USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 73
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Dr. John S. Ragan, one of the oldest practicing physicians in Hendricks county, was born July 5, 1849, in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indi-
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ana. His parents, James M. and Lucy A. (Smith) Ragan, were both natives of Kentucky and came to this county early in their lives with their parents. Abner Ragan, the father of James M., came from Kentucky first and settled in Putnam county, but soon moved over into Hendricks county, where he lived until his death in 1864. Abner Ragan was twice married, his first wife, Mary, and the mother of James, being of the MacCoun family. Zachariah Smith, the maternal grandfather of Doctor Ragan, was a native of Kentucky and came to Hendricks county early in its history, settling in Marion township. He married Agnes Dicken and they reared a family of seven children. James M. Ragan was a farmer and stock raiser all his life and he and his wife died in the faith of the Christian church. They both passed away in 1872, having reared a family of eight children : Mary, deceased ; John S. ; Abner, deceased ; Zachariah, of North Salem, Indiana: Reuben Samuel, deceased: James, of Colorado; William H., of Plainfield. and Milton B., deceased.
Doctor Ragan spent his boyhood days on the farm and attended the dis- trict schools of the neighborhood. After spending two years in the Ladoga Academy he began teaching and taught school for the next nine years, the last two years being principal of the North Salem schools. While still teach- ing he began the study of medicine and in 1887 took his first course of lectures in the Cincinnati Medical School. As was customary in those days, he began to practice before he had finished his medical course. He started to practice at Avon in Hendricks county and after his graduation in the spring of 1879 from the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis he returned to Avon and continued to practice there for the next seventeen years. After practicing a year at Denver, Colorado, where he had gone for his wife's health, he re- turned to Avon and remained two years. In 1895 he went to Plainfield and in 1904 became the physician at the Boys' Schocl, having complete charge of all the medical work for the next four years, after which he devoted most of his time to his general practice in Plainfield and vicinity until 1913, when he was again given full charge as physician at the Boys' School. having given up his practice entirely. Doctor Ragan has always taken an active interest in the various medical organizations with which he has been connected and has been president of the Hendricks County Medical Society. He also belongs to the Seventh District and Indiana medical societies.
Doctor Ragan has been married twice, his first wife being Jennie L. Vickery, to whom he was married January 1, 1880. She was born in Hen- dricks county and was the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Vickery. To this marriage there were born two children, Dr. Charles E. Ragan, of Clinton, and
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Mrs. Ralph Bly, of Plainfield. Doctor Ragan's first wife died June 21, 1892, and on February 14, 1894, he was married to Mary E. (Huron) Cooper, the daughter of Abbott and Katherine Huron, of Hendricks county. There are no children by the second marriage, but his wife has one daughter by her former marriage, Katherine V. Cooper, who is a teacher in the public schools of Clearwater, Florida.
In politics, Doctor Ragan has affiliated with the new Progressive party, but the nature of his profession precludes him from taking a very active part in politics. He is a loyal member of the Christian church and has been an elder for the past twenty years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Doctor Ragan has a large number of friends throughout the county who esteem him for his many sterling qualities. He takes an intelligent interest in the civic life of the community and his influence can always be found on the right side for the welfare of the community honored by his residence.
BENJAMIN W. ANDERSON.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an eminently active and busy life, and who has attained a place of relative distinc- tion in the community with which his interests are identified. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is demanded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement, and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of the record of Benjamin W. Anderson, one of the most substantial farmers and business men of Plainfield.
Benjamin W. Anderson, president of the First National Bank of Plain- field, was born in Washington township, Hendricks county, Indiana, on August 29. 1862. He is the son of Thomas T. and Anna (White) Anderson, his father being a native of Ohio and his mother of Wayne county, Indiana. Thomas Anderson was a farmer and brick mason and came to this county before the war, settling in Washington township, where he bought a quarter section of land. After living on it three years, he removed to Six Points, in the same county, where he farmed for the next nine years. He then moved to Iroquois county, Illinois, where he died in 1873. His widow died Septem- ber 24, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Anderson were the parents of four chil- dren, two of whom are living. Benjamin W. and Eli H., both of whom have lived all their lives in the county of their nativity.
