USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 44
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Jonathan F. Phillips received all of his common school education in the district schools of Clay township, and when still a very young man he began to work on the farm. He continued to reside on the home farm, helping his father, until his marriage, which occurred on March 23, 1868, at which time he was married to Makina Couch, who was a daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Hunt) Couch, and to this union were born five children: Alma C., who is a teacher and a very cultured woman ; Lora, the wife of Milton West; Aldus W., who married Edna Atkins and has three children, Myron A., Mary M. and Edith Alma; Amanda died at the age of twenty-two years; Olney W. is unmarried and at home with his mother.
The parents of Mrs. Phillips were both natives of North Carolina, where they lived all their lives. They reared a family of five children : Tilghman, who married Eusebia Stanley; Steven, who married Rena Nowlin; Makina, the wife of Mr. Phillips; George married Mary Peratt, and Walter, who is unmarried. Mrs. Phillips' father died in 1847 and her mother in 1893.
Mr. Phillips was a life-long Republican and, while favoring the princi- ples of that party, he was not a partisan to the degree that blinded him to the faults of local candidates on his own party ticket. He always reserved the right to cast his vote in local elections for the best candidate, irrespective of party. He was always a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having served for sixteen months during the Civil War in Company B, One Hundred Seventeenth Regiment Volunteer Infantry. His service was emi- nently satisfactory and upon an honorable discharge from the service he re- turned to Hendricks county. He and the members of his family were loyal and devoted adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church, and during his
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life he was a regular attendant on the services of that denomination. He was always a sympathetic and ready helper in all enterprises which had for their object the welfare of the community. His upright and manly life won for him a large circle of friends throughout the township who sincerely mourn his loss.
MORDECAI CARTER.
A review of the life of the honored subject of this biographical sketch must of necessity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting details of the career of Mr. Carter, touching the earnest and persistent efforts of his earlier years and successes of later days, would far transcend the limits of this article. He has filled a large place in the ranks of the enterprising and public-spirited men of his day and has been an im- portant factor in the growth and development of Danville's industrial and commercial interests. Within the past few years he has become identified with banking and other financial institutions in Indianapolis, although he still retains a part of his interests in Danville.
Mordecai Carter, vice-president of the Continental National Bank and president of the State Savings and Trust Company, both of Indianapolis, was born near Plainfield, Hendricks county, Indiana. His parents, Newlin and Beulah (Hunt) Carter, were both natives of this county, his father liv- ing the life of a farmer until his death, in July, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Newlin Carter reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are living: Dr. Amos Carter, of Plainfield; Mrs. Lydia H. Cope, of Plainfield; Mordecai, the im- mediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Sarah S. Gilbert, of Grand Junction, Colorado; Caleb H., vice-president of the American State Bank of Indian- apolis; Mrs. Margaret Mills, of West Newton, Indiana; Alonzo J., of Yorba Linda, California, and Rachel Elina, who died in February, 1912. Mr Carter was born on his father's farm and lived there until he was nearly grown. He received his common-school education in the district schools of his home township and then entered the high school at Plainfield. Immedi- ately after leaving high school he engaged in the hardware and lumber busi- ness at Plainfield, where he remained for two years. He then went into the implement and buggy business, which he followed for the next two years, at the expiration of which time he was appointed deputy auditor of Hendricks county under John Kendall and served in that capacity from 1885 until 1888.
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Upon retiring from this position, he was offered the position of general book- keeper in the First National Bank of Danville and served in that capacity until 1895, when he succeeded Capt. B. F. Thomas as cashier of the bank. He proved to be a close student of the banking problem and such was the confidence of the directors of the bank in his ability that in 1899 he was elected president of this institution. He was also elected secretary of the Danville Trust Company, which positions he held until 1909, when he was instrumental in the organization of the Continental National Bank, of Indi- anapolis. Since the organization of the latter institution he has become its vice-president and is occupying that important position at the present time. In 1913 he was elected president of State Savings and Trust Company, which was organized in June of that year. The directors chose Mr. Carter on ac- count of his ability and practical banking experience. He was the first secre- tary for two years of the Indiana Bankers' Association upon its organization in 1897. He is also president of the Lindhurst Realty Company, of Indi- anapolis, and a director and one of the incorporators of the Klondyke Milling Company, of Danville.
