USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 84
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ROBERT J. GREENWOOD.
Robert J. Greenwood, well-known civil engineer, of Connersville, who is now occupying the dual position of city engineer and county engineer, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a farm in the neigliboring county of Rush, August 4, 1874, a son of William Greenwood, who is still living there, one of the oldest residents in his sec- tion of the county. William Greenwood also was born in Rush county and he has lived there all his life, a substantial farmer. His father located in that county about 1818 and presently bought a farm there and established his home. becoming one of the most influential residents of his neighborhood in pioneer days.
Reared on the paternal farm, Robert J. Greenwood received his ele- mentary schooling in the district schools of his home neighborhood and sup- plemented the same by a course in high school, after which he entered Pur- due University, in the year 1901, taking the course in civil engineering, and was graduated from that institution in 1905.
ROBERT J. GREENWOOD.
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Thus equipped for the practical side of his calling, Mr. Greenwood located at Connersville and opened an office for general contracting in civil engineering. In 1905 he was appointed city civil engineer by the Conners- ville city council and held that office until 1908. After a lapse of time he again was appointed to that important position and in the spring of 1916 was appointed to the office of county engineer, now holding the office of engineer for both county and city.
In 1908 Robert J. Greenwood was united in marriage to Emma L. Brown, daughter of John P. Brown and wife, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Marjorie. Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Greenwood is a Mason and a member of the local commandery of the Knights Templar. In his political faith he is a Democrat and takes an active interest in local civic affairs.
WILLIAM C. BASSE.
William C. Basse, superintendent of the important manufacturing plant of the P. H. & F. M. Roots Company at Connersville, a former member of the Connersville city council and for years one of the best-known and most substantial figures in the industrial life of that city, was born in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, November 2. 1870, son of Philip and Elizabeth (Uhl) Basse, natives of Germany, whose last days were spent in St. Louis.
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Philip Basse was the only son of his parents and he had a sister, Sophia. His parents came to this country when quite young, locating at Cincinnati and later in St. Louis, in which latter city they spent their last days, both living to ripe old age. Philip Basse was trained as a machinist in the Fatherland and became an expert mechanic. He married at Cincinnati Elizabeth Uhl, who was one of the five children born to her parents, also natives of Ger- many, the others being John, Catherine, Peter and Wilhelmina. Her par- ents spent all their lives in their native land. Following his marriage Philip Basse set up a machine shop at St. Louis, which he operated with success for more than twenty-five years. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted as a private in the Second Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and served with that command for a period of three years. He died at his home in St. Louis in 1909, he then being sixty-seven years of age, and his widow sur- vived him three years, her death occurring in 1912, she being seventy years
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of age at the time of her death. They were members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were nine of these chil- dren, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow: Philip, of St. Louis; Sophia, wife of John Grob, of St. Louis ; Frances, wife of John Stanley, of Louisville, Kentucky; Elizabeth, wife of L. H. Burt, of Connersville; Katherine, wife of Henry Hoffman, of St. Louis; George, of Connersville; Emma, wife of William Spehr, of St. Louis, and John, who died in infancy.
Upon completing his schooling in the public schools of St. Louis, Will- iam C. Basse entered his father's machine shop in that city and under that careful preceptorship became a thorough mechanic, remaining there, thus engaged, until in September, 1892, when he came to Indiana and entered the employ of the P. H. & F. M. Roots Company, manufacturers, and has ever since been connected with the plant of that thriving concern. In 1902 Mr. Basse was made superintendent of the Roots plant and still occupies that position, having about two hundred and forty-five men under his direction. The Roots Company manufactures blowers, pumps and the like and the products of the concern are sold in all parts of the world, the concern being one of the largest establishments of its kind in the country. Mr. Basse is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs. He served one term as a member of the Connersville city council from his ward and in other ways has given of his time and his energies to the public service. He has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on the very edge of the city, on which he has erected a beautiful residence and there he and his family are pleasantly and comfortably situated.
