USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 63
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In the fall of 1865 Mr. Hanna was united in marriage with Mary Jane Cook, a native of county Donegal, Ireland, who came to the United States in 1862. To this union have been born four children, namely: David, a painter by trade, living in Princeton; Mary, the wife of John B. Woods, a
HUGH HANNA, SR.
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merchant in Princeton; Elizabeth, the wife of Hugh Thompson, a piano tuner of Princeton; Hugh, Jr., the owner of a novelty works at Princeton.
Politically a Republican, Mr. Hanna has been a warm supporter of his party and has taken an active part in advancing its interests in this locality, though the honors of public office have never proved attractive enough to him to induce him to try for office. Fraternally, he is a member of Archer Post No. 28, Grand Army of the Republic, in Princeton, this membership being particularly consonant in view of the subject's military record, referred to briefly in the preceding paragraph. In 1864 he enlisted as a private in Com- pany H. Seventeenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was mounted, and he was sent to Georgia, where he took part in the Atlanta cam- paign, and then in the pursuit of Hood to Nashville and on to Wilson's raid. From there he returned to Macon, Georgia, where he was discharged in Aug- ust, 1865. He served valiantly in the ranks throughout the struggle, and was fortunate in being neither wounded nor taken prisoner. According to the statement of his comrades, he was a faithful and courageous soldier and ably performed his part in the suppression of the great rebellion. Religiously, Mr. Hanna is a member of the Presbyterian church, to which he gives earnest support. He has always been regarded as a man of high principles, honest in every respect and broad minded. A man of clean character, kindness of heart to the unfortunate, and ever willing to aid in any way in causes for the betterment of the community, and the public with whom he has been associ- ated, he is held in high favor and the utmost respect is accorded him by all who know him.
JAMES P. ROBY.
The best history of a community or state is the one that deals mostly with the lives and activities of its people, especially of those who by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have forged to the front and placed themselves where they deserve the title of progres- sive men. In this brief review may be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active plodders on the highway of life, and by the exercise of his talents, he has risen to a position which is one of the most influential of his township. He possesses those admirable qualities, characteristics of mind and heart which make him a credit to the community favored by his residence. As a private citizen and
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as a public official he has won the unbounded esteem and respect of his fellow citizens.
James P. Roby, the son of John and Rachel (Bristow) Roby, was born in 1877 in Edwards county, Illinois. His father, John Roby, came from Davis county, Kentucky, when a small child, in about the year 1852. Robert Roby, the grandfather of James P., came from Davis county, Kentucky, to Edwards county, Illinois, early in the history of that state. He was a native of Virginia and, according to the family records, he was born in the same county as was Thomas Jefferson. His death occurred in Edwards county, Illinois, and his son, John, grew up in that county, was married there, and has lived there on a farm all of his life. Rachel Bristow Roby, the mother of the subject, was born in Davis county, Kentucky, and moved to Edwards county, Illinois, about 1852, with her parents, Benjamin P. and Sallie (Crawford) Bris- tow. She lived in Illinois until 1885, when with her husband she moved to Wabash township, Gibson county, Indiana, where they resided for about twenty years. They then moved back to Illinois, where they are still living. However, the subject of this sketch, James P., remained in this county, and followed the occupation of teaching for eight years. As a school teach- er, he made an excellent record as an instructor and disciplinarian. At the time he stopped teaching he was one of the best known teachers in the county. He was elected township assessor, an office which he held for five years. The citizens of the township in which he had been teaching recog- nized his superior ability as an executive and elected him as township trustee of Wabash township, an office which he has filled with great credit to himself as well as to the township. As trustee he has taken an unusual amount of interest in the schools of his township, and has built them up so that they are the best schools in the county.
