Historical People

Captain David Wilson

Written by Brooke Farley

David Wilson was born in North Carolina in 1833 and moved to Monrovia in 1849. He attended Ashbury College in Greencastle and would be accepted to the Indiana Bar after the Civil War. In 1861, he enlisted with the Union forces and then joined General Lew Wallace’s regiment, the Eleventh Indiana, for three years. (Lew Wallace is the author of Ben Hur) Wilson took part in conflicts at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and served with General Banks in the Gulf campaign. After getting wounded at Cedar Creek, Captain David Wilson left the service. In 1867 he married Samantha, the daughter of Gideon Johnson who was one of the founders of Monrovia. In 1875 he was elected Monroe Township Trustee and in 1880 was elected to the Indiana State Legislature. David Wilson would end his political career as a clerk for the Morgan Circuit Court for four years. David Wilson died in 1890.

The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) · 21 Mar 1939, Tue · Page 3

Downloaded on Mar 15, 2021

DB Johnson

Written by Brooke Farley

David Wilson was born in North Carolina in 1833 and moved to Monrovia in 1849. He attended Ashbury College in Greencastle and would be accepted to the Indiana Bar after the Civil War. In 1861, he enlisted with the Union forces and then joined General Lew Wallace’s regiment, the Eleventh Indiana, for three years. (Lew Wallace is the author of Ben Hur) Wilson took part in conflicts at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and served with General Banks in the Gulf campaign. After getting wounded at Cedar Creek, Captain David Wilson left the service. In 1867 he married Samantha, the daughter of Gideon Johnson who was one of the founders of Monrovia. In 1875 he was elected Monroe Township Trustee and in 1880 was elected to the Indiana State Legislature. David Wilson would end his political career as a clerk for the Morgan Circuit Court for four years. David Wilson died in 1890.

Buchard (Tiny) Horton

Written by Maddie Newlin

Burchard Horton or “Tiny” graduated from Monrovia in 1925. Before graduating, he was Vice President of his senior class at MHS. He was also a part of the baseball and basketball teams. His Teams won the County Championships of 1923, 1924, and 1925. He was also a member of the famed Tri-State Championship team in 1925. After high school, he attended Butler. His life also revolved around sports and he was a part of the basketball team at Indiana State. Then, he was the head basketball coach in Matton, Illinois where he won 8 sectional and 5 regional championships. He moved back to Indiana, where he coached at Decatur high school and was the coach and athletic director of Martinsville high school.

Indiana State University Basketball Team Photo. Indiana State Library Archive. 1926

1. Paul Hobson Postcard. 1938. Monrovia High School Archive


2. Indiana State Team Basketball Photo. Indiana State University Library Archive. 1940.

Raymond Hobson

Written by Maddie Newlin

Raymond Hobson graduated in 1938 and was a member of the 1938 Tri County Championship team. He was also named to the All Sectional Team in 1937. After high school, he played for the ISU basketball team. Raymond Hobson served in World War Two as a pilot in the Army Air Corp. After the war he coached basketball at Honey Creek High School. Succeeding his time coaching, he and his wife, Mary Lou, moved to Paris, so he could run the Allied Armed Forces Information Center. Raymond Hobson retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Dr. Walter Lindley

Written by Emma Gaston

Dr. Walter Lindley was born on January 13th, 1852, in Monrovia, Indiana. He is the late son of Milton Lindley and Mary Elizabeth Banta. He was married to Florence Hayes on July 18, 1894 in Los Angeles and had four children. Dr. Lindley went on to have a very successful career, having his high school education in Minneapolis, Minnesota and at Central Normal School in Kokomo, Indiana. He went on to study medicine at Keen School of Anatomy in Philadelphia, Long Island College Hospital and Loyola Marymount University. Lindley and his family moved out to Los Angeles permanently in 1875 and established a free dispensary. Adding to his long list of achievements, he became a city health officer in 1879 and went on to establish the first system of births and deaths along with a free vaccination program. Dr. Walter Lindley went on to be a founder of some very successful establishments. He established the first training school in Southern California and founded the Whittier State School. He also founded the Los Angeles Orphans’ Home, College of Medicine at the University of Southern California and of a California Hospital. Continuing on, Dr. Lindley was the superintendent of the LA county hospital in 1885 and the president of California State Medical Society. In 1912 Walter Lindley ran for Mayor of Los Angeles but was defeated. On January 24, 1922, at 70 years old, Dr. Walter Lindey died of cerebral hemorrhage.

