Hoosier Home - My Indiana Roots

	Family Biography *(Click on tree to go to Family Tree.)*
Carrie Creamer 1883-1978	Carrie Creamer was born 1 Dec 1883 near Borden, Clark County, Indiana, the eldest child of Asa B. Creamer and Ida Lillie Poole. As the oldest, Carrie grew up caring for her younger siblings and helping her mother manage the household on their family farm near Harristown, Washington County. On 10 July 1904 she and Ed Tackett were married in Salem, Washington Co. by Enoch Parr, a Christian minister. Their two sons were born in Salem: Clarence Edward in 1905, and Harry Lee in 1909. In 1948, six and one-half years after Ed's death, Carrie married Newton Chandler of Indianapolis. They divorced in the early 1960's, at which time Carrie moved to California to be with her sons. In her later years, Carrie fondly reminisced about her siblings and life on her family farm near Salem. She lived to a revered age of 95, and passed away on 26 December 1978.
Evanson Byers Earp M.D. 1899-1984	Born 17 May 1899 in Indiana, to Samuel Evingston Earp M.S., M.D. and his wife, Evelyn Mae Byers, Evanson Byers Earp was the eldest of their two sons. He earned a medical degree, as did his father before him, and became a doctor in Indianapolis. Evanson was in the armed services during World War I. About 1926 he married Helen Haight, who taught physical training. During 1934 Evanson was Worshipful Master for Ancient Landmarks Lodge No. 319 of the Free And Accepted Masons in Indianapolis. He died on 9 May 1984 in Phoenix, Arizona, and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianpolis on 16 August that year. Records indicate that Evanson also served as an Indianapolis 500 Riding Mechanic.
Elizabeth Izora Faust 1852-1906	The oldest child of George W. and Katherine Sheets Faust, Elizabeth Izora Faust was born 12 February 1875 in Baltimore, Maryland. By 1877 her family had moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where her father worked as a railroad engineer. Elizabeth attended Indianapolis High School (later known as Shortridge High), where she graduated in January 1896. She married John Knauss on 15 September 1902, after the death of her mother in March of that year. Elizabeth and John had two children: a son, George Faust, was born at his grandfather's home on 15 June 1903, and a daughter, Katherine Elizabeth, was born 16 May 1907. In 1952 Elizabeth and John celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Elizabeth died on 7 July 1957 in Los Angeles, California, where she and John had moved four years prior.
George W. Faust 1852-1906	George W. Faust was born on 8 June 1852 in Pennsylvania. In 1874 he married Katherine Elizabeth Sheets, of Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. By 1875 they had moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where George was employed by the railroad. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born February, that year. Two years later they had returned to Pennsylvania, where they weathered the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Their son, Harry, was born in Sunbury in January, that year. By 1879 the family had moved to Indiana, where another daughter, Perle, was born. George lived the remainder of his life in Indianapolis, working as a railroad engineer. In 1906, suffering from tuberculosis, George was accompanied by one of his daughters as he traveled to Denver, Colorado, where he entered a sanitorium. George Faust died in Denver on 11 April of that year. He was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis on 14 April 1906.
John Knauss 1874-1964	John Knauss was born on 16 Jun 1874 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the youngest son of William J. and Lena Simmerman Knauss. In 1892, at the age of 18, he was hired by Charles Mayer & Co., a retail store in Indianapolis, where he was employed for the next 45 years. He married Elizabeth Izora Faust, daughter of George W. Faust, on 15 September 1902. They made their home in Indianapolis for the next fifty years. The couple had two children: George Faust, born 15 June 1903, and Katherine Elizabeth, born 16 May 1907. In 1954 John and Elizabeth moved to Los Angeles to live near their children. After Elizabeth's death in 1957, John lived with his son, George, in Inglewood, California. He enjoyed family visits and smoking cigars until he passed away on 13 August 1964.
