USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 33
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Henry B. Kohr was married in 1865 to Mary Eleanor Dunlap, who was born on January 13, 1843, in Ohio, the daughter of Ray and Ruth (White) Dunlap, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia.
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Ray Dunlap was the son of James Dunlap, a native of Ohio, who lived in the village of Leesburg, where he was closely connected with the public schools. Ruth White was the daughter of Thomas White, native of Vir- ginia, who moved to Ohio, where he was a fariner. Ray Dunlap and Ruth White were married in Ohio, and in 1856 settled at Raglesville, this county, where Mr. Dunlap followed the trade of blacksmith. He later lived at various places about the country, including Loogootee. He finally returned to Odon and operated a blacksmith shop there for many years. He was a soldier in the Civil War and served as a drum major, but was discharged on account of ill health. He and his family were all members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. The children of Ray and Ruth Dunlap were Dru- silla, Mary Ellen and Samuel. Samuel served as a substitute during the closing days of the Civil War.
To Henry B. and Mary Eleanor (Dunlap) Kohr were born four chil- dren, namely : Walter Preston, who married Lela Harshey and lives at Cleveland, Ohio, where he is employed as a bookkeeper; Edgar Ray, deceased, and Della, who married Walter Breden, of Odon, this county. Mrs. Garten is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Odon and takes an active interest in all the good works of the community. She is a woman of much force of character and is highly esteemed by all who know her.
JEROME DEMOTTE, M. D.
There is no class to whom greater gratitude is due from the world at large than to the self-sacrificing, sympathetic, noble-minded men whose life work is the alleviation of human suffering and the administering of com- fort to the afflicted. There is no standard by which their beneficent influ- ence can be measured. Their helpfulness is limited only by the extent of their knowledge and skill, while their power goes hand in hand with the wonderful laws of nature and springs from the very source of life itself. Some one has aptly said, "He serves God best who serves humanity most." Among the physicians and surgeons of Daviess county who have risen to eminence in their chosen field of endeavor is Dr. James DeMotte, of Odon. Doctor DeMotte's career has been marked by broad-minded and conscien- tious service in a sphere to which his life's energies have been devoted. His profound knowledge of his profession has won for him a leading place
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among the distinguished medical men of his day and generation in Daviess county.
Jerome DeMotte was born in Pike county, Indiana, in 1869, the son of Albert and Elizabeth (Anderson) DeMotte, the former a native of Pike county and the latter of Dubois county, Indiana. Albert DeMotte's parents. were Lawrence and Phoebe (Banta) DeMotte, who came from Mercer county, Kentucky, and settled on the farm where, two generations later, Dr. Jerome DeMotte was born, entering their land at the Vincennes land office on January 15, 1818. Lawrence DeMotte entered about two hundred acres of land, cleared it and established a home in the wilderness, and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1872. The father of Lawrence DeMotte was John DeMotte, of Mercer county, Kentucky, who lived and died in that county, where he was a farmer. The family orig- inally came from France and settled in New Jersey and from that state certain members of the family moved to Kentucky.
The maternal grandparents of Doctor DeMotte were William and Elizabeth (Harris) Anderson, who came from Kentucky to Dubois county, Indiana, in 1816, and entered a tract of three hundred acres of land. The home which they established in the wilderness is still in possession of the family. Both William Anderson and his wife died upon this farm. Upon. coming from Kentucky to Indiana, William Anderson drove seventy hogs through from Kentucky and these were the first tame hogs in this section of the country. The following winter was very severe and bears killed all except five of the number.
Albert DeMotte received only a very limited education in the early schools of his day, it being necessary for him to go through the woods three and four miles to school. He was a farmer all of his life on the old DeMotte farm, which is still owned by the family. The children of Albert and Elizabeth (Anderson) DeMotte were Ella, Clara, Elvis, Jerome and Sebastian.
Jerome DeMotte received a common school education and in 1889 attended the Southern Indiana Normal School, now extinct, at Mitchell, Indiana. He also was a student at the Princeton Normal College in 1890 and 1891 and was graduated from this institution in the latter year. Sub- sequently he taught school for three years and then, in 1892, entered the University of Michigan, remaining there until 1895. He then spent one year at the Ohio Medical College and was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He took up the practice of medicine in 1896 at Odon
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and has been engaged continuously in the practice of his profession there since that date, a period of about twenty years.
