USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 52
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ALPHEUS OSBORN.
It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer reverts to the life of one who has attained success in any vocation requiring definiteness of pur- pose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, con- secutive endeavor or of sudden meteoric accomplishments, must abound in both lesson and incentive and prove a guide to young men whose fortunes and destinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this sketch is distinctively one of the representative agriculturists of Hen- dricks county. For a number of years he directed his efforts toward the goal of success and by patient continuance in well-doing succeeded at last in overcoming the many obstacles by which his pathway was beset, and is today considered one of the foremost farmers of the county.
Alpheus Osborn. the son of Charles and Asenath (Hyatt) Osborn, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, November 27, 1841. Charles Osborn received only three months' schooling, but from early boyhood was compelled to work early and late upon the farm. Upon his father's death he inherited the home farm and continued the operation of this tract until his marriage. In the fall of 1850, when Alpheus was only nine years of age, the father came to Indiana, settling in Clay township, Hendricks county. He had learned the blacksmith's trade in his native state and had followed this vocation for some time, but when he came to Hendricks county he dis-
ALPHEUS OSBORN
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continued the blacksmithing business and devoted all of his attention to his agricultural interests, which he continued to follow until his death. He mar- ried Asenath Hyatt, the daughter of Cuthbert and Hannah Hyatt, and to this union there were born five children: Elizabeth, the wife of Robert B. Reynolds; Hannah, who became the wife of John Newman; Cuthbert, who married Minerva Grime, and, after her death, wedded Asenath Carter; Mar- tha Sybil, the wife of Jonathan Carter, and Alpheus.
Alpheus Osborn received some education in North Carolina and com- pleted his educational training in this county, having come with his parents to Indiana when he was nine years of age. He worked on the farm with his father until he was twenty-one years of age.
Mr. Osborn was married to Emily L. Wheeler, the daughter of Alfred and Lydia Wheeler, on August 25, 1866, and to this union there were born five children : Allen E., who married Ella Phillips, and after her death, Leona Smith, and is the father of one child, Dewy H .; Senith E. is the wife of Elmer Wells, and they have two children, Ernest and Alpheus; Lydia J. is the wife of Morton Rudd, and they are the parents of three children, Albert, Lewis and Cecil; Albert married Blanche Wymer, and has one child, Lydia, who first married Roy Cooper and second Marshall Adams, and has one child, Leslie by the first marriage, and two children. Mildred and Josephine, by second marriage; Cecil married Ruth Gladstone; Mary, the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Osborn, married Arelius Dilworth, and has two children. Elsie and Edith; Elsie married Hulbert Keys, and has two children, Herman and Mary; Charles, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, married Helen Daniels.
The father of Mrs. Osborn was born in Guilford county, North Caro- lina, where he married Lydia May, also a native of that state, and in the fall of 1864 they came to this county and located in Clay township, where they reared a family of ten children : Mary, the wife of Peyton Cox; Malissa died at the age of twenty-seven; Lula married Frank Beard; Alonzo married Matilda Smith: Emma, the wife of Mr. Osborne; Irene, deceased; Francis, deceased; Alfred, deceased: Addison, deceased; Corina married first John Burk and later John Pate. who is dead. The paternal grandparents had seven children: Jesse, who married Lydia Bales; Charles, father of Alpheus Osborne; Samuel and Nathan, deceased; Daniel married first Lydia Walker and after her death Lydia Anthony and Rachel and Lydia, deceased. The paternal grandparents reared a family of nine children: Austin, who married Miss Armfield; Manloe, who married Phoebe Beard; William married Ruth
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Beard; Elijah married Miranda Fry; Alfred, who married Lydia Macy; John, who married Miss Tucker; Mary became the wife of Dicks Coffin; Cynthia, the wife of Isaiah Dillon; Kazia, who married William Davis.
Mr. Osborn has been a Republican ever since the founding of the party, having cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. Although he has been a Republican for a half century he has never appealed to his party for an office. He is a member of the Friends church and takes an active interest in all of the work of the church. His has been a useful life and one which reflects credit upon himself, and through all the years in which he has lived in this county his record has been such as to win him a place among the representative men of Hendricks county.
