USA > Indiana > Clark County > Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana > Part 33
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John Adam Rosenberger was a Democrat but not a public man, having spent all his time at home looking after his farm.
The mother of our subject was born in the same part of Germany that her husband came from, her birth having occurred in 1811. She came to Amer- ica with her husband, as already indicated, and she passed to her rest March 30, 1891.
Joseph Rosenberger's education was obtained principally in the subscrip- tion schools, taught in log houses of the early days. He has been a hard work- ing farmer all his life and he has prospered by reason of his close application to his work and his careful management, having always worked on the old home place, where his father settled. His farm is under a high state of culti- vation, well fenced and carefully kept in every respect and it yields abundant crops. He is quite a grower of small fruits on the "knobs." He has a very comfortable home in section 14, four miles from Borden.
Mr. Rosenberger was united in marriage in 1873, to Frances Huber, who was born November 1, 1852, in Wood township, the daughter of Ignatius Huber, who was born in 1824, in Baden, Germany. He was three years old when he came to the United States, and he devoted his life to farming. Mrs. Rosenberger's mother's name in her maidenhood was Anna Mary Ast, who was born in Bairn, Germany, about 1824, and died in 1894. Her father died in 1885. The subject's wife is the second child of a family of seven children. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rosenberger : John William, the oldest child, married Rosa Youcom, and they are the parents of three children and live in Wood township; Anna Mary, born Sep- tember 9, 1877, is single; Mary Elizabeth, born September 5. 1879, married Herman Faska, to whom three children have been born, and they are living in Floyd county ; Phillomina, born September 15, 1881, died in infancy, Sep- tember 3, 1882; Mary Katherine, born July 17, 1885, died October 4, 1886; Clara F., born October 22, 1887, is still a member of the home circle; Mary Rosina, born September 24, 1890, lives at home; John Edward, born June 9, 1894.
Mr. Rosenberger and family are people of excellent standing in Wood township, where they have many loyal friends.
CLAUDE BURTON McBRIDE.
Persistance and courage in the face of difficulties are necessary factors to success, and energy and determination must lend their aid if one would suc- ceed in the face of competition and gain prosperity in this age of feverish activity, when all are striving for the same goal. Realizing this fact our sub-
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ject early in life determined upon a career which has brought ultimate success early and won for him the esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances in Clark county.
Claude Burton McBride first saw the light of day March 19, 1883, three miles north of Jeffersonville. He is the son of Isaac and Emma (Hale) Mc- Bride, the former the son of John McBride, also natives of Clark county, in fact, this county has been the home of the McBrides for many generations and few families have been more closely identified with its growth than this one, for we find that one, Isaac McBride, the subject's great-grandfather, came to this county in the early pioneer days from Pennsylvania, locating near Henry- ville. He was a very active Presbyterian and did a most commendable work religiously in the early settlement here. He had a brother who distinguished himself as a scout in Gen. George Rogers Clark's expedition against Fort Vin- cennes. John McBride, grandfather of our subject, was one of the few men of that day who was interested in a county public school system and rode to Charlestown on horseback to cast his vote in favor of the project at the time the election for Clark county was held at that place for the establishment of free public schools in Indiana.
Emma Hale was the daughter of Isaac Hale, who came to Clark county from the New England states and worked on the Ohio river as a deck hand for some time, later turning his attention to farming and was quite successful, developing an excellent farm by hard work and good management for he was poor when a boy and was compelled to help support a widowed mother.
Claude Burton McBride grew up on the old Hale homestead, where he was born, assisting with the work about the place, attending the McBride school in the meantime, later taking a course in Borden College, where he made a very commendable record, fitting himself for a teacher, which line of work he had long desired to follow, consequently soon after completing his education in the local schools he began teaching, and so constant was his prog- ress that in September, 1908, he was appointed to the responsible position of principal of the Ohio Falls school, which place he filled with much credit to himself, and the entire satisfaction to both pupil and patron, giving every evi- dence of a well educated instructor and possessing the many other pre-requis- ites for this line of work, and showing that a future in the same awaited him with signal results.
