USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 47
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ARTHUR II. JONES. Beginning practice in Madison county nearly twenty years ago, and having since attained a successful and influential position as a lawyer, Mr. Jones in recent years has probably become best known in the insurance and fraternal field. He is president of the Liberal Life Assurance Company at Anderson, and has taken a very prominent part in insurance and fraternal movements in the state and nation.
Arthur H. Jones was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on April 27, 1873. His paternal grandfather, Abraham Jones, was one of the first settlers in Franklin county. The father, Philip T. Jones, was born in Franklin county, and married Miss Lydia Goff, also a native of that. county.
Reared in the vicinity of his birth, where he obtained his first school- ing in the public schools, Arthur HI. Jones completed his literary educa- tion in Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and then entered the Cin- cinnati Law College where he was graduated as a Bachelor of Laws. He began his practice in Summitville, in Madison county, on the first day of October, 1894. He had his office at that place for four years and there built up a good practice, becoming well known as one of the rising attor- neys of the county. He next located at Alexandria, where he was engaged in practice for six years, and from there he moved to the county seat at Anderson, and had his office in this city for two years. From Anderson Mr. Jones moved to Indianapolis and was engaged in the general prae. tice of law in that city up to 1910. He had become, in the meantime, inter- ested in fraternal organizations and in 1910 was chosen Supreme Dictator of the Supreme Lodge of the World, Loyal Order of Moose. In August. 1912, Mr. Jones was elected president and general counsel for the Liberal Life Assurance Company, the main offices of which are located at Anderson.
Besides his chief executive offices for this insurance company, Mr. Jones is president and general counsel for the Travelers Insurance Machine Company, is president and general counsel of the Machine Sales Company, and is general counsel for the Roller Electric Company. He is also general counsel for the Supreme Lodge of the World, Loyal Order of Moose, and is general counsel for the State Investment Company. He takes much interest in all the fraternal orders and is a wide awake, public spirited citizen and a liberal contributor to all enterprises launched for the general good of the community. In politics he is a Democrat and has served a number of times as delegate to the county and state conventions.
In 1894 Mr. Jones married Daisy C. Bake. of College Corner, Ohio. Mrs. Jones died in 1908, leaving one son and one daughter .-- Harry L.,
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who is a student in the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, and Nellie E., now attending the high school of this city.
On June 26, 1913, Mr. Jones was married to Mrs. Maude Gartner, of New Orleans, Louisiana.
ETTA CHARLES, M. D. The success and efficiency of women in the field of medicine are too well established to require any comment. While woman physicians are not numerous in any one community, they are usually regarded as among the ablest and most successful in the field of local practice, and in Madison county the few who are identified with this profession are no exception to the rule. At Alexandria, Dr. Etta Charles is enjoying a large and growing practice and competes on equal terms with her brothers in the profession. Dr. Charles is the daughter of a former well known physician in this part of Indiana. and she also has a sister in the profession.
Etta Charles was born in Grant county, Indiana, daughter of Henry and Olive A. (Jackson) Charles. Dr. Henry Charles came from Wayne county, Indiana, where he was born, and was a son of Samuel and Saralı .(Hill) Charles. Grandfather Samuel Charles was a planter and a man of large affairs in North Carolina, having come to Indiana in the early days and entered land, the patent to which was signed by President Andrew Jackson. Dr. Henry Charles attended the common schools in Grant county, was a school teacher, took a classical course at Earlham College at Richmond, and afterwards graduated from the Indiana Medi- cal College. He was first engaged in practice at Fairmount, and after- wards at Carthage, in Rush county. Later he moved west for his health, and died and was buried in Kansas. The mother was buried in Deer Creek cemetery in Grant county.
Etta Charles attended the common schools at Fairmount, where she spent most of her girlhood, and was a student for two years in the high school. After that she kept house for her father several years, and was engaged in teaching. Her medical studies were pursued and completed in the St. Louis Women's Medical College, a three-year course. She also had been tutored in medicine under her sister Dr. Olive Wilson, who was in practice at Paragould, Arkansas. Dr. Etta Charles belongs to the Madison County and State Medical Societies, and is secretary and treasurer of the County Society at this time. She affiliates with the Rebekah Lodge of Odd Fellows and the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. The Doctor and her sister have recently opened an office in Alexandria, at 301 Lincoln Avenue, where they attend to their practice, they having bought the property at this location.
