USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 64
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On September 20, 1866, Mr. Bucklin was united in marriage to Amanda Van Sant, daughter of James and Mary (Nexy) Van Sant, pioneers of Gib- son county. The father was a farmer and millwright. To the subject and wife have been born seven children: Lillian, wife of Charles Shanum, resid- ing at St. Louis, Missouri; Essie, wife of Walter Galligan, of Oakland City, Indiana ; Halbert, a printer in Indianapolis, who married Cora Sutton; Will- iam C., connected with the furniture business in Princeton, whose wife was Marie Kern; Van, a druggist in Chicago, Illinois; Grace, wife of Foreman Knowles, ex-county treasurer of Gibson county and now in the banking business in Princeton; and Bruce, unmarried, a printer located in Evansville, Indiana.
After their marriage, Theodore M. Bucklin and wife settled down to farming the old Van Sant place east of Princeton, where they remained a few years, when they moved to Oakland City, Indiana, where he carried on a teaming business. They remained there four years, when they returned to Princeton, where he took up carpenter work and continued this line of work
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until he retired in 1910. Mr. Bucklin is a charter member of Archer Post No. 28, Grand Army of the Republic, and his religious sympathies are with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been a consistent member for a great many years. He is well posted on current events, has many warm friends in Princeton, and indeed throughout Gibson county, and it is by and through a man's friends that he is most truly known. During all the years of his life, Mr. Bucklin has been known as a man of honor in all the relations of life and it is this consistency in all things that has made for him an enviable place in the estimation of all those who know him.
JOSEPH C. HARTIN.
In the early days the Middle West was often a tempting field for the energetic, ambitious and strong-minded men and Indiana was filled with them during the time she was struggling to a respectable position in the sisterhood of states. Before Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816 there were some sixty-odd thousand people, all told, who had settled within the limits of the state. At that time there was a fascination in the broad fields of great promise which this new region presented to activities which attracted many men and induced them to brave the discomforts of the early life here for the pleasure and gratification of constructing their for- tunes in their own way and after their own methods. It is this class of men more than any other who give shape, direction and character to the life of any community. It is an axiom of history that it is the strong willed and most energetic men who lead the van of the frontiersmen in any new and undeveloped country. Among the pioneers of Gibson county, Indiana, who came there before 1816, we find the Hartin family, and during all of these years they have been important factors in the life of the county.
Joseph C. Hartin, of Princeton, Indiana, was born in the house where he now lives at No. 222 East Water street, on January 13, 1839. He is a son of Joseph and Nancy Agnes ( Stormont) Hartin. The Stormont family is mentioned specifically elsewhere in this volume. Joseph Hartin, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Chester county, South Carolina, July 4, 1800, the same day that Indiana was created a territory. He died December 8, 1847. His wife was born October 22, 1799, and died April 7, 1877. Their marriage occurred in 1820. Joseph Hartin and his two sisters were left orphans in early life and came here while
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it was still a territory, settling in Princeton, Indiana. He was a carpenter by trade and built several buildings which are still standing today in the city of Princeton. A few years after coming to Princeton he was injured by some lumber falling upon him and as a result he was compelled to give up his contracting and building business. He then added the locksmith trade and general indoor carpenter work to his endeavors and by this means made a comfortable living. He helped construct the old water mill at Pa- toka. In his political belief he was an Abolitionist and later a Whig. In his church relations he was a devoted member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hartin were the parents of eight children, Margaret Jane, born April 17, 1821, died in 1861, married Andrew J. Wright; David Stormont, born February 22, 1823, who was a millwright in Princeton and Evansville; Mary, born June 15, 1825, deceased wife of Calvin Blair; Elizabeth Rosanna, born December 8, 1821, deceased; Martha Ann, born July 2, 1830, deceased; Mary Catherine, born February 17, 1833, married Robert Little; Sarah Amanda, born October 25, 1835, married John W. Fisher and is now deceased; the eighth and youngest child being Joseph C., the immediate subject of this review.