Katherine Elizabeth Knauss 1907-1991	Katherine Knauss was born in at her parents home on Bellifontaine in Indianapolis on 16 May 1907; she was the youngest child of John and Elizabeth Faust Knauss. Katherine graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in 1926. She was a member of Rho Chapter Sigma Beta Sorority. On 17 August 1927 she eloped with Harry Lee Tackett; they were married in Rochester, Indiana. On 12 January 1929 Harry and Katherine's daughter, Nancy Ann, was born; Katherine was devoted to her daughter, and later her grandchildren. During the depression she worked for Bank of America, but retired by 1940 and devoted her time to her family. She changed the spelling of her name to 'Kathryn.' In the late 1960's Kathryn was instrumental in helping the Los Angeles School District to begin to identify "special needs" students. Kathryn and Harry celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 17 August 1979. She passed away on 1 March 1991.
Harry Lee Tackett 1909-1979	The youngest son of Ed and Carrie Tackett, Harry Lee Tackett was born on 15 January 1909 in Salem, Indiana. From age 7 he lived in Indianapolis, where he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School. Harry was first employed as an usher at the Circle Theater in Indianapolis. On 17 August 1927 he married Katherine Knauss in Rochester, Indiana. Their only child, Nancy Tackett, was born in January 1929. Harry moved his family to Los Angeles during the depression, but returned to Indianapolis in 1941 where he entered the aeronautic engineering training program at Allison Division of General Motors. During WWII Harry served as a civilian attache to the Air Force in Casablanca. He was member of the Broad Ripple Masonic Lodge in Indianapolis, earning 33rd Degree Mason. In the 1950's he moved his family to Culver City, California. His career took him from Northrup Engineering, to CHALCO, and later to Hughes Aircraft, where he worked on NASA projects. Harry passed away 19 September 1979.
James Edward Tackett 1882-1941	'Ed' Tackett was born 11 April 1882 in Lexington, Scott County, Indiana, the fourth and youngest child of Elisha and Mary "Mollie" Ewing Tackett; he grew up in Scott and Washington Counties. On 10 July 1904 he married Carrie Creamer, daughter of Asa B. and Ida Lillie Creamer. They had two sons: Clarence Edward and Harry Lee Tackett. Ed earned a living variously as a teamster, watchman, and assembly line worker. About 1917 he moved his family to Indianapolis, where he was employed by the Marmon Herrington Co. Inc. and then, beginning in 1936, by RCA Electronics, working in the Sound Head Department. Their newsletter described him as "a jolly fellow (who) likes dancing, swimming, baseball and basketball." Ed passed away suddenly on 1 December 1941 at his home at 822 N. Dearborn, after suffering a coronary occlusion. He was buried on 3 December 1941 at Anderson Cemetery in Indianapolis.
Nancy Ann Tackett 1929-1975	The only child of Harry and Katherine Tackett, Nancy Tackett was born on 12 January 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She spent the depression years with her family in Glendale, California. Family oral tradition relates that for a short time during the early 1930's Nancy was a stand-in for Shirley Temple, and that her mother occasionally left her with a neighbor in their apartment building while she did errands---a young aspiring actor named Clark Gable. In 1940 Nancy returned with her family to Indianapolis, where she graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1944, then attended Butler College Conservatory of Music. In the early 1950's Nancy came back to the west coast with her family, where she married in 1953; she had three children. Nancy and her husband were divorced in 1963. She and her children were living with her parents when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1964. Nancy passed away on 9 October 1975.
Ora Tackett 1887-1952 & Nellie Barnett Tackett 1894-1984	Ora Tackett was the only child of David and Ellen Miller Tackett, and was raised in Clark County, Indiana. It is believed that he was, for the most part, self-educated. On 19 June 1909 Ora received a diploma from The Veterinary Science Association of London, Ontario, Canada, having completed what was probably a correspondence course in veterinary medicine. He was then issued a license to practice veterinary medicine by the State of Indiana. On 16 June 1916 he married Nellie Edna Barnett, the daughter of James M. and Nelie Lines Barnett; she had been raised by her aunt, Maria Lines Handley. Ora and Nellie raised their family of five children in Floyd and Harrison Counties in Indiana, Ora farming and practicing as a Veterinary Surgeon for such fees as his customers could afford during the depression. His two great loves were his family and his profession. In the late 1940's, Ora fell ill to an unknown maladay, of which he suffered until his death in 1952. His wife, Nellie, survived him by thirty-two years.

Family Biography