USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 59
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On October 4, 1893. Mr. Woodfill married Miss Elizabeth Donnell, daughter of Seth Donnell, who is deceased. Her mother, Mrs. Donnell, still lives in Greensburg. To this nnion the following children were born : James Donnell, a student of Purdue University ; William Stewart, of Bowdoin Col- lege, Main: Elizabeth and Margaret, both of whom are attending school at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Woodfill have taken deep interest in educational matters, and the former is at present a member of the city school board. Aside from his own business establishment, Mr. Woodfill has identified himself with other commercial activities of the town, and is now the president of the Greensburg Building and Loan Association.
Mr. Woodfill is a Republican, and his personal influence has given strength to the local party. He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge. the Knights of Pythias, the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
As the merchandise store founded by his ancestors has formed such an integral part of his life, a brief sketch of its history will not be inappropriate. The store now supplies the public with clothing and men's furnishings. It succeeded the firm of J. M. Woodfill & Sons in 1897, this having been the firm name from 1895. It was known as Woodfill & Byers from 1890 until 1895, as Christian & Woodfill from 1888 until 1890, which succeeded Ilittle & Christian, who, in turn, succeeded John P. Hittle, founder of the original store. There was a close alliance between business and family relations, as J. H. Christian was a nephew of J. M. Woodfill, and son-in-law of John P. Hittle.
Mr. Woodfill's strength of character, as well as his energy and marked
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business ability, have been of signal value in the history of the community in which he and his family have lived for several generations. While build- ing up his commercial interests, he has not neglected those personal and civic duties which assume the form of obligations in the life of every man. for, like his distinguished ancestors, he has been public-spirited, and has placed the good of his town and county next to that of himself and his own family. It is such men that form the bone and sinew of any people.
JOHN HENRY METZ.
One of the splendid pioneer citizens still living in Decatur county, Indi- ana, and one of its wealthiest farmers, is John Henry Metz, of Fugit town- ship. His present condition of affluence is in bold contrast to his financial condition, when he arrived in this country more than sixty years ago, after a long and tedious voyage on an immigrant ship with nine hundred others, when he had only twenty-five cents in his pocket at the time lie landed in New York city. The story of his rise to fortune and success as a farmer, devoid of the romance and hardships which he suffered in pioneer times, is the story of the most rigid personal economy and consistent and increasing savings. His is a record to make the cheeks of the young men of the present generation, whose lives are being spent in wanton living, burn with shame, and his life ought to be an example to every young man of worthy and com- mendable ambitions, a command to follow, in the fundamentals at least, the career of this honorable and distinguished citizen.
Born on July 10, 1832, at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in Prussia, John Henry Metz came to America in 1854, at the age of twenty-two and, after two years in Ohio, in 1856 came on to Decatur county. The son of Frederick and Elizabeth ( Kolb) Metz, farmers by occupation, John H. Metz was reared on the farm in his native land. He left home. family and friends to seek his fortune in a new country with a single companion. The voyage to America, which required forty-six days, was made on the ship "Milhausen."
On arriving in Decatur county, Indiana, Mr. Metz was employed by James and, later, by William Bonner, for five dollars a month, and out of these earnings, he was able to save money and purchase his first land in Salt Creek township. Later, he bought forty acres and still another forty and began to raise hogs. In fact, this has been the secret of his success and fortune. He also made great profits in the early days by growing wheat.
JOHN H. METZ.
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For many years he has been accustomed to raise one hundred and fifty head of hogs a year, and to sell at least one carload of cattle every year. He now owns six hundred acres of land in Fugit and Salt Creek townships, upon which are located three sets of buildings. All of this land is either farmed or managed by members of his family. Not many years ago he remodeled his farm house and now has a handsome and comfortable residence. the equal of any to be found in Fugit township.