Joseph C. Hartin attended the subscription school which flourished in the time of his boyhood and later went to school in the old Princeton Seminary. His schooling, however, was very limited. At the age of thir- teen he started out in life to support himself. At that tender age he ap- prenticed himself to a blacksmith and started in to learn the trade. He later added the painter's trade, which he followed until he retired in 1909.
Mr. Hartin was married February 2, 1871, to Jessie S. Kerr, of Scot- land, a daughter of John and Mary Kerr. Both of her parents were natives of Scotland and her mother died in that country. After her mother's death her father, with three daughters and one son, came to America, Mrs. Minnie Mooney, of Danville, Illinois; Mrs. Hartin; John, who was a farmer near Princeton, now deceased: the third daughter returned to Scotland and married in that country. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Hartin were the parents of three children, one of whom was Mary Duncan, who became the wife of Doris R. Head, the present mayor of Princeton, Indiana. Mr. Head was born in that city April 17, 1871, the son of Cornelius F. and Mary (Brown- lee ) Head. His father came to this city from Kentucky and engaged in the mercantile business with Charles Brownlee under the firm name of Head, Brownlee & Company. Cornelius Head died at Cartersburg, Georgia, in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Head only had one son, Doris R., his
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mother dying when he was but seven weeks old and his father when he was about four years of age. He was educated in the common schools of Gibson county and graduated from the high school at Princeton. For some years he was in the brokerage business at Princeton and then was appointed deputy sheriff for one term. He was admitted to the practice of law March 7, 1913, and has practiced in Princeton since that time. On November 4, 1912, he was elected mayor of his native city for a term of four years. Mr. Head has been active in Democratic politics for a number of years and his election to the mayoralty of Princeton shows the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of his native city. He was mar- ried to Mary Duncan Hartin, the daughter of Joseph C. and Jessie (Kerr) Hartin on November 1I, 1908. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Hartin is Joseph Melvin, a tailor of Lexington, Kentucky, who married Ada Smith and has three children, Eloise, Virginia and Nancy. The third and youngest child is John Aden, who is a laundryman at New Albany, Indiana.
Joseph C. Hartin was one of the defenders of the Union in its strug- gles for existence in the sixties. On August 1I, 1862, he enlisted in Com- pany A, Eightieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Princeton. His company was sent to Indianapolis after being mustered in and was later transferred to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence to Covington, Kentucky. Their first engagement was at Perrysville, Kentucky, on October, 8, 1862. The succeeding engagements and the dates on which they occurred are as fol- lows: Marrow, Kentucky, July 2, 1863; Kingston, Tennessee, November 25, 1863; Mossy Creek, Tennessee, December 29, 1863; Buzzard Roost, Tennessee, May 9, 1864; Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864; Dallis Hill, Geor- gia, May 28, 1864; Lost Mountain, June 16, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, June 25, 1864; Siege of Atlanta, July 19 to August 9, 1864: Lovejoy Station, September 2 and 3, 1864; Rome, Georgia, October 13, 1864; Col- umbia, Tennessee. November 26, 1864; Franklin. Tennessee. November 30. 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, December 15 and 16, 1864; Fort Anderson, North Carolina, February 17, 1865; Wilmington. North Carolina, Febru- ary 22, 1865, and Goldboro, North Carolina, March 31, 1865. His company was attached to the Twenty-third Army Corps under General Scofield, and was mustered out on June 22, 1865, at Indianapolis. Mr. Hartin has some interesting data upon his whole career in the Civil war, one of which shows the total number of miles which he traveled while in the service. He has computed that he traveled two thousand fifty miles by water, two thousand four hundred fifty-five by rail, three thousand seven hundred by foot, making
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a total of eight thousand two hundred and fifty-six miles. It is needless to say that he is a loyal member of the Grand Army post at Princeton. He was a charter member of this post and is past commander of the same. Mr. Hartin had an enviable record as a soldier and can look back upon his military record as one which has never failed to redound to his honor and credit.
Mr. Hartin has been a stanch Republican all his life and has taken a great deal of interest in politics. He has never held any office except that of deputy sheriff, although he has been active in the conventions of his party. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Princeton and con- tributes generously of his substance to its support. No man is better known in his county than is Joseph C. Hartin, and no man is more highly respected than he. He has lived that life which brings with it the satisfaction of hav- ing done his full duty towards his fellow citizens.
