USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 82
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He was a life-long Democrat and always took an active part in politics. Religiously, he was a member of the Missionary Baptist church at Hazlewood and was a clerk in the church for many years. He died in 1897 on the home place near Hazlewood. He was a progressive farmer in every sense of the word and was a hardworking man all his life. He was a man of liberal ideas and always took an active interest in all public enterprises. The town of Hazlewood was named after his father, Daniel Hazlewood.
Daniel Sigler Hazlewood spent his boyhood days in the township schools of Liberty township, and at the same time assisted his father on the home farm. He has lived his entire life upon the farm where he was born, raising all the crops indigenous to this latitude and putting a part of his attention to the raising of live stock. Mr. Hazlewood was married on March 22, 1899, to Cordelia Maud Wooden, the daughter of Robert S. and Cordelia Jane (Wilhite) Wooden.
Robert Sanford Wooden, the oldest son of Joshua and Penelope Wooden, was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, August 4, 1845, and died at his home, three miles west of Hall, Indiana, August 30, 1913, at the age of sixty-eight years. He, with his parents, came to Indiana in 1851, where they lived for three years on the Samuel Hadley farm south of Monrovia, after which they moved to the old Wooden homestead in Adams township, Morgan county, where Robert S. grew to manhood. He united with the Methodist Episcopal church at Mount Zion in 1865, and in 1866 went to Everett, Cass county, Missouri, where he engaged in teaching. Four years later he returned to Morgan county, Indiana, and taught in Adams. Ashland, Gregg and Jefferson townships, that county. While in the West he had united with the Christian church, but upon his return home he reclaimed his membership with the Methodist Episcopal church at Mount Zion and con- tinued a faithful member of that congregation until his death. On July 16, 1871, Mr. Wooden was married to Cordelia Wilhite, and to this union were born six children, Attie, Leslie, Guy, Maud, Hugh and Charles. On June 5, 1885, two angels visited their home. One was the angel of life, who brought with him the gift of the baby son, Charles, and the other was the angel of death, who took their mother home to God. For three years he struggled on alone, caring as best he could for the family of little children, and then, on January 1, 1888, he was married to Sarah Ellen Fisher, thus bringing into the home one who has been to the children a devoted mother, counsellor and friend, and who has never tired in her efforts to make home what it should be. Mr. Wooden was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and was
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worshipful master of the local lodge at the time of his death. In the fall of 1901, Leslie, the oldest son, went west and has not been heard from since, so it is supposed by the family that he is dead. "Uncle Bob," as he was familiarly called, was a friend to everyone, and because of his jolly, loving disposition, he was always cheerful, and if he ever had troubles or disappoint- ments he never discussed them with his friends.
Daniel S. Hazlewood is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Hall, Indiana, and the Improved Order of Red Men at Hazlewood. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Pocahontas lodge.
Mr. and Mrs. Hazlewood are the parents of three children, Gladys, Roy and Geneva. He and the members of his family are members of the Mission- ary Baptist church at Hazlewood and take a zealous interest in all of its activities. Mr. Hazlewood is a trustee of the church. Politically, he is a Democrat, but has never taken a very active part in the game of politics.
EARL DUNCAN.
The men who till the soil are the men who stand at the foundation of the prosperity of our country. The profession of farming is one which antedates all others, and the only one which can exist independently of any other, and for this reason the farmer is the backbone of the nation. It is the product of his hands which fills the banks, turns the wheels of the factory and directs all the industries of the country. Farming is really the basic industry, and he who causes two blades of grass to grow where one formerly grew, is performing as useful a mission in life as the man who builds a flying machine, constructs a battle ship or digs the Panama canal.
Earl Duncan, the son of William G. and Matilda ( Barnes) Duncan, was born in Liberty township, Hendricks county, Indiana, November 11, 1878. William G. Duncan was one of the early pioneers of this county, and the history of the Duncan family may be considered typical of the history of many of the older families of this county, and it may be found elsewhere in this volume in the sketch of Charles P. Duncan, a brother of the subject of this sketch.
