USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 109
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During the winter of 1916-1917 Mr. Hawkins founded the National Moorish Tile Flooring Factory and became the first president of the com- pany. It opened for business in February, 1917, and promises to become one of the city's most substantial institutions.
Though Mr. Hawkins has been very earnestly and continuously occu- pied with industrial activities. he has never neglected to do his part in the working out of the civic problems which present themselves to the attention of every public-spirited citizen. As president of the Commercial Club for the past two years, he has accomplished much in furthering the general wel- fare of the city of his birth. Being a man of action, he throws his power and personality into everything he undertakes and stays with it to the "finish". A striking example of this fact is his remarkably successful management of the Fayette county centennial celebration of 1916. For five months in the spring and summer of that year he devoted practically all his time to planning and putting into execution the hundred and one details which resulted in the community having the best county celebration in the state.
It is proper in this connection to mention that on account of his intelli- gent and conservative management of public affairs; he was chosen as one of the governors of the Hoosier Dixie Highway Association. In general, it is thoroughly understood by all who know him that any and everything which he feels will be of benefit to his city or to the public at large, will receive from him a hearty, enthusiastic and intelligent support.
Edward P. Hawkins.
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Politically, Mr. Hawkins is affiliated with the Republican party. His fraternal relations include membership in several national organizations- the Odd Fellows. Elks, Moose, Travelers' Protective Association, Eagles, Red Men and Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Greek-letter fra- ternity of Phi Delta Kappa, the Columbia Club of Indianapolis, the Indiana Press Club, the Cincinnati Auto Club. the Cincinnati Country Club, the New- castle Country Club, the Hoosier Automobile Association and several other similar organizations. In keeping with the spirit that prompts those in power to give just recognition to meritorious energy, Governor Goodrich appointed Mr. Hawkins as a member of his staff, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Mr. Hawkins was married, October 5, 1904, to Miss Marie Kimball. She is a daughter of Judge Eben W. and Frances (Bender) Kimball and was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father was a native of Massachusetts and her mother of Michigan. Judge Kimball is still living; his wife passed away in April, 1916. Mrs. Hawkins has one brother, Fletcher Kimball. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins have one son, Edward K. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In every community there are men who are leaders. It has always been thus and it will always be. They may possess no more native ability than those with whom they mingle and associate, but somehow, someway, they are gifted with special qualities that win for them honor and preferment. Such a man is Edward P. Hawkins.
OLIVER PORTER MYERS.
Oliver Porter Myers, a well-known and substantial farmer of Posey town- ship, this county, and the proprietor of a fine farm of nearly two hundred acres at the south edge of that township, where he and his family are very comfort- ably and very pleasantly situated, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on the old Huston homestead farm in Posey township on November 4, 1884, son and only child of Calvin and Mary Laura (Manlove) Myers, the latter of whom is still living on her well-kept farm south of Bentonville.
The late Calvin Myers also was a native of this section of Indiana, having been born on a pioneer farm two and one-half miles south of Cambridge City, in the neighboring county of Wayne, August 4, 1855, second son of Michael
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K. and Elizabeth (Ferris) Myers, the former of whom was born in that same neighborhood, a son of Gideon and Catherine (Crull) Myers, early settlers of that community. Gideon Myers came to this state from Pennsylvania and established a tannery and harness-making shop in the lower part of Wayne county, where he spent the rest of his life. His son, Michael K. Myers, became a farmer and live-stock dealer and lived on a farm south of the village of Dublin until 1879, when he moved to Quinemo, in Osage county, Kansas, moving thence presently to Ottumwa, in Coffey county, same state. where he farmed and spent the rest of his life, his death occurring there in October, 1908. His widow, who was born Elizabeth A. Ferris, near the village of Milton, in Wayne county, this state, a daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Atwell) Ferris, died on February 9, 1911. Their son, Calvin Myers, was reared on the home farm and there lived until after he had reached his majority. On October 9, 1877, he married Mary L. Manlove, who was born on the old Manlove farm, two and one-half miles southeast of Bentonville, only daughter of William and Margaret (Munger) Manlove, both members of pioneer fami- lies in that section of the county and further and fitting mention of which fam- ilies is made elsewhere in this volume. On December 10, 1877, he and his wife began housekeeping on the old Myers homestead place, and there remained until November 20, 1880, when they moved to a farm one mile south of Bentonville, where Calvin Myers spent his last days, his death occurring there on February 17, 1906, he then being fifty years of age, and where his widow is still living, the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres one mile west of the place where she was born.
