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 44
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streets, and in February, 1903, the firm of Leith & Avery was organ- ized and the business was removed to its present location at the corner of Seventeenth street and Washington avenue. There they have since conducted a general store, carrying a large and well selected line of goods and receiving a liberal patronage, which is constantly increasing in volume and importance.
In 1886 Mr. Avery was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Leith, who was born in Effingham county, Illinois, a daughter of David R. and Mary Jane (Wilson) Leith. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Avery have been born three children : Edna, now the wife of Willard T. Bosley, of Terre Haute; Hazel D. and Donald W. Fraternally Mr. Avery is con- nected with the Knights and Ladies of Honor and also holds member- ship in Ben Hur lodge. In politics he is a Democrat, with that inde- pendent tendency which is one of the hopeful political signs of the period. Men of both parties, recognizing the evils and corrupt prac- tices of many party leaders, frequently cut loose from party ties and, casting an independent ballot, support men or measures which they deem will prove most beneficial to the community at large. Such a course has Mr. Avery followed and at all times his endorsement is given to the interests of progressive citizenship.
ARTHUR HUNT was born on the farm where he now lives, in Prairie Creek township, July 18, 1881, a son of John and Elizabeth ( Beauchamp) Hunt, born respectively in Sullivan county, Indiana, February 5, 1839, and in Kentucky, October 31, 1849, and they are now living in Middle- town. John Hunt, a farmer and stock raiser, is a son of Ira and Mary Hunt, who came from North Carolina to Sullivan county, Indiana, at an early day in its history. Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt is a daughter of Harvey and Ruth Beauchamp, who, in 1852, moved from Kentucky to Prairieton township, Vigo county, where Mr. Beauchamp became well known as a farmer and butcher. One of his sons, Thomas, served with the Thirty- first Indiana Infantry as a private during the period of the Civil war, and was wounded in the knee at Lookout Mountain. Thomas Beauchamp participated in the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Frankfort, and although the Thirty-first had the reputation of par- ticipating in the hardest-fought engagements of the war he was never taken prisoner throughout his entire service. Four children were born to John and Elizabeth (Beauchamp) Hunt: Jabe B. and Liney (twins), the son marrying Carrie Piety and residing in Prairie Creck township, and the daughter being the wife of Joseph Thomas, of the same town- ship ; Arthur, of this review, and Lois, deceased. Mr. Hunt, the father, is a Republican and a Methodist, and he is now one of the trustees of his church.
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After completing his education in the public schools of Middletown, Arthur Hunt attended the high school of Terre Haute for three years. After his marriage he moved to his present farm of one hundred and seventy-nine acres, while, in addition, his wife also has ninety-six acres. He is now extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising, feeding all his grain to his hogs. He is a Republican and in fraternal circles affiliates with Lodge No. 596, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Middletown, of which he is now the senior deacon.
Mr. Hunt married, July 26: 1903, Grace E. Yeager, born in Prairie Creek township, December 28, 1884, a daughter of Warren Milton and Margaret Yeager. Warren M. Yeager was born in 1839, in Indiana, whither his father, Vincent Yeager, had moved at an early day and be- came an active politician and real estate dealer. One of his sons, Frank- lin Yeager, was a member of the Forty-third Regiment of Indiana In- fantry during the Civil war, and was wounded in the wrist. He is now living in Middletown. Warren MI. Yeager died February 2. 1906, but his widow is yet living and is a resident of Middletown. She was born in Sullivan county. Indiana, July 20. 1848. a daughter of Henry K. and Elizabeth K. (Mann) Wilson, who were from Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, and were enrolled among the early pioneers of Sullivan county, Indiana. To Warren M. and Margaret (Wilson) Yeager were born two children. Harry A. and Grace. The son is now married and living in Chicago.
