USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 59
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Never being ambitious to become an officeholder, Mr. Kurtz has con- tented himself in the exercise of his franchise in the interests of the Repub- lican party and left the oftentimes intemperate scramble for public office to those so inclined.
His present residence is a commodious and comfortable one and it is situated on the lot on which stood the house in which he was born.
GEORGE D. SEITZ.
Holding distinctive prestige among the leading business men of Haub- stadt, Gibson county, Indiana, and standing out clear and distinct as one of the public-spirited citizens of his community, George D. Seitz has achieved an honorable record as an enterprising, self-made man, who from a modest beginning and by his own undivided efforts has worked his way to a position of affluence and influence in the commercial world. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance and the systematic and honorable meth -. ods which he has ever pursued have gained for him the unbounded confidence
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and esteem of his fellow men and a permanent place among those to whose energy, sound judgment and superior foresight the town of Haubstadt is so largely indebted for its advancement.
George D. Seitz was born in the fatherland in the month of June, 1852, the son of John Seitz, who emigrated to America in 1860, later bringing his family to this country. He located in New York city, and soon afterwards enlisted in the Federal army, from which time all trace of him has been lost. The subject of this sketch was placed in an orphanage for a time, and was then sent west to the state of Indiana, where he was reared, working at farm labor until he reached the age of eighteen, at which time he took em- ployment with a railroad company which was afterward merged with the Chicago & Eastern Illinois. While in the service of this railroad in the capacity of brakeman, the subject was so unfortunate as to lose a leg, the acci- dent occurring while he was engaged in switching in the yards at Princeton. The railroad company gave him employment, as soon as he was able to again take up active work, as agent, he being the first agent of the company at Haub- stadt, assuming the duties and responsibilities of that position in 1874 and continually serving in that capacity for eighteen years.
In 1892 Mr. Seitz resigned as agent and engaged in business for himself, opening up a lumber yard, the first in the community. He was married, on March 14, 1875, to Nioma J. Ott, of Carlisle, Indiana, the daughter of John Ott, one of the representative citizens of that place. This union has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely: Amy Grace is the wife of Joseph Tenbarg, of Haubstadt, who is in business with his father-in-law; Sophia Florence is the wife of Frank Riffert, of Haubstadt, and Dora K. is living at home.
By a course of methodical industry and upright dealing, Mr. Seitz has steadily increased the volume of his business, to which he has added a saw- mill and a planing-mill. He handles a large amount of southern lumber, some from the state of Washington, and also saws quite a large amount of native timber. The mills and large lumber sheds are located conveniently adjoining the railroad track, affording splendid shipping facilities. They are located with an eye to decreasing fire hazard, and in every respect are absolutely up to date in construction and equipment. Located near his busi- ness is the subject's fine modern residence, surrounded by a large and well- kept lawn, in which Mr. Seitz takes justifiable pride.
The subject of this biography was one of the prime movers in the erec- tion of the Christian church, it being the first Protestant church in the town- ship, and he has always taken an active part in its growth and upkeep. He is
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proud of the fact that since its construction in 1904 he has missed but four services and these were on account of illness or being absent from the town. Along with his other activities, the subject is vice-president of the Bank of Haubstadt, and has had a large part in the development of that staunch financial institution.
For thirty years the subject has been a faithful and appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also affiliated with the Tribe of Ben-Hur. In every phase of his activities he has established a reputation for being a good, clean, upright citizen, and his friends are in number as his acquaintances.
SAMUEL HAMILTON WEST.
