Randolph  County,  Indiana

Charles  E. Milligan


            The writer of biography, dealing in the personal history of men engaged in the various affairs of everyday life, occasionally finds a subject whose record commands exceptional interest and admiration and especially is this true when he has achieved more than ordinary success or made his influence felt as a benefactor of his kind or a leader of thought.  Dr. Charles E. Milligan, of Winchester, is eminently of that class who earn the indisputable right to rank in the van of the army of progressive men, and by reason of long and strenuous efforts devoted to the good of his fellows, to the alleviation of their physical sufferings, he occupies a position of wide influence and has made a name which will long live in the hearts and affections of the people of Randolph county. For nearly a quarter of a century, or through the period that marked the recent great development in this locality in a material way, he has been practicing medicine here and his name has become a household word throughout the county.
            Dr. Milligan was born June 21, 1862, in Jay county, Indiana, near Portland, on a farm. He is a son of  William B. and Harriet L. (Morehous) Milligan. The father was born in Highland county, Ohio, and the mother was a native of the state of New York. William B. Milligan came west with his parents in 1837 and settled in Jay county, Indiana. There his father, Wilson Milligan, began life in typical pioneer fashion, erecting his cabin in the woods, cleared the virgin land and developed a good farm through his industry. A part of the homestead became the property of his son William B., who purchased more land adjoining and there devoted his active life to agricultural pursuits, dying there on July 6, 1912. Like his father before him he was a hard working, honest, hospitable man, well liked throughout the community. Politically, he was a Republican in early life, later a Prohibitionist, and was always interested in public matters on which he kept well informed, but he was never an office seeker, notwithstanding the fact that he was frequently urged to become a candidate for various offices. The Morehous family came west when the subject of this sketch was about two years of age, settling also in Jay county, where the parents of the Doctor grew to maturity, were educated and married. Like the Milligans the Morehous family were prominent people in that locality. The mother died on the old home place on January 14, 1914. She was a faithful member of the United Brethren church, as was also her husband. They were the parents of five sons, all of whom are living at this writing, Charles F. having been the third in order of birth.
            Doctor Milligan was reared on the home farm where he did his share of the work, and during the winter attended the district schools, later was a student at Valparaiso Normal school, then took a course in the Nelson Business College, of Cincinnati. He began life for himself by teaching in the rural schools of Jay county for a period of eight years, during which he became one of the leading teachers of that county his services being in great demand. But finally tiring of the school room and believing that his most serious vocation lay in another direction, he entered the Physio-Medical College, of Indianapolis, in the fall of 1888, from which institution he was graduated in March, 1890. The following month he came to Winchester and successfully engaged in the general practice, taking his place in the front rank of the leading medical men of this section of the state, and, having remained opened an office and here he has remained continuously to the present time, a close student, he has kept fully abreast of the times in everything that pertains to his profession. He is a member of the Randolph County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
            Politically, the Doctor has always been a Republican and has been more or less active and interested in public matters. In 1901 he was elected a member of the City Board of Education and is now serving his twelfth consecutive year, and he has done much toward bettering local educational conditions. On October 2, 1911, he was appointed a member of the Board of Examining Surgeons of the United States Pension Department without any solicitation on his part, and he is now president of the board, the duties of which responsible position he is discharging in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. He has various business interests other than his profession.
            Dr. Milligan was married September 3, 1895, to Winnifred Hinshaw, a daughter of  Elijah and Rebecca (Lawrence) Hinshaw, a prominent Randolph county family. This union has been without issue. The Doctor and wife are members of the Friends church, he being a member of the board of trustees and treasurer of the same. Both are active in church and Sunday school work.
Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana, 1914.
Contributed by Gina Richardson

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