WILLIAM I. GOBIN .- The name of William I. Gobin is recorded among the leading business men and farmers of Prairie Creek township. Vigo county, where he owns a valuable and well improved estate. He is a native, however, of the Blue Grass state, born on the Ist of August, 1852, to William and Margaret (Brenner) Gobin, both of whom were also natives of Kentucky. The father was born in 1818 and the mother in 1819, their deaths occurring in 1875 and 1888, respectively. They lived in the southland until 1857, when they left Kentucky and came to Vigo county, Indiana, nine years later, locating in Middletown, and they re- mained there during the remainder of their lives. William Gobin, the father, was a farmer, millwright and sawmill operator, and possessed mechanical ability sufficient to enable him to perform any labor needed on the farm in that line. He was successful in his business enterprises and at his death left an estate of ten thousand dollars. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gobin were thirteen children, twelve of whom are living, namely: Simon, who married Anna Meeker and lives in Terre Haute; Susan, the wife of Thomas Hagerman, of Linton township, Vigo county ; Mary K., widow of Stephen Cumpton and a resident of Middletown;
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Julia D., the wife of Reuben Duncan, a farmer in Arkansas ; James K. P., who married Emmazetta Thomas and lives in Middletown; Margaret E., wife of James Elliott, of Terre Haute; Sarah M., wife of John Mc- Carty, of Linton township, Vigo county; William I., of this review; John, who married Rachel Wingler and resides in Middletown; Kath- erine, who is married and lives in Farmersburg; Samuel, unmarried and a resident of Terre Haute ; Daniel, who married Jane McGrannihan and is in Shelburn, Indiana, and the youngest of this large family, who died in infancy.
William I. Gobin was a young man of twenty-one years when his father died. He remained at home and assisted about the farm for about five years more, when he bought a threshing machine and conducted the same during that season. He then engaged in carpenter and mason work and also conducted a sawmill, having operated a sawmill more or less ever since. He began operating a thresher in 1879, continued the busi- ness for ten years, and since 1889 has been engaged in farming and con- ducting his sawmill. During the eight years following his marriage he farmed on rented land, and then bought fifty-two and a half acres of his present farm, at that time heavily covered with timber, but with the pass- ing years he has cleared his land and built many large and substantial buildings. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres, and his is one of the best farms in Prairie Creek township, well drained with tile and richly cultivated. He is a mechanic as well as a farmer.
On the 8th of February, 1882, Mr. Gobin was married to Sarah E. Wilfong, born November 2, 1852, a daughter of Ammon and Emily (Frakes) Wilfong, both now deceased. Of their six children five are now living, namely: Laurina, born November 1, 1883, who received a common school training in Middletown; Curtis, born May 9, 1886, is at home: Frederick, born October 3, 1887: Edith, born October 28, 1890 ; Margaret, born June 3, 1892, and William C., who was born January 6. 1885, died March 9, 1888. Mr. Gobin is politically a Democrat and fraternally a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 476, of Middletown, and has also belonged to the encampment for thirty-one years. With his wife he is a member of the Christian church at Middletown.
RAYMOND H. KINTZ, who, since February, 1877. has been a resi- dent of Terre Haute, is now a prominent representative of business inter- ests as.a lumber merchant and contractor. He has attained his success through the "merit system" and an analyzation of his work shows that his methods have been based upon the rules that govern strict and tin- swerving integrity, combined with unwearied industry and persistency
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of purpose. His birth occurred in Perry county, Ohio, near New Lex- ington, September 23, 1853, his parents being Charles and Elizabeth ( Foncannon) Kintz. The father was born in Pennsylvania. For many years the parents resided in Ohio and there spent their last days. The father was a carpenter and contractor and under his direction Raymond H. Kintz learned the trade. His workmanship constantly advanced in efficiency as his experience broadened and he was well equipped for the conduct of successful building operations, when in February, 1877, he came to Terre Haute. For about five years he was in the employ of others, but ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he began contracting and building in 1882 and gradually worked his way upward, becoming one of the most prominent in his line in the city. Many im- portant contracts have been awarded him and substantial structures here stand as monuments to his handiwork and enterprise. He broadened the scope of his activity in the spring of 1901 through the establishment of a lumber business, which he has since conducted.
In 1882 Mr. Kintz was married to Miss Anna L. Spotts, and unto them have been born six children, of' whom four are yet living. Mr. Kintz belongs to the Knights of Columbus and is a communicant of St. Patrick's Catholic church. He is a man of public spirit, much interested in the welfare and progress of the community. In manner he is pleasant and genial, while in business circles he has gained an unsullied reputa- tion through the straightforward methods he has ever followed. It is a noticeable fact that the great majority of the successful men of the day are they who have planned their own advancement and have accom- plished it in spite of many obstacles and with a certainty that could have been attained only through their own efforts. Of this class Mr. Kintz is a worthy representative. From early youth he has been one of the world's workers, and his prosperity is attributable directly to his own labors.
