USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 57
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Mr. Jessup was married August 12, 1852, to Louisa Moon, and to this marriage were born four children: Harrison, born August 20, 1853, who was a farmer all his life and died December 30, 1905, leaving a widow and two sons, Walter and Carlos; Theodore W., born January 19, 1855, and died November 26, 1878, leaving a widow and two children, Nellie and Wallace T., the latter living on a part of the old homestead place; Jessie, born Sep- tember 10, 1856, who married Jesse Allen, of West Newton, Marion county. Indiana, and they have four children. The Allen family are now residents of Pasadena, California; William S., born April II, 1858, who married Emma Card, and they have four children, Louisa, Halstead, Donald and Mary Eleanor ; William is now living on a part of the old home farm.
The first wife of Mr. Jessup died August 20, 1885, and two years later, on June 22, 1887, he was married to Dr. Maria Allen, the daughter of Pres-
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ton and Susannah (Jessup) Allen. Her father came from Ohio and she was one of four children. She was educated in the local schools and at Spiceland Academy in Henry county, this state. She taught school for twenty years and it was not until she was thirty-eight years of age that she entered the Woman's Medical College of Chicago, Illinois (now a part of North- western University), from which she graduated three years later. She was married to Mr. Jessup two months after she graduated and has practiced for the past twenty-seven years in Hendricks county, Indiana. She ranks as one of the most prominent women practitioners in the state. She is a woman of great strength of character and with a tender and sympathetic feeling which should be the necessary concomitant of the technical experience needed for the successful physician.
Mr. Jessup had a birthright in the Friends church and throughout his whole life was a firm believer in the doctrines as set forth by that church. Being naturally of a quiet and reserved disposition, one had to know him intimately to appreciate his real depth of Christian spirit. He was of a deeply religious nature and a careful student of the Bible, and his great faith in Christ was built on its teachings. As might be inferred, his politics were in keeping with his faith and he was a Prohibitionist of the most radical kind all his life. Such men as Joel Jessup are a blessing to any community, be- cause of their advocacy of wholesome living, pure politics and honesty in every-day life. Such men raise the standard of civic morality in every com- munity, and their example is such as to help those who are starting in life.
AMOS C. WEAVER.
Among the worthy citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, whose resi- dence here has contributed in no small degree to the prestige of the com- munity is Amos C. Weaver, now living a retired life in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lived in this county from the time of his birth until 1903, when he retired from active business and removed to Indianapolis, where he now resides at No. 2019 Central avenue. Mr. Weaver is a man who, while laboring for his individual advancement, has never forgotten his obligations to the public and his support of such measures and movements as have been for the general good could always be depended upon. Although his life has been a busy one, his private affairs making heavy demands upon his time, he has never allowed it to interfere with his obligations as a citizen and neighbor. Through the long
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years of his residence in this community he has ever been true to the trusts reposed in him, whether of a public or private nature ,and his reputation in a business way has been unassailable. Possessing in a marked degree those sterling traits which have commanded uniform confidence and regard, he is today honored by all who know him and is numbered among the representa- tive men of Hendricks county. He is one of the few remaining veterans of that great struggle which threatened to sever the Union in the sixties and special honor is due him for the four long and bloody years which he spent on the battle fields of the South.
Amos C. Weaver, now living a retired life in Indianapolis, was born in Middle township, Hendricks county, Indiana, August 15, 1841. His parents were Thomas Jefferson and Anna ( Hollis) Weaver, both natives of Ken- tucky, he being born in 1805 and she in 1807. After their marriage in Ken- tucky, they came to Indiana in 1836 and settled on a farm in Middle town- ship, this county, where they lived the remainder of their lives. He died April 3, 1873, and his widow passed away November 10, 1886. They were the parents of eight children, the subject of this sketch being the only one living. The children, in the order of their birth, are as follows: William died at the age of seventeen; John B. died at the age of seventeen; Amanda Jane, who married Paxton Alexander, and died in 1854, at the age of twenty- two; Mary Matilda, who married Carlo Gadson, and died in May, 1864, at the age of twenty-two; James Lewis, who died in infancy; Amos C., the only one living; Ellis, who died in 1910, was a member of Company B, Seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for two years and was then attached to Battery B of the Fifth Regiment. Ellis was a recorder of Hendricks county at one time and one of the prominent citizens of the county ; the eighth and youngest child was Taylor, who died in infancy.
