Theodore Hoban
The family of this name has been identified with Noble township for sixty years, and during that time its members have done their full share in its developing and upbuilding. The founder of the Shelby County branch of the family, the Hon. Thomas Hoban, is still living on his farm in the township, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years. He is a native of Ireland, came over with his father when seven years of age, and went through the rough experience of a bound boy, a hard working tanner's apprentice and later as a western pioneer. After a long life of struggle, with its inevitable turns of fortune, he finally made good and is now enjoying a well earned repose. He was elected to the Legislature in 1884, served six years as Township Trustee, and was always a man of influence in his neighborhood. In 1843, while a resident of New York, he married Druzilla Crosby, by whom he had the following named children: John, Maria, Hopkins, Anthony, Elizabeth, Theodore, Calvin and Augusta, besides one who died in infancy.
Theodore Hoban, sixth of the family, was born in Noble township, Shelby County, Indiana, May 18, 1852. He was reared on the farm, received the usual district school education, learned all about the details of running a farm, and when manhood was reached, felt equal to the task of managing a place for himself. He married Laura Gue, born in 1864, and as a result of this union there were seven children: Augusta, born September 2, 1884, went through the common school branches; was two years in high school, attended the Marion Normal and taught two terms in Noble township. Denny, born September 12, 1889, went through the usual school course and two years in the high school, and graduated from the Marion Normal. Leroy, born October 11, 1889, and Edgar, born February 20, 1892, besides common school, had the advantage of a full term at the Geneva high school, from which Edgar graduated and obtained a degree. Madolin was born June 19, 1895; Zanie, September 19, 1898, and Morris, November 7, 1901. Those acquainted with the family say the children of Mr. Hoban are unusually bright, quick to learn and give promise of future usefulness in the various walks of life. Mr. Hoban, like his father, has always been a Democrat, though he has left the office seeking to others. He owns a neat farm of seventy-one and one-half acres, which he keeps in good condition and cultivates by modern methods. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, commonly known as the Grange, an interested in all agricultural affairs. For several years, he has been the proprietor and manager of a threshing machine, which does a good business in season.
Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, by Edward H. Chadwick, B.A., assisted by well known local talent, B.F. Bowen & Co, Publishers: Indianapolis, IN, 1909, page 664.
Submitted by Melinda Moore Weaver
Biography Index
Main Page