Mr. Roby was married in 1901 to Leota H. Gibson, the daughter of Charles and Melinda (Waddle) Gibson. Her father died when she was a small child, and she and her mother lived for some years with her grand- father. David Waddle, in Wabash county, Illinois, across the Wabash river from Gibson county. Some years after moving to Illinois, her mother mar- ried Fred Freeman, of Wabash township, Gibson county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Roby have been born four children, Leslie, Charles, Annazene and Edna. Mr. Roby has always been an adherent of the Demo- cratic party and is not a mere partisan, but takes a very active interest in all public affairs and is one of the best posted men on current events in the town-
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ship. It is probably safe to say that no more popular township official has ever exercised the duties of his office than has the subject of this sketch. Mr. Roby is a man of kindly nature, modest and unassuming in his demeanor and is one of those genial men whom it is a pleasure to meet at any time. He is a man of vigorous mentality, deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his community along material and civic lines, and is justly regarded as one of the progressive and enterprising men of his township. His life has been one of unceasing industry, and the systematic and honorable methods he has followed have won for him the confidence of his fellow citizens of Gibson county, whose interests he has ever had at heart.
PAUL MAIER.
Not too often can be repeated the life history of one who has lived so honorable and useful a life and attained to such distinction as he whose name appears at the head of this sketch. As a private citizen and as a public official he has been a pronounced success in everything with which he has been connected. There are individuals in nearly every community who by reason of ability and force of character rise above the heads of the masses and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Such individuals are characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail. They always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personalities serves as a stimulant and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class the subject of this sketch very properly belongs.
Paul Maier, the son of Maurice and Anna (Mehl) Maier, was born in 1869 at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. He grew up in the town of Mt. Vernon and re- ceeived all of his education in the public schools of that place. Mr. Maier has always been very active in politics, and as a Republican has been elected to three county offices in Posey county. His first office, however, was as marshal of Mt. Vernon. Immediately following his term as marshal of the town of Mt. Vernon, he was elected sheriff of Posey county, Indiana, and gave such excellent satisfaction as sheriff that he was elected to the office of county clerk, notwithstanding the fact that Posey county is normally strongly Democratic. He handled the duties of county clerk so satisfactorily to the . people of the county that he was easily elected upon the expiration of his term as county clerk to the office of county auditor. Here again he was
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very successful in conducting the affairs of the office. In his whole official career he has striven for clean politics, and has always conducted the various public offices which he has held with the integrity and fairness that his self- respect demanded. It is safe to say that not a more popular sheriff, clerk or auditor ever served the people of Posey county than Mr. Maier. It is very possible that no other man in the state enjoys the honor of having held three county offices in succession, and especially in a county where the opposing party usually elected all the county officials. It certainly speaks well for the business ability and strict integrity with which Mr. Maier con- ducted his official affairs. There have been a few men who have been elected to two county offices, but seldom, if ever, in the state in the last few years has any man been elected to three county offices in succession.
Mr. Maier was united in marriage in 1908 to Amanda Siegert, the only child of Herman Siegert and Sarah (Pedigo) Siegert, whose family is rep- resented elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Maier is an unusually well edu- cated and refined woman, possessing all the social graces which characterize the woman of culture. She is an accomplished musician, and graces her beautiful home with dignity and hospitality.
Mr. and Mrs. Maier have one of the most beautiful country homes in the state. Upon coming to the entrance of this home one passes through an archway, on which is inscribed "Mount Siegert." Driving through the arch- way a broad gravel road is seen leading up to the Jordan hills, which rise abruptly from the river bottoms. High up among the hills, commanding a view for many miles in all directions, is their beautiful residence, finished in mission style. Handsome paintings adorn the walls, beautiful furniture is seen in all the rooms. A modern lighting system is one of the prominent features of the house. This home, built in 1911 by Mr. Maier, was designed by his versatile wife, and embodies all the latest ideas in architecture.
