USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 47
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James E. Gilley was born near Alfordsville, Indiana, on April 20, 1879. He is the son of Alvin P. and Mary J. (Shively) Gilley, the former a native of Daviess county, born near Alfordsville, and the latter a native of Barr township. James E. Gilley's paternal grandparents were Ebenezer Picket and Elizabeth (Parsons) Gilley, the former a native of Daviess
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county and the latter probably of Barr township. The paternal great- grandparents of James E. Gilley came from South Carolina. His paternal great-grandfather was James P. Gilley, who settled in Reeve township more than one hundred years ago. He came by wagon from South Carolina and entered land in this county, where he is clearing it preparatory to making a home. James P. Gilley fought in the battle of Cowpens, in the Revolution- ary War. Ebenezer P. Gilley, the grandfather of James E., was educated in the pioneer schools of Reeve township. He entered land early in life and built flatboats which he operated. He butchered hogs that were raised in Indiana and shipped them to New Orleans. He resided in this locality prac- tically all of his life, with the exception of the period of five years, from 1875 to 1880. He was also an extensive dealer in real estate and, at his death, owned one hundred and sixty acres of land.
The maternal grandparents of James E. Gilley were Sanford and Eliza- beth (Allen) Shively, the latter of whom was born near Alfordsville. Mr. Gilley's maternal great-grandfather was Henry Shively, born in Kentucky. He subsequently came to Indiana, locating in Bogard or Van Buren town- ship, where he was a farmer, and also preached in the pioneer Christian church, then called the Disciples church. Elizabeth Allen, the maternal grandmother of Mr. Gilley, was the daughter of James and Mary (Hyser) Allen, of Kentucky, who located near Alfordsville, Indiana. There they lived until their deaths. He was a farmer and the father of a large family. Elizabeth Allen's mother, Mary Hyser, was the daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth Hyser, natives of Tennessee, who came first to Kentucky and finally to Indiana, locating near Alfordsville.
Alvin P. Gilley, the father of James E., was educated in Reeve township and also in Martin county. He began farming early in life and is still en- gaged in this business. He has lived at his present home practically all of his life, with the exception of three years, from 1875 to 1878, spent in Kansas. He has fifty acres of land. Six children have been born to Alvin P. and Mary Gilley, Ulysses G .; Ira, who died at the age of two weeks; Levi: John M., who died at the age of four years ; James E., and A. O.
James E. Gilley received his elementary education in Martin county, but later was a student in the public schools of Reeve township, Daviess county. After leaving the public schools, he taught school for eighteen years in Daviess county. During this period he attended the Southern Indiana Normal School at Mitchell; Carnegie College at Rodgers, Ohio, and Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, and has done some work at Indiana
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University. He attended the summer sessions at these various places, teach- ing school during the winter. When he was twenty-eight years old, he was deputy county treasurer, but aside from the services in this capacity, he has been a teacher all of his life, and was actively engaged, until January 1, 1915, when he became trustee of Washington township, this county. Mr. Gilley is discharging the duties of this office in a most commendable manner and has won the approval and commendation of all the people of Washington township.
James E. Gilley was married on March 31, 1901, to Martha A. Godwin, who lived near Alfordsville, the daughter of Edward and Esther Godwin. To this happy union, one child, Crystal Juanita, was born, but she died at birth.
James E. Gilley is an ardent Republican and has been identified with this party all of his life. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. and Mrs. Gilley are devoted members of the Christian church and are active in both the work of the church and the Sunday school.
JOHN CARESS.
It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness of a community or a state lies not in the machinery of government nor even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity for high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars he whose name appears at the head of this review has conferred honor and dignity upon his locality, and as an elemental part of history it is consonant that there should be recorded a resume of his career, with the ob- ject in view of noting his connection with the advancement of one of the most progressive and flourishing sections of the commonwealth, as well as his official relations with the administration of the public affairs of the com- munity honored by his citizenship.