One of the most difficult literary tasks is to write an unexceptionable review of a living man. If the life is worthy of record there is always danger of offending that delicacy which is inseparable from merit; for even moderate praise, when it meets the eyes of its subject, is apt to seem fulsome, while a nice sense of propriety would not be the less wounded by a dry abstract con- taining nothing but names and dates. To sum up a career which is not yet ended would appear like recording events which have not yet transpired, since justly to estimate the scope and meaning of a history it is important that we have the closing chapter. In writing a biographical notice, therefore, the chronieler from the moment he takes up his pen should consider the subject as no longer among his contemporaries, for thus will he avoid the fear of offending by bestowing praise where it is merited and escape the risk of giving but a fragmentary view of that which must eventually be taken as a unit. At some risk, therefore, the writer assumes the task of placing on record the life and character of a man, who, by the force of strong individuality, has achieved eminent success in the vocations to which he has addressed himself and has won for himself an enviable place among the leading men of the city and county honored by his citizenship.
Samuel Hamilton West was born in Johnson township, Gibson county, Indiana, July 8, 1861, the son of Samuel H. West, born in the same township and county in 1820 and died in 1898, and Catherine ( Sidle) \Vest, a native of Meadville, Pennsylvania. The subject's grandfather, James West, came to Indiana from near Nashville, Tennessee, early in the nineteenth century and was one of the settlers in the Rappists' colony at New Harmony, but becom- ing dissatisfied after about a year, he removed to Gibson county, where he
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was one of the pioneers. He was a man of devout religious convictions and was active in the organization of the first Methodist church. He was a suc- cessful and honored man in his community, rearing a family and giving them as good an education as the limited school facilities of that time afforded. His death occurred in his seventieth year.
The subject's father, Samuel H. West, Sr., early in life displayed the energy and ambition which brought him such marked success later in life. At the age of fifteen, not being satisfied with the home in which the family was living, he went into the forest, cleared away the timber, cut and hewed the logs and erected a new home, which was occupied by the family for over half a century. He then proceeded to clear a placé and erected a home for himself, and on its completion he married and brought his bride to the new home. However, after a few years, he built what was considered an excep- tionally fine house in those days. His was an active life, spent in work of great benefit to his fellow men. Very devout in his religious life, he was a pillar and charter member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Fort Branch, in which town he spent his declining years. He took quite an interest in educational matters, his children receiving the best that could be secured in the schools of those early days.
To Samuel H. West, Sr., and wife were born eight children, namely : Louisa, who married N. H. Dorsey, of Oakland City, Gibson county, In- diana, is deceased; W. L. is referred to elsewhere in this volume; J. A. is engaged in the banking business in Antioch, California; Elzie died in infancy; Mary is the widow of P. A. Bryant and lives in Fort Branch; Isabelle mar- ried C. F. Gilbert and lives in Cleveland, Ohio; Samuel H .; Susan married W. A. Baldwin and lives at Winona Lake, Indiana.
The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood days on the home place, attending the short terms of' the district school and devoting the remainder of his time to helping in the work of the farm. On September 2, 1878, Mr. West was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Martha A. Cooper, daughter of William Cooper, an early settler in Gibson county. To this union were born four children, as follows: Bertram C., who lives in Oak- land, California ; one died in infancy; J. A. died when two years old; Ruth is now living in California. The subject's first wife died in March, 1896, and after her death Mr. West gave up farming and removed to Fort Branch, where, in partnership with his brothers, he organized a private bank. This institution was conducted on the basis of a private bank for about four years, and in 1900 it was merged into a state bank, it continuing as such for eight years, when it was reorganized as a national bank. The original name of the
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Farmers and Merchants Bank has been continued with the addition of "National." A recent statement shows the resources and liabilities each to equal two hundred and twenty-five to two hundred and forty thousand dol- lars. The present officers are: S. H. West, president; Gerhard Sollman, vice-president, and H. G. Graper, cashier.
Mr. West has sold the original home and has also done a great deal of trading in real estate. When he left his farm in 1896 it was considered one of the best equipped farms in the community, it being well stocked with fine live stock, short-horn cattle being specialized in, while immense crops of corn and wheat were annually harvested.
Fraternally, Mr. West is a member of the Masonic blue lodge, and he has also been through the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
FRED D. LUHRING.