Earl Duncan spent his boyhood days on the home farm and received a good, practical education in the district schools of his home township. Marrying at the age of twenty-three, he immediately engaged in farming south of Amo, this county, and a year later moved to his father-in-law's farm
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of one hundred and seventeen acres which he is now managing. In addition to raising all the crops of this locality, he makes a specialty of feeding hogs for the market, and he has gained the reputation of being one of the best hog raisers of the county, this branch of agriculture adding very materially to his annual income. He is a progressive farmer and does not hesitate to take advantage of the latest developments of machinery and the newest ideas in the culture of crops.
Mr. Duncan was married on October 9. 1901, to Ada Reitzel, the daugh- ter of George W. and Elizabeth (Norton) Reitzel, and to this marriage have been born three sons, Wendell, Russell and Ralph.
George Washington Reitzel was born August 29, 1847, in Hendricks county, Indiana, and is the son of Daniel and Melvina (Burks) Reitzel. Daniel Reitzel was born in North Carolina, and came to Hendricks county, Indiana, with his brother, David, and brother-in-law, Joshua Pickett, when he was twenty-one years of age. Here Daniel Reitzel entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, and two years later sold' one hundred acres of his farm to Israel Jackson and sixty acres to David Reitzel, and he then returned to North Carolina, but shortly afterwards returned to this county and bought land in Clay township. Later he went into Hamilton county, but again returned to Hendricks county and bought a farm in Liberty township. He afterwards sold this and purchased a farm in Clay township and in the fall of 1869 went west, where he bought a farm and died in 1873. Melvina Burks was born in Kentucky, and came to Putnam county, Indiana, with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Burks, when a babe in arms. She died in 1878. Daniel Reitzel helped to build the first Lutheran church about one and three-fourths miles south of Pecksburg, this county, which was a rude log structure. Mr. Reitzel was very highly respected and esteemed in this county. He was twice married, and by his first marriage he had one daughter, Rachel Appleby, who lives east of Avon, Indiana. By Mr. Reitzel's second marriage there were nine children: Allen, who lives in Pecksburg, this county; George, the father of Mrs. Duncan: Ambrose, also a resident of Pecksburg; William, of Peru, Indiana; John, of Franklin township; Mar- cus, of Indianapolis, and three daughters who died in infancy. George W. Reitzel was married in 1883 to Lizzie Norton, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Harlan) Norton, and her death occurred in 1895. To this mar- riage there were born two children, Mrs. Ada Duncan, and Mrs. Hazel Patterson, of Hazelwood, Indiana. In 1907 George W. Reitzel was mar- ried to Julia Henderson and to this marriage were born two children, Helen
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and William Allen. Mr. Reitzel has been a prosperous farmer in the county and is now the owner of two hundred and sixty-nine acres of good farming land in Liberty and Franklin townships. He is a member of the Masonic order at Clayton and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Monrovia. Mr. Reitzel is a Republican in politics and a loyal member of the Lutheran church, of which he is now the only trustee.
Mr. Duncan is a Republican in politics and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party. He has been road superintendent for the past six years, his last term expiring January 1, 1914. He is a member of the Im- proved Order of Red Men at Hazelwood. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan are both members of the Christian church at Hazelwood and he has been a trustee of the church for the past three years. Mr. Duncan is a man of high ideals, straightforward and unassuming, and commands the respect of all with whom he comes in contact.
CHARLES R. REED.
Among the honorable and influential citizens of Hendricks county, Indi- ana, is the subject of this review, who has here maintained his home for many years, winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to which he has devoted his attention during the years of an active business life. His career has been without shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the confidence and respect of his fellow men.