Six years after coming to America and four years after arriving in Decatur county, John Henry Metz was married, February 14, 1860, to Louise Huber, who was born in Franklin county, Indiana, July 16, 1836, and who was the daughter of Gottfried and Margaret (Zeigler) Huber, natives of Germany. After rearing a large family of children, Mrs. Metz passed away on July 10, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Metz had eight children: Leona, George WV., Mary Elizabeth, John H., Jr., Edward L., William G., Charles Frederick and Maude Louise, the latter dying in 1912. Leona married Chester King and lives in Clinton township, near Williamstown; they have six children, Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Fred Caldwell; Florence, John H., Jr., Stella, Elendore and Edward. George W. married Catherine Ravenstein, of Cin- cinnati and is a merchant at Newpoint, where he was postmaster for sixteen years. Of his nine children, Amanda married McClelland Wolfe and has two children ; Neola Maurine died on March 30, 1915, age two years, and Orin Keith, lives in Delaware, Ohio: Elma Marie married Howard Starks and has two children, Bessie Metz and Audrey Louise; Christina, William M., Anna L., Margarette, Cora May, George HI., Catherine. Mary Elizabeth is the housekeeper for her father. John H., Jr., lives at home. Edward L. married Louisa Moulton and has two children, Edward Albert and Temper- ance Louise. William G. married Luella Dravis, Fugit township. Charles Frederick is at home.
Mr. Metz's sons are extensive breeders of Aberdeen Angus cattle and ordinarily have from eighty to one hundred head on the farm. A Republican in politics, John Henry Metz has never been active in the councils of his party, even though he is, and has always been, a leader in his community. He is a member of the Kingston Presbyterian church, as was his good wife during her life. John Henry Metz is a fine type of the German gentleman, who has attained success from the humble start which he had in this country. He is well-read, intelligent and hospitable and one of the few really old settlers left in Decatur county. He has reared a fine family of industrious sons and daughters and his home is decidedly one of the best in the state
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of Indiana. That he is a good farmer and that his sons, who have taken up his work, are also good farmers, is amply proved by the fact that in a dry year, 1914, they raised from sixty to eiglity bushels of corn per acre on their land. It is unfortunate that every community cannot have within its bound- aries men of the same character, capacity and ability, as Jolin Henry Metz.
GUY E. KITCHIN.
We can scarcely think a man thoroughly appreciates his privileges and independence, when he arrives at the point of owning a valuable farin of three hundred and twenty acres of good farm land, in a well-settled district. It becomes such a habit with him, that he loses sight of the fact that he is indeed fortunate in these days of high-priced real estate. If he could but read the thoughts of the man bending over the books in a city office, with his hands and feet practically chained to a desk, he would know that nothing but the acreage price keeps this man from freeing himself from his mental drudgery, and going forth, with a glad heart, to where he can get a fresh breath of air, and live an independent life. Nor is he alone in his thoughts. There are hundreds of thousands of men and women whose views would not vary a hair's breadth in this direction.
Guy Kitchin, farmer, Fugit township, was born on October 7, 1882, in Fugit township, on their home farm. He is a son of Frank B. and Clara (Robbins) Kitchin. He first attended the public schools at Kingston, and when eighteen years of age, entered Purdue University, remaining there one year, 1899-1900, after which he returned home and farmed for a short time, and then went to Kansas and Oklahoma for his health in 1908. He remained in Oklahoma four years, and then returned to Decatur county in the fall of 1912. In politics, he has always voted the Republican ticket, and is a member of the Kingston Presbyterian church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. The fine farin, of three hundred and twenty acres, stands as a witness to his ability, as well as to his thrifty habits.
Frank Benjamin Kitchin, father of our subject, was born and reared on the home farm in Decatur county, where he farmed until his removal to. Indianapolis in the spring of 1912. He owns five hundred acres in Fugit township, covering three well-improved farms. He does general farming, and is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle. To Frank Kitchin and his wife were
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born six children, as follow: Clyde, Guy, Coza, Grace, Thomas and Frank Barnard. Clyde lives in Rush county ; Coza lives in Indianapolis; Grace is the wife of Harry Moore, and lives at Alexandria; Frank Barnard lives in Indianapolis.
In December, 1908, Guy Kitchin was married to Joy Thompson, daugh- ter of Edgar Thompson, of Jennings county. They have one child, Edgar. born in November, 191I.
Guy Kitchin has lived on his present farm since 1911. The father bought this tract of land about 1887, known as the Donnell farm. Guy Kitchin buys cattle and feeds on an average about seventy-five head during the year. On his farm he raises diversified crops and feeds all the grain and hay he can produce. Aside from this he buys a good deal of grain and feeds to carry him through the season.
