USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 86
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Warrick Smith was a worthy son of his excellent father and in his time was considered a leading citizen of Montgomery township. He took an active interest in political affairs, giving his stanch support to the Democrat party, and while he never sought office for himself, was known as a man of influence. He was a member of the ancient order of Free and Accepted Masons and also a member of the General Baptist church, giving of his time and substance to further the cause of that society. His death occurred in 1902, while his wife departed this life on January 24, 1895.
John Willis Smith was eleven years old when his parents returned to Gib- son county after their sojourn in Illinois, and he attended the schools of Owensville for a time after that. At the early age of twenty-one le began to show his business ability and foresight, and rented a tract of land, putting in a crop of wheat which made him excellent returns. From this he got his financial start. He purchased forty acres of swamp land, considered not valu- able, but by the time he had cleared and drained it, he had an excellent piece of farming land. When this was paid for, he added other tracts from time to time until he had accumulated almost five hundred acres of bottom land ..
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This he later sold to William Watson and in turn purchased three hundred and sixteen acres of excellent ground north of Owensville. In addition to general farming, he devotes his especial attention to the raising of pure blood Hereford cattle and has about thirty registered head. He also gives par- ticular attention to breeding an excellent strain of Percheron draught horses. In addition to his farming and stock raising interests, he is a director of the Owensville Banking Company, which company he helped organize and in which he has been since interested.
Mr. Sınith has never married. He is a member of the time-honored order of Freemasonry and politically gives his support to the Democratic party. At one time he was quite active in the affairs of that party, but of late years business has too closely claimed his attention. By his persistent advocacy of wholesome living, pure policies and honesty in business, Mr. Smith has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him, being re- garded as one of Gibson county's most substantial and worthy citizens, and therefore, merits representation in a work of the nature of the one at hand.
WILLIAM ROY GENUNG, M. D.
The final causes which shape the fortunes of individual men and the destinies of states are often the same. They are usually remote and obscure, their influence wholly unexpected until declared by results. When they in- spire men to the exercise of courage, self-denial, enterprise, industry and call into play the higher moral elements; lead men to risk all upon conviction, faith-such causes lead to the planting of great states, great nations, great peoples. That country is the greatest which produces the greatest and most manly men, and the intrinsic safety depends not so much upon methods and measures as upon that true manhood from whose deep sources all that is precious and permanent in life must at last proceed. Such a result may not be consciously contemplated by the individuals instrumental in the production of a country ; pursuing each his personal good by exalted means, they work out this as a logical result ; they have wrought on the lines of the greatest good. In reviewing the life of one such individual, we look back over the pathway he has trod and note its usefulness-its points worthy of emulation and perpetuation. What William Roy Genung, of Fort Branch, Indiana, has done for his fellow men and the community in general might, in a manner, be told in words, but in its far-reaching influences cannot be measured. He has
WILLIAM R. GENUNG, M. D.
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been in touch with the people, and from a sincere and deep-felt interest in their welfare has labored for all that would prove of public benefit, his position as one of his county's representative citizens being cheerfully conceded by all who know him.