The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · 26 Nov 1906, Mon · Page 16

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Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina) · 14 Jun 1918, Fri · Page 3

Downloaded on Jan 19, 2021

John Van Lindley

Written by: Emma Gaston

John Van Lindley was born on November 5, 1838, fourteen years before his cousin, Dr. Walter Lindley. He was born in Monrovia, Indiana, to Joshua Lindley (brother of Milton Lindley) and Judith Henley. He married Mary W. Coffin in 1870 and together had five children. John Lindley took on the career as a florist, nurseryman and horticulturist, following in his father’s footsteps. John’s education lacked and practiced mostly with his father that proved sufficient for his needs as a nurseryman. He did attend community public schools and studied for a year at the New Garden Boarding School. In John’s early twenties, despite his religious affiliation of being a Quaker, he joined the Union Army and served as a private for three years during the Civil War. After the war, John came home to his father’s business struggling but was able to reestablish the Nursery in 1866. In 1876, John became the sole proprietor of the J. Van Lindley Nursery. The business flourished and experimented in growing peaches in the Sandhills of South Carolina. In 1892, he planted 50,000 peach trees in Moore County. The peach yield was abundant after 1906, due to the sufficient pesticides. The peach growing business is now one the major sources of income for the Sandhills. John was involved with other businesses, buying out the bankrupt clay-working industry, Pomona Terra-Cotta from A. M. Smith. This clay-working industry became one of the largest manufacturers in the nation. In the early 1900s, John became the president of Southern Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the director of the Southern Loan and Trust Company. John went on to be very generous of his acquired wealth, in which he donated large sums of money to Guilford College to help relieve the college debt .He also donated money and land for the building of public schools and has two schools named in his honor. John Van Lindley died in 1918 after suffering from a paralytic stroke.

Arthur Newby

Written by Travis Judson

Arthur Newby was born on October 29, 1865, in Monrovia, Indiana, and would grow up to achieve an amazing series of accomplishments. He would become an early bicycle and automobile pioneer as a co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, becoming president of the National Motor Vehicle Company, which produced the National passenger car. He also co-founded the Zig-Zag Cycling Club as well as the Indianapolis Chain and Stamping Company, which is now known as the Diamond Chain Company. The latter of the two provided roughly 60% of bicycle chains to the American market - an amazing achievement. Arthur Newby also worked with James A. Allison and Carl G. Fisher to create the Newby Oval, a racing track for cyclists in Indianapolis, in 1898. The same trio would later work together to create the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909. Newby was also known for being incredibly charitable, donating money to higher education institutions such as Butler University. He also donated $100,000 to Riley Children’s Hospital, trying to help others with his wealth. Newby gave his 140 acre farm and other property away to the Mooresville School Association in 1920, hoping that the property would be used to support local education. Arthur Newby passed away on September 11, 1933, and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery. Eventually, after Newby’s death, the property would become the William and Milton Newby Memorial Elementary School, named after Newby’s uncles as he had wished.

1. 1909 IMS opening Day (L-R) Henry Ford Arthur C Newby Frank Wheeler Carl Fisher Jim Allison Source: IMS Collection C 89 No. 150. Chuck’s Toyland. Retrieved from https://www.chuckstoyland.com/category/automotive/national-motor-vehicle-company/national-history/arhur-c-newby/.

Dec 25, 2021


2. Arthur Calvin Newby, from his September 12th, 1933 Indianapolis Star Obituary. Retrieved from https://historicindianapolis.com/the-indianapolis-chain-and-stamping-co/. December 25th 2021


3. Newby Oval. What was the Newbt Oval? Indiana Motorcycle Preservation Society. nd. Retrieved from https://www.indianamps.org/what-was-the-newby-oval/

December 25th 2021

Oran Brown. Indiana State University Library Archive. 1925.

Oran “Bud” Brown

Oran “Bud” Brown attended Hall Elementary and graduated from Monrovia High School in 1924. During high school he was Class President, participated in Choir, Orchestra, Baseball and Basketball. He was on the 1923 and 1924 Morgan County Championship teams as well as the 1924 Tri-State Runner Up Team. After graduating from Monrovia he attended Indiana State Normal College (later Indiana State University) and played football and basketball. Oran Brown would eventually become Vice President of the Rand McNally and would be appointed to the Youth Employment Commission by President Kennedy in 1962.

Howard V. Johnson

Written by Brooke Farley

Howard V. Johnson was born in Monrovia, Indiana in 1883. He graduated from Mooresville High School and attended Purdue University. Johnson was a Quaker leader and a Republican who served two terms as an Indiana State Senator from 1936 through 1944, where he introduced the first TB legislation in Indiana. Howard was also the vice president of the Indiana State Board of Health and a member of the Morgan County Adjustment Board of Directors, the Morgan County Council, and Mooresville School Board. Howard Johnson died in 1970.

