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 5
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C. S. RAYMER, post master of the town of Ingalls and one of the prominent young men of the town, was born in Green township on June 7, 1869, and is a son of John H. and Emma L. (Scott) Raymer, of this township, concerning whom detailed mention is made in another sketch appearing in this biographical work. Further facts with regard to the parentage and ancestry of the subject are therefore unnecessary at this juncture.
Mr. Raymer was the eldest of the family of his parents, and he was reared on the home farm, where he was early trained in the business of farming. He received a good common school education in the seasons snatched from attention to farm duties, and continued to work on the farm with his father until his marriage, which event took place on June 29, 1890, when Amanda House, a daughter of William R. House, became his wife. She was educated in the common schools, like himself, and has many friends in the community, where she has long been known. Two children have been born to them-Violet, a graduate of the Ingalls school, who is the wife of Jadie Gregory, and Hobart, now a student in the Pendleton high school.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymer are members of the Methodist church, and Mr. Raymer is active in Republican politics in his section. In the cam- paign of 1912, however, he cast his vote with the Progressive party. In connection with his official duties he carries on the work of his farm, which, though small, is a well kept and productive place.
MARTIN LUTHER GOODYKOONTZ. A native son of Anderson town- ship who has spent his entire career in this section of Madison county, Mr. Goodykoontz stands in the front rank of the agriculturists of his community, and through his work in developing his present fine prop- erty of one hundred and forty-five acres is entitled to mention among the men who have contributed to the prosperity of their township and
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county. He was born on the 25th of March, 1858, just one mile east of his present farin, on a property which his grandfather, Jacob Goody- koontz, had entered from the government. He is a son of Daniel and Nancy (Watkins) Goodykoontz.
Jacob Goodykoontz, the grandfather, was born in Floyd county, Virginia, and brought his family to Madison county about 1830. For many years the name was well represented here, but at this time they are widely scattered and Martin Luther is the only member of his imme- diate family found in Madison county. Daniel Goodykoontz was born in Floyd county, Virginia, and was a lad of eight years when he accom- panied his parents to Madison county. Here he was reared and educated and here married Nancy Watkins, a Madison county girl. He continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active career, and was known as one of the substantial men and public-spirited citizens of his community. He and his wife became the parents of two children, Martin L. and William Arthur, but the latter died when only one year old.
Martin L. Goodykoontz was born in a pioneer log cabin and grew to manhood in the uncultivated community of his native place, being reared to habits of industry and economy. He attended the common schools during the winter terms and spent his summers in assisting his father, and when he reached his majority engaged in agricultural pursuits on his own account. He has improved all his land, now some of the best to be found in the township, and has engaged extensively in general farming operations and in breeding Short-Horn cattle and other good breeds of stock. He uses modern methods and machinery, has im- proved his farm with buildings of a substantial character. and through good management and persistent effort has made a success of all his ventures.
On October 30, 1895. Mr. Goodykoontz was married to Miss Orpha Maione. a daughter of Eleazer and Elizabeth (Kinsey) Malone, natives of Frederick county, Maryland, who migrated first to Pennsylvania, thence to Indiana, in about 1836, and in 1865 came to Madison county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Malone had the following named children : William, who is deceased; Hiram: James, deceased; Adolphus; Joseph; Mary and Anna who are deceased: John, deceased: Charles: Sarah C., now Mrs. Edmund Jeffries of Montsea, Pennsylvania; Orpha, now Mrs. Goodykoontz; and Elizabeth. now Mrs. Daglish. Mr. and Mrs. Goody- koontz have no children, but have reared two adopted daughters, Venita Sapp and Bessie Tindall.
Mr. Goodykoontz is a stockholder and director in the Farmers Trust Company of Anderson, and he is a Democrat in his political affiliations. He has always kept in touch with the live political and civic interests of the day, but has not entered public life as a seeker after office. He is essentially a home man, being content to devote his energies to the culti- vation of his land. An automobile enthusiast, he finds that his hand- some Buick car not only affords the means of recreation but is a great help in his business affairs. With his wife he attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
WESLEY WHITE, JR. For more than half a century the White family has been identified with Madison county, and always with the larger activities of farming and country life. Wesley White, Jr., is one of the Grand Army men still li ing in this county and has a
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splendid country home in Green township. He has known Madison county since before the war, and has not only witnessed practically every important phase in the development of the region from the wilder- ness, but has borne his individual share of the labors and responsibilities in this work.
