USA > Indiana > Vigo County > Terre Haute > Greater Terre Haute and Vigo County : closing the first century's history of city and county, showing the growth of their people, industries and wealth > Part 20
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L. F. PERDUE was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, March 12, 1841. His parents were Jesse and Elizabeth (Ford) Perdue. His grandfather, Jesse Perdue, was the descendant of a French Huguenot family that came to the American colonies early in the eighteenth century, settling in South Carolina and later near Winchester, Virginia. He came to In-
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L.J. Perdue
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Aster, Lonox and Tilden Foundations. 1909
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diana territory in February, 1798, and settled upon a claim he purchased from a soldier of George Rogers Clark's command, located twelve miles above the Falls of the Ohio. At the time his was one of only twelve white families living above the falls. He had built a log cabin and moved his little family across the river on the ice, and hurried back to get his stock over before the breaking up of the river, but, as fortune had it, he was cut off by rains and moving ice, and the wife, with two little children, two dogs and a gun, was left alone for more than a week at the mercy of the wild animals and wilder Indians. Sitting up nights, with fire brands, she helped the dogs drive off the wolves and protect her children.
Elizabeth Ford was the daughter of Col. Lemuel Ford, of Virginia, who was first sergeant in Capt. Joel Henry's company of infantry of Colonel Dudley's Thirteenth Kentucky Militia in the War of 1812. He was taken prisoner at the battle of the Thames, May 5th of that year ; was afterward paroled, but made to run the gauntlet, escaping with his life, badly beaten and bruised. He walked with two other soldiers over two hundred miles, barefooted, almost naked and half-starved, before finding friends and food. He moved to Clark's grant, Indiana territory, in 1815, settling near what afterward became Charlestown, the county seat of Clark county. Here he learned the carpenter's and cabinet maker's trade-built houses, made furniture for them and made the coffins in which to bury the dead, as was the custom of the times. He was commissioned captain of mounted United States Rangers, June 16, 1832; became captain of First United States Dragoons, August 15, 1833, serving as such until July 31, 1837 ; was again commissioned cap- tain of infantry in March, 1847, and assigned to the Third United States Dragoons, April 9, 1847, serving until July 31, 1848, and was promoted to brevet major, October 19, 1847, for gallantry in the battle of Atlixco, Mexico. He went into the city of Mexico with Gen. Winfield Scott. Because of wounds received he resigned soon thereafter. He was the first warden of the Southern Indiana Prison, now called the Reformatory-that institution was built under his supervision-in which position he died of cholera, August 28, 1850, he and his wife dying the same day.
He married Hannah McDowell in Woodford county, Kentucky, February 4, 1809. Hannah McDowell was a daughter of Joseph Mc- Dowell, who, as major, commanded a body of North Carolina militia at the battle of King's Mountain and the Cowpens, winning an enviable place in the history of the War of the Revolution by his gallantry. After the war he served twelve consecutive terms in the North Carolina House of Commons and two terms as member of Congress, 1793 to
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1798, and he also was member of the North Carolina convention for ratification of federal constitution. He died in 1801. Major McDowell's mother was Margaret O'Neil, a descendant of the O'Neils of Down and Antrim-a plucky Irish girl, closely allied to royalty, but preferring her Scotch lover and America to royalty and wealth. Her husband, Joseph McDowell, was a Scotch weaver. Mrs. Ellet's "Women of America" tells of her heroism in making powder to help her three sons fight the battles that freed the States from English rule, and chasing Tories to recover her stock stolen by them, as well as nursing the wounded and feeding the hungry soldiers and Tory prisoners. Major McDowell's wife was Margaret Moffett, daughter of Col. George Moffett, one of the earliest settlers of Augusta county, Virginia ; a soldier in the early In- dian wars and an officer in the War of the Revolution : a man of great enterprise and public spirit, and active in all good works; a prominent churchman and promoter of education, and for many years a trustee of Lexington College. Colonel Moffett's wife was a daughter of Capt. John McDowell-a sister of Gen. Samuel McDowell, an officer of the Revolu- tion and the first United States judge of Kentucky, which position he held from March, 1783, to the time of his death, September, 1817. Samuel McDowell had seven sons, all officers and soldiers in the War of the Revolution. John McDowell's wife was Magdalena Wood, a direct descendant of the Argyle Campbell family. One of Maj. Joseph Mc- Dowell's sons was congressman from the Hillsboro (Ohio) district. Margaret McDowell, his second daughter, was the wife of Allen Trimble, governor of Ohio, and mother of Joseph McDowell Trimble, an eminent Methodist Episcopal preacher of Columbus, Ohio, and of Col. William Trimble, of the Sixtieth Ohio, during the War of the Rebellion. Maj. Joseph McDowell's descendants are scattered over the west and south, taking active part in the conduct of affairs and filling prominent and honorable positions in the affairs of life and that of the nation.
