USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 77
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prepare the timbers used in same. As saw-mills were not then in use, he would go out into the woods, select his trees, fell them and hew out all of the required boards, rafters, sills, etc. This was naturally a very slow process and he considered he had done well when he built two buildings a year. He was married when twenty-five years old and to him and his wife were born four- teen children. In 1874 he moved to North Manchester, Indiana, and estab- lished a tile manufacturing business. At the end of five years he sold this factory and moved to Howard county, this state, where he built another tile factory near Greentown. This he operated for some four years, when he came to Hendricks county and built another factory about a mile and a half east of Brownsburg. While the family resided in this county the mother died, and three years after coming here Mr. Gore took his family back to Howard county, where he purchased a small piece of land and retired from active business. There he passed the remainder of his life.
William W. Gore remained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage, on November 7, 1884, to Rosie Moore, who was born December 8, 1861, near Avon, Indiana. She was a daughter of George W. and Sarah Jane (Williams) Moore, both of whom were originally from Chillicothe, Ohio, being brought here by their respective parents while they were still young, unmarried people. Both families settled near Avon. Rosie Moore was one of a family of fourteen children and remained at home until the time of her marriage to the subject. Sarah Jane Williams, mother of Mrs. Gore, was a daughter of Ezekiel and Sally Williams.
After his marriage, for eight years Mr. Gore worked on a farm by the day. Six years of this time was for one man. He then rented an eighty- acre farm four miles northeast of Brownsburg and lived there three years. He later rented seventy-two acres north of Brownsburg, where he lived one year and then contracted for the renting of a hundred-acre tract about five miles northeast of Brownsburg. Here he resided for eleven years. He then was able to purchase a ninety-two-acre tract directly across the public high- way from the Lawler school house, where the family now lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Gore have been born three sons, Oscar, Atlas and Roy, all of whom are still at home. Mr. Gore is considered one of the up-to-date farmers of the township and, while he raises excellent crops, he does not specialize in any particular line nor raise any fancy stock for selling, yet he always has quite a quantity for marketing. By his own unfailing energy and determination to succeed, Mr. Gore has mastered the obstacles that confronted him and has won an excellent degree of success, at the same time so ordering his life as to win
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the confidence and respect of all who know him. He is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and takes an active interest in that party's affairs, having served as road supervisor for two years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gore are mem- bers of the Christian church, to which they give liberal support. Mr. Gore is a man of splendid personality and because of his industrious habits and persistent energy, he has attained definite success in his vocation and enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which he resides.
JOHN WESLEY HUNT.
The late John Wesley Hunt, of Eel River township, this county, who, many years ago, passed on to the silent land, was a man whose name is en- rolled very high on the list of honored and worthy citizens of a past generaton in this county. He was a man who made a persistent effort to lead a life in every respect in harmony with the higher rules of ethics and established mor- ality, and, being industrious and public spirited, he did a great deal for the general good of the community honored by his citizenship. When he passed away he left what is much more to be desired, a good name and an untar- nished reputation. He was one of the many gallant boys in blue who went from Hendricks county to fight for the country's flag, and in that struggle he contracted a disease which ultimately caused his death. It is a pleasure to record the life history of a man such as Mr. Hunt, a man whose fine charac- ter and generous qualities of mind and heart won for him a high place among the men of his generation.
John Wesley Hunt was born near North Salem, Hendricks county, in 1838, and died in 1892 on the farm where he was born. His parents were Johnson and Louisa (Davis) Hunt. Johnson Hunt was born in 1816 in Kentucky, near Mt. Sterling, and came to this county when he was sixteen years of age. The Johnsons in Kentucky were slave owners and up to the time when he came to this county Johnson had never performed any manual labor. However, upon coming here, he at once became imbued with the spirit of work, and during his long life in this county there was no man who was more industrious and attended more strictly to his own duties than John- son Hunt. Shortly after coming to this county he married Louisa Davis, the daughter of Nathan Davis, and his first wife, whose genealogy is presented elsewhere in this volume in the sketch of Quincy A. Davis. Upon his mar- riage Johnson Hunt bought a farm north of North Salem and started in to
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carve out his fortune in the virgin wilderness. He added to his holdings from time to time, until at his death, on September 15, 1876, he was the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in this township. His wife died June 25, 1866.
John Wesley Hunt grew to manhood on the home farm and upon the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in 1861 in the Fifty-first Regiment In- diana Volunteer Infantry, and in six months after his enlistment he was taken sick and for a long time was unable to be on duty, being finally honorably dis- charged because of total disability. He returned to this county and in 1866 married Nancy Davis, a native of this county and the daughter of Jesse and Minerva (Zimmerman) Davis.