WILLIAM SKEEN WOODFILL.
The Woodfill family have been prominently identified with the history of Decatur county since 1830, when the first members of the family canie to Greensburg. In everything which goes to make a community better in the essentials which advance civilization, the family have acted well their part. Succeeding generations of the Woodfills have been characterized by those sterling qualities which marked the members of the family who have gone before them.
The late William S. Woodfill was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, on November 16, 1825, the son of Gabriel and Eleanor ( Pullman) Woodfill. The family trace their ancestry back to Welsh and English progenitors and have found that the first members of the family located in Pennsylvania in the early colonial days. Reverend Gabriel, the great-grandfather of William S. Woodfill, emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky and settled in Shelby county early in the history of that state. Ile was a pioneer in Methodism in Kentucky and upon locating in Jefferson county, Indiana, became one of the earliest Methodist ministers of the Hoosier state. Ile was a man of large influence in his community and his labors in the Master's vineyard proved of inestimable benefit to his widely scattered neighbors.
Andrew Woodfill, the son of the good old Methodist circuit rider and the grandfather of William S. Woodfill, was born in Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life in the vicinity of Madison, Indiana. He entered government land in Jefferson county, married a Miss Mitchell and reared a family of
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twelve children, eight of whom lived to maturity. The last of the children to die were Mrs. Ellen Greene, of Seattle, Washington; Mrs. Sarah Maish, of Illinois, and Mrs. James Woodfill, of Texas.
Gabriel, one of the sons of Andrew, and the father of William S., was born in Shelby county, Kentucky. in 1800. Later he moved with his parents to Jefferson county, Indiana, but after reaching manhood returned to Ken- tucky, where he engaged in farming and merchandising. On November 16. 1830, he located in Greensburg, Indiana, and immediately began to take a prominent part in the commercial and fraternal life of the town. In the same year he opened a store and the business which he established in Greens- burg, eighty-five years ago, is now in the hands of William W. Woodfill, at the corner of Washington street and Broadway, a grandson of the old pioneer merchant. Gabriel also carried on a banking business in connection with his store. and was easily the foremost man in the business life of the town. He was an ardent Whig and when the Republican party was organized he gave it the same hearty support. He was an earnest member of the Methodist church and was one of the organizers of the First Methodist church, and later of the Centenary church. He was twice married. His first marriage was with Eleanor Pullman, and to this union were born three children, Andrew : William S., a life-long merchant of Greensburg, and Mary, who became the wife of Henry Christian. Upon the death of his first wife, Gabriel Woodfill married Elizabeth Van Pelt, a daughter of Joseph Van Pelt, and to this second union were also born three children, John, deceased ; James M. and Catherine, the deceased wife of Rev. James Crawford.
William Skeen Woodfill was five years of age when the family came to Decatur county in 1830 and spent the remainder of his life in Greensburg. Receiving a good common-school education, he early in life began to work in his father's store, which, by the time he had reached manhood, was the leading mercantile establishment of the town. Later his father made him a partner, the firm being known as Woodfill & Son until January, 1863. On that date the father retired from active business cares and the firm was changed to Woodfill Brothers, the three brothers being William, John and James. This arrangement continued until February. 1869, when the death of John caused the firm to be changed to W. S. Woodfill & Company. In 1882 the style of the firm was changed to J. M. Woodfill & Company, but this change lasted less than a year. On January 1, 1884, James retired and from then until the death of William S., July 25, 1899, the firm was known as W. S. Woodfill & Sons. Since the year 1899 the firm has been known as W. W. Woodfill's Sons. although W. W. Woodfill is now the manager of the establishment.
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The Greensburg Gas and Electric Company was organized by William S. Woodfill in 1875 and he was president of the company from the time of its organization until his death, in 1899. In addition to his extensive commer- cial and industrial interests in Greensburg, he owned four valuable farms in Decatur county.
On November 18, 1857, William S. Woodfill was married to Sarah A. Talbott, the daughter of H. H. Talbott, the first clerk of the Decatur county circuit court. To this union were born four children, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Rev. J. W. Turner, of Decatur county ; William Wirt, a merchant of Greensburg: Harry Talbott, superintendent of the Greensburg Gas and Electric Light Company, and Web, secretary-treasurer of the same company.
