USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 105
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On March 8, 1882, Mr. Hull was united in marriage with Anna Antell. daughter of John and Nancy (Harbison) Antell, and to their union has been born one child, John F., who was given a good education, finishing at the agricultural department of Purdue University at Lafayette, Indiana. On October 1, 1913, he was united in marriage with Anna Clark, the daughter
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of James Clark, of county Donegal, Ireland. John F. is now in full partner- ship with his father.
Politically, David W. Hull was formerly a Republican, but has been a Prohibitionist for several years. In 1880 he was elected assessor of White River township and discharged the duties of that office to the satisfaction of all. While not especially desiring office for himself, his influence is always counted upon by those in the race. Mr. Hull's religious sympathies are with the Presbyterian church, to whose welfare he gives largely of time and means. He enjoys the distinction of having served his church as an elder for the past twenty years and for the last thirty years has taught a class in the Sunday school. Mr. Hull has lived a life in keeping with the faith he professes and holds an enviable place in the estimation of his great number of friends. Faithful to every trust of life, both public and private, he is honored and re- spected throughout his native county and is in every way deserving of the re- gard in which he is held.
JAMES W. ADAMS.
An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have hon- ored the locality in which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of him whose name forms the caption of this sketch. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful men of Gibson county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow men, for his career has been one of well directed energy, strong determination and honorable methods. In his early business career he met with reverses which would have daunted a man of less spirit, but such difficulties only urged him to more determined effort and he has so managed his affairs as to win large material success.
James W. Adams is a native of Gibson county, born in Princeton on March 24, 1848, the son of Joseph and Catherine (Hunt) Adams, the former a native of Gibson county and the latter of Missouri. The father's family were among the early citizens of the county and added their share to the advancement of the community. To Joseph Adams and wife were born four children, of whom the immediate subject of this sketch is the second child in order of birth.
James W. Adams received his early education in the district schools of Gibson county, being somewhat handicapped in his attendance owing to the
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early death of his father, which occurred when James W. was but four years of age. The necessity of contributing his share toward the support of the family compelled him to leave school at an early age. At the age of eighteen years he became an apprentice to the blacksmith trade, at which he worked for three years in Princeton. At the end of that time he decided to take up his residence in Kansas and work at his trade, and he remained there for three years, later returning to Gibson county.
On March 7, 1871, Mr. Adams was united in marriage with Cor chia Robb, daughter of David and Ellen (Decker) Robb, both of whom were natives of Gibson county. There are two children of the family remaining under the paternal roof, Dove B. and Joseph W. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have six grandchildren.
At the time of his marriage, Mr. Adams had saved up four hundred dollars with which to set up housekeeping and purchased a few needed articles to carry on the occupation of farming, which he had decided should be his life work. He arranged for the purchase of a farm of one hundred acres, going heavily in debt for same, but with the cheerful determination to work his way out as quickly as possible. His farm consisted of excellent land, part of which was located in the White River bottoms, and the first year proved disastrous for him, for it was a year of high water and the floods overspread his farm, destroying all his crops. The failure of his crops made it impossible for him to meet the obligations attending his purchase, and he was forced to see his coveted acres slip from his hands. In the face of this almost overwhelming failure his true nature asserted itself and with renewed energy and determination, lighted with hope, he arranged for the purchase of another tract, and this time fortune smiled on him, for he was almost fortunately successful from the start. Through wise management and tin- failing industry he has been able to add to his original holdings from time to time, until he is now the owner of nine hundred acres of excellent land. every acre of which attests his ability as an agriculturist who conducts the business of his farm along modern methods.
Aside from his business interests as a farmer, he is also identified with the banking business, being a heavy stockholder in the Patoka National Bank and also serving as vice-president of that institution. Throughout his life. Mr. Adams' business methods have been such as to excite the admiration of those who know him, at the same time inspiring them with absolute confi- dence in his honesty and integrity.
