USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 38
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After his marriage, the late Joseph Edwards settled near Plainville, where he purchased forty acres of land. He sold this farm and in 1871 removed to the farm where the widow and children now live. He owned one hundred and twenty acres of land at the time of his death.
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Joseph and Ava (Byrer) Edwards had eight children, four of whom are deceased, Sarah Ellen, Emma, Dasie and Florence. Henry, Thomas, Anna and Josie are living. Of these children, Henry lives in Daviess county. He married Zella Clinton, and they have nine children, Gladys, Helen, Pearl, Augustus, Delphia, Lucile, Ava, Ruth and Edna; Anna lives in Plain- ville, Indiana. She married Lewis Disbrough, and they have no children. Lewis Disbrough was a soldier in the Civil War, having enlisted in August. 1861, serving for three years. After the war, he served five years in the regular army. The other children, who still live with Mrs. Edwards on the home farm, are Thomas and Josie, who assist in the farming.
The late Joseph Edwards was a soldier in the Civil War, having served with the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for three years. Mr. Edwards died on March 29, 1883, since- which time the widow and children have been farming the place.
The late Joseph Edwards is remembered as a man of kind and gener- ous impulses, one who was kind to his wife and to his family, who were his- first consideration and his first care. He was a man who took a deep inter- est in public questions and has been missed in the community where he was. so well known.
THOMAS O'BRYAN.
Among the influential citizens of Daviess county, the records of whose. lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, Thomas O'Bryan occupies a prominent place. For years he has exerted a beneficial influence in the locality where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, honesty of purpose and motive and every-day com- mon sense, which have enabled him, not only to advance his own interests, but also, largely, to promote the moral and material advancement of Steele township, where he lives. Mr. O'Bryan is now living retired in Plainville, Indiana. He is well known by the people of Steele township.
Thomas O'Bryan was born on January 3, 1849, in Martin county, Indiana. He is the son of Sylvester and Sarah (Queen) O'Bryan, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, in 1804, and who died in 1876, and the latter, the daughter of Mason Queen, a native of Martin county, where he was a farmer and also a devoted member of the Catholic church.
After the death of Sylvester O'Bryan's father and mother in Kentucky, he was taken to be reared by an uncle in Indiana. When he grew up, he
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returned to his native state and lived there for a few years, but, subse- quently, returned to Martin county, Indiana, where he farmed the remainder of his life. He owned six hundred and forty acres in Martin county and during the latter part of his life, he was a member of the Catholic church. He was married twice, his first wife being Julia Clemons. To this union two children were born, Joseph and William. After the death of his first wife, he married Sarah Queen, and to this union were born two children, Thomas, the subject of this sketch, and James, who is now residing in Arkansas.
Thomas O'Bryan was educated in the common schools of Martin county and grew up on his father's farm. He performed the usual tasks which fall to the lot of the average country boy, working on the farm during the summertime and attending school in the winter.
On April 18, 1872, Mr. O'Bryan was married to Ann Burch, the daughter of Lemuel and Emily (Jones) Burch, both natives of Daviess county, and now deceased. Lemuel Burch was born on April 20, 1832, and died at the age of forty-nine years. He was a farmer and a devout member of the Christian church, and he and his wife were the parents of seven chil- dren, Ann, George, Eugene, deceased; Darius, Christopher, Wiley and Mil- letus. Lemuel Burch was the son of Christopher Burch, who was born in a fort, who was a farmer by occupation and a member of the Christian church. He married Mary O'Callahan, a native of Ireland. Christopher Burch was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was the son of Charles Burch, a native of Ireland.
Mrs. Emily Burch, the mother of Mrs. O'Bryan, was the daughter of Wiley R. and Ann (Fording) Jones, the former a native of North Carolina and a slave-holder in the South, and the latter a native of Kentucky. Wiley R. Jones was the son of Ebenezer Jones, a native of Wales and a Methodist ininister who came to America and settled in South Carolina. Later he moved to Daviess county, Indiana, with his family, where he was probably the first settler in that county.
After his marriage, Thomas O'Bryan began farming in Daviess county and, with the exception of seven months, which he spent in Arkansas, he has lived in Daviess county during the entire time since. He is now living a retire life in Plainville, where he owns several lots. He also owns seventy acres of land south of Plainville in Steele township.