Mr. Perdue learned telegraphy at Madison, Indiana, in 1857. He went to the Army of the Cumberland at the commencement of the war as a member of the United States military telegraph corps. He came to Terre Haute, September 8, 1867, as special operator at the fair grounds during the Indiana state fair, and has remained here since that time. He worked in the city office two years. He married Miss Julia A. Ross, eldest daughter of Mr. Harry Ross, one of Terre Haute's old-time sub- stantial citizens. For two years following this he was superintendent of telegraph of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad, and lived at Mattoon, Illinois. With that exception he has been a continuous resident of the Prairie City. He was in the ice and coal business for fifteen years, and for the last ten years has been in the concrete and street contracting
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business. He has three daughters: Mrs. \V. L. Halstead, of Bristol, Virginia ; Mrs. William H. Weller, of Bellingham, Washington, and Mrs. Alexander L. Crawford, of Terre Haute, Indiana.
CLAUDE G. BOWERS, a member of the Terre Haute board of public works, has been prominently identified with the public service in lines in which the city, county and state have greatly benefited. He was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, November 20, 1879. His paternal grand- father, Christopher Bowers, belonged to one of the oldest families of western Tennessee and was an early pioneer settler of Indiana. The maternal grandfather, James L. Tipton, a native of Indiana, became one of the founders of the Republican party in the state, took a most active interest in politics and just prior to the Civil war engaged in a series of joint debates with Senator Marvin, who was prominent in the legislature during the war. He declined a nomination to congress during the period of hostilities between the north and the south that he might give per- sonal aid to the Union upon the field of battle, and was killed in the en- gagement at Missionary Ridge.
Lewis Bowers, the father, was a merchant, who died when his son Claude was but ten years of age. He had lost a comfortable fortune by paying security debts made in the interests of friends and thereby the support of the family devolved upon his widow and her son Claude. The latter was but a young lad at the removal of the family to Indianapolis, where he lived until coming to Terre Haute. He acquired his education in the graded schools of the capital city and after four years spent in the Shortridge high school was graduated in 1897. While a student there he took a prominent part in oratorical and debating work, winning every contest and capturing the state honor for the school at Richmond. After leaving school he pursued a course in economics and sociology under Dr. Dewhurst, formerly the head of that department in one of the eastern colleges. Determining upon the practice of law as a life work Mr. Bowers devoted three years to study in the office of the late Frank B. Burk, the prominent orator, politician and United States district attorney, and under Henry Warren, late city attorney of Indianapolis. During this period Mr. Bowers wrote some magazine articles on political and economical questions. This led him into the field of journalism. At different times he assisted Jacob Piatt Dunn and Samuel E. Morss, editors of the Indianapolis Sentinel, and when Mr. Dunn accepted the city comptrollership under Mr. Taggart, Mr. Bowers, then in his twenty-first year, became an editorial writer on the Sentinel.
Even before attaining his majority he was most deeply interested in political questions, situation, and issues of the day. Citizenship has never
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meant with him the acquirement of every possible privilege and protec- tion under federal government without return of what has stood for faithful service according to the position and ability of the individual, and as the years have passed Mr. Bowers has done effective work in support of principles that he has believed to be of benefit to the county, state and country at large. In 1900 he was sent out by the state central committee and again in 1902 to address the citizens of northern and cen- tral Indiana upon the dominant questions of those years. His removal to Terre Haute in January, 1903, 'was occasioned by the offer of a posi- tion on the Gasette, and when that paper ceased to have an existence he became connected with the Star, acting as editorial writer and dramatic critic for that journal until December, 1906. In the position of editorial writer he intimately identified the paper with the movement for a more progressive, a more prosperous and a cleaner and more beautiful city ; and he made a persistent and strong editorial fight against public gam- bling, resulting at length in its being prohibited in the city. He kept in touch with all the organizations that had in view the welfare of the city and did much to advance the cause.