Mr. Carter has always taken a great interest in public affairs and has allied himself with the Republican party. In 1908 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature from Hendricks county, and was re-elected in 1910. While in the Legislature he was appointed one of the four commis- sioners to investigate and report on a state penal farm.
Mr. Carter was married in 1888 to Laura Kellum, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Kellum, of Friendswood, Indiana. They have two children, Lucile, who is now a student in the University of Illinois, and Leland K., who is a student at Westtown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Carter died on March 15, 1895.
Mr. Carter has been a life-long member of the Friends church and con- tributes liberally to the support of that denomination. In his fraternal affiliations he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Socially, he is a mem- ber of the Columbia and Marion Clubs of Indianapolis. He is also a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the board of directors, and of the finance and house committees. While living in Danville he took an active part in every movement which had to do with the welfare of the town. He has been for many years a trustee and one of the stanchest friends of the Central Normal College. He was one of the organizers and prime movers of the movement to get the Carnegie library in Danville, and was
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appointed by the court as one of the trustees of the library. He was president of the Indiana Library Trustees' Association in 1911.
It is readily seen that Mr. Carter has been a very busy man all of his life and yet, in spite of the multitudinous activities of his life, he has never allowed the pursuit of wealth to warp his kindly nature. He is indeed a representative of that sterling type of the world's workers who have furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of our country and its institutions. He has preserved his faculties and the warmth of his heart for the broadening helpful influence of human life and is a kindly genial friend and a gentleman whom it is always a pleasure to meet.
GEORGE T. PATTISON.
The life history of him whose name heads this biographical sketch has been for many years closely identified with the history of Hendricks county, Indiana. Throughout the years his life has been one of untiring activity and it has been crowned with success both as an instructor in school and college, . and as a lawyer. Years of conscientious work as a lawyer have brought with them not only increase of practice and reputation, but also that growth in legal knowledge and that wide and accurate judgment the possession of which constitutes marked excellence in the profession. His life affords a splendid example of what an American youth, plentifully endowed with good common sense, energy and determination, can accomplish when accom- panied by good moral principles. From the beginning, he has been intensely methodical and unswervingly persistent in search of the true light and of the essentials of the legal foundation and sources of legal conception and thought, holding devoutly to the highly embellished record of equity and the sure, certain, invincible methods of practice.
George T. Pattison, one of the leading attorneys of Danville, was born in Henry county, this state, July 18, 1857. His parents were William B. and Susan A. (Colville) Pattison, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. His father is still living with his son, George T., at the advanced age of eighty- nine years, while his mother's death occurred in 1912, at the age of eighty- four. Mr. and Mrs. William B. Pattison were the parents of four children, two of whom are living, Mrs. Keturah Keitner, of Indianapolis, and George T.
George T. Pattison received his education in the district schools near
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Elwood, Indiana, and later attended school in the city of Elwood, his father having moved from Henry county to Madison county, Indiana, during his boyhood. Subsequently he attended the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, for eighteen months, after which he taught school for three years, making a successful record in that profession. In 1883 he entered the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, and graduated from that insti- tution two years later. He then engaged in the teaching profession and fol- lowed it continuously and successfully for the next twelve years, all of his teaching being in the Central Normal College. He had full charge of the commercial work in the college until he began the study of law and abstract- ing in 1897. In 1904 he began to devote his entire time to his law practice and associated with Judge J. L. Clark until Judge Clark went on the bench.
Mr. Pattison was married in August, 1886, to Jennie M. Downard, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Downard. Mr. and Mrs. Pattison have three children: Marion, the wife of Carl Hawley, of Toledo, Ohio; Albert, who is now attending the Central Normal College, and Ruth, who is a stu- dent in the high school at Danville.
Mr. and Mrs. Pattison are devoted and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Danville, and for many years Mr. Pattison has been a member of its official board. He is also secretary of the college board of trustees and has held that important position for many years. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is at present the district deputy of the district in which the Danville lodge is situ- ated. He was a member of the school board of Danville for nine years and was no small factor in building up the schools of the city to their present high standard. Politically, Mr. Pattison has been a life-long Republican, and has taken more or less interest in local campaigns. However, he has not held any public positions at the hands of his party.
