USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 66
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OLIVER SAYER GOWIN.
The one of whom this narrative speaks is one of those strong, self- reliant and determined characters who are occasionally met with and who are of such a distinct type as to seem born leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr. Gowin courts that distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great force of character and his zeal and energy in whatever he undertakes naturally places him at the head of the crowd, and he has been a potent factor in the development of Hendricks county, where he has long main- tained his home and where he is well known to all classes for his honorable and industrious life, both in private and public.
Oliver Sayer Gowin, the son of Steven and Eliza (Debery) (Walton) Gowin, was born in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indiana, two miles from his present farm, on October 16, 1854. His father was left an orphan at a tender age, his parents, James and Mary Gowin, both dying shortly after his birth in Virginia. He was sent to Frankfort county, Kentucky, where he was reared to manhood by his uncle. Steven Gowin was twice married, his first wife being a native of Kentucky, and to this first mar-
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riage were born twelve children, only one of whom, Jane, is living at the present time, the other eleven being as follows: Etna, James, William, Allen, Sarah, Mary, Steven Merritt, Elizabeth, Robert, John and two un- named, who died in infancy. After his first marriage, in Kentucky, Steven Gowin moved to Ripley county, Indiana, where his first wife died, and some time after this he was married to Mrs. Eliza (Debery) Walton, and to the second marriage six children were born: Love, deceased; Emily Adeline; Oliver Sayer, whose biography is set forth in this review; Alexan- der Campbell Buchanan; Cynthiana Ellen and Ann Eliza. While living in Ripley county, this state, Steven Gowin purchased a farm, but in 1852 he sold this place and moved to Hendricks county, where he settled in Marion township, about seven miles northwest of Danville. Here he purchased eighty acres and later added thirty acres more, and on this farm of one hundred and ten acres he lived the remainder of his life. He was a Whig in politics in the early days, and upon the dissolution of that old party, in 1852, he became a Democrat. He was a member of the Christian church at New Winchester and a man who was well known and highly respected in the community where he lived.
Oliver Sayer Gowin, the third child of his father's second marriage, was given his elementary education in the district schools of Marion town- ship and spent his boyhood and early manhood days on his father's farm. Upon reaching his majority, in 1875, he was married to Mary E. Blanton, the daughter of John and Delilah (Ragland) Blanton. John Blanton was born in Kentucky in 1811 and came to Hendricks county with his parents when a young man. He was a farmer all his life and died in 1873. His wife was also a native of Kentucky, her birth having occurred there in 1825, and her death occurred in this county in 1907, at the advanced age of eighty-two.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Gowin have seven children: Esther Ann, the wife of Daniel Dodds, a farmer of Eel River township, in this county; Alva Porter, who married Mamie Rooker, and who lives on a farm in Marion township, this county ; he has four children living and one who died in infancy, Cecil, Ollie, Jennie and Raymond; Charles, who died at the age of thirteen; Edgar M. married Emma Eggers, and is a farmer in Marion township, has one daughter, Dorothy, living, while three children died in infancy ; Lilly Tessie, who became the wife of Maurice Sutherlin, who was formerly a teacher, but is now a farmer in Putnam county, this state, and they have one son, Howard; Mamie, the wife of Allen Eggers, a farmer
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of Putnam county, Indiana, and Clarence B., the youngest in order of birth, who is still under the parental roof.
Mr. Gowin has been a farmer since the age of ten, starting out at that early age by renting a small tract from his father and tending his crops with the enthusiasm which characterizes boys of that tender age. Upon his marriage, he rented a farm of eighty acres four miles northwest of New Winchester and remained on this farm for the first three years of his mar- ried life. He then moved to the eighty acres adjoining his present farm and lived here for twelve years, after which he moved to his former farm of eighty acres and spent the next three and one-half years there. He then returned to his other eighty acres and, after living there for about a year and a half, he moved to his present place in 1895, where he has since re- sided. By close attention to his business and by good management he has succeeded in accumulating a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres. He is what the world delights to honor, a self-made man, and is not at all ashamed of the fact that he started out in life with nothing.
