History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 81

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 81

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr Schumacher is a man of well rounded character, sincere, devoted and loyal to his friends, and he has all those qualities of head and heart which endear him to the confidence and esteem of all.

ARTHUR BROWN WOODS.

Among the men of sterling worth and strength of character who have made an impress on the life of the locality in which they live, no one has achieved a larger meed of popular respect than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review. His lifelong residence in one locality has given the people an opportunity to know him in every phase of his char- acter, and that he has been true to life in its every phase is manifest by the esteem and regard in which he is held by all those who know him. He has gained his success by his own honest endeavor and indomitable energy, and has placed himself in the front rank of the farmers of his community, by exercising these excellent qualities. He has outstripped less active plodders on the highway of life and has achieved a marked success in agricultural affairs and has won for himself a name which all men who know him delight to honor, owing to his upright life and habits of thrift.

Arthur Brown Woods, who is a son of Sidney M. and Seralda J. ( Keathley) Woods, was born October 28, 1869, five miles west of Princeton

815

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

on the old homestead farm. The Woods family are represented specifically elsewhere in this volume. Arthur B. Woods spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, enjoying the best education which the district schools of his time afforded. When he was a young boy his father died and shortly after- wards his oklest brother also dicd, and this caused Arthur B. to take the responsibility of caring for the family upon his own shoulders. It is to his credit that he was equal to the emergency. and successfully managed the farm for some years. He was married October 16, 1895. to Julia Thompson, the daughter of Francis Marion and Susanna (Fravel) Thompson. To Mr. and Mrs. Arthur B. Woods have been born six children, Darwin. Sidney, Vada, Frieda, Marjorie and Eugenia. After his marriage Mr. Woods purchased the old Smith farm of one hundred and ten acres, on which he still resides, and which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Later he added an additional ten acres, making a total of one hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land. He engages in general farming and also raises consider- able live stock, in which he has been very successful. He keeps abreast of the latest improvements in farming machinery and equipment and recently built a two-hundred-dollar silo, and made other improvements to the value of a thousand dollars on his place. He has remodeled the old residence which was on the farm when he bought it, and now has a most attractive and up- to-date farm in every respect, well fenced, well drained and by a scientific system of crop rotation he keeps his ground in good productive condition.

Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, be- longing to the lodge at Owensville. Although he has been a life-long Demo- crat he has never taken a very active interest in the deliberations of his party. He has never asked for any public office, but has been content to devote his time and energy to the building up of his agricultural interests. He and his wife are both loyal and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Owensville, and he acts as one of the trustees of the church.

Mr. Woods is a man of pleasing disposition, genial personality and easily makes friends wherever he goes. He always looks on the bright side of life and is very charitable to the faults of his neighbors. In his business trans- actions he is strictly honest and upright and exercises all those qualities which make for good citizenship. At the outset of his career Mr. Woods recog- nized the fact that perseverance and honest effort furnished the only royal road to prosperity and independence and began to work earnestly and dili- gently to advance himself, using these excellent qualities as guides, with the result that he is now numbered among the progressive and successful farmers of Gibson county.

816

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH.

An enumeration of the representative citizens of Gibson county, Indiana, would be incomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old and highly esteemed families of the county, and for many years a public- spirited man of affairs, he has stamped his individuality upon the community and added luster to the honorable name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might benefit his own condition as well as that of his neighbors and friends, consequently he long ago won the favor of a great number of people of Montgomery township, where he maintains his home in Owensville.