Charles R. Reed is a native of the old Hoosier state, having been born in Marion county about two miles south of Clermont, near the Hendricks county line, on January 11, 1860, being the son of Thomas J. and Lucy (Hamilton) Reed, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Both came to Indiana in the early forties with their respective parents, while they were still small children. Thomas J. Reed was a son of Jediah and Catherine (Negelie) Reed, the former being of Scotch-Irish descent, while the latter was of German origin. From her native state of Pennsylvania she came to Ohio, where she and Jediah Reed were married. Jediah Reed was a tanner and carpenter by trade and after his marriage he came to Indiana and settled near Indianapolis, which was at that time but a thriving village. He often told of how he had hunted on the ground where the Marion county court house now stands. After residing in Indianapolis for a time, he removed to
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near Clermont, where he worked for David McCurdy for several years. He then came to Hendricks county, where he operated a tan yard for Thornton Gorham in Lincoln township. About 1858 or 1859 he purchased land in Lincoln township near Clermont and lived in that vicinity until his death. Thomas J. Reed, father of the subject of this sketch, purchased a tract of forty acres south of Clermont about 1860 or 1861. He later sold that and moved to Hamilton county, and it was while residing there that his wife (mother of the immediate subject of this sketch) died. After the death of his wife, Thomas J. Reed sold his farm in Hamilton county and came back to Hendricks county, where he bought forty acres in the southeastern part of Brown township and resided in that vicinity until his death. He was one of the prominent men of the community in his day, a man much hon- ored and respected, and served the township as justice of the peace for a great many years.
Charles R. Reed was one of a family of six children and remained with his parents until some fifteen or sixteen years of age, when he secured his first work as apprentice to the tile-makers' trade. On August 20, 1885, he was united in marriage with Sarah Ettie Ballard. After his marriage, he purchased fifty acres of land in the southeastern part of Brown township and has resided there ever since. Mrs. Reed was born just across the public highway from her present home, on August 28, 1863, being the daughter of James and Sarah (Corbly) Ballard, the former from Scott county, Ken- tucky, and the latter a native of Maryland. Both came to Indiana when quite young. Sarah Corbly's oldest brother, Richard by name, enjoyed the distinction of being the first white child born in Marion county. After James B. Reed and Sarah Corbly were married, they entered the one hun- dred and sixty acres where Sarah Ettic was born and lived there the re- mainder of their lives, rearing an interesting family of thirteen children.
To Mr. and Mrs. Reed has been born one son, Earl Chester, who mar- ried Flo Erie Smith, daughter of Henry and Allie ( Hilton) Smith. Earl Chester Reed lives about one-half mile north of Tilden, Indiana, on a farm belonging to his father-in-law. He entered Wabash College, but was forced to abandon his idea of completing his course, owing to ill health. He has one child, Reuel Irvin.
While Mr. Reed is not a member of any church, he is interested in the Christian church, of which his wife and son are both members and are deeply interested in the affairs of that society. Fraternally, Mr. Reed is a member of the time-honored body of Free and Accepted Masons, and both he and his
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wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. His career thus far has been a consistent and honorable one and, because of his stanch integrity and his accomplishments, he is entitled to hold the sincere confidence and good will of all who know him. He has been one of those solid men of brain and substance so essential to the material growth and prosperity of a community and whose influence has been willingly extended in behalf of every deserving enterprise that has for its object the advancement of the moral or material welfare of the community.
JOHN RAYMOND MILES.
Hendricks county is able to boast of many old and prominent families, men and women whose ancestors for several generations have written their names upon the pages of the history of the county. Among these, the names of Miles and Brady are well known, and in our present article we wish to speak of both.
John Raymond Miles, one of the prominent young farmers of the local- ity, first saw the light of day upon the farm where he now resides, a trifle less than two miles northeast of Clayton, on the 21st day of May, 1883. He is the son of Thomas J. Miles, a prominent and influential farmer of this locality. This gentleman, of whom we have spoken elsewhere in this volume, was born in 1842 near Belleville, a son of John and Martha Miles. Here he spent his youth and received his schooling, and here, later, he met and married Tabitha Tudor, whose birth occurred in Morgan county, in 1852.
The immediate subject of this article, John Raymond Miles, spent his childhood and youth upon the homestead farm, receiving his schooling in the township schools, and as he grew to manhood and assisted his father with the various activities of the place, he was taught the best agricultural methods of the time, and to this wise training his present success is largely due.