Mr. Gowan is a Progressive Republican and is well informed upon all the political questions of the day, being a wide reader of magazines and newspapers. He has never held any office except that of township super- visor. He and his wife are members of the Christian church at New Winchester, and he has been a trustee of the church for a number of years. Mr. Gowan has managed his affairs in such a way as to keep his reputation unblemished before the world, and in his whole life of three score years in this county no act of his has ever been the occasion for censure upon the part of his fellow citizens. He has lived the quiet, unostentatious life of the good American citizen and is an honor and credit to the community in which he lives.
BERTRAND M. O'BRIEN, M. D.
Hendricks county, Indiana, has reason to take pride in the personnel of her corps of medical men from the earliest days in her history to the present time, and on the roll of honored names that indicates the services of dis- tinguished citizens in this field of endeavor there is reason in reverting with gratification to that of Dr. Bertrand M. O'Brien, of Danville, who has attained eminence in his chosen profession and for a number of years has stood among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a community long distinguished for the high order of its medical talent. He realized early that there is a
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purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and no respect not founded on accomplishment. His labors have been eminently worthy because they have contributed to a proper understanding of life and nts problems.
Bertrand M. O'Brien, the son of John O. and Rachel ( Anderson ) O'Brien, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, October 5, 1880. His father was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, in May, 1819, and was the son of James O'Brien. At the age of twenty-one John O'Brien came to America and for the first four or five years worked on the steamboats on the Mississippi river. He then came to Greencastle, where he worked for three years and then moved to Hamrick Station, bought land and followed the occupation of a farmer for the remainder of his life. His wife was a native of Putnam county, this state, and a woman of great strength of character. John O'Brien became a prominent citizen of Hamrick Station and vicinity and as an indication of the esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens it may be noted that he was elected as township trustee on two different occasions, and served with fidelity and efficiency throughout his whole term of office. He was a mem- ber of the Catholic church, while his wife adhered to the Christian church. His death occurred February 6, 1905, and his widow is still living in New Winchester, this county.
Dr. Bertrand M. O'Brien was reared on the home farm and while a youth farmed on the shares in the neighborhood in order to get money for his education. After graduating from the Manhattan high school in his county, he attended the Central Normal College at Danville. However, he was determined to obtain a medical education, and he entered, in the fall of 1899, the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, and worked his way through, graduating with honor in April, 1903. He at once began the practice of medicine at Hazelwood, in Putnam county, this state, but after a year he entered into a partnership with another physician at Filmore. This partnership continued for one year, after which he came to New Winchester on March 1, 1905, where he has since continued to reside. Here he has built up a very large and lucrative practice and is justly regarded as one of the best physicians of this section of the state. In 1913, in order to keep fully abreast of the times, he took a post-graduate course at the State Uni- versity of Illinois, at Chicago. He is a wide reader of all literature bearing upon his profession and takes a deep interest in all the associations which deal with his profession.
Doctor O'Brien was married May 18, 1902, to Candace Bowman, the daughter of John M. and Sarah Bowman. Her father is a farmer in Put-
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nam county. Doctor O'Brien and wife are the parents of two children, Bere- nice and Waldo. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while he and his wife are both members of the Christian church of New Winchester. The Doctor is a very genial gentleman to meet and has an ever-increasing number of friends who take delight in his success. His career is a splendid example of what can be accomplished by a determined American youth when he makes up his mind to qualify himself for any particular profession and should be a source of inspiration to others who are forced to make their own way in the world. Doctor O'Brien is just entering into the period of his life where his usefulness is increasing and in the course of time he bids fair to become one of the most valuable members of the community in which he is living.
HENRY C. RODNEY.
