History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 80

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284

USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 80

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Although Mr. Pritchett has lived the allotted three score and ten, he is still active and is managing his well-improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He has been a follower of the best agricultural methods and keeps well posted on the newest ideas in scientific farming. Mr. and Mrs. Prit- chett exemplify their Christianity in their every-day life and despite the fact that he has lost his sight, he continues to be cheerful, bearing his affliction with that fortitude which characterizes the true Christian believer. No more conscientious man ever lived in the county than Mr. Pritchett, and in all his business transactions he has so conducted them that he has won the respect and admiration of all with whom he has come in contact. All honor to this

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gallant old veteran, who now, in the twilight of his long and useful career, is patiently waiting the final roll call.

He has been a life-long member of the Blythe Chapel, Methodist Episco- pal church, and still takes a very active part in church affairs. For many years he has been the class leader and his inspirational talks have been of untold value to the members of the church. His life has been a shining light to all the community, and no one can view his career without seeing that he is one of God's noblemen.

JAMES ALLEN SMITH.

Among the successful, self-made men of Gibson county, whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding of the community, James Allen Smith occupies a conspicuous place. Being ambitious from the first, but surrounded with none too favorable environment, his early years were not especially promising, but resolutely facing the future, he gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way, and in the course of time he has risen to a prominent position in the agricultural circles of his community. In doing this he has won the confidence and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact, either in a business or social way, and for years has stood as one of the representative citizens of the locality honored by his citizenship. His life and labors are worthy, because they have contributed to a proper under- standing of life and its problems. The strongest characters in our national history have come from the ranks of the self-made men, to whom adversity acts as an impetus for unfaltering effort, and from this class has come the sub- ject of this review. He has not permitted himself to follow the rut in a blind way, but has studied and experimented in various agricultural methods, and has thus secured the best returns from enterprising effort. His life has been such as to elicit just praise from those who know him best, owing to the fact that he has always been loyal to the trust imposed upon him and has been upright in his dealings with his fellow men, at the same time lending his sup- port to the advancement of any cause for the welfare of the community.

James Allen Smith, one of the most prominent farmers in Gibson county, was born September 12, 1849, five miles northeast of Owensville. His parents were John Martin and Elizabeth Jane (Stone) Smith. John M. was a native of Adair county, Kentucky, his birth having occurred in that place on September 30, 1827, and was a son of David and Eliza Smith. His father emigrated from Kentucky to this state and settled in Gibson county on a

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farm, on which he lived until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty- one. John M. Smith was married three times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Jane Stone, October 28, 1847, and to this union were born six children: James A., the immediate subject of this sketch; Nancy Jane, who married D. B. Montgomery, a farmer of Union township; Martha Alice, who was the wife of George Mangrum, died on September 12, 1872; Milton Bird, who died at the age of fourteen ; Henry Wilson married Matilda Mauck, and Willis Clinton, who married Martha Spore. John M. Smith's second mar- riage was to Mary Elizabeth Haren, December 18, 1870, and she died June 5, 1897. To this union there were born two children, Elnora, who died in in- fancy, and Iva Minda, the wife of Noble Douglas. Mr. Smith's third mar- riage was to Margaret Erwin, March 29, 1898. Mr. Smith's death occurred in Owensville on February 23, 1908, leaving his widow, who is still living at Princeton in this county. He continued in the active management of his farm until he was seventy years of age, when he retired and moved to Owensville. He was always very much interested in the church activities of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and was an elder in that church many years before his death.

James Allen Smith spent his boyhood days on the homestead farm, doing all the ordinary work which falls to the lot of the farmer's boy. He attended the common schools of his neighborhood and also the high school at Owensville. He then taught school in the township for four years before his marriage. After his marriage, on March 23. 1877, to Lydia Mauck, the daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Yeager) Mauck, he purchased the farm which he still owns. His wife's father, Samuel Mauck, was a native of this county and followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, October 10, 1896. His wife, Eliza Yeager, was also a native of this county and died in 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Mauck were the parents of five children: Maria, de- ceased; Miranda, who married James A. Jones, now deceased; Lydia, wife of the subject of this sketch; Henry and Thompson.