John Caress, manager of the Lemon Elevator Company, of Elnora, Indiana, was born in Lawrence county, this state, about ten miles east of Bedford, on August 22, 1862. He is a son of Simon and Sarah (Williams) Caress, natives, respectively, of Kentucky and Lawrence county, Indiana.
The Caress family originally came from the South, and Simon Caress, the father of John, came from Kentucky to Lawrence county, in an early
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day, as a school teacher. He was considered one of the best educated and informed men in Lawrence county, in the pioneer days, and followed the occupation of a teacher all his life after coming to Lawrence county, where he also engaged in other clerical work, auditing books at the court house. He died in Lawrence county in 1874. He and his family were Baptists in their religious faith, and active workers in this denomination in the early days. Simon Caress was a Democrat until the organization of the Whig party, after which he was an adherent of that political faith, and took an active part in the public affairs of his community. He was married three times, and to his first marriage, to Martha Pague, the following children were born : Abraham, Tabitha, Johanna and Jerome; his second wife was a Miss Williams, and to this union one child was born, Frances Margaret ; his third wife was Sarah Williams, whose parents were early settlers of Lawrence county, having come to this state from West Virginia. Simon ยท and Sarah ( Williams) Caress were the parents of three children, Elizabeth, Simon and John, with whom this narrative deals.
John Caress received his education in the schools of Lawrence and Martin counties, having left Lawrence county at the age of thirteen years. He first started in life for himself in Martin county, engaging in farming and saw-milling, in which latter occupation he continued until 1888, when he moved to Elnora, Daviess county, where he engaged in carpenter work for four years, after which he went into the grain and mill products business. In 1892, he became connected with the company in which he is now em- ployed, and has been manager of this business since that time. The com- pany was first known as the C. M. Lemon Company, who put up their first elevator in this place about twenty-two years ago. In 1904, the company erected a new elevator, larger and more commodious, to accommodate their growing business, and is now known as the Lemon Elevator Company.
In 1882 John Caress was married to Eliza Flummerfelt, who is also a native of Martin county, her birth having occurred near Dover Hill, In- diana. To this union have been born six children, James, William H., Sarah Isabel, Maud May. Eldina and Hadden, all of whom are residents of Daviess county.
Mr. Caress and family are earnest and loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally, Mr. Caress is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of the World. He was a Democrat until President Mckinley's administration, since which time he has been a Republican. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs, and
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has served efficiently in several public positions. He was treasurer of the city schools for some years, and is now serving as city treasurer.
Judged by his labors, Mr. Caress is a busy man. None has done more to advance the material interests of his section of the county, and as a citizen none stands higher in the esteem and confidence of the people generally.
LEW HARRIS.
Agriculture has been an honorable vocation always and at the present time the agricultural output of the United States is more than equivalent to the output of all of the factories of the country. There is one thing in the life of a farmer which distinguishes it from that of any other occupation and that is the ability to exist independently of any other vocation. The merchant, the banker, the manufacturer all depend absolutely on the farm- er's crops. A famine throughout the country would bankrupt the strongest merchant, wreck the largest bank and close the most extensive factory. Business men can see their business collapse within a week, but nothing short of an earthquake can ruin the farmer. Land is, as it always has been, the
most favorable financial investment. Panic may sweep the manufacturer out of business over night, but the farmer can survive when every other in- dustry fails. Therefore, the farmer is the backbone of the nation, and he who can make two blades of grass grow where but one formerly grew. is performing the most useful mission known to man. Daviess county farmers are equal to those found anywhere in the state. Their history is largely the history of the material advancement of any county. Among her excellent farmers. there is none more deserving of recognition in this day than the Honorable Lew Harris, a member of the Indiana General Assembly from Daviess county.