Politically, Mr. Adams gives his support to the Democratic party, always
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taking a keen, though quiet interest, in its affairs. His religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church, to whose support he contributes largely.
Mr. Adams is intensely practical in everything he does, and therein lies the great secret of his success. He is a splendid example of the virile, pro- gressive man who believes in doing well whatever is worth doing at all, a man of broad mind, keen discernment and sound judgment. Personally, he is genial and unassuming, easily approached, and in Gibson county where almost his entire life has been spent, he is widely known and held in high regard by all.
JAMES GRAY.
Gibson county has attracted emigrants from many foreign nations, but no better class of citizens have come from foreign countries and settled in this county than those who emigrated from Ireland. One of the most sub- stantial citizens of Irish descent in this county is James Gray, to a brief re- view of whose career the reader's attention is here directed. Mr. Gray was born in Ireland on August 27. 1846, the son of John and Lena ( White) Gray. who were descendants of a long and honorable ancestry on both sides of the family. James Gray has a deed that was made by his grandfather in 1755, and he also has a deed which was issued in Ireland to his great-great-grand- father, which is dated 1536. The father of the subject of this sketch never came to America. He was accidentally shot in 1866, while on a hunting trip in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. John Gray were the parents of five children, the subject of this sketch being the eldest child; Edward lives in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania : Sarah and Bessie are both deceased and Mrs. Lena West, who is a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
James Gray received his education at Loughbrickland, Ireland, and his boyhood and early manhood was spent on the Emerald Isle, working on his father's farm. He had been married several years when he came to thie United States in 1880, and located in Princeton in this county. His marriage occurred on December 23, 1868, to Margaret J. Stott, the daughter of John and Eliza (Black) Stott, natives of Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Stott were born three children: Mrs. James Gray; Kathleen, who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : Thomas J. Stott, deceased.
Upon coming to this country, Mr. Gray engaged in farming, settling on
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a tract of land near Princeton in this county, and by hard work and persever- ance he has succeeded in acquiring a fine farm of four hundred acres, where he is now living. In addition to his general farming, he makes a specialty of breeding and raising Shorthorn cattle and large draft horses, in which lines of endeavor he has been very successful. His stock always brings a high price in the market.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been born nine children: John; Florence, the wife of Faulkner B. Small, who lives in Ireland : Mrs. Edith Morrison, who resides in Tennessee ; Helena K., who was a physician, but is now deceased ; Edward, who is a civil engineer in California ; James F., living in Louisville. Kentucky : Mrs. Bessie Archer, who lives on a farm in this county : Mrs. Ella Matier Pate, a resident of Bloomfield, Indiana, and Mrs. Susan M. Kennedy. who lives in Canada. Mr. Gray also has nine living grandchildren. He has always been known to be a great family man and takes a great deal of interest in his children and grandchildren. He has given his children the best oppor- tunities which the schools of his county offered.
Mr. Gray has been a great traveler in his life, having made no less than . eleven different trips to Ireland and intends to go there again in the year 1914. He has been a Democrat since coming to this country and is much interested in political affairs, although he has never been a candidate for any office. Re- ligiously, he and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, liis wife's father having been a Presbyterian minister. In the comparatively short time which Mr. Gray has lived in this country he has shown all those admirable qualities which make the good American citizen. He has con- tributed liberally in a material way to the advancement of the community in which he has lived and has won friends everywhere by his gentle and unas- suming demeanor.
FRED H. OHNING.
The strong, true men of a people are always benefactors. Their useful- ness in the immediate and specific labors they perform can generally be de- fined, but the good accomplished through the influences and forces they put in motion and the inspiration of their presence are immeasurable by any finite gauge or standard of value. It is by no means an easy matter to esti- mate a man's worth to a community while he lives: it is not until after he has been called away that the public begins properly to appreciate his virtues
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and services and to measure his influence by the many little acts as well as large achievements which, unseen at the time, enter so largely into the business and social life of the community and give character and tone to its various lines of development and growth. No class of citizens in Indiana has been of more benefit to the state than have the sturdy descendants of German parentage. Gibson county is fortunate in having a large number of these good people, and among them is the subject of this sketch.
