History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 140

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 140

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Mr. Wilson was married December 1, 1910, to Clara Reiboldt. She

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was born in Laurel township, Franklin county, Indiana, and is a daughter of Peter Reiboldt, whose history is found elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Wilson is a stanch Republican and has served on the town council of Laurel. Fraternally, he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons at Laurel. He is an energetic and wide-awake citizen and every measure which has been promoted for the general welfare of his town has found in him a hearty supporter.

MRS. EMMA J. KERN.

Among Franklin county's many daughters who have left their native home to live elsewhere is Mrs. Emma J. Kern, who was born five and one- half miles south of Brookville, February 5, 1856. Mrs. Kern is the daugh- ter of Hervey and Laura M. (Cleaver) Quick. Hervey Quick is the son of Cyrus and Hannah (Clayton) Quick, and Cyrus Quick, in turn, is the son of Judge John and Mary (Eads) Quick. Judge John Quick was the son of Lieut. John and Mary (George) Quick. Lieut. John Quick was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Judge John Quick was a native of Virginia, who later moved to Franklin county and established here the Quick homestead, where Emma Kern was born. Judge John Quick was not only a judge, but he was a successful farmer. Cyrus Quick, the son of Judge John Quick, was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, in 1806. He was an ardent Democrat, a devoted member of the Baptist church and died in 1860 in Franklin county.

Hervey Quick was born in Franklin county on May 7, 1831, on the old Quick homestead. He was educated in the district schools and operated a blacksmith shop in Brookville and was also a farmer. He died of a can- cer November 26, 1910, at Frankfort, Indiana. His wife was the daughter of Dr. John and Mary (Simmons) Cleaver, and was born February 8, 1836, on the Cleaver homestead in Franklin county. She was educated in the district schools and was married to Hervey Quick, March 10, 1853. Her father was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1797, and lived there until 18II, when he came to Franklin county, Indiana. He was drafted during the War of 1812. Dr. John Cleaver was a doctor and farmer and died in Franklin county, Indiana.

Mrs. Emma J. Kern was born in the old log house built by Cyrus Quick, her grandfather. Here her father was also born. She attended the

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district schools of Franklin county and taught in the same county for eight years.

Mrs. Kern was married June 11, 1882, at Redkey, Jay county, Indiana, to Oliver E. Kern, who was born January 4, 1863, at Redkey. Mr. and Mrs. Kern later moved to Illinois, but finally settled in Indianapolis in I904.

CHARLES N. McCONNELL.

Many men have contributed to the agricultural prosperity of Franklin county. Charles N. McConnell, an enterprising farmer of near Laurel, In- diana, is one of the best known and highly respected men of the com- munity where he resides. Mr. McConnell has not only made a success of farming, but throughout his life he has taken an interest in the welfare of his community and few men have contributed more than he to the friendly, neighborly spirit of his community.

Charles N. McConnell was born March 8, 1880, in Delaware county, Indiana. He is the son of Abraham and Frances (Heath) McConnell, the former a native of Indiana, and the latter of Virginia. Frances (Heath) McConnell is the daughter of Harvey and Cynthia Heath, who came from Virginia to Delaware county, Indiana. She died in 1905, at the age of ninety-four, and her husband died in 1904, at the age of ninety-four. Abraham McConnell was a farmer by occupation and owned a farm of eighty acres in Delaware county. He now lives retired in Muncie, Indiana. He was a soldier in the Civil War. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the First United Brethren church. Mrs. McConnell died in 1884. By this marriage there were seven children, Desse, Bertha, Rettie, Harvey, Curtis, Charles N. and Jessie. Mr. McConnell was married a second time to Lizzie Gossit, of Henry county, and one child, Mabel, was born to this union.

Charles N. McConnell was reared on a farm and educated in the pub- lic schools. He is a farmer by occupation. On January 23, III2, he came to Posey township, Franklin County, Indiana, and purchased eighty acres of land. He has improved this farm by the erection of fences and new buildings of various kinds. One of the late substantial improvements is a silo.

