USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 95
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George Weber received his. early education in the Posey county schools and worked on his father's farm until his marriage. Here he was taught by his worthy father all those multitudinous details which the farmer must know if he wants to be successful in his chosen vocation.
Upon his marriage on January 15, 1884. to Catherine Maurer, the daugh-
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ter of George and Elizabeth (Carter) Maurer, he went to farming on eighty acres which he had previously bought but not paid for entirely. His wife's father was a native of Germany and had come to this state early in life and settled in Gibson county where he married, his wife being a native of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Weber were born nine children: Elizabeth (de- ceased ), whose birth occurred April 15, 1885: Mary, born December 22. 1887; Maggie, born September 7. 1889; Joseph, born October 24, 1891 ; William, born April 15, 1894, who is a traveling salesman out of Chicago: Frances, born November 6. 1896; Theresa, born June 1, 1899; Edith, born October 29, 1902; Anna, born September 2, 1906. All of the children are still at home except Mary and Maggie, who live at Evansville, Indiana ..
Mr. Weber has been a very successful manager and has gradually added to his landed possessions until he now owns one hundred forty-three and a half acres in this county. He has built a fine residence upon his farm and enjoys all the modern conveniences of life. This has been accomplished by the application of those principles of sterling honesty and integrity in all his business transactions with his fellow citizens.
The Democratic party has always received his earnest endorsement and upon election days he gives to its men and measures his ballot. He has never asked for any political favors at the hands of his party being content to devote all of his time and energy to his agricultural interests. He and his family are loyal members of the Catholic church and contribute liberally of their means to the support of that denomination. They have always co-operated with every movement which was directed toward the bettering of the com- munity in which they lived. The honesty of Mr. Weber stands as an un- questioned fact in his career and there are other elements which are equally strong in his character and which command for him the unqualified con- fidence of those with whom he is associated.
JOSEPH SEBASTIAN.
Gibson county is characterized by a goodly share of sturdy German descendants and no better people can be found in any section of the state. They have done much for the development of the state and wherever they have settled they have been prominent factors in the material progress of their respective communities and have done their full share towards the establish- ment of the various institutions of civilization. Many of these honored
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pioneers are still living in the midst of the scenes of their former labors and are today enjoying the richly merited respect and material rewards which have come to them as the result of their earnest and honest endeavors. One of this number is the gentleman whose name heads this brief sketch and whose father was one of the earliest German settlers of the county.
Joseph Sebastian, one of the most prosperous German descendants of the county, the son of George J. and Genieva (Armbruster) Sebastian, was born July 10, 1854. in Vanderburg county, Indiana. Both of his parents were natives of Germany, his father coming to America when he was about thirty-five years of age and settling on land near Evansville. At that time the land was a forest wilderness and the axe of the white man had never touched it. He paid the first taxes on the land and with grim determination started in to make his farm yield the best possible results. He was com- pelled to endure all of those hardships and deprivations which fall to the lot of the pioneers in any new country, and with true German thrift he suc- ceeded. He and his good wife in the course of time had one of the best farms in the county and reared a large family of eight children, the subject of this sketch being their fifth child.
Joseph Sebastian's boyhood days were spent in the usual manner of farmer lads, going to the district schools for a short time in the winter and working on his father's farm in the summer. He continued to labor on the home farm until his marriage, which occurred on April 6, 1880. His wife was Louisa Wolf, the daughter of Martin and Mary A. (Deamer) Wolf. Both of his wife's parents were born in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian are the parents of five children : Joseph G., who was born May 10, 1881. He is a blacksmith and liveryman at Mackey, Indiana, and also manages the grain elevator at the same town. He married Anna Brahm and has five children : Bruner, Katherine, Wibert, Rosa and George Washington : John M., the sec- ond child, was born February 26, 1887, and lives upon one of his father's farms. He married Mary Angemier and has one son, Joseph G .; two sons are living on a homestead in Montana-Martin F., born April 24, 1885, and Frank .A., born November 25, 1886; Mary G., the youngest child of the sub- ject, is at Ferdinand, Indiana, in a convent.