Dr. Olive Wilson is a graduate of the Northwestern University, Chicago, and is now practicing with her sister. Both have contributed to the Medical Literary and are in good standing with the medieal profession.
JOSEPH DAVID RODECAP. In the death of the late Joseph David Rodecap, which occurred July 25, 1906, Madison county lost a citizen who had long been prominently identified with its agricultural inter- ests, and whose activities as a public-spirited citizen were such as to add to the prestige of his section. Although not born in this county, he was brought here when still an infant. and his entire active career was spent within its boundaries. Mr. Rodecap was born February 22,
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1855, in Rockingham county, Virginia, a son of Henry and Lydia (Myers) Rodeeap.
The Rodecap family was founded in Indiana by Henry Rodecap, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, and in early manhood moved to Henry county, Indiana, subsequently taking his wife and children to Madison county, where he settled on a farm near Florida, which became known as the old Rodecap home place. He spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, and became well and favorably known in his community as a man of upright habits and much business ability. He and his wife were the parents of nine chil- dren, as follows: Benjamin F., who is deceased; Joseph David ; Peter, deceased; Emanuel, deceased; Barbara, deceased; Elizabeth Beeson, wife of Frank Beeson; Mrs. Frances Sisco; Mrs. Mary Range; and Katie, who is deceased.
As before mentioned, Joseph D. Rodeeap was but a babe when he was brought to Madison county, and here his education was secured in the Elm Grove district school, which he attended during the winter terms, his summer months being spent in work on the old home place. He was thoroughly trained in farming work, and was taught to respect and appreciate the value of hard, industrious labor. On attaining manhood, he embarked in farming on his own account, subsequently becoming the possessor of several valuable farms and eventually set- tling on a tract of eighty acres lying on the Elm Grove turnpike, where he was carrying on operations at the time of his demise. Since that time his family has resided on the same farm. . Mr. Rodecap was a good, practical farmer, ever ready to embrace new ideas and methods. and his activities in the various branches of farming proved uniformly successful. He took a pride in the progress made by his community and by his associates was looked to for advice, counsel and leadership. An upright man, of honorable principles and a strong sense of right and wrong, he at all times held the confidence of those with whom he had transactions, of any kind, while his personal character was such that many were proud to call him friend.
On December 16, 1876, Mr. Rodecap was united in marriage with Miss Elda Free, daughter of Jesse and Mary (MacLean) Free, who came from Bainbridge, Ross county, Ohio, and seven children were - born to this union: Joseph Franklin, who married Alice Lukens, and has one child, Herbert A .; Jesse, who married Georgie Thompson, and has one child, Agnes; Lillian; Elmer, who was married to Bertha Schlegel, on September 1st, 1913; Ellsworth who was married to Hor- tense Lukens, on September 17, 1913; Benjamin, who was married on February 4, 1913, to Anna M. Bamer, of St. Francisville, Illinois, and they have one child, Elizabeth Marie, born October 29, 1913; and Bertha. Benjamin is conducting the home farm, and is a graduate of the Anderson township schools, class of 1906. He is a member of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men. The members of the family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they have many friends. 1
Ross ESHELMANN. One of the stanch and reliable business con- cerns of Anderson is the firm of David Eshchuann & Son. of which: Ross W. Eshelmann of this review is one of the members. This firm was organized some years ago, and was the result of years of assovia- tion of the son with his father in the work, during which time he
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gained a thorough knowledge of the business, and proved himself fit to be the partner and business associate of the elder gentleman.