Oliver Porter Myers lived on the farm on which he was born until after his marriage in 1905 and shortly afterward took possession of the farm of one hundred and ninety-eight acres in the southern part of Posey township, where he established his home and where he has ever since lived. Mr. Myers is a progressive farmer and a member of the Connersville Commercial Club, ever giving his thoughtful attention to any movement designed to advance the com- mon welfare of the community at large. He and his wife have a delightful home and are regarded as among the leaders in the general social activities of the community in which they live. Mrs. Myers is a member of the Christian church at Bentonville and is active in the work of the Missionary Society. of that church, as well as in the work of the Women's Club of the Bentonville community and of the Mothers' Club in that vicinity, helpful in advancing all good movements thereabout. .. . Mr. and Mrs. Myers have two children, Garnet Elnora, born on February 5, 1907, and Willard Calvin, March 19, 1913.
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As noted above, it was on October 18, 1905, that Oliver Porter Myers was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Overhiser, who was born on a farm one mile north of Bentonville, this county, en May 9, 1887, a daughter of Willard and Ellen ( Kemmer ) Overhiser, both of whom also were born in this county and who are still living on their farm north of Bentonville, where Mrs. Myers was born and where she lived until her marriage. Willard Overhiser, an honored veteran of the Civil War and former trustee of Posey township, is a native of this county, as noted above, born in Fairview township on Noven- ber 1, 1841, son of George and Elizabeth ( Storms) Overhiser, the former of whom, born in Otsego county, New York, August 21, 1804, was a son of John Casper and Mary (Near) Overhiser and a grandson of Conrad and Mary (Story) Overhiser. John Casper Overhiser was twice married and by his first marriage was the father of two children and by his second, eighteen. In 1826, in New York state, George Overhiser married Elizabeth Storms, who was born in that state on June 30, 1807, a daughter of Peter and Dorcas .( Ballard ) Storms and a granddaughter of Thomas and Asenath Ballard, and in 1838 he and his family came out to Indiana and settled in Fairview township, this county, remaining there until about 1842, when he moved to Hancock county and then, a couple of years later, to Blackford county, where his father-in-law, Peter Storms, had entered a tract of government land, and in that county he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, her death occurring in 1860 and his in 1862. They were the parents of thirteen children, nine of whom are still living, but of whom Willard Overhiser is the only one residing in this county.
Willard Overhiser learned the carpenter trade in his youth and was work- ing at that trade when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted as a private in the Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, attached to the Thir- teenth Army Corps, and with that command served until mustered out on Feb- ruary 3, 1866. During that long period of service he participated in some of the most stirring engagements of the war, including the siege of Vicksburg. and in Texas took part in the last battle of the war, fought on May 13, 1865, after Lee had surrendered. Upon the completion of his military service. Mr. Overhiser resumed his work as a carpenter and worked in various parts of Fayette and Wayne counties, until after his marriage in 1873, when he located at Cambridge City, where he remained until in November of 1879, when he returned to this county and settled on the farm one mile north of Bentonville, where he has made his home ever since. Mr. Overhiser was three times elected trustee of his home township, serving in that capacity for a period of ten years. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the present con-
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mander of the post of that patriotic order at Cambridge City, and is affiliated with the Masonic order.
