History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 43

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 43

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On December 18, 1862. Mr. Hudelson was united in marriage with Ann Eliza Woods, the daughter of Samuel H. and Ann ( McMillin) Woods. Samuel H. Woods was born in Blount county, Tennessee, on March 1. 1791.

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and died on July 14, 1880, at the age of eighty-nine years. His father, Joseph Woods, came to Indiana in 1807, being numbered among the real pioneers of the Hoosier state and locating near Vincennes. In 1809 he located on Turkey Hill, where he achieved success as a farmer and where he spent the remainder of his years. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, taking part in the battle of Tippecanoe, where General Harrison so de- cisively defeated the Indians, and he also helped to guard Fort Vincennes during those troublous days. To him and his wife were born eleven chil- dren, of whom but two are now living, Mrs. Hudelson and R. C., who lives at Kirkwood, Illinois. Mrs. Hudelson is a woman of marked attainments and possesses to a notable degree those womanly qualities and graces which have endeared her to all who know her. She has taken an active interest in current events and has been president of the Woods family re-union continu- ously since its organization. In the civic life of the community she has been actively interested and has been at the head of the ladies' waiting room in the court house at Princeton. She is an earnest member of the United Presby- terian church and until recently has been active in her support of the various interests of that society. She is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic.

Politically, Mr. Hudelson was a life-long supporter of the Democratic party, but in local elections he assumed an independent attitude, voting for the men and measures which in his opinion were for the best interests of the community. He, too, was a faithful member of the United Presbyterian church, to the support of which he was a liberal contributor. A man of strong domestic tastes, he found his greatest enjoyment in his home, where he delighted to entertain his friends, for whom "the latch-string always hung on the outside."

WILLIAM M. MCCLURE.

There could be no more comprehensive history written of a city or county, or even of a state and its people, than that which deals with the life work of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed themselves where they well deserve the title of "progressive," and in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able plodders on the highway of life, one who has not been subdued by the many obstacles that come to every one, but who has made them stepping stones to higher things and at the same time that he was

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winning his way in material affairs of life, gained a reputation for upright- ness and honor.

William M. McClure is a native of the city of Princeton, born March 29, 1848, the son of Joseph P., born October 16, 1815, on the old MeClure place, and the father of Joseph was James, born in Maryland, and his father was born in Ireland, being the first of the family to emigrate to America. He had one son and one daughter and lost his life in one of the battles of the Revolutionary war. After the close of the war, his widow and two children went into Kentucky. James McCluire, Jr., and Col. Jacob Warrick were the first white men to begin clearing the timber from the land south of the Patoka river. In 1804 they cleared a piece of ground south- west of Princeton, put in a crop of corn and tended it through the summer. They built a stout log pen in which they placed the husked corn and covered it securely with logs in order to protect it from the bears prowling about in great numbers. They then returned to their homes in Kentucky, but were back in Gibson county again in 1806. having their families with them. June 6, 1808, James McClure was united in marriage with Malinda Ann Warrick. who was born in Kentucky in 1788, a daughter of Colonel Jacob. James McClure was born October 6. 1785, the son of Irish parentage. His mother's name was Jane and she died in Princeton.

Malinda Ann Warrick McClure had two brothers and five sisters, John. Jacob, Mary, Ruth, Margaret, Elizabeth and Ellen Jane. At the time of her marriage to James McClure, her father, Col. Jacob Warrick, was living on what is now known as the Major Smith farm, two miles east of Owensville, Indiana, and they set up their new home on the site now occupied by the McCam Summit. Here they lived for many years and reared their family. They also had a farm one mile southwest of Princeton, and James McClure also had a tannery. He was a man of importance in his day, known through- out the sparsely settled district and highly respected by all. They were the first couple united in marriage by the Rev. Alexander Devine after he came to Gibson county and they were also the first couple married south of the Patoka river. To their union were born ten sons and one daughter. Albert P., their oldest, was the first white child born in Gibson county of parents married in the county. Then there were Edwin, James B., Ella Jane, Joseph P., William M., Henry, David H., Robert, George W. and John W. The only member of this family now living is Robert, who resides in Los Angeles. California.

