History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 63

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123

USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 63

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being regarded as one of Dearborn county's most valuable industrial insti- tutions. Mr. Small was one of the organizers of the Dearborn National Bank, of Lawrenceburg, being a stockholder in that sound old financial insti- tution, and also is a director of the First National Bank, of Aurora, to which latter excellent institution he gives much of his personal attention.

On November 27, 1869, Joseph C. Small was united in marriage to Leah Elizabeth Cordry, who was born in Wilmington, this county, daughter of James and Leah (Collins) Cordry, natives of Delaware, who came to this county many years ago, locating in Wilmington when that promising village was the county seat of Dearborn county, and both died there well along in years. They were influential and useful citizens of Wilmington and the parents of five children, all daughters, Mary, Dollie, Sarah, Elizabeth and Alice. To Joseph C. and Leah Elizabeth (Cordry) Small two children have been born, Bertha C., and one daughter who died in infancy.

Mr. Small is a stanch Republican and for many years has taken a part in the political affairs of Dearborn county. He has been a delegate to Repub- lican state conventions on numerous occasions and a factor in such meetings of the leading men of the party in Indiana. Mrs. Small and her daughter are earnest and active members of the Methodist church, the family being active in all good works hereabout, and all are held in the highest esteem in their very large circle of friends and acquaintances. Mr. Small for many years has given his best endeavors to the upbuilding of the commercial, in- dustrial and financial interests of Dearborn county.

JOHN M. JACKSON, M. D.

Being self-reliant, and equipped with a good education, together with a firm determination to reach the top, Doctor Jackson has won his way from the life of a farmer boy to his present well-established and successful business in Aurora, where he is not only well known as being an able and skillful prac- titioner, but where he is considered an authority in many of the branches of his profession, and through his fraternal alliances, as well as through his professional successes, he is one of the most popular men in the city of Aurora.

John M. Jackson was born on February 9, 1881, at the little village of Pleasantville, Sullivan county, Indiana, and is a son of Jefferson G. and Re- becca (Carbin) Jackson. He grew to young manhood on his father's farm

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in Sullivan county, Indiana, where he attended the district schools, graduating from the Pleasantville high school in the spring of 1900, and then entered Marion Sims Medical College, St. Louis, spending one year there, after which he spent three years in the Medical College of Indiana, graduating April 19, 1905. He then spent one year in the hospital at Vincennes, after which he located at Lyons, Indiana, remaining there six and one-half years, and came to Aurora on February 3, 1913, since which time he has built up a lucrative practice. Doctor Jackson gives his support to the Republican party. He belongs to Aurora Lodge No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons, and is a past master of Lyons Lodge No. 634; he is a member of Lyons Lodge No. 647, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand, and also served as district deputy grand master, and is a member of the Rebekahs, as is also his wife. They are both members of the Eastern Star at Lyons. He is a member of the County Medical Society and the State Medical Society, and was surgeon for the Indianapolis and Vincennes division of the Vandalia railroad for five years during his stay at Lyons.

Jefferson G. Jackson, father of the immediate subject of this biography, was born in Kentucky, and came to Indiana when a boy, growing to manhood in Sullivan county, where he always followed agricultural pursuits, owning a small farm in the hills of Sullivan county. He went to the Civil War in Company C, Fifty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and partici- pated in many of the hard-fought battles under General Sherman. He was all through the battles of Atlanta, Vicksburg and Chattanooga, and was with Sherman on the march to the sea and was at the Grand Review at Washing- ton, D. C. He was a private, and served some time as a sharp-shooter. He is now living in retirement in Sullivan county on the old home farm, at the age of seveny-five years. His wife, Rebecca (Corbin) Jackson, also a native of Kentucky, died in 1900, aged fifty-five years. They were both Missionary Baptists, and very strong in their faith. To this union were born five chil- dren, namely : Elza A., who died in infancy ; Mary Marguerite, deceased. who was the wife of E. B. Lind; Wiley A., of Greene county, Indiana : Amanda A., who died in infancy; and John M., of Aurora.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was John T. Jackson, and his wife was Mary L. (Pirtle) Jackson, natives of Kentucky, and pioneers in Sullivan county, Indiana, where Mr. Jackson died at the age of seventy-eight, and his wife at the age of ninety-three years. They were the parents of six children, namely : William, John H., James, Jefferson G., Harriet and Eliza- beth.

