History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 103

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284

USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 103

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The deaths of the family of Joseph and Berilla Greek up to the present time (1907) are as follows: George William, October 27, 1855; Samuel Milo, October 19, 1863; Mary Adelia, March 12, 1868; Ellen Greek Seals, April II, 1873; Joanna Greek Paul, October 21, 1873; and Abraham L. Greek, July 8, 1876.

WILLIAM C. HUDELSON.

There is no positive rule for achieving success, and yet in the life of the successful man there are always lessons which might well be followed. The man who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunities that come in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same. the surroundings of individuals differing but slightly, and when one man passes another on the highway of life to reach the goal of prosperity ahead of others who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which probably encompass the whole human race. Today among the prominent citizens and successful men of Gibson county stands William C. Hudelson, retired farmer and stock raiser. The qualities of keen dis-

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crimination, sound judgment and executive ability enter very largely into his makeup and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him.

William C. Hudelson is a native of Gibson county and first saw the light of day on December 4, 1844, on the old IIndelson homestead in Patoka township, section 22. He is the son of Alexander, born February 16, 1822, in Patoka township also, and he is the son of Alexander, who was born near Lexington, Kentucky, and who came to Gibson county as early as 1813 or 1814, and securing a tract of wild land, proceeded to clear it and devote his talents to general farming and stock raising. He was quite successful in this and later retired, taking up his residence in Princeton, where he and his wife. who was Mary Crawford, both died. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom are dead; Samuel, the eklest, passed his life in Gibson county ; James was a farmer and also a merchant and produce man at Patoka and was widely known; John was a farmer in Montgomery township, Gibson county ; Moses was also a farmer, whose later years were passed in Prince- ton, where he died; William was a farmer who went to Zenia, Illinois, and died there; Alexander was the father of the immediate subject of this sketch ; Mary married the Reverend Samuel Baldrich, a minister of the Associate Reform church, and they made their home in different places ; Jane became the wife of Payton Devin and they made their home just north of Princeton ; Ann was the wife of Judge Eli Ely, who lived in Princeton. and Isabelle, who always remained at home and took care of her parents. Isabelle remained un- married. She also took care of her niece, Mary Ely, the daughter of Ann Ely.

Alexander Hudelson, father of William C. Hudelson, was given an ex- cellent education for his day and locality. When he grew to manhood lie located on an eighty-acre farm in Center township, this county, where he lived for about four years, after which he resided in different parts of the county until he retired from the active life of a farmer and took up his residence in Princeton, where he died May 11, 1904. On September 7, 1843. he was united in marriage to Julia Ann Kellogg of Ohio, born February 5, 1825, who still resides with the subject at the advanced age of ninety. To their union were born ten children, namely: William Crawford, the sub- ject of this sketch, being the first born ; Lavina Belle, born May 3. 1846, died May 10, 1846; Alexander Chalmer, born April 18, 1847, who married Ella Tucker and is a farmer in Center township, this county; Mary Ellen, born February 15, 1849, died unmarried March 25, 1902; Emma Belle, born

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June 21, 1851, who married T. Gillespie, of David City, Nebraska; Warren Stewart, born February 22, 1854, a contractor and builder at Los Angeles, California; James Perry, born March 23, 1856, died December 20, 1913; John McDill, born July 5, 1858, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at present located at Versailles, Indiana. His wife was Addie Hovall; Lucius Rolla, born April 8, 1861, died December 6, 1905, a doctor of medi- cine, who received his education in the Philadelphia Medical College of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and practiced in Princeton and later in Rush county, Indiana. Dr. L. R. married Maude Ellis. Samuel Grant, the youngest child of the family, was born January 5, 1864, and is a telegraph operator at Clearwater, Kansas. His wife was Mamie Yenowine.