There is no one nation that has contributed to the complex composition of our American social fabric an element of more sterling worth or of greater value in fostering and supporting our national institutions than has Germany. The fatherland has given us men of sturdy integrity, indomitable persever- ance, high intelligence and much business sagacity-the result being the in- corporation of a firm and strength-giving fiber, ramifying through warp and woof. A man who may look well with pride upon his German ancestry is the subject of this review, who is a native of Gibson county, where he has passed practically his entire life, attaining a success worthy the name, with the accompanying and resulting confidence and regard of his fellow men.
Fred D. Luhring was born October 6, 1849, in Johnson township, Gibson county, Indiana, the son of Louis and Louisa ( Stinkle) Luhring, natives of Hanover, Germany, the former born December 15, 1810, died July 18, 1867; the mother was born January 25, 1816, and died March 24, 1903. The sub- ject's maternal grandfather emigrated to America and located in Gibson county at an early date. Louis Luhring crossed the broad Atlantic to the new world when he was a young man, and, having early learned the trade of blacksmithing, he worked at that vocation for a while in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, coming to the Hoosier state and locating in Gibson county some years previous to the subject's birth. The father met an untimely death at the age of fifty-six years, being kicked by a mule, he following the work of black- smithing in addition to his agricultural duties.
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Of a family of six children, five of whom are now living, the subject was the fourth in order of birth. His early youth was occupied with his many duties on the home farm, he attending the short terms of the schools of those days. Following his graduation from the common branches, he taught for two terms, and then served an apprenticeship to the carpenter trade, which he fully mastered and followed for a number of years.
On May 17, 1885, Mr. Luhring was united in the holy bonds of matri- mony to Caroline M. Smith, of Barton township, Gibson county, daughter of Charles and Caroline Smith, natives of Germany. Her father was born September 6. 1824, and died February 7, 1868; the mother born November 24. 1824. died November 25. 1872. This union has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely: Clydia is deceased; F. C. is a telegraph operator in the employ of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Company; Curtis E. is at Princeton, where he is agent for the traction com- pany. For a short period after his marriage the subject of this sketch en- gaged in contracting, building a number of houses, but in 1895 he opened a shop and started in the implement business, which he has continued until the present time, enjoying a large patronage and having established a reputation for integrity and fairness in his business dealings which has not only aided him in material ways, but has gained for him a large and ever-widening circle of admiring friends. The location of his place of business is one of the very best in the town of Haubstadt and his stock of goods is of the best standard lines, he having the agency for the International Harvester Company. Be- sides his mercantile interests, the subject is interested in the Bank of Haub- stadt, of which institution he is a director.
Aside from six years' service in the responsible office of township trustee, Mr. Luhring has refused political honors, content to limit his interest in such things to voting for those best qualified. In all the walks of life the subject has won a reputation for honesty, integrity and public spirit of which any man might well be proud.
S. R. LOCKWOOD.
An enumeration of the representative citizens of Gibson county would be incomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular gentle- man whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old and highly respected families of the community and for many years a public- spirited man of affairs, he has stamped the impress of his individuality upon the township and county in which he resides and added luster to the honor-
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able name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might benefit his own condition as well as that of his neighbors, consequently he has long ago won the favor of the people of the township of which he is the efficient trustee.
S. R. Lockwood was born in Evansville, Indiana, October 1, 1867, the son of John Lockwood and Josephine ( Earl) Lockwood, he a native of Gib- son county and she of Vanderburg county. The father of John Lockwood was Edwin Lockwood, a pioneer of Gibson county, who settled in the virgin forest near Fort Branch and hewed a home out of the wilderness. He con- tinued farming all his life, except for a time when he engaged in the saw mill business and another period was keeper of a store in Evansville, Indiana. He died at the age of seventy.