Amos C. Weaver was reared on the farm and went through all the ex- periences common to boys on the farm. He attended school in the old log school houses of Middle township a few months each winter, and proved to be a very apt pupil. As soon as he had secured all the education he could get in the country schools he started to take the course in Northwestern Univer- sity at Indianapolis. In order to get money to continue his education he taught school at Pittsboro, in his home county. The year 1861 found him twenty years of age and a teacher in Pittsboro, but when President Lincoln issued his call for troops, in the spring of 1861, young Weaver forsook his books and answered the call. He was mustered into the service on October 8, 1861, in Company A, Fifty-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out March 22, 1865. His company was attached to the
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Army of the West, and he saw service in scores of the fiercest battles which were fought in the West. Among these were Shiloh, Perryville, Corinth, Stone's River, Lookout Mountain, and many other skirmishes and forays of lesser importance. He was wounded at Dalton, Georgia, on August 15, 1864, by a minie ball, which shattered his foot. The army surgeons wanted to amputate his foot, but he objected so strenuously that they dressed it the best they could and let him go. He was in a very precarious condition for some time, but finally fully recovered, due to his wonderful physical constitution. A few weeks before he was shot he had been elected captain, but his commis- sion did not arrive until after he was laid up in the hospital. He was sent home in November of 1864 and mustered out on March 22, 1865.
In the spring of 1865 Mr. Weaver was elected trustee of Middle town- ship, and his administration of the duties of the office were so satisfactory that he was re-elected in the spring of 1867. While he was trustee he started in the mercantile business at Pittsboro, and continued in the business after his term as trustee had expired. For thirty-two years he operated a general store at Pittsboro and by his strict integrity and upright business dealings he ac- cumulated a goodly share of this world's goods. In addition to his mercantile establishment he was interested in farming and stock raising during most of his life in Hendricks county, and now owns three hundred and seventy-three acres of fine land near Pittsboro. Fortune has seemed to smile on all of his undertakings and he has usually realized a substantial profit on all his invest- ments. In 1903 he retired from the active charge of business cares and is now getting a well-earned rest after years of hard labor.
Mr. Weaver was married September 3. 1865, to Miriam Wells, the daughter of George Washington and Fanny Wells, of Middle township, this county. They are the parents of five children, all of whom have grown to maturity : Hollis H., a merchant of Greentown, Indiana; Chester A., a farmer living near Pittsboro; Urban R., who is a traveling salesman for a bankers' supply company of St. Louis; Grace D., who is the wife of John F. Wood; and Francis Pearl, who is the wife of B. O. Kile and lives near Galves- ton, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have been extensive travelers and have been across the continent to California, south to Florida, Georgia and every state on the gulf of Mexico. They have also traveled in Mexico and Canada and through- out the eastern part of the United States. They are both members of the Christian church, and Mr. Weaver is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic. At one time he was com- mander of Thomas Ashby Post No. 451, at Pittsboro. He has been a life-long
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Republican and has never seen any reason why he should change his allegiance to any other party. He has never held any office except that of trustee, which was immediately after he came home from the war.
Mr. Weaver has been a man of exceptional business ability, sound dis- cretion and absolute integrity, factors which contributed to his success in a large degree. During all the years of his active career his life has been characterized by duty well performed, by faithfulness to every trust reposed in him, by industry, thrift and wisely directed effort, which has resulted in the acquisition of a liberal share of this world's goods, besides earning a reputa- tion which has never been tarnished by the commission of a single unworthy act. During his long life in Hendricks county he made friends everywhere, and when he left the county, in 1903, he was one of the widest known men in the county. His career is certainly to be admired and is a worthy example to put before the people of the coming generation.