The genealogical record of the Genung family has been written by several of the descendants, but that written by Mary Josephine Genung, now Mrs. L. M. Nichols, of Ithaca, New York, is considered the most reliable. The name is variously spelled Genung, Ganong and Gaming being the forms most com- monly used by the present generation. The Genungs now living in Gibson county are descended from Jean Guenon, who died previous to May 21, 1714. He was probably born in the province of Saintonge, France, in the vicinity of LaRochelle. At the time of the persecution of the Huguenots because of their religious belief, he, with others of that faith, went to Holland, where they first settled in Leyden, later going to Amsterdam. From the latter port Jean Genong sailed on April 2, 1657, in the ship "Draevat," under Captain Bester- vaer, and after a long and tedious voyage, landed at New Amsterdam, now New York. From the fact that he was noted on the list of passengers, it is con- cluded that he was not a child at that time. He settled at Flushing, Long Island, and among others was credited with being a property owner in records dated October 9, 1675. His will is dated November 24, 1703, at which time he was possessed of considerable property, which he divided among his sons, giving to Jeremiah forty acres and to John twenty-nine acres, leaving the bal- ance of his estate to his "beloved wife, Mararch." The military records con- tain the names of twenty-three members of this family who took part in the war of the Revolution, which is a very creditable record. Among the de- scendants of this emigrant and his wife was Elam Genung, son of Stephen Genung, who was born on May 27, 1796, at Genungtown (now East Madison, New Jersey), and died November 5, 1845. He was an ordained preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, and one of the first pastors at the Mt. Horeb Methodist Episcopal church in Warren township, Somerset county, New Jer- sey. From September I to December 2, 1814, he was in the United States service as one of Captain Carter's riflemen, and eventually removed to the state of Indiana, where he died. On January 15, 1820, he was married to Elizabeth Tucker, who was born on September 8, 1801, and who died in November. 1833. She was a daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Linn) Tucker, and the mother of six children. The third in order of birth of these children was Dr. William Roy Genung, who was born in Somerset county, New Jer-
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sey, on March 18, 1827. When five years of age he moved to Indiana with his parents and received his elementary education in the common schools of that frontier state. Later he became a student in old Asbury College (now DePauw University) at Greencastle, where he pursued his classical and liter- ary education, graduating in 1845. To him now belongs the distinction of being (in 1913) the oldest living graduate of that renowned educational in- stitution. Because of that fact he has been for over a year the holder of an alumni cane which formerly was the property of Thomas A. . Goodwin, of In- dianapolis, and which is to be handed down to the oldest living graduate, by whom it is to be retained the remainder of his life. At the time of the Doc- tor's graduation, in 1845, the finances of the college did not permit of their having an engraved diploma, the graduates in that day receiving a written certificate. In 1910, at the commencement, which the Doctor attended while the diplomas were being distributed, the Doctor remarked on the good fortune of the graduates that they had diplomas, and that they had none in his time. Thereupon the dean of the university made it his business to look up the first plate made for the college, and the Doctor was presented with a certified diploma, sixty-five years after his graduation, which gave him particular pleasure. The class of '45 has given a number of notable men to the country, among whom may be mentioned John Wesley Childs, of Kansas City, Mis- souri; Hon. James Harlan and others. Immediately after graduating from Asbury College, Doctor Genung took up the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Somerville E. Leonard, of New Albany, Indiana, with whom he continued his studies until 1849, when he entered the medical department of the University of New York, and after taking three full courses, was grad- uated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately afterwards he made a visit to Fort Branch, where his stepmother then resided, and was induced to remain here, and entered at once upon the practice of his pro- fession, building up a large and successful clientele. During the subsequent years Doctor Genung was numbered among the most prominent and success- ful doctors in this section of the state, having practiced over a wide radius of the country, and in many families he doctored successive generations. He was very successful and accumulated much material wealth, being owner of several splendid tracts of farm land at the time of his death. He long held distinctive prestige in a calling which requires much patience, sound mentality and intel -. lectual discipline of a high order, supplemented by rigid professional training and thorough mastery of technical knowledge, with the skill to apply the same, without which one cannot hope to rise above mediocrity in his profession. In
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addition to his long and creditable career in one of the most useful and exacting professions, the Doctor also proved an honorable member of the body politic, rising in the confidence and esteem of the public, and in every relation of life he never fell below the dignity of true manhood, nor in any way re- sorted to methods that invited criticism. In 1883 the Doctor was elected a member of the Indiana state Legislature, where he served with credit to him- self and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Effectually a man among men, he ever moved as one who commanded respect by innate force, as well as by superior ability. As a citizen he easily ranked among the most influential of his compeers in affairs locking toward the betterment of his home city and county.