In Terre Haute, as in Indianapolis, he has been equally prominent in the ranks of the Democratic party. He was here nominated by ac- clamation for congress, made a thorough canvass for the first time in many years, speaking every day, without a single exception, for eight weeks, and although defeated he ran several thousand votes ahead of the presidential candidate. In 1906 he was again nominated by acclama- tion and again his campaign was a thorough one, resulting in the reduc- tion of the normal Republican majority of forty-five hundred to eight hundred and running farther ahead of the gubernatorial nominee than any congressional nominee in the state except Benjamin F. Shiveley. In December, 1906, he was appointed a member of the board of public works and is still serving in that capacity. The policy of public im- provement which he had advocated so zealously as editorial writer on the Star he now helped put into effect, and the board of works at this time has vastly surpassed in achievement all previous efforts. In the work on the board he always stands for the improvement by paving of streets, for the completion of a great sewer system, for the purchase of more parks and play grounds and for the general beautification of the city.
In 1908 he was elected by acclamation to represent the district in the Democratic national convention at Denver and in the same year de- clined a renomination for congress. He has wielded a wide influence in public affairs and is recognized as a leader among the people of this district. Even his political opponents entertain for him warm regard
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and respect him for his fidelity to his principles. He is unswerving in his loyalty to a course which he believes to be right, and energy and patriotism might well be termed the keynote of his character.
LOUIS F. TILLEY, a well known member of the Vigo county bar and the junior member of the law firm of Stimson & Tilley, has in his professional career been actuated by a laudable ambition that has prompted the most careful preparation of his cases and has led to that clear and forceful presentation before the courts. A native of Indiana, he was born in Cass township, Clay county, on the 9th of March, 1875. and is a son of Milton and Mary A. ( Mace) Tilley, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. The father devoted his entire life to the occupation of farming and spent his last days in Clay county, Indiana, where he passed away in January, 1904. The only interruption to his agricultural interests came during the period of the Civil war, when he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union and went to the south as a follower of the stars and stripes. Although he lived a quiet, uneventful life, he commanded the respect and merited the good will of those among whom his lot was cast. His widow still survives and is yet living upon the old homestead in Clay county in her seventy-first year. In both the paternal and maternal lines Louis F. Tilley is a representative of old families of Indiana. His grandfather, James Tilley, was a pioneer of Clay county, settling in that locality when the country was an almost unbroken wilderness. The forest trees stood in their primeval strength and only here and there had a little clearing been made to show that the white race had penetrated into the western wilderness to reclaim this region for the uses of civilization. He bore his part in the early development of the county at a time when there were still many evidences of Indian occupancy in this part of the state. The maternal grandfather, David Mace, a native of Tennessee, also settled in Clay county in pioneer times. He was a millwright by trade and by reason of his skill in mechanical lines was called upon in early days to make all of the coffins used in the Eel river country of Clay and adjoining counties.
Louis F. Tilley was reared upon the old homestead farm in Clay county, where his mother is still living, remaining there until he reached his sixteenth year. In 1892, at the age of seventeen years, he began teaching school in his native county, following that profession through the winter months, while he spent the summer seasons as a student in the State Normal School. He afterward attended the University of Indianapolis, where he pursued his law course, being graduated from that institution in 1901. Ten days later he began the practice of his pro-
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fession in Brazil in partnership with Curtis G. Scofield, and continued a member of the bar of that city for a period of four and a half years, during which time he served as deputy prosecuting attorney of Clay county. Seeking a broader field of labor through the further advantages for professional success offered in city life, he came to Terre Haute in the fall of 1905 and entered upon active practice as a partner of Judge S. C. Stimson, under the firm style of Stimson & Tilley, this partnership being formed on the Ist of January, 1907. They have an extensive and distinctively representative clientage and Mr. Tilley, although a young man, is giving evidence of the opportunities of acquired and natural tal- ents which well qualify him for further important successes at the bar.