W. A. RUSHTON.
One of the most difficult literary tasks is to write an unexceptionable review of a living man. If the life is worthy of record there is always danger of offending that delicacy which is inseparable from merit; for even moderate praise, when it meets the eyes of the subject, is apt to seem fulsome, while a nice sense of propriety would not be the less wounded by a dry abstract con- taining nothing but names and dates. To sum up a career which is not yet ended would appear like recording events which have not yet transpired, since justly to estimate the scope and meaning of a history it is important that we have the closing chapter. In writing biographical notice, therefore, the chronicler from the moment he takes up his pen should consider the subject as no longer among his contemporaries, for thus he will avoid the fear of offending by bestowing praise where it is merited and escape the risk of giving but a fragmentary view of that which must eventually be taken as a unit. At some risk, therefore, the writer assumes the task of placing on rec- ord the life and character of a man who, by the force of strong individuality, has achieved eminent success in the vocations to which he has addressed him- self and has won for himself an enviable place among the leading men of the city and county honored by his citizenship.
W. A. Rushton, one of the leading citizens of Plainfield, Indiana, was born in Liberty township, Hendricks county, Indiana, April 4, 1874. His
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parents were Ira and Talitha (Bray) Rushton, both of whom were natives of this county. His father was a leader in church work and helped to establish the Salem Methodist Episcopal church. Ira Rushton was born August 13, 1830, and died November 22, 1912, spending his entire life in Hendricks county. His widow is still living on the old home farm in Liberty township. Mr. and Mrs. Ira Rushton were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are still living: Mrs. Evaline Cravens, of Hinsdale, Kansas; Mrs. Laura E. Morrison, of Liberty township; James W., of Indianapolis; Carrie, of Amar- illo. Texas; Guy, of Liberty township; Mrs. Ola M. McCracken, of Monrovia, Indiana, and two sons who are still at home, Howard and Raymond.
W. A. Rushton was reared on his father's farm and spent the life of the ordinary farmer's boy until he was twenty-one years of age, receiving his education in the district schools of his nieghborhood and later took a high school course at Belleville. With the intention of taking up teaching as a profession, he enrolled in the Tri-State College at Angola, Indiana, where he took the teachers' course. He began teaching in 1897 and only taught a part of one year. In 1898 he took up his present life work of an undertaker, and has continued in that business until the present time. He started in with the late William H. Hiss, a furniture dealer and undertaker of Plainfield, and remained with him for three years. He then went to Indianapolis and was manager of the Flanner & Buchanan undertaking establishment for four years. In January, 1905, he bought out William Hiss, of Plainfield, and has since conducted the business under his own name. He understands every phase of his business, being an especially competent embalmer, and because of his painstaking attention to the important duties incumbent upon him in his profession, and his innate courtesy in all his associations with his patrons. he has earned a warm place in the esteem of those who know him.
While working in Indianapolis, Mr. Rushton was married, on October 28, 1903, to Cophine Mills, daughter of William H. and Anna Mills, of Hen- dricks county, and to. this union there have been born two daughters, Lois Mona and Marcia Dena.
Mr. Rushton has been affiliated with the Democratic party since reach- ing his majority, but owing to the nature of his business he has never been ac- tive in politics. He and the members of his family are adherents of the Friends church and are very active in the various departments of the church work of that denomination. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order ot Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Rushton has taken an active interest in the civic and moral life of his community, and is at present acting as president of the Plainfield library
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board and takes a very active interest in the management of the local library. His standing in the State Funeral Directors' Association is shown by the fact that he has been president of the state association and also secretary. He has also been secretary of the local Masonic lodge and is past chancellor of the lodge of Knights of Pythias. Mr. Rushton is a man who is always found in hearty accord with all movements which have for their object the advance- ment of the educational, moral, social or material welfare of his community. He is a man of large experience, sound judgment and sagacity and is a keen observer of public events, and on which he holds decided convictions. He is a man of positive character and sterling worth, and his value to the community is evidenced by the high position which he has ever held in the esteem of his fellow citizens.
