one of the first merchants of Muncie, was born September 22, 1812, at Charlestown, N. H. When he was but two years of age, his father died; but his guardian, George Olcott, was a noble, good man, and supplied, as far as possible, the father's place, by taking deep interest in his ward, and instilling into his mind good principles, and training him to the habits of industry and the knowledge of business forms, which led to success in later years. He entered the academy at Meriden, N. H., with his brother, Dr. William C. Willard, now deceased, to prepare for college; but he preferred a more active life, and, while his brother finished his studies and afterward enjoyed an eminent professional career, we find Charles leaving home, at the age of fifteen years, and entering upon his mercantile life in the capacity of a clerk at Rochester, N. Y., where he remined two years. At Lewiston, in the same State, he was engaged in a like capacity for one year, and then removed to Dayton, Ohio, which was regarded, at that time, as the "Far West." Here he entered the employ of David Stone, an extensive dealer in furs, and, in February, 1831, was sent by his employer to Muncie, to assist Mr. Thomas Kirby, who was buying furs, ginseng, etc., for the same house. He remained about four months as an assistant, and, at the end of that time, returned to Dayton and purchased Mr. Stone's interest in the business here. "His guardian," says one who was associated with him in life, "seems to have had great confidence in his business qualifications and integrity; for, although young Willard was not of age, Mr Olcott advanced him his share from his father's estate, and a sufficient amount besides, to enable him to purchase Mrs. Stones interest. That confidence was never misplaced."
In July, 1831, the firm of Kirby & Willard went into operation, and had a prosperous existence of four years. In 1835, Mr. Willard returned to the East, and, during this visit, met, for the first time, Miss Mary A. Putnam, to whom he was wedded after an acquaintance of five weeks. They reached Muncie, after a bridal tour over mountains and through forests, to what looked then like the outposts of civilization, and Mr. Willard began business without an associate, continuing until 1840, when he formed a partnership with Frederick E. Putnam. A year and a half later, this firm dissolved, chiefly through the desire of the senior member to settle up his affairs. he continued in business alone, however, until 1848, when he sold out to Moses L. Neely. This practically closed his business life, although he continued to own the marble-yard for several years thereafter.
In all his business, he manifested great industry and system, and believed that whatever was worth doing was worth doing well. He entertained the idea that every one should follow some useful occupation, and applied it to his own family, apprenticing his two sons to learn mechanical trades--George Olcott that of a stone-cutter, and Charles A. that of a jeweler and watch-maker. The latter established himself in business at Painesville, Ohio, whither the father removed in April, 1866, actuated by the desire to keep his family together, and here it was he died, on the 22d day of November, 1871. A sad blow fell upon him in his old age, which hung like a pall over the latter years of his life. His eldest son, George Olcott, was a young man of great promise. He was a Lieutenant in the Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteers, and one day, after the expiration of the regiment's term of service, he joined his comrades in a charge upon the rebels, in response to an appeal from their commander. In this engagment he was fatally wounded, and died before the dawn of another day. The father was telegraphed to come immediately, but reached him too late to receive his last message.
His children were eight in number--Emily, Frances, Emma C., George Olcott, Charles A., Florence Isabel, Mary Charlene and Roswell, three of whom were living at the time of his removal to Painesville, and only two of whom now survive--Charles A., and Mary Charlene, now the wife of F. A. Preston, of Evansiville, Ind.
Of his life and character, the friend before quoted said, in an obituary tribute in the Muncie Times of November 30, 1871: "In all the relations of life, he was a man. He was a good companion, possessing a fund of anecdote and reminiscence. A warm friend; in his younger days he took an active part in politics on behalf of his friends. Honest and upright in all his dealings, he acquired slowly and husbanded carefully. Unostentatious and plain, he was a foe to useless extravagance, believing it were better to save than to spend. His life is an example of honesty, frugality and virtue, meet to be set before our youth for their instruction and guidance." (Page 235)
Among the pioneer physicians of the West, there were many whose claims to this title were not backed by great ability or medical skill on the part of the doctors themselves; so that the name, "a pioneer physician of the West," in itself, means little, unless it be followed by a narrative of the doctor's attainments, proving the person to whom it is applied to be a superior man, as in the present case.
