemplary character.
William Cosner was born in Wayne county, Indiana, August 25, 1835, and died in Clay township, Hendricks county, Indiana, April 3, 1912. His parents were Anthony and Catherine (Phillips) Cosner, both of whom were born and reared in North Carolina. After their marriage they moved from that state to Indiana, settling in Wayne county, where they lived for five years, at the expiration of which time they moved to Hendricks county and located near Amo. Anthony Cosner here entered government land and started to carve out his fortune from the virgin wilderness. He built a log
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM COSNER
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cabin, cleared the land and started to make a comfortable living for his large family. To Anthony and Catherine Cosner were born nine children: John, who married Eliza Whicker and, after her death, Louise Rolly; Mahlan mar- mied first, Catherine Boswell, second, Susan Weavel, and after her death, Elizabeth Bloom; Samuel, who married Nancy Walls; Lucinda, who became the wife of Moses Stanley, and after his death married Austin Williams; Sarah married William Page and, after his death, William Wilhite'; Ann and Elizabeth died in infancy. The paternal grandparents of William Cos- ner reared a family of seven children, Anthony, father of the subject of this sketch, Mary, Hannah, Lovey Peggy, Elizabeth, William and Sarah. An- thony Cosner died in 1889, while his wife died in 1873.
William Cosner received his education, which was very limited indeed, in the schools of his home township. While still a small boy he started to work on his father's farm, where he continued to labor until his father's death, in 1889. However, before that date he built a home of his own and his father made his home with him.
William Cosner married Sarah E. Hine, the daughter of Winfield and Catherine (Reed) Hine. They were married during the Civil War, in April, 1862, and to this union were born two children, Elma Leota and Alda Ketura. Elma Leota married Phineas Purcell, and has two children, Roy and Flora; the latter lives with her grandmother; Roy married Elizabeth Miller and has three children, Max, Elma L. and Dorothy. Alda married Walter Moon and has three children, Wilbur, Adna and Larue.
Mrs. Cosner's parents came from North Carolina to this state and first located near Coatesville in 1852. After remaining there for a short time they moved to Franklin township, this county, where they lived until their death. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah, the wife of Mr. Cosner; Mary, wife of Scott Askren; Loren married Nettie Wilcox; Leroy, deceased in infancy ; Emma, wife of Albert Masten; Lucinda, wife of Milton Patterson; Jane, wife of James Hollowell; Laura and Roxey, who are un- married, live in Danville. The mother of these children died January 17, 1899, and the father two days later. Mr. Cosner's maternal grandparents reared a family of eight children, Joseph, Winfield, Eli, Nathaniel, Louis, Roginia, Nancy and Jane.
Mr. Cosner was a life-long Republican and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856. He never asked his party for public office, being con- tent to serve as a private in the ranks, doing what he did in the local caucuses
(28)
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and primaries. His religious faith was that of the Baptists and throughout his long life he was a strong believer in the teachings of that denomination and lived according to these doctrines.' His life was characterized by its Christian beauty and character and it should be a model for coming genera- tions in Hendricks county.
JOHN HENRY HALL.
Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will inevitably result in the attaining of a due measure of success, but in fol- lowing out the career of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which makes such accom- plishment possible, and thus there is granted an objective incentive and in- spiration, while at the same time there is enkindled a feeling of respect and admiration. The qualities which have made Mr. Hall one of the prominent and successful men of Clayton, have also brought him the esteem of his fel- low townsmen, for his career has been one of well directed energy, strong determination and honorable methods.
John Henry Hall, who is living in comfortable retirement from the active duties of life, in his commodious home in Clayton, was born in 1837, at Zanesville, Ohio, the son of Greeneberry and Lydia (Thomas) Hall. He was a posthumous child, his father's death having occurred before his birth and he had the misfortune to also lose his mother before he was three years old. At his mother's death he was taken into the home of his maternal grandfather, Joseph M. Thomas, who was born and reared in Reading county, Pennsylvania. When the subject was about three and one-half years old, his grandfather moved to McConnellsville, Morgan county, Ohio, where he fol- lowed his trade of carpenter and millwright. There they remained until the subject was sixteen years of age, when the family removed to Clayton, where the years intervening until the outbreak of the Civil War were passed in quiet pursuits. Fired with a love of country, late in August, 1861, Mr. Hall enlisted in Company B, Seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was with that regiment all through the three years service. In the winter of 1862 he was for several weeks confined in Windmill Hospital, and in June, 1864, at the crossing of the North Anna river, in Virginia, he was wounded while starting a skirmish line, running onto a rebel enforced skir- mish line. He engaged in many of the leading battles of the war, among them being Green Brier, in West Virginia, Kernstown (generally called the battle
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of Winchester ), and Port Republic. He was then placed in the Army of the Potomac and with that division was in the engagements at Fredericksburg, Cedar Mountain, the second battle of Bull Run, under General Pope, South Mountain and the battle of Antietam. He also was at Gettysburg and after that spent the winter in Virginia and on May 5th their division was brought into the battle of the Wilderness, that seven days of terrific fighting. He was also at Petersburg when the "Crater" was blown up and distinctly saw the explosion, being comparatively near at the time. In the latter part of September, 1864, he was mustered out of the service and came back to his home in Clayton, having come through his severe experiences in an excep- tional manner. While still a youth and prior to his service in the army, he had learned the painter's trade and had worked at it for about three years. After his return home from the front, he engaged in the sewing machine business for a couple of years and then became connected with a Philadelphia publishing house, for whom he was on the road for about twenty-five years. They were publishers of maps, and his work took him all over the eastern, central and middle western states. preparing new maps and making correc- tions in ones then existing. After he severed his connection with his firm, on account of failing health, he settled down at Clayton again, where his home and family had always been.