On April 29, 1897, William C. Basse was united in marriage to Dorothea M. Weisel, who was born in Connersville, daughter of Henry and Williel- mina (Uhl) Weisel, natives of Germany, who located at Cincinnati shortly after coming to this country and later moved to Connersville and there spent the rest of their lives. Henry Weisel was a cooper. Of the children born to him and his wife four are still living, those besides Mrs. Basse being Katherine, Louise and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Basse have two children, William and Henrietta. The Basses are members of the Presbyterian church, in the various beneficences of which they take a warm interest, as well as in the general social activities of the community, helpful in promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common welfare here- about. Mr. Basse is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, affiliated with Warren Lodge No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons; with Maxwell Chap-
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ter No. 18, Royal Arch Masons, and with Connersville Commandery No. 6, Knights Templar, at Connersville, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple at Indianapolis. He also is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and a member of Guttenberg Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, at Comfersville. and in the affairs of these several organizations takes an active interest.
HENRY LEWIS LUDLOW.
Henry Lewis Ludlow, a native of Fayette county, Indiana, and a prom- inent and well-known retired farmer of Glenwood, Indiana, was born in Har- rison township on February 17, 1838, and is the son of John and Louisa ( Philpox ) Ludlow.
John and Louisa Ludlow were natives of Clermont county, Ohio, and South Carolina, respectively. John Ludlow was the son of Henry Ludlow, who was born in the state of New Jersey, and later settled in the state of Ohio. As a young man he married Sarah Bale and they established their- home in Ohio and there they continued to live, until the death of Mr. Lud- low, in 1826, when his widow came to Indiana, where she located in Har- rison township, Fayette county, where she died some years later. It was here that the son, John, grew to manhood and received his education. He learned the trade of a blacksmith, at which he worked for many years, being one of the first smiths in the county. He first had four acres of land, and on this he erected his shop. He later increased his farm to sixty acres, and here he did much farming. In 1832 he was united in marriage to Louisa Philpox, who died in 1868. Both he and his wife were active members of the Christian church and took much interest in all the activities of the town- ship. After the death of his wife, Mr. Ludlow was married to Mrs. Lucinda Martin. By his first wife he was the father of three children as follow : Cyrus B., a successful farmer of Tipton county, Indiana ; Henry Lewis, and Louie Ann, the wife of Bethel McConnell, of Stoddard county, Missouri. The father died at his home on his farm in Harrison township in the year 1881.
Henry Lewis Ludlow received his education in the primitive schools of his home township, and was reared on the home farm, where he assisted. his father with the work on the farm and in the shop. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years old; a few years later he was married
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in February, 1864, to Isabelle ( Smiley) Clemens, who was born in Fairview township, Fayette county, in 1833. and is a daughter of Ross and Mary (Abernathy) Smiley. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and where he was educated. In 1807 he left his native state and emigrated to Ohio, where he was a resident of Hamilton county for some time, and where he engaged in the mercantile business. In 1830 he came to Indiana and located in Fairview township, Fayette county, where he had a store and a farm, and there he died in 1878; his wife died in 1885.
Mr. Smiley was for many years one of the leading members of the Democratic party in the district. He served as sheriff of Union county, and was for a time a member of the state Legislature. As a young man he taught school and met with much success in that calling. He received the greater part of his education through his own efforts, and was a great reader and student during his life. He was a man of pronounced convictions, broad views and sterling worth, and was recognized as one of the foremost men of the time, in his county and district. As sheriff of his county, he gave uni- versal satisfaction, and as a member of the Legislature, lie won the confidence and respect of all. He and his wife were the parents of three children as follow: Robert, Thomas and Isabelle. Robert, now deceased, was never married and spent his life on the home farm, and Thomas, who is now deceased, was a successful farmer in Fairview township and was married to Elizabeth Smith.