Mr. Tilley has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Jessie A. Smith, a daughter of E. W. Smith, a contractor and builder of Brazil, who was an officer in the Confederate army during the Civil war. Mrs. Tilley passed away in February, 1904, leaving a daughter, Jessie Lucile, who is now four years of age. For his second wife, Mr. Tilley chose Miss Cora Biddle, a daughter of George Biddle, deceased, who was a railroad man of Brazil. They occupy a prominent position in social cir- cles of Terre Haute and have many warm friends here. Mr. Tilley is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is also connected through mem- bership relations with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Sons of Veterans and the Young Business Men's Club. He is a Re- publican and has taken an active part in politics since becoming a voter. He possesses the alert, enterprising spirit which has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle west and with high ideals in his profession and in citizenship he is rapidly forging to the front in both lines and enjoys in full measure the confidence and good will of his fellow citizens.
LEVI G. HAMMERLY, at one time recorder of Vigo county, claims Ohio as the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred on the 2d of June. 1846. in Ross county. His parents were Joseph and Rosanna (Cramer) Hammerly, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came from that country when a young man and settled first in Ross county, Ohio, whence he afterward removed to Clark county, Illinois, in 1848. He was one of its early residents and became a farmer there, continuing in the active work of tilling the soil and cultivating the crops for fifteen years, or until his death, which occurred in 1863. His widow survived him for about nine years and passed away in 1872.
Levi G. Hammerly was reared upon the home farm in Clark county, working in the fields through the summer months, as he assisted in the task of plowing, planting and harvesting. He acquired his education
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in the district schools and was still upon the farm when the great Civil war broke out. While too young at the beginning of hostilities to enlist in the service of his country, he was fired by patriotic zeal and desired to aid in the preservation of the Union, and in February, 1864, although not yet eighteen years of age, he volunteered and was accepted as a sol- dier of Company A, Forty-first Regiment (Second Cavalry) of Indiana Volunteers. He enlisted at Terre Haute and was with General Sherman on the memorable march t the sea, which proved that the boast of the Confederacy as to its strength had no base, for it was soon shown that the troops had been drawn from the interior to defend the border. Mr. Hammerly participated in the battle of Atlanta and was but two miles away at the time of the capture of Jefferson Davis. the president of the Confederates. He remained at the front until after the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox, and when peace once more prevailed over the broad land he returned to Terre Haute to again take up the pursuits of business life.
Mr. Hammerly did not return to the farm, but gave his attention to the boot and shoe business, in which he continued for ten years with success. However, agricultural pursuits attracted 'him and he purchased A farm in Linton township, near Young's Station, to which he removed, there carrying on general farming until 1882. In that year he was ap- pointed deputy county treasurer of Vigo county by C. A. Ray, lately de- ceased, and was also appointed by Mr. Ray's successor, James Cox, to the same office. His acceptable service led to further political honors and in 1886 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for the office of county recorder, to which he was elected by a good majority. His ad- ministration of the affairs of the office was so generally satisfactory that at the expiration of his term he was again nominated by his party, but with the balance of the ticket was defeated that year.
On leaving the county recorder's office Mr. Hammerly returned to the farm, living this time in Linton township, where he resided for about seventeen years. He then became a resident of Terre Haute, where he engaged in the conduct of a livery and boarding stable, establishing the Majestic stable on South Fourth street. This he conducted until 1907. when he sold out and erected his present large brick barn at No. 118 South Second street. Here he conducts a large business under the name of the Vigo Feed and Tie Barn and has a liberal patronage, keeping a large number of horses for rent.
On the 21st of June, 1868, Mr. Hammerly was married in Vigo county to Miss Effic Reese, a daughter of Jolin Reese, an early settler and prominent farmer of Riley township. Unto this marriage there were born two children: Minnie, now the wife of Charles Adkins, of
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Riley township, and John W., deceased. The mother of these children died in 1888, and in 1889 Mr. Hammerly wedded Miss Dora Hixon, who passed away in 1890. In 1891 Mr. Hammerly wedded Mrs. Elizabeth N. Timmons, nee George, and they have had three sons: Lee R. and Harry A., who died in 1906, and Adam C.
