from The History of Hendricks County (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914)--pages 432-434
Among the men who have been material factors in the development of Hendricks County, there is no one who occupied a more prominent position than the late William Cosner. In every community there are some men who are known for their upright lives, strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political standing, and among such men was Mr. Cosner, who was not only a progressive man of affairs, successful in business pursuits, but a man of modest and unassuming demeanor, a fine type of the reliable, self-made American, a friend to the poor, charitable to the faults of his neighbors and ready to unite with them in every good work and active in the support of laudable purposes. He was a man who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was universally held, for he was a man of public spirit, intellectual attainment and exemplary character.
William Cosner was born in Wayne County, Indiana, August 25, 1835, and died in Clay Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, April 3, 1912. His parents were Anthony and Catherine (Phillips) Cosner, both of whom were born and reared in North Carolina. After their marriage they moved from that state to Indiana, settling in Wayne County, where they lived for five years, at the expiration of which time they moved to Hendricks County and located near Amo. Anthony Cosner here entered government land and started to carve out his fortune from the virgin wilderness. He built a log cabin, cleared the land and started to make a comfortable living for his large family. To Anthony and Catherine Cosner were born nine children: John, who married Eliza Whicker and, after her death, Louise Rolly; Mahlan married first, Catherine Boswell, second, Susan Weavel, and after her death, Elizabeth Bloom; Samuel, who married Nancy Walls; Lucinda, who became the wife of Moses Stanley, and after his death married Austin Williams; Sarah married William Page and, after his death, William Wilhite; Ann and Elizabeth died in infancy. The paternal grandparents of William Cosner reared a family of seven children, Anthony, father of the subject of this sketch, Mary, Hannah, Lovey Peggy, Elizabeth, William and Sarah. Anthony Cosner died in 1889, while his wife died in 1873.
William Cosner received his education, which was very limited indeed, in the schools of his home township. While still a small boy he started to work on his father's farm, where he continued to labor until his father's death, in 1889. However, before that date he built a home of his own and his father made his home with him.
William Cosner married Sarah E. Hine, the daughter of Winfield and Catherine (Reed) Hine. They were married during the Civil War, in April, 1862, and to this union were born two children, Elma Leota and Alda Ketura. Elma Leota married Phineas Purcell, and has two children, Roy and Flora; the latter lives with her grandmother; Roy married Elizabeth Miller and has three children, Max, Elma L. and Dorothy. Alda married Walter Moon and has three children, Wilbur, Adna and Larue.
Mrs. Cosner's parents came from North Carolina to this state and first located near Coatesville in 1852. After remaining there for a short time they moved to Franklin Township, this county, where they lived until their death. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah, the wife of Mr. Cosner; Mary, wife of Scott Askren; Loren married Nettie Wilcox; Leroy, deceased in infancy; Emma, wife of Albert Masten; Lucinda, wife of Milton Patterson; Jane, wife of James Hollowell; Laura and Roxey, who are unmarried, live in Danville. The mother of these children died January 17, 1899, and the father two days later. Mr. Cosner's maternal grandparents reared a family of eight children, Joseph, Winfield, Eli, Nathaniel, Louis, Roginia, Nancy and Jane.
Mr.Cosner was a life-long Republican and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856. He never asked his party for public office, being content to serve as a private in the ranks, doing what he did in the local caucuses and primaries. His religious faith was that of the Baptists and throughout his long life he was a strong believer in the teachings of that denomination and lived according to these doctrines. His life was characterized by its Christian beauty and character and it should be a model for coming generations in Hendricks County.