George Washington Smith is a native of the "Sucker" state, born in Logan county, Illinois, June 22, 1859, the son of Warrick and Margaret ( Simpson) Smith. Warrick Smith was a native of Gibson county, born in Owensville, September 23, 1831, being the third child and only son of Dr. Willis J. Smith, one of the pioneer physicians of Gibson county. Doctor Smith was born about 1800 at Danville, Kentucky, the son of parents in good circumstances. He was an extremely well educated man, a man of broad ideas which placed him in advance of his day and age. He received his medical training at the Louisville Medical College and came to Gibson county early in his married life. He was a man highly honored by all who knew him and his practice extended over a wide area: He made his home about two miles west of Owensville on what is now known as the Paden farm, and his practice extended from Princeton to New Harmony. He spent a great deal of time in the saddle, as was the custom of early physicians, and in taking his lonely way through unbroken spaces he met and made friends with the In- dians and by his honorable treatment of them won their sincere regard. To them he was the great "medicine man," and as such was honored and revered. His promising and useful life was early closed, his death occurring August 17, 1835. Before coming to Indiana, Dr. Willis J. Smith was united in mar- riage with Patsy C. Warrick, a daughter of Capt. Jacob Warrick. She was born on June 3. 1809, near Lexington, Kentucky. Captain Warrick was prominent in the early military affairs of the state of Indiana, and his record appears in that chapter in this work devoted to military affairs. At the battle of Tippecanoe he received his mortal wound and before his death occurred

GEORGE W. SMITH.

817

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

bequeathed his possessions to various heirs, a portion of which went to his daughter, Patsy C., wife of Dr. Willis J. Smith. The wife of Capt. Jacob Warrick was Jane Montgomery, who was born in Virginia in 1774 and in Gibson county married Jacob Warrick in 196 om Clark Co, Ky

Warrick Smith, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was united in marriage to Margaret M. Simpson in February, 1856, and they at once took up their residence near Atlanta, Logan county, Illinois. They resided on a farm, which he operated, and he also conducted a livery and sales stable in the town of Atlanta, remaining there for twelve years, at the end of which time he returned to his native Montgomery township. Here, in 1868, he purchased the John C. Simpson farm, where his wife was born, located directly north of Owensville. John C. Simpson and his wife, Margaret (Stewart), were the parents of Mrs. Warrick Smith. He came to Gibson county in the early forties and took up residence near Owensville, where he lived to a ripe old age, spending his very last days in the town of Owensville. Warrick Smith was a man who became prominent in the affairs of the com- munity, after taking up his residence on the Simpson farm, and lived there until his death, in June, 1902. His wife's death occurred January 24, 1895. They were consistent members of the General Baptist church and took great interest in the progress of that society's affairs. His fraternal affiliation was with the time-honored order of Freemasonry and he gave much of his time to the interests of the Democratic party. While not a seeker after office for himself, he wielded a definite influence for others. In the spring of 1897 he laid out and platted Smith's addition to the town of Owensville, adding a decided improvement in the affairs of that thriving town. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Warrick Smith, one of whom died in early infancy. Those growing to maturity are George W., the immediate subject of this sketch ; John Willis, farmer and bank director, residing north of Owensville, and Lillie, the only daughter, wife of Charles Murnahan, of Owensville.

George Washington Smith was nine years old when his parents returned to Gibson county from Logan county, Illinois, and has lived in the vicinity of Owensville ever since, both owning and renting land in various places. His education was received in the schools of his native county and he remained at home until his marriage, March 27, 1890, to Mina Montgomery, who was born near Owensville, a daughter of Benjamin F. and Hannah (Sharpe) Montgomery. Benjamin F. Montgomery was born south of Owensville, the son of Samuel and Cynthia Ann (Griggsby) Montgomery. Samuel Mont-

(52)

818

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA,

gomery was a son of Hugh Montgomery, Sr., and was called "Blind Sam," owing to an affliction of weak eyes, and to distinguish him from others of the same name in the community. Samuel Montgomery was an excellent gun- smith and several specimens of his work are still to be found near Owens- ville. Benjamin F. Montgomery, father of Mrs. George W. Smith, is con- sidered a quite versatile man, having the ability to handle many different lines of work with equal ease and facility. He has long been considered a resident of Owensville, and for the past twenty years has lived at the various homes of his children. His wife, who died March 3, 1874, was Hannah Sharpe, daughter of Harrison and Amaretta (Decker) Sharpe, and was born and raised near Vincennes, Indiana.