Wesley White, Jr., was born on a farm in Rush county, Indiana, August 15, 1844, and was one of the children in the family of the late Wesley White, Sr., and his wife, Lydia Nicholson White. Wesley White, Sr., was born in the state of Virginia in 1802, and his wife was born in Ohio in 1803. The father moved from Virginia to Ohio, and when still a single man came west to Indianapolis about the time Indian- apolis was established as the capital of Indiana, and in that city he found employment by assisting in the construction of the first court house there. Subsequently he returned to Ohio, was married in that state, and then brought his wife and family out to Rush county, Indiana. There he bought a quarter section of land and made it his home for fifteen years. Selling out his interests in Rush county, he came to Madison county, and paid $900.00 for one hundred and sixty acres. He kept adding to this original body of land until at one time he possessed 1,800 acres all in one piece. Practically all the land was covered with heavy timber when he bought it, and as a practical lumberman he established a saw mill in his woods, and for about ten years was engaged in working up all this timber into lumber. Much of the lumber which can now be found in some of the oldest houses in the county was the product of the White mills and came off the stumpage on the original White estate. The senior White was a man of large business enterprise, as the preceding statements would indicate, and at the same time was very liberal and public spirited. He was held in the high esteem of his entire community, and was always an active member and contributed to the Methodist church. In politics he was a staunch Republican after the formation of that party. There were nine children in the family and four are living in 1913. Mary is the widow of William Brattain and a resident in Hamilton county, Indiana; Linria is the widow of Isaac Brattain and a resident of Pendleton, Indiana; Wesley, Jr., is next among those now living; and Lydia J. is the wife of John Smithers of Pendleton.
Wesley White, Jr., was two years old when his parents came to Indiana in 1846, and for that reason he has almost a claim to this county as his birthright place of residence. On the old homestead he grew to manhood and as opportunity permitted attended the district schools. When he was eighteen years old, the Civil war having come on and distracted the country, he enlisted in Company I of the Seventy-fifth Indiana Infantry in July, 1862. His service was in Kentucky and Tennessee and continued up to March, 1863. He was taken down with the fever and received an honorable discharge on March 10, 1863. On returning home from his military career he engaged in farming and subsequently moved to Noblesville, Indiana, where he made his home for twelve years. He then returned to the farm in Green township, where he still resides. He possesses one hundred and seventy-three acres, has some of the best land in the township, and cultivates it accord- . ing to the best method approved by his long experience, and by the general science of modern agriculture. He is operating the farm for himself.
On March 28, 1867, Mr. White was married to Lucinda Stern, of Vol. II-3
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Hamilton county, Indiana, where she was born and reared, a daughter of Samuel and Jane Stern. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in Marion county, Indiana. Mrs. White received her edu- cation in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. White are the parents of two children, now living. Fannie is the wife of Frank Anderson and lives in Noblesville; Harvina, a graduate of the Noblesville high school, is the wife of Jess Anderson, and they make their home with her father on the White farm in Green township. There is one granddaughter, Pauline, who was born August 9, 1907. Mr. White and family are members of the Christian church, and he is affiliated with Pendleton Post, No. 230, of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he votes as a Republican and has served as supervisor of his home township.
O. B. CUSTER. The citizenship of Fall Creek township has no member more respected and esteemed, both for his individual worth and his many kindly and disinterested service in behalf of his friends and the community, than Mr. O. B. Custer.
He was born near Mortonsville, Indiana, August 9, 1838, and was a son of William and Judah (Kendle) Custer. William Custer, the father, was a native of Kentucky, born near Georgetown, and early in life came to Indiana, locating in Fayette county. In that county he married Miss Kendle and spent the rest of his life as a farmer in that locality. By ancestry he was a descendant of German stock. There were five children in the family and the two now living are O. B. and James, the latter being a resident of Des Moines, Iowa.