In 1899 Dr. Jerome DeMotte was married to Olive Vest, of Barr township, the daughter of A. J. Vest, a farmer of that township. To this. happy union three children have been born, Russell, Pauline and Calvin, all of whom are living at home.
Doctor DeMotte is a member of the Daviess County Society and the Indiana State Medical Association, and he and his family are members of the Christian church. Doctor DeMotte has acquired an enviable standing among the professional men of Daviess county. He possesses, in the high- est degree, the confidence and respect of his patients, and enjoys a large and flourishing practice in that section of Daviess county.
EDGAR T. LAUGHLIN.
Indiana has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and bar. Perhaps none of the newer states can justly boast of abler jurists. or attorneys, many of whom have been men of national fame. Among those whose lives have been passed on a quieter plane, there is scarcely a town or city in the state that cannot boast of one or more lawyers capable of crossing swords in forensic combat with many of the distinguished legal lights of the country. While the growth and development of the state in the last half century has been most marvelous, viewed from any standpoint; yet of no one class of her citizenship has she greater reason for just pride than her judges and attorneys. In Edgar T. Laughlin, a well-known attor- ney of Odon, Indiana, are found many of the rare qualities which go to make the successful lawyer and jurist. He possesses perhaps few of those brilliant, dazzling, meteoric qualities which sometimes flash along the legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the vision for the moment, then disappearing, leaving little or no trace behind; but rather has those solid and more substantial qualities which shine with constant luster, shedding light in the dark places with steadiness and continuity.
Edgar T. Laughlin was born at Odon, Indiana, on December 8, 1875,- the son of Joseph D. and Lakie J. (Ledgerwood) Laughlin, and was edu- cated in the Odon public schools, spending a short time, in the years 1886-87, in the Washington public schools. His father was county prose- cuting attorney a part of this time. Young Laughlin took the honors of
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the county in the eighth-grade examination in the year 1893, and was grad- uated from the Odon high school in 1895. He studied law in his father's office and was admitted to the Daviess county bar at the age of twenty-one years. He practiced under his father for three years, or until the elder Laughlin retired in June, 1910, since which time Edgar T. Laughlin has conducted an individual law practice with his office and residence at Odon. In 1904 he was elected prosecuting attorney for this county, and was re-elected in 1906, serving from January, 1905, to January, 1909. He has taken an active part in community affairs and is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Odon and in the Farmers' Bank of Odon, as well as in the Farmers' Bank of St. Bernice.
On September 30, 1902, Edgar T. Laughlin was married to Elva Pearl O'Dell, daughter of John W. O'Dell, and to this union two children, Cleta D. and Nora Blanche, have been born.
Mr. Laughlin has been for some time city attorney of Odon. He also is the attorney for the trustees of Van Buren and Madison townships. Mr. Laughlin and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men.
Edgar T. Laughlin's father, Joseph Dunn Laughlin, was born in Martin county, Indiana, February 1, 1845, the son of John O. M. and Elizabeth (Giege) Laughlin, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter a native of Tennessee. John O. M. Laughlin was the son of John Richard and Sarah (Gilis) Laughlin, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. John Richard Laughlin, a soldier in the War of 1812, emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky, and there was married. In 1818 he moved to Lawrence county, Indiana, purchasing land near Bedford. Incidentally he was engaged in the manufacture of salt, boiling down the water from one of the numerous salt springs thereabouts. After a time he began farm- ing and he and his neighbors were accustomed to float live stock and mer- chandise on rafts to New Orleans. In 1832 he made a trip to New Orleans and walked back to Memphis, where he and his partner died of cholera.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Geiger) Laughlin, the wife of John O. M. Laughlin, was the daughter of a soldier of the War of 1812, who married a Hender- son and emigrated from Tennessee to Lawrence county, Indiana, where he entered land near Bedford. Three sons of this family, Isaiah, George and Wiley, were soldiers in the Civil War. Though John O. M. Laughlin had very little education, he having attended school altogether about three
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months, he nevertheless became well informed. He was a preacher in the Church of God and also a farmer. He entered land in Martin county and accumulated altogether a hundred and sixty acres. He and his wife died in Martin county in 1895. They had lived in Morgan county for some time, probably for five or six years. They were the parents of ten children, namely: George, who died in infancy; Sarah F .; Matilda E .; John J)., who served in Company B, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, lived until 1909; Joseph D., who also served the same company ; Merinda C., Ulysses G., Rufus J., Minerva E. and Ausman A.