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The maternal grandparents were Martin Corbin and his wife, natives of Kentucky, and early settlers in Sullivan county, Indiana. Mr. Corbin died in Kansas, at the age of eighty-eight, and his wife died in Kentucky, aged about thirty-six. They had three children, Rebecca, Elizabeth and John.

John M. Jackson was united in marriage on September 7, 1904, with Daisy C. O'Haver, daughter of Thomas B. and Sarah (Huffman) O'Haver. She was born in Greene county, Indiana, and was reared in Sullivan county, where she was educated, graduating from the Pleasantville high school. She later attended the Normal College at Danville, Indiana, and taught school for some years. This union was blessed with three children, Robert M., Dorothy L. and J. Kenneth. Dorothy died when three years of age. Mrs. Jackson is a loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Thomas B. and Sarah (Huffman) O'Haver, parents of Mrs. Daisy Jackson, were born in Indiana. Her mother died on August 31, 1904. Her father is still living. Their children were Myrtle, Roscoe C. and Daisy C.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Daisy Jackson was Pleasant O'Haver, for whom the town of Pleasantville was named. He and wife had ten chil- dren, as follow : William P., Charles, Stanley, Frank, Thomas B., Grace, Louisa, Martha, John and Serilda.

The maternal grandfather was Isaac Huffman, whose wife was Clarissa Huffman. To this union four children were born, only one of whom lived to maturity, the mother of Mrs. Daisy C. Jackson.

Doctor Jackson is a man of admirable character, and all through his honorable career his transactions with his fellow men have been above criti- cism.

CHARLES R. BISHOP.

Perhaps no other single factor has been so largely instrumental in putting the city of Lawrenceburg "on the map" as that great, progressive and thriving industrial concern, the Bishop saw and tool manufacturing plant, the product of which is known all over the country wherever tools of the description manufactured in this plant are used. The great advance made by this plant during the years that Charles R. Bishop was at the head of the concern and in active management of the same is conclusive evidence of Mr. Bishop's ex- traordinary ability as a business manager and promoter of industry. Prior to May 1, 1914, at which time Mr. Bishop retired from the active cares of

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business, turning the management of the great factory over to his son, Charles E., and Frank Gould, Mr. Bishop had full control of the factory and to him, therefore, very properly may be given full credit for the creation of one of the largest concerns of its kind in the central states. Beginning, at the tender age of thirteen years, to make his way in the world, without a cent of cap- ital to back him and with few, if any, helpful outside influences to give him a friendly push along the way to fortune, Mr. Bishop, by sheer force of energy and enterprise has risen to a post of commanding influence in the commercial and industrial affairs of this section, and no work assuming to present a faith- ful reflection of the events of the times in Dearborn county would be com- plete without a comprehensive reference to his career as a "captain of indus- try." It is with pleasure, therefore, that the present biographer assumes the task of setting out here the following brief and modest review of the life and the labors of the gentleman whose name the reader notes at the head of this biographical sketch.

Charles R. Bishop was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the "Queen City of the West," the son of John and Mary Ann (Ryder) Bishop, both of whom were natives of England, the former a native of Devonshire and the latter of Kent, who, at an early date, came to America and located in Cincinnati, and who were the parents of three children, Charles R., the immediate subject of this sketch; Emily I., widow of Thomas Croxton, a resident of Dillsboro, this county ; and George H. (deceased), a one-time well-known resident of Cin- cinnati.

John Bishop, upon arriving in America, first located in Cincinnati, but later moved to Dearborn county. Indiana, where he engaged in farming, buying a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the Dillsboro neighborhood, on which he spent the remainder of his life. He prospered in his farming venture and later bought another farm of one hundred and twenty-eight acres. His widow survived his death, her death not occurring until some years later. John Bishop was the son of Joseph and Rachel Bishop, the former of whom was a capitalist and owned a large estate in England, who were the parents of three children, John, Joseph and Rebecca. Mr. Bishop's maternal grand- parents, Thomas and Isabel (Instep) Ryder, lived to ripe old ages. Thomas Ryder was a minister of the established church of England. four of whose children came to the United States, Mary Ann. Henry. George and Charles.

