Hon.  Thomas  Hoban

           Originating in Ireland, the family of this name has been identified with the United States for more than eighty years.  In the early part of the last century, John Hoban married  Maria Grimes, by whom he had four children -- John,  Thomas,  Maria and  Nicholas.  The mother dying, her husband married Mary Moore and about 1829, emigrated to America, locating in New York.  Thomas Hoban, the second child by the first marriage, was born in Ireland in October 1822, and was seven years of age when the family crossed the ocean.  He was bound over to a Mr. McMurray, the conditions being that he was to remain until of age, but was to have three months' schooling each year, and at the expiration of the contract was to have a horse, saddle and bridle.  He started in November 1833, but five years later left his employer on the grounds that he was not complying with his contract.  Young Hoban went to Connecticut in May 1837, secured work as a farm laborer and remained in that state until 1840.  Returning to his old neighborhood in New York, he found work as a laborer in a tannery, worked for three or four years and learned the trade.  He came to Indiana in 1850 with but little capital, but by virtue of hard work, perseverance and economy, he succeeded, and eventually became one of the prosperous farmers of Noble township.  At present, he owns three hundred acres of good farming land with all modern improvements and a comfortable home.  In his young days, he was one of the most prominent men in the township and a leader of the local Democracy, to which he had given a life-long allegiance.  He served for six years as Trustee of Noble township, and in 1884, was elected to the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, as Shelby County's Representative in the House.  He served during one session and introduced a number of bills, one of which provided for two cents a mile railroad fare, perhaps the first of its kind in the state.  He has retired from active business and is spending the evening of life in repose.
          In 1843, Mr. Hoban was married in New York to Druzilla Crosby, a lady of English descent, by whom he had nine children:  Maria, wife of  Thomas Durbin, who takes care of her father; John N., a farmer of Tipton County; Hopkins, a resident of Oklahoma; Anthony, a resident of Noble Township;  Elizabeth, widow of  John E. Mason;  Theodore, a resident of Noble township;  Calvin, deceased; Gusta and  Leslie.  Thomas N. Durbin, who married Maria Hoban, was born in Butler County, Ohio, December 1, 1841.  His father was Nicholas Durbin, a native of Ireland, who came to America in an early decade of the last century.  Thomas N. enlisted in 1861, in Company F, Third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years as a private.  In 1864, he re-enlisted in Company C, Eleventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was made first sergeant of his company, and served until the close of the war.  Mr. Durbin has an unusually honorable war record.  He went through all the severe campaigns of the West, including the march from Chattanooga to Atlanta in 1864, and fought in nineteen battles besides many skirmishes.  He was honorably discharged at Camp Denison, Ohio, in June 1865, and shortly afterwards, came to Shelby County.  February 20, 1866, he married Maria Hoban, by whom he had three children:  Nettie, born November 1-, 1867, is the wife of  Simon Dunlap, of Indianapolis; John N., born April 28, 1868, is farming one hundred and sixty acres of land in Noble township;  Elcanah, born in October 1862, is a resident of Tipton County; Mr. Durbin is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has served as post commander.  In politics, he is a Democrat, and the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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 662.
Submitted by Melinda Moore Weaver


          “Thomas Hoban, ex-Representative, was born in Ireland in 1822.  His parents, John  and  Mariah (Grime) Hoban, natives of Ireland, had four children, three sons and a daughter.  While the children were very young their mother died, and not long after Thomas came to America with his father.  In 1833, he went to live with  Mr. Henry McMurry  of Delaware County, N. Y., with whom he lived six years, going to school some of the time.  He then went to Connecticut where he worked for three years, then peddled, making his way back to New York.  He was married April 12, 1843, to  Miss Donzilla Crosby, daughter of  Hopkins  and  Elizabeth (Weed) Crosby, of New York and Connecticut, respectively.  Soon after Mr. Hoban was married, he purchased forty acres of land in Delaware County, N. Y., where he lived for several years.  After this he owned several small farms.  He moved to Shelby County in 1850, and bought the farm where he now lives in 1857.  It is located on the south bank of the Flatrock.  He is an active worker in the Democratic ranks, and served as Township Trustee from 1865 to 1870.  He was also elected as Representative in 1884.  Tired of political life he is now farming and stock raising.  He is the father of nine children, seven now living:  John,  Hopkins,  Anthony,  Theodore,  Calvin,  Mariah  and  Elizabeth.  Mr Hoban's first wife died June 22, 1879, and he married again in June, 1882, Mrs. Oliva (Barlow) Keisling, born in Indiana, May, 1843.  Mr. Hoban is a man of great public enterprise and is highly respected."
From pp. 729-30 of Brant & Fuller's 1887  History of Shelby County, Indiana / Noble Sketches
Submitted by Don T. Mitchell

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