ALVA A. ROSS.
The gentleman to whom the reader's attention is now directed was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of these, by perseverance, industry and a wise economy, he has at- tained a comfortable station in life, and is well and favorably known through- out Hendricks county as a result of the industrious and honorable life he has lived. He is a modern and scientific agriculturist, thoroughly up-to-date in all his methods and, while advancing his individual interests, he does not neglect his duties as a citizen.
Alva A. Ross, the son of Joseph and Susan Ross, was born at Avon, Indiana, in Hendricks county, May 21, 1857. His parents were born and reared near Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Avon, Indiana, several years before the War of the Rebellion and remained there until Alva A. was about ten years of age, when they moved to the farm where Mr. Ross is now living.
Alva A. Ross received his education in the common schools of Wash- ington townshp and started early in life to learn the practical side of farm- ing. That he is well acquainted with all of that store of information which the successful farmer must have at his fingers' ends, is shown by his well- kept farm of today. While he carries on a general system of farming, he has made a specialty of raising black and white Crested Black Polish chickens and white Indian Runner ducks. He has not only found this a pleasure, but a profit as well, and is now recognized as one of the leading poultry fanciers of Indiana. He has won several prizes of silver cups at
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Indianapolis at poultry shows and in 1911, 1912 and 1913 won the silver cup for his Indian Runner ducks at Danville.
Mr. Ross was married on November 5, 1879, to Emma Swank, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Swank, of Center township, this county. Mrs. Ross was born October 19, 1857, and to this first marriage of Mr. Ross were born three children: Mrs. Ethel Strickler, of Danville, who was born August 10, 1880; Mrs. Hazel McClain, of Washington township, this county, who was born May 2, 1885, and Flora G., who was born March 7, 1888, and died April 29, 1888. The mother of these children died August 11, 1889, and subsequently, in 1894, Mr. Ross married Ida Keith, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Keith.
Fraternally, Mr. Ross is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Danville, while religiously, he and the members of his family are faithful and consistent members of the Regular Baptist church. He was a Republican until 1912, but since then has been a Progressive. He and his wife are members of the Rebekahs at Danville, and Mrs. Ross belongs to the Woman's Relief Corps. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are popular members of the social circles in which they move, and have long been regarded with esteem and respect by all who have the honor of their acquaintance.
ELIEL NEWBY.
Dependent very largely upon his own resources from his early youth, Eliel Newby, of Guilford township, has attained no insignificant success, and though he may have, like most men of affairs, encountered obstacles and met with reverses, he has pressed steadily forward, ever willing to work for the end he had in view. His tenacity and fortitude are due, no doubt, in a large measure, to the worthy traits inherited from his sterling ancestors, who were among the early pioneers of Hendricks county. The first Newbys resided in Hendricks county more than eighty-five years ago, and during all of these years the Newbys have been influential in the material and civic advancement of their county, and by their high ideals and good principles have ever thought to perpetuate the proper views of life.
Eliel Newby, the son of Harmon and Rebecca (Hyatt) Newby, was born in Guilford township, this county, November 5, 1862. Harmon Newby was born in this county on the same farm which was pre-empted by his father in this township in the year 1828, thereby giving the Newby family
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eighty-six years of history in this county. Harmon Newby left Hendricks county for Kansas in 1881 and lived and died on a farm which he pur- chased in that state. Mrs. Harmon Newby was born in Randolph county, Indiana, and met her husband in Hamilton county, where she moved with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Harmon Newby were parents of five children : William, a farmer in the state of Washington, married and has two children; Stephen, a blacksmith of Jasonville, who is married and has three children; Jesse, a farmer of Hamilton county, who is married and has six children ; Eliel, whose history is herein presented; Thomas Emory, of Kansas, who is married and has one child. Harmon Newby and his wife both died in Kansas in 1899.