Joseph P. McClure was the only one of the above named large family"

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to remain in Gibson county and rear a family. In his youth he received only a limited schooling at the early subscription schools and, as was the case with most young boys of his time, he was early put to the hard work of helping to clear the land and make a home. He remained on the home place and on February 13, 1834, was united in marriage to Catherine Ann Devine, born in Princeton, a daughter of the Rev. Alexander Devine. The latter was the son of William and Sarah Devine and was born March 27, 1769. His parents were from Pottsylvania county, Virginia, and he took as his wife Sukin Nowlen, daughter of Payton and Lucy Nowlen, of Virginia, born March 12, 1771. The Rev. Alexander Devine and wife came to Gib- son county in 1808 and he obtained a tract of land on which they lived to the day of their death. On this land the Independent Order of Odd Fellows' cemetery is now located. The Rev. Mr. Devine was a man of influence in his day and did much to improve the high moral tone of the growing com- munity. They raised a numerous family. as follows: Elizabeth, born Feb- ruary 22, 1792 : Lucy, born May 6, 1793: James, born June 9, 1794; Sukin, born September 22, 1796; Sarah, born February 4, 1799; Alexander, born December 14, 1801; Virginia, born June 2, 1803; Joseph, born May 22, 1805; Robert, born June 22, 1807; Payton Nowlen, born August 5, 1808; Mary, born July 5, 1810; Catherine .Ann, born July 8, 1812, and Mary Smith, born December 23, 1814.

After their marriage in 1834, Joseph McClure and wife located about two miles southeast of Princeton. They purchased the interests of the De- vine heirs and on the land so obtained they made their home, farming it to the best advantage the times afforded, and here they both died. Joseph McClure was a staunch Republican and was a member of the General Baptist church. He and his wife reared a family of twelve children, namely: Elea- nor J., born June 7, 1835, married James W. Key, of Patoka, Indiana; Mary B., now deceased, born June 9, 1836, married Henry G. Wheeler, of Princeton; Alexander, deceased, born December 22, 1837; Susan Ann, de- ceased, born May 10, 1839: James B., deceased, born June 20, 1841 ; Mar- garet E. C., deceased, born November 6, 1843; Joseph D., born July 9, 1844, now living retired at Evansville, Indiana; Robert M., born September 16, 1846, residing at Mound City, Kansas; William M., the immediate subject of this sketch, born September 29, 1848; George W., born July 17, 1850, is still farming the old homestead; Nancy, born December 15, 1852, wife of W. C. Hudleson, of Patoka township; Franklin P. P., born May 9, 1855. also engaged in farming on the old homestead in Patoka township.

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This family discharged its duty to the Union in the dark days of the sixties in a gratifying manner, sending five of its sons to the front. all of whom were permitted to pass through the conflict and return home. Alexan- der D., James. Robert and William M. were members of Company H. Sev- enteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, while Joseph D. enlisted in Company F, Thirty-third Regiment. Alexander J. served with special distinction, being special scout for Generals Thomas and Wilder. He was the first of the McClure sons to die, his death occurring in 1902.

William M., the immediate subject of this sketch, enlisted on March 12, 1865, and received his honorable discharge on August 8. 1865. He was all through Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. After the close of the war he returned home and attended school for a year. He later took a commercial course at Evansville. Indiana, and engaged in the drug business in St. Louis for four years. He then returned to Princeton and was asso- ciated with B. B. Estes for about two years. From 1878 to 1890 he en- gaged in farming, when he disposed of his agricultural interests and entered the ranks of carpenters and contractors in Princeon, in which work he has since engaged. In 1893 he removed his family to Princeton, where they are much thought of. Mr. McClure is a man blessed with a retentive memory, to whose store of knowledge he is constantly adding. He is considered a man well posted on current events and a man of right principles who stands firm on his convictions. Politically, Mr. McClure is an earnest supporter of the Republican party, while his fraternal affiliations are with the Free and Accepted Masons, of which order he has been a member for the past twenty- five years. Religiously, he is a member of the General Baptist church and has always taken a deep interest in the prosperity of that society. He is also a member of Archer Post No. 28. Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. McClure was married in 1878 to Martha E. Latham, of Prentice, Illinois, a daughter of James and Julia A. Latham. Her father was orig- inally a farmer in Gibson county. There are nine children in the McClure family, namely: Amy Alice, born March 30. 1881, married Jesse French, of Union township, Gibson county ; Julia A., born December 2, 1882, widow of P. W. Kell, of Princeton: Lester Latham, born July 19, 1884, married Catherine Arburn. This son is in the contracting business at Pueblo, Colo- rado; Joseph D. D., born July 23, 1887, is a carpenter at Princeton. He married Bertha Glazier; Van Raymond was born April 8, 1891, and is a carpenter by trade; Percy M., born October 5. 1894. remains at home; Jos -.