Mr. Smith has one hundred and sixty acres of excellent farming land, practically all of which is under cultivation at the present time. His farm is well stocked with up-to-date farming implements, and has been brought by his careful management to a high state of cultivation. He has never had any aspirations in a political line, although he has always taken an active interest in the principles of the Prohibitionist party. Some years ago he was township trustee for one year and filled this position to the entire satisfaction of the township. He has been uniformly successful in all his business trans-

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actions and is now one of the directors of the First National Bank of Owens- ville.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of five children: Flora Letha, who married George Clark, a farmer near King's Station, in this county, and has two children, Gerald and Johnny Pauline, both of whom are still under the parental roof; Eliza Orela, who married Charles Dorsey, a hardware mer- chant of Poseyville, Indiana, has one daughter, Helen, who is at home with her parents; Hoyt Obra married Jessie Shannon and lives in Akron, Ohio, where he is employed as a sales manager ; Lewis Roy, who died at the age of twenty, and Milton Byrd, who lives at home with his parents.

Mr. Smith and his wife are earnest and devoted members of the Cum- berland Presbyterian church at Owensville, and Mr. Smith has been an elder in this church for several years. He has come into his present position by hard work and the exercise of honest business methods. His tireless energy and steady determination have won for him the unqualified confidence and esteem of all who know him.

HENRY MOWRER.

There are several hundred different occupations at the present time, but there is only one of all this number that is absolutely necessary to man's exist- ence. The three things without which man cannot live are food, clothing and shelter, and it is the farmer who not only controls the food supply, but also holds the clothing products of the world in his hands. His is the only occu- pation which can exist independently of all others. An increasing number of our best farming men are taking agricultural courses in college, thereby fitting themselves the better for scientific farming. The profession has taken on increased dignity within the past few years and more and more of our young men are applying themselves to scientific farming. The farmer of today has the immense advantage of working with machinery which renders his work free from many of its former disadvantages. Gibson county has hun- dreds of splendid farmers and among them the subject of this sketch holds a worthy place.

Henry Mowrer, the second of four children born to Robert and Caroline (Ayers) Mowrer, was born March 22, 1865, on the Joe Heston farm, about four miles from Princeton, this county. Robert Mowrer was a native of

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this county, his birth having occurred on December 25, 1832, near Owens- ville. He followed agricultural pursuits all his life, the last nine years of which were spent in Illinois, where his death occurred December 12, 1878. His wife was also a native of this county and died there January 21, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mowrer were the parents of four children: James T., who married Lizzie Teel, is an engineer at Macon, Georgia, and has two children, Hazel and Erwin; Nettie, who married Vinton Newell, an engineer of Macon, Georgia; Lucinda, the wife of George Land, lives in San Diego, California, and has three children, Henrietta, Marvin and Marion.

Henry Mowrer was united in marriage on August 7, 1890, to Ida Spore, the daughter of Julius and Mary (Clark) Spore. Her father was a native of this county, his birth having occurred on December 25, 1834, five miles north of Owensville. He continued active operations on his farm until about fifteen years before his death, which occurred on November 25, 1910, at Owensville. His wife was also a native of this county and died in Owens- ville, February 17, 1909. To them were born three children : Mary, the wife of Joseph Nettleton, a farmer living near Fort Branch, Indiana; Martha, the wife of W. C. Smith, a farmer living near Princeton, has three chil- dren, Velva, Nola and Blanche; Ida, the wife of the subject of this review.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Mowrer are the parents of eight children, all of whom are still under the parental roof: Carrie, Jessie, Vesper Julius, Doyl, Nora, Marie, Harold Robert and Gertrude Fern.