In the year 1905 was solemnized Mr. Miles' marriage to Lela Brady, whose birth also occurred in Hendricks county. In fact her ancestry dates back to many generations of Hendricks county citizens. Her parents, Wesley
and Catherine (Riggins) Brady, were also born in Center township, and here, after their marriage, their homestead was established. Mr. Brady was a most successful farmer, aggressive and intelligent, but his greatest business successes have been in the breeding and sale of fine live stock, in which department he is an authority. In the year 1904 he disposed of his farm and
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moved into Danville, engaging there in the livery business and dealing largely in fine horses.
Mrs. Miles remained in the home of her parents until her marriage, receiving her schooling in the neighboring schools, but when, in 1905, she was married to Mr. Miles, the young people established their home in Clayton and for two years they resided here while Mr. Miles continued his agricultural pursuits upon the farm of his father, the homestead where he was born. As time elapsed, however, it seemed advisable for the young people to take up their abode also upon the farm, and here they have remained. Mr. Miles is now the owner of this beautiful estate, including three hundred and ninety acres of land. A successful farmer he has proven, combining industry and energy with modern methods and sound judgment, and, although a young man, he is already widely known and highly esteemed as a successful business man and also for his sterling qualities. A little daughter, May Geraldine, came to bless their home on the 5th day of January, 1906, and is now her mother's able assistant. Their home is noted for its genial hospitality, and the charming social graces of the hostess and the warmth of welcome ex- tended by the host have endeared the family and their home to the many friends who surround them.
WILLIAM BAXTER VESTAL.
The gentleman of whom this chronicle speaks is one of the honored pioneers of Hendricks county, Indiana, and for over a half century he has been a valued factor in the development of the same, prominently identified with the varied interests of his community. His well-directed energies in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his own business interests and his sound judgment have demonstrated what may be accom- plished by the man of energy and ambition, who, persevering often in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, proves that he is the possessor of those innate qualities that never fail to bring success if properly directed, as they have evidently been in the case of Mr. Vestal.
William Baxter Vestal, a son of Gabin and Catherine (Richards) Vestal, was born in Guilford township, this county, October 29, 1849. The early education of Mr. Vestal was received in the subscription schools of his township of that day and when a young man of twenty he went to Indian- apolis and took employment with the George Merritt Company, manufac-
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turers of woolens, with which firm he remained for twenty-five years, being advanced from time to time to positions of additional responsibility until, when he left there in 1894, he was the general manager of the company. In the latter year he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Guil- ford township, this county, on which he has been living for the past twenty years.
Mr. Vestal was married March 12, 1874, to Emma McCall, the daugh- ter of James and Susan McCall, of Lancaster, Ohio. Her father was a carriage maker of that place. Her mother is a second cousin of Gen. William T. Sherman of Civil-war fame. Mrs. Vestal was one of six children born to her parents, and Mr. and Mrs. Vestal have a family of four children : Frank J., of Anderson, Indiana, is now chief engineer of the Union Traction Company ; he married Esther Moore, the daughter of John S. Moore, of Plainfield. He was born October 5, 1875, and was educated in the academy at the latter place. He and his wife are the parents of one daughter, born in June, 1903. Catherine May, born April 2, 1878, is the wife of Halstead H. Mills, of Detroit, Michigan, who is a boiler inspector for the Hartford Insurance Company, and they have two children, Jeannette, born November 25, 1906, and Georgia B., born February 4, 1909. Georgia Emma, born August 24, 1881, is the wife of Wilbur Sherfy, of Billings, Montana, a civil engineer, a graduate of Purdue University, and now in the employ of the United States reclamation service. William Baxter, Jr., the youngest one of the children, was born September 13, 1887, and received his education at the Montana State College. He is now the assistant engineer of the city of Boze- man, Montana, and has charge of the special train which makes an annual tour through the state of Montana, advertising his city.