HARRISON WHITE.
Few men of Gibson county, Indiana, are as widely and favorably known as Harrison White. He is one of those strong and influential citizens whose lives have become an essential part of this history of this community and for years his name has been synonymous for all that constitutes honorable and upright manhood. Tireless energy, keen perception and honesty of purpose, combined with every-day common sense, are among his chief characteristics, and while advancing his own individual success, he also has largely promoted the moral and material welfare of his community.
Harrison White was born February II, 1838, in Pike county, Indiana, four miles west of Petersburg, the son of Henry and Susan (Johnson) White, she a native of Barren county, Kentucky, and he of Rowan county, North Carolina. The father was reared to manhood in North Carolina and, coming to Indiana in 1832, met and married the subject's mother. He was a farmer all his days, his death occurring near Union, Pike county, in his sixty- fifth year, his wife passing away at the age of sixty-three. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. To them were born eight children, namely: Harrison; Elizabeth married Richard Young, of Washington town- ship, Gibson county ; Maria was twice married, first to Stephen C. Swain and then to Edward Brown, and they lived in Pike county; John, a farmer in Pike county, married Nancy J. Hale; Vincent T., a farmer in Washington township, Gibson county: George, a merchant at Princeton, married Dorcas
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Hayden ; Phoebe Ann married Robert Hayden and they live in Washington township, this county ; Dicey J. is the widow of Barney McRoberts, of Wash- ington township, this county.
The old-time log subscription schools were the source of Harrison White's early education and he lived on the home place until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company G, Sixty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, on July 15, 1862. After being at Evansville, Indiana, for a month, the com- mand was sent to Henderson, Kentucky, for two weeks, and then ordered to Madisonville, that state, the company then doing duty all over Kentucky as guerilla scouts. Later they were dispatched to Knoxville, Tennessee, and were in the fighting at Bluntsville, Zollicoffer, Blair's Cross Roads, Mossy Creek, and numerous skirmishes, then falling back on Knoxville and engaging with General Longstreet until the Atlanta campaign. They were all through this campaign and remained with General Johnson until the fall of 1864. In the spring of 1865 they were sent to Washington, D. C., from there to Annap- olis, Maryland, and then, on board ships, to Fort Fisher, and were engaged in the battles of Fort Anderson, Wilmington, Goldsboro and Raleigh, and were at the latter place at the time peace was declared. They were discharged June 23, 1865, and mustered out at Indianapolis. While in the service the subject was taken seriously ill at Madisonville, Kentucky, and was disabled from active duty for about six months.
After the war Mr. White located in Pike county, Indiana, on a farm which he had purchased previously, where he resided until 1870, when he sold his holdings and came to Washington township, Gibson county, and purchased forty-two acres of improved land, which he farmed for several years. This he also subsequently sold and bought property in Union, Indiana, living there six years, after which he again came to Washington township and purchased a small farm, where he engaged in agriculture until 1907, at that time re- moving to Princeton, where he has since resided.
Mr. White was first married September 6, 1865, to Sarah Owen, of Tennessee, and by this union were born the following children: George B., of Princeton, is a miner, and is the husband of Helen Morris; J. T., a farmer in Washington township, married Ava Gray : Everett, a farmer at Mt. Car- mel, married Della West; Mary Ann married Elbert Brown, of Evansville, Indiana. Subject's first wife died in September, 1877, and for his second wife he married Anna E. Belcher, of Gibson county, one child, Dollie, resulting from this union. Mr. White's third marriage was to Maggie Slater, widow of Frank Slater, of Daviess county, Indiana. The fourth and present wife of
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Mr. White was Bertha Elizabeth Jones, of Washington township, Gibson county, their marriage occurring November 7, 1896. She is a daughter of Vernando and Arlemetha Catharene (Phillips) Jones, he a farmer in Knox county, Indiana. This marriage has resulted in the birth of one child, Alex Royster, born February 4, 1903.
