Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
Isaac C. Doan
One of the pioneer families of Clinton county, Ohio, was that which now finds a worthy representative in Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana, in the person of Isaac C. Doan. Both he and his ancestors have belonged to the Society of Friends, and have exemplified in their daily lives the noble principles of kindness, peace, justice and benevolence. Whatever has been conducive to the peace and permanent welfare of this, their native land, they have earnestly supported, and for the most part they have led quiet, pastoral lives, in direct communion with nature.
Born near Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, November 26, 1837, Isaac C. Doan is a son of Joseph and Eliza (Carpenter) Doan, who were of English and Welsh descent respectively. The father was a son of Josiah and grandson of John Doan, both of whom were residents of North Carolina, the former born in Guilford county, that state, in 1759. There he married Jemima Vestal, and some years afterward he removed with his family to Clinton county, Ohio, where he was one of the earliest settlers. He took up a tract of land in the forest, and often hunted panthers, bears, deer and other game on the present site of Wilmington. He died May 28, 1838, and all of his nine children also are deceased. They are named as follows: William, Thomas, Jesse, Jacob, Jonathan, Elisha, Joseph, Rachel and Elizabeth.
Joseph Doan, the father of our subject, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1794, and was a lad of ten years when he came to the north. Arrived at maturity, he bought a farm situated three miles to the northwest of Wilmington, and there he reared his children. For his day, he was a man of good education, and for a number of years he taught successfully in the local schools. He was a natural mathematician, and having learned the principles of surveying he was employed to some extent in that calling. At times he worked as a stone and brick mason, and as a carpenter he was likewise an adept, building many of the houses and barns in his section of the county. With these diverse interests he did not neglect his farm, which he cleared and greatly improved. His homestead comprised one hundred and thirty acres. In view of the fact that he commenced life a poor boy, his success was truly remarkable, and his influence in his community was always exerted for the good of his neighbors. He was a strong Whig, and when the Republican party was organized he enrolled his name under its banner. Loved, admired and looked up to by all who knew him, he at length received the summons to the better land, his death occurring March 1, 1861. In the Friends church he was a zealous member from boyhood, and in later life was an elder and preacher. Of the ten children born to himself and wife, Eliza, all grew to maturity save Edward, the eldest son, who was killed by a falling tree when he was ten years of age. The other children are as follows: Mrs. Phœbe Timberlake, who lives near Wilmington, Ohio; Nathan and Thomas, deceased; Jacob, of Santa Clara county, California; M. Jemima, wife of Dr. Edwin Hadley, of Richmond; Mary and Joseph, deceased; and Isaac C. and Elizabeth, of Richmond. Thomas offered up his life to his country, dying after four years of hard and active service in the defense of the union. For one year he was captain of a company in the Twelfth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and later he was a lieutenant-colonel and brevet colonel of the One Hundred and First Indiana.
Reared in the parental home and educated in the elementary branches of learning in the vicinity, Isaac C. Doan then pursued the higher branches of the sciences and languages in Earlham College, at Richmond, and was in his junior year when the civil war broke out. He enlisted in Company B, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, September 17, 1861, as a private and served for three years and twenty-two days, being discharged, near Atlanta, October 7, 1864. During the last year of his army life he was sergeant and clerk to the adjutant-general at brigade headquarters. Among the numerous battles in which he participated were Middle Creek (Kentucky), Franklin, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Buzzards' Roost, Snake Creek Gap, Rocky Face Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Kingston, Altoona, Pinetop Mountain, Kenesaw, New Hope Church, Chattahoochie, Peach Tree Creek, storming of Atlanta and the engagements at Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station. During the engagement at Chickamauga, on Sunday afternoon his regiment lost forty-five per cent, of their men in killed and wounded, and Mr. Doan received a slight injury to his ankle. He was very actively engaged in the famous storming of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, and participated in the whole Atlanta campaign, which included many decisive battles. For seventeen days he was on continuous duty in front of Kenesaw, and often for weeks at a time he was under almost constant fire of the enemy.
Returning home, Mr. Doan came to Richmond early in 1866, and has since been a citizen of this place. For three years he was engaged in contracting and building, but for thirty years he has been in the fire and life insurance business, and now represents twelve of the leading companies in the United States. For a quarter of a century he has acted in the capacity of a notary public, and has transacted a large amount of business for the public. In politics he has been a stanch Republican since he became a voter, and in 1894 and in 1898 he was his party's candidate for the county clerkship of this county, to which he was elected November 8, 1898. Fraternally he belongs to Sol Meredith Post. No. 55, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is past commander; Richmond Lodge, No. 196, Free and Accepted Masons; King Solomon's Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; Woodward Lodge, No. 212, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Encampment No. 28 of the same order. Religiously he adheres to the Friends' faith, as has previously been stated.
The first marriage of Mr. Doan was solemnized in 1865, when Miss Matilda Macy became his bride. Their only surviving child is Mary Yeo, of St. Louis. Mr. Doan's present wife, to whom he was married in 1886, was formerly Miss Miriam Allen, of this city. Two children were born to them, of whom Marguerite C. survives.
Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899