In 1873 Willard Overhiser was united in marriage to Elizabeth E. Kem- mer, who was born in Posey township, this county, February 17, 1854, daugh- ter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Campbell) Kemmer, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of this county. Samuel Kemmer was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, September 27, 1823, son of John and Sarah (Overturf) Kemmer, the former of whom was a son of Nicholas and Sarah (Pholer ) Kemmer, whose last days were spent in this county. Nicholas Kemmer, a native of Germany, emigrated to this country when about eighteen years of age and was living at Boston when the famous "Boston tea party" marked the beginning of the struggle of the colonies for independence, he having been one of the patriots dressed as Indians, who threw the tea over- board from a British vessel in the harbor as a protest against what the colonists declared to be unjust taxation. He later served as a soldier during the Revolutionary War and was at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, his position in the ranks during that historic incident being such that he was able to observe the two generals in conference. After the close of the war he settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and there mar- ried Sarah Pholer: Later he moved to Kentucky and in 1833 came from that state up into Indiana and settled in Posey township, this county, where he died in 1839.
John Kemmer, one of the eight children born to Nicholas Kemmer and wife, married Sarah Overturf in 1820 and in 1831 came from Kentucky to this county. He bought a tract of eighty acres in Posey township, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring on August 29, 1864, and hers in 1886, she then being eighty-four years of age. They were the parents of nine children, Mary Ann, Matilda Jane, Samuel J., Melvina, Sarah, Mehitabel, Sanford, Harvey and Lewis. Samuel J. Kemmer was eight years of age when his father came up here from Kentucky and he grew to manhood in Posey township. On January 13, 1849, he married Eliza- beth Campbell, who was born in Posey township, daughter of Charles and Jane (Gillan) Campbell. pioneers of the southeastern part of that township and natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and of Ireland. Jane Gillan came to this country from Ireland with two brothers and proceeded on out to Indiana, where she entered a tract of government land in Posey township, this county, where she continued to live after her marriage to Charles Camp- bell. On her death on February 17, 1862, she left her land to her grand-
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children. Samuel Kemmer was a man of wide reading and at the time of his death, in May, 1910, was said to have had the most extensive farmer's library in Fayette county. Five daughters were born to Samnel Kemmer and wife, those besides Mrs. Overhiser being as follow: Sarah J., wife of Benjamin Crane: Luzena Alice, deceased, who was the wife of William Hanby ; Mary F., wife of Emory Sloan, and Emma F., wife of Henry Mason.
To Willard and Elizabeth (Kemmer) Overliser five children have been born, namely: Emory A., a Connersville mechanic, who married Ethie Knipe and has two children, Ellen M. and Elizabeth M .; Corwin G., a rural mail carrier out of Bentonville, who married Mrs. Eunice ( Manlove) Curtis ; Bessie Mabel, who married Harry G. Cole, of Houston, Texas, and has two children, Mildred E. and Morrison B .; Fannie, who married Benjamin Ertel, of Rush county, and has two daughters, Ruby E. and Gertrude R., and Mary Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Myers, the subject of this biographical sketch.
CARL C. SMITH.
Carl C. Smith, undertaker and funeral director at Connersville, was born in that city and has lived there all his life, with the exception of some years during his youth, when his parents were residents of the city of Cin- cinnati. He was born on April 23, 1871, son of Thomas L. and Delia J. (Moyer) Smith, both members of well-known families in this county.
Thomas J. Smith was born in this county and here grew to manhood and married. He began working for the Big Four Railroad Company and for some years while engaged in that employ was located at Cincinnati. Later he returned to Connersville and there engaged in the hardware, furni- ture and undertaking business, continuing thus engaged the rest of his life, becoming one of the best-known and most substantial business men in Con- nersville. When his son, the subject of this sketch, reached his majority he admitted the young man to partnership in the business, which was there- after conducted under the firm name of Thomas L. Smith & Son.
Carl C. Smith was but a child when his parents moved to Cincinnati and in that city he received his schooling. When his father embarked in business in Connersville he took an active part in the store and when eigh- teen years of age was made manager of the hardware department of the same. In 1892, he then being twenty-one years of age, he was admitted to partnership with his father in the general hardware, furniture and under-
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
taking line, under the firm name of Thomas L. Smith & Son and continued thus connected until his father's' death. In 1913 he sold the hardware and furniture departments of the business and has since then given his undi- vided attention to the undertaking line, long having been recognized as one of the leading undertakers and funeral directors in eastern Indiana. Mr. Smith has one of the most thoroughly equipped undertaking establishments in this part of the state, his equipment including all modern appliances and devices for the effective direction of a funeral along up-to-date lines, an auto-hearse and six other cars being a part of this equipment. .
