Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2023 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Centennial History of Grant County, Indiana 1812-1912, Vol. II Compiled from the Records of the Grant County Historical Society, Archives of the County, Data of Personal Interviews, and Other Authentic Sources of Local Information pub. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York - 1914 Pg. 680-682 JAMES CHARLES The CHARLES family was founded in Grant county more than half a century ago and its name has been prominently and worthily linked with the progress and upbuilding of the city of Marion, judicial center of the county. The late JAMES CHARLES was a young man at the time when he established his home in this city and through ability, close application and steriling integrity of purpose he gained and long retained precedence as one of the leading business men and influential citizens of the county, where his memory is held in lasting honor. Virtually his entire active career was de- voted to the milling business and he became one of the leading exponents of this line of enterprise in central Indiana. He was a man of broad views and sound judgment, vigorous and self-reliant, loyal and public-spirited, and his strong individuality combined with sterling attributes of character to make him well equipped for leadership in popular sentiment and action. He held various posi- tions of public trust, including that of representative of his district in the state senate, and his high standing in the commun- ity that long represented his home and the stage of his activities renders most cononant the memorial tribute accorded to him in this history of Grant county. JAMES CHARLES was born in Cornwall, England, on the 22d of December, 1835, and in both the paternal and maternal lines was a scion of the stanchest of English stock. He was the tenth in order of birth of the twelve children of RICHARD and MARY (OATES) CHARLES. His father was a miller by trade and vocation and followed this occupation in his na- tive land until 1854, when he immigrated with his family to the United States. He first located at Buffalo, New York, but about one year later he came to Indiana and established his residence in Grant county, where he continued to be identified with the milling business during the resi- due of his active career, his death having occurred, at Marion in 1905, and his wife having survived him by several years. In the schools of his native land JAMES CHARLES received a good practi- call education, which he later rounded out and made symmetrical through self-discipline and active association with men and affairs. He learned the miller's trade under the effective direction of his honored father and he anticipated his parents and other members of the family in com- ing to America, as he crossed the Atlantic in 1854. Soon after his arri- val he found employment at his trade in the city of Buffalo, New York, where he was thus engaged for three years. He then came to Indiana and first located at Fort Wayne, but in December of the same year he came to Grant county and assumed charge of the City mill, the leading flour- ing mill in the county. He operated this mill for a period of fourteen years and then retired from active business, but at the expiration of one year he again rented the mill, of which he became the owner in 1881. He made many improvements in the property and kept the same up to a high standard in its mechanical equipment and other accessories. He continued the operation of the mill for many years and with marked suc- cess, having retained the same in his possession until his death, which occurred on the 8th of December, 1905. From the time of their marriage until their death he and his wife lived continuously in one locality, though various improvements were made upon the lot and the house with the passing of years. MR. CHARLES was an aggressive business man, ferile in expedients and an indefatigable worker, but he did not hedge himself in with the affairs and exactions of his business interests, but stood foremost in giving his influence and tangible co-operation in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the civic and material welfare of his home city and county. He was identified with the various commercial and general business organizations formed in Marion and wielded large and beneficent influence in community affairs, the while he had the respect and confidence of all those who could appre- ciate honesty, integrity and loyalty. He served two terms as a mem- ber of the city council, and in 1880 further evidence of popular esteem was given by his election as a member of the board of county commissioners, to which important post he was re-elected in 1882 and in which he advocated progressive policies and labored zealously for the proper administration of the affairs of the county. His loyalty to the land of his adoption was of the most intense order, and he was well fortified in his opinions concerning matters of governmental and economic policy, his allegiance being given unequivocally to the Republican party, as a representative of which he was finally elected to the state senate, in which body he made an admirable record. On the 1st of July, 1860, was solemnized the marriage of MR. CHARLES to MISS SARAH ELMA SECRIST, who was born in the state of Ohio, on the 26th of June, 1842, and who was a daughter of JOHN SECRIST, a miller by trade and vocation. The home life of Mr. and Mrs. CHARLES was marked by ideal relations and associations and she survived him by several years. She continued to reside in the old homestead until her death, which occurred on the 1st of September, 1912, and her name is held in affectionate memory by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence. Of the eleven children of Mr. and Mrs. CHARLES six attained to maturity, and of these JOHN EDWIN died in 1887. The five children who survive the parents are all residents of Marion. MISS LULU CHARLES is a popular factor in the social life of her native city; JAMES F. is a representative member of the Marion bar and is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; HARRY S. is employed by the Marion Light and Heating Company; MARK E. is engaged in general contracting; and BESSIE is the wife of A. L. HIGBEE. ================================================================================