Born in Richland township, Madison county, Indiana, near the town of Prosperity, on March 3, 1878, Ross W. Eshelman is the son of David and Charity (Scott) Eshelmann. The boy was given his early educational training in the village school of his community and later attended the Anderson high school, where he employed well his time and emerged with a training in advance of that of most of the youth of his day. From the high school he joined his father in the building work which the father had been carrying on for years in Anderson and vicinity, and has continued with him to the present time. They have carried on a thriving enterprise in the building field for some years. Many fine dwellings, schools and business bloeks have been reared under their master hand, as well as carrying on a considerable work on local churches and in neighboring towns. Mr. Eshehnann is undeniably a skilled workman and a thorough master of the builders craft. A few years ago he joined his father in a business partnership, and they conduct business under the firm style of David Eshehaan & Son, their union going to make up one of the strongest firms of its kind in the city. They built the Grammar School building, of recent erection, the Loan building, known to be one of the finest business blocks in this section of the state, as well as participating in the work on the Anderson Water Works Filtering Plant, and others of equal importance. They have, on the whole, been active and prominent in the building life of the city, and have contributed no small amount to the growth of the community in their way.
In 1900 Mr. Eshelmann married Miss Blanche E. Branson of Ander- son, a daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Hurst) Branson, who set- tled in Anderson about ten years prior to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Eshelmann. To this union four children have come: ' Paul A., Fred- erick R., Elizabeth and Harriett.
Mr. Eshelmann is a Mason of high degree, with affiliations in Fe !- lowship Lodge, No. 681, A. F. & A. M., Anderson Chapter, No. 52. R. A. M., and Anderson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar. The family home, a fine and substantial residence thoroughly modern in all its appointments, is located on the corner of Sixth street and Madison avenue, and here much of the social life of their eirele is enacted. The family are well known in the city and have a high place in the esteem and regard of all who share in their acquaintance.
B. F. FESLER. Madison county is fortunate in the possession of a large number of enterprising and successful farmers, and in spite of the fact that it is an increasing industrial county, its farms and farm products will always share largely in the total resources of the locality. Among the farmers whose careers have been marked with success and prosperity, and with progressive development is that of Mr. B. F. Fesler of Pipe Creek township, whose splendid country estate of two hundred aeres is located on the C. C. Mays road. His home is on the rural deliv- ery out of Frankton.
Mr. Fesler was born in 1853. in New Columbus. His parents were David and Elizabeth (Landis) Fesler. David Fesler, the father, eame from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and by trade was a stone niason and plasterer. He subsequently engaged in farming, and at his death his body was laid to rest in the Sigler cemetery at Frankton. The
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mother is also now deceased. The seven children in the family were Rebecca A. Abbott; John A .; William G., of Elwood; Marey C., now Mrs. Silvery ; B. F .; and Laura, who married a Mr. Etchison, and is now deceased.
B. F. Fesler was educated partly in the schools of New Columbus and finished in the Brannock school in Pipe Creek township. As a boy he worked on a farm, and there learned the practical details of the busi- ness which he has followed nearly all his life. When he began for himself it was as a renter, and by industry and thrift, as well as by good management, he finally saved enough to buy a small piece of land, con- sisting of forty aeres, and used that as the nucleus for building up a substantial prosperity. He finally traded his original farm, and then bought his present place.
On February 15, 1879, Mr. Fesler married Miss Ida J. Camphell, daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Sarah (Thurston) Campbell. Her father came from the vicinity of Eaton, Ohio; was a farmer, and located in Madison county many years ago. The two children in the Campbell family were Mrs. Fesler and William O., a resident of Muucie, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Fesler are the parents of eight children, who are mentioned as follows: Dora, who married Lester Johnson, and their four children are Floy, Vernice, Hadie, and Hubert; Della, wife of Charles Gooding. and their children are: Gladys, Opal, Roy and Theodora; Willian, who married Ida Etchison, and has one child Retta; Bertram A., who married Nellie Ebert, and has two children, Marjorie and David; Wal- ter, who married Edith Ferguson, and has one son Benjamin; Frank, at home; Raymond, who has practical charge of the farm; and Katie R., who is in high school at Frankton. Mr. Fesler has always been an active Democrat and has at various times taken much interest in party affairs. He and his family worship in the Christian church at Frankton.