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eph Perry, born July 17, 1897; Harriet, born December 22, 1899, and Cloyd Latrom, born January 12, 1903. The latter three are also at home.

Personally, Mr. McClure is a man of genial and unassuming character, who, because of his genuine worth and staunch integrity, has won and retains the unalloyed good will of all who know him. Mrs. McClure is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is earnest in advancing its cause. They have an ideal home and cut of it young folks go forth well fitted to battle with the world and come out victorious.

JOHN MAHAN.

Of the sturdy sons of the Emerald Isle it has been said that they have "won every country's freedom but their own," and a review of the struggle against oppression or tyranny in any land will disclose the fact that in the forefront of the battle line, if, indeed, not leading it, the valiant lads from the land of the harp and shamrock have borne well their part. During the dark days of the war between the American states in 1861-'65, probably no other country furnished more recruits to the ranks of the "boys in blue" than did Ireland, and among those worthy defenders of the integrity of their adopted country none bore a more noble part or acquitted himself with greater honor than the one whose name forms the caption of this brief bio- graphical review. Not alone did he acquit himself well in those "times that tried men's souls," but in the pursuits of peace his record has been one of usefulness, honor and fidelity to the best principles of life.

John Mahan was born in May, 1838, in county Donegal, Ireland, the son of John and Nancy (Peoples) Mahan, both natives of the same county. The father was a farmer and died in 1854, his widow, with five children, emigrating to the United States that same year and locating at Princeton, Gibson county, Indiana, where she died in 1860. The five children of John and Nancy Mahan were Ellen, who married William Marrow and they lived in Gibson county, both now being deceased; Samuel, who was a farmer and is now deceased, married Mary Marrow; James married Nancy Marrow, followed farming and is now deceased; John; Hugh, a farmer in Patoka township, married Belle Greer.

John Mahan had attended school in Ireland, and on the removal of the family to this country he resumed his studies in the Gibson county schools,

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devoting the remainder of his time to assisting in the farm work on the place of his uncle, William Marrow, with whom he lived up to the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. In May, 1861, Mr. Mahan enlisted in Com- pany H, Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Princeton, Indiana, being sent from that place, with his comrades, to Indianapolis for outfitting and preliminary instruction in military duties. The gathering clouds of war had by this time burst in all their fury and the command to which the subject was attached was quickly rushed to the front, going from the Hoosier capital first to Cincinnati and then into the state of Virginia, where they took part in the battle of Greenbriar, then being dispatched into the Blue Grass state, where they were engaged in the battle of Bowling Green. From Kentucky the force of which Mr. Mahan was a member went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and joined General Sherman, being with him on his famous "march to the sea." The subject's brother Hugh was a member of the same company and regiment, and while in the service they were in the commands of Generals Haskell and Wilder and Major Gorman. . At the close of the war, in the spring of 1865, the brothers were honorably dis- charged.

Shortly after returning home from his country's service, Mr. Mahan was united in marriage to Mary Jane Greer, a native of county Donegal, Ireland, the district in which the subject was born. She was the daughter of Henry and Jane ( Marrow) Greer, who came from the "old sod" to America in the early fifties and settled in Patoka township. Gibson county, Indiana, where they cleared land and established their home. The father of the subject's wife was a Union soldier, a member of Company H, Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He met his death at Chattanooga, · Tennessee, being struck by a train on a bridge. The mother is long since deceased. To the parents of the subject's wife were born four children : Jane, Mrs. Mahan, who died April 13, 1895. in her fifty-third year; Bea married Hugh Mahan; Sallie is the widow of James Anderson, of Prince- ton; Henry is a farmer at Princeton.

