USA > Indiana > Rush County > Centennial history of Rush County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 8
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NOAH E. PRICE, a representative of one of the early families in Rush county and owner of a well improved farm eligibly located in Posey township, was born in that township on May 23, 1882, and is the son of Elihu and Mary (Reddick) Price, who are represented elsewhere in this work. Mr. Price received his edneational training in distriet school, No. 2, Posey township, and after completing his
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schooling devoted himself to work on the home farm, where he remained until his marriage. He then rented the farm from his father and has continned to operate it to the present time. The farm comprises 230 acres of fine land, on which Mr. Price carries on a diversified system of farming, raising all the crops common to this locality, and he also gives some attention to live stock, raising about two carloads of hogs annually. He is thoroughly up-to-date in his methods and is numbered among the progressive farmers of Posey township. On January 22, 1904, Mr. Price was married to Laura Abercrombie, who was born in Franklin county, Indiana, the daugh- ter of Joseph and Mary (Thatcher) Abercrombie, both of whom also were born and reared in Franklin county. Mr. Abercrombie followed farming during the greater portion of his life, being the owner of 100 acres of land. To him and his wife were born six children, fon" of whom are living, Louis, Laura, Harry and Eugene. Mr. and Mrs. Price have had two children, Donald L., born on May 10, 1907, and Mary, who died in infancy. Mr. Price gives his support to the Democratic party. He is a member of Beech Grove Lodge, No. 399, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Arlington, and also belongs to the encampment. He is public spirited and lends his support to any cause that has for its ultimate object the betterment of his locality in material, civic and moral lines. Mrs. Price is a member of the Methodist church at Arlington.
LOWELL M. GREEN, M. D., one of the best known members of the medical profession at Rushville, was born in that city on April 15, 1882, a son of Hon. Thomas M. Green, who was also a native of this county, born at Milroy, on September 16, 1853. Thomas M. Green was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (McKee) Green, residents of Rushville, and lived upon a farm in this county until he was eighteen years of age, when he was matriculated at In- diana State University. At this institution he pursued his studies for two years, then entering as a student the law office of John A. Holman, at Indianapolis. Ill health forced him to return to the farm in Rush county after eighteen months spent in preparation for the legal profession, but in a few months he once more attempted his chosen calling. He was admitted to the Rush county bar, and entered the office of Sleeth & Study, but the condition of his health forbade his continuance as a lawyer, and in two years he was com- pelled to give up his cherished ambition. He accordingly inter- ested himself in the stove and tinware business, in 1870 forming a partnership with M. C. Kitchen, which lasted for four years. In 1886 Mr. Green was elected on the Republican ticket as representa- tive from Rush county to the state legislature. Thomas M. Green was married on June 5, 1879, to Anna D. Foxworthy, daughter of James HI. and Cynthia A. (Barrett) Foxworthy, natives of Rush county, and they became the parents of four children: Paul D., Lowell M., Myron R. and Alma M. Lowell M. Green received his preliminary schooling in the public schools of Rushville and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1899. He then
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attended Indiana University for two years, taking the pre-medical course, and thereafter took a four-years course at Indiana Medical College, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1906. Upon receiving his diploma Doctor Green began the practice of his profession in Indianapolis, but in the fall of that same year returned to Rushville where he opened an office, and has there continued in practice. On July 19, 1917, Doctor Green volunteered for service in the World war and was commissioned a first lieuten- ant in the Fourth regiment (infantry) of the Indiana National Guard. He recruited a medical unit of thirty-three men, thirty-one of whom were residents of Rush county, and on August 5, 1917, this unit was mustered into the Federal service as the Infirmary of the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Field Artillery. After a month's training at Camp Wolfe, Rushville, the company was ordered to Fort Benjamin Harrison, at Indianapolis, and on September 28, 1917, was sent to Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss. After months of training and weary waiting, the division of which this unit was a part was sent overseas to France. Returning to this country in the spring of 1919 the organization was discharged. Doctor Green was discharged from the service on January 20, 1919, with the rank of captain in the Medical Corps, United States Army. Doctor
Green is a member of Rush Post, No. 150, American Legion, and was chairman of the first executive committee of that patriotic or- ganization. He is a life member of the American Red Cross and a member of the Rush County Medical Society, the Sixth District Medical Society, the Union District Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, affiliated with Phoenix Lodge, No. 62, Free and Accepted Masons, at Rushville; Rush Chapter, No. 24, Royal Arch Masons; Rush Council, No. 41, Royal and Select Masters, and Rushville Commandery, No. 49, Knights Templar, and with the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Indianapolis, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple at Indianapolis. He is a member of the college fraternities Beta Theta Pi and Phi Chi and is likewise affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church. On September 15, 1910, Dr. Lowell M. Green was united in marriage to Maud B. Fargo, an alumnus of DePauw University and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis W. Fargo, natives of Virginia, and to this union two children have been born, both sons, Thomas M. Green, Jr., and Lowell M. Green, Jr.