FRANK BEHYMER. The present trustee of Pipe Creek township is Frank Behymer, a member of one of the old and prominent families of Madison county, and a man who has given long and faithful service to his community, not only in his present office but as an educator, having discharged the responsibilities of a teacher of the young in Madison county for the long period of a third of a century.
Frank Behymer was born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1857, and is a son of William and Martha (Littleton) Behymer, the former a native of Gerard county, Kentucky, and the latter of Clermont county, Ohio. On the father's side the grandfather was Solomon Behymer, who with his wife was a native of Virginia. The five children of Solomon and wife were Samuel, John, Lucy Brown, William and Joseph. The Lit. tletons on the mother's side were natives of Pennsylvania, grandfather Littleton having been a farmer, and an early settler of Clermont county. Ohio, where he died a comparatively young man.
William Behymer, the father, was reared on a farm in Kentucky. and when a boy moved into Ohio, where he learned the trade of cooper. and was for some time also engaged in the occupation of running rafts and barges down the Ohio river in the river traffic. He subsequently moved to Rush county, Indiana, where he became a farmer, and also did some coopering, making barrels for the use of his neighbors. After nine years' residence in Rush county, he moved to Grant county, locating near Rigdon, where he spent the remainder of his years. During the Civil war he eulisted and saw three years of arduous service and the
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wounds and exposures which were part of his war experience undoubt- edly abbreviated his life. His death occurred in 1890 when sixty-eight years old. He was a very popular member of his community and was elected and served as constable of his township in Grant county for six or seven years after the war. He was then elected a justice of the peace and served for four years in Greene township. The family were mein- bers of the Methodist church. The mother is still living and is now eighty-seven years of age. The eleven children in their family are noted as follows: The first born died in infancy; Mary Jane, wife of Jacob Hiatt of Rigdon; Perry, a lawyer at Ordway, Colorado; Andrew J., a well known lawyer and former newspaper man of Elwood, and Rebecca A., wife of J. L. Newkirk of Sexton, Indiana; John O., of Tipton, editor of the Tipton Times; Franklin Pierce, the immediate subject of this sketch ; William H. of Rigdon ; Christopher R., who lives near Fair- mount, Indiana ; Emma, deceased, former wife of Alfred Corbin ; and Melvina, wife of Lee Jones.
Frank Behymer grew up and was educated in Duck Creek town- ship, and early in his career formulated his ambitions for work in edu- cation. In preparation for this vocation he studied at the National Nor- mal University in Lebanon, Ohio. In the meantime he employed him. self at any honorable occupation in order to make a living and to further his education and finally began teaching in the schools of Madison county, a calling which he has snecessfully followed for thirty-thi ... years. His work as a teacher and his standing as a citizen commended! him to the people of Pipe Creek township, and in 1913 he was chert trustee of the township, and in this capacity has given an efficient administration of the various important duties entrusted to that offer.
On April 3, 1895, Mr. Behymer married Viss Tippie B. Har-hman. a daughter of Martin V. and Amanda (Sherer) Harshman. Mr. Dal Mrs. Behymer are the parents of two children: Herbert is a student in the high school, and Harold is a student in the grammar school of Elwood. The family attend the Christian church.
WILLIAM T. RICHARDS. It is probably in connection with fraternal work that William T. Richards is best known to the citizens of Andder. son, Indiana, although he has also been prominent in public life as andi- tor of Madison county, as well as in business circles. During the past several years, however, he has devoted his attention almost exclusively to fraternal work, and as national organizer of the Camels of the Wor !! is widely known through this and other states. Mr. Richards was born in Washington county, Indiana, upon a farm, October 23. 1865. and i: a son of Daniel S. and Emma S. (Fields) Richards, the former a native of South Carolina and the latter of Scott county, Indiana. Both are now living in the city of Indianapolis. Daniel S. Richards was for sopp' years a farmer in Washington county, later turning his attention to contraet work in street paving, sewer-building, etc., being so engaged until he became connected with the Indianapolis Police Department. For thirty-six years he served as a police official of the Indianapolis capital, and is now retired on a pension.
