USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 98
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Lowell R. Westfall was educated in the common schools of this county and worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age. While working on the old home farm he learned all those habits of industry and diligence which have brought him his success in after life. Mr. West- fall married early in life and his excellent wife, Mary F. McCarty, the daugh- ter of William and Lucinda B. ( Kendall) MeCarty, has indeed been a most faithful and efficient wife and mother. Following their marriage on August 14, 1898, they immediately went to work on the farm and each has con- tributed very materially to the success which has been the result of their united efforts. Although Mrs. Westfall inherited ninety-one and one-half acres of land from her father, they started out with nothing and even went into debt for the farming tools and horses with which they raised their first crop. Within five years after their marriage they felt themselves able to purchase fifty-seven more acres of land, and in less than three years they had it all paid for. On this farm of one hundred and forty-eight and one-half acres Mr. Westfall carries on a diversified system of farming, raising all the crops which are peculiar to this section of the country. They have an attrac- tive home, good and substantial outbuildings and the farm is well fenced and drained. Mr. Westfall is very frank to say that his wife has been of great help to him in his undertakings and deserves a full share of the credit for their success.
William McCarty, the father of Mrs. Westfall, died in 1900. He was one of Princeton's best known and esteemed citizens. He was a member of the firm of McCarty Brothers, liverymen, and was an energetic. careful busi- ness man who numbered his friends by the scores. He was a consistent mem- ber of the White church. His wife is still living in Princeton.
Mr. Westfall is a Republican in his political views, but has never asked for any political favors at the hands of his party. He has devoted all of his efforts and energies to the cultivation and improvement of his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Westfall are both members of the Cumberland church at Bethel, and are liberal supporters of all the various activities of that denomination. They have two children, Harvey, born December 7, 1899, and George W .. both of whom are still in school.
Mr. Westfall is a fine type of the American farmer, who has gained his success by the application of uprightness and integrity in all things which he undertakes. He is actuated by the highest motives, and his vigorous mental
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powers and devotion to his home have endeared him to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He is a genial and unassuming man, modest in his demeanor and never misses the opportunity to help a neighbor in time of distress. Such people as Mr. and Mrs. Westfall are a blessing to the com- munity in which they live.
HENRY REMBE.
The German nation has furnished thousands of good citizens for the state of Indiana and Gibson county has been fortunate to count a number of these as a part of her body politic. The descendants of these early German settlers in Indiana are characterized by the same thrift and economy which made their fathers the leading farmers and business men of the various com- munities in which they settled. Henry Rembe, one of the leading farmers and stockmen of Center township, Gibson county, Indiana, is a worthy descendant of one of Gibson county's early German settlers, and during his life of more than fifty years in this county he has so conducted himself as to win the commendation of his fellow citizens in every way.
Henry Rembe was born March 22, 1860, in Princeton, Indiana, the son of Louis and Christiana Rembe. Both of his parents were born in Germany. and came to this country early in its history, first settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Louis Rembe was born August 19, 1825, in Sheffield, Ger- many, and his wife, Christiana Rembe, was born December 28, 1823, in Kron- stadt. Louis Rembe was a weaver by trade and followed that occupation in Philadelphia for a time. Later the family came to Princeton, Indiana, where Louis Rembe worked at different occupations. He helped to build the old jail, several churches and various buildings in Princeton, and always found plenty of work to do because he was a man who could always be depended upon to give good service to his employer. About 1865, Louis Rembe bought his first land in Center township, where Henry Rembe now lives. The farm was poorly improved and was only partially cleared, but he started in to clear and improve the place and make it remunerative. As he prospered he added to his land holdings and at one time owned three hundred and four acres of valuable land in the county. He was a Democrat, but never aspired to office, while religiously all of the family have been members of the German Lutheran church. His wife died February 26. 1904, and he passed away
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March 13, 1903, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. Louis Rembe and wife were the parents of six children: Lewis, deceased; Sophia, the wife of Martin DeWeise, of Francisco, Indiana ; Charles, a farmer of Center township; Henry, with whom this narrative deals; Lottie, the wife of Fred Logankamp, a farmer of Warrington, Indiana; and William, a farmer of Center township.
Henry Rembe was given a very limited education, having to work from earliest boyhood on the farm in order to help support the family. However, he has been a wide reader and close observer of men and events all his life. and is now one of the best informed men in his township on current events. He lived at home until his parents' death taking care of them in their old age.
Mr. Rembe was married April 26, 1899, to Barbara Keil, of Evansville. the daughter of Bernhart and Elizabeth B. ( Steiner ) Keil, who were natives of Germany. Bernard Keil was born in Merlenbach Hassen Darmstadt, Germany, in 1825 and died February 19, 1879. His wife, Elizabeth B. Keil, was born in Germany in Oberstinfield Oberant, Marbach Konig. Riech Witten- burg, in 1836. They were married in Princeton on September 24, 1861. Her parents came to America early in the history of the county and settled in Princeton, where Mr. Keil worked in a flouring mill, but later engaged in farming. Later in life Mr. Keil purchased a home in Evansville, Indiana. and worked as an engineer and fireman in Heilman's foundry for fifteen years. He died in that city. leaving his widow, who is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Keil were the parents of three children who grew to maturity, Barbara, the wife of Mr. Rembe: Mary, deceased, and Kate. Mr. and Mrs. Rembe have three children, Elizabeth C., Bernhart Henry and George Jacob.