George Washington Smith holds membership in several fraternal bodies, among them being the Free and Accepted Masons, the Tribe of Ben-Hur, Modern Woodmen of America and others. He and his wife are both mem- bers of the Order of the Eastern Star and take an active interest in the affairs of the General Baptist church, of which both are members. Mr. Smith has always been a stanch Democrat and is considered one of the foremost men of his party in the township. He was at one time appointed a county com- missioner to fill a vacancy occurring and was himself a candidate for the office at the next election. He met defeat with his ticket, but succeeded in cutting down the nominal majority of the opposition to within a few votes of election. In 1898 he was elected a county commissioner and in the year 1900 was elected trustee of Montgomery township, serving four years. In 1908 he received the nomination for recorder of Gibson county, but was defeated, the election going to the opposition. He has recently been elected a member of the Owensville town board. When in office, he has been most conscientious in the discharge of the duties pertaining thereunto, often neglect- ing his own private affairs that public ends might not suffer.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of eight children, namely: Lyle Warrick, born October 31, 1892; Chauncey M., born May 6, 1894; Willis F., born February 29, 1896; Heber W., born February 9, 1898: Margaret, born April 10, 1900: Madeline, born February 18, 1902. died February 24, 1904; Mona A., born July 5. 1906, and Norman B., born May 25, 1908. Mr. Smith is considered a broad-minded man, full of spirit and a leader in those matters relating to the advancement of his fellow men. He is a man of decided con- victions on public questions, maintains his stand with resolute firmness and has made his usefulness felt in the various trusts with which he has been hon- ored from time to time. In every sphere of endeavor in which he has taken a

819

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

part, his unpretending bearing and strict integrity have elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens and his influence is always powerful and salutary in the community.

WILLIAM L. WOODS.

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed was among the favorably known and representative citizens of Gibson county. By his indomitable enterprise and progressive methods he contributed in a material way to the advancement of his locality and during the course of an honorable career was fairly suc- cessful in his business enterprises, having been a man of energy, sound judg- ment and honesty of purpose, and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.

William L. Woods, a native of Gibson county, was born five iniles south- west of Princeton on section 21, Patoka township, on September 13, 1820, and passed his entire life of seventy-six years on this one farm, having lived in three different houses in the same yard. This old homestead in the town- ship of Patoka was first owned by Joseph Woods, father of William L., who came to Gibson county, Indiana, from Tennessee in 1820. He secured gov- ernment land in section 21, Patoka township, which he converted from wild land into cultivated acres and well fruited orchards. In addition to general farming, he raised stock extensively, and was a successful, well- known and highly respected man. He and his wife, who was Elizabeth Hanna, died on this place. To them were born six children, namely: Pat- rick N., a farmer in Patoka township; Polly, deceased, who was the wife of Silas Stone, of Owensville; William L., the immediate subject of this sketch; Andrew Jackson ; Jane, who married John Hudelson and Abraham.

William L. Woods attended school in the little old log school house of early pioneer days, heated from an open fireplace and where the children sat on crude and uncomfortable puncheon seats. His schooling was necessarily limited and at an early age he began to assist his father around the farm and in the course of time came into the management of the home place. He was a very successful farmer and in addition to that line of work gave a great deal of attention to the different phases of the cattle business. He bought and sold cattle and other stock, paying special attention to the raising of

820

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Shorthorn cattle, long wool and Cotswold sheep; he also had a fine strain of Poland China hogs and a splendid class of general purpose horses. His activity in live stock naturally made him interested in the Gibson County Agri- cultural Society and fair, especially in his particular line. He was one of the directors and leading men of the fair association. His life was Amanda C. Mangrum, whom he married on the 14th of October, 1852, and she is still living west of Princeton at the age of eighty-two years. William L. Woods died on January 10, 1897, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.