Dr. William C. Willard was born May 10, 1810, at Charlestown, N. H. He was the son of Roswell and Elizabeth (Taylor) Willard, and the brother of Charles F. Willard, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, and, like him, became the ward of Mr. George Olcott after the death of his father. He attended the academy at Meriden, N. H., and after a thorough course in that institution he entered Dartmouth College at Hanover, N. H., at the age of seventeen years, in 1827. In 1831, he received at this college the degree of Bachelor of Arts, thus becoming a member of the alumni society of which those great statesmen, Daniel Webster and Salmon P. Chase, were members, as well as the great surgeon, Reuben D. Mussey. Shortly after the completion of his preliminary studies, at the age of twenty-one years, he entered upon the study of medicine under the guidance of Dr. Mussey, then Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the Medical School of Dartmouth. He continued under the private tutorage of this great surgeon and good man for two years, and, during this time, attended several courses of lectures delivered by the Professors in the medical department of the college. He gave special attention to the sciences of which his private preceptor was the public teacher, and here laid the foundation of his excellent medical education.
Leaving Hanover, he returned to Charlestown, his native village, and became a pupil in the office of Dr. Samuel Webber, a physician "remarkable," it is said, "for his superior skill in the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases." He studied with Dr. Webber for three years, and, with his own natural ability, aided by the instructions of these two men, eminent in the profession, felt competent to embark in the practice independently. The West offered advantages to a young man greatly superior to those in the East, and he saw in this the opportunity of building up a practice and a name. It was perhaps about the year 1835 when he bade adieu to the scenes of his New England home and embarked for the frontier village of Jacksonville, in the State of Illinois. A brief residence at this place, however, served to convince him that it was not his proper field; and, in 1836, he came to the village of Muncietown (now the city of Muncie), whither his brother, Charles F., had preceded him. From the first, it was apparent to the citizens of the village that a physician of unusually fine attainments had located in their midst, and, as years sped on, and his fine skill was demonstrated in one obstinate case after another, this conviction became a settled fact. Greater devotion to a profession has never been manifested than that evinced by Dr. Willard in the course of his long and active career as a practitioner in this community. He was identifed with this palce during its progress from a village inthe woods to a city of the second magnitude, and, in all the public improvements which took place during that time, he extended a generous, helping hand. His position in the early days was far from pleasant. His patients were scattered over a large scope of undeveloped country, and to reach them he was compelled to travel over roads that were simple terrible. Yet he never refused to attend a call, however great the distance or however bad the route intervening between him and the one to whose physical welfare he was expected to administer. The labor incident to his profession wore upon his constitution, which, at best, was not rugged, and eventuated in his death, after a linger illness, at a time in life when he should have been at the meridian of his powers and enjoying a competence earned by faithful devotion in other years. But he never labored for a fortune, and was satisfied with a modest competence, sufficient to meet the requirements of his loved ones. "He practiced medicine," says a friend and one who kew him well, "not as a trade, to be pursued solely for the purpose of amassing wealth, but as a noble profession, to be followed more especially for the good it might confer upon others; for the preservation of health and the cure of disease. Great indeed must have been the eleemosynary services which he rendered in this community! But now he has gone to the great reward of a true physician--the vast incorruptible treasures which he has laid up for himself in heaven."
For many long, weary months preceding his death, he had veen confined to his house, and the announcement, made on Saturday, November 6, 1869, that he was no more, was not entirely unexpected; and yet, "it fell upon the startled ear almost like the dread summons to one's own household," says the Muncie Times, of November 18, 1869:
"So long had Dr. Willard been identified with our people, their growth and prosperity; been with them in their hours of sickness and suffering, that his name and fame were household treasures. No truer man ever lived in our midst. Kind and generous to a fault, skillful as a physician and sound of judgment, patient and untiring in the sick-room, he was beloved by all who know him, and will missed and mourned by many a family circle besides the one left most desolate."
In May, 1839, Dr. Willard was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Adams Putnam, a native of Quiney, Mass., and cousin of Frederick E. Putnam, of Muncie. His wife and three children survive him, but on daughter, Mary A., has since departed this life. Elizabeth E. and William R. still survive. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, has long been identified with the city schools of Muncie, and has wond a deservedly high reputation as an able teacher. (Pages 235-236)
was born May 11, 1821, in Scioto County, Ohio. 
His grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were of English birth, and owned large tracts of land in that county. His father, Lloyd Wilcoxon, Sr., was a native of Maryland, and served in the war of 1812. He was aferward engaged at the carpenter's trade in Ohio, and died at Muncie, Ind., at the age of seventy-five years. His mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Truitt, was a native of Pennsylvania, and a lady of English antecedents.