Mr. Sebastian is possessed of more than ordinary ability, as is shown by his success in life. Starting out with practically nothing, he has gradually added to his landed possessions until he now owns a farm of three hundred acres of as fine land as can be found in the county. This result has been obtained only by painstaking and conscientious efforts and the application
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of strict business principles. As a citizen and neighbor he takes a lively inter- est in whatever concerns the welfare of his community, being a man of in- telligence, good judgment and commendable public spirit. He has a beauti- ful home on his farm where he and his faithful wife are surrounded with all the comforts of modern life.
Mr. Sebastian's affiliations politically have always been with the Repub- lican party but he has never sought any office at the hands of his party. He and all the members of his family are devoted adherents of the Catholic church and have contributed to the various activities of their church in ac- cordance with their means. His life has been wholesome and exemplary in every respect and his course in all matters has been such as to win him the respect and regard of all with whom he has come in contact. As a gentle- man, citizen, business man and Christian, his life has been well rounded out and he stands today as one of the best representative men of his county.
LEVI WALLACE COULTER.
Conspicuous among the representative men and public-spirited citizens of Gibson county is the well known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article. He has made his influence felt for good in his community in Montgomery township, where he owns eighty-eight acres of finely located land, being a man of sterling worth, whose life has been closely interwoven with the history of the community in which he resides. His efforts have always been for the material advancement of his locality, as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow men, and the well regulated life he has led has gained the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens.
Levi Wallace Coulter was born on December 8, 1834, on the Susque- hanna river in Pennsylvania, the son of Hugh and Rebecca (Wilaman) Coulter. When he was a little child about a year old, his parents decided to try their fortunes in what then seemed the far west and decided to settle in Indiana, and did so, locating about five miles north of Washington, Indi- ana, Daviess county. There they purchased land, but later disposed of it and removed to Gibson county. Hugh Coulter had lived there but a few years when his death occurred about the year 1852, while the subject of this sketch was quite a young man.
Levi Wallace Coulter first came to Gibson county in the spring of 1848,
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having made arrangements to work for a brother-in-law residing here. This was Samuel Wheeler, who had rented a farm on Black river in the southern portion of Montgomery township. Two years later Samuel Wheeler moved within about seven miles of Evansville, Indiana, where he also rented a farm, and young Levi Wallace Coulter went with him. They remained there about a year and in the fall of 1850 Wheeler purchased land in Gibson county, north of Union Chapel. Levi Wallace Coulter returned with his brother-in-law, but hired out to another man for six months. It was his wish to attend school and the arrangement entered into was that he should work for six months and board and clothing to be furnished him and be permitted to attend school. He fulfilled his part of the agreement, but his employer did not and so he sought another place, working about for different neigh- bors. He worked for Edward Knowles until 1854 and then entered into an agreement with him whereby he was to operate Knowles' farm for his board and half the crops. Mr. Knowles died the following autumn.
In the fall of 1856, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage to Malissa Knowles, daughter of Nathan and Temperance ( Boren ) Knowles. Malissa Knowles was born November 23, 1834, and was reared on the land where they now reside, the same spot they have lived ever since their mar- riage fifty-seven years ago. Truly this is an enviable record, a privilege enjoyed by few indeed. Nathan Knowles, father of Mrs. Coulter, was born June 17, 1795, and, when a small hoy, went from his home in Delaware to Georgia with his parents, James Knowles and wife. He had reached young manhood when in 1811 the family came here and his father. James Knowles. secured land on section 23 in Montgomery township, where Mounts Station is now, and there he passed the remainder of his life. After a few years. Nathan Knowles entered land in section 35, north of Cynthiana, where he lived for many years and on which spot he died February 2, 1892. Had he lived until the following June, he would have been ninety-seven years old. It was there he was married to Temperance Boren, who was born September 19. 1800, and died September 13. 1835. She was the daughter of Nicholas Bowen, who settled near Blythe Chapel in Gibson county and died there. Ezekiel and John were his sons and located and died east of Cynthiana.