To Thomas and Ann (Burch) O'Bryan, six children have been born, James, Sarah, Nellie, John Wesley, Eugene, who graduated from the State
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Normal School at Terre Haute in 1915, and Pearl. Of these children, James married Helen Hurst and they have three children, William, Mable and Geraldine; Sarah married Jacob Ragle and lives in Arkansas. They have five children, Bertha, Hazel, Alma, Alva and Thomas; Nellie, who lives in Plainville, was a teacher and married Roscoe McCormick and has three children, Cecil, Clyde and Gordon; John W., who lives in Bogard township, also taught school, and married Mary Boyd and has two children, Merle and Elva.
Thomas O'Bryan has lived a long and useful life and has been an in- fluential figure in his community. He enjoys the entire confidence and re- spect of his neighbors and is admired by them for having reared a large family to useful and honorable lives.
ERNEST E. KILLION.
For many years Ernest E. Killion has been identified closely with the business affairs of Plainville and Steele township in Daviess county, Indiana. Atlhough a comparatively young man, his life has been one of untiring ac- tivity, and has been crowned with a degree of business success attained by comparatively few of those who aspire to eminence in business. Several years' conscientious work as a banker have brought with them not only in- creased business for his bank, but also a growth in banking knowledge and that wide and accurate judgment, the possession of which constitutes ma- turity in the business relations of life. By a straightforward, honorable course, Mr. Killion has built up a large and lucrative banking business, which is a splendid tribute to his progressive ideas and native executive ability. His life-work is a splendid example of what an American youth, plentifully endowed with good common sense, energy and determination, can accomp- lish.
Ernest E. Killion, the subject of this sketch, was born on January 9, 1887, in Steele township, Daviess county, Indiana. He is the son of Nathan E. Killion, a native of Daviess county. the life history of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume.
Ernest E. Killion, after receiving a good common-school education, at- tended the Northern Illinois Normal School for twelve weeks, and after that, returned to Plainville, Indiana, where he farmed for one year. In addition
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to the business and teachers' course at the normal, he also went to Vories Business College, at Indianapolis, for one year.
Mr. Killion now owns twenty acres of land adjoining the town of Plainville. He is the cashier and is a heavy stockholder in the Bank of Plainville. It was founded on April 13, 1908. He is also in partnership with Ollie Gilliatt, a well-known business man of Steele township, whose life history is recounted elsewhere. These two men own a general store in Plainville, which was purchased in 1911. They are also partners in the Plainville Canning Company, which was established by them in 1909.
Ernest E. Killion was married on June 3, 1904, to Alice Reeve, the daughter of S. T. Reeve, of Edwardsport, Indiana. Two children, Alice and Ernest E., Jr., have been born to this happy union.
Mr. Killion is identified with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is well known in Steele township, and is highly respected by all classes of people with whom he is very popular. The suc- cess of the Plainville bank, of which he is cashier, is largely due to the per- sistency with which he has sought business and to his keen discrimination in selecting only that business which would prove the best for his bank. Mr. Killion has the entire confidence, not only of the directors of his bank, but of the community at large.
GEORGE W. DOOLIN.
With the death of every pioneer, this age is losing touch with that period which saw the Middle West emerge from the wilderness. Because we have the things which much older communities enjoy and esteem as the marks of civilization, the younger generation may feel that the Mississippi valley is no longer virgin territory. Perhaps it is not, but its beginning and latest development can be spanned by the lives of a few men still known among us. One of these passed away a few years ago. George W. Doolin saw the first pike, the first railroad and the first canal built in this part of the country. He was one of the early settlers in Daviess county and in serene, but not inactive, old age, passed away in Steele township, Daviess county, Indiana. George W. Doolin belonged to the stock of which the con- querors of the West were made. Men of his kind were conquerors not merely of the physical aspects of the new country, but of the moral, reli- gious and civic as well.
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George W. Doolin was born on April 16, 1848, in Greene county, Indiana, and died on June 10, 1907. He was a farmer north of Plainville, Indiana, one and one-half miles and there owned one hundred and ninety- two acres of land. He was the son of William Doolin and Comfort Baker, who were farmers in Greene county.
