Green Mc Cord was born in Clermont county Ohio December 28, 1826, and is a son of William and Hannah (Warren) McCord, also natives of Ohio, and whose descendants now constitute one of the best-known families of the Hoosier state. William McCord, however, died in New Orleans, Louisiana, whither he had gone for some business purpose not many years after his marriage, and doubtless succumbed to the deadly febrile disorder so prevalent at certain seasons of the year in that city and commonly designated yellow fever. This surmise is suggested by the fact that his wife’s father had attained the ripe age of eighty yeas and died in Ohio, where he had passed his entire life, honored by all who knew him. Mrs. Hannah (Warren) Mc Cord was not, however, very long-lived, as she died in Decatur county, Indiana, in 1851, at the age of fifty-one years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. William McCord were four in number and in order of birth were named as follows: Smith; Philo, deceased; Green, whose name opens this biographical notice, and Adeline, who was married to James Sumpter, but, with her husband, is now deceased.

The early education of Green McCord was acquired in the district schools of Ohio and Indiana, such as they were, but as he was possessed of a very retentive memory and was therefore quick to learn and retain what he had learned, and added by self-application to his school-acquired knowledge, he found himself qualified for teaching at the age of twenty-four and in 1850-51 assumed charge of a school in Decatur county, Indiana, meeting with flattering approbation.

In 1853 Mr. McCord went to Iowa and there engaged in farming until 1857, when he returned to Hancock county and rented a farm in Vernon township, on which he resided two years or more. In 1864 he rented his present farm, but prospered so well that he was able to buy it in 1868. At that time twenty acres only of the eighty acres comprising the place had been cleared and the only improvement was a log cabin, contrasted with which his farm of today is a paradise and a pride to the surrounding country, all the result of his personal labor and indefatigable industry.

The marriage of Mr. McCord was solemnized in August, 1849, with Miss Susan Noakes, daughter of Amos and Mahala (Weathers) Noakes, of Decatur county, seven children being the result of the happy union, namely: John William; Ebenezer Webster; Hamilton W.; Andrew W.; Clara deceased; Millie, wife of Charles M. Kennedy; Nellie, married to Simeon J. Klepfer.

Mr. McCord was initiated into the mysteries of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1864, at Fortville, Indiana, but is now a member of McCordsville Lodge No. 338, at the village of the same name. His religion he finds within the pale of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the maintenance of which he is one of the most liberal contributors and the doctrines of which occupy a large share of his daily thoughts; of this church he has been a consistent member since 1862. The military experience of Mr. McCord has been confined to a membership in the Fall Creek Guards, the most notable duty of which was its service during the raid of the noted Gen. John Morgan. Among the most memorable sights that Mr. McCord has witnessed and that can be classed as historical was that when the remains of Abraham Lincoln lay in state at Indianapolis, en route for its final resting place at Springfield, Illinois. Mr. McCord voted the Democratic ticket until 1860, when he cast his franchise for Stephen A. Douglas, but since that date he has affiliated with the Republican party. He has never been an office seeker, but his present popularity and high standing in Vernon township are due entirely to his personal merits, as is his fortune to his personal efforts.

Transcribed from Biographical Memoirs of Hancock County B. F. Bowen, Publisher, Logansport, Indiana, 1902 Pages 408-409.

Submitted by Sylvia (Rose) Duda, Laingsburg, MI Sept. 22, 2003.

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