Mr. McConnell was married in 1902 to Josephine Williams, who was born August 31, 1877, in Laurel, Indiana. She is the daughter of Oliver

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Harrison Perry and Martha Jane (Spencer) Williams, the former born in Metamora township, Franklin county, Indiana. Mrs. McConnell's father is a baker by trade. He was a member of Company C, Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War and served three years. He is deceased, and his wife died in 1912 at the age of sixty-four. They had four children : Walter, Indiana, Josephine and Lola.'

In politics, Mr. McConnell is a Republican. He and his wife are active and devoted members of the United Brethren church. Mr. McConnell un- cloubtedly deserves to rank as one of the representative farmers of Frank- lin county.

CHRISTIAN BRACK.

The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest opinion of himself or his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the records the verdict establishing his character derived from the opinion of his neigh- bors and fellow citizens. In touching the life history of Christian Brack, fulsome encomium and extravagant praise are avoided, yet the career of Mr. Brack has been marked by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well defined purpose, and he is eminently entitled to rank as a representative citizen of Franklin county.

Christian Brack was born in 1866 in Butler township, Franklin county, Indiana, the son of Louis and Katherina (Hartley) Brack, both natives of Germany. Christian Brack is a brother of Conrad Brack, whose sketch is found elsewhere in this volume.

Christian Brack received his education in the local schools of his home township, and took up farming early in life when he purchased a farm of eighty acres in Salt Creek township. This farm was purchased in 1890, but was later sold. In fact, Mr. Brack never lived on this farm, but rented elsewhere from the time he owned it. Mr. Brack continued as a farmer until he moved to Batesville, except four years, during which he was em- ployed in the iron mills at Muncie, Indiana. Mr. Brack moved to Bates- ville in February, 1911, and is now occupied as a carpenter, having learned the trade during the last four years.

Christian Brack was married in October, 1890, to Sarah Jane Bow- man, the daughter of William and Mary (Abrams) Bowman, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter a native of Franklin county. Wil- liam Bowman came to Franklin county early in life and located on a farm

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in Salt Creek township. He improved the place and at the time of his death he was the owner of one hundred and ninety acres. He and his wife died on the farm where they had lived so many years.

Mrs. Brack's maternal grandparents were James Abrams and wife, early settlers in Franklin county. He was a farmer in Salt Creek town- ship, where he owned forty acres of land. Mrs. Brack died in the spring of 19II, leaving one son, Worden. The Brack family are devoted members of the Lutheran church, and have a splendid reputation throughout the county.

DAVID WILLIAM GILLESPIE.

Posey township, Franklin county, Indiana, has many enterprising young farmers, none of whom has accomplished more in the same length of time than David William Gillespie.

Mr. Gillespie was born on November 20, 1886, in Shelby county, Indi- ana, the son of William and Olive (Boyce) Gillespie, he born in Shelby county and she in Kentucky.

The paternal grandparents of David W. Gillespie were John and Malinda (Mapel) Gillespie, the former a native of Butler county, Ohio, and the latter a native of Franklin county, Indiana, born near Neff's Corner. They were pioneers of this vicinity. Mr. Gillespie's paternal great-grand- father was William Gillespie, of Butler county, Ohio, who located in Shelby county, Indiana, when it was a wilderness. He purchased land from the government for one dollar per acre, which he cleared and where he made his home, living here the rest of his life. His son, the grandfather of David W. Gillespie, was a pioneer school teacher.

The maternal grandparents of David W. Gillespie were David and Nancy Boyce, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ken- tucky. They were married in Kentucky and settled near St. Paul, Indiana, where he was a farmer and a brick mason. He served as an officer in the Civil War and, after the war, returned to Shelby county where he died.

William Gillespie, the father of David W., was a farmer and broom- maker throughout his life. For the past fifteen years he has resided in Decatur county. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Sella, Daisy, David, Nancy, Hazel and Maggie.

David William Gillespie was educated in the schools of Shelby, Decatur and Franklin counties. He is a farmer and broommaker. In 1908 Mr.

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Gillespie bought twenty-two and one-half acres in Posey township, Franklin county. In the fall of 1913 he bought the farm where he now lives in Posey township, consisting of one hundred and ten acres.