George W. Doolin was educated in the common schools and grew up on his father's farm. He was married on July 4, 1870, to Martha Graham, who was born on March 5, 1853, and who is the daughter of John A. and Emerine (Cox) Graham. To this marriage, eight children were born, Nora E., Robert E., Rozella, John S., Myrtle, Diaz, Pearl and May. Of these children, Nora E. married Thomas E. English and has two children, Noble Alexander and Ernest; Robert E., who lives in 'Steele township, married Laura Cox and has three children, Bertha May, Irene and Hazel A., twins; Rozella, who lives in Elnora, married Elbert Dyer and has six children, Pearl, Claude, Susan, Irmel, Walter and Mary A .; Myrtle, who lives in Washington, Indiana, married Charles Itskin and has two children, Virgil and Claude; Pearl, who lives in Steele township, married Leonard Powell, by whom she had one child, Emerald. Mr. Powell had been married be- fore and had one child by his first wife, Leon; Mary Frances, who lives in Epsom, married Clay Dougherty and has one child, Leonard; Diaz, who married Ina Cooper, the daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Burks) Cooper, of Odon, who had one son, Robert. The wife and son live with Mrs. George W. Doolin.
Mrs. Doolin was the daughter of John A. Graham, who was born in Tennessee. He married twice. The second time to Emerine Cox, the daugh- rer of Gabriel Cox, of Kentucky. John A. Graham located in Knox county, Indiana, where he owned eight hundred acres of land. By his second mar- riage, John A. Graham had four children, Sarah Angeline, Mary Lavina, Melissa and Martha. Of these children, Martha is the only one living. The first wife of John A. Graham was Elizabeth Sloven. By this union there were five children, Nathan, Stephen, Franklin, Rebecca and Elizabeth, the last of whom is the only living child.
Mrs. Martha A. Doolin, the widow of George W. Doolin, lived on the old homestead farm and looks after the operations upon it. She is a woman of keen business judgment and is highly respected in Steele town- ship. George W. Doolin and wife were members of the Christian church. He was a Democrat.
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WILLIAM CHARLES FOUST.
There is no occupation which gives a man the same independence of life, which brings him closer to nature, than does farming. In pioneer times farming was very much of a drudgery, but with all the modern improve- ments the farmer is relieved of much of the hard work which was the por- tion of his forefathers. Then, too, farming has risen in dignity, until now it is often referred to as a profession rather than as an occupation. For fifty years the science of agriculture was in its mere infancy, and the idea that a man had to take a course in college in order to be a successful farmer, would have been laughed at, but today our colleges are teaching agriculture as a science and are turning out thousands of young men who are well trained in the scientific methods of farming. Another advantage which the present-day farmer commands, which was totally unknown to his pioneer forefathers, is the matter of quick transportation. Good roads are running through every portion of our state, and the interurban and automobile keep. the farmer in close touch, not only with his neighbors, but with the life in the city as well. Daviess is one of the oldest counties in the state, and, con- sequently, has many fine farms and good farmers within its borders. Among the enterprising and progressive farmers of Daviess county, there is none who stands in higher esteem than does William Charles Foust, of Steele township.
William Charles Foust was born on March 19, 1877, near Anderson, Madison county, Indiana. He is the son of John N. and Susan E. (Dame- wood) Foust, the former of whom was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, and who died, April 1, 1904, and the latter of whom was also born near Knoxville, Tennessee, and who died, April 1, 1910. She was the daughter of Boston and May (Cacaryn) Damewood. John N. Foust was the son of Daniel Foust, a native of North Carolina, and a soldier in the War of 1812. He moved to Tennessee, where he lived the remainder of his life, and it was in Tennessee that he reared his family.