The wife of W. S. Woodfill died on October 31, 1898. She represented the highest type of womanhood and her whole life was a benediction to those who came in contact with her. Devoted to her husband and children, she fulfilled, in the truest sense, the noblest mission of womanhood.
William S. Woodfill was an earnest Republican, but never an office- seeker, his extensive business interests demanding all of his time and atten- tion. He was a charter member of Greensburg Lodge No. 102, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, organized in 1851, and lived to be the last survivor of the charter members of the lodge. He was also a member of the encamp- ment at Evansville, Indiana. For twenty years he was a member of the Centenary church of Greensburg and took an active part in furthering all worthy causes proposed by his church.
Such, in brief, is the life of one of Greensburg's most influential citizens of the past century. His life was always above reproach and he never shirked his duty as a citizen of the commonwealth in order to avoid responsi- bility. Such men give stability to any community, and such a man, in the highest sense of the word, was William S. Woodfill.
WALTER AND ROBERT SCOTT.
The founder of the Scott family in Decatur county, Indiana, who was William H. Scott, was the son of Robert and Nancy Scott, of Butler county, Ohio, who were married in 1824. On the paternal side of the family the Scotts of Decatur county are descended from Scottish ancestry. William H. Scott came to Indiana before the Civil War and in 1865 was married to Emily L. Logan, and to them were born six children, of whom Walter and Robert are the subjects of this sketch.
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Walter Scott, who owns eighty acres in Fugit township and who is also farming one hundred and sixty acres, was born on May 5, 1881, on the Scott homestead, located on the Donnell pike. Ile was educated in the Kingston schools and at Tarkio College, but has always been engaged in farming. For a number of years he was associated with his brother, Fred, in farming the Logan estate and, in the fall of 1907, purchased his present farm, which he has greatly improved. especially by the erection of a beautiful country house in 1910 and a large barn, forty-four by forty-eight feet. Mr. Scott was married on October 26, 1910, to Hazel Walker, who was born in Adams on June 7. 1887, the daughter of John Lee and Stella Walker, natives of Indiana, who reside in Adams. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker Scott have been born two children, Harold Walker, on May 10, 1912, and Miriam Edith, February 1, 1915. Politically. Mr. Scott is a Republican and is a member of the township advisory board. He and his wife are members of the Kingston Presbyterian church.
Robert Scott is a well-known farmer of Fugit township, who owns eighty acres of land and who is farming another eighty acres belonging to Margaret J. Logan, was born on March 16, 1884, on the Donnell pike. Mr. Scott grew up as a farmer in Decatur county and was married on October 16, 1908, to Anna Martha McCall, of New Concord, Ohio, a sister of Rev- erend McCall, and daughter of Marshall and Anna McCall. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have had two children, Marshall Logan, born on October 27, 1909. and Margaret Jane, December 14, 19II.
Of the father of these two successful farmers, it may be said that William E. Scott was born on March 3, 1839, in Ohio, and died, June 20, 1885. Ilis wife, who, before her marriage, was Emily L. Logan, was born on July 27, 1844, on the Logan homestead and died on the old farm, March 20. 1913, in the same room where she had been born and where she was married.
The late William H. Scott was a soldier in the Civil War, having ยท served in Company K. Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan- try. for three years. He was mustered out of service on October 27, 1864, after having served in many severe engagements, among which were the battles of Huntsville, Alabama, Chattanooga. Stone's River, Murfrees- borough, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge. Lookout Mountain and all of the battles of the Atlanta campaign.
Of the six children born to William H. and Emily L. (Logan) Scott. two are deceased, Edward Thomas, born in 1866. and Edith Margaret, in 1868, both dying in infancy. The living children are Fred G., born in 1871.
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who is a farmer in Decatur county ; Nannie Lillian, in 1878, who is the wife of Samuel Goddard, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Walter and Robert, the subjects of this sketch.
Emily Logan was the daughter of John E. and Eliza ( Kerrick) Logan, the former of whom was twice married, the first time to Hattie N. Anderson, a sister of "Uncle Billy" Anderson, who was born in 1812, in Kentucky, and who bore him three children, George Douglas, who died in infancy; Margaret J., in 1837, who resides with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott, and Mary Anderson, in 1839, and died in 1872, who was the wife of John W. Gillespie, a well-known merchant of Greensburg, now deceased.