William T. Richards received his education in the public and high schools of Indianapolis, whence he had been taken as a child. On hanv. ing school he received his introduction to business life as a clerk in the wholesale dry goods and notion store of Brazen & Connell Company. His faithful and efficient discharge of the duties of his position won Vol. II-22
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him a traveling salesmanship, and in that capacity he continued to de: for eight years .. At the end of this period, Mr. Richards establish ... himself in business on his own account, operating a general store unti : 1889, when he came to Anderson to enter the employ of the Columbi. Encaustie Tile Works ( now known as the National Encaustic Tile Con. pany), as superintendent, a position which he continued to hold to. fifteen years. Mr. Richards had ever been a stanch supporter of repa! . liean principles and an active worker in the ranks of the party, having for some time served as chairman of the republican central committee. and in 1907 he became his party's candidate for the office of county auditor. He was subsequently elected and during his term gave his fellow-citizens an excellent administration. When he left office, in. began work as an organizer for fraternal societies, and as his eminen: abilities along this line of endeavor became recognized he was called upon to perform work of a more responsible nature, until he was finally made national organizer of the Camels of the World, a position whi ! calls him not only to various points in Indiana but to many of the other States. It is but natural that he should have formed a wide acquaint ance, and the universal esteem in which he is held is eloquent eviden", of the confidence he has inspired in those who know him. He is c member of Anderson Lodge No. 746, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in the latter has taken more than ordinary interest, having served as exalt .: ruler of his lodge. His modern home is located at No. 2104 South Meridian Street.
In 1903 Mr. Richards was united in marriage with Miss Lillian D. MeIntosh, of Franklin county, Indiana, daughter of Alfred and Mat; Jane McIntosh. To this union there has come one daughter, Miss Lillith M., who is a graduate of the Anderson High school.
CHARLES C. DEHORITY. Few citizens of Madison county have been more intimately or extensively connected with the business and finas cial interests of this section, and with its public and social life, then has Charles C. Dehority, cashier of the Elwood State Bank, at Elwond. a citizen whose varied combination of business enterprises has given him standing in the marts of commerce and trade, whose keenness of per- ception and sound judgment have made him a leader in banking eireles. and whose capacity and executive ability have brought him to the front as a political leader of strength and influence. Mr. Dehority is a native of Elwood, and was born August 18, 1870, a son of John W. and Jane (Moore) Dehority.
Dr. James M. Dehority, the paternal grandfather of Charles C. Dehority, was born in the state of Delaware, and married Susantel: Huffman, a Southern lady. They were pioneers of Madison county. settling first near Perkinsville, and later coming to Elwood, when the- place was still known as Quincy. Dr. Dehority was a minister and physician, and one of the earliest practitioners of medicine in the county, and was later in the drug business and the general merchandise trade. He was a man of decidedly versatile talents, was able to make a sucers out of whatever venture he entered, and when he passed away. in advanced years, was one of his section's substantial and highly esteemed men. His wife passed away when eighty-three years old, having been the mother of two children: John W. and James H. The materna! grandfather of Mr. Dehority was Thomas Moore. They were pioneers
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of Madison county, Indiana, from Virginia, from whence they came overland, bringing their household effects and a few cows. Settling down on virgin land, they were successful in accumulating and clearing a large amount of property, and to each of their children, as they reached man and womanhood, they gave eighty acres of land, fifty dol lars in money, a horse, a saddle and a bridle. Both lived to advanced years, and had a large family of children : John, William, Joseph, Thomas, Madison, Aletha, Julia, Jane and Isaac.
John W. Dehority was born and reared in Madison county, where he received a public school education, and on reaching manhood was taken into partnership by his father, in the general merchandise business, the firm being known as James M. Dehority & Sons. This association con- tinued until the death of Mr. Dehority, in 1881, when he was only about forty years of age. His wife still survives, and is a faithful member of the Methodist Protestant Church, in the faith of which he died. They were the parents of four children, as follows: William A., who resides at Indianapolis, and is chief accountant of the State Accounting Board; Charles C., who makes his home at Elwood; Cora B., who is the wife of Elmer C. Heck, of Elwood; and Frank E., of this place.
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