from The History of Hendricks County (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914)--pages 653-656
The gentleman whose biographical record is here given was for a long lapse of years one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Hendricks County. His well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of hid business interests and his sound judgment have brought him a fair measure of prosperty, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by the man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors in the face of seemingly discouraging circumstances. As a native son of Hendricks County he patriotically served his country during our great Civil War, and in all the relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
James B. Dooley was born in 1837, about one mile west of Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana. He is a son of Moses and Elizabeth (Bohannan) Dooley. Moses Dooley was born in Virginia in 1799, and at the age of thirteen years came to the state of Kentucky with his mother, his father having died in Virginia. The mother and son lived in Shelby County, Kentucky, and there Moses grew to manhood and married Elizabeth Boahnnah, a native of that state. In pioneer days Moses Dooley and his wife came to Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana. That was a primitive day, and he assisted in the clearing of timeber from the court house yard in Danville. Their eldest child, Martha J., was born in Kentucky, and their other children were born in Hendricks County. Moses Dooley's first farm was one mile west of Danville, but later he moved to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres situated between Belleville and Clayton. He met with pecuniary misfortune by going security for a friend and crediting others, which caused him to lose his farm. He had only three hundred and fifty dollars left, but later succeeded in buying another farm six miles northwest of Danville, in Marion Township, where his son, James B., the immediate subject of this sketch, grew to manhood.
James B. Dooley was married in 1860 to Mary Buntin, daughter of Harvey Buntin and a sister of John H. Buntin, of North Salem, Hendricks County. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company H of the Ninety-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee under General Logan and General Sherman. Major J.B. Homan, of Danville, was captain of this company and Rev. D.R. Lucas was chaplain. Mr. Dooley participated in some of the important battles of the war, among them being the battles of Dalton, Resaca, Atlanta, and many other engagements incidental to the march to Atlanta. With his company he accompanied Sherman to the sea, and was near Raleigh, North Carolina, when Johnson surrendered to General Sherman. The Ninety-ninth Regiment did as much marching as any in the service. Before going on the Atlanta campaign it saw much hard service at Haines Bluff during the siege of Vicksburg. They also participated in the battle of Mission Ridge and many other noted engagements. From Raleigh the horses and mules and artillery were loaded on cars and shipped to Washington, and the infantry was obliged to walk. They marched through Petersburg, Richmond and on to Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review, Mr. Dooley receiving an honorable discharge at the close of the war.
After the war Mr. Dooley returned to Hendricks County, reaching home on June 15th, a late time of the season for a farmer to start work. His good wife had saved five hundred dollars from money he had sent her from the front, and she, like many other patriotic women of that day, had, by dint of hard work in the harvest fields and by other heavy labor, managed well. He was thus enabled to buy a small farm, chiefly on credit, which he was able to dispose of the following spring at a profit. He then purchased twenty acres, paying cash, and this gave him a substantial start. He subsequently traded this and secured more land in Marion Township, and in time became the owner of a good sized farm, a part of which, however, was inherited by his wife. He and his wife had eighty acres in one tract and he had fifty-two acres in another part of the township, where the family home was established. He farmed there until he was unable longer to bear the burden of active work.
To James B. and Mary (Buntin) Dooley were born four children: Hattie, the first born, is the wife of William Bowman, and they live at Maplewood, Indiana, and have two children, Ernest and Homer. Minnie is the wife of Edward Dow and they live on East Twelfth Street, Indianapolis, and have six children, Mary, Lora, Ruby, Vivian, Phyllis and Byron. Lizzie is the wife of John Crosby, a successful farmer, and they live two miles north and three-quarters of a mile east of New Winchester, Indiana, and they have two children, Ray and Carlos, both now students at Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Lester, the youngest by Mr. Dooley's first marriage, died at the age of eighteen months. The first Mrs. Dooley died in 1903. She was a faithful member of the Christian Church at New Winchester, and a woman of many lovable traits of character. On November 17, 1908, Mr. Dooley was married to Mrs. Leanah (Buntin) (Walton) Wright, a sister of his first wife. She was born about two miles west of New Winchester and grew to womanhood in Marion Township. In January 1861, she married William Walton. Oen son, Amos McClellan Walton, born of this union, died at the age of two years, of diphtheria. Mr. Walton and Mr. Dooley enlisted for service in the Civil War at the same time and in the same company, and were together until Mr. Walton's death by typhoid fever, near Lagrange, Tennessee, in the winter of 1862-3. Mrs. Walton later married John Wright, a native of Marion Township, a son of William Wright and wife, who were pioneer settlers in Marion Township. William Wright was in Missouri at the time the Civil War began and came home and enlisted in the state militia which was called into service at the time of Morgan's raid. Mr. Wright was a farmer and did a great deal of teaming and hauling timber. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wright lived for seven years in the state of Illinois, when Mr. Wright's health failed and they then returned to Hendricks County, where he died. Mrs. Wright remained a widow twenty-four years, during which time she lived on a farm in Marion Township. There were seven children born of her marriage to William Wright. Lena is the wife of Otis Hedge and they live near Valley Mills, and they had two children, only one living, Edna, who is the wife of Chester Jay. Retta, the second child, died at the age of twenty-one. Oscar Wright is a grocer and horseman at Franklin, Indiana. Maude is the wife of Fred Sears and they live in the eastern part of Marion Township, Hendricks County, and have one daughter, Maxine. Donna was the wife of Charles Graham and both are deceased, leaving two children, Vesta and Bernice. Alice is the wife of Raymond Rudd and they live at Franklin, Indiana, where Mr. Rudd is a partner with Oscar Wright in the grocery business; they have two daughters, Farrell and Leanah. Homer Wright has been a government employee in the Indianapolis post office for past eight years and makes his home with his mother and Mr. Dooley. James B. Dooley is retired from active life, and on September 15, 1909, removed to his present home at No. 1902 Commerce Avenue, Indianapolis, which they had bought a year before. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church and he belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he was formerly a Republican, but is now allied with the Progressive Party.
Mr. Dooley has always been a loyal and patriotic man, loyal to the laws of his country in times of peace and patriotic in defense of the flag in times of peril. He was one of six sons, of whom five were soldiers in the Civil War, and none of them were in the same regiment. Henry was wounded and Arthur was captured and confined in a Confederate prison, but all came home alive.