In this delightful home Mr. and Mrs. Maier dispense their hospitality with a kindly and generous hand. Mr. Maier is a man of wide experience in public life and is used to mixing with the busy life of the people. He is affable, courteous and popular wherever he is known, and his wife shares his popularity with him. Fraternally, Mr. Maier is a member of the Knights of Pythias and takes an active interest in the affairs of that fraternity. He and his wife are both loyal and earnest members of the German Lutheran church and have always contributed liberally to the support of that-denomina- tion. Mr. Maier, by his straightforward and honorable course, has become very successful in the business affairs in which he has been engaged. He is plentifully endowed with good common sense, energy and determination,
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and has accomplished what he has by being methodical and unswervingly persistent in the transaction of all his business, whether private or public. He has been essentially a man of affairs, of sound judgment, of keen discern- ment, far-seeing in whatever he undertakes, and whatever enterprise he has addressed himself to has resulted in liberal material rewards. A man of much vigor, of such praiseworthy public service is clearly entitled to repre- sentation in the biographical volume of the present nature, and for this reason his career is and should be an example to the coming generation of his community.
NATHAN B. KNOWLES.
Among the settlers who came to Indiana before its admission to the Union in 1816 and who have been identified with the history of southern Indiana for more than a century through their descendants, there is no more highly respected family than the Knowles family. The grandfather of Nathan B. Knowles was Nathaniel Knowles, who came to Gibson county with his parents when a small boy. He was married in 1882 to Temperance Born, and to this marriage there were born seven children: Serelda, born 1822: Enos Andrew, born 1824: John W., born 1826; Asbury, born 1828; Louisa, born 1830; Patsy, born 1832; Melissa, born 1834. Nathaniel Knowles died at Knowles Station, February 2, 1892, at the advanced age of ninety-six years, seven months and fifteen days, leaving an estate of four hundred acres of fine land in Gibson county.
The third child of Nathaniel was John W., the father of Nathan B. Knowles, the immediate subject of this sketch. John W. Knowles mar- ried Rachel Catherine Carter, the daughter of Benjamin Ford and Rachel Carter, and to this union there were born seven children: Temperance Jane, born May 5, 1854: Berry H., born December 9, 1856; Enos Andrew, born December 1, 1858; Benjamin E., born April 8, 1861 ; Rachel Elizabeth, born 1865; Nathan B., the subject of this sketch, born January 27, 1871; and Melvia Ethel, born November 1, 1875.
Benjamin Ford and Rachel Carter reared a large family of twelve chil- dren: Elizabeth, born February 14. 1807: Joseph, born October 14, 1808; Polly M., born February 24. 1811 : Julian, born October 6, 1812; Minerva, born June 3, 1815; Lucinda, born February 2, 1817; Nancy E., born Novem- ber 16, 1819: Anderson N., born July 5, 1824; Eunice, born February 22; 1827; Wren, born March 20, 1829; Susan W., born May 8, 1831 ; and Rachel
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Catherine, the mother of Nathan B. Knowles, born November 7, 1833. Ben- jamin Ford Carter came to Indiana in 1813 and before his death had one hundred and sixty acres of land in Posey and Gibson counties.
Nathan B. Knowles, whose family history has been traced baek two generations on both sides of the house, was born at Knowles Station, Mont- gomery township, Indiana, on January 27, 1871. He received his education in the common schools of his township and spent his vacations in work upon his father's farm. He has devoted himself to the best interests of the pa- ternal estate and still lives with his father.
In politics, Mr. Knowles has always adhered to the Republican party, and has taken more or less of an active part in local politieal affairs sinee becoming of age. He is a member of the Christian church and is interested in the activities of the church and all other movements which seek to better the conditions of the community in which he lives. Mr. Knowles is a worthy representative of an old and highly respected family which has furnished many of the best citizens of southern Indiana.
GEORGE A. RUTTER.
A man's reputation is the property of the world, for the laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the con- trolling force of others or wields an influence which touches, controls, guides or misdirects others. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the way along which others may safely follow. The reputation of George A. Rutter, one of the older citizens of Oakland City, Indiana, has ever been above reproach, and it is with pleasure that the biographier now takes his life under review.