Jesse Davis was born near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, the son of Enoch and Nancy (Hart) Davis. Enoch Davis and his family came to Hendricks county, Indiana, in pioneer times and settled two miles northwest of North Salem. Their first home was nothing but a rude log cabin, with dirt floor, pole bed and a stick-and-mud chimney, and their household possessions con- sisted of one skillet and one kettle. Practically everything they used they made themselves. They ground their own meal, spun the cloth and made their own clothes, were their own doctors, teachers, nurses and, in fact, were prac- tically a community unto themselves for some years. Minerva Zimmerman was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, and was the daughter of John and Nancy (Myers) Zimmerman. John and Nancy Zimmerman were the parents of fifteen children and were among the first settlers in Eel River township, where they entered government land. Each one of the children re- ceived a farm on which to start a home and all of them became the heads of families whose descendants are still among the best known people in the county. Jesse Davis was a life-long farmer and a man who was well worthy the respect of his nieghbors. He and his wife were both devout members of the Christian church.
After the marriage of John W. Hunt, he operated a saw-mill for three years in the northeastern part of Eel River township, on land which Jesse Davis had entered, after which time he discontinued the operation of the mill and sold the land and moved to the farm now occupied by Grant Sellers, west of North Salem. About 1887 he built a beautiful and attractive resi- dence there and remained on that farm until late in life. For the last ten years of his life he was in poor health, but still remained on the farm until his death, in 1892.
Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were the parents of four children: Ada Catherine, the wife of Grant Sellers, who now lives on the old home farm in the house
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built by her father, and they have two children, Benjamin Franklin and Rhoda Catherine; Ewell Emmett, born January 24, 1875, has lived on the home place all his life and now owns sixty-seven acres of the home place. He and his mother have lived together since the death of his father. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and is also an earnest member of the Christian church. He has allied himself with the new Progressive party. The other two children are deceased, one being a twin brother of Ewell E., who died in infancy, while Lena Ann died at the age of seventeen years.
Politically, Mr. Hunt was a stanch Republican and was always active in the councils of his party, although he never held any office. He was a mem- ber of the Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife were both devout members of the Christian church. The people of this county of a past genera- tion remember John W. Hunt as a man of irreproachable character and one who was always ready to accommodate anyone and ready to help those who were in need and distress. He was the architect of his own fortune and upon his entire career there rests no blemish, for he was true to the highest ideals and principles in life. He lived and labored to worthy ends and as one of the sterling citizens and representative men of Hendricks county in the genera- tions that are now numbered with the irrevocable past his memory merits a tribute of honor on these pages.
DR. FRANK E. HILL.
Success in this life most always comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demonstrated by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every successful man carries a lesson which, told in contemporary narrative, is productive of much good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, a due measure of satisfaction in presenting, even in brief resume, the life and achievements of such men and in preparing the following sketch of the well-known dentist of Brownsburg the biographer is sensible of the pleasure of his task, especially in view of the fact that the subject has given some of the best years of his life to his love of country and has received from a grateful nation a tribute of acknowledg- ment of services rendered.
Frank E. Hill, who is successfully practicing dentistry at Brownsburg, this county, is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in LaGrange
DR. AND MRS. FRANK E. HILL
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county on July 31, 1880, the son of John C. and Sarah L. (Baker) Hill. John C. Hill was a farmer in LaGrange county for many years and was fol- lowing this vocation at the time of his death, which occurred April 4, 1907. His wife died April 30, 1914. Doctor Hill lived on the home farm when a boy, attending the district schools of their locality and later attended the high school at LaGrange. The last two years of his high school course he studied at a town in Illinois where he had a brother-in-law instructor in the school. After finishing his high school course he returned to his home and enlisted in the United States navy, where he spent four years, serving on seven or eight different ships, and in this way travelled to all parts of the world. He was with the United States Ship "Bennington" in 1905 when, in the harbor at San Diego, California, her boilers exploded and seventy-seven men, more than half of her crew, were killed outright. Sixty-six of the victims were buried in one grave. At the time of the explosion, Mr. Hill was connected with the commissary department and was himself on the sick list. At the very instant the explosion occurred, he was in the act of coming up the stairs from the sick bay and as a result of escaping steam and flying debris his eyes were injured so as to seriously impair his sight for some time. He also had two toes so badly scalded that it was necessary to amputate them, but, despite his injuries, he immediately returned to the hold and assisted in rescuing injured men from alley-ways, engine rooms and compartments, right in the midst of the scalding steam. Two men fell dead right at his feet and today, after the lapse of so many years, he still suffers from the nervous shock of that trying ordeal. On two occasions on regaining the deck with injured men he fell in a dead faint, resuming his labors as soon as consciousness re- turned and keeping at his task as long as it was necessary. In recognition of the endurance and bravery he displayed on that occasion, the government has awarded him a medal, which takes the form of a bronze star pendant and was made at a United States mint. On the reverse side is the following in- scription : "For extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of the U. S. S. 'Bennington' at San Diego, California, July 21, 1905." Doctor Hill, in addition to the medal above mentioned, was also given one hundred dollars in money and a button of the Legion of Honor, the latter being awarded only for the saving of human life. During his service in the navy, he accumulated many curios and mementoes from foreign lands and has many interesting and thrilling experiences to relate. On many occasions lie displayed marked bravery and inasmuch as he is the son of a veteran of the Civil War, this trait may be unusually strong in him. His father served
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for three years and ten months as sergeant of Company H, Forty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, passing through many serious con- flicts, the evidences of which he bore on his body to his dying day. He was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
A short time after the explosion at San Diego, Doctor Hill's term of en- listment in the navy expired and he returned to his home. In 1906 he ma- triculated at the Indiana Dental College at Indianapolis, from which he was graduated in 1909. He immediately after graduation came to Brownsburg where he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession and has resided here since. In 1908 he was united in marriage with Lulu C. Wilson, who was born at Bloomington, Indiana, a daughter of Samuel S. and Serepta Wilson. Her parents now reside near Center Point, Clay county, this state, where her father is engaged in farming.