H. E. DAUBENSPECK, one of those farmers of Rush county whose success is directly attributable to astute and careful manage- ment, conducts large farming operations in Union township from his home in Rushville. He was born on September 20, 1858, in Union township, the son of Harvey and Margaret (Hinchman) Dauben- speck, the former a native of Kentucky, the latter of Rush county.
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Harvey Daubenspeck came to this county on September 12, 1827, when two years of age, with his father Jacob, who entered and bought land in Union township, farming and trading throughout his entire life. He was an intensely religious man, was a preacher in the Christian church, and was one of the founders of Ben Davis Creek Church. At one time during his life he owned about 700 acres in this county and died full of honor and years at the advanced age of ninety-seven. Harvey Daubenspeck received his education in the public schools of the township, and grew to manhood on his father's farm. He then rented land from his father and began farming for himself, and in 1849 he bought 160 acres in Union township where he lived until 1865. At that time he bought an additional 160 acres in the same section, to which he moved. Here he continued success- fully, acquiring in all 510 acres, all in Union township, before death called him in 1918 at the age of ninety-two years. He was one of the most extensive stock raisers of the county, feeding out all his own grain and buying other, feeding out as an approximate average 200 head of hogs and from fifty to seventy-five of cattle. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are now living, those besides the subject of this sketch being Emely, widow of O. M. Smith, who lives at the corner of Ninth and Harrison streets in Rushville; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Anthony Kline; Rebecca, now Mrs. James M. Smith, of Union township, this county; Jacob C., who lives in Idaho; Effie, now Mrs. A. C. Haskett, of Union township; Philip S., who is farming the home place in Union township; Iva, who is making her home with Mrs. A. C. Haskett, and Miles of Fayette county. H. E. Daubenspeck was educated in the schools at Glenwood and upon leaving school he farmed with his father until he was able to buy eighty acres from him. Since then he has steadily added to his possessions until he now owns 605 acres, all in Union township. He has done a general farming and stock raising business, and on the home place of 285 acres, which he has greatly improved by the addition of modern buildings and equipment, he would feed out about 600 head of hogs and thirty of cattle. On February 21, 1883, he was married to Jessie Blackledge, a daughter of Clinton and America (Amos) Blackledge, and their union has been blessed with four children : Clarence, Paul, Ruby, and Wayne. Clarence married Laura Ging and has two children, Veril and Mary Ella. Paul mar- ried Hazel Hinchman and has two children, Robert and Marion. Ruby married Ernest Staida and has two children, June and Edgar Neal. Wayne is unmarried and lives at home with his parents. Mr. Daubenspeck has been one of the most earnest workers in the cause of the Christian church, and has held nearly all the lay offices, . being now an elder. He is an ardent fraternalist, being a thirty- second degree Mason and a member of the Shrine, Murat Temple, Indianapolis, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The principles of the Republican party coin- cide most nearly with his own political views, and he is consequently counted among its supporters, taking an active interest in all ques- tions both local and national.
