USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 72
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William A. Whitsitt was given the best education which the district schools of this county afforded at that time, and while he was attending school, he put in all of his spare time working on his father's farm. He is now the owner of a fine farm near Princeton, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and his ninety-three acres is one of the highest priced tracts in the county. Here he raises all the crops common to this locality and in addition is a breeder of pedigreed Holstein cattle. His farm is well equip- ped with all modern machinery and agricultural accessories and he also has a fine home and excellent barn and other outbuildings. He keeps abreast of the times in every way and is looked upon as one of the most progressive young farmers of this locality.
Mr. Whitsitt was married January 29, 1903, to Leafy L. Myers, the daughter of Aaron and Hannah S. (Cole) Myers. Aaron Myers is a native of Gibson county, while his wife was born in Vanderburg county. this state. Mr. and Mrs. Whitsitt are the parents of four children : Helen F., born August 6, 1905 : William E., born March 6, 1907: Robert F., born March 15, 1909, and Wayne A., born February 11, 1912. All of these children were born in Gibson county except Willianı, who was born in Lawrence county. Illinois.
The father of William A. Whitsitt is residing with him on the farm, as is the mother of Mrs. Whitsitt. Both father and son have always voted the Republican ticket until the fall of 1912, when they cast their lot with the new Progressive party. All the members of the family are adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church at Princeton, and are interested in its various activities. William B. Whitsitt is a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 28, at Princeton.
William A. Whitsitt is a quiet and unassuming man, who has never had any ambition for public office, but has contributed according to his means
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to the civic and moral advancement of his community, while his admirable daily life has won for him the respect and confidence of the circles in which he moves. He and his wife have a large circle of friends who admire them for their hearty hospitality and wholesome influence in the community where they reside. They are friends to the poor and charitable to the faults of their neighbors and always stand ready to unite with their fellow citizens in every good work.
CYRUS N. ESKEW.
The science of agriculture-for it is a science as well as an art-finds an able demonstrator as well as successful practitioner in the person of Cyrus N. Eskew, who is widely known in Gibson county, maintaining a very productive and desirable farm in Patoka township. He comes of a very highly honored pioneer family, members of which have played well their parts in the general development of this favored section of the great Indiana commonwealth.
Cyrus N. Eskew was born on February 5. 1857, in Boone township, Warrick county, Indiana, the son of John and Annie (Carter) Eskew, both born and raised near Bowling Green, Kentucky. John Eskew came to In- diana in early manhood with his parents, James Eskew and wife, who ob- tained a wild tract of land in Boone township, Warrick county, to the clear- ing and cultivation of which they devoted their sole attention. James Eskew followed farming throughout his active life, and was a man of sound princi- ples, persistent industry and genuine worth. John Eskew was reared on the paternal farm in Warrick county, and had but little opportunity to go to school, his early years being required in the strenuous labor of the frontier farm. However, he was ambitious to secure an education, and by hard and persistent home study he became a well-informed man. After his marriage he acquired a tract of land adjoining his father's farm, which, when cleared, developed into a splendid farm. In the spring of 1869 he located near Oak- land City, Gibson county, where he lived until his death, which occurred in January, 1911. His wife had died many years before, passing away in 1860. For his second wife he married Mrs. Martha J. Wakeland, the widow of Samuel Wakeland, who is now living near Oakland City. By his first wife John Eskew is the father of the following children: Delia C., who died in March, 1912, was the wife of Daniel Tracer, a farmer in Gibson county ; Julia Ann, also deceased, was the wife of Shedrick Parker, a Gibson county farmer; Thomas B., who is a farmer in Warrick county, Indiana, married
C. N. ESKEW AND FAMILY.
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Melinda Robison; Cyrus, the immediate subject of this sketch; Jasper, a farmer at Francisco. To John Eskew's second marriage were born four children, namely : Sylvester, deceased; Sarah J., the wife of William Collins, a farmer near Oakland City; John Franklin, a farmer near Oakland City, who married Mattie Spore, and Emma, the wife of James Harbison, who lives near Francisco.
Cyrus N. Eskew had but little opportunities for securing an education and remained under the parental roof until nineteen years of age. He then began farming on his own account near Patoka, but four years later moved to Patoka and there followed agricultural pursuits for a like period. Mr. Eskew maintained his residence in Patoka until 1888, when he moved to King's Station, Indiana, where he rented land and farmed for eighteen years. At the end of this period he bought the sixty-four acre tract on which he now lives and also forty-three and one-half acres in another tract, and has since given his attention to its operation. He has also for the past three years been engaged in the grain and coal business at King's Station, in which he has met with pronounced success, his treatment of his customers being such as to retain their friendship and patronage. By his persistent efforts and good management Mr. Eskew has been enabled to gain a distinctive success in the various lines of effort to which he has applied himself and won a large fol- lowing of warm and loyal friends since locating in Gibson county.