Harrison White is an honored member of Archer Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Princeton, and in his political belief has always been a stanch Republican. In religious matters he is a member of the General Baptist church.
WILLIAM N. TICHENOR.
The history of him whose name heads this memorial sketch is closely identified with the history of Gibson county, Indiana, which was his home for so many years. He began his career in this locality in the pioneer epoch and throughout the subsequent years he was closely allied with its interests and upbuilding. His life was one of untiring activity and was crowned with a degree of success commensurate with his efforts. He was of the highest type of progressive citizen and none more than he deserves a fitting recognition among those whose enterprise and ability have achieved results that have awakened the admiration of those who knew him. The cause of humanity never had a truer friend than William N. Tichenor and in all the relations of life-family, church, state and society-he displayed that consistent spirit, that natural worth, which endeared him to all classes. His integrity and fidelity were manifested in every relation of life and his influence widely felt in the community honored by his citizenship.
William N. Tichenor was a native of Nelson county, Kentucky, the son of Daniel and Jane (Glover) Tichenor, who were born and raised in the same county and married upon reaching early years of maturity. Their births occurred respectively on May 5, 1802, and January 8, 1799. Daniel Tiche- nor was a mill man. Their son, William N., was born December 25, 1826, and soon thereafter, in 1836, they came to Gibson county, Indiana, and settled on a farm west of Princeton on the Owensville road. They were among the first settlers in that vicinity and secured wild land which they cleared and where they made their home for many years. Later on Daniel Tichenor added another farm to his possessions and devoted his entire attention to farming for the rest of his life. Two brothers, William and Ebenezer, accompanied him to Gibson county and obtained farming lands near him.
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM TICHENOR.
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They too were successful farmers and prominent men in the community and all were highly esteemed. Daniel was originally a Democrat in politics, but later gave his support to the principles of the Republican party. His religious sympathies were with the Free-will Baptist church, of which he was a con- sistent member. To Daniel Tichenor and wife were born the following chil- dren, namely : Hannah, wife of Richard LaGrange, of Gibson county ; Will- iam N., subject of this sketch; Timothy, a blacksmith, whose home was in Owensville; Jonah, a blacksmith at Princeton; Mary E. married Hiram Westfall, and the sixth child, Henry Thomas, a retired blacksmith, residing in Princeton, and the sole survivor of the family of children. Daniel Tiche- nor married a second time, upon the death of his first wife, and his death occurred in Princeton.
William N. Tichenor received only a common school education in the early schools of Gibson county and at the tender age of fourteen years was apprenticed or "bound over" to Thomas Ewing, a blacksmith of Princeton, to learn the trade of him. He remained with Mr. Ewing until he came of age, at which time he was given forty dollars in cash, his earnings for his season of apprenticeship, with which money he purchased himself decent clothing and started in the blacksmith business for himself. He later bought out Mr. Ewing and operated the shop for about fifteen years, when he pur- chased a farm a half-mile west of Princeton on what is now known as West Broadway. Here he put up a house and all improvements to make it an up-to-date farm. He had about three hundred acres in this place. Here he carried on general farming and raised and sold fine live stock. He also bought and shipped stock and in addition operated quite a dairy where his wife made and sold great quantities of butter and other milk products. He was a man of public spirit who took an active interest in the affairs of his community and county. He served as township trustee for several years and was also county treasurer two terms. He gave his support to the Republican party. In 1883 he retired from the farm and took up his residence in Princeton, where he was early induced to serve on the council. His sound judgment on all matters of interest was known and his advice often sought. He was a man of modest manner who sincerely sought to help his fellow men in whatever way became possible to him and in consequence had warm friends all over the county.
On October 1, 1849, Mr. Tichenor was united in marriage to Elizabeth Johnson, born October 12, 1828, on River DeShee, a daughter of Nicholas and Jane ( Howe) Johnson. Her mother was a native of Kentucky and her
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father was born in Knox county, Indiana. He was a farmer all his life and died near Lawrenceville, Illinois, at the age of fifty years. His wife died at the age of forty-five. They were both faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their family comprised three children, as follows: James, who was a farmer and died at Dunkard Station, Indiana; Elizabeth, wife of the subject of this sketch, and Ellen, who married Bud Conner and died in Missouri.