When in the eleventh year of his age (1832), the subject of this biography came with parent to Delaware County, with whose industrial interest he afterward became very prominently identified. Too young, when he left Ohio, to have enjoyed to any extent the educational privileges of that State, he attended the "subscription" schools of Delaware County during the winter seasons following his arrival. The daily round of labor on the farm occupied the greater portion of his time, and, trained thus early to habits of industry, he grew up with a character that taught him to love work, rather than to shun it. He soon became the owner of a farm, in the cultivation of which he was engaged until 1852. So successful were his labors in this pursuit that, in that year, he was enabled, with the capital he has amassed, to come to Muncie and engage in the purchase and sale of grain. Here success again crowned his efforts, and, in 1858, he added the manufacture of flour to his enterprise, erecting a large flouring-mill just south of the Bee Line track, on Walnut street. To this he has added substantial improvements from time to time, supply it with the best machinery and making, in all repects, a first-class mill. In 1874, he established a coal-yard, which has developed into an important and lucrative enterprise. He has always taken an active part in the public improvements of the county and city.
Knowing how important to the commercial life of a community are sufficient and advantageous outlets for its products, he has been the special friend and advocate of railways and gravel roads, and is a share-holder in every turnpike and railroad centering at Muncie, and is the Treasurer of two turnpike companies, viz.: The Walnut Street and the Muncie & Middletown Pikes. Though occupied with the cares of an extensive business, he yet finds time to minister to the temporal relief of those in distress, and contributes liberally to the support of various benevolent organizations. He is a strict temperance man, and carries his principles into his business, employing no man who used intoxication liquors as a beverage. He has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church since he was sixteen years of age, and, by an upright, honest life, has proved himself a worthy exemplar of the faith he professes. In 1854, he became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and, during that year, received all the degrees of the subordinate lodge and Encampment, and, two years later, he was chosen to represent both branches of the order at the meeting of the Grand Lodge of Indiana.
His early political training was in the Democratic school; but the platform and principles of the Republican party, at its organization, harmonized with his own views, and he was among the first to join its ranks. With this party he has ever since continued to act; and, while he has labored unselfishly for its success, he has never entertained any political aspirations, or permitted his name to be used as a candidate for office.
Through the means of honorable business and unremitting attention thereto, he has become wealthy, as the world views it; and, while building up his pecuniary fortunes, has gained what is still more precious--a good name, which shall endure when he has passed beyond the confines of time, and all that was mortal be perpetuated only in the hearts of those to whom his life was a example of purity and of unselfish integrity.
On the 28th day of March, 1842, he was united in marriage with Miss Rhoda, daughter of Lewis Moore, an early settler of Delaware County. This union was blessed by nine children--Mary A. (now deceased) was the wife of John R. Mason; Sarah E. is the wife of J. Milton Long; Amanda H. is the wife of Henry Bowman; John W. is deceased; Martha C. is the wife of W. H. Long; Charles C., Lydia J., Zulena and Emma P. reside with their parents. (Page 236)
Mr. Wilson was born in Champaign County, Ohio, in 1818. 
The country where he lived had not then fully recovered from the effects of the war, which closed only three years previous to his birth, and the public-school system was in a very crude state. From this fact, he grew up without the fine educational privileges within the reach of boys at the present day; and when, at the age of fifteen years, he came to Delaware County with his parents, Moses and Nancy (Porter) Wilson, his opportunities were even more circumscribed than when he lived in Ohio. His circumscribed than when he lived in Ohio. His circumstances, therefore, compelled him to grow up without the blessing of an education, except such as could be acquired in the school of experience and contact with the world. A naturally bright mind and quick perceptive faculties have enabled him to transact his business intelligently.
The date of his arrival in this county was the year 1833, and the locality in which his father entered his farm was in the midst of a dense wilderness. Both possessed the characteristics of the true pioneer, and entered vigorously upon the labor of clearing and preparing the ground for cultivation. This process occupied several years, and, in the meantime, they would raise small crops on the clearing they had made. Thus, year after year, Mr. Wilson was engaged, until the farm was cleared and he arrived at man's estate. 
October 15, 1840, at the age of twenty-two years, he was united in marriage with Miss Lavina Saunders, a lady of German ancestry, and daughter of George and Elizabeth Saunders, of Pennsylvania. This union was blessed with eleven children, named, respectively, George S., John, Mary J., Levi, Dennis, Alvin, Maria, Moses, Thomas Jasper, William A. and James, who died in infancy. Alvin is also deceased. The remaining children grew to maturity and married, and the veteran couple now have seventeen grandchildren living. In the vigor of his younger days, Mr. Wilson proved himself a man of prudent foresight by husbanding the earnings which were returned to him by his daily labor, laying up a competence to serve him in the period when the infirmities of age should preclude the continuance of active out-door work.
He has a fine farm of 250 acres in Center Township, the same on which his father settled forty-seven years ago, and which his own hands helped to clear and improve. He is a systematic farmer, and a man of sterling integrity, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all who know him. (Pages 236-237)