John Lockwood enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil war, being mustered into Company A, Forty-second Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. He served throughout the war and was in a number of the most important engagements, among others being the memorable struggle at Mis- sionary Ridge. He was honorably discharged as a corporal at Rome, Georgia, in July, 1865. On his return home from his country's service he married Josephine Earl, who was born in Vanderburg county, Indiana, near Evansville, the daughter of Robert and Sarah Earl, early settlers, they hav- ing come to Vanderburg county down the Ohio river in a flatboat. To this union two children were born, the father dying in 1872, and the mother subsequently married James Lockwood, a cousin of her first husband. James Lockwood was a prominent and successful farmer of his community. He died in May, 1898, and the mother is now residing with the subject, enjoying excellent health and displaying the vigor and appearance of a woman of forty. Her ancestors were of English and Irish stock, the Earls being English and the McCutcheons, on the maternal side, Irish.
S. R. Lockwood passed his boyhood days on the farm, attending the common schools at Fort Branch, also graduating from the high school. On arriving at mature age he purchased a part of his step-father's farm, on which he lived forty-seven years, continuing the active life of an agriculturist until 1898, when he rented his place and removed to Fort Branch. In 1908 he was elected township trustee, and is now serving the last year of a six-year term.
In September, 1898, S. R. Lockwood was married to Anna Patten, of Gibson county, the daughter of James C. Patten, M. D., one of the leading citizens of the community, highly respected for his successful career as a phy- sician and for his splendid record as a soldier in the dark days of the Civil
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war. To Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood were born three children : Earle died in infancy, Mark is in school, and Lewis.
Fraternally, the subject is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church at Ft. Branch. Politically, he has always been a staunch Republican and served four years as town clerk of Ft. Branch. He built his present fine home in 1911 at the corner of Lincoln and Locust streets.
esse J. C. KIMBALL.
In the anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable competency and solid career on the part of the average business man fighting the every-day battles of life, there is but little to attract the idle reader in search of a sensational chapter; but for a mind fully awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the inan who, without other means than a clear mind, a strong arm and a true heart, conquers fortune and gains not only temporal rewards for his toil, but also that which is greater and higher, the respect and confidence of those with whom his years of active life have placed him in contact.
J. C. Kimball was born April 1, 1831, at Cynthiana, Posey county, Indi- ana, the son of Elisha and Mary ( Boyle) Kimball. Elisha Kimball was a skilled mechanic and was the inventor of successful improvements on the cotton gin, he, however, dying before he could reap the pecuniary benefits of his work. He was a man of high order of intellect and stood well in the respect and admiration of his fellow men. Besides the subject, there was born to Elisha and Mary Kimball one other child, William, now deceased, who was a soldier in the Civil war.
J. C. Kimball spent his boyhood at home with his parents until he reached the age of twenty years, when he struck out for himself and came to Gibson county by four-horse stage from Evansville, and established himself in the hardware business, which line he was engaged in up to the time of his retirement in 1905. a period of fifty-four years. In connection with general hardware, the subject handled stoves, tinware and agricultural implements, and his clean-cut and above-board business methods and his genial person- ality won for him not only a large patronage, but gained for him a wide circle of friends. He was a tinner during all his active years.
J. C. KIMBALL.
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In 1862 Mr. Kimball was commissioned first lieutenant in Company A, Eightieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and his command was a part of the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Kimball was under fire in a nun- ber of engagements, notably the battle of Perryville. III health caused his resignation from the army.
In October, 1855, J. C. Kimball was united in the holy bonds of matri- mony to Amanda E. Johnson, of Evansville, and this union was blessed by the birth of two children, Newton, who died young, and Ella C., now de- ceased, who married Dr. W. H. McGee and was the mother of one child, Edith. Mr. Kimball's wife passed to her reward July 19, 1907.
The Grand Army of the Republic has claimed the membership of Mr. Kimball for many years, and, fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic lodge, having been a charter member of the lodge of that order at Princeton. He is also a member of the Presbyterian church. Although never having been a seeker after public office, Mr. Kimball has ever given his earnest and active support to the Republican party.