On December 14, 1882, Mr. Eskew married Mary C. Harris, who was born in Patoka, the daughter of John Wesley and Hannah ( Key) Harris, the father born in 1833. near Chattanooga, and the mother a native of Gibson county, Indiana. John W. Harris came to Gibson county in 1860, settling in Patoka, where he followed the trade of carpentry. Mr. Harris was a mem- ber of the Baptist church, his wife holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. The Harris family has for many years been prominent in the various localities where its members have lived, and was among the early settlers of Harrisburg, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. Prior to her mar- riage to Mr. Harris, Mrs. Harris was the wife of William Johnson, of Patoka, and to them were born three children, Alice Melinda, the wife of William Stermer, of Patoka, Lizzie Etter, the wife of Newton Etter, and Charles, who died in 1912. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born the following children : Mary C. (Mrs. Eskew) ; Fannie, the wife of John Jones, of Patoka; John, who has been a member of the fire department of Memphis, Tennessee, for several years, married Kate Burbank; Frank, of Indianapolis, a traveling salesman, married Pearl Hitch: Nora is the wife of Preston Mil-
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burn, of Patoka; Wallace, a grain dealer of Patoka, married Stella Trippert, and Minnie, who died in early youth. To Mr. and Mrs. Eskew have been born two children, Estella M., the wife of Arch Whittaker, a farmer at King's Station, and they have two children, Mary Helen and John L .; Marjorie Geraldine is at home with her parents. Estella, who graduated from the Princeton high school with the class of 1903, was a teacher for three years. Mr. Eskew has always taken a deep interest in educational matters and has served efficiently as school director at King's Station, and as a stanch Repub- lican he has always been active in the support of his political party. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give earnest support. They are well known throughout the community and enjoy the friendship and esteem of all who know them.
PRESTON MILBURN.
The following is the sketch of a plain, honest man of affairs, who by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his patrons has made his influence felt in Patoka and won for himself distinctive prestige in the business circles of that city. He would be the last man to sit for romance or become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless his life presents much that is interesting and valuable and may be studied with profit by the young, whose careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and strength of character must force them into an admirable notoriety which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality deeply stamped upon the community.
Preston Milburn, a successful merchant and prominent citizen of Patoka, was born in Lynn county, Missouri, on May 1, 1867, the son of Captain Augusta and Belle (Devin) Milburn. The father was born on the old Mil- burn homestead in Gibson county, Indiana, on December 23, 1838, and the mother was born in Gibson county about 1841 on the old Tichenor homestead. The father was a farmer, and was a veteran of the Civil war, having served as captain of Company C, Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he saw service from 1861 to 1865. At the battle of Missionary Ridge he was severely wounded, the bullet striking his nose and passed through his face and right jaw, coming out through the neck. He was in the
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battle of Shiloh and all the other important battles in which the Fifty-eighth Regiment took part.
He received his education in the public schools at Patoka, and in 1866 the family went to Missouri. In 1874 they returned to Gibson county, where he followed farming up to the last few years, when he retired from active labor and his death occurred in August, 1907. His wife died in 1899. They were the parents of five children, of whom, Preston, the subject of this sketch, was the first born, the others being Alexander D., deceased ; Harvey ; Sue, the wife of Oscar Witherspoon ; and Mary, the wife of D. R. Trippett, of Mem- phis, Tennessee.
Preston Milburn, after completing his education in the common schools, engaged in teaching for five years in White River township, and then for some time was employed as clerk in a store at Patoka. On May 1, 1897. he became postmaster of Patoka, in which position he served for eleven consecu- tive years, giving eminent satisfaction not only to patrons of the office but to the postoffice department. Since March 10, 1904, Mr. Milburn has been en- gaged in the general mercantile business in Patoka, he and his brother, Alex- ander D., buying the property from F. A. White. Eventually his brother died, February 27, 1910, and the subject has since conducted the business on his own account. He has been very successful in his enterprise and has also acquired the ownership of a farm of three hundred and forty-five acres of bottom land in White River township, which has proven a comfortable source of income.
On June 10, 1896, Preston Milburn married Nora Harris, the daughter of J. W. and Hannah Harris, of Patoka, and to them have been born three children : Alexander, Almyra and Josephine.
Politically, Mr. Milburn has been a life-long Republican, and has taken a deep interest in the success of his party. Religiously, he is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church to which he gives earnest support. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Free and Accepted Masons at Patoka. His career has ever been an honorable one, his relations to his fellowmen have always been above reproach, and his good name beyond criticism. He wears the proud American title of "self-made man" and heing in the most literal sense of the term the architect of his own fortune, he may well feel a sense of pride in his achievement and the honor- able position to which he has attained among the enterprising citizens of the county, in which the busy years of his active life have been passed.
