USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 58
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Mr. Dillon gives his support to the Democratic party, the principles of which he firmly believes to be for the best interests of the American people. His interests are with the United Brethren church, to which he contributes liberally. Personally, whole-souled and strictly honorable in
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his methods and dealings with his fellow-men, he enjoys a large circle of warm friends and always evidences the spirit of generous hospitality, old and young alike being at all times welcome to his home.
ROBERT W. MASON.
The young man whose name appears at the head of this review is widely known as one of the honored and progressive citizens of Odon, Daviess county, Indiana. He has lived in this locality all of his life, is a member of one of the leading families, and for a number of years has been prominently identified with the mercantile interests of this community. His careful efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his business inter- ests and his sound judgment have brought to him a fair measure of prosperity, and in all the relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
Robert W. Mason was born on January 25, 1875, in Washington, Daviess county, Indiana, and is the son of William and Martha (Sturgeon) Mason. His grandfather on the father's side was Rankin Mason, a native. of the state of Kentucky and who farmed the greater part of his life. His wife was Margaret (Cochran) Mason, and, after their marriage they made their home in the town of Richmond, Kentucky, which was the seat of a great many of the activities of Civil War days. To them were born nine children, as follow: William, Sarah, Jennie, John, Nancy, Robert, Gilbert, Rankin and Walker.
William Mason was born in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1843, received his early education in the public schools of his native state and, after passing the high school grades, attended the University of Richmond where he studied law. After graduation, he began the practice of law in the town of Washington, which practice he continued there until about the time of his death, in 1878. On September 15, 1869, William Mason was joined in. wedlock to Martha Sturgeon, a daughter of Alford and Louvinia (Slaugh- ter) Sturgeon. Her father was born on June 12, 1803, and died in the year 1875. Her mother was born in the year 1809. To their union were born the following named children: Mary L., Sarah L., Robert L., Mary M., Abrigle M., Frances L., Martha E., and Alford W. To William and Martha (Sturgeon) Mason were born the following named children: Mar- garet L., on October 19, 1870, who married H. H. Crooke; Evelyn P.,.
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September 14, 1872, the wife of Walter Dearmin; Robert W., January 25, 1874, who married Plesy McCoy; Jennie M., July 17, 1876, who married M. A. Wilson.
Robert W. Mason received his early education in the public schools of Odon, Daviess county, and began his business career as a farm hand about the year 1895 as an employee of his father and continued to work for him until about the year 1900 when he established a mercantile business with W. S. Haig, in Odon. In 1905; he went into the manufacture of building brick, in Odon, and discontinued this business in 1912, when he established a feed and grain exchange in Odon and has followed this business until April, 1915, when he sold out. Robert W. Mason married Plesy W. McCoy, in January, 1895, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth (Booth) McCoy, and to their union have been born the following named children: William, deceased; Ruth; Dott; Ethel; Mary Alma; Robert; Margaret and Arnold. All are living, except as noted, and belong to the Methodist church of Odon.
Mr. Mason is a Democrat and is willing at all times to lend his support to the principles of that party. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. Personally, he is regarded as a good business man, an excellent manager, and a man who possesses sound judgment and foresight, who believes in ever pressing forward. He enjoys the respect and esteem of those who know him for his friendly manner, his interest in the promotion of the public welfare, and is regarded by all as one of the substantial and worthy citizens of the community honored by his residence.
PAUL GOLLIHER.
One of the conspicuous figures in the history of Steel township, Daviess county, Indiana, during the last half century is Paul Golliher, a prosperous farmer of that township. His career has been useful and honorable, and he has conferred credit upon the community where he has lived for so many years. Strong mental powers, invincible courage, and a determined purpose, hesitating at no opposition, so entered into his make-up as to render him a dominant factor in the social and agricultural life of his community. He is a man of sound judgment, keen discernment, and possesses a fund. of information far greater than that possessed by the average man educated during the days of his youth. Mr. Golliher is a fine scribe, and early in life, while a soldier in the Union army, during the Civil War, endeared
MR. AND MRS. PAUL GOLLIHER.
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himself in the hearts of his comrades by writing their love letters to the girls they had left behind.