Mr. Hammerly is a member of the Odd Fellows Society and is in- terested in the work of the order and in the basic principles upon which it is founded. He is a man who by patient striving has carved out for himself a solid reputation for business activity and success. In matters of citizenship he is loyal and is as interested in the welfare of his country as when he followed the stars and stripes upon southern battlefields. There are few men of his years who can boast of service in the Civil war, but although only a boy when he joined the army, his valor and bravery were equal to that of many a veteran of twice his years.
MORTON C. RANKIN, whose name was associated with every public- spirited movement of Terre Haute, belonged to that class of citizens whom a community can ill afford to lose. A successful and honorable business man, he thus contributed to the commercial prosperity and at the same time found opportunity to assist in many progressive measures which worked for needed reform and improvement and were a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. While his name is now on the roll of the city's honored dead, the influence of his life and work has not ceased to be felt, nor have the measures which he promoted reached their full fruition in the city's welfare.
Morton C. Rankin was born in Terre Haute, October 10, 1840, and at the usual age entered the public schools, where he laid the foundation for that general knowledge and broad-mindedness which made him a strong factor in business and political circles in later life. He had scarcely entered upon the period of manhood when in response to the country's call for troops he enlisted in 1862 as a member of the Seventy- first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, going to the front with Company B. Although he was discharged from the army in the same year of his en- listment because of disability, there was ample time for the display of a heroism and loyalty which none questioned. During his service he was four times wounded and was once taken prisoner. His first injury was sustained at Richmond, Kentucky, at which point the commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel Topping, was killed. At other points he was injured by the enemy's bullets and because of the disability thus engen- dered he was forced to return home.
On entering upon his business career, if he did not express his pur- poses, he certainly had well defined plans and principles. Throughout
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the entire period of his connection with commercial interests he never deviated from a course which he believed to be right and ever main- tained a most unsullied reputation for business integrity. He was in the ยท employ of others until 1872, and during this time gained considerable knowledge of the lumber trade. He then embarked in the lumber busi- ness on his own account and in the years which followed built up an ex- tensive enterprise. For some time prior to his demise he was asso- ciated with James L. Armstrong under the firm style of the Morton Lumber Company and their business reached extensive proportions, owing to well directed management, keen discernment, close application and unwearied industry. He did not confine his energies entirely to one line, for he was a promoter of the first building and loan organization of Terre Haute, which has done so much toward the material improve- ment of the city. He was also interested in several financial institutions and in manufacturing concerns and his judgment was regarded as sound and reliable.
Mr. Rankin was married twice. After the death of his first wife he married Miss Angeline Layton, who died leaving an only son, Morton L. Rankin, who was born in Terre Haute, July 24, 1873.
While his trade relations brought him into contact with only a limited portion of the population, however, Mr. Rankin was well known to every citizen of Terre Haute by reason of his active work in behalf of the city's progress and development. Even prior to the Civil war his in- fluence and labors were felt as a moving force in community affairs. In the days of the old volunteer fire department he was one of the active men in looking after the protection of the city and became captain of the hose reel of the Northern Liberty Company in 1857. Two years later he was one of the men who solicited subscriptions to buy the first four-wheel hose reel ever used in this city. In later years he became one of the directors of the Volunteer Firemen's Association and at a meeting held in 1906 was appointed chairman of the committee to draft resolu- tions of respect in honor of the members who died during that year. In early manhood Mr. Rankin was a pronounced Republican and in 1868 was his party's candidate for treasurer, to which office he was elected and served for two years. About 1870 a change in his political views led him to identify himself with the Greenback party, which ultimately be- came the Populist party, and in 1894 and 1896 he was the Populist can- didate for congress in his district, and in 1896 he was treasurer of the national Populist committee. However, Mr. Rankin was never a bitter nor aggressive partisan. He recognized the good in all parties and in political workers and when it seemed for the interest of the community he did not hesitate to champion the cause of the candidate whom he be-
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