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W. H. LOWERY.
Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Gibson county within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests are identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name appears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the fact that his entire useful and busy life has been spent within the borders of this county.
WV. H. Lowery, who is conducting a prosperous and successful meat market in Oakland City, Indiana, is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having heen born in Washington county, Indiana, on January 24, 1858. His parents, John A. and Mary J. (Harmon) Lowery, were also natives of Washington county, where in early life the father followed farming. Later he located near Fredericksburg, in the same county, and engaged in the mer- cantile business. About thirty-three years ago he came to Gibson county and located in Oakland City where he engaged in mercantile business until about two years prior to his death, which occurred in 1906 at Somerville, this county. He was survived about four years by his widow, who died in 1910. She was a member of the Christian church for over sixty years, and was one of exemplary character and excellent qualities of head and heart, retaining to a marked degree the love and respect of all who knew her. To Mr. and Mrs. Lowery were born five children: James Franklin, of Washington county, Indiana : W. H., the immediate subject of this sketch ; Henry T., de- ceased; H. P., of Mt. Carmel, Illinois; and Carrie, the wife of Walter Downey, of Francisco, Gibson county.
W. H. Lowery attended the public schools of his home neighborhood in Washington county, and was reared to the life of a farmer, which pursuit he followed for a number of years. About two years after his father came to Gibson county, the subject followed him, and here engaged in farming and teaming for four or five years. About twenty-five years ago he established his present meat market, in which enterprise he was successful from the start, and for a number of years has been the leader of his line in his community. He does much of his own butchering and keeps none but the very best grades of meat, and this fact, together with his courtesy, and evident desire to please his customers, has retained for him a large and representative patronage.
On October 2, 1879, Mr. Lowery married Isabella McKinster, of Wash-
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ington county, Indiana, and to them have been born four children: Emma, the wife of Elwood Burkhardt, of Oakland City; E. P., of Oakland City : Lydia, the wife of Lennic Siple, of Oakland City ; and Masel. of this place.
Politically, Mr. Lowery is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, although he has been too busy a man to seek public office. His fraternal affiliations are with the Modern Woodmen of America, while religiously he is a member of the General Baptist church at Oakland City. Ile has always been interested in the public and civic affairs of the community, and has identified himself with business affairs aside from his market, being a director in the First National Bank, and giving his support to every movement calcu- lated to advance the best interests of the community. Genial and unassum- ing in his relations with his fellowmen, he is deservedly popular, and ranks among the leading citizens of Oakland City.
ABSALOM YEAGER.
The gentleman whose name open this review long occupied an eminent and enviable standing in the county where he so long made his home, and he preserved to an unusually large degree the confidence and respect of the people with whom he had so long been associated. His standing was not acquired by him because of the influence of wealth, or original social position, or the aid of influential friends, but was honestly earned and richly merited by his own inherent worth ; by the possession of those traits of character which have always found expression in a life devoted to the welfare of his own home circle and to the progress and advancement of the community with which he was so closely connected. Perhaps his dominant and most notable characteristic was fidelity to truth and honor. He invariably sought the things that were honest and of good repute. In the training of his children no precept was so constantly and so urgently insisted on as those which con- cerned sound and worthy characters. . Although his life was a busy one, his every-day affairs making heavy demands upon his tiine, he never shrank from his duty as a citizen and his obligation to the community. To write a de- tailed account of his long and useful life would require a much more elabor- ate article than the nature of this volume admits or requires. Sufficient will be said, however, to form a correct conception of the man and his career, a career affording many valuable lessons to the young of the rising generation.
Absalom Yeager is a son of one of the old sterling families of German
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origin, his ancestors having come to this country some time during the eighteenth century, and settled in Virginia. Joel Yeager, father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, in 1789. While yet a young man, he removed to Kentucky, settling near Mt. Sterling, where he was married and where he remained until about 1826, when he came to In- diana and settled at a point one mile north of Cynthiana, Posey county. There he followed the peaceful vocation of farming until his death. While a resi- dent of Kentucky, he had married Anna McDonald, also a resident of that state, but a native of Virginia. Her death also occurred in Posey county. They were the parents of four children, three sons and a daughter, of whom the youngest was Absalom Yeager, the immediate subject of this sketch, whose birth occurred in Campbell county, Kentucky, in 1819, and who ac- companied his parents on their removal to Indiana. In 1842 Absalom Yeager came to Gibson county, settling on a tract of timbered land in John- son township. where he cleared and developed a farm, and continued to reside for many years, being numbered among the sturdy pioneers of that locality. He followed agriculture during all of his active years, and was noted among the substantial and enterprising citizens of the locality.