Eliel Newby attended the district schools of Guilford township, and at an early age decided that he wished to become a farmer. Until his mar- riage he worked on his father's farm and on the other farms in the im- mediate neighborhood, with the result that when he was married he was already one of the best farmers in his township. In this day of specialization it is becoming increasingly customary for farmers to have some hobby, and with Mr. Newby it is fruit raising. Some years ago he became interested in the culture of small fruits and has now under cultivation several acres of his farm in fruits of various kinds, and has found it a very lucrative addi- tion to his regular income from his farm. He owns ten acres of land, of which five are in orchard.
Mr. Newby was married February 19, 1889, to Mary A. Zimmerman, of Washington township, the daughter of Joel and Elizabeth (Cole) Zim- merman. Mrs. Newby's father was a wagon builder by trade and reared a family of seven children. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman are both dead. He died on December 25, 1904, and she on April 15, 1902. There have been five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Newby: Jessie Mae, born April 10, 1890, who is the wife of Charles A. Johnson, of Indianapolis; Florence E., born April 30. 1892, who is still at home; Horace E., born November 18, 1894; Fred E., born April 18, 1896; Lester J., born May 9, 1901. The members of the Newby family are adherents of the Friends church. Mr. Newby has achieved success. because he has given attention along right channels and has been an advocate of honest living and dealing with his fellow men. Though never animated with great ambition for public honor, he has ever lent his aid in serving the general interests of his locality, and is well fortified in his convictions, being at all times public spirited in his attitude towards all things for the benefit of the locality in which he lives. Polit- ically, he supports the Republican party, while, religiously, he is a birthright member of the Friends church.
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HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
THOMAS BRITTON KINNAN.
The following is a sketch of a plain, honest man of affairs, who, by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his fellow men, was for many years one of the prominent residents of Hendricks county. As postmaster of one of the important towns of the county and as recorder of Hendricks county, he won for himself distinctive prestige in the history of the locality. He would be the last man to sit for romance or become the subject of a fancy sketch, but nevertheless his life presents much that is interesting and valuable, and may be studied with profit by the young, whose careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and strength of character have forced themselves to the front and as a result he has commanded the respect of all those citizens of his county who have known him so many years.
Thomas Britton Kinnan was born near Vernon, Jennings county, In- diana, April 27, 1846. He is one of nine children born to Thomas and Katherine Ellen Kinnan. His father was a native of New Jersey and his mother of Maryland. They first settled in Jennings county, Indiana, about 1845. He went to Iowa in 1852, from Wayne county, Indiana, and died in 1852. The mother died in Marion county, Indiana, in 1885.
Thomas B. Kinnan was educated in the common schools of Marion and Hendricks counties and when a young man came to Plainfield, Hendricks county. Here he was married March 2, 1869, to Mary Barker Conarroe, and to this union have been born two children, Harry Joel and Daisy Brit- ton. Harry J. was born June 23, 1871, and was married on May 30, 1908, to Rose Althea Myers, and lived at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a seedsman until he removed to Indianapolis. Indiana. The daughter, Daisy Britton, was born July 8. 1881, and was for many years a teacher in the public schools. She was married on January 17, 1907, to Robert Clark Coffy, of Indianapolis, and has one daughter, Katherine, who was born May 22, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Coffy are now living in Tacoma, Washington.
Mr. Kinnan was appointed postmaster at Plainfield by President Arthur in 1883, and served until the incoming Democratic administration of Cleve- land. In 1886 he was elected recorder of Hendricks county on the Republi- can ticket and served in that office for four years. His son, Harry J., was chief deputy under his father during his full term of office. As postmaster and as recorder Mr. Kinnan was an efficient official and administered the duties of his important offices with judgment and ability. Mr. Kinnan lived
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in Hendricks county until 1904, when he moved to Indianapolis, and in the fall of 1910 removed to Guilford township, where he bought six and one- half acres of land.
Mr. Kinnan is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, of which they are faithful and loyal supporters. Mr. Kinnan has led a busy and useful life, and as a public official and as a private citizen he has lived such a life as to merit the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. He enlisted on August 10, 1862, in Company C, Seventieth In- diana Volunteer Infantry, under General Harrison, for eight months and re-enlisted in Company I, Sixty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was discharged April 10, 1866, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Danville, Indiana.