An uncle of Joseph D. Laughlin, Joseph G. Laughlin, had three sons in Company B, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. They were James B., John R. and Joseph H. James B. was wounded at Buckton Station and at Antietam, but survived the war. John R. was wounded at Antietam and some years after the war died of his wounds.
Joseph D. Laughlin was educated in the common schools of Martin county and at the Dover Hill Academy and Zion Seminary at Zion, Illinois. He taught school altogether eight years, the last year at Odon, Indiana. After quitting the teaching profession he began practicing law at Odon. and, with the exception of the time he was prosecuting attorney of Daviess county, has lived at Odon. He was prosecutor from November, 1886, to November, 1888. He practiced twenty-six years, retiring in 1900.
On October 26, 1873, Joseph D. Laughlin was married to Lakie Jane Ledgerwood, who was born in Greene county, this state, the daughter of Charles and Amanda (Chambers) Ledgerwood, both natives of Tennessee. Charles Ledgerwood was the son of Joseph and Margaret ( Hayes) Ledger- wood, natives of Tennessee, who settled near Scotland. Greene county, this state, during pioneer times, being among the first settlers there. Joseph Ledgerwood was killed by a falling tree, and his widow died at the home of her son, Charles Ledgerwood, in the eastern part of Madison township. this county, at the age of ninety-three years. Mrs. Laughlin's maternal grandparents were Thomas and Lakie Janes Chambers, both natives of Ten- nessee, who died near Jelico, that state, the former at the age of one hun- dred and four years. Thomas Chambers owned five or six hundred acres of land and ninety slaves. He was a Union man and freed his slaves at the beginning of the war. Charles Ledgerwood married in Tennessee and came to Indiana about 1831, locating in Greene county, where he owned considerable land. About 1855 he removed to Madison township, this county, where his wife died about 1864 and he died two years later. They
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were the parents of eleven children, as follow: Eliza Jane, Margaret, Thomas, Barbara, Elizabeth, James, William, Amanda, Charles, Lakie Jane and Milton. James Ledgerwood, who lived until 1910, served in Company C, Ninety-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War.
Eleven children were born to Joseph D. and Lakie J. (Ledgerwood). Laughlin, as follow: Laura, Edgar T., Lily, Maude, Bertha, Oliver O., Elizabeth, Jane, Nellie, Cora and Daisy Fay. Joseph D. Laughlin and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of J. W. Thornburg Post No. 474, Grand Army of the Republic, at Odon, Indiana. Mr. Laughlin is the man who obtained the construction of the railroad into Odon. It was through his efforts that the name of Clarksburg; was changed to Odon.
HIRAM HYATT.
Among the men of sterling worth and strength of character who cre- ated a profound impression on the communal life of this locality, no one achieved a larger meed of popular respect than the late Hiram Hyatt. His life-long residence in one locality gave the people an opportunity to know him in every phase of his character. That he was true to life in its every phase is manifest by the esteem and regard in which he was held during his; life and the respect that is paid to his memory. He won success by his own honest endeavor and indomitable energy. He placed himself in the front rank of the enterprising citizens of Daviess county by exercising these excellent qualities. He outstripped the less active plodders on the highway of life and achieved a marked success. His is a name that all men who remember him delight to honor because of his upright life and wholesome habits.
Hiram Hyatt was born on June 6, 1847, and died on February 16, 1896. He was a son of Elisha Hyatt, Sr., a large landowner of Daviess county. Hiram Hyatt was educated in the common schools of Daviess. county, and when a young man entered a bank in Washington. Later he became a grain merchant, and looked after his father's estate. He was city treasurer of Washington for a number of years and prominent in the coun- cils of the Republican party in Daviess county. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity and was a Knight Templar, being past emi- nent commander at the time of his death. At the age of eighteen he became a deacon in the Presbyterian church and served throughout his life in that.