At the present time the subject of this review is retired and lives in his comfortable and hospitable home at No. 219 East State street in Princeton, peacefully enjoying the well deserved rest which he has earned by a life well spent in strenuous and honorable pursuits. In the slowly dimming twilight of life's day, Mr. Kimball can rest content and serene, confident that to him the Master will say, "Well, done, thou good and faithful servant."
WILLIAM J. LOWE.
Perseverance and sterling worth are almost always sure to win con- spicuous recognition in all localities. William J. Lowe, for three-quarters of a century a resident of Gibson county, affords a fine example of a successful, self-made man, who is not only eminently deserving of the confidence re- posed in him by his fellow citizens, but also possesses the necessary energy and integrity that fit him to discharge the duties of any responsibility with which he may be entrusted. A man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fiber, he has achieved a signal success in the battle of life.
William J. Lowe was born December 17, 1844, two and one-half miles west of Fort Branch, Gibson county, Indiana, the son of Littleton and Patience (Allen) Lowe. Littleton Lowe was born in Kentucky in 1812 and .
(39)
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came with his parents to Mt. Vernon, Indiana, when he was a boy of twelve, they settling in the woods, where they wrested a home from the wilderness and lived the rest of their days.
Littleton Lowe, on the death of his parents, settled two and one-half miles west of Fort Branch, in Gibson county, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of land, he clearing forty acres and building a home. Here he continued until 1865, when he removed to Fort Branch, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in his seventy-fourth year, his wife dying at the age of sixty-three. He was a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. In connection with farming, he also was the owner of a store for a number of years. To Littleton Lowe and wife were born ten children, namely : Melinda married L. T. Mead and lived in Exeter, Nebraska, both now being deceased; Howard, who was in the piano business at Cynthiana, Indiana, died in 1907; Mary, deceased, was the wife of John Wells and lived five miles east of Fort Branch; Nancy married George W. Stone, of Owens- ville, Indiana; Lavina, who is deceased, married John Jones and lived at Fort Branch; Ella, deceased, was the wife of B. Ewing and lived in Lincoln, Nebraska; William J .; Susan, deceased, was the wife of Henry Montgomery and lived near Fort Branch; Martha is the widow of William Sweazy, of Helena, Montana; George W. is in the barber business at Los Angeles, Cali- fornia.
A typical pioneer school house was the one attended by the subject in his youth. The old Robb school was two miles through the woods from his home, and it had the puncheon seats and primitive appliances so well remem- bered by our fathers. Mr. Lowe remained at home assisting in the farm work until the Civil war broke out, when, on January 17, 1865, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Haubstadt. During his term of service he was actively engaged, at times on provost duty, with the army in eastern Tennessee, and on the cessation of hostilities he returned to Indianapolis with his comrades and was mustered out in October, 1865.
After the close of the Civil war Mr. Lowe engaged in farming two iniles from Owensville, in Montgomery township, for four years and then removed to Fort Branch. He bought eighty acres five miles east of Fort Branch in Patoka township and lived there for about eight years, when he secured a tract of ninety-one acres (now a part of Fort Branch) and resided on it for five years. For seven years the subject engaged in the furniture and undertaking business at Fort Branch, and in 1892 he located in Princeton,
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entering into partnership with A. W. Lagow, under the firm name of Lagow & Lowe, furniture and undertaking being the line of business. This partner- ship continued for about a year, when C. A. Scull was admitted to the firm and at the end of another year the business was divided, the subject taking charge of the undertaking department, but in 1908 Mr. Lowe sold his inter- ests. In 1907 Mr. Lowe established a furniture and undertaking business at Huntingburg, Indiana, which he still controls, and he is the owner of the livery stable and morgue on East Broadway in Princeton, as well as his own home.
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