Paul Golliher was born on March 31, 1845, in Cook county, Tennes- see, the son of William and Sallie (Paul) Golliher, the former of whom was born in Richmond, Virginia, and the latter of whom was William Gol- liher's second wife. William Golliher and Sallie Paul were married in 1838. By this second marriage there were nine children: Lettie, born on March 28, 1839; Pauline Ann, May 22, 1840; Marvin, March 28, 1842; John S., February 15, 1844; Paul, March 31, 1845; Amanda, May 19, 1846; Mem- ory, April 27, 1848, and two who died in infancy.
By William Golliher's first marriage, to Catherine Massey, June 26, 1814, there were twelve children born: Margaret, born on May 15, 1815; Henry, October 9, 1816; William Washington, August 30, 1818; Jackson, October 31, 1820; James, November 16, 1822; Elizabeth, July 5, 1824; Sarah, September 21, 1826; Richard, June 8, 1828; Charles B., October 19, 1830; James, August 26, 1832 ; Catherine, June 14, 1835, and Frederick, June II, 1837.
On March 15, 1850, William Golliher came to Indiana, locating in Orange county, in the neighborhood of Orleans, where he owned one hun- dred and sixty acres of land. Subsequently he went to Iowa and stayed there for twelve months. William Golliher's father was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. He was a native of Ireland, and his son was postmaster at Richmond, Virginia. The grandfather of Paul Golliher, on his maternal side, was William Paul, who was a soldier both in the War of 1812 and in the Mexican War. William Paul was a son of Thomas Paul, a soldier in the Revolutionary army, who after the war returned to England, and was there married.
Paul Golliher, the subject of this sketch, was named in memory of his mother's family name. He was educated in the common schools, and dur- ing his youth lived upon the farm, performing such work as usually fell to the lot of country boys of that day. He enlisted in the Union army in April, 1864, and shortly after his enlistment was poisoned. The effect of this poisoning left his breathing very much impaired. Mr. Golliher has been a farmer all his life and owns two hundred acres in Steele township. He started his successful career by renting for the first twenty years of his married life and moved to Steele township in 1879.
Paul Golliher was married twice, first on March 31, 1872, to Anna Spear, the daughter of Hiram Spear, of Orange county, this state. No
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children were born to this union. Mr. Golliher was married, secondly, on: August 4, 1876, to Sarah C. Standiford, who was born on March 15, 1853, the daughter of Meriton and Mary (Crane) Standiford, farmers in Orange county, Indiana. Meriton Standiford is the son of William Standiford, a farmer and soldier of the War of 1812.
To Paul and Sarah C. (Standiford) Golliher the following children have been born: Nora E., born on June 18, 1877; William E., November 28, 1878: Ada D., January 16, 1880: Edward, November 16, 1881; Mary E., July 16, 1884; Stella M., January 26, 1887; John A., October 14, 1889; Benjamin, June 15, 1891, and Meriton, May 6, 1894. Mary E. died in December, 1884; Meriton died on May 8, 1894. Nora married Henry Transper and lives at Plainville, Indiana. William married Delight Rinks. and lives at Battle Creek, Michigan. Ida married Theodore Slavens and lives in Plainville. Edward married Lolie Carlett and lives in Steele town- ship, this county. Stella married Benjamin Brown and lives at Plainville. The remainder of the children are unmarried.
Mr. and Mrs. Golliher are members of the Christian church. Mr. Gol- liher's father, William Golliher, was a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Golliher is identified with the Republican party and is a member of the Odd Fellow lodge at Plainville and of Plainville Post No. 315, Grand Army of the Republic. He is well known in Steele township, and honored and respected by all his neighbors.
IRA E. BOWMAN, M. D.