HORACE REEVE.
In his special line of effort, probably no man in central Indiana has achieved a more phenomenal success or a larger record than Horace Reeve, who is not only a farmer of large importance, but is also a dairyman of high reputation. For a quarter of a century he has given his particular at- tention to the dairy business and because of the eminent success which he has achieved he has gained a reputation which extends far beyond the borders of his own locality. Sound judgment, wise discrimination and good common sense have so entered into his make-up as to enable him to carry on his business along lines that have insured his success. Because of his splendid record and his high personal qualities, he is eminently deserving of repre- sentation in the annals of his county.
Horace Reeve, the youngest of six children of Charles and Malinda (Jessup) Reeve, was born in Guilford township, this county, November 7, 1853. The other five children of the family were: Jonathan F., deceased; John J .; Sarah; Hadley, deceased, and Mary. Charles Reeve was born in New Jersey in 1816 and came with his parents to this county in his youth. His parents first settled in Marion county, near Indianapolis. Charles Reeve was a man of more than ordinary ability and before he reached his majority he was engaged by the local authorities to teach school in his own township,
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HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
and for the next three years he followed this profession and was still teach- ing when he was married. His wife was the daughter of John and Ruth Jessup, of Guilford township; she died at the age of forty-two. Charles Reeve lived on the farm on which he moved in 1858, until his death, in 1897.
Horace Reeve received a good education at home at the hands of his worthy father and in the subscription schools, which were conducted in his neighborhood. After completing his common school education he worked for his father on the home farm.
Mr. Reeve was married February 4, 1881, to Flora E. Allen, and to this union was born four children: Alice M., deceased at the age of nine; Wendell A., born September 26, 1884, a graduate of Earlham College and now with the Utah Copper Mining Company at Bingham, Utah; J. Evelyn, of Indianapolis, who married Lawrence H. Barrett, a member of the Evans Milling Company, has two children, John R. and Barbara; Wilma, born in 1890 and a graduate of Earlham College. The first wife of Mr. Reeve died April 1, 1898, and on May 28, 1900, he was married to Olma Hadley, the daughter of Atlas and Elizabeth Hadley. His second wife died July 11, 1905.
Mr. Reeve has been a life-long supporter of the Republican party, but has never been active in politics. His interests for the past twenty years have been centered in his dairy, and he has at the present time one of the most expensive and successful dairies conducted by any farmer in central Indiana. The state board of inspection has complimented him upon the arrangement and equipment of his dairy and upon the sanitary manner in which it is managed. Mr. Reeve takes an interest in every department of public life which affects his fellow citizens and the general advancement of the community and has been an efficient influence in its progress and achieve- ment. He is a faithful member of the Friends church, as are the other members of his family and takes a deep interest in the spiritual work of the church. His career has been a consistent and honorable one throughout. Because of his integrity and accomplishment, he is entitled to the sincere confidence and good will of all who know him. He and his good wife have raised a family which is an honor and credit to them, and in these children may be seen the influences which have molded their characters and made them the valuable members of society which they are today. The family residence is one of the most charming homes in the community, being sub- stantially built of brick and surrounded by a spacious and well-kept lawn and beautiful forest trees.
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HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
SOLOMON D. EDWARDS.
Among the enterprising and progressive citizens of Hendricks county none stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch. He has long been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in this county and the years of his residence here have but served to strengthen the feeling of admiration on the part of his fellow men owing to the honorable life he has led and the worthy ex- ample he has set to the younger generation, consequently the publishers of this biographical compendium are glad to give such a worthy character repre- sentation in this work.