Amanda C. Mangrum was the daughter of William and Mary C. (Douglass) Mangrum, and was born May 12, 1831. William Mangrum was born in North Carolina on January 8, 1792, and died on March 26, 1841. His marriage to Mary C. Douglass resulted in the birth of thirteen children, a typical pioneer family. The children were as follows: Alcephas W., born February 5, 1813 ; Olivia J., born November 22, 1814, died at the age of ninety-two years; Narcissa, born September 10, 1816; Trafton, born June 18, 1818; Spencer, born October 13, 1820; Valentine S., born December 28. 1822, died at the age of eighty-five years; William E., born December 31, 1824; John N., born January 13, 1827 ; Henry J., born March 4, 1829, died October 19, 1904; Amanda C., born March 12, 1831 ; Mary E., born Septem- ber 28, 1833; Lydia E., born September 18, 1835, now Mrs. John Selby, of near Petersburg. Indiana, and Mileta E., July 22. 1838.

William Mangrum was one of the first men to enter the county of Gib- SONi. He first settled in what was known as the Froggery settlement. The land was wild and uncultivated, and after securing a tract from the govern- ment he set to work to clear a space for a home and his crops. Mr. Mangrum did a great deal of freighting in the early days and also ran a peddler wagon for some time. At another time he occupied the unique position as driver of the overland stage between Evansville and Vincennes. He was a popular man in his day and was well liked. Both he and his wife died on the old home place. Mr. Mangrum was a member of the old Liberty church of the . Christian denomination. Politically, he was an old-line Whig.

William and Amanda C. Woods reared a family of seven children, as follows: Harriett Ann, wife of John McCarty, living west of Fort Branch, Indiana ; Jane, wife of Joseph Emerson, of near Owensville, Indiana; John Fremont, a farmer on the old homestead, whose wife was Essie Cushman; Martha, deceased wife of Thomas Emerson, a farmer of Montgomery town- ship: Olevia, widow of Joseph McCarty, who resides at McCaw Summit ;

821

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Lewis, who died September 12, 1872, at the age of six years, ten months and seven days, and George W.

It is appropriate at this juncture to say something of Joseph McCarty, whose widow now lives at McCaw Summit. Joseph McCarty was born in Patoka township, this county, on February 3, 1862, and was the son of Jacob and Nancy ( Wilson) McCarty, which parents were from Bloomington, Monroe county, Indiana. To these latter parents were born the following children who grew to maturity: John, who married Harriett Ann Woods, and now lives west of Fort Branch, where he keeps a well-stocked implement. store; William, who is deceased; Joseph ; Belle, who married James Adkins, of McCaw Summit; Amanda, who married first Charles Solomon, and later Benjamin Backley. Joseph McCarty attended the district schools and later the schools at Vincennes, and then took up farming in Patoka township, later, farming on the Woods and Dunlap places, and in 1906 bought a farm at McCaw Summit. In 1912 he built a home at this place. He was associated with Oscar Clark for many years in the implement business, the firm being known as Clark & McCarty. He was a member of the agricultural board for nineteen years. Mr. McCarty was a member of the Baptist church, and was a very strong Prohibitionist. His death occurred on June 3, 1913. He had married Olevia Woods, on December 1, 1881, and two children were born to this union, Harvey A. married Eva Brown and is the father of two children, Earl Brown and Paul Lamon ; Virgil lives at home with his mother. Mr. McCarty took an active interest in many business and civic enterprises during his life, at one time being president of the American National Bank of Princeton. During this time he was also interested in the White Church cemetery to a great extent.

George W. Woods, the son of William L. Woods, was born on April 12. 1868, at the family homestead. Patoka township, this county, and was educated in the district schools of Gibson county, also spending one year at the high school at Owensville. Indiana. ' On September 4, 1889, he was united in marriage to Eliza E. Brown, of Patoka township, a daughter of John L. Brown, a farmer. To their union have been born two children, namely : Carl L., who was educated in the home schools, was a salesman for several years, and is now employed at the Princeton postoffice, and Hazel D., who remains at home, and is a teacher in Patoka township schools.

From the time of his marriage until 1898 Mr. Woods was engaged in farming and then went into the harness and implement business at Princeton.

822

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

For six years he continued in this business, when he disposed of it and entered the livery trade.