William C. Hudelson received his elementary education in the schools of Gibson county, later attending high school at Princeton and Oakland City. He was quite a young man at the outbreak of the Civil war and, fired with patriotism, he enlisted in the cause on February 8, 1864, as a private in Company H. Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted under Colonel J. G. Vale and Captain James Armstrong and was assigned to the mounted infantry of the Army of the Cumberland. He was in several skirmishes and all through the Atlanta campaign and received his honorable discharge August 8, 1865, at Macon, Georgia. After his return home from the army, he taught school at various places in Gibson county-Oakland City, Owensville, Patoka and other places. When he decided to follow the vocation of a farmer, he first located in Center township, later going to Patoka township, where for the past twenty years he has lived on what was originally part of the old McClure homestead. He has successfully carried on general farming, giving particular attention to the raising of stock.

Politically, Mr. Hudelson is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party, although he has never sought office. He is a member of Archer Post, No. 28, Grand Army of the Republic, at Princeton, arid is an active member of the United Presbyterian church, while his wife is a member of the Gen- eral Baptist church. Mr. Hudelson is a man who stands very high indeed in the estimation of his friends, a man whose judgment is often sought on in- portant matters. He has been intrusted with the settlement of several estates and in the discharge of his delicate duty has met the approval of all con- cerned.

Mr. Hudelson has been twice married, his first wife being Joanna Tucker, of Gibson county, with whom he united in marriage April 24, 1869. She was born March 30, 1847, and died April 2, 1871. To their union was born

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one son, Clarence, who died July 11, 1871, while still a babe. On May 28. 1886, Mr. Hudelson took as his second wife Miss Nancy Virginia McClure, a native of Gibson county, daughter of Joseph Perry and Catherine Ann (Devin) McClure. Three children have come into their home-Anna, who resides at home. was graduated from the Princeton high school with the class of 1907; H. Earl was graduated from the Princeton high school with the same class as his sister Anna, later attended the State University at Bloom- ington, where in 1911 he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 1912 received the degree of Master of Arts. He is an excellent English scholar and after finishing his course at the State University at Bloomington. he took the Doctor's degree at the British Museum in London, England, and now is assistant instructor in some preparatory school for boys at Port Deposit, Maryland, where he has been for the past two years. In addition to his studies and duties, he has found time to travel extensively and has come to be considered a young writer of promise. Laura, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson, is attending the Princeton high school and graduated with the class of 1913.

The Hudelsons are one of the foremost families of their community, their home being a charming center from which only good influences radiate. Mr. Hudelson takes a commendable interest in the general welfare of the community and his support can always be counted upon for all measures which have for their object the educational, moral, social or material advance- ment of his fellows. Socially, Mr. Hudelson is a pleasing companion who enjoys the friendship of all who know hint. Of marked domestic tastes, his greatest enjoyment is found in his home, where, surrounded by his family, he passes his happiest hours.

HUGH MALONE.

The following is a brief sketch of the life of one who, by close at- tention to business, has achieved marked success in the world's affairs and risen to an honorable position among the enterprising men of the county with which his interests are identified. It is a plain record, rendered remarkable by no strange or mysterious adventure, no wonderful and lucky accident and no tragic situation, aside from his heroic services in the Union army. Mr. Malone is one of those estimable characters whose integrity and strong personality must force them into an admirable notoriety, which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and their

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posterity and leave the impress of their individuality upon the age in which they live.

Hugh Malone was born August 26, 1842, in Patoka township, Gibson county, Indiana, the son of James and Lucinda (Key) Malone. The father of James Malone was also named James. Hugh Malone's grandfather mar- ried a Miss Hunter. The grandfather came to Gibson county at a very early date and settled just north of Owensville. James, Sr., had a brother John, who accompanied him to this county. He was a prominent man of his time, being known far and wide for his geniality and wit, and as a story teller, he was often the center of an admiring group of friends. The Malones were great hunters in those early days and their table was always supplied with the best game of which there was an abundance. In later years, James Malone. Sr., lived with his son, Absalom, in the northeast part of Owensville, his death occurring while he was residing there. In his early life he was at one time captured by the Indians and forced to run the gauntlet, composed of two rows of redskins, armed with clubs and whips, his body bearing marks of this experience to his dying day. To James Malone, Sr., were born six sons and one daughter: The subject's father was born in Lex- ington, Kentucky; Thomas, a blacksmith, lived in Owensville and Posey- ville, Indiana; Jolin, a farmer in Montgomery township; Al was a physi- cian, preacher and store keeper, at Palestine. Illinois, where he was quite prominent : Elijah lived at Owensville: Eliza married William Matthews, a tailor, at Owensville; Parmelia married Owen Jones, a carpenter and expert wood worker, of Owensville. James Malone, Sr., and wife were members of the Baptist church.