On October 14, 1891, Carl T. Smith was united in marriage to Mary Emily Fuchs; daughter of Herman and Eliza Fuchs, and to this union three children have been born. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Chris- tian church and Mr. Smith is a member of the board of trustees of the con- gregation to which he is attached. Fraternally, he is affiliated with nearly every secret society and fraternal organization in the city of Connersville and takes a warm interest in the affairs of all.
RICHARD HARRISON ROWE.
Richard Harrison Rowe, trustee of Columbia township, who is success- fully engaged in the woven-wire fence business at Nulltown, is a native of Kentucky, but has been a resident of Indiana the greater part of the time since he wa's a boy. He was born in Scott county, Kentucky, February 22, 1865, son of Hiram Newton and Rachel Ellen (Estill) Rowe, both of whom were born in that same county, the latter a daughter of Berry Estill and wife, both of whom lived to extraordinary ages, the former dying at the age of ninety-seven years and the latter, at ninety-three.
Mrs. Rachel E. Rowe died when her son, Richard H., was five years of age, leaving her husband with seven children. He kept the children together as well as he could, but from the time Richard H. Rowe was thirteen years of age he was practically thrown upon his own resources for a livelihood. After working out a short time on a farm in Kentucky, he came to Indiana in the January before he was fourteen years of age, in company with his brother, William Edward, two years his elder, the boys having heard much of the Hoosier state and regarding it as a land of opportunity. They made their way to Rushville and upon inquiry there found that there was work to be obtained at Gings 'Station. There they found employment cutting
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wood for a tile factory and were thus engaged until spring, when Richard H. Rowe obtained employment with Ebenezer Smith, where he remained for some years and where he was treated with as much consideration as a member of the family, Mrs. Smith giving the lad excellent training and advice and exerting an influence upon his receptive mind which had much to do in molding his life. From Smith's place young Rowe went on up into Grant county and was there engaged at farm work for a year, at the end of which time he returned to Rush county, where he remained until 1889, when he went over into Illinois and was for a year employed at farm work in Cham- paign county, that state. He then returned to Rush county, this state, and in 1890 was united in marriage to Mary Sawyer, of Columbia township, this county. For seven years after his marriage Mr. Rowe continued working ing as a farm hand and then undertook to farm on his own account on the farm of his father-in-law in Columbia township, and was thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time he found himself heavily involved in debt, his financial disaster being largely due to an outbreak of cholera in his drove of hogs and to farm losses of one character and another.
Upon finding himself thus deeply involved in debt, Mr. Rowe left the farm and in 1899 moved into the village of Nulltown, where he became engaged in the woven-wire fence business and has since continued in that line, being very successful, and has paid off all his financial obligations, with interest. Mr. Rowe in recent years has given considerable attention to local political matters and in 1914 was elected trustee of Columbia township, as the nominee of the Progressive party, and is now serving in that locally important office, giving his most thoughtful attention to the public service. He is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. To them eleven children have been born, namely : Clarence Parker, Rachel Belle, Mary Marie, Lydia Delilah, Walter Seymour, Ethel, Theodore Roosevelt, Catherine Willina, Robert Melvin (who died at the age of nineteen months), Dorothy Mildred and Margaret.
Mrs. Rowe was born at Cincinnati, a daughter of Thomas Parker and Annabelle (James) Sawyer, former residents of this county, who are now living retired at Eaton, in Delaware county, this state. Thomas P. Sawyer was born in Boston and upon the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted for service in the Union army and served until the close of the war, among the notable battles in which he was engaged having been the first and second battles of Bull Run and the battle of Gettysburg. During his service he received a very severe gunshot wound in the hip and was reported as dead.