Henry Lewis and Isabelle (Smiley) Ludlow were the parents of the following children : Alice, Effie, Ross, Ida, Louise, Louis L. and Laura Estelle. Alice is the widow of C. E. Jeffery, and to them were born five children: Ethel Belle, the wife of J. F. Clifford: Arthur C. who married Mary Nelson; Albert E. married Fernie Hunt: Nellie E. the wife of Harry Culbertson and Jessie, who is single. Effie is the widow of J. T. Davidson and they were the parents of the following children: Roy, Guy, Leah, Ralph, Bryan and Ruth. Leah is the wife of Glenn Swift, and Ralph married Nettie Richardson. Ross Ludlow married Maggie Pulse and to them have been born the following children: Irene Isabelle, Elonore Grace and Ross Smiley. Ida Louise is the wife of J. B. Young, of Connersville : Louis L. is a newspaper correspondent at Washington, D. C. He is married to Cath- erine Huber and they are the parents of four children as follow: Mar- jorie, Blanche, Virginia and Louis. Laura Estelle was the wife of Jamie Ochiltree and her death occurred on October 11, 1914.
Soon after their marriage, Henry Lewis and Isabelle Ludlow established
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their home on a farm in section 14, Fairview township, Fayette county. Here they had a very poor log house and a run-down farm. They improved the place and in time became prosperous farmers and stock raisers, and are now the owners of two hundred and sixty acres of excellent land, all of which is well developed and nicely improved. They are prominent in their home community, and during the past attended Universalist church at Glen- wood, where they have lived since retiring from the farm in 1910. Mr. Ludlow is a past master of the Masonic lodge, of which he has been a mem- her since 1865. In 1912 he was elected a county councilman-at-large for Fayette county, and served in that capacity with distinction. Few men in the county are better informed than is Mr. Ludlow, and he and his wife are held in the highest esteem by all.
WALTER S. SAXON.
Few men of Fayette county, Indiana, stand higher in the estimation of their fellow citizens, than does Walter S. Saxon of Glenwood, who was born in Fairview township, this county, on February 22, 1864, and is the son of McHenry and Elizabeth ( Parish) Saxon. The parents were also natives of Fairview township, and there they were educated and grew to maturity and married. They established their home on a farm in the township of their nativity, and there Mr. Saxon engaged in general farming and stock raising, with success. He became prominent in the affairs of the county and served as a member of the board of county commissioners. He was a man of strong personality and was held in the highest regard. He and his wife were active members of the Christian church. and took the deepest interest in all the activities of their home district. They were parents of two children, John Thomas, who is a well-known farmer and is living on the old home place, and Walter S.
Walter S. Saxon was educated in the local schools and at the Fairview Academy, and grew to manhood on the home farm. On October 30, 1889, he was united in marriage to Cora Long, a native of Fairview township, who grew to womanhood in Daviess county. She is the daughter of Hosea and Lucinda (De Moss) Long, prominent people of Daviess county and much interested in education. After the daughter, Cora. had completed her work in the common schools of Daviess and Fayette counties, she entered the Dan- ville Normal school, where she completed her education, and where she pre-
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pared herself for the work of a teacher, and for nine years she was one of the efficient teachers of the county. She is recognized as one of the brilliant and refined women of the county. For twenty years she has been a teacher in the Sunday school of the Christian church of which she and her husband are active and prominent members. She has for fifteen terms served as the president of the Fairview Ladies Aid, which she helped to organize. She is also secretary of the Fairview Christian Women's Missionary Society, and district chairman of the parent teachers work of the sixth district, and has written many articles that have been read at farmers' meetings, teachers' asso- ciations, women's clubs and have been published in some of the church and religious papers. As president of the Glenwood Sorosis Club she has demon- strated her ability as a leader and as an executive. She has served as a member of the library extension committee and has served on important committees of tlie Indiana federation of clubs. Her work has received much favorable comment, and she is mentioned with honor in "Women's Who's Who of America." She is an extensive reader and student at all times; she is a great social favorite, and her life has been a most active one, both in the home and in her social engagements. One of her chief pleasures is that of painting and drawing. She is most devoted to her family and the interests of the community in which she lives and where she is held in high regard and esteem by all who know her.
Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Saxon established their home on the farm in Fairview township, where Mr. Saxon carried on general farming and stock raising with the greatest of success, until in October, 1916, when he and his wife retired from the more active duties of the life and moved to Glenwood. They are the parents of three children as follow: Ira Chase, Chester W. and Doris A. The family life is an ideal one, and few parents have taken greater interest in the pleasures and the education of their children than have Mr. and Mrs. Saxon. They attended the high school at Fairview, and the boys later attended the schools of Connersville. Chester W. is now one of the efficient and popular teachers of schools at Fairview, and is the leader of the Fairview orchestra. He is an artist with the violin, and his sister, Doris, is an accomplished piano player ; she finished her edu- cation at Muncie Normal institute; and Ira plays the clarionet. It is need- less to say that the Saxon home enjoys the very best of music, which is the delight of the parents, as well as of their many friends.
Hosea Long, the father of Mrs. Walter S. Saxon, was born in the state of Ohio on April 14, 1824, and died on September 16, 1901. Lucinda
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(DeMoss) Long, his wife, was born in the Buckeye state on January 26, 1836, and died on February 21, 1879. At the time of their marriage they established their home in Ohio, where they lived but a short time, when they came to Indiana and settled in Fairview township. They later moved to Daviess county, Indiana, where they lived for many years and where they died. Mrs. Long was for several years a successful teacher and was a woman of much ability. Mr. Long was all his life a successful farmer and a man in whom all had the greatest confidence. They were members of the Christian church and prominent in their home district. They were the parents of four children as follow: Cora, Frederick, Alfred and Edwin, Frederick and Alfred being twins.
Walter S. Saxon has devoted the greater part of his life to his interests on the farm and in the care and attention of his stock. He has always taken much interest in the affairs of the township and the county, and is today known as one of the sterling and substantial men of the community. Mrs. Saxon, in addition to her many other accomplishments, is a finished artist in oil and watercolors, and the son, Chester, has charge of the drawing in the local school.
WILLIAM H. McCONNELL.
All honor is due the sterling men and women who have had to do with the early pioneer history of our country; to them is the present generation indebted for the present-day advanced conditions. Among the well-known and prominent men of Glenwood, Fayette county, Indiana, who has done his share in this great development, is William H. McConnell, who was born in this county on April 29, 1843, and is the son of Ellis D. and Nancy (Hodgkins) McConnell.
Ellis D. and Nancy (Hodgkins) McConnell were natives of the state of Ohio, where they were educated in the local schools and grew to maturity. They continued to reside in their native state until about the year 1823, when they came to Indiana, and located in Fayette county. The parents of Ellis D. McConnell were Thomas and Mary (Downing) McConnell, natives of Kentucky and Pennsylvania respectively, and the grandfather of Ellis D. was Arthur McConnell, a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in an early day.
Ellis D. McConnell on coming to Fayette county, obtained a farm of the government in Fairview township in section 23. The tract at that time
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was covered with heavy timber and underbrush. A log house and barn were at once erected, and here the little family was at home. A clearing was made and the first year but few crops were planted, for the greater part of the task was the getting the trees felled and the land cleared. This was in time accomplished and here Mr. McConnell continued to live, engaged in the cultivation of the soil, until the time of his death on February 19, 1888, at the age of eighty-six years. The wife and mother died on May 30, 1882, at the age of seventy years. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell were well known throughout the territory and were held in high regard by all. They were devoted members of the Christian church, and took a deep interest in the moral, educational and social development, as well as in the physical improve- ments of the district. Mr. McConnell was a strong advocate of the principles of the Whig party, and later of the Republican party. He had much to do with the early civic life of the township and the county, and held many of the local offices.