Mr. and Mrs. Vestal are both consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bridgeport, and contribute liberally of their substance to its support. In his fraternal relations Mr. Vestal is a member of the blue lodge, council and chapter of Masons, and also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Vestal has always been a Republican in politics and has been very active in the councils of his party, and in 1901 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature from Hendricks county and served in that law-making body with distinction to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. The Legislature passed a law organizing advisory boards in each township in the state, and Mr. Vestal became the chairman of the first advisory board of his home township. In fact, he has always been interested in the public welfare of his community and has never forgotten the obliga-
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tions which he owes to the public. His support of such measures and move- ments which make for the general good can always be depended upon and he is, in the full sense of the term, a representative and self-made American and thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced age in which he lives. He has not permitted the accumulation of wealth to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he.
CHARLES W. MILLS.
Among the men of Hendricks county who have wandered far from their native heath and won success in foreign fields is Charles W. Wills. When a young man he enlisted in the regular army and for three years was under the command of the President of the United States. He was shifted hither and thither over the extensive territory of our nation from Puerto Rico to the far Philippines on the west. During all of his service he conducted himself as a genuine American soldier and upon the expiration of his enlistment he became a general contractor of Indianapolis. Still later he engaged in the manufacture of automobiles, but the call of the farm was not to be disobeyed and several years ago he moved onto the old homestead farm, where he is now living the life of the plain and unostentatious farmer.
Charles W. Mills, one of the distinguished sons of Hendricks county, was born in Guilford township, October 24, 1870. His parents were William P. and Olive ( Mattem) Mills, his father being born in Ohio September 17, 1846. William P. Mills came to Indiana when a youth with his parents and settled in Guilford township, and on the home farm which his father left him he lived all of his life until he retired at Plainfield a few years ago, with the exception of a few years when he was in the general merchandise business at West Newton, Marion county. The wife of William P. Mills was born at Bridge- port in Marion county in 1849. Her ancestors came from Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. Her father was a blacksmith by trade and died in 1893, her mother having passed away in February, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. William P. Mills were the parents of three children : Charles W., whose career is herein presented to the reader ; Pearl C., born March 10, 1876, and a widow of Elbin C. Hadley ; Henry Halstead, born October 26, 1880, who is at present a boiler inspector for the Hartford Insurance Company of Detroit. Henry married Catherine Vestal, of Plainfield, and has two children, Jeanette and Georgia.
Mr. Mills received his education in the common schools of Guilford town-
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ship and later graduated from the academy at Plainfield. He then took a complete course in the Indianapolis Business College, after which he enlisted for three years as a soldier in the United States regular army. After his enlistment had expired he settled in Indianapolis, where he went into the con- tracting and building business for a number of years, after which he disposed of his business and entered into the automobile manufacturing business and continued at that for seven years in Indianapolis. Upon his father's retire- ment from the farm, he took charge of the old home place and has been no less successful in the farming profession than he was as a manufacturer and con- tractor. In the time he has been on the old home place he has improved it in various ways and is rapidly bringing the farm to a higher state of productivity.
Mr. Mills was married October 12, 1902, to Levada O'Mullane, of Owen county, Indiana, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James O'Mullane. To Mr. and Mrs. Mills have been born five children, all of whom are still at home : Dorothy Pearl, Charles Julian, Beverly O'Mullane, Max Owen and Sherman Eugene.
Mr. Mills and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bridgeport. He lent his support to the Democratic party and is in hearty sympathy with the Bryan-Wilson movement in Indiana at the present time. Mr. Mills' life has been one of action and persistence and the systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have resulted in not only gaining the confidence of those with whom he has had dealings, but also in elevating him in the esteem of his fellowmen. He is a man of pleasing address and is noted for his hospitality and kindliness.
ELI H. ANDERSON.
The agricultural interests of Guilford township, Hendricks county, have an able representative in Eli H. Anderson, a man who has succeeded in his chosen life work because he has worked persistently along such lines as cannot well fail in bringing success. He never lets the grass grow under his feet, but is always busy, and he believes in doing well whatever he attempts ; thus, by having system in all his work, he has forged to the front and is in every way deserving of the respect in which he is held by all who know him.
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