After his marriage Mr. Mahan sold his land in Princeton and bought land five miles east of that place, built a good home and outbuildings and took up the work of developing the place, in which he was quite successful, adding to his original holding until he is now the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of as good land as can be found in the community. Here he lived and carried on general farming until his retirement, when he rented his farm and purchased his present home at No. 612 East State street in

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Princeton, where he is now living in honorable retirement, reaping the re- ward of a well earned rest after a life of worthy endeavor.

To the subject and his wife were born ten children: John, Maggie and Annie are deceased; Robert is engaged in the undertaking business in Deming, New Mexico; Henry married Margaret Mccullough and is farming on the old home place; Ella M. is at home; Edith is deceased; James married Agnes Legier and is farming on the old home place; Ralph is deceased; Everett married Stella DePriest.

Mr. Mahan, who is a remarkably well preserved man for his age, is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Archer Post No. 28, at Princeton, while he is an earnest and faithful member of the United Presbyterian church.

ANDERSON G. MAKEMSON.

It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environment, re- moves one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and by the master strokes of his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a competency and a position of esteem and influence among his fellow-men. Such is the record of the popular citizen of Gibson county to a brief synopsis of whose life and character the following pages are devoted.

Andrew G. Makemson, whose home is at Baldwin Heights, just south of Princeton, was born in Gibson county about five miles northeast of Princeton . on October 24, 1829. His ancestors were among the very first settlers in this part of the country. Andrew, his father, was born in Virginia in 1785, of sterling Scotch-Irish stock, and the father of Andrew was Joseph, a native of Scotland who brought his wife to America during the Revolutionary war and located in Virginia. There their son Andrew was born and, when he was still a small boy, they journeyed westward into Kentucky, locating near Shelbyville. Here, on July 30, 1811. Andrew was united in marriage to Margaret Shafer, who was born June II, 1792. In 1820 Joseph Makemson and wife. with their oldest son, Andrew, and his wife, together with Joseph, James, Nancy and Sarah, younger children of Joseph, came to Indiana, locat- ing in Perry county, bringing with them their horses and household goods. However, they were not pleased with their first location and in 1822 decided

ANDERSON G. MAKEMSON.

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to come on to Gibson county. Andrew made a sled and loaded thereon their clothing and bedding and on another horse his young wife rode into Gibson county. They secured heavily timbered land laying northeast of Princeton, hastily made a small clearing where their cabin was raised and began various improvements which all helped to make a comfortable and happy home. In this pioneer home, Andrew, the immediate subject of this sketch, first saw the light of day. There were at that time only five or six other settlers within a radius of two or three miles and many were the hardships they endured. Joseph Makemson and his wife died on this place and were laid to rest in what is now known as the Archer cemetery. James, one of the sons brought with them to Indiana, at one time lived near the old homestead, but later went to Illinois, and Sarah, one of the daughters, married James Finney and lived southwest of Princeton ..

Andrew Makemson and wife continued to live on the old homestead until removed by death. She died April 6. 1841, and his death occurred December 9, 1860, in his seventy-eighth year. In this old home they reared their fam- ily of eleven children. Joseph, the oldest, was a farmer. His wife was Polly Lamasters and both are dead. Nancy Allen was a daughter who died young and unmarried, while Sarah became the wife of James Finney and they went to Illinois to make their home. Later they returned to Gibson county and both died here. James, deceased, was a carpenter who also lived in Illinois for a time, but returned to his native county. Another son, William, died when small. Benjamin was a farmer, who went to Illinois and later to Kan- sas, where he died. His wife was Elizabeth Townsend. John S., who is eighty-eight years old, is living at Corning, Iowa, a retired carpenter. Mary Jane married James Barton (both dead) and they made their home in Gibson county. The tenth child was Thomas B., who died young, and the youngest. Margaret Ann. became the wife of Robert Millis, and they make their home in Leavenworth, Kansas. Andrew and wife were members of the Cove- nanter church, living in strict accordance with the rules of the same. Andrew was known among his friends as a man of uncompromising integrity, strict and stern in his views, as had been his father before him, and highly respected in the community.