Charles R. Bishop remained on the paternal farm near Dillsboro until he was thirteen years of age, at which time he decided that the life of the farm was not the life for him and struck out for the city. Arriving in Cincinnati,

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the city of his birth, he for a time worked in a cooper shop, but later took to carriage blacksmithing and served an apprenticeship at this latter trade. His health beginning to decline, he was advised to get out into the open and, pursuant to this advice, secured a position as brakeman and fireman on the Ohio & Mississippi railroad, faithful service in this capacity soon bringing to him promotion, he being given a run as a freight conductor on the same road, this run being between Cincinnati and Seymour, Indiana. Further pro- motion presently gave him a run as a passenger conductor on the same road, this run being between Cincinnati and St. Louis, and in this capacity he served for many years. Not content with this apparent slow advancement in the railroad service in this section, Mr. Bishop went west and was made division superintendent of one of the growing roads in the west, later being promoted to the position of district superintendent, which position he presently re- signed to take the position of general manager of the saw and tool-making plant at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a concern in which he had been heavily in- terested from its foundation, and in which he still is interested, though living a life of quiet retirement in his fine home at Cincinnati, having turned his active interest in the business over to his son, Charles E., and Frank Gould.

The great plant owned and controlled by the Bishop Saw and Tool Manu- facturing Company, at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, manufactures all kinds of saws, together with tools of nearly every description and has established an enviable reputation in nearly every state in the Union. The motto of this company is "Quality, not Quantity," and the output of the plant sustains the motto in every respect, the quality of the product of the factory having made friends among the users of these tools all over the country. The Bishop saw and tool manufacturing plant is one of Lawrenceburg's chief industries and keeps several hundred men employed the year round, a fact upon which the members of the company very properly pride themselves somewhat. In the full sense of that much-abused term, Mr. Bishop rightly may be styled a self- made man, as solely upon his own initiative has his success been founded. Starting in life as a youth of tender years, with a very limited education and without a penny in his pockets, by industry and close application to business and by judicious management, he developed this extensive industry until it has become known far and wide as one of the leading industries of its kind in the country.

On November 12, 1876, Charles R. Bishop was united in marriage with Amelia J. Doeneka, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of August and Elizabeth (Wolbert) Doeneka, natives of Germany, both of

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whom are now dead, who were the parents of five children, Amelia, Louisa, Caroline, Joseph and Thomas. August Doeneka was colonel of a Kansas regiment during the Civil War and was drowned while in the service.

To Charles R. and Amelia J. (Doeneka) Bishop four children were born, Beulah, Viola and Pearl (twins), and Charles E. Beulah married A. W. Frank, of Cincinnati, to which union one child has been born, Bettysue. Viola died at the tender age of four years. Pearl married Harry K. Prudden, of Harrison, Ohio. Charles E., who is unmarried, is in association with Frank Gould, now at the head of the Bishop saw and tool works and is giving full promise of following faithfully in the footsteps of his competent father as a manager and business promoter. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Technical School at Cincinnati, and of Nelson's Business College.

Mrs. Bishop is a member of the Presyterian church, of which church Mr. Bishop is an attendant and warm supporter. He is a member of Hope- well Lodge No. 87, Free and Accepted Masons, of Dillsboro, Indiana; of Aurora Chapter No. 17, Royal Arch Masons; Aurora Commandery, Knights Templar, and of the Indianapolis Consistory, Scottish Rite Masons. His son, Charles E., also is a thirty-second degree Mason and is a member of the Cincinnati Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Mr. Bishop not only has made a large success of his own business, but at the same time has taken a large interest in the general commercial and indus- trial progress of Lawrenceburg and for years has been recognized as one of the most public-spirited and influential men in that city, he ever doing his part toward the development of the city's best interest in every direction. Needless to say, he is a man who is regarded with the highest esteem on the part of all who know him and there have been few more popular residents of Dearborn county than he.

PHILIP H. ALIG.

