This biography was contributed by Narnie Woolley, who states that Joseph's full name was Joseph Collins Grove Maddox.

Transcribed from Standard History of Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana, pp.
535-537., by Tyndall, 1918.


Joseph C. G. Maddox. Fully three-quarters of a century have passed
since the Maddox family invaded the wilderness of Chester Township in Wells Countynty, and through the collective energies and resources of this one family
many acres of wild land have been cleared, the fruits of the field have been
gathered season after season, good homes have been established, families
reared, and the name is identified with everything good and useful in the
county. The life of Joseph C. G. Maddox has been in keeping with the record
set by the family as a whole, and for a number of years he gave his services
as an educator and for over thirty years has lived on the farm where he was
born in Chester township. His home is on Rural Route No. 2 out of Keystone.
Mr. Maddox was born on his present farm February 25, 1855, a son of
Wesley H. and Eliza A. (Groves) Maddox. His grandparents were Michael and
Frances (Williams) Maddox, natives of Virginia and of about the time of the
Revolution. Michael Maddox married for his first wife in Virginia Miss
Fraley, by whom he was the father of ten children, and altogether he had
eighteen children by two wives. In 1795, he removed to Adams County, Ohio,
and still later to Highland County, where he married Frances Williams. In
the fall of 1839 he removed with his family to Blackford County, Indiana,
settling two miles east of Montpelier. He entered a hundred sixty acres in
Section 11 of Harrison township of that county, cleared away a spot in the
woods, built a log cabin, and remained a faithful worker and a public
spirited resident of that community until his death on September 10, 1845.
He was a regular worshipper in the Methodist Episcopal faith. His widow
moved out to Nebraska in 1866 and died in Richardson County of that state
December 10, 1874. She was a very noble woman, deeply inclined to religious
work, possessed a great del of business-like and practical energy, and did
well by all her children. These children, all of whom reached maturity, were
Polly, Joseph C., Wesley H., William M., Wilson M., James J., Eliza A. and
Sarah, all of whom are now deceased.
Wesley Harvey Maddox, father of Joseph C., was the founder of the
family in Wells County and for many years one of its most highly esteemed
citizens. He was born in Highland County, Ohio, September 2, 1821, and in
1837 at the age of sixteen came to Indiana and joined a brother in Randolph Countynty. A little later he moved to Blackford County, where his parents
subsequently joined him, and he was with them until after his father's
death. In 1842 he and a half brother bought a hundred sixty acres of land in
Section 36 of Chester Township, Wells County. It is said that his half
brother gave a horse in payment of his share. Wesley H. Maddox did not have
a dollar of capital, and he paid for the land by the proceeds of his hunting
ability. He caught many coons and killed numerous deer, and in the course of
two years had his eighty acres paid for. In 1845 he bought the eighty acres
of his half brother. To pay for this he worked at wages of $10 a month or
thereabouts for four years in Wayne, Fayette and Union counties. The first
home on this farm was a log building 18 by 24 feet, erected by the first
occupant, who had settled there in 1841.
After coming to Wells County, Wesley H. Maddox became acquainted
with the Groves family, and on November 8, 1849, married Eliza Ann Groves,
oldest child of Thomas and Ann (Wilson) Groves. She was a native of Licking Countynty, Ohio. Her parents came to Wells County, Indiana, in 1839, and it is
said that they made their home under the wide spreading branches of an oak
tree until their log cabin was completed. Thomas Groves, a son of Robert and
Susanna Groves, was one of four brothers, Thomas, George, Joseph and Lewis,
all of whom came to Wells County and settled near Poneto. Joseph Groves set
aside a portion of his farm for a cemetery, and Susanna Groves, who died in
1840, was the first person buried there. Eliza A Groves was teacher of the
first school in Chester Township, and was a woman of much culture and
thorough education. She died May 9, 1874. Wesley H. Maddox and wife settled
on their farm two weeks after their marriage. Their land was in the midst of
the heavy timber, only one acre had been cleared, and their joint
possessions consisted of a bedstead, a few dishes, two cows and two colts.
Mr. Maddox soon made a table out of black walnut, and that was one of his
prized possessions for many years, and is now owned by Joseph C. G. Maddox.
Wesley Maddox made a living from his farm and from his prowess as a hunter,
and his property and prosperity increased until at one time he owned over
300 acres, with more that 200 acres in cultivation. He became a republican
upon the organization of the party, and filled various places of trust,
including that of township trustee. He and his wife had eight children,
seven of whom grew to maturity: Leander E., who became a physician and
married Mary E. Newman; Frances A., who married George W. Leach, and she
lost her life in the terrible Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago in 1903, her
daughter, Estella, who was with her at the time, being one of the few who
escaped; Joseph C. G., next in age; William M., who married Alice Tribell;
Sara E., wife of Amaziah Shields; Wesley H., Jr., who married Lulu Shields;
and Laura Belle, wife of John E. Markley.
Joseph C. G. Maddox grew up on the old homestead, acquired his early
education in the district schools and at Bluffton, and qualifying as a
teacher he spent the greater part of his time for fifteen years in that
work.
On June 11, 1879, he married Miss Elizabeth O. Dawson, who was born
in Nottingham Township of Wells County, and was educated in the common
schools. She was only three years of age when her mother died, and her
father was George Dawson. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Maddox began
keeping house a half mile east of Keystone, but in 1884 he gave up teaching
and has since devoted his entire attention to looking after his well
cultivated farm in Chester Township. He owns 240 acres, and in addition to
building up this fine estate has ample provision for his children in the way
of making a good home and giving them a liberal education. Mr. Maddox is a
republican in politics and is always ready with his support for any movement
that would benefit the community.
Mr. and Mrs. Maddox have three children, Hugh G., Chella D., and J.
Glenn. The oldest, Hugh G., was educated in the common schools at Keystone,
in the Montpelier High School, and took the law course at the State
University, graduating LL. B. in 1908. He is now on the farm with his
father. He married Carrie B. Steele of Bloomington, Indiana, and has one
child, Geraldine, born May 3, 1908. Mrs. Hugh G. Maddox died February 25,
1918. Chella D., the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Maddox, is a graduate of
the Keystone and Montpelier schools and was awarded the degree Master of
Arts by the Indiana State University. She is now the wife of Howard W.
Strait, and they live in Chester Township and have two bright young
children, J. Lowell and Elizabeth. J. Glenn, the youngest child, is a
graduate of the Keystone High school, and married Shirley A. Gaiser. Their
two children are Gaiser and Eulonda.