Mr. Gillespie was married, in 1907, to Bertha Sherwood, the daughter of Levi and Mary Sherwood. To this union two children, Richard and Lawrence, have been born.

Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie are highly respected citizens of Posey township, well known and popular in the community where they live.

CHARLES F. JONES.

Hon. Charles F. Jones, for many years a prominent attorney in this state and since 1901 counsel for the United States government, is a native of Franklin county. His parents, John and Maria Colescott Jones, Mary- landers by birth, came to this county in its pioneer days and engaged in farming near Brookville, and it was on the farm that Mr. Jones, the young- est of seven sons and one daughter, was born and reared. His primary education was obtained in the public schools and was supplemented by a course in Brookville College.

Like three of his brothers, Mr. Jones chose the law for his profession and, after careful preparation, which included a year in the department of law of the University of Virginia, he was admitted to the bar in 1879. In parnership with his eldest brother, William H. Jones, he began the practice of law in Brookville, and here the firm of Jones & Jones won a very large clientage. In 1895 the partnership was dissolved because of the removal of the senior partner to Madison county, and during the remaining six years of his residence in Brookville Mr. Jones continued in the practice alone.

In 1901 Mr. Jones went to Washington in the capacity of counsel for the United States before the Spanish treaty claims commission, and to him was largely entrusted the defense of the government in the suits pending before the commission, aggregating more than sixty-five million dollars. These cases involved many important questions, including those of inter- national law, and there was scarcely any in which the question of citizenship in one form or another did not arise. Early in the history of the commis- sion, Mr. Jones went to Madrid on behalf of the government to enlist the good offices of Spain in procuring evidence from its military officers and war archives, and so well did he succeed in this mission that the impossible condi-

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tions hitherto imposed by Spain in the furnishing of testimony were removed and indispensable evidence, otherwise unattainable, was furnished by the Spanish government. Soon after his return from Spain, he was sent on another mission to Cuba, where he thoroughly' organized the work in behalf of the defense. He then returned to Washington and engaged in the preparation of briefs and the trial of cases before the commission, present- ing the first, the last, and nearly all the many cases adjudicated. On com- pletion of the work of the commission, in May, 1910, he was selected by the attorney-general to close up the business and make the final report.

The high esteem in which Mr. Jones was held by the commission and the appreciation of his splendid work may be measured by expressions of some of the leading members, which appeared in the press after the com- mission was dissolved. For instance, Senator Chandler, president of the commission for six years, says : "He was, and has continued to be, a success- ful administrator as well as a capable defender of cases on hearings. He has a wide and strong mind, is very industrious, prepares himself finely, makes good briefs, and could not have been surpassed by any one in the administrative work which he has performed." Hon. James P. Wood, who served as a member of the commission during the first six years and suc- ceeded Senator Chandler as its president, says: "The commission has al- ways regarded Mr. Jones as indispensable. From the beginning, he has had a full comprehension of the scope of the work, as well as of all its details, and in this respect has been the chief dependence and adviser. The numer- our's briefs he has prepared and his oral presentation of cases show a compre- hensive knowledge of the law and forceful application of the same to the facts." Hon. William L. Chambers, a member of the commission during its life and now commissioner of mediation and conciliation, says : "Mr. Jones was appointed an attorney for the government on the organization of the commission and is the only one of the attorneys who occupied that posi- tion from beginning to end. He is a lawyer of the best class, industrious, persistent and faithful. He has appeared for the government in a large majority of the cases and has invariably acquitted himself with honor."

The claimants in the cases before the commission were represented by some of the most prominent lawyers in the United States, and the fact that the total amount of awards rendered against the government, including the expense incident to adjudication of the claims, was less than three million dollars, is indisputable proof of the vigor and ability with which the govern- ment was defended. One of the most prominent of the opposing counsel, A. B. Brown, has this to say: "My firm represented large and important

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claims before the Spanish claims commission, and as they were in my direct charge, I became acquainted with Mr. Jones, of the government counsel, when the commission was organized. As time passed I was brought closely in contact with him and I came to esteem him most highly both as a lawyer and as a man. From full experience, I can hence attest that he is a lawyer of solid attainment and sound judgment, a strong adversary, and yet always a gentleman, and this I know was also the feeling and experience of the mem- bers of the bar who appeared before the commission, because it was freely expressed to me many times by them."