Mr. Pattison's life has been a busy and useful one and his career fully exemplifies what can be accomplished by a man who is filled with the deter- mination to succeed in life. As a public school teacher for many years and later as a college professor, he was a factor of great power in molding the lives of young people. In his official capacity as a member of the school board he was instrumental in employing high grade teachers in the city schools of his resident town and in every way he encouraged the educational life of the community. Whether his work has been in the school room, the lodge room, in his law practice or wherever he has been found, it can be truly said of him that he was always animated by high ideals and the desire
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to treat his fellow man with exact justice. He has attained to an enviable standing in the legal profession of his county and his reading of the law is always characterized by that fine sympathy which is the true mark of great advocates. He is a man of genial personality and makes friends with all with whom he comes in contact.
ELMER HODSON.
The student interested in the history of Hendricks county does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Elmer Hodson has long been one of its most active and leading citizens in its agri- cultural and stock-raising interests and that his labors have been a potent force in making this a rich agricultural region, for through several decades he has carried on general farming, gradually improving his valuable place, and while he has prospered in this he has also found time and ample oppor- tunity to assist in the material and civic development of the county.
The subject's ancestral record, in brief, is as follows: On the paternal side, the great-great-grandparents were George and Mary (Thacher) Hod- son ; great-grandparents, Robert and Rachel (Mills) Hodson ; grandparents, Jesse and Mary (Wilson) Hodson, whose children were Robert W., Jesse WV., Jeremiah W., Eli W., Elizabeth W., Rachel W., Mary W., and Joel W. Mary Wilson was a daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Saferight) Wil- son. On the maternal side, the grandparents were Samuel and Rebecca (Bin- ford) Parker, the former being a son of Joseph or Josiah and Martha (Peel) Parker, and the latter a daughter of James and Hannah (Crew) Binford. To Samuel and Rebecca Parker were born the following children: Silas, John, James, Josiah (died in young manhood, single), Hannah Jane (mother of the subject), Martha Ann, and Angelina, who married a Mr. Brown and died about a year later, leaving a baby girl who died about six weeks after her mother's death.
Elmer Hodson, the son of Joel and Hannah Jane (Parker) Hodson, was born in the house in which he is now living on June 15, 1866. His fa- ther was born in North Carolina on August 3, 1817, and came to this state with his parents in 1831. They located in Mill Creek settlement, but after a year's residence there, they entered land in Clay township in 1832. A few years later Joel Hodson entered six hundred and forty acres of land in Iowa, and held it for a number of years, and when he sold it at a good price
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he invested the proceeds in land in this county. He spent his whole life in this county from the time he came here in 1831 until his death, which oc- curred June 3, 1911. His first wife was Charlotte Brown, and to this mar- riage was born one child, Brazeldon B., who married Ann Bryant. After the death of his first wife, Joel Hodson married Sarah A. Hill, and to this marriage there were born three children: John R., who married Ella Mas- ten, and after her death, Mrs. Lydia Jessup; Jesse C. married Ruth Masten ; Jennie married James Kendall, and after his death, Samuel Pitts. After the death of Mr. Hodson's second wife he married Hannah Jane Parker, and to this union there were born four children: Mary, wife of Samuel Atkins; Rebecca became the wife of Jesse Branson; Martha married Nathan Carter, and Elmer, the immediate subject of this sketch. Hannah Parker, the mother of Elmer Hodson, was born in Rush county, Indiana, February 17, 1829; and died in Clay township, this county, May 3, 1904.
Eliner Hodson received his education in the schools of his home town- ship and early in life started to work on his father's farm. When he be- came of age his father gave him a farm of his own, and on this place he has spent his entire career. He is recognized as one of the most scientific farm- ers of the county, keeping abreast of all the latest methods in agriculture and having his farm well supplied with all the necessary farming machinery and accessories.
