USA > Indiana > Clark County > Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana > Part 14
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Samuel Mckinley was born in Borden in 1836 and still resides at the family homestead. The tanyard, where he worked at his trade as a tanner, was first the property of his father. At a later period it belonged to an elder brother, and in 1866 our subject bought it and conducted a steady business
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there until 1907, when ill health caused him to retire from the tanning busi- ness. Though advanced in years he is still active and deals very profitably in hides and furs. He is a prominent member of the Christian church and a man of importance in local affairs.
Samuel Mckinley married Louise Scheicher, who was born of French parentage in Louisiana. Her father was Louis Scheicher, a native of the old province of France-Alsace-Lorraine; her mother, Catherine Scheicher. was also born in France.
On June 9, 1870, a son, Albert, was born to Samuel Mckinley and wife. He is the popular postmaster of Borden. Albert Mckinley was educated at the public schools and at Borden College and had a good college record. He was a precocious youth and at the age of fifteen started a small store, which developed into a large general store, which he sold at a good figure in May, 1906. At the age of twenty-one he was appointed postmaster of Borden, or New Providence, as it was then known, the appointment coming from Presi- dent Harrison. He completed his term of office of four years in an ad- mirable manner and was classed among those whose offices were excellently conducted. On July 27, 1897, he was re-appointed postmaster, a position which he has held ever since. In January of the year 1896 he married Eva M. Johnson, an event which marked the commencement of a happy married life. Four children have been born to them. They are: Carl, Ray, Robert and Mary Louise.
Albert Mckinley is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1902 he was the Republican candidate for Representative but the county went, as it usually did, Democratic, and Albert Mckinley accompanied his state ticket in the landslide. In 1904 he was elected chair- man of the County Committee (Republican), and on going forward as a candidate for the Legislature he carried his own township and had the pleas- ure to be the first Republican on the county ticket to carry Wood township. For sixteen consecutive years ending in 1906 he has been a delegate to the state convention of his party, and has always found himself on the County Committee. During his County Chairmanship the county, usually six to eight hundred Democratic, went Republican.
Outside of politics Albert Mckinley is quite as popular and successful. He has two fine farms and a beautiful home in Borden. He may be safely slated as a self-made man as he has been making his own way and making his presence felt in the community since his life reached the fifteenth and a half year mark.
His father, Samuel Mckinley, is also extensively known and respected. Since his lapse into the less strenuous life of his present occupation he spends more time in the association of old acquaintances, which is one of his chief delights.
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CHARLES W. DEAN.
Bartholomew Dean, familiarly known to his friends as "Bart," is a native of Ireland and a good representative of the genial, rollicking sons of the famous little country beyond the sea. He is sociable, always ready for a harmless joke, and knows how to make as well as hold friends. His parents brought him to America in 1840, when he was quite young and he had to shift for himself from an early period, but always managed to "get there" in whatever he undertook. After his father's death in New York, he came West and found himself in Illinois at the opening of the Civil war. Like most of the first immigrants he was patriotic and determined to offer his life in defense of the Union. Shortly after the first call for troops he enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and with his command was soon hurried to the front. He served four years, made a good soldier and after being honorably discharged came to Jeffersonville, where he has since made his home. He married Mary, daughter of Michael Halpin, who was born near Windsor, Canada.
Charles W. Dean, son of Bartholomew and Mary (Halpin) Dean, was born at Jeffersonville, in 1866, and as he grew up attended both the Catholic and public schools in his native city. After finishing his studies he learned the blacksmith's trade and worked at it until he was twenty-five years old. He then went into business for himself and has continued the same up to the present time. He is a member of the Eagles and of the St. Augustine's Catholic church. In personal appearance Mr. Dean is a tall, well built man, who looks younger than his years. His residence is in the same building where he carries on his business and as his disposition is social he has many friends. In 1890 he was married to Rosa Shane, of Madison, Indiana. Her father was Michael Shane and her mother before her marriage was Amelia Lichtenthaler. Mr. and Mrs. Dean have three children, Mary, Dora and Charles.
JOSEPH E. HADDOX.