Levi Wallace Coulter and. wife are the parents of two children, namely : Elvis M., who lives on the same farm with his father and attends to the actual work about the place. His wife was Sally Downs and they have a family of four children, two sons and two daughters: Floyd and Grover are the sons, and the daughters are Mrs. Cleo Cater and Mrs. Mamie Steele. The other
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son of Mr. and Mrs. Coulter is Nathan McClellan, who resides about one and one-half miles east of his father on the line between Johnson and Mont- gomery townships. He married Etta Pitzer and they have two children, Opal and Wilson.
The house in which Mr. and Mrs. Coulter live was built in 1821 when timber was plentiful and that of which it is composed is heavy and strong. It was originally a log house of one large room with a great fire place in one end, but has since been weatherboarded, added to and made a more modern dwelling. Mr. Coulter has an excellent memory and has many interesting things to tell of early pioneer days. Their home has an inviting air of hospitality that insures a welcome to all. Mr. Coulter recalls the log rollings of those early spring times and says the first cook stove he ever saw was owned by his brother, Hiram, who had purchased it at Washington, Indiana, and used it to heat his house. That was about 1847. He also recalls the enthusiasm of the people over the first railroad, and the timidity felt at any- thing that could run so fast of its own power, although it would be considered anything but speedy in our day and age. Politically, Mr. Coulter has always given his support to the Democrat party. His many years of residence in the community have won for him and his faithful wife the unbounded friend- ship of old and young alike.
ANDREW J. WILDEMANN.
One of the enterprising and successful farmers of Gibson county who has succeeded in his chosen vocation solely through his own courage, per- sistency and good management is Andrew J. Wildemann, of Center township. a man who believes in lending what aid he can to his neighbors and the gen- eral public while advancing his individual interests. Descended from Ger- man parentage, he has all of those excellent traits which make the German citizens of our country welcome wherever they settle.
Andrew J. Wildemann, the son of Charles and Sally ( Aker) Wildemann, was born in Posey county, Indiana, November 4, 1863. Both of his parents were natives of Germany and lived there until after their marriage, when they came to America and settled in Posey county. In 1882 the family moved to Gibson county and settled on the farm now owned by their son, Henry. Charles Wildemann died July 27, 1909. his wife having passed away
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many years before, February 23, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wildemann were the parents of a large family of twelve children : Mrs. Carrie Whitman; Mrs. Katie Gerhart, deceased; Andrew J .; Mrs. Lizzie Weaver; Mrs. Rosie Stateman; Charles, who is represented elsewhere in this book; Henry, who is also represented elsewhere in this volume; Frank, a farmer of Center town- ship, in this county; Joseph; Mrs. Maggie Smith; and Sallie, who died infancy.
Andrew J. Wildemann received the limited education which was to be obtained from the district schools of Posey county and has supplemented it with reading and close observation. He assisted his father on the home farm until the time of his marriage, in this way becoming familiar with all the details which mark the successful farmer.
Andrew J. Wildemann was married to Katherine M. Freppon, the daugh- ter of Mattias and Katherine Freppon, on November 22, 1892. Mattias Freppon was a native of Germany and came to this country with his parents when he was about three years of age. He saw service in the Civil war in Company A, Forty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in continuous action for three years and six months. Mr. and Mrs. Freppon are still living in Evansville, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Wildemann are the parents of three children: Stella R., born August 23, 1893, and still living at home: Lillie, deceased; Leo, de- ceased ; they also reared a boy, Herbert Chesser, taking him in their home when he was nine years of age. He continued to live with them until he was eighteen, when he moved to Montana.
Mr. Wildemann has been very successful as a tiller of the soil on his farm of one hundred and twelve and a half acres of land. He is careful and con- servative in all his business transactions and yet is sufficiently far-sighted to make good investments. As a stockholder and director in the Francisco State Bank, he is closely identified with the financial interests of his com- munity, and is recognized as a man of more than ordinary ability along busi- ness and commercial lines. He also has invested in property in the town of Princeton, Indiana.