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CHARLES HUGO, one of Rushville's retired citizens, was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, August 1, 1849, the son of Charles and Charlotte (Banza) Hugo, both of whom came to this country from Germany prior to their marriage, settling in Cincinnati. Charles Hugo, Sr., worked in that city at his trade of plasterer for some time, moving to Vevay, Ind., where he continued in the same occu- pation. About the year 1855, he removed to Indianapolis where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1861. He and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom two are now living, Charles Hugo having a sister, Sophia, who married T. W. Brown and resides in Indianapolis. Charles Hugo, Jr., received his education in the excellent schools of Indianapolis, and when he finished took up teaming which he followed during the war. He then was engaged in carpentering and later was employed as a fireman on a switch engine on the Pan Ilandle route until 1873. He next was a member of the Indianapolis fire department for three years. Thereafter, he spent five years in the South, near San Antonio, Tex., but in 1882 he came to Rushville where he has since resided. For twenty-five years he was engaged actively in business in this city, at the end of that period selling out his business and retiring. He realized that a safe investment lay in land, and he put part of his earnings into a farm of 246 acres which lies in Jackson and Rushville townships, this county. He has greatly improved this property, taking great pride in the general appearance of his buildings and equipment. Mr. Hugo was married in 1886 to Emma Posey, a daughter of Harrison and Sarah (Gardner) Posey, and after her death married Fannie Posey, her sister. Mr. Hugo adheres to the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the cause of which he is an earnest worker, and in his political views is known as one of the strong supporters of the Republican party. Mrs. Hugo's father, Harrison Posey, was born in this county in 1825, a son of Armstead and Catherine (Miller) Posey, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio, who were married in the latter state and in the early '20s of the past century came to Indiana, locating in this county where they spent the remainder of their lives. Armstead Posey and his wife were the parents of nine children : Alfred, Louise, Eliza, Susan, May, William. John, Harrison, and one who died in infancy. Armstead Posey's father, Zephaniah Posey, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, spent his last days in this eounty, dying in 1826, and was buried in Hopewell cemetery. Harrison Posey grew up to the life of the farm in this county and became a successful farmer, at the time of his death being the owner of 400 aeres in Rushville township. Har- . rison Posey's wife, Sarah Jane Gardner, was the daughter of Landon and Mary Gardner, the former one of the early farmers of Walker township, the owner of 900 acres of land. He was a Kentuckian by birth, and he and his wife were the parents of nine children, those besides Mrs. Posey having been Mary Ann, William, Amanda, Marion F., Robert, Emily, Louisa and Lucinda. Harrison Posey and wife had eight children, those besides Emma and Fannie being William A., Mrs. Louisa Wertz, James K. and Mrs. Minnie Moffett.
NATHAN WEEKS
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HON. NATHAN WEEKS, an honored veteran of the Civil war, who died at his home in Rushville in the spring of 1911 while serving as representative from this legislative district in the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly and who had previously rendered service in the public behalf as treasurer of Rush county, left a good memory and in the memorial annals of Rush county there are few names held in better remembrance than his. Mr. Weeks was a native Hoosier, a fact of which he never ceased to be proud, and ever held the interests of the state close to heart. Though but an adopted son of Rush county, for he was not born here, he entered at once upon taking up his residence here into the spirit of things and ever took an earnest and active interest in public affairs, promoting in such ways as he could the cause of good citizenship and better local government. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and in the battle of Shiloh received a wound from the effects of which he suffered all the rest of his life. Mr. Weeks was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Henry on March 19, 1841, son of Benjamin and Winnie Weeks, who spent their last days in that county and of whose children Nathan Weeks was the only one to take up his residence in Rush county. Reared on a farm in Henry county, Nathan Weeks received his schooling in the schools of that county and as a young man learned the trade of harness making, presently becoming engaged in that business on his own behalf in the village of Greensboro in his home county, later estab- lishing a buggy shop in that same village. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted his services and went to the front as a member of D Company, Thirty-sixth regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was serving with that command when at the battle of Shiloh he received a serious wound and was invalided home as unfitted for further military service and was presently given his honorable dis- charge on account of incapacity due to this wound. He continued operating his harness-making and buggy shop at Greensboro until in the early '70s, when he came down into Rush county and opened a retail meat shop at Carthage, his first experience in that line. This initial experience convinced Mr. Weeks that he had a certain natural capacity for that business and he presently moved to Rush- ville, seeking a larger market, and opened a butcher shop in that city. He was a Republican and from the beginning of his residence here had taken an active interest in political affairs and presently was elected treasurer of the county. Upon entering the treasurer's office he discontinued his retail meat business and upon the com- pletion of his four years' term of service in the court house bought a farm of 280 acres in the vicinity of Rushville and there estab- lished his home, operating the farm thereafter until his death on May 29, 1911. In the election of 1910 Mr. Weeks was elected rep- resentative from this district to the Indiana legislature and was serving in that honorable capacity at the time of his deathı. As
5
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noted above Mr. Weeks was a Republican and was for years recog- nized as one of the able leaders of that party in Rush county. He was a member of the Methodist church, an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and was also affili- ated with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias, in the affairs of which several or- ganizations he ever took a warm interest. In 1865 Nathan Weeks was united in marriage to Martha Macy, of Henry county, daugh- ter of Lorenzo and Rachel Macy, and who survives him, and to that union were born three children, two sons and a daughter, Ulysses, George and Ella, all of whom are dead except the latter, who is unmarried, continuing to make her home with her mother at Rush- ville. Mrs. Weeks is a member of the Methodist church, as was her late husband, and has ever taken an earnest interest in the work of the church as well as in all proper movements having to do with the betterment of conditions in her home community.
ORIN P. WAMSLEY, proprietor of the Hotel Scanlan at Rush- ville, president of the Hotel Keepers' Association of Indiana and one of the best known hotel keepers in the country, is a native son of Rush county and has done much in his way to reflect credit upon the place of his birth, his popularity among the leaders of his calling in Indiana culminating in his election in 1920 to the responsible position of administrative head of the state association to which he had long given his earnest and helpful attention; a fitting recogni- tion of his managerial ability as well as an unsought testimonial of the high esteem in which his associates hold him. Barring a period of several years during which he lived in Indianapolis gaining val- uable experience in the hotel business Mr. Wamsley has always lived in this county and his acquaintance is county wide, even as it is state-wide among hotel men. He was born at the pleasant old village of New Salem in Noble township on May 26, 1882, a twin, but was bereft by death of his mate, Earl, when eight weeks old. He is a son of William C. and Eliza A. (Boling) Wamsley, the former of whom is still living, connected with the management of the Hotel Scanlan and familiarly and lovingly known as "Dad" to hundreds of trav- eling men throughout the middle West who make Rushville on their rounds and whose favorite stopping place there is the Scanlan. William C. Wamsley is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of Indiana and of Rush county since the days of his boyhood and there are few men in this county who are better known then he. He was born at Oxford, Ohio, September 4, 1847, son of William B. and Mary (Ingram) Wamsley, the latter of whom was horn in the state of New Jersey. William B. Wamsley was born in Boone county, Kentucky, son of George W. Wamsley and wife, pio- neers of that county, who later came across the river and settled in Hamilton county, where George W. Wamsley was killed by a log falling upon him and crushing his head during a pioneer "barn raising" in the neighborhood in which he lived. William B. Wamsley grew to manhood in Hamilton county and after his marriage located at Oxford, in Butler county, whence he presently moved to Cincin-