HARRY HERBERT SINGHURSE .- The gentleman whose name heads this biographical review is a scion of one of the pioneer families of Vigo county, Indiana, and we herewith present a brief record of his life to be preserved in this history. His natal day was March 29, 1870; he was born in Pierson township, Vigo county, and is one of five children- three sons and two daughters-born to Lewis and Aseneth (Timmons) Singhurse, viz .: Lou Alice, wife of Thomas Bonds, of Jasonville, In- diana; Emory Grant, a resident of Pierson township, who married Miss Edna Stark; Cora Maud, deceased; Lewis, and Harry H. Singhurse, of this sketch.
Father Singhurse was a native of the good old Buckeye state and
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was born January 25, 1825. He was reared to the honest occupation of a tiller of the soil, and was educated in the primitive schools of that period. He came to Indiana when but a little boy, with his parents, and Vigo county was the chosen home of the family. His father, William Sing- hurse, was a soldier in the War of 1812. When the tocsin of war was sounded the father of Harry H. responded to the call for troops to defend the flag and the nation's honor, and enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Bryan. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and he was in the Atlanta campaign, when the troops were under fire for over a hundred days. When the war was over he received his honorable discharge and returned to his Indiana home to again don the civilian's garb. As his vocation was that of an agriculturist he began at first on a rented farm and as the years passed and he prospered he purchased land in Vigo county, and is now one of the prosperous farmers.
Harry H. Singhurse is a gentleman who is well known in Pierson township as a prosperous farmer and stockman. His estate comprises about one hundred and eighty-five acres of choice land and comfortable improvements, and his residence is a modern cottage home. It was on September 13, 1894, that Mr. Singhurse wedded Miss Clara Sparks. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary Sparks, born August 30, 1872, and receiving her education in the public schools of the county of Vigo. Mr. Sparks was born September 14, 1843, and died June, 1891. His wife was born November 24, 1847, and is living in Linton township, Vigo county. Two children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sing- hurse, a son and daughter, both living: Herbert Lynn, born February 17, 1899, and a pupil in the public schools, and Mary Lucile, born July 26, 1902.
Politically Mr. Singhurse advocates and supports the principles of the Republican party and cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, Indiana's son, whose brilliance as an international lawyer is well established in the history of the country. Mr. Singhurse has never aspired to any public office, preferring to give his time to his business. In a fraternal sense he is a member of the Tribe of Red Men, of Youngs- town, Indiana. Both he and his estimable wife are members of the Methodist church and have always contributed to any benevolence worthy their consideration. Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Singhurse are citizens of Pierson township, who are held in high esteem by their many friends. Their hospitable home is ever open to entertain their friends, and the stranger receives a cordial welcome. We are pleased to present this short review of this worthy family, to be saved and preserved in the "Twentieth Century History of Vigo County."
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EDGAR H. McCLANNAHAN is numbered among the prominent resi- dent farmers of Prairie Creek township, Vigo county, and was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, June 29, 1857, a son of Elias A. and Miranda (Hill) McClannahan. Elias A. McClannahan was born in Virginia, January 12, 1825, and died in Vigo county, Indiana, April 9, 1903. When a boy of eight years he came north to Ohio and resided there for four or five years, after which he spent a similar period in Honey Creek town- ship, Vigo county, Indiana, and thence came to Farmersburg. He was married here at the age of twenty-two years, in 1848, to Miranda Hill, who was born in Sullivan county, this state, January 16, 1827, and is now living with her daughters in Farmersburg. After his marriage Mr. McClannahan commenced the struggle for a livelihood by renting a farm, later becoming the owner of three hundred and eighty acres of land, and in time he became a prominent farmer and stock-raiser. He was a Demo- crat, a Mason and a member of the Baptist church, his wife being also connected with that denomination. He was a good Christian man and took pride in the upbuilding of his church, being a faithful and earnest worker in every way. 'Six children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. McClannahan, namely: Harley, who married Lettie Yard and lives in Sullivan county ; Albert, who died when young; Mary Ellen, who also died when young; Edgar H., of whom mention is made later; Maggie, the wife of Rice McClane, of Farmersburg, and the twin of Maggie, who died in infancy.