James Malone, the father of Hugh, came to Gibson county with his parents when he was but three years old, and lived in this locality until his death in his sixty-eighth year. On reaching mature years he worked for nine years, at the wage of nine dollars a year, his employer being John Browder. At the end of this time he purchased a suit of clothes at an out- lay of three dollars, the suit lasting three years. He was united in marriage to Lucinda Key, of Kentucky, and settled in the Stone neighborhood, in Montgomery township, later removing to the Robb farm north of Prince- ton, where Hugh was born. To the subject's parents were born the fol- lowing children: (1) John is a physician. As a baby he was rocked in a cradle made from a sugar trough. He attended school at Greencastle and studied medicine under Doctor West, after which he took up the practice of his profession and made it his life work. He was an orderly sergeant in the

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Forty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but on account of disa- bility was discharged. He died in 1892. His wife's maiden name was Harriet Trippett. (2) William was a farmer in Patoka township. He was the victim of an accident which caused his death. In cutting cord wood, he ran to get from under a falling tree and fell on an axe, so seriously injuring himself that his death resulted. (3) Hugh is the subject of this review. (4) Cynthia, deceased, married William M. Boswell and they lived in Gib- son county; (5) Annie, deceased, was the wife of Isaac Mounts and lived in Patoka township. The subject's parents were faithful members of the Baptist church. His father was a Democrat.

The exceedingly limited early education of Mr. Malone was secured in the little log house of pioneer times, and he remained on the home place assisting in the farm work until his enlistment in the Union army, on August II, 1862. He became a member of Company B, Sixty-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, recruiting at Princeton, and under the command of Captain Stilwell, Colonel Foster and Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson. The com- mand to which Mr. Malone was attached was sent to Evansville, Indiana, first being a part of the Twenty-third Army Corps, and its record of eighteen battles and innumerable skirmishes is one to be proud of. From Evansville they were dispatched to Henderson, Kentucky, and then up the Green River valley to Schuylersville, returning subsequently to Henderson. August 11th of that year the command was mounted and sent to Knoxville, Tennessee. From that place their operations extended as far as Bristol, Virginia, they be- ing engaged at Smoky Mountain and Cumberland Gap. After being dis- mounted they took part in the great Atlanta campaign, and finally at the close of hostilities, took part in the Grand Review, at Washington, in April, 1865. After the review Mr. Malone was engaged in the fighting in North Carolina and was mustered out on June 9, 1865, and returned to his home.

September 7, 1865, Mr. Malone was married to Nancy C. Prichett, of Harrison county, Indiana, the daughter of John L. and Margaret ( Jones ) Prichett, he a native of North Carolina, and she of Indiana. John L. Pritchett came to Indiana in 1862 and, in connection with farming opera- tions, ran a mill and followed the cooper's trade. He was a very handy man with tools and his services were much in demand. He was a hard working and prosperous man, and at the time of his death was the owner of considerable valuable land. His wife afterwards lived with her son Hugh, until her death. To John L. Prichett and wife were born fourteen children, namely : Wesley, of Floyd county, Indiana; James, a saw mill operator at

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Fitzgerald, Georgia; Mrs. Hugh Malone; Frank, Jane and George, deceased ; Bell, of Gibson county; Tena and Lydia, deceased; Charles, of Knox county, Indiana; Andy, resident of Gibson county ; Annie, deceased, and Lucinda, of Gibson county.

