Joseph L.
Carson
Joseph L. Carson, ex-Auditor of Shelby
County, Ind., was born
in Marion County, Ind., October 7, 1836, and is the son of Alexander and
Mary (Wells) Carson — he is a native of Ohio, and she
of Kentucky — who settled in Marion County about 1828. Joseph
L. was the fifth in a family of six children, and, his mother dying
in Marion County when he was but four years old, his father was
married to Mary Morphew, to whom were born six children. When Joseph L. was thirteen years old, his parents moved to
Tipton County, Ind., where he lived three years, then returned to Marion County, where he grew to manhood.
His father died in Clinton
County, of this State. In 1864, Mr. Carson came to Shelby
County, settling in Fairland, where he engaged in general merchandising and grain dealing, which he carried on until the close of
1877, when he sold out his business and interests therein. During
his residence at Fairland, he filled the office of Justice of the
Peace ten years. He was married in Marion County, Ind., March
8, 1864, to Nancy Smith, daughter of Samuel and Agnes
Smith,
natives of Kentucky. Mrs. Carson was born in Marion County,
Ind., and has two children. She is a member of the Baptist, and
her husband of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity, also of the A. O. U. W., and politically
a staunch Democrat, believing that the principles of that party are
conducive to the stability and perpetuation of a free government. In 1878, Mr. Carson was elected on the Democratic ticket. Auditor
of Shelby County, Ind., taking his seat September 1, 1879. He was a
careful and painstaking official, and after the expiration of his term
of office he returned to Fairland, where his home has ever since
been. In 1885, he again engaged in merchandising and the grain
business which he has continued to the present time. In May
1887, he was appointed by Gov. Gray, President of the Board of
Benevolent Institutions of the State, a position he now fills. Mr.
Carson is one of the county's leading citizens, and this public recognition of his services is well merited.
His portrait appears in this
volume.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, Chicago: Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Brandywine [Township] Sketches, page 609-610.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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