Mrs. Ella Eason
Before her marriage the subject of this sketch was Ella Dodds, daughter of
Perry P. and Caroline Dodds, the father a native of Ohio, the mother of Indiana. Her grandfather,
John M. Dodds, a Pennsylvanian by birth, married when a young man, Hazel Yazel, of Virginia, who, many years ago, moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, later transferring his residence to Hendricks township, Shelby county, in which he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. Perry Dodds, whose birth occurred near Dayton, Ohio, accompanied his parents to Shelby county and grew to maturity in Hendricks township, where in due time he married Caroline Kimball, who bore him two children, Ella, of this review, and Cora, now Mrs. Jackson Snyder, of Noble township, this county. After the death of the mother of these children, Mr. Dodds entered the marriage relation a second time and continued to live in the township of Noble, and followed the vocation of agriculture, until his removal to Shelbyville, where he engaged in the hardware business, and where he was called to his final reward on February 19, 1879.
Ella Dodds was born in Hendricks township, February 19, 1863,
grew up under excellent home influence and while still a mere miss, became familiar with the labors of the household and the other domestic duties which have such a decided influence in forming correct habits and directing the life of young womanhood into proper channels. Her first educational experience was acquired in the district schools near her home, but after her father removed to Shelbyville, she entered
the schools of that city and continued to attend the same until her intellectual
training was finished. After the death of her father she went to live with
an aunt by the name of Hannah Dodds, in whose home she was the
recipient of much kindness and under whose watch and care she grew to young
womanhood, with proper conceptions of life and its duties and responsibilities.
Miss Dodds remained under
the roof of her relative until her marriage, which was solemnized August 28,
1884, with James A. Eason, whose birth occurred February 10, 1845,
in Spencer, Indiana, but who for some time prior to choosing a wife and helpmeet
had lived in the county of Shelby. Mr. Eason was an intelligent and
enterprising business man, who took an active part in promoting the material
progress of the community in which he resided. He followed merchandising
for a number of years, met with gratifying success in the business, and at his
death, which took place on January 22, 1903, he left a valuable property to his
widow and children. The older of the children of James A.
and Ella Eason is Clinton, who was born August 30, 1886;
he married Emma Endicott, and lives in Norristown, where he has a
general store and commands a lucrative patronage. Ersa, the other
child of Mr. and Mrs. Eason, was born on the 19t of May, 1896, and is her
mother's assistant in the management of the home, and her companion when not
engaged in the duties of the household.
Mrs. Eason is an active
worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, of Norristown, and interested in the
various charitable and humanitarian enterprises of the community. Her
husband, having been identified with the Masonic Fraternity and the Improved
Order of Red Men, she united with the Pocahontas Lodge and the Eastern Star, at
Hope, Indiana, and since her initiation has been one of the societies' most
valued members. The career of Mrs. Eason has been a very active one since
the death of her husband; she has managed her various interests with signal
ability and success. She owns valuable property in Norristown, a fine farm
of one hundred and forty-two acres in section 32, Washington
township, which she
rents, and is also much interest in live stock, her specialty, however, being
poultry of the finer breeds, in the raising of which she has achieved an
honorable reputation among the leading fanciers of Shelby county.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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