On June 17, 1866, Doctor Genung married Louisa Strain, daughter of Rev. T. M. and Mary (Lagrange) Strain, and to them were born the follow- ing children : Frances Lake, who completed her education at DePauw Uni- versity, was married on October 25, 1886, to J. R. Hedden, representative of the Evansville & Terre Haute, now the Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad, and whose death occurred in 1893. To Mr. and Mrs. Hedden were born the following children : Jessie May, the wife of Prof. Hallam Walker Davis, of Manhattan, Kansas; Edith Louise, assistant principal of the Fort Branch high school. was also a graduate of DePauw University: John Richard, a traveling salesman; Horace Genung is represented in a later paragraph of this sketch ; Bertha, the wife of W. C. Polk, of Fort Branch; Mary Elizabeth, the wife of R. M. Stormont, of Oakland City, and Homer, who is also represented in a later paragraph.
Horace Genung was born at Fort Branch, Indiana, on February 7, 1870, and secured his elementary education in the Fort Branch public schools, and attended the high school. He then entered DePauw University, and after finishing the course there, he returned to Fort Branch. and entered upon the management of the home farm, to which he devoted his attention for eight years. In 1893, owing to his wife's ill health. he removed to California, where he remained three years, then returning to Fort Branch, he bought an interest in the Fort Branch Milling Company, of which he became superintendent. He continued purchasing stock in this enterprise, of which he eventually ob- tained the controlling interest, being now president and general manager. The original mill, which was built at King's Station about 1878, was later re- moved to Fort Branch, and many substantial and permanent improvements have been made, Mr. Genung having spent over ten thousand dollars in build- ings and equipment. The mill, which is up-to-date in every respect, has a daily .
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capacity of one hundred barrels. They buy corn and wheat, shipping the former and grinding the latter. Their favorite brand of flour bears the trade names of Seven Stars and Wild Rose. The former has an immense sale in the South, where it is considered a leading brand of flour. Mr. Genung is also a stockholder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and owns a farm one mile east of Fort Branch, which he has found a profitable source of income.
In March, 1890, Horace Genung was married to Margaret Blessing, the daughter of John Blessing, a pioneer settler of Gibson county, and to this union has been born one child, John Roy, who is now a student in the medical department of Indiana University. Fraternally, Mr. Genung is an enthus- iastic member of the Masonic order, belonging to the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and the Scottish Rite, in which he has taken the thirty-second degree. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee and he is also actively interested in the Sunday school, being the present superintendent.
Homer T. Genung was born at Fort Branch, Indiana, on February 12, 1882, being the youngest child born to his parents. His early education was received in the public schools of Fort Branch, and after his graduation from the high school, he took a course at Purdue University. Upon the completion of his technical training, he and his brother-in-law, W. C. Polk, purchased the drain tile plant which had been organized by Douglas & Polk some time during the sixties, and after being engaged in this enterprise for some time they in- stalled an electric light plant on the same premises, having continued since to supply the city of Fort Branch with commercial and public light. In 1911 the tile plant was dismantled, because of the fact that a silo business had been started which demanded their full attention. The latter business consists of the manufacture of forms used in the making of concrete silos, and they also manufacture forms for making cement grain storage buildings. This business has steadily increased and has necessitated the erection of a fine new plant, now in the course of construction, which will be one hundred and ten by one hundred and fifty feet in size, the office being in the second story. The pres- ent officers of the Polk-Genung-Polk Company are as follows: President, W. C. Polk; vice-president, H. O. Cherry ; secretary-treasurer, H. T. Genung; assistant treasurer, W. A. Polk. The new plant will employ about thirty men, and will, when completed, have cost about twenty-five thousand dollars. The output of this company has been distributed to many distant points of the country, including Brownsville, Texas, Montana, San Francisco and New York. The products of the company are covered by patents, and the outlook
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for future business is very promising. The production of electrical power has also proven a profitable feature of the business, it being a twenty-four hour service, and Mr. Genung, as one of the leaders in the enterprise, has shown a public spirit in all his enterprises, seeking ever to advance the best interests of the community. A good business man in every respect, keen and sagacious in his judgment, he has so managed his affairs as to reap satis- factory pecuniary reward and also gain the esteem and confidence of the entire community.