When Longfellow wrote his famous poem on "The Village Blacksmith," which was read with delight by so many boys in the old McGuffey readers, he must have had in view men of the type of Mr. Haddox. This gentleman, long and favorably known in and around Borden, fills the bill exactly. He has the brawney arms like those of which Longfellow wrote. the kindly dis- position, and the unpretentious industry which was so warmly praised by the poet as characteristic of the typical blacksmith. Perhaps the oldest of all the trades, it is also one of the most useful and it is well that all should be taught
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to respect those who pound out their living on the resounding anvil, to the harsh roar of the busy bellows. It is pleasing to speak a good word for men of this kind, and none deserve it more than Joseph E. Haddox, whose family sprang from what is now West Virginia, in the neighborhood of Wheeling.
Many years before the Civil war Elijah and Elizabeth (Smith) Haddox joined the tide of emigration that was setting in for the West, and after jour- neying down the Ohio for many miles concluded to land at Jeffersonville and locate in Clark county. With them came their son, John W. Haddox. who married Paulina, daughter of Southman Dietz, who lived at Blue Lick, near Memphis, since the early days. Joseph E. Haddox, who was one of the children by this marriage, was born near Memphis, Clark county, in 1860. School facilities were not of the best in those days but he managed to pick up some "book learning" during brief terms in the district school-house, mostly in winter time and then rather irregularly.
His father had been a blacksmith and accordingly he learned the trade tinder him and concluded to make it the business of his life. He opened a shop at New Providence in 1890 and now has the largest and best smithy at that point. He has prospered, owns his own home, is a good, quiet citizen, devoted to his family and daily duties and lives a happy life. He belongs to New Providence Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Modern Woodmen.
In 1878 Mr. Haddox and Barbara A., daughter of Christopher and Bar- bara A. (Frailey) Young, were married. The latter's father was Henry Frailey, one of the first settlers in Rockford, Indiana. Christopher Young was the son of Christopher C. Young, who came from Pennsylvania, set- tled in Ohio and later came to Clark county, arriving about 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Haddox have four children: Annetta, Ivareena, Lelia Belle and Nina Barbara. The parents belong to the Christian Advent church and are high- ly respected by all who know them.
EDWARD ARTHUR RYANS.
Many years ago three boys played together in Ireland. They attended school at Belfast and often talked of what they would do when grown to be men. Even then their eyes were turned westward toward the great Re- public, the Eldorado and land of promise of all the oppressed people of the unhappy Emerald Isle. The names of these boys were Alexander Stuart, John Shillito and Lewis Ryans. They came over together in the same ship and the very mention of the first two recalls the two most celebrated mer- chant princes this county ever produced. Stuart established himself in the dry goods trade in New York, accumulated an immense fortune, and became
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world famous. Shillito was but little less successful in Cincinnati, where his name was long a household word. The third boy did not get so rich or fa- mous, but he proved himself a man of talent with a decided aptitude in business lines. Lewis Ryans found his way to Indiana and became a contracting painter on a large scale at Jeffersonville. He.manufactured his own paints and did work all over the Central West. He also had considerable talent as an artist and used to paint boats by contract at the ship yards. For a while he was in the wholesale paint business at Louisville, in a partnership under the firm name of Johnson & Ryans. He married Clara Bell Swoke, a native of Vienna. Scott county, Indiana, by whom he had the following children : Jolin B., now employed as foreman painter for his uncle, John Ryans, a con- tracting painter in Louisville, was elected City Alderman in 1898: Charles L., a resident of Covington, Kentucky, is baggage master on the Baltimore & Southwestern Railroad and well known as a writer of several popular songs; Ada, the oldest daughter, is still under the parental roof; Emma, a young daughter, is assistant librarian at the Carnegie Library in Jefferson- ville.
Edward Arthur Ryans, the other son, was born at Jeffersonville, Sep- tember 8, 1874, and received the usual education in the city schools Shortly after laying down his books he entered the employment of the Adams Ex- press Company, with which he remained only a short while, but long enough to master the details of the business. In 1902 he was placed in charge of the Jeffersonville office of the United States Express Company and has re- mained with this corporation ever since.