Mr. McBride in his fraternal relations is a member of Tabor Lodge, No. 92, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also Hope Lodge, Knights of Pyth- ias; and Jefferson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in all of which he takes an abiding interest. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, having adhered to the faith of a long line of ancestors. Politically he is a Democrat and takes an active part in local affairs. He is a prepossessing, gentlemanly young man and is popular in Iris community.
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Q. ROBERT HAUSS, A. M., M. D.
Clark county, Indiana, has been and is signally favored in the class of the professional men that have added to its prestige in all lines and in this connec- tion Dr. Q. Robert Hauss demands representation, and stands admittedly in the front rank of her medical practitioners, being known also as a public-spirit- ed man of high ideals and unswerving integrity, so that he naturally has won the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
Doctor Hauss was born September 22, 1864, in Liberty, Union county, Indiana, the son of Carl Frederick and Anna Marie Hauss, who emigrated to America from Germany in 1852. They were people of honor and sterling worth, and reared their children in a wholesome atmosphere, there being nine in number, of whom our subject was the youngest in order of birth. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Brownsville and Liberty, and selecting medicine as his life work matriculated in the Eclectic Medical Institute in 1885, and graduated with honors three years later. In addition to this he took a two years' clinical course of instructions in the Cincinnati Hospital, and a special private course under the late Professor McDermott, an eminent oculist and aurist, at that time a member of the faculty of the Pulte-Homeopathic Medical College. Thus being so well prepared for his chosen field of endeavor it is no wonder that eminent success should attend his efforts, and that he has taken first rank among the medical men in the southern part of Indiana, a locality long noted for the high order of its medical talent. The doctor located in Sellersburg immediately after graduation, succeeding his brother, Dr. A. P. Hauss, who removed to New Albany. His success was instantaneous and his practice soon extended over a wide range of country. To meet the demands of his surgical work the doctor established a private hospital in 1898. Although a building of nine rooms and well euipped, it is inadequate and a much larger building is under consideration.
An interesting chapter in the life record of Doctor Hauss is that bearing on his domestic relations, which dates from October 10, 1888, when he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Frances E. Hall, a representative of a well known family at Brownsville, Indiana. This union has resulted in the birth of five children, four of whom survive, namely : Robert, who is at pres- ent fourteen years of age ; Frances, twelve; Mildred, ten, and Russell, eight.
Doctor Hauss has for many years been prominently connected with the Indiana Eclectic Medical Association and was president of this organization in 1905. He is also a member of the National Eclectic Medical Association, and is a special contributor to some of the leading publications of the Eclectic School of Medicine.
During 1898 he was made a member of the board of trustees of Moore's Hill College and has served in this capacity to the present time. He received
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Q. ROBERT HAUSS.
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the degree of Master of Arts from this institution in 1901. He is an official member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a Mason, and a member of the Eastern Star and a state director of the Indiana Children's Society. He is justly proud of being an honorary member of Jeffersonville Post, No. 86, De- partment of Indiana Grand Army of the Republic. In all of the above organi- zations and associations, Doctor Hauss takes an abiding and active interest and he makes his influence felt in all of them. In temperament the doctor is ar- tistic and appreciates the beautiful in music, nature and art. He is proficient in music and devotes as much attention to it as his many exacting duties will permit. He is congenial, affable and public spirited, and his attractive home is always a place of hospitality and good cheer, where numerous friends of the doctor and his estimable wife frequently gather.
PETER P. RENN.