Fred H. Ohning, the present efficient superintendent of the Gibson county poor farm, was born in Vanderburg county, Indiana, on October 9. 1857. His parents, Henry and Minnie W. (Shnelle) Ohning, were both natives of Germany, his father coming to this country several years before the Civil war and settling first at Evansville. About 1862 his father moved to Gibson county and followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, September 12, 1912, his wife having died in 1895. To Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ohning were born eight children, the subject of this sketch being the oldest child. Fred received his early education in the district schools of his county and early in life started out to make his fortune. For several years he was engaged in the saw-mill business and at the same time operated a threshing machine in the summer. By his honest dealings with his customers he built up a large and lucrative business throughout the county. Recognizing in him an able and efficient administrative man, the Gibson county com- missioners in June, 1909. appointed him as superintendent of the county poor farm and in January, 1914, he was re-appointed for four years. At the time this sketch was prepared there were two women and twenty-two men being cared for on the farm. There are two hundred acres in the farm and all but twenty-five acres are under cultivation at the present time. Under the excellent management of Mr. Ohning the farm is yielding from six hundred dollars to one thousand five hundred dollars in net proceeds each year, which goes to show that it is in very capable hands.
Mr. Ohning was married on February 6, 1883, to Hannah W. Nie- kamp, the daughter of William F. and Hannah Vomhaner. The parents of Mrs. Ohning were both natives of Germany and to them were horn four children : Mrs. Anna White, Fort Branch, Indiana, who has four children ; Amelia, who is still at home: Mrs. Emma Bilderback, whose husband is a farmer in Patoka township, and has one child: and Lydia, who is still resid- ing at home.
Mr. Ohning is affiliated with the Democratic party in politics, but has never held any other office than the one he now holds. His fraternal con-
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nections are confined to the Woodmen of the World, he being a charter men- ber of Buckskin Lodge, Number 64. His religious faith is that of the Evangelical church and he and his family are interested in the various activities of that denomination.
The subject of this sketch stands for the best type of citizenship and because of his impregnable honor and high integrity he has won the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He is progressive and awake, manages the affairs of the poor farm according to true business principles and has achieved a flattering measure of popularity and success. He has made his presence in the county a potent force for good and his present standing as a representative man has been fairly and honorably earned.
WILLIAM E. McELDERRY.
There is no positive rule for achieving success, and yet in lives of suc- cessful men there are always lessons which might well be followed. The man who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunity that comes in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same. the surroundings of individuals differ but slightly ; and when one man passes another on the highway of life to reach the goal of prosperity before others who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to use ad- vantages which probably encompass the whole human race. Today among the prominent citizens and successful men of Gibson county, Indiana, stands William E. McElderry. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judg- ment and executive ability enter very largely into his make-up and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him.
William E. McElderry was born March 21, 1852. on a farm near James- town, Greene county, Ohio, the son of Israel McElderry, who was born De- cember 17, 1806, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Israel McElderry joined the Presbyterian church and was made an eller. Throughout his life he was an earnest church worker, and he was eminently deserving of the ad- miration and respect in which he was held. He started in life penniless, having to borrow the money to buy a coat. In his younger days he learned the woolen manufacturing business and in 1849 removed to Greene county, Ohio, and engaged in farming until his death at Carrollton, Ohio. At one time he and William Johnson were the largest sheep owners in the state of Ohio, but cholera attacked their flocks and most of their sheep died. He sold his
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interests in Ohio for ten thousand dollars in gold. As a young man Israel McElderry taught school, was a civil engineer and followed surveying for a time. He was a very intelligent man, with a splendid education and was a leader in his day. A stanch Republican, it was his habit to "stump" the county in campaign times in the interests of that party. His father was Daniel McElderry, of Scotland, and came to Carroll county, Ohio, where he died. In 1855 Israel McElderry went overland to Olmstead county, Minne- sota, where he with other pioneers secured land, Mr. McElderry getting one hundred and sixty acres, which he cleared and developed, and so successful was he in his agricultural work that he became possessed of thirteen hun- dred acres of land in Olmstead and Steele counties, Minnesota.