Henry Mowrer spent his boyhood days on the home farm, his parents living in this state until he was four years of age, at which time they moved to Illinois, where they both died. He continued to reside in Illinois for some years and then returned to Gibson county, where he has since remained. After his marriage, in 1890, he farmed the Spore farm for fifteen years, and then purchased the John M. Smith farm of eighty acres, where he now lives. He carries on a general system of farming and also raises considerable stock. Of late years he has been engaged in the dairy business and has been very successful along that line. He has one of the largest and best equipped barns and machine sheds in the township and has improved his farm until it is one of the best farms in the locality. Within the last few years he has used more than eleven hundred rods of woven wire fencing and put in an extensive system of drainage. He is known throughout the community as one of the most progressive and wide-awake farmers of the county. He has always been a hard worker and tireless energy has not been without its rewards in his case.

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Although he is a Democrat in politics, he has never sought any political office, being satisfied to devote all of his time and attention to his farming interests. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and religiously, is a loyal and earnest member and trustee of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. His wife is a member of the General Baptist church, and both contribute liberally of their means to the support of their respective churches. The chief characteristics of Mr. Mowrer are his tireless energy, honesty of purpose and motive and every-day common sense, which has enabled him not only to advance his own interests, but also largely contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community honored by his residence.

JOHN W. TURNAGE.

It will always be a mark of distinction to have served in the Federal army during the great Civil War between the states. The old soldier will receive attention no matter where he goes if he will but make himself known, particularly if he puts on the old faded uniform. And when he passes away, which he will soon do, friends will pay him suitable eulogy for the sacrifices he made a half century ago on the battlefield or in the no less dreaded hospital. And ever afterward his descendants will revere his memory and take pride in recounting his services for his country in the hour of peril. The gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph is one of the old soldiers who went forth to fight to save the Union.

John W. Turnage was born March 9, 1840, in Shawneetown, Illinois, the son of Gardner and Julia Ann (Odam) Turnage. Gardner Turnage, the father, was a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and the mother of Owensburg. Kentucky, he dying in 1840 and his wife in 1848. They were the parents of two children, the subject, and James W. James W. died in 1897. He was a stationary engineer and lived in Washington. Daviess county, Indiana. He married Celia Ann Linder, who is also deceased, and they had one child. May, who married James Sertile, a contractor at Indianapolis.

The subject of this review went to live with his grandmother Odam as a boy, and had no chance to go to school. At the age of ten he went to live with an uncle, Willis Odam, at Covington, Fountain county, Indiana, and was with him until he reached his seventeenth year. when he went to work for himself in the woolen mills, continuing at this until 1860. He then went

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to Haubstadt, Gibson county, and enlisted in the army on July 8, 1861, be- coming a member of Company K, Twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, being mustered into the service of the Union army July 31, 1861. His regiment was sent to Jefferson City, Missouri, then to Springfield, and finally to Autville, where they wintered. In the spring of 1862 the regiment of which the subject was a member took part in the battle at Fort Donelson, were then at Fort Henry, Crump's Landing, and in the second day's battle at Shiloh. Marching to Gravel Ridge, they remained at that point for some time, and were then marched to Memphis, later going from there by boat to Helena, Arkansas, and up the Arkansas river and then up White river, en- gaging in the battles of Duval's Bluff and Arkansas Post. They were then ordered to Helena, crossed the Black river and returned to Helena, where they wintered. In the spring of 1862, on April 16, they were in the fighting around Vicksburg, and were almost continually engaged until July 4, 1863, . being in the battles of Champion's Hill, Black River and Vicksburg, and going to Jackson, Tennessee, were in a second battle there, marching back to Vicks- burg. By boat they proceeded to Port Hudson, Louisiana, and after a two days' stop, went on to New Orleans. After participating in the battle in Tash county, about eighty miles west of New Orleans, they returned to the Crescent City and spent the following winter. In the spring of 1864 they took part in the Red river campaign, then coming up the river to Alexandria, Mississippi, they built a dam across Red river to bar out gunboats and troop transports. They were then engaged in several skirmishes along the Red river and Old river and returned to New Orleans. Joining his regiment at Baton Rouge, the subject's enlistment expired July 31, 1864, and he started for home, coming by boat to Cairo, Illinois, and then proceeding to Indian- apolis to be paid.