JAMES C. STAFFORD.
James C. Stafford, one of the large number of physicians in the same family, was born September 14, 1881, near Newcastle, Henry county, Indiana. His parents, John E. and Alpharetta ( Nicholson) Stafford, were both natives of the same county and were born on adjoining farms. His father is a prosperous farmer in Henry county, Indiana, today, both parents being still living. Doctor Stafford is the only child in the family.
Dr. Daniel Hastings Stafford, the subject's grandfather, graduated from the Physio-Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1866, and practiced mostly in Henry county, Indiana, where his death occurred in 1900. He had three sons who were doctors, James A., of Newcastle, Indiana ; Lindley, de- ceased, and William H., deceased, who practiced at Blountsville, Indiana. Daniel H. Stafford had also four grandsons who were doctors, W. H., of Newcastle; C. A. and Lindley H., at Indianapolis, and James C., of Plainfield.
Doctor Stafford received his common school education in district schools of his home neighborhood and then graduated from the Rich Square high school in Henry county in 1898. Since this was only a three years' course, he graduated from the Newcastle high school in 1901 and then spent one year in the State University at Bloomington, Indiana. However, the call of the physician was not to be denied, and as a result he decided to enter the Indiana Physio-Medical College at Indianapolis, where he took the full four years' course, entering the fall of 1904, and graduating with the class of 1908. He came to Plainfield in November, 1908, and here he opened up an office for the general practice of medicine, and has never regretted his choice of loca-
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tions. His practice has gradually improved and he now has his share of the patronage of the community.
Doctor Stafford was married August 13, 1905, to Lura White, the daughter of Joseph and Sarah White, of Linden, Montgomery county, Indi- ana, and to them have been born three children, James Linden, born March 31. 1907; Lura Catherine, born August 13, 1909, and William Clayton, born June 10, 1913. Doctor Stafford is a member of the Hendricks county and Indiana State medical societies, and is a wide reader of all kinds of medical literature. He keeps well informed on all the progressive methods of treat- ing disease and his office is well equipped with all the up-to-date appliances which are found in the modern office of the best physicians.
Doctor Stafford is a member of the Knights of Pythias, holding the office of past chancellor of the Plainfield lodge of that order. Although he was reared a Republican, he is not a partisan by any means, but in all local elec- tions he votes for the man rather than for any particular party. However, he is well read on the political issues of the day and can discuss them intelli- gently. It is an interesting fact that there have been eight physicians in the Stafford family, the original Doctor Stafford having been born at Greensboro, Indiana, his parents coming to this state from North Carolina in an early day.
Doctor Stafford gives all his time and attention to his practice and is rapidly being regarded as one of the most successful physicians of this section of the state. As a successful physician he has made friends throughout the county and retains the respect and esteem of all classes of people.
JOSHUA S. THARP.
The biographies of enterprising men, especially of good men, are in- structive as guides and incentives to others. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in life; ap- parently insurmountable obstacles have in many instances awakened their dormant faculties and served as a stimulus to carry them to ultimate renown. The instances of success in the face of adverse fate would seem almost to justify the conclusion that self-reliance, with a half chance, can accomplish any reasonable object. The gentleman whose life history is herewith out- lined is a man who has lived to good purpose and has achieved a splendid success. By a straightforward and commendable course he has made his
Joshua & Thark
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way to a respectable position in the business world, winning the hearty ad- miration of the people of his county and earning a reputation as an enter- prising, progressive man of affairs which the public has not been slow to recognize and appreciate.