Fraternally, Mr. Genung is a member of the Masonic order, being a mem- ber of Fort Branch Lodge, No. 696, and has taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite, up to and including the thirty-second, being also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, Hadi Temple, Evansville.
ALEXANDER D. GREEN.
It was remarked by a celebrated moralist and biographer that "there has scarcely a life passed of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not have been useful." Believing in the truth of this opinion, expressed by one of the greatest and best of men, the writer of this review takes pleasure in presenting a few facts in the career of a gentleman who, by industry, per- severance, temperance and integrity, has worked himself from an humble station to a successful place in life and won an honorable position among the well-known and highly esteemed men of the locality in which he resides.
Alexander D. Green was born August 5, 1846, in Knox county, Indiana, the son of John D., of Knox county, he the son of John D., of Virginia. The grandfather, with a brother, Samuel, who had first settled in Henderson county, Kentucky, came to Indiana in pioneer times and settled in Knox county, where he married a Miss Dun (her mother a Bogardus), and lived the remainder of his life. To the subject's grandparents were born the following children : William, Robert, James, Samuel, Harriett, Eliza and the subject's father. John D. died in Vincennes and the rest of the children have all lived and died in Knox county.
The father of Alexander D. Green received an exceedingly limited edu- cation in the Knox county schools and resided in that county until 1864, when he removed to Evansville, Indiana. He was a bricklayer by trade and also engaged in agriculture. He was a very active man, a stanch Republican and . a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. In 1868 he removed to
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Princeton, Gibson county, and shortly afterward built the old school which stood on the site of the new high school. For a number of years he engaged in contracting and building and a number of the best structures of his day were monuments to his skill and industry. He lived to the ripe old age of seventy-four. Twice married, his first wife, who died in 1854, bore him the following children: Alexander D., the subject; Dora married Thomas Hart, of Denver, Colorado; Mollie died in Texas, and William M. died in Danville, Illinois. The second wife of the subject's father was Ann M. Draper, of Knox county, Indiana, and this union was blessed by the birth of eight children, namely : Fannie, the wife of William F. Westfall, of Knox county ; Carrie married William Phillips, and lives in Evansville; Nellie, de- ceased, was the wife of George Brown, of Evansville; Charles, a bricklayer, resides in Memphis, Tennessee; Effie, deceased, was the wife of George Davis, of Gibson county; James lives in Vincennes; Frank is a bricklayer in Vin- cennes; Fred is a railroad man of Vincennes.
The subject of this review in early boyhood attended the county schools, being compelled to follow a blazed trail four or five miles through the dense forest to reach the little log school house. Until the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Green remained at home working on his father's place and for neighboring farmers.
In August. 1863, Mr. Green enlisted in Company E, Fifty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Denny, his maternal grand- father. After being sent to Indianapolis for outfitting and drill, the com- mand to which the subject was attached was sent first to Louisville, Ken- tucky, and then to Nashville, Tennessee, where, after a few skirmishes, they proceeded to Chattanooga and took part in the fighting at Missionary Ridge and Rome, Georgia. Here the regiment was captured and incarcerated in the famous Libby prison for three weeks, after which they were paroled, and Mr. Green returned to his home. However, he again enlisted in the fall of 1864. this time as a substitute for his father, being assigned to Company K. Forty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and in this command he was a participant in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, Tunnel Hill and Ottawa and was also in a number of skirmishes. On the completion of his service at the end of the war, Mr. Green was mustered out in September. 1865. at Indianapolis.