Among the citizens of Hendricks county who have built up comfortable homes and surrounded themselves with many of the luxuries of life, no one has attained a higher degree of success than Henry C. Rodney. His story reads like a romance, for there appears to be much of accident and the whims of fortune in his life's career. His family history goes back to France on one side and England on the other, and if his father had not been a Confederate soldier he would not be represented in this volume today. Michael Rodney, the father of Henry C. Rodney, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 4, 1845. His father was a native of England and his mother was a French woman. Michael's father was a merchant in New Orleans, and he had two brothers who were sailors, and one is still a pilot at the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Michael C. Rodney received part of his education in the common schools at New Orleans, then went to France for a year. On returning to New Orleans during the Civil War, he was im- mediately drafted into the Confederate army and sent to the front, and par- ticipated in the fighting around Vicksburg. Upon its surrender, he was captured and sent to Camp Morton, at Indianapolis, where he was released after eighteen months. After his release he was absolutely friendless, penni- less and a mere lad less than twenty years of age. He started out to walk from Indianapolis and, going in a westerly direction, he came across J. M. Crawford, who lived southwest of Clayton on the National road. Mr. Craw- ford thought him a likely looking youth, took him in and gave him employ-
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ment, retaining him for two or three years. Later he worked for Milo Moon on the Sprague farm. He then married Caroline Hufford, the daugh- ter of Henry and Hulda (Snodgrass) Hufford, and after his marriage he moved to eighty acres of land in Center township, this county. About thirty-two years after he had gone into the Civil War he returned to New Orleans, where he found his mother and brothers still living, his father having died in the meantime. Mrs. Michael Rodney died July 16, 1905.
Henry C. Rodney, the eldest child of Michael C. and Caroline Rodney, was born on January 10, 1870, about three miles southeast of Danville. He was reared on the home farm and attended the neighborhood schools of his township. At the age of twenty-two he was married to Effie M., the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs was born on February 12, 1845. in Washington township, this county, and died January 15, 1905. He was the eldest son of George A. and Louisa ( Hubbard) Gibbs. His father, George A. Gibbs, was born on August 2, 1822, in North Carolina, the son of Thomas and Tabitha Gibbs. In 1826 George A. Gibbs, with his parents, moved to Morgan county, Indiana, and in 1830 to Hendricks county. this state, where they settled in Washington township. George A. Gibbs was reared on this place and followed the vocation of a farmer all his life. He began life in limited circumstances, but became well to do, owning at the time of his death two hundred and seventy acres of land. He married, in 1842, Louisa Hubbard, who was born near Mobile, Alabama, in 1827, the daugh- ter of Samuel Hubbard. She came to Washington township when she was a girl of about sixteen years of age. George Gibbs and wife were loyal and earnest members of the Methodist church and active and liberal in its sup- port. He was interested in everything that pertained to the betterment of the community. He helped to organize the church at Bartley's Chapel, and was a leading member and superintendent of the Sunday school at that place His death occurred in the early eighties. His wife still survives him and is a sincere Christian also and is still living a quiet, unostentatious life. She is remarkably well preserved for a woman of her years, being now eighty- seven years of age, and, if occasion requires, she can do the family washing, hitch up the horses or even climb into the mow and throw down the hay for the horses. Henry Gibbs grew up on the farm of his father and in July, 1863, enlisted in Company A, One Hundred Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served for six months in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1868 he married Elizabeth Van Treese, who died October 11, 19II.
After his marriage, in 1892, Mr. Rodney began farming two miles southeast of Plainfield, and after remaining there for a year he moved to
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what is known as the Jordan farm, in the southeastern part of Center town- ship, where he remained for three years, at the expiration of which time he moved to a farm one mile west of Plainfield, where he lived until 1898, when he moved to his present farm of two hundred and ten acres. However, he did not purchase all of this farm in 1898, but has added to the ninety-six and one-half acres which he bought at that time until he is now the owner of that amount of acreage. He raises all the crops common to this section of the country and also devotes considerable amount of attention to live stock.