Anderson G. Makemson had small opportunity for schooling in his boy- hood, often having to go as far as three miles through the unbroken forests. He. however, secured the rudiments of an education and to this store of knowledge he constantly added until he came to be considered a well in- formed man. He was almost wholly self-taught. He remained on the old home until he became of age, taking care of the old folks. After his mother's

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death, his father remarried, taking as his second wife Ann Murphy, a native of Ohio. She died November 22, 1872, without issue. In 1877 Anderson G. Makemson sold the old homestead and purchased sixty acres just south of Princeton, where he has since resided. Some time ago he disposed of about twenty-eight acres to a real estate company which platted the land into town lots, giving the addition the name of Baldwin Heights. Mr. Makemson is also the owner of a fine eighty-acre farm located east of Princeton.

On December 12, 1850, Anderson G. Makemson was united in marriage to Emeline Murphy, a native of Gibson county, who died May 11, 1896. To their union were born eight children, namely: Charles B. and John died while young; Monroe, born in 1857, died in 1878. The first daughter was Belle, born in 1859, and who married Robert Woodburn, of Princeton. Hettie has always lived at home. Mary is the wife of William Davis, of Princeton. Lizzie married James Sturgess, a farmer residing in Princeton. Genevieve died in 1870. Hettie was a teacher in the schools of Gibson county for ten years and now makes the home for her father.

Mr. Makemson's political sympathies are with the Democratic party and he has taken an active interest in its affairs. However, he never aspired to office, but was ditch commissioner from 1880 to 1886. He is a member of Archer Post No. 28 of Princeton, Grand Army of the Republic.

On December 22, 1864, Mr. Makemson enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Prince- ton, and was sent to Nashville, Tennessee. He was also at Tallahassee, Ten- nessee, and was mustered out of service in September, 1865. Mr. Makemson has always been a plain common man of affairs, who by close attention to his business and the best of principles has secured for himself a competence and had made for himself an enviable place in the hearts of his many friends. He is a man well preserved for his years, a most agreeable man to meet and throughout his long life he has stood in the forefront of those who have tried in every way to improve the tone of the community.

FLOYD J. BIGGS.

There could be no more comprehensive history written of a city or even of a state and its people than that which deals with the life-work of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed them- selves where they well deserve the title of "prominent and progressive," and

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in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able trodders on the highway of life and who today occupies an enviable position in his community.

Floyd J. Biggs was born in Webster county, Kentucky, August 17, 1873, and is a son of Alonzo C. and Charlotte J. (Hall) Biggs. The father, who followed the mercantile and grain business during his active life, died in 1906 and his widow is now living at Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Biggs at- tended the common schools of Waverly, Kentucky, and later was a student in Cecilian College at Cecilian, that state, where he graduated, and then be- came a student in the School of Pharmacy at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was graduated and received his degree. At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Biggs became a member of the firm of Biggs, Waller & Company, drug- gists, at Morganfield, Kentucky, but about a year later he came to Princeton, Indiana, and established himself in the drug business on the public square. From 1895 to 1910 he occupied that locality, and was prosperous to such a degree that he was compelled to seek larger quarters, and in the year last named he moved to his present fine store on the corner of Hart and State streets. This is not only one of the largest drug stores in southern Indiana, but has one of the largest and best selected stocks, valued at about twenty-five thousand dollars, and comprising a full line of splendid drugs and proprietary medicines, wall paper, paints, books and druggists' sundries, and a beautiful soda fountain, which occupies a conspicuous position in the room. Mr. Biggs has, by strict attention to business and the exercise of sound judgment in the management of his affairs, achieved a pronounced success and for a number of years has been numbered among Princeton's most substantial business men.

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History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 43

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