Mr. Hall's political sympathies were with the Republican party and after quitting the road he began taking an active interest in local politics and was elected township trustee, which position he held for five years, the term having been extended by a Democratic Legislature, although he was of the opposition party. Then for six years thereafter he served as president of the county council and otherwise served his party. He was engaged in the coal business for four or five years and about the year 1908 retired from active business. Mr. Hall is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Clayton, a broad-minded man, well posted on current events and with a far- reaching influence for good in his community.
In October, 1867, Mr. Hall was united in marriage with Angeline Sher- man, born in Fall Creek township, Hamilton county, this state, near the town of Fortville. She is the daughter of Alonzo D. and Sarah (Hammond) Sherman and grew to womanhood on the place where she was born, but was living with her uncle, George Hammond, at the time she met Mr. Hall. To their union was born one daughter, Ora May, who passed from this life in 1891, at the age of twenty-two years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hall are devout members of the Christian church and give liberally toward the support of the
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local organization. Mr. Hall's fraternal affiliations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Hall is widely known as one of the most sagacious business men of his community and as a citizen of much public spirit, always interested in the common good. He has many friends and is a pleasant, sociable gentleman. He has always stood for progressive ideas, wholesome living and patriotism, and although his life has been without incident of a marked unusual nature, it has shown that steady, consecutive endeavor, coupled with honesty of purpose, will ac- complish large results in the end.
ROBERT A. EDMONDSON.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real history of a community and his influence as a potential factor of the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in ad- verting, even in a casual way, to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellowmen and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which make so much for the prosperity of a community. Such a man is the worthy subject of this sketch, and as such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among the representative citizens of the town and county in which he resides. Additional interest attaches to his career owing to the fact that his entire life has been passed within the bounds of this county.
Robert A. Edmondson was born on December 18, 1865, about two miles south of Clayton, the son of Benjamin G. Edmondson. When he was six or seven years old they moved to within a short distance south of Clayton, and there he grew to manhood, attending the schools in Clayton, where he re- ceived his elementary education, and later studying at the Central Normal College. After completing his studies at Danville, he taught school for two terms. On April 22, 1883, he was united in marriage with Della Appleby, born in Owen county, this state, the daughter of John and Rachael ( Reitzel) Appleby, both of whom were reared in Hendricks county and were descend- ants of some of the earliest pioneer families of this locality. John Appleby was a farmer and lived for a time in Owen and Greene counties, later return- ing to this county about the year 1880. For one year he lived on the Jolin
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V. Hadley farm, also resided near Belleville and later near Plainfield and finally purchased a farm near Avon, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring there, where his widow continues to live.
After marriage, Mr. Edmondson went to farming for himself, spending about twelve years in Morgan county, where he purchased one hundred acres of land to begin with and has since added fifty-four more. He also owns more land adjoining it on this side of the county line. In the fall of 1895 he purchased a farm of thirty-six acres about a half mile south of Clayton, near where his boyhood days were passed, and there he erected a comfortable home right in the midst of a beautiful walnut grove, where he has since resided. Later he added eighty-five more acres to this tract and in all is possessed of some three hundred and fifty acres of land, all in an excellent state of cultivation, each acre attesting to the ability of the owner and mark- ing him as one of the most up-to-date agriculturists of the county. In ad- dition to his farming interests, Mr. Edmondson finds time to devote to other lines and since 1888 has been a notary public and has served several times as executor or administrator of estates. During the summer of 1912 he took an active part in organizing the People's Bank and Trust Company of Clay- ton, which institution he has served as president since its organization. This company opened for business October 16, 1912, Clement Earl Kelley having been largely instrumental in bringing it into existence. The officers of the company are R. A. Edmondson, president ; Amos L. Mitchell, vice-president ; C. E. Kelley, cashier. The directors are R. A. Edmondson, Amos L. Mitchell, William G. Peck, W. F. Martin, Charles B. Worrell and Charles M. West. The company does a regular banking business and also acts as ad- ministrator, executor or trustee, sells insurance and deals in real estate, etc. The capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars, fully paid up, and the total assets in September, 1913, were nearly ninety thousand dollars. It owns its own building, built expressly for its occupancy and being a thoroughly modern business block.
Politically, Mr. Edmondson is a Democrat and active in local politics. In 1900 he was elected trustee of Liberty township, this county, which office he held a little over four years, his term expiring January 1. 1905. He was the first Democrat to be elected trustee of that township, receiving a majority of sixty-five votes. when previously it had been going to the opposition by a majority of something near two hundred. Mr. Edmondson, therefore, was entitled to feel some elation over his victory, which was a distinct tribute to the popularity which he so richly deserves.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Edmondson have been born five sons, the eldest, Clarence Virgil, who married Mary Hopkins, residing two miles south of Clayton on the national road, where he is engaged in farming. He has two children, Walter and Esther. John Benjamin married Pearl Richardson and lives on the southern line of this county, where he owns a home of his own and is engaged in farming. He graduated from the agricultural de- partment of Purdue University in 1911, and spent one year under the state geologist in soil survey work in Owen and Morgan counties and for one year was assistant editor of the Farmers' Guide, a periodical published at Hunt- ington, this state. Ralph W. married Osie Scott and lives on the subject's farm in the northern edge of Morgan county, which farm he operates in connection with his father. He is the father of one son, Lowell Robert. Samuel is attending Purdue University and will graduate in the spring of 1914 from the agricultural department, and Roy is also taking the agricultural course at the same university.
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