A few days after the affairs of the commission were closed, Mr. Jones, at the request of the attorney-general, accepted a position as attorney in the department of justice to represent the government before the court of claims, and in this capacity he has and is handling some of the heaviest and most important cases that have ever been brought against the government.

While never an offensive partisan, Mr. Jones is a stanch Republican and as such has occupied positions of trust and honor. For several years he was a member of the state central committee. In 1896 he was unanim- ously nominated a presidential elector-at-large for Indiana by the Republican state convention. With the remainder of the ticket, he was elected in November of that year, and in January, 1897, as a member of the electoral college, helped to cast the vote of the state for William McKinley for Presi- dent of the United States. In 1900 he was a delegate to the national con- vention in Philadelphia, representing the sixth congressional district.

Since childhood Mr. Jones has been a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, being active in its affairs both in Brookville and in Washington.

On the 23d of October. 1879, Mr. Jones married Mary Rose, of Fair- field, whose beautiful life and noble traits of mind and heart are treasured in the memories of all who knew this gifted, lovable woman. This happy union, passed in perfect domestic accord, was severed by the death of Mrs. Jones,. August 25, 1909.

CHARLES S. BRAUCHLA. '

Charles S. Brauchla, who lives on a farm in Fairfield township, Frank- lin county, Indiana, and is numbered among that locality's most enterprising and successful farmers, first saw the light of day on the farm where he now resides, on February 5, 1877. He is a son of George and Susan (Smith) Brauchla. the former a native of Germany and a son of George Brauchla.

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The subject's father was well educated in the schools of his German home when a youth, and served six months in the army. However, the father decided to leave his native land and emigrate to America, and accordingly they embarked on an old-fashioned sailboat. After forty-seven days on the water, they landed in the harbor of New York City, travel-worn, but in good spirits. They were bound for Cincinnati, Ohio, where friends had previously gone, and in due time they arrived at their destination, entirely without funds, but with high hopes. At the time they left Germany they had a two-bushel sack of money, but the large family and unknown ex- penses quickly dissipated their horde. It was about 1852 when they were finally settled in Cincinnati, and the father of the subject secured employment from the contractors of the present court house, then in course of construction. He hauled stone day after day at the munificent wage of twenty-five cents per day. Later on he engaged in truck gardening between Riley and Cin- cinnati, doing very well in this venture. After a time he came to Franklin county, locating near where the subject now lives, and there met and mar- ried Susan Smith. She died on March 20, 1896, and for about three years longer he remained on his home farm, then retired and moved to Mixersville. For his second wife he married Mrs. Martha (Cates) Lackey. By his first wife he had a family of eight children, all of whom were reared in the Lutheran church. Their names follow : Sarah, deceased ; Christina ; George; Logan; August, deceased; Earnest, deceased; the seventh child was an in- fant, which died at birth, and the youngest of the family is the subject of this review. Paternal grandfather, George Brauchla, died while the family was living at Riley, Ohio, and it was shortly after his death his widow and children came to this section.

Mrs. Susan (Smith) Brauchla, was born on the farm where the subject now resides, and which was entered from the government by her maternal ancestors, the Glydwells, who came originally from one of the Carolinas. The place now contains one hundred and forty-nine acres, which, when they obtained it, was virgin forest. They set about clearing it and erected a two-story log house. A dwelling of that description was rather rare in those days and betokened unusual energy and ambition on the part of the owner. There the Glydwells passed the remainder of their days, and the farm has never passed out of the family. The subject's mother came of a family which was devout in its religious affairs and her father aided in the erection of the Franklin United Brethren church, which was built in 1831. He also erected a barn on the farm where Mr. Brauchla now lives, and that barn stood for over one hundred years. Mr. Brauchla has recently erected a

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modern barn on the same spot, which is much better adapted to his present needs. He gives his attention exclusively to agricultural work and has so far passed his days on the old home farm and the one adjoining on the east.