Israel McElderry was twice married, first to Margaret Jane Thomas, the daughter of Daniel Thomas, of Amsterdam, Ohio, and she died in her twenty-ninth year on July 12, 1848. Her parents both died in Amsterdam, Ohio. His second wife was Catherine (Thomas) Carlisle, a sister of his first wife, born in Steubenville, Ohio, November 22, 1806, and is now de- ceased. Subject's father was a man of exemplary habits and Christian char- acter. It was said of him that he never used a profane word in his life. To Israel McElderry and his first wife were born the following children : (1) Jonathan is a farmer in South Dakota, and also works at the carpenter's trade. He was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Company A, Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He married Jennie Hale. (2) Daniel was also in the Civil war and was wounded December 7, 1864, in the second battle of Murfreesboro and died January 6, 1865. (3) Margaret, who lives at Cromanton, Florida, is the widow of Christopher Ecker, a carpenter of Canal Dover, Ohio. (4) Arabella is the wife of Frank Cummings, a farmer of Bonella. South Dakota. By Israel McElderry's second marriage the fol- lowing children were born : (1) William E. (2) Charles died May 10, 1881. (3) Abraham is employed at the Great Northern car works at Devil's Lake, North Dakota.
William E. McElderry's maternal grandfather, John Thomas, lived in Steubenville, Ohio, where he was a dry goods merchant, and owning a black- smith shop and other establishments and conducting the leading hotel.
Acquiring a limited education in the common schools, Mr. McElderry remained on the home place until he reached the age of twenty-eight, when, on September 24, 1879, he was united in marriage to Louie C. Rouzer, the daughter of Hon. W. H. Rouzer, who was mayor of Dayton, Ohio, and a printer by trade. This wife died December 24, 1886. After his marriage
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Mr. McElderry went to Minnesota and engaged in farming for six years, and then returned to Dayton, Ohio, where he engaged in the produce business a year, later selling nursery stock for the Heikes Nursery Company, of that city. He then became a salesman for Wesley Young, handling ornamental fences and nursery stock through the Eastern states for seven years. He first engaged in the nursery business on his own account at Boonville, Indiana, and was in business there until 1906, when he started the Princeton nurseries, one mile south of the city of Princeton, where he has since been located. Here he has built a beautiful home and has a most complete plant, splendidly equipped for his purposes. His business is very extensive, covering many states, among which are Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida and Louisiana.
On March 5. 1891, Mr. McElderry was married a second time to Flora N. Jenkins at Atlantic City, New Jersey, a native of Plumsteadville, Penn- sylvania, the daughter of Philip and Deborah (Nash) Jenkins, both natives of the Keystone state.
To the first marriage was born one son, Charles R., who died at the age of thirteen. His second marriage resulted in the birth of a daughter, Vivian P., who is now attending school in Princeton, Indiana.