Fraternally, Mr. Rodney is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he is a liberal contributor. They are the parents of two children, Rollie and Clif- ford, who are being given the best advantages for an excellent education.
Politically, Mr. Rodney is a Progressive, feeling that in the principles as laid down by that party the welfare of the country will be advanced. His career has been a busy one, and it has been no less useful than busy, since he has always been an advocate of every enterprise which has for its object the improvement of his community. Being a man of pleasing per- sonality, he has won a large circle of friends, who esteem him for his genuine worth as a man.
ROBERT WESTERFIELD.
One of the enterprising and successful farmers of Hendricks county, Indiana, who has succeeded in his chosen vocation solely through his own courage, persistency and good management, is Robert Westerfield, of Cen- ter township, a man who believes in lending what aid he can to his neighbors and the general public while advancing his individual interests, consequently he is regarded as one of our best citizens in every respect.
Robert Westerfield, the son of Davis and Betsey (Carter ) Westerfield, was born in 1855, near Keokuk, Iowa. His parents were both natives of Kentucky, his father born in Mercer county and his mother in Washington county, that state. David Westerfield was a son of James Westerfield, who was a native of New Jersey, and came to Kentucky with his parents when he was six years of age. While James Westerfield was still a small boy the Indians came to their settlement and the settlers were compelled to flee to the fort in which Daniel Boone was also a refugee, and here they stayed for six months. James Westerfield grew up near Harrodsburg, the old fort
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being within two hundred yards of the present court house there. It is in- teresting to note that the fort was built around a large spring, which is still flowing. James Westerfield became county surveyor of Mercer county, and died in that county in 1866, being one of the prominent citizens of the county. David Westerfield was reared in Kentucky and there married Betsey Carter, who was born in Washington county, near the Mercer county line. David and wife lived in Kentucky until after seven children were born, then moved to Iowa, where they settled on a farm near Keokuk, and where they re- mained for about two years. During their sojourn in Iowa, Robert was born. In 1855 the family returned to Kentucky, where another child was born, and where the mother died in the spring of 1857. Shortly afterwards David Westerfield married and to this second marriage two children were born, after which the second Mrs. Westerfield died and Mr. Westerfield again mar- ried and to the third marriage nine children were born.
David Westerfield, although he was a citizen of Kentucky and his father an extensive slave owner, enlisted in the Nineteenth Regiment Kentucky Volunteers and fought for the Union nearly four years. He was in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and he had a son who took part in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, which was fought only four miles from his home. Robert Westerfield was then a boy of only eight years and could distinctively hear the cannon and musketry on that memorable 8th of October, 1862. He thought it was thunder in a clear sky until he saw both armies pass their home.
When David Westerfield was married the second time in 1857, Robert, then a mere lad of fourteen, left home and went to Illinois, where he hired out to work by the month. In August, 1874, he came to Hendricks county, Indiana, and located in Liberty township, where he has lived since. He hired out as a farm hand and his entire life has been spent in agricultural pur- suits. Having left his home at so early an age, he has known what it is to meet all kinds of hardships and discouragements. His father was finan- cially broken up during the Civil War, and his grandfather, James Wester- field, who owned more than seventy slaves at the time they were freed, was also financially ruined. Robert Westerfield started life from a very small beginning, indeed, as he landed in Illinois at the age of fourteen years with only thirty cents in money, and when he came to Hendricks county in 1874 he had fifty dollars, a horse, saddle and bridle, but, being of a frugal, thrifty turn of mind, he saved his money so that he was able to get married and start to housekeeping. He bought a team and started in to farm
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on his own account, settling on a tract in Liberty township, this county. At the end of three years he engaged in teaming and followed this occupation for the next three years. In 1885 he began farming operations in Center township, where he lived until 1896. The year previous to that he purchased eighty acres of land southeast of Danville and in the spring of 1896 moved to this place, and in the fall of that same year his barn, crops, wagons and tools were all destroyed by fire, but, with indomitable courage and energy, he started in anew, rebuilding his barn, purchased new tools, machinery and wagons and was soon on his feet again. Within a few years he was able to purchase forty acres additional, and is now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land in Center township.