Mr. Woods' political sympathies have always been with the Republican party, in whose affairs he has ever taken a quiet interest. His fraternal affiliations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Tribe of Ben-Hur and the Knights and Ladies of Honor, being connected with these societies through the local organizations at Princeton. He is also a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he gives a liberal support.

Altogether, Mr. Woods has led a well rounded and complete life, meas- uring up to the high standard of manhood in all relations of life and is well deserving of the high esteem in which he is held in the community.

VIVIAN H. EMMERSON.

The farmer is the bulwark of the nation and investigation has shown that a majority of our best business men in the cities were raised on the farm. George Washington was a farmer and was proud of the fact. Abra- ham Lincoln was raised on a farm in Spencer county, Indiana. Probably the most popular Democratic governor this state ever had was "Blue Jeans" Williams, who prided himself on being nothing but a farmer. The Repub- lican party never had a better governor than that plain and unostentatious farmer, James A. Mount. Verily the farmer is the bulwark of the nation and the salt of the earth. Among the farmers of this county none is more progressive than Vivian Emmerson, the subject of this brief review. He has been thoroughly schooled in all the multitude of agricultural details, which are the necessary concomitants of the best farmers. Careful and conserva- tive in his business methods and affairs, he is nevertheless sufficiently pro- gressive to make him keep apace with twentieth-century ideas and methods of agriculture. For these reasons it is eminently fitting that he find a worthy place in this volume.

Vivian Emmerson, the son of Thomas and Ella ( Montgomery) Emmer- son, was born October 20, 1881, on a farm three and one-half miles east of Owensville, this county. His father was also a native of this county, and lived on the farm practically all of his life, with the exception of the last few years, in which he engaged in the hardware business in Owensville. He

823

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

moved from the farm to Owensville in 1890, where he conducted a liardware store until his death in 1898. He served as county commissioner of Gibson county for two terms, but died before the expiration of his second term. He was well liked by everyone and did full justice to his important office by his square dealing and honest methods. His wife was also a native of Gib- son county and died in 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Emmerson were the parents of three children, Vivian H., the immediate subject of this sketch ; Virgil, deceased in 1891 ; Verlie, who married Marion Jones, a farmer in this county, having land adjoining that of the subject; Mr. and Mrs. Jones have one child, Lloyd, who is still at home.

Vivian H. Emmerson was reared on his father's farm and lived the life of the ordinary farmer's boy, attending school in the winter seasons and working on his father's farm during the summer months. After attending the Owensville high school he started to take the mechanical engineering course at Purdue University, but after continuing two terms he returned to the farm and engaged in the hardware business which he followed for about six years. In 1907, he closed out this business and returned to the home farm, where he has continued to reside until the present time.

Mr. Emmerson was married March 6, 1903, to Amanda Linenberger, the daughter of Frederick and Paula Ann (Bass) Linenberger. Her father was a native of Germany, but came to America while yet a young man with his parents. He has been a farmer, but is now living retired in Owensville. Mrs. Linenberger is a native of Barton township. this county, and is still liv- ing. They were the parents of six children: William, who lives at Johnson Station; Mrs. Mary Dyball, of Owensville; Amanda, the wife of the subject ; Simeon, Fred and Minnie, who are living with the subject of this sketch.

Mr. and Mrs. Vivian Emmerson have one son, Raymond, and are now living on the farm, enjoying all the pleasures of agricultural life. They have a fine home, well furnished and attractive, modern barn and ontbuild- ings, and one of the most up-to-date farms in the township. Mr. Emmerson is an enthusiastic Mason, being a member of the chapter, council and com- mandery of that order. Although he is a Republican in politics, he has never asked for any political office at the hands of his party, being satisfied to de- vote all his time and energies to his farming interests. He is a progressive farmer in every sense of the word, and is making a scientifie study of agri- cultural methods. While primarily attending to his own interests, he has not neglected his duty to his fellow man, but has been untiring in his efforts to inspire proper respect for law and order, and is ready at all times to assist humanity along civic and social lines.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 81

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