Mr. Wildemann has always advocated the policies and principles of the Democratic party, and takes an active interest in the caucuses and conventions of his party. However, he has never been a candidate for political office, preferring to give all of his time and attention to his own affairs. He and the remainder of his family are devout members of the Catholic church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Mr. Wildemann is a man
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who makes friends wherever he goes, and because of his personal qualities of honesty and integrity, he has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in the community where he has lived so many years.
ELIJAH BINKLEY.
To a great extent the prosperity of the agricultural section of our coun- try is due to the honest industry, the sturdy persistence, the-unswerving per- severance and the wise economy which so prominently characterize the farm- ing element of the Hoosier state. Among this class may be mentioned the subject of this life record, who, by reason of years of indefatigable labor and honest effort, has not only acquired a well merited material prosperity, but has also richly earned the highest esteem of all with whom he is as- sociated. Mr. Binkley has preferred to spend his life in his native community, believing that richer opportunities existed near his own threshold than else- where. He represents one of the old and sturdy families of the section of the state of which this history deals, the Binkleys having played well their part in the affairs of the same from the early days to the present time and- the subject has sought to keep the good name of his progenitors untarnished.
Elijah Binkley, who for many years was numbered among the active and industrious agriculturists of Gibson county, but who is now retired from active labor, was born on December 26, 1833, in Patoka township, this county, and is the son of George and Catherine (Chinn) Binkley. These par- ents, who both were natives of Yadkin county, North Carolina, were reared and married in their native state and in 1827 came to Warrick county, In- diana. A short time later they removed to Gibson county, locating in Patoka township, where Mr. Binkley secured a tract of wild land, which he cleared and developed into a good farm. Their first home was a rude log cabin, typical of that pioneer period, and here they established their home and reared their children to honorable manhood and womanhood. They spent the re- mainder of their lives on that place, and died there. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and people of sterling qualities of character, enjoying to a very creditable degree the confidence of the community. They were the parents of eleven children, namely : James, who went to Kansas and was there killed ; Frederick, who moved to Kansas, where his death occurred ; Jacob, deceased; Elijah, the immediate subject of this sketch; Pauline, the widow of William Van Zant, and now residing in Princeton; Julia Ann, the
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wife of Henry Thomas Tichenor, of Princeton; Dicy, deceased, who was the wife of William Spore, of Princeton; George, deceased; Caroline, who lives in Kansas; Lovina is the widow of Warren Wade of Missouri, and Lewis, a retired farmer of Princeton.
The subject of this sketch received a limited education, his only oppor- tunity being the subscription schools of his neighborhood, which in that early day were rather primitive, both in methods and equipment. He lived at home until about 1858, when he was married, and then lived for a while on a part of his present farm, which he cleared and otherwise improved. This place has been added to from time to time until he is now the owner of eighty acres of valuable and well-improved land. To the cultivation of this tract, Mr. Bink- ley devoted himself with such splendid success that in 1901, feeling that he had gained a competency sufficient to free his later years from care, he re- tired, and is now living quietly at his home in Patoka township.
On April 8, 1858, Mr Binkley married Matilda Sweezey, a native of Gibson county, Indiana, a daughter of Sanford and Elizabeth (Jennings) Sweezey. These parents were born and reared in Nelson county, Kentucky, but were early settlers in Gibson county, where they located on a tract of land in Patoka township. To Mr. and Mrs. Sweezey were born the following children : Nancy J., deceased; William H., deceased, and Matilda, who is now Mrs. Binkley. Sanford Sweezey died at the age of fifty. He had been a successful farmer, and as a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, he wielded a beneficent influence in that community. He was three times married, his second wife being Nellie LaGrange, and the third wife, Mary Ann Booker. To Mr. and Mrs. Binkley has been born a son, Henry L. Binkley, a traveling salesman, who married Mary Alice Irvin, and they have a daughter, Hazel, the wife of Paul Carey.