Mr. Ryans was married June 21, 1900, to Mabel, daughter of Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Wacker) Helt. The former was descended from one of the prominent pioneers of Harrison county and the latter's father was a well known Methodist minister. Mr. Ryans is a member of the Jeffersonville Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons and of the Maccabees. He is a young man of popularity and promise, being ambitious, sociable and industrious. The Ryans family, of which he is an honored member, has long been promi- nent in the business and social circles of the Falls cities and have contributed their full share to the development of the community in their various callings.
JAMES J. KENDALL.
Sergeant James J. Kendall, interurban line ticket agent at Jeffersonville, Clark county, now in his sixty-sixth year, is a man who by his steadiness, reliability and attention, achieved success and distinction during his services in the local police force. In his present sphere, since his retirement from
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active police work, he has been none the less popular and successful. He was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, on the 28th of July, 1842, and was the son of Thomas Kendall and his wife, whose maiden name was Isabelle Camp- bell. Both Thomas Kendall and his wife came of respectable families living in Ohio. When James J. had arrived at the age of twelve years his parents moved to near Charlestown, Clark county, and afterwards located perma- nently on Silver creek, in Monroe township. James J. remained on the farm until about thirty years of age. About the year 1865 he married Margaret E. St. Clair, who came from Washington, Pennsylvania, and whose father was Jesse St. Clair.
James J. Kendall moved to Jeffersonville about the year 1872 and there he followed the carpenter trade for several years. He then became con- nected with the police force and was for about ten years a sergeant. On his retirement, on December 1, 1907, he was appointed ticket agent for the In- terurban lines at Jeffersonville, a position which he still holds.
Sergeant James J. Kendall and his wife have led a happy and peaceable married life, clouded only by the demise of three out of the four children born to them, three daughters having died before reaching the age of ma- turity. Their son, James Thomas Kendall, is now married. He has one son, Lee, who is the pride of both parents and grandparents. James T. Ken- dall's family live in Jeffersonville though he is, himself, engaged in the painting trade in Louisville, Kentucky.
Sergeant James J. Kendall is well known in Masonic circles. He is a member of the Jeffersonville Lodge, No. 340, Free and Accepted Masons. As a citizen of Jeffersonville he has attained an enviable standing, being popu- lar and respected by all the people, young and old, irrespective of creed or class. This, no doubt, has been due to his cheerful and kindly nature and the pains he has ever taken to guard and direct the rights of his friends and neighbors. As a sergeant of police he did much to uphold and maintain the dignity of the local force; and as a public servant, constancy and faithfulness to duty have been his twin virtues. He is yet hale and hearty and it is the heartfelt wish of the vast majority of his fellow citizens that he may be spared to public life for many years to come.
MITCHELL PETER SMITH.
Our subject, who is part proprietor of the Eagle Laundry, Jefferson- ville, Clark county, is a man of large and extensive acquaintance, not alone in his township and county, but at the different points along the river touched upon during his career as a pilot, and in the northern part of Kentucky, where members of the Smith family have been known for many generations.
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Mitchell Peter Smith was born in Utica, Clark county, in 1874, the son of George Dallas Smith and Mary Esther Howes, his wife. Both parents were born in Jefferson county, Kentucky. . Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Mitchell P. Howes, who, during his lifetime, owned the well known Utica Limestone quarries from the kilns of which the famous Utica lime is manu- factured. Mitchell Howes was a man widely known in his section of the county and was the possessor of a large fruit farm in addition to his lime- stone interests.
George Dallas Smith was the son of Peter Smith, proprietor of large milling interests in Kentucky. One of his mills was located just above where the Galt House now stands in Louisville. He had another at Harrod's creek, and one at Utica. He used to consign and ship flour by flat-bottom boats to New Orleans. It was his custom to personally superintend the shipping of his produce and he once suffered the experience of being blown into the river on the explosion of an old steamboat boiler.
George D. Smith and his father, Peter Smith, were, as we have before stated, widely known in Kentucky. Both were strong men in every sense of the world, of dominant will power and stern self-control. Previous to the Civil war they were also slave owners; Peter Smith having at one time had a thousand slaves. The Smiths, though men of large responsibility, were of a disposition kind and warm-hearted; and many stories of their generous traits are not yet forgotten.