Mr. Brauchla was married in 1898 to Tillie Lackey, of Mixersville, this county, and a daughter of Monroe and Martha Lackey. To this union have been born four children, Susie E., S. Mabel, Morris S. and Fay.

Mr. Brauchla's religious membership is held in the United Brethren church, of which he is a faithful and devout member. As a citizen, he takes a commendable interest in the general welfare and gives his earnest support to every movement having for its object the advancement of the best inter- ests of the community along educational, material or moral lines. He is obliging and straightforward in all the relations of life and has, therefore, a wide circle of friends.

JOHN PENGEMANN.

"Back to the soil!" This is the cry so often heard when complaint is made of the distressing conditions which so often mark the crowded state of the dwellers in the great cities of the country. How little this helpful cry is heeded, however, is apparent to all thoughtful observers of urban condi- tions. Now and then, it is true, there are found men wise enough and courageous enough to break the ties which bind them to life in the city and make their way to the greater freedom of the farm. Such a man is he whose name serves as caption for this biographical sketch, and it certainly is fitting that there should be mention of his life in a comprehensive work of this character.

John Pengemann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 16, 1851, the son of Gehart and Mary (Wilkjmocky) Pengemann, both of whom were natives of Germany, but who married after their coming to this country, both having located in Cincinnati. Gehart Pengemann conducted a flour store in Cincinnati and both he and his wife died and are buried in that city.

Receiving his education in the city of his birth, John Pengemann adopted the iron trades and was a skilled workman in a foundry for seventeen years. On May 29, 1873, he was united in marriage with Katherine Meyer, who was born in Cincinnati, daughter of Anthony and Barbara (Gates) Meyer, both natives of Germany, who came to this country in their youth and who were married in Cincinnati. Anthony Meyer soon became weary of condi- tions in the city and moved to Franklin county, buying a farm of eighty

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acres in Highland township, where he and his wife spent the rest of their days. Mrs. Meyer's parents, John and Regina (Backscheider) Gates, came to this country from Germany and were farming people in the vicinity of Cincinnati.

In the year 1895, John Pengemann abandoned city life and came to Franklin county, to which his wife's parents had removed many years before, and has since occupied the farm of eighty acres in Highland township on which they spent the last days of their lives. Here he and his wife have reared their family in the comfort of a pleasant farm home and it is believed that all have been satisfied with the decision which took them from the crowded conditions of the city to the wider freedom of the farm.

To John and Katherine ( Meyer) Pengemann seven children have been born, as follows: Katherine, John, Emma, Edward (deceased), Eliza, Harry and Josephine. All these, together with their parents, are devoted members of St. Peter's Catholic church.

THEOPHILUS L. DICKERSON.

Theophilus L. Dickerson, one of the leading archaeologists of Indiana, was born in 1841 on a farm near Fairfield, Franklin county, Indiana. He received his education in the district schools, Brookville College, the State Normal School at Terre Haute and Ingleside Institute at Peoria, Indiana. He began teaching when a mere youth and taught for some years in Frank- lin, Union and Fayette counties.

During the spring of 1864, Mr. Dickerson and some other young men of Franklin county made the long overland trip to Montana in a "prairie schooner," consuming five months in making the trip. They went in search of gold, but failed to get enough to pay their expenses. In the fall of 1864, Mr. Dickerson organized and taught the first school in Bozeman City, Mon- tana, and received a salary of one hundred dollars a month in gold dust.

In the spring of 1865 Mr. Dickerson went to Helena, Montana, and entered the employ of the St. Louis Gold, Silver and Copper Mining Com- pany. During the two years he was with this company he became very much interested in the study of mineralogy and its allied branches, and this has been his consuming interest ever since. Early in life he found pleasure in delving into the prehistoric past, and for more than half a century has been an indefatigable collector of archaeological relics of all kinds. He now

T. L. DICKERSON.

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has in his well-arranged museum at Brookville thousands of specimens which he has gathered from all parts of the United States, as well as from many foreign countries.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 140

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648