Politically, Mr. Westerfield is a Democrat and has always been actively interested in the deliberations of his party. During the past twenty-eight years he has been precinct committeeman every year but two, and served on election boards from the time the Australian ballot was introduced in 1883 down to the present time. He has also frequently heen a delegate to the state conventions of his party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, both subordinate and encampment.
In 1876 Mr. Westerfield was married to Elizabeth Lookebill, the daugh- ter of Peter O. and Nancy (Faircloth) Lookebill, both natives of North Carolina, who came to this county in 1853. Mrs. Westerfield was born in Liberty township, this county, and grew up near Clayton. Her mother died at the home of Mr. Westerfield on Thanksgiving day, 1909. Mrs. Wester- field's father was a soldier in the Mexican War, and also served in the Civil War, being a member of the Seventieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. To Mr. and Mrs. Westerfield have been born fifteen children, ten of whom are living. Of the five who are deceased, four died in infancy and Lulu was killed in a railroad accident at the age of fifteen. The ten living children are Oliver, who married Lillie Petty, and lives on the home farm with his father; he has three children, Hubert, Florence and Beulah; James William married Mrs. Nora Cornet, and lives at Brownsburg, and has one daughter, Mary Elizabeth. William has been principal of the schools at Brownsburg, and now holds the same position at Pittsboro; Amos lives at Newton, Kansas, and married Birdie Johnson, and has four children, Leo. Harold, Oral and Mary Elizabeth; Rose became the wife of Alfred Williams and lives at Racine, Wisconsin, and his three children, Leona, Alfred and Rob- ert; Harlis married Elsie Miklesby, and also lives at Racine, Wisconsin, and has one son, Harlan; Emma married Wiley Stone and resides in Liberty town- ship, this county ; Clede is in Racine, Wisconsin, while the other children,
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Calla, Lilly, Robert, Melvin and Martha Ellen, are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Westerfield has ever enjoyed the respect and esteem of those who know him for his friendly manner, business ability, his interest in public affairs and upright living, and he is regarded by all as one of the substantial and public-spirited citizens of the locality.
CAREY M. HAMRICK.
An enumeration of the representative citizens of Hendricks county, Indiana, would be imcomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old and highly esteemed families of the central part of the state and for many years one of the public-spirited men of affairs, he has stamped his individuality upon the community and added luster to the honorable name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned where- by he might benefit his own condition as well as that of his neighbors and friends, consequently he has long ago won the favor of a great number of people of Marion township, where he maintains his home.
Carey M. Hamrick, the son of William F. and Dicey ( Blackburn) Hamrick, was born in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indiana, July 10, 1855. A complete history of his father, William F., is given in the history of Mrs. J. A. Tinder, which may be found elsewhere in this volume. Carey M. Hamrick was reared on the home farm and was given such education as was afforded by the subscription schools of his period. Upon reaching manhood, he was married to Aggie Smith, the daughter of Will- iam and Harriett Smith, and her birth occurred on August 6, 1855, near Taylorsville, Kentucky, and came to Danville, Indiana, with her parents several years before her marriage. The one child which was born to this union died in infancy, and the wife and mother died October 29, 1890. Mr. Hamrick then married, on September 25. 1894, Florence Wheeler, the daughter of Harper and Elizabeth (Scott) Wheeler, of Clay township, this county. Harper Wheeler was the son of Elijah and Melinda Wheeler, who came from North Carolina to Clay township. Elizabeth (Scott) Wheel- er grew up in Union township, this county, where her parents settled upon their arrival in this county from their native state of Pennsylvania. Mr.
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