Mitchell P. Smith was brought by his parents to Fort Fulton about 1878. Here his father, who kept a toll-gate, from that time until 1906, became widely known all through the county. Mitchell P. received an edu- cation suitable to meet the requirements of our day. He attended the pub- lic schools of Jefferson and of Port Fulton and also at the New Albany. Business College. He then went on the river and learned the pilot's profes- sion in all its phases. He piloted tow boats from Madison, Indiana, to New Orleans. His career on the river extended over many years and, as may be imagined, was not without many events and incidents of an exciting nature.
On November 6, 1908, Mitchell P. Smith and Dale Talkington started a laundry on East Chestnut street, Jeffersonville. It is equipped with the most up-to-date appliances to do laundry work of all kinds. It is known as the "Eagle Laundry," and has been a success both in the volume of its busi- ness and the quality of the work turned out. It is located on the old site of what is probably the only whetstone factory in the United States; the fac- tory itself having been moved to Ohio.
Mitchell P. Smith is but thirty-four years old and is as yet unmarried. He has been industrious and active and as a pilot was well liked and re- spected. The tow boats which he piloted used to tow from six hundred thou- sand to one million bushels of coal at one trip on the river. He still lives
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with his parents. He is a man of commanding personal appearance and is of likable disposition.
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THEODORE S. LONG.
Undoubtedly one of the best known restaurant proprietors in Clark county is Theodore S. Long, of Jeffersonville, the excellence of whose table has been voiced by many a bonvivant of the vicinity. In his present sphere he has studied all phases of the catering business in a desire to bring it to a high state of perfection. A man of varied experience, he brings to his present undertaking all the enthusiasm of former business conquests, He engaged for an extended period in the saw-mill industry and is conversant with its every detail. Previous to his engaging in his present occupation, ten years spent in the huckster trade gave him a readiness and a facility in meeting exacting business conditions which has been of the utmost importance to him. Mr. Long comes of good stock and inherits many of the dominant characteristics of his family. On the mother's side he is a descendant of the McCormicks, whose exploits in the pioneer days are well known in this section of the state. Charles McCormick, one of the prominent members of the family and an early settler, was grandfather of Theodore S. Further data of interest regarding the McCormick ancestry may be found by turning to another portion of this volume.
Theodore S. Long was born near Charlestown, Clark county, in Oc- tober. 1855. He was the son of Benjamin F. Long and wife, whose maiden name was Jemima McCormick. Benjamin F. was born on the same farm as was his son and lived there practically all his life. His wife was likewise a native of the county and was born on the adjoining McCormick farmstead. Charles McCormick, the grandfather above referred to, was also born in the neighborhood. That family originally came from West Virginia some time in the earliest part of the last century and became important factors in the winning and progress of Indiana.
Theodore S. Long remained on the home place until his twenty-first year. his education having been received in the neighboring public schools. From the year 1879 till 1892 he engaged in the saw-mill business, owning and operating his plant himself. The period with the exception of two years in Western Kentucky and two years in Arkansas was spent in Clark county. Returning to Charlestown in 1892 he ran a huckster wagon for ten years. In 1905 he moved to Jeffersonville and bought a restaurant on Spring street in the heart of the business district of that thriving community. His huck- stering experiences enabled him to buy wisely and of the best quality and consequently give good value to his patrons.
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In November of the year 1879 Mr. Long married Mattie Hickman, daughter of Benjamin and Julia (Eastes) Hickman. Both parents were na- tives of Kentucky, though Mrs. Long herself was born in Indianapolis. Four daughters have been born to them, viz: Frankie, Nina, Julia and Clara. The Long family live a happy home life and all its members belong to the Wall Street Methodist Episcopal church. Theodore S. Long is now in his fifty- fourth year and has yet the promise of a long life before him. He is a quiet and unassuming man and though his father, Benjamin F. Long, was at one time a County Commissioner of Clark county, his own ambitions have never verged towards political preferment.
CHARLES ROBERT RIGSBY.