William F. MeElderry is a contributor to all the churches, although he is not a member of any particular denomination. He joined the Masonic fraternity at the age of twenty-one at Chatfield, Minnesota, becoming a mem- ber of Meridian Lodge No. 56 at that place. His membership was subse- quently transferred, first, to Boonville and then to Princeton. He is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias at Dayton, Ohio, and is also a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Perkasie, Pennsyl- vania, while the subject and wife are affiliated with the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
Mr. McElderry and his wife adopted the child known as "the suitcase baby." February 26, 1913. On February 25, 1913, the baby was found in a suit case on a Louisville & Nashville train at Evansville. Indiana. The baby was about five days old when found and Dr. Benjamin F. Rose and wife, of Evansville, took care of the child until Mr. McElderry and wife adopted it. Samuel Dyer, a brakeman on the train. says a young man boarded the train at Henderson, Kentucky, with a suitcase, and inquired if the train went to Evansville. On being informed that it did, he passed through a car, set the suit case on a seat and jumped off the back platform .. The brakeman,
(67)
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thinking that he would return, took no more than passing notice of the inci- dent, until the contents of the suitcase were disclosed. No one was able to identify the young man who left the baby on the train, only a most superficial description of him having been obtained. He was apparently about twenty- two years of age, five feet seven inches tall and wore a slouch hat. Mr. and Mrs. McElderry heard of the incident and at once adopted the baby. It is a beautiful child and has been given the name of Joe Rose McElderry. Some time after Mr. McElderry and wife adopted the baby, Mr. McElderry com- posed the following poem which is here given as he wrote it :
THE REFRAIN OF THE SUITCASE BABY. Abandoned and Put on a Midnight Train, February 25, 1913.
A wee pink baby at dead of the night, Wrapped in a blanket and suit case tight, Was placed on the train and sent away By a brave young man that sneaked away. Oh, wasn't he brave and wasn't he true To a wee little baby with eyes so blue.
Oh, what of that mother to hide her shame, Abandoned her baby and sent on the train. Oh, wasn't she tender and wasn't she true To her own darling baby with eyes so blue, To cast him aside like a toad in the road, The wee pink baby with a heart's overload.
1 wonder if ever to herself hath said How his little soul will grieve and bleed When he knows of his own blood mother's deed- Turned from him with a heart of stone; How his heart will break and eyes o'erflow When he knows of his history long, long ago.
God pity the soul of a woman like she, 'Twas not the heart of a brute to be To give up her offspring to hide her plight ; To set him adrift in the dead of the night- The wee pink baby fresh from the dew, The tiny wee baby with eyes so blue.
At four days old they sneaked him away- Not in the broad open light of the day; Like cowards they hid him with disdain And set him adrift on a midnight train. An innocent darling, a sweet little boy As pure as the God given smile of Aloy.
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And here's to the railroad laddie boys
With hearts as big as the engine's noise ; And here's to the lady that took him in When his body was cold and his eyes were dim. But four days old and nearly froze; God bless that lady and another Rose.
His flaxen hair and bright eyes of blue
Have won him a home that will see him through. Yes, he has found a dad and a mamma true, With smiles for them both, and a sister, new. Yes, he loves them all and they love him, true, They will stay by the lad and cherish him, too.
TO THE ONES WHO ABANDONED IIIM :
You may talk of your riches and wealth and gain, But all of your wealth wouldn't get him again. You may strut down town with your head so high, But God pity your soul when hell's fire burns high. May it torture your soul in your dreams ahed, And be hell to your souls until after you are dead.
PHILIP J. REINHART.
The nations of the world have contributed of their best blood to the population of the United States, but no nation has given to this country better citizens or more loyal subjects than has Germany. The various revolutions which occurred in Germany in the nineteenth century, while they were un- fortunate for Germany, were, on the other hand, a blessing to America, for during the time of these revolutions thousands of the best people of Germany fled to the United States and became eager citizens of this country. No more patriotic citizens fought for the North during the Cvil war than did the thousands of German soldiers who enlisted under the Stars and Stripes and fought for their newly adopted country. Wherever a German settlement is found in this country, thrift and material advancement are sure to be seen. Among the many German families who came to this country in the early days of its history. the Reinhart family was one of the most prominent.
Philip J. Reinhart, the son of Jacob and Agnes ( Weidner ) Reinhart, was born April 18, 1856, in Vanderburg county, Indiana. His parents were born and reared in Germany and married in this country. Philip was the seventh in order of birth of sixteen children born to his parents. His father
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