Margaret J. Logan, who was educated in the Springhill schools, received an academic education and taught school for twenty-four years. Her school was a famous one on account of the many skilled teachers who presided over it. She also taught for seven years at College Corner. Miss Logan, who is now "seventy-seven years young," is a bright and capable woman and is well known in this community.
The second wife of John E. Logan, who was born in 1812, and who died in 1899, was Eliza Kerrick. She was born in 1816 and died in 1893. Born near Lexington, Kentucky, John E. Logan was the son of George Logan, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1780 and whose wife, Mar- garet Robinson, was also born in Pennsylvania. George Logan and wife emigrated to Kentucky and their son, John E., after a time, left Kentucky and emigrated to White county, Illinois, from whence he came to Decatur county, Indiana, purchasing a farm in Fugit township in 1833. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land for six hundred dollars, but eventually owned three hundred and twenty acres, which became the Logan homestead. By his second marriage, there were born six children, Mrs. Emily Scott, the mother of Walter and Robert Scott; Nancy Ann, born in 1847, died in 1876; James H., in 1849, died in 1851 ; Lillian Esther, in 1852, died in 1889, who was the wife of Rev. J. A. Thomson, the president of Tarkio College; Charles E., in 1858, died in 1859, and Rev. William W., in 1860, who now resides in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is pastor of a Presbyterian church.
Of Robert Scott it may be said further that he was educated in the Kingston schools, the Clarksburg high school and Tarkio College, where he spent one year. He has been farming in this neighborhood since he quit school. In 1913 he moved to his present farm and has established in this community an excellent reputation of a farmer and business man. Politi- cally, he is identified with the Republican party. He and his wife and family are members of the Springhill United Presbyterian church.
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JOHN H. ALEXANDER, M. D.
It is an honor of no mean importance to have become, in point of years and service, the oldest physician in Decatur county, a distinction which belongs to John H. Alexander, M. D., a veteran of the Civil War, the son of a well-known pioneer physician of the Middle West who is descended, on his mother's side, from an old and distinguished English family which estab- lished itself in America during the early part of the eighteenth century. Having come to Indiana some time before the breaking out of the Civil War, he has practiced his profession continuously, in this state, at Milford and Greensburg, until within three years ago, when he practically quit the more active practice.
John H. Alexander was born on November 7, 1828, at Palestine, Illinois, and is the son of Dr. John C. and Nancy (Wilson) Alexander, natives of Kentucky and Virginia. respectively. The former, who was born in Mont- gomery county, Kentucky, on August 1, 1797, became a student at Transyl- vania University at Lexington, Kentucky, and began the practice of his pro- fession with his old preceptor, Doctor Walker, of Mt. Sterling, when twenty years of age. Locating in Palestine. Illinois, in 1822, eleven years later he was appointed registrar of the land office at Danville, Illinois, and held that office until his death, August 7. 1841. A successful stump speaker, during General Jackson's two campaigns he traveled throughout the entire state of Illinois as a campaign orator and, as a reward for his services to the Demo- cratic party, was elected and served three terms as joint representative from Crawford, Clark and Lawrence counties in the Illinois General Assembly. As a delegate to one of the Illinois state conventions, he introduced Stephen A. Douglas, as a speaker, when the convention was being held at Vandalia. In fact, Dr. John C. Alexander was a stanch friend of Mr. Douglas. Pro- fessionally, he was regarded as a very successful man. His wife, who was Nancy Wilson before her marriage. was born in Harding county, Virginia, ou March 26, 1802, and died, January 24, 1884, at Clifty, Illinois, at the resi- dence of her son, Dr. John H. She was the daughter of James Wilson, who was born in Hardin county, Virginia, in 1768, and who, on October 1, 1815, left Virginia for Ohio. At Brownstown, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, he bought a flat-boat for one hundred dollars and sent his goods and family down the river by boat, he and his wife taking the six horses overland. Arriving in Hamilton county, the latter part of the month, where James had purchased a farm on a stream known as Dry run, they established a home. Mrs. Nancy Alexander's father, James Wilson, was the son of Moses Wilson,
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