Among the rising young physicians of Daviess county, there is one who by sheer force of his engaging personality and inherent capability, to which natural traits he has added a thorough schooling in the science of medicine, rapidly is forging to the front in the ranks of the followers of the healing art in this section of the state. A native of the county in which his capable services in the cause of ailing humanity are being so well directed, Dr. Ira E. Bowman is naturally sympathetic with his field and with those who come under his gentle and skillful ministrations, and as a consequence, has built up a practice during the short time he has had his office in Odon, that speaks. volumes for the success of the ministrations and the personal popularity of the young physician. Among the great natural benefactors of the race, there is none who holds a closer relation to the individual thus benefited thian
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does the thoughtful, considerate, studious physician, and that Doctor Bow- man is filling all the requirements of his exacting profession is clearly dem- onstrated by the success which he has made in the field which he selected for his life's labors in his trying profession. It is not a cause for wonder, therefore, that his friends are predicting a notable future for him in the pro- fessional life of this county. This being true, no history of the present time, in Daviess county, would be complete without brief and modest men- tion of this young physician, and it is a pleasure for the biographer here to present a brief outline of the salient points in the life of Doctor Bowman.
Ira E. Bowman was born in Bogard township, Daviess county, Indiana, on January 27, 1881, the son of William H. and Margaret (Sims) Bow- man, the former of whom was born on March 1, 1855, both of whom were natives of Martin county, this state, the latter of whom was the daughter of Starling and Susannah (Holt) Sims, members of one of the pioneer fami- lies of that county.
William Bowman, paternal grandfather of Doctor Bowman, was a native of Tennessee, born in March, 1820, who came to Indiana in an early day and settled in Martin county, where he entered six hundred acres of land, in which county he married Julianna Andis, and reared his family, being a farmer all his life. He was, for many years, one of the leading men in the community in which he lived. Both he and his good wife were earnest members of the Christian church, being ever prominent in the good works of their community. William Bowman lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two, his death ocurring in 1902, and his memory will long be treas- ured in the neighborhood in which he lived a life so long and so useful.
To William and Julianna (Andis) Bowman there were born nine chil- dren : Mary Jane; Pleasant, who was killed while serving his country as a Union soldier during the Civil War; John; Sarah; Amanda; Isaac; Eliza- beth; William H., father of Doctor Bowman, and Jacob.
William H. Bowman was reared on the paternal farm in Martin county, receiving the benefit of the excellent township schools of that period, and upon reaching manhood decided to follow the life of a farmer. In the year 1879 he was united in marriage to Margaret Sims, one of the belles of that neighborhood, and started farming for himself on a tract of one hundred and twenty acres. Later he moved over into Daviess county, and now has an excellent farm of two hundred and sixty acres, part of which lies in El- more township and part of which lies in Bogard township, the Bowman home being in the latter township. Mr. Bowman not only has been suc- cessful in his farming operations, being rated as among the leading farmers
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of the county, but he has been active in all the good works of his neighbor- hood and very properly is accounted among the most influential men in his community, his voice always being exerted in behalf of any movement hav- ing as its object the advancement of its general welfare. The Bowmans are all members of the Christian church.
To William H. and Margaret (Sims) Bowman were born seven chil- dren, as follow: Ira E., the immediate subject of this family history ; Alpha O., a Bogard township farmer, who married Hazel McGee; Nora, who mar- ried John B. Stotts and lives at Odon; Sidney E., a well-known veterinary surgeon at Odon, who married Arla Myers; Victor V., at present a student at Purdue University, where he is taking the agricultural course; Starling E. and Allegra, who are still at home.
Ira E. Bowman was reared on the paternal farm and received his ele- mentary education in the schools of Bogard township, which he supple- mented by a course at the Odon high school, from which he was graduated, after which he attended the Central Normal School at Danville, Indiana. and then took the literary course at Indiana University, following which, for three years, he taught school at Epsom, in Bogard township, being very successful in this form of service. Mr. Bowman then, for four years, was engaged as money order clerk in the postoffice at Washington, this county; meanwhile giving much attention in his leisure hours to the study of med- ical works, his decision to enter the medical profession having been formed about this time. In pursuance of this laudable ambition, he entered the Indiana University School of Medicine, at Indianapolis, from which excel- lent institution he was graduated with the class of 1910, for proficiency in his studies being given an internship in St. Anthony's hospital, at Terre Haute. After acquiring some very valuable practical experience in his hos- pital work, Doctor Bowman entered upon practice for himself, his first office being opened at Elnora, where he continued for one year with very encour- aging success. He then moved to the neighboring village of Raglesville, where he remained in practice for another year, repeating the successes which marked his residence in Elnora, 'and at the end of that time, in order to enlarge the field of his growing practice, moved to Odon, where he since has made his home and maintained his office.