Mr. Hodson was married to Luella Hadley, the daughter of Samuel J. and Locadia (Brown) Hadley, and to this marriage has been born one child, Vera Jane, who is now attending Earlham College, and will graduate in June, 1914. The parents of Mrs. Hodson were both natives of this state, her father's birth having occurred in Morgan county, where he spent his entire life. He was a farmer and at the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land. To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Hadley were born six children : Cornelius, who first married Elsie King, and after her death, Mattie -, and after her death, Marcella Clark; Elva married Joshua Hunt ; Sarah Jane married Harry Thompson ; Luella, the wife of Mr. Hodson; Vinton, deceased; Elizabeth married Alva R. Shirley, of Indianapolis.
Mr. Hodson has been a Republican in politics from conviction, feeling that in the principles set forth by that party the welfare of the nation would be best conserved. His interest in politics has been that of the public-spirited citizen, who has a civic interest in his country's welfare, but is not particularly concerned in holding office himself. He is a member of the Friends church
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at Mill Creek and Mrs. Hodson belongs to the society at Amo, both being interested in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the community in which they live. Mr. Hodson's upright life and courteous dealings have won for him the esteem of a wide concourse of friends throughout the locality in which he has spent his life.
ROBERT OPIE CHRISTIE.
The history of many Indiana families takes us back into colonial times, and it is a source of satisfaction to trace the history of a family from the seventeenth century up to the present time. The Christies of Hendricks county trace their ancestry back to colonial times, where they have found that the original founder of the family was educated for a Catholic priest. However, his relatives objected so vigorously to his espousal of the Catholic faith that he left England and came to this country, where he could worship as he pleased. He settled in Virginia and in the course of tinie married a woman of refinement and culture who lived in the city of Philadelphia. To this marriage there was born one son, James, who, in turn, married and be- came the father of William, the founder of the Hendricks county branch of the Christies. James Christie enlisted in the Revolutionary War when a very young man and served for seven years. James married Sarah Lemond and settled in Franklin county, Virginia, on the James river, where he lived until 1803. He then moved to Lincoln county, Kentucky, and a year later he moved with all his family to Shelby county, in the same state, where he taught school until his death. William was the third of the ten children born to James Christie and wife.
William Christie was born in Virginia, August 25, 1786, and was six- teen years of age when his parents moved to Kentucky. Therefore, he had but little chance for schooling, although his father taught all of his children to read and write at home. He acquired a fair knowledge of law and, being a wide reader, he was well versed in the topics of the day. On August 15, 1805, when only nineteen, he was married to Sarah Miles, who died a year later, leaving an infant daughter, Mary. On February 20, 1810, William married Elizabeth Miles, a cousin of his first wife. At the opening of the War of 1812 he enlisted and served throughout as the captain of a pack-horse com- pany. After his return from the war he lived on a farm in Kentucky and
ROBERT O. CHRISTIE
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held some minor offices in his county. In the fall of 1836 he moved to Hen- dricks county, Indiana, where he lived until his death, May 30, 1878. He died in the faith of the Regular Baptist church, to which he had belonged for nearly seventy-five years.
Robert Opie Christie, the great-grandson of William Christie, was born December 4, 1872, in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indiana. His parents were James P. and Amantha Ann (Yowell) Christie, his father being born in this county on November 19, 1844. James P. was married in 1871 to Amanthis Ann, the daughter of Walker and Eliza (Duvall) Yowell. Walker Yowell was a native of Virginia and came west to Kentucky with his parents when he was a small boy. He grew to manhood and married in that state. In 1854 he came to Hendricks county and located on the farni in Marion township where James Christie now lives. He lived on this farm of eighty acres until his death, in 1902, at the age of eighty-four, having been born in 1817. His wife was born in Kentucky and died in Marion township, this county, in 1885, at the age of fifty-six.
James P. Christie was the second son of eight children born to John and Lucinda (Bush) Christie. John was a native of Kentucky, being born in that state January 15, 1816, and dying in this county October 8, 1888. He was farmer and carpenter all his life, and took quite an interest in public affairs. He was a Democrat and was elected supervisor several times in his township. His wife was a native of Kentucky, but came to this county when a small girl with her parents and was reared in the county. She died in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. John Christie were the parents of eight children: William P., James, Thomas J., Sarah Elizabeth (deceased), Lemon M., John Wesley (deceased), Frank Douglass and George Washington.