In November, 1842, Absalom Yeager married Elizabeth Williams, who was born in Posey county in 1822, daughter of Bennett and Polly Williams, and to this union were born seven children : Henry A., a prominent attorney of Princeton, Indiana ; Newton; James M. ; Mary A., who died on April II, 1896; Andrew J. ; William C., trustee of White River township, and a citizen of Patoka ; and Emma F. In November, 1892, Absalom Yeager and his wife celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding, and the occasion was made a happy and joyous one, not only to this grand old couple, but to their children, and other relatives who attended the happy occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Yeager were for many years earnest and faithful members of the Baptist church, giving of their means to its support, and being actively interested in the various affairs of usefulness connected with the religious work of this society. Mr. Yeager died in December, 1903.
Absalom Yeager belonged to a class of men of whom Indiana has great reason to be proud, for he was of that type who brought order out of chaos, and, unheeding hardships and dangers, he conquered the forests and changed them to productive fields, whence came the sustenance of the people. The farmer of the long ago opened the way to our present prosperity. The labor and thought involved in obtaining a living from the land in those days stimu- lated both mental and physical nature until he became strong and willing to
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undergo hardships and privations and win such results. Of such was Mr. Yeager, whose influence during an eminently industrious life made for the progress of the community, whose interests he ever had at heart. His record is the story of a life whose success in life is measured by its usefulness, a life that made for good in all its relations with the world. And his career, though in a sense uneventful, is well worth being preserved on the pages of the his- tory of his community.
W. H. SMITH, M. D.
The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every successful man carries a lesson which, told in contemporary narrative, is productive of much good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, a due measure of satisfaction in presenting, even in brief resume, the life and achievements of such men, and in preparing the following history of the scholarly physician whose name appears above, it is with the hope that it may prove not only interesting and instructive, but also serve as an incentive to those who contemplate making the medical profession their life work.
W. H. Smith was born in Pike county, Indiana. November 18. 1870, the son of Dr. J. T. and Charlotte (Martin) Smith, the former a native of Clarksville, Tennessee, and the mother of Pike county, Indiana. Dr. J. T. Smith, who is nearly eighty years old, has been a practicing physician in Pike county for forty years, living at Hosmer, where he has enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the community, and where he has been eminently successful in the practice of his profession. His wife is deceased. They were the par- ents of three children, two of whom, the subject and one sister, Mrs. Zack Welton, of Hosmer, are living. W. H. Smith attended the schools of Pike county, and supplemented the education there received by attendance in the high school at Oakland City. Having determined to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louis- ville, where he was graduated in 1893 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in June of the same year he entered upon the active practice at Hosmer, Pike county, where he remained six years. In 1889. desiring a larger field for his efforts, Dr. Smith came to Oakland City, where he has since resided and where he has achieved a reputation as a practitioner of the healing art. He realized early that there is a purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and no respect not founded on accomplishments. His life
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and labor have been eminently worthy, because they have contributed to a proper understanding of life and its problems. By a life characterized by high motives and because of his many fine qualities of head and heart he has earned the sincere regard of a vast acquaintance, and his success in his chosen field of endeavor bespeaks for him the possession of superior attributes. Yet he is a plain, unassuming gentleman and straightforward in all his relations with his fellowmen.
On April 25, 1895, Dr. Smith married Joan McHugh, a native of Pike county. She is a lady of culture and refinement and is a popular member of the circles in which she moves. Dr. Smith is a Republican in his political affiliations, but has been too busy a man to take a very active part in political affairs. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, while professionally, he is a member of the Medical Society of Gibson county, and Indiana State Medical Association. He is health officer of Oakland City, and has taken a deep interest in all civic affairs connected with the welfare of his fellow citizens. He has been successful in his financial affairs, and is the owner of a splendid farm in Pike county. Genial and hospitable by nature, he has earned a high place in the esteem of all who know him and is rightfully included in the list of representative citizens of his community.
JONAH G. LEGRANGE.
Among the men of sturdy integrity and reliable traits of character who have contributed their quota to the advancement of the upbuilding of Gibson county, Indiana, mention may most consistently be made of the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. The prosperity which he enjoys has been won by commendable qualities and it is also his personal worth that has gained for him the esteem of those who know him.
Jonah G. LeGrange, one of the leading stock men and successful farmers of Gibson county, Indiana, was born on July 27, 1858, on the old LeGrange homestead. Patoka township, and is the son of Richard and Hannah (Tiche- nor) LeGrange, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The subject's maternal grandfather, who also was a farmer, was twice married, and he be- came the father of the following children: Aaron, who was a farmer near Fort Branch, this county, died at Owensville; John, also deceased, was a farmer in Patoka township and died there; William was also a farmer
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