On June 20, 1912, one year before locating in Odon, Doctor Bowman was united in marriage with Miss Pearl Myers, daughter of Lewis and Martha J. (Killion) Myers, prominent residents of this county, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Orin Howard, who was born on March 5, 1914.
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Doctor Bowman is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and, though the exactions of his profession do not permit his giving much attention to political affairs, he is a Democrat and takes a good citizen's interest in all public matters, being active in the promotion of all movements designed to promote public welfare. Doctor and Mrs. Bowman are among the leaders in the social circles of their home town and are deservedly popular among all classes of the progressive community in which they live.
WALTER T. DEARMIN.
Numbered among the leading business men of Daviess county and worthy of recognition for his perseverance and sterling qualities, Walter T. Dearmin holds a place in the hearts of the people of this community and is eminently deserving of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citi- zens. Being a self-made man of strong fiber and vigorous mentality, he has achieved signal success in his business and has earned the highest words of commendation from those competent to form a proper estimate of him and his accomplishments.
Walter T. Dearmin was born in the town of Sidney, Illinois, on Sep- tember 15, 1869, and is the son of Dr. John and Eliza A. (Smith) Dear- min. His paternal grandparents were Joseph and Mary E. (Reiney) Dear- min, both natives of the state of Virginia and born there in the years 1812 and 1826, respectively. To their union were born three children: John, subject's father, George and William. The paternal grandfather left Vir- ginia with his parents, who settled in the town of Bloomington, Monroe county, Indiana, in the year 1820, but later removed to Daviess county, in the year 1875, and died in the town of Raglesville, in 1876. His wife died in the year 1855, in Monroe county. John Dearmin was born in Blooming- ton, Monroe county, on April 27, 1845, where he received his early educa- tion in the public schools. While in his school work the Civil War broke out and he anxiously awaited the time when he could join the army of the North. On March 10, 1862, he enlisted and was assigned to Company B, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service for three years. He was actively engaged in some of the fiercest struggles of those days, including the battles of Buckton Station, Winchester, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Gettysburg, Resaca and Atlanta. In the year 1864 he was transferred to Company C, Seventeenth Regiment,
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Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was on the memorable march with Sher- man to the sea. On April 5, 1865, he was honorably discharged from serv- ice, at the town of Goldensburg, North Carolina. Shortly after his return from North Carolina he went to Sydney, Illinois, where he began the study of medicine under the tutorship of Dr. Howard Smith, and it was here that he remained for a term of three years. On September 15, 1865, he was married to Eliza A. Smith, daughter of William Smith, of Monroe county. to which union were born: Minnie, deceased, who was the wife of Noah Pate; Walter, the subject of this review; Elbert T., who resides in Indian- apolis. The mother of these children lived until March 1, 1874. Doctor Dearmin was married a second time, on November 24, 1875. to Susan Per- shing, daughter of Solomon and Magdaline Pershing, and to their union were born: May, who married Paul Paulson; Dott and Day. It was in 1872 that Doctor Dearmin began the practice of medicine in the town of Hindoostan, Indiana, and after a term of two years he removed to Daviess county, where he continued the practice of his profession. In 1882 he came to the town of Odon, where he established a good practice and remained until 1897, when he removed to the city of Indianapolis, where he died in the year 1899. He was a member of the Methodist church, was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonged to the Republican party and was a' stanch advocate of the progressive principles of that party.
Walter T. Dearmin received his early education in the public schools of Odon, Daviess county, where, after finishing school, he was employed by a local druggist, who taught him the business, and where he remained for a period of three or four years. Concluding to go into business for him- self, he opened up a drug store in this town and continued in that line for twenty years, when, about the year 1900, he retired from this business. At a later date, Mr. Dearmin thought he saw possibilities of legitimate profit in the poultry and egg business and started into this on a very small scale. This business has grown, steadily and profitably, to such big proportions that he is identified with the large eastern markets, to which he makes a specialty of shipping poultry and eggs in carload quantities. In this business he has been very successful and is known throughout this region as a whole- sale dealer.