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Benjamin W. Anderson, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in a log cabin in the clearing on his father's farm and received the limited education which the district schools of his time afforded. He then completed his schooling by attending the Central Academy at Plainfield. His whole life has been spent upon the farm and he is recognized as one of the most pro- gressive farmers of the community. In addition to his crops of grain, he has always handled considerable live stock and no small part of his success has come from that side of his business. That he has been successful is shown by the fact that he was one of the principal organizers and stockholders in the First National Bank of Plainfield. He became president of the institution on December 24, 1903, and has held that important place up to the present time. In politics he has always taken an important part in the success of the Republican party and in the fall of 1908 was elected to the office of township trustee, an office which he is still holding. This is accounted for by the fact that the last Legislature extended the term of office to six years.
Mr. Anderson was married on July 16, 1912, to Mrs. Minnie ( Mills) Hadley, the daughter of Aaron and Hannah Mills, and to this uunion there has been born one son, Benjamin Eli. Mr. Anderson has been a lifelong member of the Friends church and is now one of the board of trustees of the Western Yearly Meeting. He is an elder in the church and is superintendent of the Sabbath school at Plainfield at the present time. He is one of the trustees of Central Academy and is very actively interested in all matters pertaining to education. He is a charter member of Plainfield Lodge No. 653, Free and Accepted Masons. In addition to his farming, stock-raising and banking interests, Mr. Anderson is interested in the mill and grain busi- ness with Hubert Brown, the firm name being the Plainfield Milling Company. Mr. Anderson has been one of the valued citizens of his community and has been a hearty supporter of all enterprises which seek to ameliorate the condi- tion of his fellow citizens or better the conditions of the county where he has spent such a busy life.
JOSEPH LANE WILSON.
Among the farmers of Hendricks county whose careers extend over a period of more than three score years is Joseph Lane Wilson, who comes from one of the oldest pioneer families of the state. Such people are wel- comed in any community, for they are the empire builders and as such have pushed the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving the
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green, wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beautiful with green fields.
Joseph Lane Wilson, the son of Peter and Delilia (Case) Wilson, was born March 31, 1848, in Putnam county, Indiana. His father, who was born in Monroe county, Indiana, February 17, 1821, was the son of John C. and Frances (Wilson) Wilson, both natives of Kentucky who came to Putnam county in the early history of Indiana and settled near Greencastle. John C. Wilson, who was born in Kentucky September 2, 1795, and who died in 1870, was the son of Peter and - (Sears) Wilson, who were natives of Tennessee, but came to Kentucky, where they lived most of their lives. Frances Wilson also was a native of Kentucky, born July 29, 1797. John Wilson, the grandfather of Joseph Lane, entered land near where the town of Bainbridge stands and here Peter grew to manhood. In 1838, after Peter was grown, his father entered another tract in Putnam county about three miles southwest of New Winchester, and on this farm Peter made his home after marriage, which occurred on December 10, 1840, and reared his family. His wife, Delilia Case, was born April 8, 1820, the daughter of John and Julia (Finney) Case, and died March 1I, 1887. Peter Wilson died on July 14, 1893. John Case was born May 15, 1795, and his wife Julia was born May 30, 1802.
The children born to Peter and Delilia (Case) Wilson, with the dates of their births, are as follows: Jelia F., July 27. 1843: John W., March 2, 1845; Ann M., May 2, 1846; Joseph L., March 31, 1848; Weden F., Sep- tember 13, 1849; Michael T., July 21, 1851; Lewis C., June 13, 1853: Rob- ert C., June 8, 1856; Amanda E., August 3, 1859.
Joseph Lane Wilson grew up on the farm entered by his grandfather, and received his meager schooling in the subscription schools of the period. He remained on the home farm until his marriage, which occurred in 1874. His wife was Mary J. Higgins, the daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Plaster) Higgins, a sketch of whose family is given elsewhere in this vol- ume. To this marriage there was born one son, Edgar, who now lives on the farm where his father was reared. Edgar was married in 1898 to Letha Thomas, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Page Thomas. Edgar and wife have two children, Mary and Nellie.