James P. Christie spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, receiving his schooling in the district schools of the neighborhood. He worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-eight and then moved to his present farm of one hundred and eighteen acres. He has been a road supervisor for the past thirty years. His wife, Amanthis Ann Yowell, was born in Kentucky in 1851 and has lived in this county since she was four years of age. To James P. Christie and wife have been born three children: Robert O., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Beatrice Hadley and Herbert D.
Robert O. Christie was educated in the schools of his home township and then spent three terms in the Central Normal College of Danville. He started farming on his present farm, which is a part of the old homestead
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farm. In addition to a general system of farming, he specializes in cattle breeding, raising Shorthorn and Durham cattle for the market. He has a fine herd on hand at all times and is an expert judge of cattle. He is re- garded as one of the best stock raisers in central Indiana, and is rapidly coming to the front as one of the leading cattle experts of the state.
Mr. Christie was married on October 9, 1895, to Clara Rogers, the daughter of Chilin and Sallie (Clay) Rogers. Her parents are natives of this county and are now living retired at Amo, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Christie have had two children, but both died in early childhood, Gladys R. at the age of six and Ruth at the age of two and a half.
In his political relations, Mr. Christie has always voted the Democratic ticket, believing in the principles advocated by that party. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been a member of the Friends church since he was seventeen years of age. He is now an overseer in the church. His wife is a member of the Christian church at New Win- chester. Mr. Christie is a genial man and has always been a hard worker. He is a man who has favored all civic enterprises which might help the com- munity and because of his public spiritedness he is justly regarded as one of the representative men of the county.
CLARENCE C. WHICKER.
The best history of a community or state is that which deals most with the lives and activities of its people, especially of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have forged to the front and placed them- selves where they deserve the title of progressive men. In this brief review will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active plodders on the highway of life and achieved a career surpassed by few of his con- temporaries, a career of marked success in agricultural affairs and a name which all men who know him delight to honor owing to his upright life and habits of thrift and industry.
Clarence C. Whicker, the son of Frederick and Louisa S. (Duley) Whicker, was born in Clay township, Hendricks county, Indiana, January I, 1859. His father was also a native of this county, his birth having occurred in Clay township on February 24, 1833, and he spent his entire life in the county of his birth, his death occurring on November 22, 1913. Mrs. Fred- erick Whicker was born near Flemingsburg, Kentucky, November 1, 1832,
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and died March 27, 1868. The paternal grandfather of Clarence C. Whicker was born in Salem, North Carolina, April 3, 1794, and died October 29, 1853. He married Elizabeth Cosner, daughter of John and Abigail (Pike) Cosner, and to this union were born the following children: Mrs. Dorinda Stanley, Mrs. Eliza Cosner, John C., Louis, James, Abigail, Mary, Luretta (who married Parnell Kennell), Frederick (father of the subject), Eliza- beth, Allen (who married Amanda West), Sarah, who died unmarried. The Whicker family are very fortunate in having their family history traced back in an unbroken line for five generations. James Whicker, the great- grandfather of Clarence C. Whicker, was born near Liverpool, England, February 16, 1765, and died in Salem, North Carolina. His second wife, Mary Dean, was born July 25, 1770, and died at the age of one hundred and three at Salem, North Carolina. and to this union there were born six chil- dren: Sarah, born April 10, 1780; Benjamin, June 20, 1784; William, March 1, 1789; James, January 13, 1791 ; Frederick, April 3, 1794; Eli, July 23, 1803. John Cosner, the maternal grandfather of C. C. Whicker, was born May 8, 1768, and died December 15, 1849. He married Abigail Pike, who was born October 3, 1770, and died January 1, 1861. To Mr. and Mrs. John Cosner were born ten children: Nathan, born August 29, 1793; Mary, January 1, 1795; Elizabeth, May 5, 1797; Anthony, born April 7, 1799; John, January 18, 1804; Sarah, January 21, 1801; William, January II, 1806; Lovey, May 26, 1808; Hannah, June 10, 1811; Peggy, May 21, 1814.
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