Doctor Hill has made rapid strides in his profession and has the distinc- tion of being the only dentist in Brownsburg and vicinity. He holds his fra- ternal affiliations with the time-honored body of Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has attained the fifth degree. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Macabees. While he is not a member of any church, Mrs: Hill belongs to the Christian church and in the welfare of that church Doctor Hill is interested. In the public life of the community where he resides, Doctor Hill takes an intelligent interest. He is a man of strong character and marked ability and because of these ele- ments and his genuine personal worth, he enjoys a marked popularity in the locality honored by his residence.
JOHN MILTON SMITH.
The life of John Milton Smith has been characterized by public-spirited and generous acts. Honesty and steadfastness of purpose have marked his career throughout and his many friends regard him as one of the most intel- ligent and progressive citizens of Hendricks county. He has always exer- cised an influence for the general good of his community, and, although meet- ing with many discouragements and obstacles along his pathway, his opti- mistic nature has never forsaken him. He was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this he has, by his perseverance, industry and wise economy, attained a comfortable station in life.
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John Milton Smith, the son of Jacob and Margaret (Cooper) Smith, was born in Boone county, Indiana, October 20, 1867. Jacob Smith was born in Hendricks county in 1840 and was the son of Reuben and Melinda (Turpin) Smith. Reuben Smith was one of the earliest settlers of Boone county, but at the time when Jacob was born he was living in Hendricks county. Melinda Turpin was born in this county southeast of Brownsburg and was the daughter of Jacob Turpin, who was among the earliest pioneers of the county. The Turpins came to this county from Scott county, Ken- tucky. When Jacob Smith was three years of age his parents settled south- east of Lebanon, in Boone county, and there the family home was maintained until the death of Jacob Smith, on October 19, 1913. Margaret Cooper, the wife of Jacob Smith, was born and reared in Marion county, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth ( Moore) Cooper. Samuel Cooper and his wife came to Marion county from Ohio, making the overland trip on horseback and carrying one small child with them. Samuel Cooper became one of the first settlers of Marion county. For some years after settling there they were greatly annoyed by the thieving of the Indians. One day Mr. Cooper took his gun and threatened to shoot the first Indian he saw around his house, and the result was that there was no more thieving on his property.
Jacob Smith, father of him whose history is here recorded, was a worthy man in every respect; a soldier of the Civil War, serving in the Seventy- ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as a fifer; an active member of the Baptist church, and a man who was highly respected by every one who knew him. His widow is still living in Boone county, this state.
John Milton Smith received his education in the schools of Boone county and remained on the home farm until 1889. He then came to North Salem, this county, and engaged in the dry goods and grocery business in partnership with Elijah Shirley. Two years later he sold out his interest in this store and spent a year in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Vandalia, Illinois, after which he returned to North Salem and worked for two years in a gro- cery store. He and his brother-in-law, John W. Lackey, then formed a part- nership and engaged in the grocery business again in North Salem for the next four years. Mr. Smith then sold out his interests and for the next five years engaged in agricultural pursuits in this township. He then bought one hundred and seventy-three acres of land northeast of North Salem, and three years later sold that farm and bought another tract of one hundred and fifty acres northwest of North Salem. His last farm adjoins the corporation line of the town.
Mr. Smith was married on March 3, 1891, to Ona Smith, a native of
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this county and the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Rogers) Smith. Samuel Smith was a native of this county and his wife of Kentucky. Samuel Smith was a carpenter by trade and also owned a farm northwest of North Salem; his death occurred when Ona, the wife of John M. Smith, was a small girl. Mr. and Mrs. John M. Smith are the parents of four children, Fred, Kenneth, Lucile and Nellie, all still at home.