The Case family, Mr. Wilson's mother's people, were among the earli- est settlers of Putnam county, their ancestors having come from Connecti- cut in an early day and thence to Indiana. Two of the family, Leonard and Zachariah Case, recently died at Cleveland, Ohio, leaving a large estate
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which has not yet been settled. They were unmarried and left no will dis- posing of their fortune.
Mr. Wilson has lived more than forty years in Marion township and in that time has always been interested in the welfare of the commnuity He is a public-spirited citizen who has never refused to assist in any move- ment which promised to benefit his locality in any way and for this reason is justly looked upon as one of the representative men of the county.
TOLIVER WORRELL.
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is widely known in Hend- ricks county, Indiana, and is one of the honored citizens of Danville, where he is living after a strenuous life of activity in connection with agricultural pursuits. His well directed efforts in the practical affairs of life. his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment have brought him prosperity, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by any man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work and has the per- severance to continue his labors in the face of any disaster or discouragement that may arise. In all the relations of life Mr. Worrell has commanded the confidence and respect of those with whom he has been brought into contact and a biographical history of this locality would not be complete without a record of his career.
Toliver Worrell, the son of James and Elizabeth (Kenny) Worrell, was born in Carroll county, Virginia, on February 22, 1848. Both his parents were natives of Virginia and lived and died in that state. His father was a farmer and for many years was a justice of the peace in Carroll county. In Virginia at that time each county had three justices and these composed the county court. James Worrell was the presiding justice of this court for several years in his home county. Mr. and Mrs. James Worrell were the parents of eleven children, Toliver being the youngest. Four of these chil- dren are still living, William K., of Indianapolis; Robert L., of Tilden, this county ; Mrs. Ellen H. Cook, of Indianapolis, and Toliver Worrell, the im- mediate subject of this sketch.
Toliver Worrell was reared on his father's farm in Virginia and re- ceived a good common school education in his home schools. At the age of twenty-one he came to Indiana, locating near Avon, Hendricks county. He rented a farm and continued to manage it for about two years, after which
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he moved to Middle township, near Pittsboro, this county, where he remained only one year, removing to Lincoln township at the end of that time, where he farmed for the next five years. He then settled permanently in Middle township, near Pittsboro, and remained there until 1902, when he removed to Danville, where he has continued to reside. Shortly after moving back to Middle township the last time he bought a farm there and has added to it from time to time. He still owns this tract and has now general supervision of the management of the farm.
Toliver Worrell was married to Julia O. Parker, of Middle township, Hendricks county, in 1875. Two children by this marriage are living in this county, N. E. and J. O. Worrell. His first wife died January 5. 1881. In 1900 Mr. Worrell married for his second wife Katherine Miller, the daughter of John and Ann ( Bartley ) Miller, of Washington township.
Mr. Worrell has been a Republican since reaching his majority and has always taken more or less of an active part in politics. For the past fifteen years he has been a member of the county council of Hendricks county, and has taken an active interest in the affairs of his home county. In private life he is broad-minded and liberal, keeping abreast of the times and in touch with current thought. He stands high in the esteem of those with whom he mingles and has many warm friends who esteem him for his many worthy qualities. Quiet and unostentatious, and seeking the sequestered ways of life rather than its tumult and strife, he has ever attended strictly to his own affairs and made better all who came within the range of his influence.
NICODEMIS HARRIS.
The sixty years which Nicodemis Harris has spent in this county have brought him in close touch with a large number of people and the reputa- tion which he holds for square dealing and upright conduct in all things stamps him as a man who has lived a life above reproach. It is a well-es- tablished fact that a man can not live unto himself, but must be a part of the society which makes up his particular community. Mr. Harris has always taken a conspicuous part in the various movements which have had to do with the welfare of his locality and is rightly regarded as one of the repre- sentative men of Hendricks county.