The Reporter-Times (Martinsville, Indiana) · 9 Oct 1970, Fri · Page 1

Downloaded on Dec 18, 2020

1. Lena Henley. Find A Grave, Indiana, West Union Cemetery. N.D. retrieved November 10, 2021 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69285790/lena-henley


2. Henley House. Ruth Watson Family Photo, N.D.

Lena Henley

Lena Henley was born in Monrovia in 1869. She was one of five children born to Nixon Henley who like many Monrovia settlers were Quakers from North Carolina and served as Monroe Township Trustee. Lena taught school for 40 years, 25 in the Martinsville schools and lived on West Union road with her sister and brother. Lena Henley wrote the definitive history of Monrovia for the 1934 Centennial Program covering all aspects of the History of the town including early settlers, government, entrepreneurship and early schools. Lena Henley died in 1957 and is buried at the West Union Cemetery.

Mike Marsh

Class of 1965

Mike Marsh is a longtime Monrovia resident and alumni from the class of 1965. Mike was heavily involved in 4-H, FFA and Student Government in High School serving as President of the Senior Class, 4-H and FFA. After graduation he would attend Purdue University studying Vocational Agriculture Education. Mike Marsh would later be involved in local community and government affairs including serving as Monroe Township Trustee since 1974, which according to our research makes Mike Marsh the longest serving Township Trustee in Indiana history. Mike has played an instrumental role in preserving and archiving local history working with the school and Monrovia Alumni Association.

4-H

  • 10 Years Monrovia Ribbon Winner Club

  • 4 Years Morgan County Jr. Leaders Ribbon Winner Club Offices

  • Recreation Leader serving as Vice President and President and eventually Camp Director

  • Elected to represent Morgan County Jr. Leaders at Round-Up at Purdue University

FFA

  • Secretary, Vice President and President of Monrovia Chapters

  • Secretary and President of FFA District 8

Community/Elected Office

  • Morgan County Welfare President 4 Years

  • Morgan County 4-H Council 2 Years

  • Morgan County Fair Director 2 Years

1. Andrew Goodpaster. Wikipedia. N.D. Retrieved December 23 2021.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Goodpaster


2. Andrew Goodpaster. Arlington Cemetery. Nd. Retrieved Dec 23, 2021

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ajgoodpaster.htm.


3. Andrew Goodpaster. Arlington Cemetery. Nd. Retrieved Dec 23, 2021

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ajgoodpaster.htm.


4. The Reporter-Times (Martinsville, Indiana) · 28 Nov 1998, Sat · Page 16

Downloaded on Dec 27, 2020

Andrew Goodpastor

Written by: Mackensi Schneider

Andrew Goodpastor was born on February 12 1915 in Illinois, and passed away May 16, 2005, in Washington, D.C. After living in Illinois for a few years his family moved to Indiana where he went to elementary school at Monrovia during the years 1925-1926. Goodpaster entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1935 and graduated second in his class 1939 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers . During World War II, Goodpaster commanded the 48th Combat Engineer Battalion in North Africa and Italy. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which is the 2nd highest military award in the army, along with the Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts. After the war he attended Princeton University and earned a PHD in politics and would earn the rank of General in 1957. General Goodpastor would serve in Vietnam later become a Four Star General and Supreme Commander of NATO in 1969. After Retirement General Goodpastor would become Superintendent of West Point after a cheating scandal in the late 1970’s. Andrew Goodpastor was awarded the Medal of Freedom from President Reagan, the highest award a civilian can receive, due to his meritorious contribution to the security and national interests of the United States. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Conrad Gentry & Don Kenworthy (Mayflower Trucking)

Written by: Mackensi Schneider

Conrad M. Gentry and Don F. Kenworthy founded Mayflower Transit in Indianapolis, IN, in 1927. Conrad M. Gentry was born in 1880 and died in 1967 at age 86. His partner Don F. Kenworthy was born in 1896 and died in 1955 at age 59. Both Gentry and Kenworthy were from Monrovia and they came up with the name ‘Mayflower’ when they were eating at a diner at Dayton Ohio and thought that the diner name would be better as a trucking company name. Gentry was already a business man with ownership of the Monrovia store but bought the first company truck in 1912. He brought Kenworthy in as his partner due to his experience with truck sales. They founded Mayflower Trucking as an alternative to railroads for customers who were interested in moving their belongings across the country on the newly-paved roads. The new enterprise became known for providing safe door-to-door pickup and delivery. After more than two decades serving American families, Mayflower expanded to include corporate employee relocations as well as transporting trade show displays and exhibits. The company had moved 1 million families in the first 32 years. In 1961, Mayflower began supporting America’s government and military moves throughout the world. Mayflower Trucking also brought the Colts to Indianapolis from Baltimore.