July 22, 1870, Mr. Green was united in marriage to Sarah A. Pollard, daughter of A. C. and Lucinda (Thompson) Pollard, who came from their native state of Virginia in early days and settled in Hillsdale, Vermillion
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county, where they engaged in agriculture and passed their lives. To the sub- ject and wife have been born four children, namely : Harry E., a bricklayer, of St. Louis, Missouri, who married Jennie Birmingham and has two children, Muriel and Ruth: John, who married Artie Berlin and lives in Princeton; Austin C., a bricklayer, who married Maud Garrett, of Tennessee, and lives in St. Louis, Missouri; William W., a brick layer, who married Chloe A. Mills, of Bellmont, Illinois, and resides at home with his parents.
After the Civil war Mr. Green located in Evansville, Indiana, and worked at his trade, also doing a great deal of contracting. Subsequently he followed his trade of masonry in a great many of the Western states, return- ing to Indiana in 1871 and locating in Gibson county at Princeton. He lived there until 1884, when he bought his present home place, known as the "Green's Fruit Farm," one and one-half miles northeast of the town on the Wheeling and Princeton road, where he has developed a fine place. Since coming to this community Mr. Green has done a great deal of contracting, both in Princeton and throughout the county.
Mr. Green is a member of Archer Post No. 28, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he takes an active interest, having attended a great many reunions and encampments of that organization. He also belongs to the Bricklayers' Union at Princeton. In his political belief Mr. Green is a Demo- crat.
JOHN KELL MCGREGOR.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an eminently active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative distinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biog- raphy finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and re- cording of such a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is demanded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement, and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored subject whose life now comes under review.
John Kell McGregor, familiarly known as "Kell" McGregor, is a native of Gibson county, born in Barton township November 18, 1839, a son of John and Jane ( Faris) McGregor, he a native of Ohio and she originally from eastern Missouri. John McGregor was a son of Andrew, born in county
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Deery, Ireland, and who came to America when a young man and settled in Ohio. Later he came to Gibson county, Indiana, and located in Barton township, being among the first settlers in the county. He passed the re- mainder of his life in Barton township and died on his original home there at the advanced age of ninety-six years. He was twice married and to his first union were born four children, Robin, George, Eliza and John. By his second wife he also had four children, Andrew, Polly, Joseph and Nancy.
John McGregor, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, had but a limited education in his youth, opportunities for acquiring more than the rudiments of an education being so meager in this new country. He was but a small boy when his parents came to Gibson county, but he managed to acquire a limited education, and continued to pursue his studies alone, reading such works as came to his hand, until he came to be considered a well-in- formed man. When he grew to young manhood, he secured a tract of govern- ment land in Barton township, which he proceeded to clear and convert into a home. He put up a small cabin and here he and his wife set up their home and reared their family. He died at the age of seventy-six on this old home- stead : his wife had preceded him several years. His mode of life was such as to win for him the highest regard and liking of all with whom he came in contact. There were thirteen children born to John McGregor and wife. Mary Ann, the oldest, became the wife of Joseph Gest, and both are dead. He was a member of Company F, Forty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was killed during the battle of Chickamauga. Mrs. Gest died in January, 1912. F. Marion married Iva Martin, a farmer of Barton town- ship, and both are dead, as are also Elizabeth and her husband, James Sover- cool. He was a member of Company F. Forty-second Regiment Indiana Infantry, during the Civil War. George W. (deceased) married Anna Burns, and she is still living in Pike county. He was also a member of Com- pany F, Forty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Ellen died unmarried. James (deceased) was a member of the same company and regi- ment mentioned above, and at his death left a widow, who was Mary Mc- Cleary. The seventh child in the family was John Kell, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch. Gilbert married Jane Kell and lived in Barton township; both deceased. Jane is the widow of George Johnson and resides in Barton township. Samuel is a farmer and gardener, in the same township. His wife was Lavina Currey. Eliza is the wife of John C. Martin, a farmer of Barton township. Josiah, who died in May, 1913, was a farmer. He mar- ried Tebitha Green. Hannah, the youngest, died when a small child.
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