After having thus honorably and faithfully served his country, Mr. Turnage again took up the pursuits of private life. April 9, 1865, he was united in marriage to Anna Vail, of Hamilton county, Ohio, near Cincinnati, the daughter of James and Lydia Ann (Layton) Vail, both natives of Ham- ilton county, Indiana, where they were reared and married. The father of the subject's wife was a shoemaker by trade and in 1856 or 1857 went to Shelby- ville, Illinois, where he worked at his trade and engaged in farming until his death, in 1870. His wife died December 10, 1842, and he was married a second time, his second wife being Sarah Marklin, of Ohio, who passed away in 1868. By his first marriage, Mrs. Turnage's father had four children : Peter, deceased, a farmer at Shelbyville, Illinois ; Charles, deceased, a farmer

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in Hamilton county, Ohio; Frank, deceased, a farmer in Effingham county, Illinois; the subject's wife. To his second marriage were born nine children, namely : Arthur L., who was born September 29, 1851, died young ; Lunetta, born August 17, 1854, and living in Illinois; Adalesea, born November 29, 1857, died young ; Alonzo, born September 16, 1859, also died in his infancy ; Florence, born June 6, 1862; Oscar, born May 18, 1864. married Sophia Pfohl and is a barber in Princeton; Geneva, born December 7, 1866, married a Mr. Griffith, of Allendale, Illinois; Walter L. is a barber by trade. and is in Chicago, Illinois ; Estella D., born May 31, 1872, is living in Illinois.

In 1864 Mr. Turnage went to Shelbyville, Illinois, and was employed in the woolen mill of the Hall Manufacturing Company until 1867, from there going to Haubstadt, Gibson county, and subsequently installed ma- chinery in woolen mills at Evansville and New Harmony, afterward remov- ing to King's Station, where he was engineer in the mill of A. J. Woods, then going to Fort Branch and installing an eight-run mill for Downey, Foster & Lewis. which he ran for several years. The subject later engaged in the implement business in Fort Branch with N. Beil & Company for three years, and then came to Princeton, where he was in the same line, forming the partnership of Riggs & Turnage, this firm existing for two years, and on the dissolution of the partnership Mr. Turnage, for a brief period, was with Martin Meyers in the same business. Selling out his interests, the subject took employment with the McCormick Harvester Company as a traveling representative, which he followed for three years, having the territory of Gibson and Pike counties and a part of Warrick county. In 1901 Mr. Turn- age resigned his position and took employment with the Russell Company, selling threshing machinery until 1009, he being general agent in charge of fifty-two counties in this state and Illinois. Since 1909 the subject's health has been poor, and he has lived in retirement.

To the subject and wife have been born eight children, namely : Emma Bell married Alfred Sutton, of Princeton. a butcher and farmer, and they have one son, Willis: Mittie married W. S. Swisher, a carpenter. of In- dianapolis: Anna is at home and has been with the Princeton Democrat for the last eighteen years; George W. is a railway fireman at Princeton, Indiana. and married Ada Wright: Tena married Charles Davis, of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, a conductor on the Big Four railroad, and they have three children, Edna. Anna Bell and Geraldine: L. G., of Princeton, is an elec- tric machinist at the mines, and married Ella Miller; John died February

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15, 1909; Frank, machinist, married Marcus St. Clair, of Hoxie, Arkansas, and they have two children, John and Mildred.

Mr. Turnage is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, having been a charter member of Archer Post No. 28 at Princeton, while, fraternally, he is a loyal member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The subject is a strong believer in the principles of the Demo- cratic party, while his affiliation in religious matters is with the Christian church.

ALBERT SCHUMACHER.

No profession has made greater advancement during the last half cen- tury than has the agricultural profession, and practically all of the dis- advantages which surrounded the pioneer farmer have been done away with because of the multitude of modern inventions which tend to lighten the farmer's labors. It takes less labor now to operate a farm of fifty acres than it did to operate a farm of ten acres fifty years ago, and inventions are coming into use every year which are helping the farmer to increase his sphere of usefulness. Indiana is recognized as one of the best farming states in the Union and no county in this state has better or more progres- sive farmers than has Gibson county. Among the hundreds of farmers who have made this county famous as an agricultural section, there is no one more worthy of a place in a biographical volume of this character than Albert Schumacher, the subject of this review.