George A. Rutter is a native of the Hoosier state, born in Posey county, Indiana, on November 12, 1841, a son of Austin and Eliza (Johnson) Rutter, both of whom were born in the southwestern part of Gibson county. Austin died there at the age of twenty-one, leaving his young widow and two chil- dren, the younger of whom, Austin, is a truck farmer at Mount Carmel, Illinois, and the older is George A., the immediate subject of this sketch. Later, the widow was united in marriage with Ambrose Coleman, of Monroe township, Pike county, Indiana, and she died at the age of. thirty-eight years. Both Ambrose Coleman and wife were members of the Christian church and lived lives in keeping with its teachings. They were the parents of four children, John, Margaret, Levi and Thomas, all of whom are dead.
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George A. Rutter received but a limited schooling in the early subscrip- tion schools of the county and started out in life for himself when quite young. In September, 1861, at Owensville, Indiana, he enlisted in Company E, Forty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was first sent to Evansville, Indiana. Later he was ordered to Nashville, Tennessee, and soon thereafter was engaged in several battles, those of Perrysville, Storm River, Resaca and Chickamauga. He was in the First Brigade, First Divi- sion of the Fourteenth Army Corps and was all through the Atlanta cam- paign. He was with General Sherman on his famous march to the sea and was at the grand review of troops in Washington, D. C., in May, 1865. He received his honorable discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, in July, 1865.
After the close of the war Mr. Rutter located in Barton township, Gib- son county, on Snake creek, where for several years he engaged in farming. After he left that location and previous to the time he settled at Oakland City in 1896, where he has since resided, he lived for a time at Bellmont, Illinois, Terre Haute, Indiana, farmed for a time in Rock county, Nebraska, and was also in Mayfield, California, for a while. Since residing at Oakland City he has served the public as constable and also as tax collector. He has done a good deal of carpenter work and in 1898 built his present comfort- able home.
Mr. Rutter has been married twice. In February, 1863, he was united in marriage with Hannah Emmerson, a native of Gibson county. Her death occurred on November 8, 1903, and in 1905 he took as his second wife Mrs. Jane Richardson, widow of William W. Richardson, of Warrick county, Indiana, a son of George and Jane Richardson, who were natives of North Carolina and early settlers of Warrick county. George Richardson engaged in agricultural work all his life and was also a veteran of the Civil war. Will- iam Wesley Richardson, first husband of Mrs. Rutter, grew to manhood in Warrick county, receiving a good common school education. The latter part of his life was spent in Columbia township, Gibson county, where he engaged in farming and where he died on October 6, 1903. He, too, was a soldier in the Civil war, having enlisted in September, 1861, in Company F, Thirty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he served until the close of the war. He had endured the hardships and privations of both Libby and Andersonville prisons and to him, as to all other loyal sons of our country who went through so much in the dark days of the sixties, a vast tribute is due. Mr. Richardson was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Oakland City and a man highly honored by a large circle of friends.
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Mrs. Rutter is a daughter of Benjamin and Joanna (Beatty) Lance, natives of Pike county, who passed their entire lives within its borders, en- gaged in farming. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Syl- vester, Emory, William, Jane, who is Mrs. Rutter, Mont, Jonathan and Lottie.
Mr. Rutter is a member of A. H. Cockrum Post No. 520, Grand Army of the Republic, and his religious affiliation is with the General Baptist church, of which he is a consistent member, giving of his time and means to furthering its cause. Mrs. Rutter holds her church membership with the United Brethren church, and both of them are well known and have many warm friends not only in Oakland City, but throughout Gibson county. Mr. Rutter is properly numbered among the substantial citizens of his locality, having contributed in many ways to the advancement of his fellow-citizens, and is therefore in every way deserving of honorable mention in a biograph- ical history of his county.
THEODORE M. BUCKLIN.
He to whom this sketch is dedicated is a member of one of the oldest and most honored pioneer families in Gibson county, and there is particular interest attached to a study of his life record, owing to the fact that he has forged his way to the front by reason of an innate ability and personal char- acteristics that seldom fail to win the goal sought. It is highly interesting in this day of modern improvements to contemplate, at least in part, the lives of the early pioneers of our county, and the reference to the immediate an- cestors of the subject of this sketch suggests an interesting train of thought.