Solomon D. Edwards, the son of John and Beulah ( Perkins) Edwards, was born in Clay township, Hendricks county, Indiana, on August 27, 1847. His father was a native of North Carolina and came to Indiana in 1833, settling near Coatesville, in this county, and here he met his wife and after their marriage he entered some government land, which he cleared and im- proved upon until about 1861, at which time he purchased a farm of one hundred and forty acres near Plainfield, which he sold after a few years and went to Oregon. There he settled near Newberg and divided some of the land adjoining that town into town lots and sold them. He remained in Newberg, Oregon, until his death, becoming one of the substantial citi- zens of that town. To John and Beulah (Perkins) Edwards were born seven children: Asa, who married Lavina Kenworthy; John, who married Lucinda Hodson; Nathaniel; Abagail, wife of Henry Ballinger; Lorriane, wife of Fred Downing; Nancy, wife of Levi Crews, and Solomon D.
Solomon D. Edwards attended school in the district schools of his home township and after leaving school he worked on his uncle's farm until the latter's death. On January 4. 1866, he married Mary Hornaday, who was born February 4, 1847, the daughter of Daniel and Delilah ( Farmer) Horna- day, and to this union were born six children: Minnie B., the wife of W. O. Brown, is the mother of four children, Harold, Harley, Hildred and Hallie; Roscoe, who married Bertha Kendall and has three children, Christ- ian, Kenneth and Bernard R .; Charles E., who married Ida Job, and they have two children, Pauline and Mary; John, who married Mary Wills, and has one child, John, Jr .; Myrtle, who became the wife of Walter Hodson, has two children, Blair and Dalta; Maude married Verle Moon and has two children, Percy and Iona. The parents of Mrs. Edwards had a family of four children: William, who married Nettie Baker; Martha, the wife
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SOLOMON D. EDWARDS FAMILY GROUP
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of Emery Triddle; Mary, wife of Mr. Edwards; Eliza, wife of L. Marten. Mrs. Edwards died on April 13, 1914.
Mr. Edwards is allied with the new Progressive party, believing that in the principles advocated by it will be found a solution of most of the great political questions before the American people today. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, while in his religious faith he holds to the Friends church, and is interested in the efforts of his church to ยท better the condition of the community in which he lives. Mrs. Edwards was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Edwards has lived nearly three-score and ten years in this county, and during all of that time his influence has ever been on the right side of all civic and moral questions per- taining to the welfare of the community. For this reason he is rightly re- garded as one of the representative men of Hendricks county, and is well worthy a mention in this biographical volume.
From an obituary published at the time of Mrs. Edwards' death, the following beautiful words are quoted :
"No mother could have been more kind and loving; her thoughts were always for others and self was forgotten; always ready to lend a help- ing hand to those in need. She had been looking forward to the time when life's work would be over and expressed herself as waiting for the sum- mons and that the change would be a happy one. When alone much of her time was spent in singing the sweet songs of Zion and talking to Jesus.
"She wanted her flowers while here that she might enjoy them, and this desire was realized by the kind and affectionate devotion of her dear ones.
"She leaves a husband, six children and thirteen grandchildren, one sister and many friends who will sadly miss her. The family circle is broken, mother has passed into the beyond, and her voice no more you will hear; her memory will ever be sweet to you.
" 'Dearest Mother, thou hast left us. And our loss we deeply feel, But 'tis God who has bereft us; He our sorrows all can heal.'
"The following lines were favorite songs of her's:
" 'Fade from my sight each glittering gem, Vanish each glittering diadem; Pleasure no more I find in them, Jesus was crowned with thorns.
(35)
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Not for me are those fading joys, Not for me are those earthly toys, Mine be the tears at Jesus' feet, Mine be eternal day. What though my life be full of tears.
Sorrow may crown my weary years; Mine be the hope when Christ appears, Mine be eternal joy.'
"Another one was:
" 'O could I soar to worlds above, That blessed abode of peace and love, How gladly would I mount and fly On angel's wings to worlds on high.'"
HENRY D. BARLOW.
Prominent in the affairs of Hendricks county and distinguished as a citi- zen whose influence is far extended beyond the limits of the community honored by his residence, the name of Henry D. Barlow stands out a con- spicuous figure among farmers of the locality of which this volume treats. All of his undertakings have been actuated by noble motives and high resolves and characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individuality and his success and achievements but represent the result of fit utilization of innate talent in directing effort along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way.
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