Lew Harris was born near Cannelburg, in Daviess county, on August 17, 1874. He is the son of Lewis C. and Mary (Murray) Harris, the former of whom was born in Daviess county and the latter in Louisville, Kentucky. The paternal grandparents of Lew Harris were Nathan and Elizabeth (Burri) Harris, the former a soldier in the War of 1812, and the latter a native of one of the eastern states. Nathan Harris located near Cannelburg in pioneer times. He purchased government land and owned altogether at one time, two hundred and forty acres. This land he cleared and im- proved and upon it he established his home in the wilderness. Mrs. Mary
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(Murray) Harris, mother of Lew Harris, died in January, 1875, after which time Lew was reared by Martha Murray Moots, an aunt, sister of his mother, with whom he lived until her death, on July 20, 1907.
The maternal grandparents of Lew Harris were Samuel and Ellen (Allison) Murray, both natives of Kentucky. Samuel Murray was engaged in building flat-boats at Maysville, in pioneer times, at a period when that town was at its zenith of growth and prosperity. He was among the first settlers of that vicinity, although he first settled at Mt. Pleasant and, subse- quently, removed to Maysville. During the latter years of his life, he re- tired, to a large extent, from the boat industry and gave his attention to building wagons in Maysville, where he died.
Lewis Harris, the father of Lew Harris, was educated near Cannel- burg and became a farmer. He was a farmer practically all of his life in Barr township, where he owned sixty acres. He and his wife died in this township. Lewis and Mary Harris had seven children, William, Elizabeth, Edward, Joseph A. and Lew, and two died in infancy. After the death of his first wife, Lewis Harris married Sarah Beasley, and to this union three children were born, Morton, Robert C. and Fred C. All of the members of this family are identified with the Christian church and active in its affairs.
Lew Harris was educated in the public schools of Barr township and, during his youth, performed the usual tasks which fell to the lot of the average country boy. Early in life he began to farm and has been engaged in this vocation, continuously, since his youth. Mr. Harris owns one hun- dred and twenty-six acres, which is known as the old Anthony Moots place. It is a fertile and productive farm and Mr. Harris has made many substantial improvements upon it. He is one of the leaders of the agricultural life of this community.
On December 24, 1903, Mr. Harris was married to Cora B. Hunter, the daughter of Francis M. Hunter, and to this union two children have been born, Wilbur Murray and Otto Marion.
For the past twenty years, Lew Harris has been active in politics. In 1914 he was elected from Daviess county as a member of the Indiana Legislature on the Republican ticket and served during the session of 1915. During this session he served on many important committees and was known as one of the leaders in drafting and passing legislation at Indianapolis. Mr. Harris is a member of the Christian church as well as his wife and family, while fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Montgomery and the Modern Woodmen of America at the same place.
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SILVESTER SWANN.
Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and, as a usual thing, men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free out-of-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independ- ence of mind and self-reliance which characterises true manhood. No richer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful life of the field. It has been from the fruitful soil that the. moral bone and sinew of the country has sprung. The majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of let- ters were born on the farm and are indebted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained.
Silvester Swann was born on May 20, 1866, in Veale township, Daviess. county, Indiana. He is the son of Joseph and Jane (Traylor) Swann, the former of whom was born in Washington township on September 10, 1839. Joseph M. Swann, the father of Silvester, was the son of William and Jane (McIntyre) Swann, the former of whom was born in Mason county, Ken- tucky, and the latter on the line between Fayette and Bourbon counties, in that state.