To Hugh Malone and wife have been born the following children: (I) Lewis, of Evansville, Indiana, who married Stella Redburn, now deceased, and to them were born two children, Roscoe, deceased, and Leafy G .. the wife of Ralph Zimmerman; (2) Will F., who died at the age of thirty six, married Theodosia Decker and they were the parents of three children, Charlotte, May and William H .; Will F. was a farmer, logger and thresher- man; (3) Gertrude, who married Edward Weisgarber, a farmer and gard- ener of Montgomery county, and they were the parents of six children. Gladys, Herbert, Ruby, Isabelle, Rudolph and Delbert.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs Malone located on his father's old homestead, in Patoka township, for seven years, and then went west over- land with a team to Shawnee county, Kansas, where they remained for one year, returning thereupon to Gibson county and resuming the operation of the old home place. Mr. Malone, after another year, purchased thirty- seven acres of land from Thomas Morton, which he later sold and then bought his present fine home place at "Taft Town," just northeast of Prince- ton, where he has since engaged in gardening and the raising of fine fruit.

Mr. Malone is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while his religious affiliation is with the General Baptist church.

JOHN BIEGER.

A review of the life of the honored subject of this memoir must of necessity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the inter- esting details of the career of the late John Bieger, touching the struggles of his early manhood and the success of his later years, would far transcend the limits of this article. He filled a large place in the ranks of the active, energetic and public-spirited citizens of his day and generation, and the memories which attach to his name and character form no inconsiderable chapter in the history of his adopted home, where he did his work and achieved his success.

John Bieger was a native of Germany, born in Hessen. Darmstadt, Ger- many, March 2. 1833, and died at his home in Princeton, January 14, 1912.

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His father and mother both died when he was quite young and he was brought up by his grandparents. He received an excellent education in the old country, the grandparents intending him for the priesthood. However, the thought of America and its opportunities was attractive to him and when he was eighteen years old he set sail for this country. He took out his naturalization papers in 1857. . After landing in America, he came almost di- rectly to Princeton; Indiana, and secured employment with a Mr. Boswell in his blacksmith shop, where he was to learn the trade. He remained with Mr. Boswell for several years and later had a shop of his own on the corner of Prince and Broadway streets, in Princeton, in which he did a thriving business for a great many years before he retired. He arrived in Princeton wholly without friends and unable to speak the English language, and in a comparatively short time he learned the blacksmith trade, and in a few years had the largest carriage and buggy blacksmith shop in the county, and his business increased so rapidly that he employed as many as twenty-five men at times and operated four and five forges. In 1887 he also started a dairy business, and his son, who manages the business today, has a fine herd of full blooded Jersey stock and makes a specialty of supplying cream to a large and increasing patronage. Mr. Bieger had unusual business ability, and coupled with that, his undoubted honesty and integrity placed him high in the estimation of his fellow business men as well as all others with whom he came in contact.

John Bieger was twice married. His first wife was Susan Boswell. of Princeton, and after her death he married Mary E. Richey, of this county, a daughter of Chadwick and Matilda ( DePriest ) Richey. The Richey family were originally from Tennessee and were among the early settlers of Gib- son county. The parents died when Mrs. Bieger was a small child. To John Bieger and his wife. Mary, were born three children: a child which died in earliest infancy ; William, who also died when small, and Van, who was born in Princeton, and has lived here practically all his life. Van received his education in the schools of Princeton, and when quite a young man was a salesman for Wolfe & Company, Welborn & Moser and .Alva Levi, of Princeton. He continued in this line until it devolved upon him to take care of the business his father had built up, since which time he has been giving it the same assiduous care it received from his father.

On January 21. 1907, Van Bieger was united in marriage to Judith Long, of St. Louis, Missouri, daughter of George W. and Adeline (Chenne- worth) Long, of Shawneetown, Illinois. The father was a carpenter who

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died in 1901; the mother died in 1900. To Van Bieger and wife has been born one child, Alvena, born April 14, 1908.