Ellis D. and Nancy ( Hodgkins) McConnell were the parents of eleven children as follow: two, who died in infancy; James W., Jesse, Thomas, Mary, who died young; John P., William H., Julia Ann, Indiana and Susanna. James W., now deceased for many years, was one of the well- known and successful farmers and carpenters of the county ; Jesse and Thomas were twins. The former is one of the prominent farmers of near Elwood, Indiana, and the latter was engaged in general farming in Daviess county until the time of his death some years ago; Nathaniel was also a farmer of Daviess county, where he resided at the time of his death; John P. was a successful carpenter at Indianapolis, where he died in February, 1916; Julia Ann, Indiana and Susanna are all deceased.
William H. McConnell received his limited education in the schools of his home township, and grew to manhood on the home farm, where he learned the principles of good farming and the care of stock, and in this work he continued until March, 1906, when he retired from the work of the farm and moved to Glenwood, where he now has a beautiful home.
On November 8, 1874. William H. McConnell was united in marriage to Caroline Heizer, who was born on November 5, 1852, and was the daugh- ter of Samuel and Rosanna (DeMoss) Heizer. Her parents were natives of Brown county, Ohio, and later came to Fayette county, Indiana. Here the parents established their home on a farm in the woods of Fairview town- ship. This farm they developed and improved, and during their early days in the township lived the lives of the typical pioneer. They suffered the
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hardships and endured many of the difficulties of those times, and had their part in the great transition of the forest to the well-cultivated fields and beanti- ful homes. They made their home on the farm until the time of their deaths, the father having died in 1874, and the mother in 1856. They were the par- ents of the following children, Marion, Elizabeth, Amanda, Almeda, Eveline, George and Caroline. Marion died in 1876; Elizabeth is the wife of Alex Kinder, a resident of Fairview township; Amanda is the wife of Alex Brown, of Fairview township; Almeda married Albert Ficklin and lives at Glenwood, Indiana; Eveline is the widow of James Reed and is also a resident of Glen- wood, and George is a retired farmer of Orange township. Mr. and Mrs. Heizer took much interest in the general development of the community in which they had established their home and where they reared their children. They assisted in the moral, educational and social growth of the township and were among the worthy people of the county.
William H. McConnell enlisted on October 4, 1864, in Company F, Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana Mounted Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Macklin. The command was sent to Louisiana, where they joined the Six- teenth Infantry, and saw much active service. He remained in the service until October 22, 1865, when he was discharged and he returned to his home. He has always been a stanch Republican and has taken the deepest interest in all local matters. He has had much to do with the civic life of the town- ship, and he and his wife are now enjoying their well-earned retirement, in their beautiful home.
Arthur McConnell, our subject's great-grandfather, married Elizabeth Wilson in Ireland and later came to the United States. They were the par- ents of the following children: Susan, Sarah, Margaret, Mary, George, Arthur, James, John and Thomas. Thomas was born on November 4. 1772, and when a young man left the paternal home in Pennsylvania and located in Mason county, Kentucky. There he married Mary Downing, who was born in Pennsylvania on October 7, 1779, and was one of a family of four- teen children. When but a girl her parents moved to Kentucky, where she grew to womanhood and was married. Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. McConnell left their home in Kentucky and moved to Brown county, Ohio, where they entered land which they later developed and improved. They were among the early settlers of that section, and their home was at that time located in an undeveloped and unimproved district. They were typical pioneers, who were destined to accept the hardships as they found them. They were ambitious to secure a home, and it was with a firm deter-
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mination that assumed the task of making a cultivated farm from the wilder- ness. They made this farm their home until the time of their deaths. The wife and mother died in 1832, after which the father married Elizabeth Downing, a sister of his first wife. Thomas McConnell was a captain in the War of 1812, and a man of strong personality and of much ability. His influence was keenly felt in the life of his home community, for he was a man of excellent judgment. He was the father of the following children: John, Susanna, Ellis D., Joseph W., Martha B., Thomas E., Rachel, Mary, Amos, Milford, Nancy and one that died in infancy. His life was a worthy one and he accomplished much in his pioneer home. Ellis D. McConnell, the father of William H., cast his first vote for Henry Clay for President.
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