To William N. Tichenor and wife were born the following children, namely : James Albert, deceased, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work; Daniel, who died in 1873, at the age of seventeen years; Henry, the present postmaster at Princeton, who is a large farmer and has been engaged in the real estate business. His wife was Ida Teague, of Princeton; Oliver Morton, who was drowned in Long Pond, Indiana, May 31, 1902. He left a widow, who was Mary Williams, a granddaughter of Governor Williams, and she is now living in Tacoma, Washington, and he also left one daughter, Jean Claire, of Terre Haute, Indiana. Oliver Morton Tichenor was one of the prominent men of Gibson county and had very, very many friends. He had been postmaster at Princeton, was connected with the P. D. & E. Railroad in Illinois, was also chief clerk in the revenue office at Terre Haute and was a veteran of the Cuban war. His early death cut short an interesting carer.
William N. Tichenor continued to live in Princeton, loved and esteemed by all, until removed by death August 25, 1901. Mrs. Tichenor continues to reside at their old home on West and Emerson streets, loved and honored by all. The house in which she lives is one of the landmarks of Princeton and was built by Doctor Walling in 1852. It is of brick, with spacious rooms, eleven of which are finished in black walnut and the wood work all over the house was gotten out by hand. It is a suitable and beautiful setting for so charming an old lady as is Mrs. Tichenor.
ALVIN WILSON.
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 or practically unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable en- vironment, removes one by one the obstacles from his pathway to success and by the force of his own individuality succeeds in forging his way to
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the front and winning for himself a position of esteem and influence among his fellow men. Such is the record, briefly stated, of the popular and well- known cashier of the First National Bank at Oakland City, Indiana, to a brief synopsis of whose life and characteristics the following paragraphs are devoted.
Alvin Wilson, the popular and efficient cashier of the First National Bank of Oakland City, Indiana, was born on July 20, 1873, on a farm in Warrick county this state, and is a son of James and Sarah (Judd) Wilson, both natives of Kentucky. James Wilson, who was a farmer by vocation, came to Warrick county, Indiana, from his native state, being one of the first settlers in that community. Here he gained considerable prominence as a successful farmer and stock raiser and was numbered among the promi- nent and influential men of that locality. To him and his wife were born eight children, of whom four are living, namely: J. T., of Oakland City; Mrs. Lora Barker, of Warwick county, Indiana: Mrs. Sarah Pancake, of Pike county, Indiana, and the subject of this sketch. The mother of these children now lives in Oakland City.
Alvin Wilson received his education in the public schools of Oakland City, graduating from the high school in 1889. He immediately entered the First National Bank in the capacity of bookkeeper, from which position he was later promoted to that of assistant cashier, and in 1903 he be- came cashier of the bank. This institution was formerly known as the People's State Bank, and its history has been a splendid one, characterized by popularity and success all along the line. During the ten years in which Mr. Wilson has been the executive head of the institution it has attained a place among the foremost financial institutions of Gibson county, a large part of its success being directly attributable to the energetic methods and personal influence of its cashier. . Since he became cashier the bank has more than doubled its business and as the president of this bank is a non- resident, the responsibility and the greater part of the work falls upon Mr. Wilson's shoulders. Mr. Wilson has been actively connected with the banking interests of Gibson county longer than any other man in the county, and holds high prestige among his business associates as a man of probity, honor and mature judgment.
On December 27, 1899, Mr. Wilson married Margaret E. Stewart, daughter of W. H. and Bertha Stewart, of Oakland City. Politically, Mr. Wilson is a Democrat and has served on the city school board, taking a deep interest in all educational matters, as well as all other phases of local life
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affecting the welfare of his fellow citizens. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, including all the degrees of the York Rite up to and including that of Knight Templar, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and the Knights of Pythias. Personally, he is a genial, obliging and broad-minded gentleman, who merits in every respect the high esteem in which he is universally held.
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