Fraternally, Mr. Smith is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in the lodge at North Salem, where he is now serving his third term as master of the lodge. He and his wife are both devout and faithful members of the Christian church. Mr. Smith possesses the happy faculty of not only making friends, but of binding them to him by his good qualities of hand and heart.
GEORGE EDGAR DAVENPORT.
The commercial world has come to recognize the farmer's importance and has surrounded him with many conveniences not thought of fifty or one hundred years ago. The inventor has given him the self-binder, the riding plow, the steam thresher and many other labor-saving devices. And the tiller of the soil has not been slow to take advantage of the improvements thus invented and offered. Among the up-to-date farmers of Hendricks county is George Edgar Davenport, of Eel River township, who was born February 7, 1874, in the township where he is now residing. the son of George Russell and Drusilla ( Pennington) Davenport.
George Davenport's father was a native of this county, and his parents, William and Nancy (Dotson) Davenport, were natives of Virginia, who came from that state to Indiana shortly after their marriage on horseback and entered land southeast of North Salem, in this township. William Daven- port died while George R. was a small boy. On reaching manhood he mar- ried Drusilla Pennington, who was born in this township about one and one- half miles northwest of North Salem, the daughter of Hampton and Nancy (Dent) Pennington. The Pennington family came from Virginia and en- tered land in this township, Mr. Pennington dying at the early age of forty- two and leaving a large family. When the family arrived in this county there were very few settlers here, and they had to blaze a trail through the woods in order to get to the land which they had entered. He and his good wife built a rude hut around a big rock, and used the rock to cook upon. An
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interesting instance happened when they built their first fire on the rock. It was cool weather and the rattlesnakes had collected under the rock, and when the rock became heated they crawled out from underneath the stone and Mr. and Mrs. Pennington killed them one by one as they emerged from under- neath the rock. The widow of Hampton Pennington never remarried, but reared her children and lived to the good old age of eighty years.
After his marriage, George R. Davenport made his home southeast of North Salem, on what is known as the Alexander Williams farm. He and his young bride started in housekeeping under conditions which would dis- courage any but the most courageous of young couples. They lived in a rude log cabin and their bedstead was made by boring holes in the wall and sup- porting the outer corner by a stake driven in the ground. The cooking was all done in the fireplace, of course, and with the rudest of cooking utensils. Under such conditions they began their married life and no doubt they were just as happy as the young married couples of today, who start under the most auspicious circumstances. During the war Mr. Davenport met with severe losses, one of the most severe being the paying of a note on which he had gone security. They lived west of North Salem until the death of Mrs. Davenport, in 1898, when they moved to Putnam county, this state, and bought the farm near Barnard. There were six children by Mr. Davenport's first marriage, five of whom are now living. Some time after the death of his first wife, he married again, but the second wife died two years later.
George Edgar Davenport received a good common school education and at the age of twenty was married and began to farm with his father. A year later he bought a small farm about three miles northwest of North Salem, on which he lived for four or five years. He then moved to his father-in-law's farm, where he remained for the next two years, and then spent the two following years in the creamery business in Mulberry Grove, Bond county, Illinois, after which he returned to Hendricks county and bought forty-six acres west of North Salem and, in 1909, bought his present farm of eighty acres two and one-half miles south of North Salem. He now has eighty acres in this township. He has very valuable and desirable land and his farm is one of the most attractive farms in the township, the improvements em- bracing everything modern. convenient and suitable for up-to-date farming. He has paid particular attention to the raising of cattle and hogs and has met with encouraging success in this line of agriculture.
Mr. Davenport was married November 9, 1894, to Cora Page, the daughter of Jeremiah J. Page, whose family history is recorded elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport are the parents of two children, Ken-
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neth and one child who died in early infancy. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife both belong to the Order of the Eastern Star. They are both devout and faithful members of the Christian church and to that denomination give their hearty support. Mr. Davenport is a man of strong character, whose success is the indication of his good busi- ness judgment, and he is widely known in this section of the county and wherever known is well liked and esteemed.
JOSEPH LAMB.
Though no land is richer in opportunities or offers greater advantages to its citizens than America, success is not to be attained through desire, but must be persistently sought. In this country "labor is king," and the man who resolutely sets to work to accomplish a given purpose is certain of suc- cess if he has but the qualities of perseverance, untiring energy and practical common sense. One of the worthy citizens of Hendricks county who, through diligence and persistent efforts, has attained definite success and has won the respect of all who know him through his fair dealing with his fellow men is Joseph Lamb, who has spent his whole life in this county.
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