Mr. O. B. Custer was reared on a farm and during the winter months attended district schools. When still a boy he began earning his own way, and he has known the practical duties of a farm from earliest boyhood. He lived at home until he was twenty-six years of age, and after he attained his majority he was engaged in buying and selling horses for several years. He has always been a lover of horse flesh and an excellent judge of the best points of a horse. On March 9, 1863, he married Miss Louisa Isgrigg, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, June 6, 1844. Catherine Caldwell Isgrigg, the mother of Mrs. Custer, died July 26, 1913, at the advanced age of 93 years. Mrs. Custer received her education in the public schools of her native county and was a daughter of Daniel Isgrigg. After their marriage Mr. Custer turned his attention to farming, though he also continued as a stock dealer. In the winter of 1866 he moved to Madison county, locating in Fall Creek township, which locality has been his residence for more than forty-six years. He and his wife are the parents of two daughters: Edna B., who graduated from the common schools and is now the wife of Lewis Rogers; Mota D., the wife of Warren Copper, she being now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Custer have one grandchild, Glenn M., who is a graduate of the Anderson high school. Mrs. Custer is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Custer is active in fraternal affairs, being a member of Madison Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M., at Pendleton, Chapter No. 51, R. A. M., and of Fall Creek Council, No. 43, R. & S. M. In polities he is a Democrat and has cast his vote for good government . and never been interested particularly in party affairs. He is the owner of a nice little farm of forty-five acres in Fall Creek township, and he and his wife have a comfortable home and enjoy the esteem of a large community of friends.
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HENRY CLAY. BROWN. A life long resident of Madison county and for many years a progressive farmer of Fall Creek township, Henry Clay Brown has enjoyed the best elements of success, having acquired a good home, having given his family the comforts of living and educa- tion, and having steered an honorable and straightforward course throughout his own career.
Henry Clay Brown was born in Anderson township, Madison county, June 12, 1852, a son of Warner and Lavina (Clark) Brown. Both parents were born in the state of Maryland, where they were reared and married. After their marriage they came west and located at Anderson, Indiana, and continued in this county until their death. The father was a contractor by business and he and his wife were the parents of ten children, four of whom are living in 1913. George Brown and Samuel Brown are residents of Anderson, and Eliza, the widow of Wil- liam Snell, is a resident of Logansport.
Henry Clay Brown was reared on a farm and such education as he obtained was afforded by the neighborhood schools. Up to the time he was twenty-one years of age he remained at home, and by his work and his other kindly services cared for his mother. He started inde- pendently as a farm hand, working at wages, and with the gradual accumulations of such labor was able finally to make a substantial begin- ning on his own account. At the age of twenty-four he moved to the farm where he now lives.
He was married May 7, 1873, to Miss Emma Ulen, who was born on the homestead where she now lives, a daughter of Absalom Ulen and was educated in the common schools. Seven children have been born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Brown: Harry H., a graduate of the Pendleton schools: Lula. Lavina, and Chester, graduates of the high Chester, a graduate of the high school; Rex, Walter, Naomi, wife of school; Rex, Walter, Naomi, wife of Alfred White. Mr. Brown is affil- iated with the Improved Order of Red Men and the Haymakers at Pendleton. A Republican in politics, he has voted as a good citizen, but has never held any office. Mr. Brown has a well improved farm of. about forty-five aeres, and enjoys all the comforts and conveniences of modern country life. For several years he was engaged in business at Anderson as a draymalı.
LEWIS D. KINNARD. Few of the farmers of Fall Creek township, in Madison county, Indiana, have made a better showing from a similar beginning than Lewis Dunwoody Kinnard. He has gained prominence in the agricultural sections of the county as a farmer and stock raiser, as well as being a feeder and shipper of some extent, and has a fine place of one hundred and sixty acres under cultivation. He takes his place among the representative citizens of the township, and enjoys the esteem and friendship of a large circle of the best citizenship of the township.