John N. Foust received a common-school education and, at the out- break of the Civil War, enlisted in the Union army. By birth and by loca- tion he was by rights identified with the interests of the Confederacy, but he did not believe in slavery, so he escaped by night to the North and to the Union army and served during the entire war. He enlisted in the Third Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, as a private soldier. He was hit by a spent ball, and the wound on his foot caused him a great deal of trouble during the remainder of his life. After the close of the war, he moved to
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Indiana, and settled in Madison county, where he purchased eighty acres of land and where he lived, until 1883, when he sold his farm and came to Daviess county, Indiana, locating near Plainville. Here he bought one hundred and twenty-five acres. He was a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church, in which he was very active. He was also active in local affairs and especially in those of Daviess county. At one time he was a guard at the hanging of an innocent man in Madison county, which afterward changed his whole attitude toward capital punishment. He was a member of the Odd Fellows, both subordinate lodge and the encampment. John N. and Susan E. (Damewood) Foust had four children, B. L., William Charles, Theodore Claude, and Mary Edna. The last two are deceased. B. L. Foust has been married twice, the first time to Anna Heinbough, who bore him one child, Ralph, deceased, and the second time to Nora Standley, by whom four children, Cleo, Standley, Lyman and Juanita have been born. B. L. Foust lives in Plainville, and is in the dry goods business.
William Charles Foust was educated in the Plainville schools and in the high school, where he was able to obtain a good education. Mr. Foust was married on April 19, 1904, to Florence Hastings, the daughter of John and Ellie (Littell) Hastings, who are farmers of Bogard township, Daviess county. Mrs. Foust is the only child of her parents who grew to maturity Mrs. Ellie (Littell) Hastings is the daughter of John G. Littell, and a sister of Charles A. Littell, whose life history is told elsewhere in this volume.
After his marriage, Mr. Foust moved to the farm upon which he now lives, which is located about one-half mile north of Plainville, and consists of one hundred and twenty-five acres. William Charles and Florence (Hastings) Foust had five children, Mildred Alzora, Florence Margarite, named after her mother; Charles Hastings, and twin brother and sister, Dorothy Ellen and John Donald. The mother of these children is a faithful and devoted member of the Christian church, while Mr. Foust belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Foust is a member of the Masonic lodge and of the Knights of Pythias.
Besides Mr. Foust's farm, he also owns a store building and lot No. 99 in Plainville. William Charles Foust is commonly known as Charles. His buildings are perhaps the most up-to-date of any in the community in which he lives and are equipped with electric light, while the new home in which Mr. and Mrs. Foust and children live, has all modern conveniences.
Mr. Foust is an enterprising farmer and a public-spirited citizen. He is a man who is honored by the people of Daviess county, among whom he is well known and respected for his many good qualities of heart and head.
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NATHAN G. READ.
Nathan G. Read is one of those strong, self-reliant and determined characters who are occasionally met with and who are of such a distinct type as to become leaders of their fellowmen. Not that Mr. Read courts this distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great force of char- acter, his zeal and energy in whatever he undertakes, naturally place him in the front rank of those men who have been potent factors in the develop- ment of Daviess county. Mr. Read has long maintained his home in this county, and here he is well known to all classes by reason of his honorable and industrious life, both in his public and private capacity.
Nathan G. Read, the president of the Washington National Bank, of Washington, Indiana, was born in Washington township, Daviess county, Indiana, on March 30, 1842, the son of Nathan and Mary A. (Weaver) Read, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Pennsylvania. Nathan Read and his wife were early settlers in Daviess county and were the parents of the following children: Richard N .; George C .; Nathan G. ; Martha, who was the wife of Thomas H. Bradford; Mary, who was the wife of William Hyatt; Miriam, who married William Sanford; Sarah D., who was the wife of Elijah Arthur; Lydia, who died when a child. Of these, Nathan G. Read is the only one now living.
The elder Nathan Read was reared in Massachusetts and came to Daviess county when a young man. Here he purchased two hundred acres of land, two miles northeast of Washington. He improved this farm and there he reared his family.
Nathan G. Read was reared on his father's farm in Washington town- ship. He attended the district schools and the Washington public schools. After leaving the farm, he became deputy county auditor under his brother, Richard N. Read, and served in this capacity for four or five years. He was then elected county auditor, November 1, 1867, and served two terms in this office, or until November 1, 1875. In August, 1877, Mr. Read was elected sheriff and held that office for two years. After his term as sheriff expired, he engaged in the general mercantile business, and, for a few years, was in partnership with William W. Feagans. Mr. Read entered the Wash- ington National Bank on January 10, 1888, as assistant cashier. In Jan- uary, 1897, he was elected president and has held this office since the date of his first election. He served on the Washington board of education from 1885 to 1907, and during that period was instrumental in forwarding
NATHAN G. READ.