Philip H. Alig, general farmer and stock raiser, was born on August 24, 1882, at St. Leon, Kelso township, and is a son of Philip and Magdalena (Wilhelm) Alig. He has always been an enthusiastic farmer, and after his marriage he rented a tract of one hundred and sixty acres from his father, which he cultivated for two years very successfully and then purchased the place outright. Having been satisfied with his land investment, Mr. Alig has never moved from the place on which he originally settled when he first went to housekeeping. He is one of the honored and respected citizens of

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the township, in which he has held several of its offices, among them being those of town marshal, to which he was elected in 1908, serving two years, and in 1913 he was elected to the offices of clerk and town treasurer of St. Leon, winning out by a large majority. He is a strong believer in the Demo- cratic policies, and a member of the Catholic church at St. Leon.

Philip Alig, Sr., was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, and came to St. Leon with his parents when but two years old. Here he was reared and received a good common school education, and the inducements offered in his home town have always been sufficient to prevent him seeking new fields of endeavor .. To the original tract of thirty acres, purchased when he first ventured out on his own responsibility, he has added piece by piece, until he now owns a splen- did farm of four hundred acres, all of which he put under cultivation. Mr. Alig has always been a stanch Democrat, and held some of the township offices, one of which was that of town trustee, which he filled for twenty years. He is a devout member of the Catholic church, to which he contributes liberally each year. His wife, Magdalena (Wilhelm) Alig, was born in Franklin county, where she was reared and educated. They have had ten children, Mary (Mrs. Werner), George, Philip H., Anna (Mrs. Frey), John, William, Otilda (Mrs. Wilhelm), and three who died young.

Philip H. Alig was married to Josephine Schuman, who was born on July 16, 1890, the daughter of Joseph A. and Alice (Metzler) Schu- man, a sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this book. Mr. and Mrs. Alig have had two children, Joseph and Marcella. Mr. Alig and his wife have many warm friends in the township, in which he has always taken a great personal interest in questions of general interest and benefit of the public.

CARROLL L. STEVENS.

The late Carroll L. Stevens, for years one of the best-known and most influential citizens of Aurora, this county, was born on November 10, 1880, a son of Charles Carroll and Suzanne (Fogelmann) Stevens, of Scottish de- scent. His birthplace was Aurora, Indiana, and there he was reared and received his elementary education. Upon completing the public-school course. he entered Moore's Hill College, after which he attended Culver Military Academy. Mr. Stevens was an earnest member of the Methodist church. of which his widow, who survives him, is also a member. At the time of his death, which occurred on September 4, 1913, at the age of thirty-two years

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and ten months, his widow and sons became his successors in his store, which has been established over seventy-five years, during all of which time it has been in the Stevens family. Mr. Stevens was allied with the Aurora Com- mercial Club, and the Dearborn Club, and was always greatly interested in the welfare of his home city.

Charles Carroll Stevens, father of the late Carroll L. Stevens, was born in Indiana, being reared and educated at Aurora, where he was a merchant for a great many years. His death occurred on December 6, 1906, while on a trip to Florida for his health, at the age of fifty-six years, and his widow, who was a native of Ohio, died on April 30, 1914, aged sixty years. They were both members of the Methodist church. The only child born to their union was Carroll L. Stevens, the subject of this memoir. Charles C. Stevens was the son of William Frank Stevens, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Dearborn county when a mere lad, and after growing to manhood formed a partnership with Josiah Chambers, establishing the firm of Chambers, Ste- vens & Company in Aurora, where they handled a large and attractive line of merchandise, this store being one of the oldest in the state. At the death of Charles C. Stevens, his son became his successor, whose son also, in turn, succeeded him. William F. Stevens married Mary Scott, by whom he had three children, Charles Carroll, Mrs. Ida Maltby, and Mrs. Abigail Cole. Suzanne Fogelmann was the daughter of William Fogelmann, who lived for a time at Cincinnati, Ohio, and later moved to Loveland, in the same state, where he and his wife both died, the former at the age of seventy-nine, and the latter at the age of sixty-nine. They were the parents of the following children : Mrs. Martha Townsend, Mrs. Lydia Morrow, Mrs. Louise Will- iamson, Mrs. Suzanne Stevens and William.