Young, energetic and ambitious, with an unlimited capacity for work, and with a determination to perform any task he may undertake in a thor- ough manner, Charles R. Rigsby advanced rapidly in his chosen avocation. Since he began carving his own way in the world he has neglected no op- portunity to better his condition, and his efforts have not been without re- sults. He is known in railroad and business circles as a rising young man. Owing to the active interest that he takes in the affairs of the several secret organizations, of which he. is a member, he has a very extensive acquaintance . among men in various walks of life, and his social disposition has made him scores of warm friends.
Charles Robert Rigsby is the son of Thomas D. and Lida (Latta) Rigs- by, and was born in Jefferson county, June 8, 1880. He was about five years of age when his parents moved to Jeffersonville, and shortly thereafter be- gan his education in the public schools of this city, also receiving instructions in connection therewith by private tutors. After completing his regular school term he attended business college at New Albany, thereby procuring a good commercial education. He studied shorthand, and became an ex- pert stenographer, securing employment in the offices of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad at Louisville. Later he became a bookkeeper and then took up the vocation of a traveling salesman. He is at the present time serving in the capacity of cashier.
Mr. Rigsby was married to Daisy Catherine Davis, February 26, 1902. She was the daughter of Jacob Truman Davis and wife, of Jeffersonville. The maiden name of Mrs. Davis was Sarah Catherine Earhart. Mr. and Mrs. Rigsby have one son, Kenneth Hardin Rigsby.
Mr. Rigsby is a member of Myrtle Lodge, No. 19, Knights of Pythias, Travelers' Protective Association, Woodmen of the World, and the H.
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T. A. He is the popular past chancellor of the first named, and also past grand representative. He was named as a member of the building commit- tee, which has in charge the erection of the new Pythian hall and armory in Jeffersonville. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church at Port Fulton.
Mr. Rigsby is public-spirited and of a charitable disposition, as many un- fortunates in Jeffersonville can testify. His home life is all that could be clesired.
FRANCIS EUGENE PAYNE, JR.
Railroad companies entrust the control of their engines only to men of nerve and intrepidity on whom they have a well founded reason for the con- fidence imposed. Such a man is Francis Eugene Payne, Jr., who began when about twenty years of age as fireman on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and who, some eight years after, was promoted to the position of engineer which he held until he relinquished the same in February, 1908. He now resides with his wife and family in Jeffersonville, his native town, where his domestic life is serene and ideal.
Mr. Payne was born in 1875, and was the son of Francis Eugene Payne, Sr., and his wife, whose maiden name was Kate R. Lewis. Both were born. in Clark county about the middle of the past century. Mrs. Payne was the daughter of Felix R. Lewis, whose father, Major Lewis, had charge of the land office under President Jackson. The Lewis family were originally from Ohio. Our subject's father was the son of Francis Marion Payne, whose father, William Payne, came from Virginia to Jeffersonville, Clark county, Indiana, in the early part of the nineteenth century. Francis Eugene Payne, Sr., was a soldier in the Civil war, serving in the One Hundred Ninety-first Ohio Volunteers. His father, Francis Marion Payne, was one of the pioneer. steamboat engineers on the Ohio river. Our subject's father also followed that occupation.
Francis Eugene Payne, Jr., grew up in Jeffersonville and attended the public schools there. He began active business life as a clerk in a Louisville wholesale drug store and later in a retail drug store owned by Doctor Fields in Jeffersonville. When about twenty years of age railroad life seemed allur- ing to him and he became a fireman on the Pennsylvania line, promotion com- ing to him in March, 1903, as we have already stated. December 21, 1898. was the occasion of his marriage to Edith L. Smith, daughter of George and Kate (Jordan) Smith. The Smiths moved to Jeffersonville when Mrs. Payne was but ten years old. Four children have been born to Mrs. Payne
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and her husband. They were named consecutively : Catherine, Perry, Fran- cis E. and Lewis Gordon. Mrs. Payne is an accomplished lady of domestic tastes who is constantly occupied with the affairs of her household and her four children. . She is, however, a pianist of more than average ability and plays with something of the brilliancy and technique of the skilled artist. She is also the possessor of a cultivated voice which is the delight of her friends.
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