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improvements by which the standard of the Washington schools was raised to a very much higher plane.
Nathan G. Read was married on January 21, 1878, to Mrs. Fannie T. McCulloch, the widow of Elliott McCulloch and the daughter of John and Mary Teney. Two children have been born to this union, Robert Roy and Louis I. Robert Roy died when about eight years old. Louis I is now cashier of the Washington National Bank. He was graduated from the Washington high school and attended Purdue University for some time. He married Cleo Horrall and they have two children, Richard H. and Mil- dred.
Mrs. Nathan G. Read died on November 3, 1913. She was born near Aurora, Indiana, and was a woman of strong Christian character and much loved by all who knew her. Mrs. Read was a member of the Presbyterian church practically all of her life. Mr. Read also is a member of this church and is an elder in the congregation with which he is associated. Nathan G. Read is a Democrat and is a man of quiet and modest demeanor, but of ster- ling worth. He has lived all of his life in Daviess county and is one of the best-known men within its borders. "Still waters run deep," says an old proverb, and this particularly applies to Mr. Read. By the things he has accomplished in a material way; by his wholesome everyday life, his strict integrity and genuine, manly, Christian character, he has drawn around him a host of friends who hold him in the highest esteem. He has been a good citizen in every sense of the word, public-spirited and benevolent, and throughout his life has always taken an interest in the upbuilding and wel- fare of his city and county.
JOHN THOMAS.
The following is a brief sketch of the life of one, who, by close atten- tion to business, has achieved a satisfactory degree of success in the agricul- tural life of Daviess county, Indiana, and who has arisen to an honorable position among the enterprising young farmers of Daviess county, with which his interests are identified. His record is a plain one, rendered re- markable by no strange or mysterious adventures, no wonderful and lucky accidents, no tragic situations. John Thomas is one of those estimable characters whose integrity and personality must obtain for them an admir- able public notice which their modesty never seeks. Mr. Thomas commands
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the respect of his neighbors and fellow citizens and has left the impression of his individuality upon the community where he lives.
John Thomas was born on September 13, 1876, in Morgan county, Indiana. He is the son of Harrison and Martha A. (Bothwell) Thomas, the former of whom was also born in Morgan county on April 25, 1852, and the latter of whom was born in the same county on June 4, 1854. Martha A. Bothwell was the daughter of John and Martha (Hinds) Both- well. John Bothwell was born in Ireland on March 17, 1803. He and his first wife, Nancy Loraign, came to America and settled in Pennsylvania in Montgomery county, where his wife died. He was married, a second time, to Martha A. Bothwell, the widow of Richard Weathers. John Bothwell had twelve children by his second wife, Samuel, Anna, Mary, David, John, Hugh, Sarah, James, Isabelle, Ann, Martha and Margaret.
John Bothwell moved to Washington township, Morgan county, in 1838.
The father of Harrison Thomas, and the grandfather of John Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was John Thomas, Sr., a native of Tennessee, born on January 2, 1817. He was married the first time to Nancy Maxwell, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Maxwell. By this union three chil- dren were born, Sarah, Harrison and an infant daughter. He was a farmer by occupation and was married a second time to Lucy Harper, the widow of Joshua King. The great-grandfather of John Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was Peter Thomas, who was born in North Carolina. He and his wife came to Ohio in 1823.
Harrison Thomas was educated in the common schools of Morgan county, Indiana, where he was a farmer. He owned eight hundred acres of land, about five hundred in Morgan county and two hundred and seventy in Steele township, Daviess county. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. Harrison and Martha A. Thomas have had four children, John, the subject of this sketch; Harry, who died in 1904, married Daisy Hanna and had one child, Harry, Jr .; William, who married Mary Cramer, and Jessie, who is single and lives at home.
John Thomas was educated in the common schools and is a farmer by occupation. He was married on October 23, 1907, to Mary Ada Hart, who was born on July 6, 1883, and who is the daughter of A. S. and Emeline (Shireman) Hart, the former of whom was born on December 12, 1845, and who died on June 12, 1911, and the latter born in Morgan county on . June 10. 1848, and who died December 19, 1904.
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