On January 6, 1891, Walter T. Dearmin was married to Eva P. Mason, who was born on September 14, 1872, and is the daughter of William and Martha (Sturgeon) Mason, whose life record will be found elsewhere in this work under the caption Robert W. Mason. Walter T. and Eva P. (Mason) Dearmin have had born to them the following children: Rena
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L., on June 16, 1893, who is teaching in one of the Daviess county schools ; Russell Paul, January 1, 1897; Robert Mason, May 4, 1899; Maysel C., June 24, 1901 ; Walter Fred, August 8. 1902. All are members of the Odon Methodist church, to which denomination they lend their support.
Mr. Dearmin is a strong supporter of the Republican party, and though not particularly active in politics, he takes a deep interest in good legisla- tion and is ever ready to lend his influence toward matters pertaining to the public . od. He is a member of the Scottish Rite and is a thirty-second degree member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and his wife is a mem- ber of the Eastern Star. Personally, Mr. Dearmin is well known through- out this section of Daviess county, both in the farming and business world. He takes a full measure of interest in farming and owns an eighty-acre tract in Madison township, this county, where he takes pride in raising dif- ferent grades of live stock. He owns a beautiful home in the town of Odon. where the many friends of the family are delighted to gather, for they are always assured of a hearty welcome and an enjoyable hour. Mr. Deamin is truly a gentleman, honest and upright at all times, and is held in high esteem for his exceptional business ability, and his position is secure as one of Daviess county's most prominent and influential men.
JAMES W. GILLASPIE.
Indiana University is a magnet, attracting to itself the youthful, the ambitious and the intellectual of many states. A great many farms lie within the radius of its influence, but many farmers' sons have continued to follow the plow under the very shadow of this great institution. Here and there, however, a lad there is who feels within himself something which responds to the force going out from the university, and once the hunger for a broader life is recognized, no farm, however attractive, can hold him. It was this ideality which gripped the enthusiasm of the man whose career is appropriately portrayed in this sketch, and which took him from the farm and eventually made him the center of the educational life of a whole community. James W. Gillaspie worked and attended school alternately, however, for many years before he attained the enviable position he now holds.
James W. Gillaspie, who is the superintendent of the schools of Odon, was born near Jamestown, Boone county, Indiana, on February 14, 1862.
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He is the son of Francis C. Gillaspie, born on March 7, 1818, and Sarah Srout, born on March 5, 1825, both parents being natives of Kentucky. His grandfather, John Gillaspie, was a Virginian, and the father of a large: family.
Francis Gillaspie, the father of the Indianian in whom we are con- cerned, was educated in the public schools of Kentucky. As farming was the most popular occupation in those early days, he first gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, afterward engaging in the carpenter's trade. The migratory instinct, however, became too strong to permit him to be con- tented as long as there was an unexplored country to the north, so one fine morning he loaded his household goods in wagons and, with his family, started northward. Arriving at Boone county, this state, he decided to. go no further, and thus Jackson township became the home of this enter- prising and hard-working pioneer. Thrift and industry brought its results,. for it was not long before Francis Gillaspie was the owner of a fine farm of six hundred and forty acres where he worked and lived until June 1, 1884,. the date of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Gillaspie's family circle grew until it numbered ten children. These were: Mary A., deceased, who mar- ried James McReynolds and later Martin Whiteley; William A., also deceased, who married Georgia Young; Sarah A., deceased, who married Charles Bennington ; John W., who became the husband of Ellen Shepherd, now deceased; Georgia and Fannie, twins, the latter of whom passed away in infancy, the former marrying Sanford Shockley; Simon A., deceased, who married Mary A. Gregory; James W., the man whose career is the topic of this sketch; Nettie Frances, who married Robert T. Ashley, and Jesse Omar, whose first wife was Della Heckathorne, and who after- ward married Grace May. Mrs. Gillaspie, the mother, died on May 3, 1903.
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