Politically, Mr. Binkley has always voted the Republican ticket, especi- ally in national elections, while in local affairs he assumes a more independent attitude, voting for the man whom he deems best qualified for the office. He is in close touch with all public works, and holds a decided opinion on all the great issues of the day. He and his wife are members of the General Baptist church, belonging to the society known as the White Church. Mr. Binkley is well preserved for a man of his years, retaining his mental and physical faculties to a marked degree, and, having a splendid memory, is authority on many incidents connected with the early life of the community. It is related1 of him that at one time he knew personally almost every resident of Gibson county. Having begun life practically at the bottom of the ladder, he climbed
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to the top with no help but a brave heart, industrious hand and an intelligent brain, and is a living example of what may be accomplished in this favorite country of nature, by patient perseverance, even under circumstances often- times discouraging. Genial and unassuming by nature, he has many warm friends and is liked by all who know him.
EDGAR MAUCK.
The biography to which the reader's attention is now directed is that of Edgar Mauck, ex-county treasurer of Gibson county, Indiana, and successful farmer, a man who, by reason of his active interest in politics, his business connections and his genial personality, is widely known and universally liked and respected. The families from which Mr. Mauck is descended have been prominent in the history of Gibson and other counties in the southern portion of the state, and it is highly interesting to trace back his family for several generations.
Beginning with John Mauck, great-grandfather of the immediate sub- ject of this sketch, we find he was with Cornwallis's army at the battle of Yorktown. A native of Virginia, he married a Miss Keyser and after the close of the Revolutionary war he went into Tennessee, and, still journeying westward, came to the Kentucky shore of the Ohio river at a point opposite the present town of Mauckport, in Harrison county, Indiana. This was in the year 1801, at which time there was the merest settlement at the place named. He came into Indiana at that point, obtained land, on which he located and the town that sprung up about him was given his name. He was a man of ability and a leader of his day, and was known far and wide and highly respected by all. He built the first mill at Mauckport and, after rearing a large family, he and his wife died and were buried there.
Joseph, one of the sons of John Mauck, and grandfather of Edgar Mauck, was born in 1787 and took as his wife Grace Broyles. They came to Gibson county about the year 1821 and obtained wild land, which they cleared and made a home. His efforts were mainly devoted to farming, but he also operated flat boats on the river, a picturesque mode of transpor- tation in those days. Flat boats were constructed, loaded perhaps with the produce of a whole neighborhod and, manned by several men, would drift down the river to various points, sometimes even as far as the excellent
ALFRED MAUCK.
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market at New Orleans, and then, when the cargo was disposed of, woukd make the return journey, often the entire distance, by foot. Joseph was one of three brothers, the others being John and Henry, who came together to Gibson county, locating in Montgomery township. All reared large families and the present-day Maucks are mostly descendants of these three brothers. Joseph was also widely known and respected, as had been his father, and was a leading man of his day in the community. He was a member of the Bap- tist church and a Democrat. His death occurred in 1857. Joseph and wife reared a family of eleven children, who grew to manhood and womanhood, namely: Elizabeth, born September 20, 1808, became the wife of Thomas - Son Roberts, and they passed their lives together in Montgomery township, Gib- son county. Julius, who was born December 20, 1810, and passed his life in the same township, was a man unusually well educated for his day and com- mmunity. Jacob. born August 21, 1813, lived in Montgomery township. Samuel, born June 19, 1815, lived in Montgomery township and died in Princeton. Catherine, born April 9, 1818, became the wife of Thomas Wil- kins. Abram, born February 17, 1821, lived in Montgomery township, but later removed to Mt. Carmel, Illinois, where he followed his vocation, that of a miller. John, born October 17. 1824, was a miller and merchant engaged with his brother Abraham, and was drowned in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, in 1861. The eighth child was Alfred ( father of Edgar Mauck), born May 1, 1827 ; died June 26, 1913. Ellen, born May 24, 1830, became the wife of Henry Ayres. Lucinda J., born May 6, 1833, married Reuben Emerson. They lived in Montgomery township on the old homestead and were the parents of two children, Thomas and Calvin. The youngest child of this good old- fashioned family was Susan, born December 1, 1836, and who married Will- iam Redman. They made their home in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. All of those above mentioned are now dead.
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