Nicodemis Harris, the son of Nicodemis and Bedial J. (Davis) Har- ris, was born in Marion township, Hendricks county, March 4, 1851, and
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has spent his whole life in the county of his nativity. His father was born September 29, 1810, in Mercer county, Kentucky, and his mother was also born in the same county, January 12, 1814. His parents were married in Kentucky and came to Hendricks county shortly after their marriage, arriv- ing in Marion township in 1833. The grandparents of Nicodemis, Jr., were Frederick and Nancy (Higgins) Harris, who came from their native state of Virginia to Kentucky by way of the Ohio river. They first settled at Fort Harrod and later entered land in the vicinity of the fort.
Nicodemis Harris, Sr., applied for government land in 1833 and in 1834 he received a deed written on genuine sheep skin and signed by Presi- dent Andrew Jackson. This deed is now a very highly prized document in the hands of Nicodemis, Jr. His deed called for one hundred and thirty- four acres in Marion township. Later he entered eighty acres in Putnam county, just across the township line to the west. He lived the life of a plain farmer all his life, and died in his seventy-ninth year, in 1889. His wife passed away in January, 1896. She was an ardent member of the Mis- sionary Baptist church at New Winchester and a woman of exceptionally strong character. Mr. and Mrs. Nicodemis Harris, Sr., were the parents of eight children: Frederick, Joseph, Thomas, Mary, John, Mrs. Virginia Flynn, Nicodemis, Jr., and William. All of the children are deceased ex- cept the last two. Nicodemis and William.
Nicodemis Harris has spent all his life on the farm, doing all the work which falls to the lot of the average farmer. He received a good prac- tical education in the district schools and has supplemented it by wide read- ing since leaving school. He lived with his parents until they both passed away and was very solicitous in his care of them. He and his brother Will- iam have always lived together and are very much attached to one another.
Mr. Harris was married in 1893 to Rosa Edwards, the daughter of Joshua and Mary (Casey) Edwards. Joshua was a native of North Caro- lina, being born in that state in 1820. He came to Indiana with his parents when he was a lad of ten. His father, John Edwards, entered government land near Coatesville, this county, and on this farm Joshua was reared to manhood. His wife was a native of Ireland and came to this county with her parents when a small child. Mr. Edwards died January 18, 1905, and his widow passed away on July 18, 1909.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards reared a family of fourteen children, only four of whom are living: Mrs. Nora Pickett; Rosa, the wife of Mr. Harris; Eliza and Isaac. Mr. and Mrs. Harris have two sons who are still under the parental roof, Hilden and Frederick.
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Mr. Harris is a stanch Democrat, but confines his political activities to the casting of his vote upon election days. He is a congenial man to meet and is well known in his county as an excellent judge of good stock. He and his family have many warm friends in the community in which they live who esteem them for their good qualities of head and heart.
CANADY H. DOWNARD.
There can be no more comprehensive history written of a city or county, or even of a state and its people, than that which deals with the life work of those who. by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed them- selves where they may well deserve the title of "progressive," and in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able plodders along the pathway of life. Canady H. Downard is one who has not been subdued by the many obstacles and failures that come to every one, but has made them stepping stones to higher things and at the same time that he was winning his way in material things of life gained a reputation for uprightness and probity.
Canady H. Downard, the son of David M. and Cassandra (Morgan) Downard, was born in Marion township. Hendricks county, Indiana, on December 23, 1862. His parents were both natives of this county, his father being a farmer and stock raiser and one of the substantial men of the town- ship. The grandfather of Canady H. Downard was Judge James Downard, who was one of the first probate judges of the Hendricks county court and had the honor of laying out the town of Danville in 1825. Judge Downard was a native of Pennsylvania, came to the Northwest territory about 1811, re- moved to Kentucky a few years later and settled near Brooklyn, Indiana, in 1818. He afterwards moved to Indianapolis and shortly afterwards perma- nently located in Plainfield, where he lived until his death in 1846. To the sub- ject's father were born ten children: James A .; Mrs. Martha Hammond, of Danville ; Mrs. Mary J. Anderson, of Anderson : Canady H. ; William, of East St. Louis ; Erie, deceased : Oliver, of Lynn, Indiana ; Frank, of Danville, and two who died in infancy.