Joseph M. Swann and his brothers, Thomas and Lewis, served in the Civil War and all survived, but Lewis left the army broken in health and died many years ago. He served in Company G, Forty-second Regi- ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which Joseph M. also served. Thomas served in the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Joseph M. enlisted in 1862 and was discharged in 1865. After the war, he came home and began farming in Veale township. He purchased a home and worked hard to acquire a competence, and as a result of his untiring efforts, he had more than two hundred and fifty acres of land at one time. and he made all of his own money. He was a general farmer, but made a specialty of hog and cattle raising and feeding. Joseph M. Swann moved to Washington in November, 1908, and purchased the property where he now lives. He was married, in 1859, to Mary Palmer, who lived only ten months after their marriage. He was married again, in 1861, to Mrs. Jane (Harrall) Traylor, the daughter of William Harrall, who was called "Uncle Buck" Harrall. He was a great hunter and pioneer of Veale township and came from North Carolina. His wife was Elizabeth Stone, of South Caro- lina. To the second marriage of Joseph M. Swann, five children were born,
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Frank, Ellen, Silvester, Ettie and Samuel. He was married a third time, November 14, 1889, to Sallie Alexander, of Veale township, but no children were born to this marriage. Joseph M. Swann and his family were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
William Swann, the grandfather of Silvester Swann, was educated in Mason county, Kentucky, and was married in that state. Immediately after his marriage, he came to Washington township, Daviess county, where he arrived about 1830, and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he cleared and improved. He died in Washington township and his wife also died there when Joseph M. was about fifteen years old. William Swann was the father of nine children.
Silvester Swann was educated in Veale township and took up farming on the land where his brother, Samuel, now lives. Subsequently, Silvester Swann and his brother bought a good farm, but later sold it. He then pur- chased the farm known as the old Graham place, where he now lives. He owns one hundred and forty acres and is engaged in general farming.
On September 15, 1891, Silvester Swann was married to Cora Dell Barber, the daughter of Nelson and Mary ( Batchelor) Barber. The com- plete history of the Barber family is to be found in the life story of Lew W. Barber, a brother of Mrs. Swann, contained elsewhere in this volume.
To Silvester and Cora Dell (Barber) Swann, four children have been born, Mrs. Cleo Chattin, Nelson, Jesse and Clifford.
All of the members of the Swann family are affiliated with the Bethel Methodist Episcopal church and throughout their lives they have been active in its affairs. They are earnest, Christian people and highly respected citi- zens of Veale township.
ZADOCK D. VEALE.
Among those men who are eminently entitled to a place in a work of this character, is Zadock D. Veale, whose name initiates this paragraph. The name of Veale will continue to adorn the annals of Daviess county for all time, from the fact that the family was so intimately connected with the pioneer history of this locality and from the further fact that all the mem- bers of the family have performed well their part in the drama of civiliza- tion and have led lives that were exemplary in every respect. Zadock D. Veale, one of the younger generation of the Veale family, has set an excel-
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lent example in this community where he has been a leader for many years, and in a conservative manner has done what he could to promote the ad- vancement which his worthy forbears so successfully began.
Zadock D. Veale was born on the farm where he still lives in Veale township, September 12, 1875. He is the son of William Thomas and Susan (Dickerson) Veale, the former of whom was born on a farm adjoin- ing that on which his son now lives, and the latter, a native of Barr town- ship, born five miles east of Washington. William Thomas' Veale was the son of James C., Jr., and Ella ( Aikman) Veale. James C. Veale, Jr., was born in the Carolinas and came to Indiana when a boy of eighteen years. His father, James C. Veale, Sr., however, had preceded him by one year, having arrived in Daviess county in 1807. James C. Veale, Sr., was a soldier in the Revolutionary army. He married a Miss Townsend, possibly in Vir- ginia. James C. Veale, Jr., taught the first school in Veale township, in fact, in the whole county. The family settled on what later became Veale creek and also in Veale township, which took its name from James C. Veale, Sr. James C. Veale, Sr., and children all entered land, cleared the forest and established homes in the wilderness. James C. Veale, Jr., was a farmer in that township until his death.
The maternal grandparents of Zadock D. were Zadock and Elizabeth (Cole) Dickerson, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Ken- tucky. Mrs. Veale's maternal great-grandparents were Serat and Elizabeth (Smith) Dickerson, natives of Maryland, who moved to Kentucky where Serat Dickerson died. His widow, with her son Zadock, came to Daviess county. Elizabeth Cole was the daughter of James Cole, of Kentucky, who came to Indiana and, after settling here, died in Daviess county.