1. Mayflower Trucking. Our Story.nd. Retrieved Dec 23, 2021

https://www.mayflower.com/about-us/our-history-and-story.

1. Joseph Gurney Cannon. Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005685762/. Retrieved December 23, 2021

2. Joseph Gurney. Wikipedia. Time magazine, Volume 1 Issue 1, March 3, 1923 The cover shows the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Joseph Gurney Cannon. Article text. Retrieved December 23, 2021

Joe Cannon

Written by: Mackensi Schneider

Joseph Gurney Cannon, also known as Joe, was born on May 7 in 1836, North Carolina and died November 12, 1926 in Illinois at age 90. In 1840 he and his family came to Monrovia and there is documentation of the family attending the West Union Meeting. Joe Cannon is thought to have attended a small school in Monroe Township called Pinhook where his dad, Dr.Horace F. Cannon found work as a teacher. After a few years the family did move to Illinois, but Cannon did refer to his school days in Monrovia in a speech before congress, 1896. Monrovia considered Joe Cannon as well as John Elwood Bundy to be hometown heroes in our early history. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911, and many consider him to be the most dominant Speaker in United States history, with such control over the House that he could often control debate. At the time Cannon held the record for the longest serving republican and longest serving Speaker Of The House. The Cannon Building located in the nation’s capital is named in his honor and Joe Cannon was also the first person on the cover of Time Magazine.

Alden Hadley

Written by: Mackensi Schneider

Alden Hadley was born on August 6, 1876 in Monrovia, Indiana. Alden’s grandfather, Samuel (born 1811), made 3 trips to Monrovia via horseback from his home in North Carolina where he taught school. On Samuel’s last trip to Monrovia, he stayed and taught in our school for a couple of years. He and his family were Quakers and owned property in Monrovia, as well as a farm south of town. Alden had won a contest selling magazine subscriptions as a kid where he won a telescope, this led to his interest in bird watching. He attended Earlham college, a Quaker school, where he mounted a collection of his birdskins in the Joseph Moore Museum on campus. Alden also attended Guilford College, Stetson University, and the University of Chicago. In 1924, Alden became the president of the Indiana Audubon Society. Then from 1941 until his death in 1951 Alden Hadley was a field lecturer in Indiana for the Indiana Conservation Department. Hadley would go on to going to schools and other groups such as the Lions Club, to speak about his findings and birds. Alden also wrote the book Permanent Resident Birds of Indiana. Alden Hadley died in a car crash in 1951.

1. Hardin, Becky. Morgan County Scrapbook Vol. 1. Mooresville IN: Dickinson Printing, 1985

2. Birds of Indiana: Permanent Residents Paperback – January 1, 1959 · Publisher. IN Dept Of Conservation · Publication date. January 1, 1959 . Monrovia Archive. Donated by Max Greene

Gary Bettenhaussen. Racing Nation. https://racingnation.com/gary-bettenhausen-1941-2014/. Retrieved Dec 23, 2021

Gary Bettenhaussen

Longtime Monrovia Resident raced in 21 Indy 500’s finishing 3rd in 1980 and setting a then track record for qualifying in 1991. He raced from the early 1960’s until retirement 1996. During his racing career he won the 1969 and 1971 Sprint Car Championships as well as 6 USAC Indy Car Races. Gary died in 2014 and is a member of the National Sprint Car and National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fames.

Bill Bray

William G. Bray was born on a farm near Mooresville on June 17, 1903. Bray attended Gasburg before graduating from Mooresville High School. He then later attended Indiana University Law School in Bloomington in hopes to become a prominent lawyer and graduated in 1927. Mr. Bray joined the active duty army in 1941 and was discharged from the army in 1945 with the rank of colonel. Bray was awarded many awards but his most precious award was the silver star for his gallantry in battle. He was planning on building up his private law firm in Monrovia when he found himself a candidate for the seventh congressional seat. According to Brays wife, Esther, was awarded approximately one award a month during his time serving for 24 years as a representative for the seventh and sixth congressional districts. Following that he served one term on the public works committee and then moved to the Armed service committee where he then served 11 terms and eventually wound up the ranking minority leader of the community. Bray was awarded author of the year in 1964 with his most well known book “Russian Founders: from Muscovy to Khrushchev.” Bray also worked with the surgeon general to pass legislation to help Korean soldiers that were injured at war after his years in war. William G. Bray suffered from a stroke on June 1, and later passed on June 4, 1979 at age 75; he will be remembered as one of Morgan counties favorite sons.