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capacity. He was also a great Sunday school worker and every Sunday was to be found in his accustomed place in the Sunday school.
The late Hiram Hyatt was married on February II, 1873, to Emma B. Van Trees, the daughter of Colonel Van Trees, and to this happy union two children were born: William A., a well-known real estate dealer of Washington, Indiana, and Harry V., a manufacturer of Chicago, Illinois.
Col. John Van Trees, the father of Mrs. Hyatt, was born on Septem- ber 4, 1804, on the Little Miami river, near Cincinnati, Ohio, a son of Emanuel and Julia (Storms) Van Trees. Emanuel Van Trees was a native of Pennsylvania, and his father was a native of Heidelburg, Germany. Emanuel Van Trees came to Daviess county in 1819 and helped lay out the town of Washington. He had come west, however, about nine years previ- ously. He died in a log house that stood on what is now the corner of East Sixth and Main streets, in the county seat. He was the first clerk of the court in Daviess county, and was succeeded in that office by his son, Col. John Van Trees, at the time of his death.
Col. John Van Trees was educated in the pioneer schools of Daviess county, but was almost wholly self-educated. He stood high in the educa- tional affairs of Daviess county in his day and generation. He was a thor- ough master of the German language, as this language was spoken in his home. After retiring from the office of county clerk he became a merchant, and for many years was engaged in the mercantile business. He died on January 18, 1895, at the advanced age of ninety years. Col. John Van Trees erected a fine house in the colonial style in the place of the log house which his father had built, and lived there the rest of his life, this house still being owned by the family. Early in life Colonel Van Trees was a Whig, but later became a Republican, and was once a candidate for state treasurer. Colonel Van Trees had two sons, Charles R. and Henry E., who partici- pated in the Civil War. His family consisted of five sons and five daugh- ters, all of whom lived to reach middle age. Three sons and three daugh- ters are still living, namely: John, of St. Louis, Missouri; Henry E., a resident of California; William L., of Washington; Mrs. Helen S. Scudder, of Washington; Lida, living on the old home place, and Mrs. Emma B. Hyatt, the widow of Hiram Hyatt.
Col. John Van Trees was married in May, 1830, to Laura G. Prentiss, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, a daughter of Thomas Green and Laura G. (Porter) Prentiss, natives of Rutland, Vermont, who settled in Lexington, Kentucky, and built the woolen mills in that town. Subse- quently they came to the banks of the White river, in this county, and there,
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with certain other New England settlers, established a town, which has now vanished. Mrs. Emma B. Hyatt is a descendant of Capt. John Pren- tice, a Revolutionary soldier who changed the spelling of the name from Prentice to Prentiss.
GEORGE GODWIN.
The career of George Godwin, head of the firm of George Godwin & Son, contains no exciting chapter of tragic events, but is replete with well- defined purposes which, carried to successful issue, have won for him an influential place in the business circles of Washington and Daviess county, as well as high personal standing among his fellow citizens. His life work has been on of unceasing industry and perseverance. The systematic and honorable methods which he has ever followed have resulted not only in winning the confidence of those with whom he has had dealings, but also in building up a large and profitable business in the sale of dry goods and groceries.
George Godwin was born in Reeve township, Daviess county, Indiana, on May 5, 1862, a son of Edward and Esther (Allen) Godwin, the former anative of Maryland, and the latter of Indiana, who were the parents of. five children : Alfred M., deceased; Emma Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Reuben A. Perkins; George, of Washington, this county ; Jesse, of Mitchell, Indiana, and Martha, the wife of James E. Gilley, of Washington.
Edward Godwin came to Indiana with his parents in 1831. They set -- tled in Barr township, this county, and soon afterward moved to Knox. county, near Edwardsport; but before the breaking out of the Civil War they returned to Daviess county, and here Edward Godwin grew to man -- hood and became a substantial farmer. He first purchased a claim of forty acres and added to it until at one time he owned about two hundred and. forty acres of land in Reeve township. There he reared his family, and. there he died at the age of seventy-three years. His widow still survives and. now lives with her daughter, Mrs. Martha Gilley. Both were members of the Christian church, in which Mr. Godwin was an elder for more than. forty years.