Lewis D. Kinnard was born on the farm east of the farm on which he now resides on September 17, 1865, and is the son of John H. and Elizabeth Clay (Dunwoody) Kinnard. Both were natives of Chester county, Pennsylvania, who came to Madison county, Indiana, in the spring of 1858, locating in this township, where they lived until 1891, when the father died Nov. 19, 1891, the death of the mother following on January 16, 1892. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are now living. Lewis D. is the youngest of the family.
The home farm and the schools of the community constituted the
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early environment and influence of Lewis D. Kinnard, and after he had finished with the district schools he was entered at the Danville (Ind.) Central Normal. He finished his studies there in 1888, after 'which he taught for four years in Madison county, a work in which he was especially successful and popular. The business of farming, however, proved more attractive to him, and he gave up his school work to enter into agricultural activities following the death of his father in 1891. Since that time Mr. Kinnard has continued in the business and has made an excellent success of the work. General farming, cattle raising, feeding and shipping have constituted his main interests, and he has gained success and prosperity in the prosecution of the work. His hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-five is recognized as one of the finest places in the township, and stands for a generous applica- tion of genuine hard work on the part of Mr. Kinnard, formerly known as the Swain farm.
On September 4, 1889, Mr. Kinnard was married to Miss Della L. Downs. She is the daughter of Isaac and Jane G. Downs and was born in Champaign county, Illinois, coming to Madison county in 1886. To Mr. and Mrs. Kinnard three children have been born, named as follows: Charles D., born on September 14, 1591, is a graduate of the Pendleton high school and now a student in Winona Agricultural College; Heien J., born January 20, 1899, is a student in the high school; and Hugh, - born February 3, 1902, is also attending the schools of the home com- munity.
Mr. Kinnard is a member of the Society of Friends and fraternally is associated as a member with Madison Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M., and Sicilian Lodge, No. 234, Knights of Pythias, of which he is Past Chancellor and a member of the Grand Lodge. He is a Republican and has given good service to the party in his district. Mr. Kinnard is one of the broad-minded and liberally disposed men who mean so much in any community, and whose citizenship is always of the highest order and worth to their town and county. He, with his family, enjoys the esteem and regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances in Fall Creek township, where they have long been known for their many excellent qualities. The family are members of the Society of Friends.
WILLIAM R. KINNARD. Since he located on the old Thomas farm in Pendleton township, securing the place on the status of a renter, the fortunes of William Rush Kinnard have kept pace with those of the most prosperous of the men of his community, and he is today the owner of the fine old place which had been the property of his wife's family years ago. Success has attended his efforts and he is reckoned among the prosperous and substantial men of the town, and one whose influ- ence and opinion are potent factors in the communal life of the place.
William R. Kinnard was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on December 7, 1848, and is the son of John H. and Elizabeth (Dunwoody) Kinnard, both of whom were born in the same county and state. They came to Madison county, Indiana, in 1858, locating here on the Sth of April, and settled in Fall Creek township, where they passed the remainder of their quiet and industrious lives. The father died in November, 1891, and the mother in January, 1892. The latter was a member of the Friends' church and a devout and saintly Christian woman. She reared her family of nine children in the purity and piety that were her strongest characteristics, and of the nine seven are today
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filling useful places in the world. They are: Joseph D., William R., Mary F., Owen B., of Indianapolis; George L., Elnora B. and Lewis D.
William R. Kinnard was nine years old when the family came to Madison county, Indiana, and settled in this vicinity. From his early boyhood until he reached the age of twenty years he spent three months each year in the district schools, the remainder of the time being devoted to the varied forms of farm work incident to the time and place. He was twenty-one years old when he went west on a trip with the intention of finding something in which to venture as a means of liveli- hood, but his stay there was short and when he returned to his native community he joined his brother in a renting enterprise, and for three years they managed a farm on shares. He married in 1873, choosing for his wife one Mary S. Thomas, and they took up their abode on the old Thomas homestead, which Mr. Kinnard rented and which he after- wards bought. He prospered with the passing years, each succeeding season finding him advancing in the scale of success, and today he owns two hundred acres of the best farm land in Madison county, located in Fall Creek township.