Joshua S. Tharp, one of the representative citizens of Brownsburg and for some time president of the Brownsburg Bank, was born on November 8, 1838, in Hendricks county, Indiana, and is the son of James and Mary (Yount) Tharp, the former of whom was a native of Shelby county, Ken- tucky, and a son of John and Rebecca (Lee) Tharp, both natives of that county, who came to Indiana at a later date, settling in Hendricks county about five miles north of Danville. James Tharp remained under the pa- rental roof in the Kentucky home until he was eighteen years of age, when he married, and together he and his young wife came to Hendricks county, Indiana, on horseback, leading a pack horse with a few of their cherished possessions. This was in 1828 and they took up their abode west of Danville, on Mill creek, being among the very first settlers in that locality. He was among the very few who did not enter government land, and he passed the remainder of his life on the home place he secured when first coming to In- diana. He was the father of ten children, among whom was Joshua S., the immediate subject of this sketch.
Joshua S. Tharp remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, when he was united in marriage with Mary J. Fausset, when they took up their residence on his grandfather's farm, where they remained for fifteen years, making their home with his uncle, William Tharp, until the time of his death. They then took up their residence on their own farm, about a half-mile north of his uncle's homestead, and there they resided for twenty- five years. They later removed to Pittsboro, where they remained for less than a year, and from there came to Brownsburg, which they have since made their home. Mr. Tharp disposed of his farm north of Danville in 1906, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Brown township, Hen- dricks county, and also purchased town property in Brownsburg, two of the pieces being business blocks.
Mr. Tharp has been twice married. His first wife, Mary J. Fausset, who died in 1883, was a daughter of Robert Fausset and wife. To Mr. Tharp, by his first wife, were born ten children, namely: Willard, who died young ; Isaac Wesley, who married Julia Noland and has four children, one of which died in infancy and the others being married; Edith, the eldest, is the wife of Raymond Smith and lives north of Danville; Clarence, who mar-
(38)
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ried Lessie Day, lives on the same farm north of Danville; the other child is Hollis, who remains at home. Another son of Joshua S. Tharp, James, died while young. Arie O. became the wife of William S. Elmore, residing a mile and a half south of Pittsboro, and have a family of eight children. William R. resides in Indianapolis. His wife was an Indianapolis girl and they have a family of three children. Cora E. married Dan Hendricks and is living about five miles north of Danville. Geneva married Willard O. Johnson. They reside northeast of Pittsboro and have a family of four chil- dren. Florence, who resides in Lizton, is the wife of Edgar Biggs and has one child. H. Edgar Tharp married Minnie Graham and lives four miles north of Brownsburg. He is an auctioneer and is very well known all over the county. Mary. J., the youngest child, died while young. In 1885 Mr. Tharp united in marriage with Rachael R. (Hendricks) Harrison. She is the daughter of Peter and Mary Ann (Woodworth) Hendricks and was born in Putnam county, Indiana, near Maysville, in 1845. Her parents were na- tives of the state of Kentucky, coming to Putnam county soon after their marriage. They raised a family of nine children. In 1860 she was united in marriage with Benjamin Harrison, whose death occurred in 1882. To their union were born eight children, four of whom are still living. Ora, one of her daughters, is the wife of Eddie Jack and the mother of four chil- dren. They live in Indianapolis. William H., a son, married Carrie Pelcher and they reside with their four children in Centralia, Washington. Francis M. took as his wife Hattie Thomas and they also have a family of four chil- dren and make their home north of Danville. Edgar, who has two children, married Marie Craven and makes his home in Tipton.
Politically a Democrat, Mr. Tharp has been for many years actively in- terested in the welfare of his community. He served on the county board of review in 1913 and also in 1914, and is one of the best posted men in the county as to land valuations of the county. He has ever done all within his power to advance the moral and material interests of his locality. That Mr. Tharp is enterprising in his operations is evidenced by the fact that his busi- ness interests are varied. He was president of the Brownsburg Bank, both as a private bank and since it was made a state bank; buys and sells wool, sells insurance and has many other duties devolving upon him in connection with the property he owns both in town and country. For twenty-seven years he was a director of the Hendricks County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and both Mr. and Mrs. Tharp are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Religiously,
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