The paternal grandfather of George Godwin was Jesse Godwin, who married in Greenwood and came from Liverpool, England, to the United States, settling first in Maryland. Subsequently they came to Daviess county, arriving here in 1831. Jesse Godwin's wife died at Edwardsport, Knox
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county, Indiana. He afterwards returned to Daviess county, where his death occurred at the age of seventy-six. Jesse Godwin and wife reared a large family of children, among whom were Edward, George, John, Jesse and Thomas.
The maternal grandparents of George Godwin was Joseph and Susan (White) Allen, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, and pio- neers of Daviess county, they having been early settlers in Reeve township, where both died, the former at the age of seventy-nine and the latter at the age of eighty-four. Joseph Allen was a merchant, and when he came to this county started a horse-power grist-mill, which he presently changed to a water-power mill, finally erecting a steam-power mill. He was a very successful miller and after awhile erected a second mill. During the time that he was thus engaged as a merchant and miller he also continued as a. farmer and stock raiser. He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, namely: Esther, John, Malinda, Tolbert, Eliza, Jane, Mary, Stan- cil, James, Charles, Emma and two who died young.
George Godwin was reared on his father's farm in Reeve township, attending the district schools, and lived at home until he was twenty-four years of age. He began his career as a merchant in the town of Alfords- ville, where he conducted a general store for two years before his marriage. On the 5th of January, 1885, this store was destroyed by fire and Mr. God- win lost all his goods. On April 19, 1885, he opened the business again on the same spot, where he continued in business until 1907, in which year he moved to Washington. In 1906 Mr. Godwin was elected county treasurer, serving four years, comprising two terms. He became connected with the State Bank of Washington in the meantime, having assisted in its organi- zation, and acted as its president for two years. Subsequently he resigned this office and purchased his present dry-goods and grocery store in 1912. Mr. Godwin has associated with him in this business his three sons, Neil .. Keith and Ralph.
On April 11, 1885, George Godwin was married to Mary Lannum, a daughter of Robert and Matilda. (Chandler). Lannum, and to this union five children have been born, Maud, Helen, Neil, Keith and Ralph. Maud married Bernard L. Spalding, of Montgomery, to which union two children have been born, Helen and Carl. Helen Godwin died at the age of eighteen years. The mother of these children died on April 26, 1911, at the age of forty-nine. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, being a devoted and active worker in the church. She was born in Maysville, Ken- tucky ; her parents wer natives of the same state and died there after the
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war. They were the parents of five children, Lizzie, Mary, John, Perry and Jennie, all of whom are dead save John.
On January 15, 1912, Mr. Godwin married, secondly, Mrs. Carrie B. Danley, widow of Joseph Danley, and a daughter of Eli and Sarah Gill. She was born in Ohio, of which state her parents also were natives, the latter moving to Illinois about the time of the Civil War, settling at Flora. Her father died there at the age of seventy-one, while her mother is still living. Mrs. Carrie B. Godwin is a member of the Westminster Presby- terian church in Washington. Mr. Godwin is a member of Loogootee Lodge No. 626, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Liverpool Lodge No. IIO, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men, the Ben Hur Society, the Modern Woodmen of the World, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Few men living in the city of Washington are better known than George Godwin and few men more thoroughly deserve the confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens than he. He has been successful in business affairs, and has managed to acquire a substantial competence for his old age, when that time comes. His success in life is founded upon a reputation for honesty and square-dealing. Mr. Godwin's three sons, who are now associated with him in business, are equally devoted to the methods which have been established by their worthy father, and are regarded as among the rising young business men of the county seat.
ALVA OTIS FULKERSON.
Perseverance and sterling worth are almost always certain to win con- spicuous recognition in any locality. Alva Otis Fulkerson, the present county superintendent of schools of Daviess county, Indiana, and formerly a well- known teacher in the Washington high school, is a splendid example of the successful self-made man. He not only eminently deserves the confidence reposed in him by the trustees of the various townships of Daviess county and the people of Daviess county as well; but he also possesses the talents and forcefulness which have made him one of the leading county superin- tendents in the state of Indiana. He is now president of the State County Superintendents' Association. He was a successful instructor and in his present position has done much to raise the standard of the public schools of Daviess county. He is a man of strong fiber and vigorous mentality.
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