John Bieger was one of the patriotic sons of the United States who, though foreign born, was anxious to show his love for his adopted country and early in the Civil War he enlisted in Company A, Eightieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served three years as wagon master. At the close of the war, he returned to Princeton and resumed his business. All through life, Mr. Bieger was a devout communicant of the Catholic church and gave liberally of his time and means to its support. He was also a member of Archer Post, No. 28, Grand Army of the Republic, at Princeton. John Bieger, by his industry and perseverance, together with right principles of living, raised himself from a poor boy to a position of affluence and became the head of a family known throughout Gibson county, liked and respected by all. In every community are to be found individuals who, by reason of pronounced ability and forceful personality, rise su- perior to the majority and command the homage of their fellows. Of this class was John Bieger, whose life on earth is closed, but who still lives in the hearts that love and respect him and in his works here on earth.

R. L. HUSSEY.

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Gibson county within the pages of this work, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests have been identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well being of the community in which he resided and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name appears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the fact that practically his entire life has been passed within the borders of this county.

R. L. Hussey, well known throughout southern Indiana as traveling salesman and manager of S. M. Hess & Bro., of Philadelphia. manufacturers of fertilizer, was born October 26, 1850, on his father's homestead in Cen- ter township, Gibson county. His paternal grandfather was Richard Hussey, originally of Lebanon, Maine, born May 24, 1789, and died April 15, 1851. On October 4, 18II, he was united in marriage to Aphia Mills in Belgrade township, Kennebec county, Maine. She was born January 27, 1791, and

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died May 29, 1841. Their family comprised thirteen children, as follows : Elbridge M., born in Belgrade township, Kennebec county, Maine, July 9. 1812, died April 15, 1878; Julian Page, born in Rome, Maine, January 22, 1814; Zachariah, born in Lebanon, Maine, October 25, 1815; James Madison, born June 8, 1817, in Belgrade township, Kennebec county. Maine, father of the immediate subject of this sketch: George B .. born May 17, 1819, in Washington county, Ohio; Ansel Alexander Hamilton, born in Washington county, Ohio, November 16, 1821; John Hibbard, born July 26, 1822, in Gibson county, Indiana; Clara, born in Gibson county, March 19, 1824; Charles Wellington, born in Gibson county, May 18, 1826; Elizabeth .Ann, born in Gibson county, April 11, 1828; Richard Perry, born in Gibson county, April 4, 1830; Martha M., born in Gibson county, March 24, 1833; Aphia Louisa, born in Gibson county, October 15, 1835.

When, in 1817, Richard Hussey and wife left their home in Kennebec county, Maine, to try their fortunes further west, their family comprised four children. They first located in Washington county, Ohio. He was a cabinet maker by trade and was considered an unusually fine workman in those days when all furniture was hand-made. He was also a blacksmith and skilful with all kinds of tools. In 1821 they left Ohio, coming to Gib- son county, Indiana, and located about five miles east of Princeton in Center township. He secured a tract of wild land which he commenced to clear, put up a cabin home and a blacksmith shop and here the family lived for several years, the mother dying on the place. People came from near and far to have him do work for them and in this way he formed a wide acquaintance and no man was better known or more respected in his day.

James Madison Hussey, son of Richard Hussey and father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was one of the children of the family born in Maine and brought when a young child to Ohio and later to Gibson county. In his youth he received but limited schooling, owing to the poor opportunities of- fered, and being one of the oldest children of the family, much of the work about the homestead fell to his lot. He remained at home until he married, when he rented part of his father's farm and later bought a portion of it. His wife was Sarah Patterson, born September 2, 1827, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Robert and Rebecca (Wilson) Patterson. When Sarah was but a small child, her parents left their home in Pennsylvania and came to Xenia, Ohio, later coming on to Gibson county, Indiana, where they settled in Center township near the Hussey homestead. The father died shortly after their arrival in Gibson county. There were four children in

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the family : James, who lived in Princeton; Harriet, who married a Mr. Shaw, went back to Pennsylvania and died there; Sarah, who became the wife of James Madison Hussey, and Samuel, who died in Center township.

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History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 103

Author: Stormont, Gil R Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen Number of Pages: 1284

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284