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nati and was serving as sheriff of Hamilton county at the time of his death there in 1851. His widow survived him but a few months. dying in 1852, leaving four children, William C. Wamsley having had three sisters (all now deceased), namely : Amelia, who married John Plough, of Rush county, and had five children, all of whom are now deceased save Mrs. Robert Downing, of Detroit, Mich .; Mary Eliza, who married John Mitchell, of Decatur county, this state, and had two children, Edward, who made his home in Decatur county, and Minnie, who married Newton Casey, of Rush county and died leaving two children, one of whom, Edward, of Decatur county, is still living, and Elizabeth, who married William F. Rhinehart, of this county, who died in Grant county leaving six children, all of whom are living, though none is a resident of this community, some of thent living in Grant county and others in Oklahoma. Bereft of his parents when but a small child, William C. Wamsley was taken care of by his maternal grandparents who were then living in Dearborn county, this state, for three years and thereafter by others until he was thirteen years of age when, his eldest sister meanwhile having married, he joined her at Richland in this county, and was living here when the Civil war broke out. Though but thirteen years of age he volunteered his services to go to the front as a soldier. This patriotic offer was promptly rejected by the recruiting officers but the lad was bound to get into the war some way and he presently succeeded in entering the service of the Government as a horse boy to help in the work of moving cavalry horses from Indiana to points needed in the army, and in this capacity he served for two years and two months. Upon the completion of this service he rejoined the family of his sister at Richland and for awhile was engaged there in farm work, but presently (in 1872) opened a harness shop at Richland. In the following year he moved his shop to New Salem, where he established his home after his marriage in 1875, and was there en- gaged in business when in February, 1877, his establishment was destroyed by fire, entailing a complete loss of his business and more than $1,000 in cash which he happened to have on hand at the time. After this fire Mr. Wamsley resumed farming for a time and theut took up the trade of carpenter and continued thus engaged, building in and about New Salem, until his retirement in 1913 and removal to Rushville to enter upon his present connection with the manage- ment of the Hotel Scanlan, of which popular old hostelry his son. Pearl, meanwhile had become the proprietor. It was on February 17, 1875, that William C. Wamsley was united in marriage to Eliza A. Boling, who was born in Anderson township, this county, July 12, 1854, daughter of Gordon and Sarah (Trees) Boling, both mem- bers of pioneer families in this region, the former born in 1817 and the latter in 1818. Mrs. Eliza Boling Wamsley died on January 6, 1898. By her union with William C. Wamsley three sons were born, Charles W. and the twins, Pearl and Earl, mentioned above. Charles W. Wamsley was born on September 27, 1876, and has always lived at New Salem, where he is now engaged as a rural mail carrier, a position he has occupied for years, he and his wife, who was Estella
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Geise, who also was born in this eounty, having a pleasant home there. O. P. Wamsley spent his boyhood at New Salem, where he was born, received his schooling there and remained there until he was sixteen years of age, when he went to Rushville and became connected with the old Grand hotel, learning there the rudiments of the business in which he has since achieved a distinctive success. Not long afterward he left Rushville and went to Indianapolis, where he further extended his hotel experience and where he was married, continuing to reside there save for a brief period spent at Conners- ville, until 1912 when he returned to Rushville and took over the management of the Windsor hotel. In the next year (1913) he became the proprietor of the Hotel Scanlan and has since been very successfully conducting that popular old hostelry. Mr. Wamsley has for years taken an active interest in the affairs of the Indiana Hotel Keepers' Association and in 1920 was elected president of the association. He and Mrs. Wamsley and "Dad" give their personal attention to the operation of the Scanlan and thus have imparted to it that delightful "home" atmosphere that has made it so widely and popularly known among the traveling men who make this region. The Scanlan's dining room has a justly wide reputation, the cuisine commending itself to all who enjoy that rarest of features about the modern hotel known as "home cooking" and which is found at the Scanlan in its highest development. On May 6, 1906, O. P. Wamsley was united in marriage to Nelle G. McKee, who also was born in Rush county, daughter of Charles and Catherine (Simonson) McKee, members of old families in this region, and further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union two children have been born, Charles William Gordon, born at Indianapolis, who died at the age of five years, and Catherine, born on December 12, 1912. Mr. Wamsley is a Republican, as is his father. The latter is a member of the local lodge of the Red Men, and of the Pocahontas. O. P. Wamsley is chancellor commander of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and chaplain of the uniform rank of that order. Mrs. Wamsley is excellent junior of the local lodge of the Pythian Sisters and both take an active interest in lodge affairs. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Wamsley is leader of the choir in the same. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Wamslev had been for some time engaged as a teacher in the schools of Rush county.
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