When Edgar H. McClannahan had attained the age of twenty-nine years he married and moved to a farm of one hundred acres of his own in Sullivan county, Indiana, remaining there for about two years, and at the close of the period he came to the homestead he now owns in Prairie Creek township, Vigo county, his real estate at the present time consist- ing of one hundred and eighty-six acres in that locality and some lots in Oklahoma. He devotes his land to stock-raising, breeding principally horses, cattle and mules. He gives his political support to the Democratic party and has fraternal relations with Prairie Creek Lodge, No. 459, of the Masonic order, and with Prairie Creek Lodge, No. 5565, Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has filled all the offices.
Mr. McClannahan married, September 22, 1886, Julia A. Thomas, who was born on the 5th of December, 1862, to James and Matilda Thomas, and nine children were born to them: Laura E., born August 9, 1887; Lenora M., September 7, 1888; Arthur Elwood, born January 21, 1891, died December 22, 1891; Octavia M., born October 19, 1892; Joseph M., February 7, 1895; James E., born March 27, 1897, died De- cember 17, 1900; Parthena E., born January 21, 1901; Ray Edison, April 8, 1902, and Julia Esther, April 12, 1906. Both Mr. and Mrs.
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McClannahan are members of the Baptist church and for three years he has served as superintendent of the Sunday school and is an active church worker.
PATRICK MALONE, the proprietor of Moore Park Dairy, the largest retail dairy in Terre Haute, was born August 22, 1866, in Ireland. In 1876 he came to America with his aunt, who had raised him, for his mother died in the February following his ninth birthday. His father was a stone cutter and came to this country upon several occasions. Patrick Malone was one of a large family of children and on coming to this country with his aunt they located in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, where the boy remained until he had attained the age of nineteen. He then started the battle of life for himself, working at different places in the New England states, including six months at the dairy business in Connecticut. In November of 1894 he came to Terre Haute and began work on the Sam McKeen dairy farm. After one and a half years in this employment he went to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, but remained there only six months and then returned to Terre Haute and worked for B. G. Cox, who owned the dairy farm in Harrison township, which is now the prop- erty of Mr. Malone. After one and a half years on the Cox farm he spent a few months in the employ of John Coltin, the owner of the "Uncle Sam Dairy." and in November, 1898, purchased the property of Mr. Col- tin. Mr. Malone remained on that farm until March of 1900, when he returned to the Cox dairy, moving thereto in 1901. He continued as a renter until 1904, when he bought his farm of one hundred and twenty- eight acres, to which he has since added about sixty-four acres. He also owns about eighty head of cattle and milks from fifty to sixty cows.
On the 28th of April, 1897, Mr. Malone was united in marriage to Mary S. Ward, who was born in St. Mary's, this county, August 12, 1867, and received her education in the sisters' school of that place, and in the State Normal of Terre Haute, which she attended for three years. She then taught school for eight years in different parts of Vigo county. She is a daughter of Thomas J. and Ann (Balfe) Ward, the father born near Baltimore, Maryland, August 11, 1836, and the mother in Ireland, in 1834. They were married in May, 1857, at St. Mary's, where they have lived ever since, and Mr. Ward is a fruit-grower and nurseryman. For twenty-five or thirty years he has served as a justice of the peace, and he is a Democrat politically. Mr. and Mrs. Ward were the parents of eight children, namely: Mary Ann, wife of Horace Hinton, and their home is in Harrison township: Jennie, a teacher, of St. Louis, Missouri : Florence, the wife of Howey Bolton, of Terre Haute ; Thomas J., Jr., whose home is also in Terre Haute ; Mary S., the wife of Mr. Malone: William and
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John, both deceased, and Rose, who is a teacher in the public schools of Terre Haute. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Malone, Francis and Anna, the son born June 12, 1898, and the daughter Feb- ruary 7, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Malone are members of the Catholic church at Terre Haute. The former gives his political allegiance to the Demo- cratic party.