Among the stury German element who have done so much toward the development of Clark county, none deserve more credit than the Renn family for members of the same have labored here since the days of the wilderness, the first member of the family to migrate hither being Peter Renn, Sr., who was one of the first settlers of this part of the county, in the vicinity of Sellers- burg, there being only three or four settlers in Carr township when he located here in the midst of the heavily timbered land, which he set about at once to clear and make a home. Indians still roamed the forest depths and much wild game could be found. New Albany and Louisville were the only trading points then, and oxen were used principally in farm work. His son, Peter Renn, father of our subject, assisted in clearing the land, engaging in general farm- ing. He was also one of the first store keepers in St. Joe, becoming known as one of the leading Germans in the county. He was born in Germany and came to the United States in about 1838, having hailed from the famous Rhine country. The voyage to America consumed thirty-seven days. He was mar- ried in the Fatherland before coming to the United States. He was educated in that country. He was a devout Catholic and one of the men who started the movement to build the St. Joseph Hill Catholic church; although interested in worthy movements for the general good, he was not a public man. His death occurred in Clark county, in 1893. 1
The mother of our subject was known in her maidenhood as Mary Smith, also a native of Germany, where she was born in 1811, and she passed away at the age of fifty-six years. Two children were born to the parents of the subject while living in Germany and three while they were residents of the United States, Peter P., of this review, having been born in Mckeesport,
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Pennsylvania, December 17, 1840, and he came to Clark county with his par- ents when one year old. It fell to his lot to assist in improving the farm here, consequently he had little chance to attend school, however, he got what edu- cation he could in the common schools. He began life for himself in 1862, when he began farming of his own accord, and he has devoted his attention since that time exclusively to agricultural pursuits, now owning the old Prather farm, in section 128. Although this is one of the oldest farms in this locality, it is still a very valuable one, owing to the systematic management of the sub- ject, and it produces excellent crops from year to year. Mr. Renn has a beautiful home surrounded by attractive lawns, trees, etc., at St. Joe.
The married life of Mr. Renn dates from February 2, 1862, when he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Barbara Schafer, daughter of Jacob and Magdalene Schafer. She was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1842. Her people were also early pioneers in Clark county, Indiana. Mrs. Renn passed to her rest in 1899, after becoming the mother of the following children : Peter, deceased; Matthew M., who is chief engineer at the Louisville & Nashville shops in Louisville, Kentucky; Joseph, who is a member of the priesthood; Jacob, Benjamin, George, Annie, John F. and Francis X.
Peter P. Renn is a member of the Catholic church at St. Joe. His life is exemplary in every respect and he has ever supported those measures which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, and his life work has been a suc- cess, owing to hard work and good habits. In politics he is a Democrat.
DAVID S. COOK.
There are few industries more important, especially in connection with the building trades than the manufacture of cement, whose expansion in this country is of recent origin and has been on a gigantic scale. The men who have developed it deserve especial credit as part of the force behind the won- derful growth of the United States, as the work requires expert knowledge and all the qualities which make men valuable in the mechanical arts. In this line it is no more than his just due to say that David S. Cook has made a record that is creditable to himself and achieved results of great value to his employers as well as the community where he has lived so long and to which he has devoted his energies and best abilities. He is of Scotch origin, his parents, William and Margaret Cook, having been natives of the land made famous by Burns and Scott. They married in Scotland, emigrated to America in 1852 and after spending a few years in New York removed to Chillicothe, Ohio. They made their home in this historic city until some time after the Civil war, when they located in Louisville, Kentucky, for permanent abode.