William Thomas Veale was educated in the public schools of Daviess county and was a farmer throughout his life. He owned one hundred and sixty acres of land where Zadock D. Veale, the subject of this sketch, now lives. He made the most of the improvements upon this farm, including the erection of the buildings which are now standing. The children of William Thomas and Susan Veale were Ella, Elizabeth and Zadock. Ella lives at home with her mother on the old place; Elizabeth married S. G. Wilson, is living in Memphis, Tennessee, and they have one daughter, Susan V., and Zadock D., the subject of this sketch, who never married. Five children were born to William Thomas Veale by a former marriage to Amanda Murphy. They were Alonzo, Willis, Ada, Laura and James.
The Veales were originally Presbyterians, but the family of William Thomas Veale came to be members of the Christian church, which is an off-
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shoot of the Presbyterian church, having been established by Alexander Campbell, who was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church at one time. William Thomas Veale had a brother who was a Presbyterian minis- ter, whose name was James Aikman Veale.
Zadock D. Veale was educated in the local public schools of Veale town- ship, Daviess county, and after completing the common school course, at- tended a commercial school at Washington. With the exception of two years, he has always lived on the home place. During this two years he was on what might be called a scouting expedition in the West. Mr. Veale has never married. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Daughters of Rebekah. He is well known in this community and enjoys the confidence and good will of all his neighbors.
ISAAC ALLISON.
The best title one can establish to a high and generous esteem of an intelligent community is a protracted residence therein. Isaac Allison, one of the best-known and highly esteemed young farmers, has resided in Veale township all his life. His career has been a most commendable one in every respect, well deserving of being perpetuated on the pages of a historical work of the nature of the one in hand. Like his sterling father before him, he has been a man of well-defined purpose and has never failed to carry to successful completion any work or enterprise to which he has addressed himself. He has applied himself very closely to his work and waited for the future to bring its rewards. Together with his brother, also a young man of sterling reputation, he owns the farm which at one time was possessed by his father and to this farm he and his brother have added some forty acres.
Isaac Allison was born in Veale township, Daviess county, Indiana, in 1871. He is the son of John A. and Mary (Carroll) Allison, the former a native of Washington township, and the latter a native of Veale township. John A. Allison was educated in Daviess county and was a teacher for about five years. Subsequently, he became a farmer and followed this vocation until his death. He accummulated one hundred and eighty acres of land. which Isaac Allison and his brother, Owen C., own. Since their father's death, however, they have added forty acres to the farm where the buildings are now located. John A. and Mary (Carroll) Allison became the parents of
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seven children, Smith M., the eldest; Robert, the fifth, and Dickson, the last child, are deceased. The others are Owen, Isaac, Laura G. and Lillie. The family of John A. and Mary (Carroll) Allison were all members of the Methodist church.
The grandfather of Isaac Allison was Joseph Allison, who was born in Pennsylvania and who came to Kentucky with his parents. He operated a flat-boat and made several trips to New Orleans, walking back. He came to Daviess county before his marriage, and located in Washington township, south of Washington. He owned eighty acres of land there. His wife was Mary Ragsdale, who lived west of Washington in the Maple valley. She was born in South Carolina, in 1800, and was the daughter of Hezekiah Ragsdale, a pioneer of Maple valley, who came here in 1806. He was a mill-wright and made looms, spinning, etc. In 1854, Joseph Allison pur- chased the old Chapman farm of eighty acres in Veale township, where William Allison's sons now live. Joseph Allison served in the War of 1812. He was the father of ten children. Nancy is ninety-four years old. The other children are Harriette, Martha, Elizabeth, William, Jane, Sarah, Mary, John and Joseph. Joseph was a soldier in the Civil War, having enlisted in Company G, Forty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. He served a little less than a year and went through the campaign in Ken- tucky and Tennessee. He was also at the battle of Stone's River, and was. never wounded or taken prisoner. Joseph Allison was just recovering from sickness when the battle of Stone's River occurred. Although his comrades. wanted him to stay back, he insisted on going into the battle. He rode an old horse the day before the battle to keep up with the regiment. At this battle he contracted a cold which caused him to have broken health through- out his life.
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