Carroll L. Stevens was married on January 15, 1903, to Marie Coutant. daughter and only child of Melvin Ransom and. Lizetta (Melson) Coutant. She was born on December 24, 1881, at McComb City, Mississippi, and was graduated from the high school at Springfield, Illinois. To this union two children, sons, were born, Charles Carroll and Melvin Ransom.

Melvin Ransom Coutant, father of Mrs. Carroll L. Stevens, was born at Lawrenceburg, this county. His wife died on January 29, 1900, and he now makes his home at Kingston, New York, where he is master mechanic of the Ulster & Delaware railroad. Melvin R. Coutant is the son of Mau- rice and Mary Elizabeth Coutant, both natives of New York state, the former of French descent. Maurice Coutant, as a young man, was located at Coch- ran, Indiana, where he occupied the position of master mechanic in the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway. At the time of his death

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he was seventy-seven years old. His widow survives him, and now makes her home at Decatur, Illinois. They were the parents of four children, Mel- vin R., William, George Edward and Ida.

The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Carroll L. Stevens was Benjamin P. Melson, whose widow is still living, at the age of ninety years. He was a native of Maryland, of English lineage, and Mrs. Melson was born in this county. Benjamin P. Melson was an early settler in Dearborn county, where he followed the vocation of a merchant tailor. He died at the age of eighty- three years. He and his wife were the parents of five children, Maurice Henry, David, Carl, Ella and Lizetta. Upon the death of Mrs. Suzanne Stevens, widow of Charles C. Stevens, who, together with her son, the late Carroll L. Stevens, owned the large store which so long had been in the Ste- vens family, Mrs. Carroll L. Stevens assumed the management of the store, which she and her son, Charles C. Stevens, now own and operate.

HENRY WERNER.

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the most prosper- ous and highly-respected citizens of Kelso township. Being well educated, he has afforded valuable assistance to the Democratic party, of whose policies he has always been a stanch advocate, throughout all of which he has clung to the more quiet life of a farmer, in preference to a home in the city. Springing from German stock, Mr. Werner inherits the qualities of thrift and economy that have been prominent characteristics for generations back, and which will doubtless be prominent for generations to come, as time appears to have made no inroad on their efficiency.

Henry Werner, township assessor and farmer, was born on July 16, 1870. in Kelso township, where he was also reared and educated. He is a son of Michael and Magdalena (Hahn) Werner. His father gave him a good edu- cation at the public schools of St. Leon, and after leaving school, he assisted his father on the farm until he was married, when he took entire charge of the place, and managed it until in 1907, when he bought it outright, since which time he has continued as a general farmer. Since arriving at manhood, Mr. Werner has always been deeply in the policies of the Democratic party, to which he has given his earnest support, and in 1900 was elected to the offices of clerk and treasurer of St. Leon, in which he served a five-year term. In 1914 he ran on the Democratic ticket for the office of assessor of Kelso town- ship, and was the successful candidate, the term of office being four years.

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He was the first man in St. Leon ever re-elected to a township or county office, and in general has been alive to the best interests of the community in which he resides.

Michael Werner was born in Germany, in 1821, but was filled with a desire to see more of the world, and while still a young man he gathered his belongings and departed for the United States, selecting Cincinnati as a place of abode. He was a cabinet-maker by trade, and followed this vocation until about 1875, when he bought one hundred and fourteen acres of wooded land in Kelso township, Dearborn county, near St. Leon, and having already selected his life partner, he set to work with a will and soon cleared enough land for his immediate needs, continuing as a general farmer until his death, in 1897. He was a loyal Democrat, and an attentive member of the Catholic church, to which he contributed freely. His wife, Magdalena (Hahn) Wer- ner, was also a native of Germany. She was born in June, 1829, and died on April 19, 1907. She came to America with her parents, who settled in Kelso township. Mr. and Mrs. Werner were blest with eleven children, namely : Katherine, Charlie, Emma, Louise, Adam, George, Joseph, Henry, Lena, and two who died in infancy.

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History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 63

Author: Archibald Shaw Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1123

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123