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David S. Cook, son of this worthy couple, was born during their residence at Chillicothe, February 9, 1857, and received his education in the public schools of Louisville. When fourteen years old he secured employment with the Louisville Cement Company and here he obtained his first experience in the line of business which was destined to prove his life work. During the ten or twelve years following his apprenticeship, he was connected with various plants and by taking advantage of his opportunities to learn, advanced rapidly in knowledge concerning every feature of cement manufacture. In the fall of 1883 he temporarily abandoned his chosen calling and spent two years as a locomotive engineer on the Texas & St. Louis Railroad. He soon longed for his old occupation, however, and in the fall of 1885 returned to Indiana to accept a position as superintendent of the Speed Cement Mill, located ten miles north of Louisville, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, at Speed Station. When Mr. Cook took charge of this mill the capacity was about three hundred barrels of natural hydraulic cement per day, but largely through his instrumen- tality and energetic supervision, this plant has been made the largest of its kind in the United States. When it was found that Portland cement could be manufactured in this country, he immediately began experimenting on the new material and in 1905 entered upon the erection of the Speed Portland cement plant at Speeds. This mill, strictly modern and up-to-date, is at the present time manufacturing two thousand barrels per day and this product has gained wide notoriety throughout the central states as the celebrated Speed brand of Portland cement. Mr. Cook is a fine sample of the American mechanic, to whom the great Republic owes so much of its rapid progress and prosperity. He is entirely self-educated, owing little or nothing to schools, but much to home study, systematically and wisely directed. Beginning in poverty, at the very bottom of the ladder, with no reliance but his own brains, hands and character, he has gained all his promotions by merit and ability. Unassuming in manner, quiet and.courteous in demeanor, he has the faculty of making friends and thus enjoys the loyal co-operation of the large force of men who work under his direction.
In 1879 Mr. Cook was married to Ruth, daughter of Samuel Hinton, a native of Indiana, and from this union resulted four children: Harry W., David, Jesse and Scott. The eldest, who gave promise of future usefulness, died in 1902 while in his senior year at Purdue University. David L. and Jesse C. are both students at Purdue University and by their application to their tasks and their general bearing give assurance of eventually becoming useful men. Mr. Cook is domestic in his tastes, proud of his boys and fond of his family, to which he devotes most of his leisure and in whose company he finds his chief enjoyment. As a citizen he is interested in progress and entertains high ideals concerning those things which most benefit a community. His highest ambition is to aid in elevating the moral tone and advancing
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educational movements of all kinds. As a result of this his name is always men- tioned in connection with all kinds of gatherings of social importance in Silver Creek township, where he has made his residence for many years.
JOHN MORTON MELOY, M. D.
About the year 1838 the Tuttle family left their home at Rochester, New York, and came to Clark county, settling in the vicinity of Memphis. About the same time the Meloys came in from the northwestern part of Pennsylvania and found a location near Charlestown. William H. Meloy and Emily C. Tuttle, children of these respective families, were each about two years old when their parents removed to this section, grew up as neighbors and on reach- ing maturity were married. Shortly afterward they went to Marshall county, Indiana, and established a home near Plymouth, but in January, 1870, re- turned to the neighborhood of Memphis and spent the next four years in that part of Clark county. In 1874 they removed to Lexington, the old county seat of Scott county, and remained in that section until 1884.
John Morton Meloy, son of this couple, was born near Plymouth, Indiana, August 30, 1862, and was a little over seven years old when his parents re- turned to Clark county. His primary education was obtained during the resi- dence in Scott county, where there were good public schools and a normal in summer. In the spring of 1884 he went to Illinois and worked on a farm until October, when he entered the Central Normal School at Danville, In- diana, and spent a year and a half in that institution. He then taught a few years in the Clark county schools and in January, 1889, became a student in the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville, from which he was graduated with the class of June, 1890. The following fall he took a course of instruc- tion at the Louisville University and on January 6, 1891, began the practice at Sellersburg. With the exception of about four months, Doctor Meloy has been secretary of the Sellersburg Board of Health ever since the town govern- ment was organized over eighteen years ago. During President's Mckinley's administration he was appointed a member of the Pension Board of Examining Surgeons, and has held this position continuously for twelve years. During this period he has held membership of the Sellersburg School Board and been one of the active spirits in forwarding the cause of education. He is medical examiner for a large number of life insurance companies and local surgeon for the Louisville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company. He is a mem- ber of Buckner Lodge, No. 631, Free and Accepted Masons, Sellersburg Lodge, No. 702, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias and Camp No. 3269, Modern Woodmen. Doctor Meloy is popular, both as a
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man and physician. He has made his own way in the world and done well whatever duty fell to him for performance.