Theodore M. Bucklin is descended from one of the very oldest families in Gibson county, and was born on his paternal grandfather's old homestead one and one-quarter miles east of Princeton, on March 9, 1841. This paternal grandfather was David Bucklin, who was born and raised in Rhode Island and the father of several children before they decided to try their fortunes in what was then the wilderness. They journeyed westward in those early days, and finally reached the small settlement now known as Evansville, Indiana. Here, though they would have been glad to settle near neighbors, they believed the land laid too low, and so, after resting a time, they made their way on into Gibson county where they were pleased with the higher ground. Near Evansville they could have obtained all the land they wanted
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at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. When they reached a point suitable to their liking, they found two cabins close together, which was the beginning of the now flourishing city of Princeton, Indiana. They selected land for the most part heavily timbered, and with cheerfulness commenced the difficult task of clearing and erecting a cabin home and getting out at least sufficient crops to tide them over until another season. Wild game abounded about them and for many years they were able to supply their table with fresh meat in this manner. Deer were often shot from their cabin door and oc- casionally wild hogs also. David Bucklin and wife passed the remainder of their lives on this homestead, and here they reared their family of children, all of whom are dead. The names follow: George, a saw-mill and lumber man, lived in Princeton; Jerry, who never married and was killed at the old steam mill in Princeton; William, a brick mason in Princeton; Mary, who married Edward Pinney and resided in Princeton, and Cornelia, who mar- ried John Gilbert and made her home in Evansville, Indiana. The sixth child was Horace, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, born August 19. 18II.
Horace Bucklin attended school in Rhode Island before coming west with his father and in that way received a pretty fair education for those days. In 1839 he was married to Amelia Maxam, who was a native of Con- necticut and had been brought to Gibson county by her parents. To their union were born five children, namely: Theodore M., subject of this sketch ; Amelia, widow of J. A. Leonard, of Muncie, Indiana; another child named Amelia, which had died aged four years; George W., a physician of Muncie, Indiana, educated in Princeton (New York) Medical College, first practiced for fourteen years in New Harmony, Indiana, and has since been in Muncie, Indiana. His wife was Emma Wright. The fifth child was Eliza, who married William Perry and resides at St. Petersburg, Florida. After his marriage, Horace Bucklin and wife made their home on his father's farm for four years, when he procured a tract of wild land one and one-half miles southeast of Princeton, which he cleared and made a happy and substantial home. Later he sold this ground and moved to Princeton, where he died in 1896 at the age of eighty-five years. The wife died at the home of a son in Muncie, Indiana, in May, 1901, at the age of eighty-nine years. Horace Bucklin and wife were life-long members of the Methodist Episcopal church. as were also his parents, and in that faith he had been reared. He was originally a Whig, but at the formation of the Republican party he gave it his support. He was a leader among the men of his time, well liked and highly respected by all.
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Theodore M. Bucklin attended the early subscription schools in Gibson county, held in the little log school house, with open fireplace and puncheon seats. He early gave assistance to his father in clearing the wild land they were trying to convert into well tilled acres and remained at his father's home until the time he enlisted in the army during the Civil war in August; 1862. He went as a private in Company A, Eightieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Princeton, and was first sent to Indianapolis to be fitted out. From there he was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and on to Perrysville where he was in the battle that took place October 8, 1862. He was at Resaca and was in the Atlanta campaign throughout, with the Army of the Cumberland, and was with Company A of the Eightieth Regiment when they were taken to Franklin and put on boats at Clifton, Tennessee, sent to Cincinnati and from there by train to Baltimore, Maryland, and thence to Alexandria, Virginia. There he became ill and spent some time in the hospital, was later sent to a hospital in Washington, D. C., where he remained until April 13, 1865. He was in a hospital in the same square as the Ford Theatre at the time President Lincoln was assassinated. He was soon after removed to the Quaker hospital in Philadelphia where he remained for three months and reached home in September of 1865. He had re- ceived his discharge two months previous, but was unable to make the journey home at the time, and even after reaching home was a very sick man for a long time.
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