Albert Schumacher, the son of Joseph and Anna ( Bawel) Schumacher, was born November 6, 1863, in Lynnville. Warrick county, Indiana. His father was a native of Germany and came to America when he was a young man about twenty-four years of age and settled in Warrick county. After working at farm labor in the locality in which he settled he married Anna Bawel in November, 1860, who had come with her parents to Warrick county when she was sixteen years of age. They were also natives of the fatherland. Joseph Schumacher then bought a farm near Lynnville in War- rick county and continued the operation of it more than fifty years, only re- cently moving to Lynnville. He served through the Civil war in Company E, Twenty-sixth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and is still active and in good health at the age of eighty-one years. By frugal and thrifty habits he suc- ceeded in acquiring about two hundred acres of well improved land, which

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his son now operates. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was born May 2, 1833, and died in Warrick county, in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schumacher were the parents of seven children: George, who died at the age of forty-three years; Albert, the immediate subject of this sketch; Amelia, born December 31, 1866, and died April 19. 1896; Charles, August, Otto and Hugo, the last two named being twins. Amelia married John Gie- selman, a farmer of Warrick county, and three children were born to them before her death, Adolph, Theodore and Walter; Charles married Helen Roth, and lives in Missouri, and has four children; August married Emma Clusmeyer, and lives in the southeastern part of Texas, where he is follow- ing the occupation of a farmer, and is the father of four children; Otto M. is a farmer in Kansas, and has two children, Joseph and Marie; Hugo mar- ried Carrie Stunkle, and lives in Warrick county, this state, on a farm, and is the father of two children, Albert and Norman. After the death of his first wife in 1882, Joseph Schumacher married Pauline Jeide, in May, 1883, a native of Posey county, this state, and to this union were born seven chil- dren : Mary, Jacob, Freda, Elmer, Ida and two who died in infancy. Mary married John Schmidt, and lives in this county on a farm; Jacob married Lillie Nordhorn, lives on his father's farm and has two sons, Richard and Leland: Freda lives at Evansville, Indiana; Elmer makes his home with his brother, Jacob, on the old homestead farm; Ida is living with her father in Lynnville.

Albert Schumacher was married November 14, 1886, to Mary Bluemle, daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth (Fischer) Bluemle. Her father was born in Germany on August 30, 1834, and came to America when he was about twenty-one years of age, settling in Posey county, this state, where he worked on a farm until he was married. His wife was also a native of Germany, born November 9. 1836, and is still living with her daughter at Anderson, Indiana. Mr. Bluemle died October 7, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Bluemle reared a family of six children, Albert, who died in infancy; Mary, the wife of Albert Schumacher, Mrs. Rosa Bawel, who died April 11, 1892; Lewis, Christina and Albert. Lewis married Hettie Mason and lives in Anderson. Indiana, and has three children, Doyle, Arnold and Orville: Christina mar- ried Lytle Corder, and also lives in Anderson, and is the mother of four children, Fornia, Errna, Harold and Louweir: Albert married Alice Fischer and lives in Rochester. Indiana, and is the father of two children, Verna and Donald.

Albert Schumacher spent his boyhood days on the farm near Lynnville;

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Indiana, receiving his elementary education in the district schools of his township. He worked on his father's farm until his marriage and about two years afterward. He then moved to a farm near New Harmony, Indiana, where he remained for a year and a half, and then moved to a farm near Cynthiana, this county, where he remained for a year. His next move was to a four-hundred-acre farm near Owensville, where he still lives. He owns one hundred acres of land himself, on which his son-in-law, Otto Kiefer, lives. Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher are the parents of two children, Adelia. born in 1887, who is still at home, and Nora, the wife of Otto Kiefer, who has one son, Desmond.

Fraternally, Mr. Schumacher is a loyal and earnest member of the Tribe of Ben-Hur, of Owensville, and politically, has always been an adherent of the Republican party, and has been very active in its councils in his county and locality, but has never been a seeker for any political office. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal church of Lynnville, and he contributes liberally to the support of that denomination.

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History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 80

Author: Stormont, Gil R Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen Number of Pages: 1284

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284