Canady H. Downard was reared on the farm and received his common school education in the Marion township schools. He then took a course in the Central Normal College at Danville, after which he returned to the farm, where he has continued to live until the present time. In 1889 he was mar-
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ried to Nettie Hamrick, the daughter of William F. and Dicy ( Blackburn) Hamrick. Mr. Hamrick was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, and came to this county in his boyhood with his parents, who settled in Marion township. He became one of the most successful farmers in the county and owned seventeen hundred acres at the time of his death. His wife was born in Madison county, Kentucky, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Blackburn. Mr. Hamrick was in the dry goods business for a time at Danville, but sold out and devoted his energies to the raising of Hambletonian horses and other fine stock. In his early life he was a Republican, but later in life he became a Prohibitionist. He and his wife were members of the Friends church. She died in 1898.
After Mr. Downard was married he began farming in Marion township and has always lived in that township with the exception of five months when he lived in Danville. He now has a fine farm of three hundred and twenty- five acres which he keeps in a high state of cultivation and in excellent repair at all times. He pays particular attention to stock raising and has made a success of it. He is a man of more than ordinary business ability and is able to grasp a proposition and determine its value very accurately. He is a quiet, sociable and pleasant man to meet and makes a stranger feel at home in a short time. His career has in every way been commendable and accounts for the high esteem in which he is held in the community in which he lives.
JAMES L. McCOUN.
The success of men in business or any vocation depends upon character as well as upon 'knowledge, it being a self-evident proposition that honesty is the best policy. Business demands confidence and where that is lacking business ends. In every community some men are known for their upright lives, strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political standing. Their neighbors and acquaintances respect them, the younger generations heed their example, and when they "wrap the drapery of their couches about them and lie down to pleasant dreams" posterity listens with reverence to the story of their quiet and useful lives. Among such men of a past generation in Indiana was the late James L. McCoun, of Danville, Hendricks county, who was not only a progressive man of affairs, successful in material pursuits, but a man of modest and unassuming demeanor, well educated, a fine type of the reliable, self-made American, a friend to the poor,
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charitable to the faults of his neighbors and who always stood ready to unite with them in every good work and active in the support of laudable public enterprises. He was proud of Danville and of the grand state of Indiana and zealous of their progress and prosperity. He was a man who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was universally held, for he was a man of public spirit, intellectual attainments and exemplary character.
James L. McCoun, one of Danville's best known citizens, was born in Putnam county, this state, on November 7, 1844, and died at his home in Danville, December 25, 1909. He was the son of Ward McCoun, one of the early pioneer settlers of the state. For many years Mr. McCoun was in the dry goods business in Danville, having associated with him in the firm his sons, Charles and Raleigh, and his nephew, James McCoun. He had made a success in business ranks and was regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of the town.
Mr. McCoun was married on August 12, 1863, to Fidelia McCoun, and to this union were born three sons, John S., who died February 18, 1880; Charles L. and Raleigh B., who are both now living in Danville. He was a loving and affectionate husband and father and was greatly interested in his domestic life. No father ever cared for his boys and looked after their wel- fare any more conscientiously than did he.
Mr. McCoun was a man among men, always stood for the right and con- sidered those around him and those with whom he came in contact, and was always willing that others should have their own views on any subject, al- though they might be different from his own. On the other hand, he would never compromise when he thought he would be doing something wrong. As a friend he was true in every respect and any one in considering him on any question for the good of the community, always knew he was to be found on the right side. As a member of the Christian church he was one of the most faithful and there is no place outside of his home relations where he will be more missed than in the Christian church of Danville, where he had been a member for many years and where he had been an elder, serving faithfully and conscientiously. He was faithful in his attendance, not only at the regu- lar Lord's day services of the church, but when in health was seldom absent from the mid-week prayer meeting, and those who attended these mid-week meetings always said that the talks of Mr. McCoun were very inspirational.
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