GUY HORACE BRIGGS, trustee of Fayette township, and one of the best known men in that section of Vigo county, was born in the township named, on the 9th of October, 1874, and has been prominently identified with its business, social and political interests throughout his entire life. He remained with his mother until he was sixteen years of age, and as he had then finished the eighth grade in the public schools he commenced to travel an independent pathway in the world, first working by the month at farm labor. His first employer was George L. Lambert, with whom he remained but a month, and his second, George L. Hutchinson, with whom he was associated for two years. He then worked one year with George Pryor, was with J. W. Reeder for a like period, and since that time has been master of his own affairs. His first purchase consisted of forty acres in Clinton township, Vermilion county, Indiana, to which he added a tract of eighty acres, remaining on this homestead for seven years. Mr. Briggs next became the owner of the one hundred and twenty-four acres on which he had first worked when he left school, and in addition to this homestead he retains his former purchase of one hun- (Ired and twenty acres, but he has added to its acreage at different times, first buying fifty acres and later ninety-seven, forming what is known as the "old Shepherd farm." On this large acreage he is extensively engaged in general farming.
In 1900 Mr. Briggs began contracting for levee and ditch work, his first contract being with the Lafford Levee and Ditch Company. He was also identified with the large contract for the work on the east side of the Wabash river, in Parke county, consisting of seven miles of levees and seven miles of ditches. Since then he has assisted in building the ex- tension of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad in Fayette township, one of the longest grades this side of Terre Haute. He also drove the first pile for the bridge at Clinton, Indiana. In addition to this work as a contractor and agriculturist, he is quite extensively engaged in the buying and selling of horses.
The social and fraternal, as well as the business life of Vigo county, finds in Mr. Briggs a leader. He is a member of the blue lodge, council, commandery and the Eastern Star, of the Masonic order, affiliating with all the branches in Clinton, with the exception of the council in Terre
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Hante. He has filled all the chairs in the Clinton lodge of Odd Fellows. and in 1904 transferred his membership to the New Goshen lodge. He has been a delegate to the grand encampment of Odd Fellows, and was also a delegate at the dedication of their hall at Greensburg, Indiana, as well as at the laying of the corner-stone of their official home at Indian- apolis, in November, 1907. He is identified with the Rebekah lodge at Clinton and with the Uniform Rank of the Knights of Pythias, being among the one hundred and five members who won the first prize at the state encampment of the latter order, held August 16, 1907. To add to the already long list of his fraternal connections, he also has membership in the Modern Woodmen of America, at Clinton. Politically he is a Republican and was elected to take the oath of office for township trustee on the Ist of January, 1904.
On the 15th of December, 1895, Mr. Briggs married Thirsa Reeder, who was born in Clinton township, Vermilion county, Indiana, on the 7th of October, 1872, and is a daughter of Joseph Wesley and Ann (Smith) Reeder, the former born in the county named and the latter in Virginia. With his parents, Mr. Reeder migrated in the caravan to Indiana, and both he and his wife are now deceased. Mrs. Briggs re- ceived her education in Clinton township. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Guy H. Briggs are Herbert Ray, June 24, 1897, and Ruth Marie Briggs, born February 25, 1906. Mrs. Briggs is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Mr. Briggs has a half-sister, Hazel, wife of Loren Wright, who resides in Clinton township. as do his mother and his step-father, William Pugh.
WILSON ADAMS .- Vigo county, Indiana, claims Wilson Adams among its native sons, his birth occurring in its township of Lost Creek, October 14, 1882. and Seelyville numbers him among her representative citizens. In February, 1907, he became the proprietor of a butcher shop in Seelyville, conducting it in connection with his father for a time, and in September of the same year he bought a general store adjoining the shop, and conducted both the store and the shop until the spring of 1908. when he sold it. He also owns his own residence and fifteen cottages in Seelyville.
Mr. Adams is a member of one of the early pioneer families of Lost Creek township and a son of George E. and Martha Ellen (Cole) Adams, both of whom were also born within its borders, the father on the 3d of June. 1854, and the mother, April 7, 1863. and both are now living in Seelyville. Mr. Adams is both a farmer and butcher and owns a tract of forty acres. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 51, at Terre Haute. Five children were born to
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