Mr. Kinnard and his family are members of the Friends' church in which he was reared, and he is a Republican in politics. He is a man who is highly esteemed and respected in the township and count;", and he has a host of the best of friends in this district, where he has passed his life thus far, and where his entire family was long and most favorably known.
As mentioned above, Mr. Kinnard married Miss Mary S. Thomas on January 16, 1873. She was born and reared on the farm the family now occupies, and is one of the best known and most popular women of the community. Four children were born to them, three of whom are living at this time: Alice, a graduate of the high school and the state University, and for some time a teacher, is the wife of Oliver E. Glenn, professor of mathematics in the University of Pennsylvania; they have two children. Elizabeth K., a graduate of the high school and a teacher, is the wife of Edward Haines. Edith M., after her high school course, entered upon a course of study in Swarthmore College, and is now living at home with her parents.
GEORGE A. PHIPPS. In the little village of Huntsville in Fall Creek township, on the north bank of historic and picturesque old Fall creek, the principal industrial features and also business institutions are the flour mill and the saw mill which for many years have been conducted under the name and proprietorship of Mr. Phipps. A mill or factory is always an important institution in any community, and particularly is this true of the small rural settlement of Huntsville, where the mill becomes almost the central feature of the place and around it are grouped in comparative order the church and the school and the homes of the local population. Mr. Phipps came to Huntsville more than forty years ago, learned his trade in the old Huntsville mill and finally became its proprietor. He has thus for many years been known in the business economy of this county, and is one of the highly respected citi- zens of Fall Creek township.
George Aiman Phipps was born at Weldon, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1842, a son of William and Margaret (Aiman) Phipps. Both parents spent all their lives in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. In the same county George A. Phipps was reared and
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attained his early education in the common schools while growing up on his father's farm. Most of his early education was attained in one of the old fashioned subscription sehools.
In November, 1870, Mr. Phipps came to Madison county, Indiana, and took employment under his uncle, who was the owner of the grist mill at Huntsville. In that institution he learned his trade and in 1882 rented the grist mill from its owner. Three years later, in 1885, he had advanced so far as to be able to buy the property, and now for nearly thirty years it has been conducted under his name and ownership. In 1909 a fire destroyed the old grist mill, which was never rebuilt. The saw mill was not burned at the time the grist mill was destroyed. Mr. Phipps was financially interested in the glass factory and the post factory when they were located as industrial institutions in Pendleton.
In November, 1870, Mr. Phipps married Arminta Alfont. Mrs. Phipps was reared in Madison county and has been the mother of seven children, four sons and three daughters, namely : Margaret, a graduate of the Pendleton high school and now the wife of Ward M. Taylor of Chicago; Ben F., in the hardware business at Pendleton and a graduate of the Pendleton high school; Claude A., now deceased; Sarah, who is a graduate of the common schools and is now the wife of Ed G. Brown of Lafayette, Indiana; Harry M., of Chicago, an unmarried young man and a graduate of the local schools; Hazel M., who is a graduate of the high school and is now a stenographer at Frankfort, Indiana; Paul, who is a student in the high school. Mrs. Phipps is an active member of the Methodist church. Mr. Phipps is one of the prominent Masons of Madison county. He is affiliated with Madison lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M., at Pendleton, with Pendleton Chapter, No. 52, R. A. M., with Fall Creek Council, No. 42, R. & S. M., and with the Commandery, No. 32, of the Knights Templar at Anderson. He has attained thirty-two degrees Scottish Rite Masonry. In politics he is an active Democrat and has long been a royal worker and supporter of the party interests and for local good government. At the present time he is a member of the Madison county council. He has also served on the township advisory board. Mr. Phipps is a quiet, unassuming man, honorable and honest in all his business relations, and has given au excellent account of the many years he has spent in this county. In his opinions he is a man of strong convictions, and what he believes to be right he acts upon as a solid principle underlying all his character.
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