In October, 1889, Doctor Meloy was united in marriage with Ella O., daughter of Jacob C. Nichols, former citizen of Charlestown and brother of the late Doctor Nichols, of Sellersburg. Their children are as follows: Helen J., Hazel F., Hollis A., Hortense E., Lorene M. and Hugh O., all born in Sellersburg except Helen J., whose place of birth was on a farm in Union township.
HON. JAMES MADISON REYNOLDS, M. D.
Proximity and easy access caused the Indiana Territory to gain many ยท recruits in pioneer times from the older state of Kentucky. Men by thousands crossed the river to enter the new and fertile lands lying north and thus it came about that Southern Indiana was extensively settled by families which had tarried awhile in "the daughter of Virginia," but became restless and event- ually pressed their fortunes across the border. It was in an early day in the history of Clark county when the Reynolds family found a location in Union township and joined their confreres in helping to subdue the wilderness. At that time all was wild, the primeval forests covering all the land that stretched from the Ohio river hundreds of miles toward the Great Lakes. The story of the conquest of this region has often been told and the stirring incidents formed the most fascinating features of the history of Indiana. Every new- comer added his mite to the general movement and shares the glory which prosperity has been willing to accord to that great army of conquest known as "early pioneers." The original Reynolds family left a son by the name of James Madison Reynolds, who married Catherine Smith, who came with her parents from England when she was a small child. To their union we are in- debted for the popular physician and politician who constitutes the subject of this sketch.
James Madison Reynolds, Jr., was born on his father's homestead, in Union township, Clark county, Indiana, February 22, 1855. His early expe- riences were those of a farm boy, with its hardships, its struggles and endless work which, though trying at the time was always afterwards recognized as . an excellent training for life. He learned the valuable lesson of self-discipline, learned also that work was honorable as well as beneficial and laid the founda- tions which enabled him to become a useful man in after life. The common schools of those days were not all that might be desired, but such as they were young Reynolds availed himself of them and obtained a fair education in the fun- damental "three R's." He was an ambitious boy, however, and by no means con- tent to stop with the acquisitions of the district schools. By graduation from the
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high schools at Salem he was qualified to enter the profession of teaching and spent in this occupation several years, which proved valuable as an educator, besides giving him funds for future expenses. His ambition, formed at an early age, was to become a physician, and even while teaching he was prepar- ing himself for this noble calling. In 1874 he entered the Louisville Univer- sity, and two years later was the proud possessor of a degree, granted by the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati. Locating at Memphis he entered im- mediately into practice, but in 1884 attended the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1885. Returning to Memphis he resumed practice and has continued the same up to the present time. He has been successful and is recognized as one of the lead- ing physicians of his part of the county. In 1890 Doctor Reynolds was ap- pointed a member of the Board of Pension Exanimiers, at Charlestown, and served in this capacity for four years. Meantime he had been elected Town- ship Trustee and devoted four years of his time to the duties of that office. In 1894 Doctor. Reynolds was nominated as a candidate for Joint Representa- tive from the counties of Clark, Scott and Jennings, on the Republican ticket. This district had usually been overwhelmingly Democratic, but it was a year of Republican tidal waves all over the country and Doctor Reynolds got the benefit of being sent to Legislature by a substantial majority. In 1900 he was again elected Trustee of Union township, and, owing to Legislative extension of the term served five years. In this important office he gave satisfaction, transacting its duties in such a way as to disarm criticism.
In 1874 Doctor Reynolds married Matilda A., daughter of Eden Coombs, Sr. He has long been a member of the Christian church and for fifteen years has served as one of its trustees. As a physician he keeps abreast of the times, holding membership in the Clark County Medical Society and the Indiana and the American Medical Associations. His fraternal relations are confined to membership in the order of the Modern Woodmen of America.
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