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Upon the completion of his military service, instead of returning to Boston, he located at Cincinnati, where for twenty-five years he was employed as a traveling salesman. He then moved to Louisiana, where he spent a year, at the end of which time he moved to Kentucky. Seven years later he came to Indiana with his family and bought a farm in Columbia township, west of Alpine, but continued traveling, selling chinaware, and was thus engaged until his retirement from business, when he sold his farm and moved to Eaton, where he and his wife are now living.
JOSEPH EMERY HUSTON.
Joseph Emery Huston was born at West Alexandria, Preble county, Ohio, January 24, 1861. His ancestry comprised names famous in New England history. The line of descent is direct from John Alden, the hero of Longfellow's poem, and one of the "Mayflower" pioneers. The succeed- ing generations are Captain Jonathan Alden, his son, Jonathan Alden, 'Austin Alden, Josiah Alden, Salome Alden (Davis), Josiah Alden Davis, Mary (Davis) Huston, who was the mother of Joseph Emery Huston, ninth genera- tion of the Aldens in America. Mr. Huston's ancestors, Austin Alden, Robert Smith, Edward Gale and Josiah Davis, each had distinguished Revolu- tionary War records.
His parents, John Van Winkle Huston and Mary Davis Huston, resided at West Alexandria at the time of his birth and until John V. Huston died, leaving two sons, the subject of this sketch and Robert T. His widow mar- ried Joseph Mills, after whose death she came to Indiana in 1908, and there lived until her death, July 3, 1915.
Mr. Huston received his collegiate training in the Ohio State University. In his young manhood he owned and conducted a job printing business. After some experience in this line, he sold his interest and came to Conners- ville, becoming secretary and treasurer of the Connersville Buggy Company. He was a cousin of James Nelson Huston, at that time one of the foremost business men of Connersville, at whose request he sold his interests in the Connersville Buggy Company to become one of the managing officers of Mr. Huston's bank, at about the time that Mr. Huston was treasurer of the United States. In 1892-3, in connection with J. N. Huston, J. T. Wilkin, John B. McFarlan, S. W. and C. D. Beck, and others, he organized the Con-
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nersville Blower Company, dropping out of the other J. N. Huston companies at the time. The enterprise, in its inception, was somewhat handicapped by the sudden financial embarrassment of one of the principal members, who promptly withdrew, leaving the others to organize and carry forward the business. There are in the United States only two or three other concerns manufacturing rotary positive pressure blowers, and one of them had been established a great many years prior to Mr. Huston's company. Due to the character of the management, and the work done in the comparatively short period of its existence, the Connersville Blower Company has become a very great factor in the line of manufacture it follows, having now a capital stock of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars and a substantial surplus. Its machines are recognized by engineers the world over as of the highest standard and their use is general in every grand division of the world.
For many years Mr. Huston has been associated with the Fayette National Bank, for a number of years as vice-president and, since the death of Preston H. Kensler, as president of that institution, the largest strictly commercial bank in the community.
Mr. Huston was married. September 29, 1887, to Lilly M. Davis, at Richmond, Indiana. To them were born the following children: Mar- guerite, Joseph Emery and Leland Davis, the first dying in infancy, the third when about ten years old. The second child survives and is among the prominent younger business men of the community, elsewhere mentioned in this work. Mr. Huston and his wife are active in the work of the Presby- terian church, Mr. Huston having for many years had official responsibilities therein. He is a director and officer in the United Vacuum Appliance Com- pany, the Connersville Land and Improvement Company and the Lexington- Howard Company.
No mention of Mr. Huston's activities in this community would be complete without some reference to the qualities that have contributed to his very remarkable business success. Those who know him best appreciate him for the extreme care and caution with which he undertakes anything with which he is connected, but especially for the fact that his whole business career has been dominated by a determination to live his business and per- sonal life in strict conformity to his best ideals. A Puritan ancestry is well represented by a business career such as that of Joseph Emery Huston has been. His bitterest opponent would frankly admit that there never was a time when his actions were not dictated by the strongest sort of adherence to his conception of his duty-and more than once to his own personal dis-
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