Mr. Rembe has been a Democrat through conviction and interested in the success of his party, but has never been an aspirant for any public office. He and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church and give it their support in such a way as to actively identify themselves with the church life of their community. Mr. Rembe has always been a hard worker and now has reached a position where he can take life easy. He has a fine new brick home, which is modern in every respect. The old home was a large two story building and was destroyed by fire November 29, 1912. His farm is finely improved with good barns and outbuildings and he has the satisfac- tion of seeing his land net him a handsome return each year. He has at- tained to his present position solely through his own efforts and deserves credit for the fine home which he has made for himself and family. He is a man of domestic tastes and likes nothing better than to sit around his own
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fireside. His wholesome life in this county and the friendly treatment which he has always accorded his friends and neighbors has won him the esteem of all with whom he comes into contact.
S. R. DAVIS.
The career of the well-known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical review has been a strenuous and varied one, entitling him to honorable mention among the representative citizens of his day and gen- eration in the county with which his life is so closely identified. Although his life record is nearing its close by the inevitable fate that awaits all man- kind, his influence still pervades the lives of a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances who delight to know him. As public official, soldier or private citizen, he has been always true to himself and his fellow men, and the tongue of calumny has never touched him. As a soldier he proved his loyalty to the government he loved so well on the long and tiresome marches in all kinds of situations, on the tented field and amid the flames and smoke of bat- tle, where the rattle of musketry, mingled with the terrible concussion of the bursting shell and the deep diapason of the cannon's roar, made up the sub- lime but awful chorus of death. To such as he the country is under a debt of gratitude which it cannot repay and, in centuries yet to be, posterity will commemorate their chivalry in fitting eulogy and tell their deeds in story and song.
S. R. Davis, one of the few old veterans left in Gibson county, was born December 5, 1840, in Jefferson county, Indiana, and is the son of Benjamin and Sylvia (Royce) Davis, and to these parents were born seven children, of which number the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth. All of these children are deceased except the subject and one sister, Mrs. Sarah J. Fish, of Patoka.
S. R. Davis was reared in Jefferson and Jennings counties, Indiana, where he received a meager education, which was about all that was given in those early days in this section. In the little old log school house which he attended he sat on the old wooden benches with pegs for legs; the desks were wide boards fixed around the edge of the wall. The school house in which he secured his elementary education in Jefferson county had the old-fashioned fire place at one end of the room. It may be that it was laboring against such disadvantages that has given him those qualities which have brought him
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success in after life. His parents moved to Gibson county during the days of the Civil War, and a short time afterward Mr. Davis enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served for nearly one year in the army. Since he did not enlist until Febru- ary 4, 1865, he did not see much active service at the front, most of his time being spent doing guard duty. He was mustered out of service January 21, 1866. After being mustered out he came back to Gibson county and bought a small farm in Center township. At this time it was largely timber land and he had to go to work at once to clear up the ground in order to raise his first crop. He constructed a rude log house and log barn and went to work with a will. After working on this farm for two years he went to Francisco, where he remained until January, 1885, when he went back on the farm and again engaged in its operation. In 1889 he moved back to Francisco, where he has since resided.
Mr. Davis was married August 31, 1862, to Priscilla P. Lewis, the daughter of C. R. and Maria ( Bacon) Lewis. This union has been blessed with six children, only one of whom is living, L. M. Davis, who is a telegraph operator and merchant at Marengo. The five children who have passed away are Leweldo E., Benny O., C. R., Franklin H. and Jesse F.
Mr. Davis has been a life long Democrat, and has always taken an active interest in politics. He was justice of the peace for fifteen years, 1873 until 1888, and in 1896 he was elected county commissioner of Gibson county on the fusion ticket. The fact that he was elected on the fusion ticket shows his remarkable popularity throughout the county. Nothing could better il- lustrate his sterling qualities of character, as it takes a strong character to win out on a fusion ticket, and his election as such shows that he has built up his reputation for square dealing throughout the whole county. He and his family are loyal and faithful members of the General Baptist church and are deeply interested in the various activities of that denomination.
Mr. Davis is one of those citizens who has surrounded himself with large landed and personal property. However, he has done all this by his own ef- forts, having been compelled to start out with practically nothing. He has overcome all disadvantages and discouragements and has made an excep- tional success in life, and in his old age has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he has resided has been benefited by his presence. His keen business ability is shown by the fact that he has been president of the Francisco State Bank for nearly five years. He is one of the best known and highly respected farmers and business men of the county, and has. at-
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tained this success by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. His honorable life has been an inspira- tion to the present generation, and in the consideration of the prominent citizens of Gibson county, a review of his career should find a conspicuous place in such a biographical volume.
THOMAS M. MAXAM.
Self-assertion is believed by many people to be absolutely necessary to success in life, and there are good reasons for the entertainment of such be- lief. The modest man very rarely gets what is due him. The 'selfish, aggressive man elbows his way to the front, takes all that is in sight and it sometimes seems that modesty is a sin, with self-denial as the penalty. There are, however, exceptions to all rules and it is a matter greatly to be regretted that the exceptions to the conditions are not more numerous. One notable exception is the case of the honorable gentleman whose life history we here present, who possesses just a sufficient amount of modesty to be a gentleman at all times and yet sufficient persistency to win in the business world and at the same time not appear over bold. As a result of these well and happily blended qualities Mr. Maxam has won a host of friends in Gibson county, where he is well known to all classes as a man of influence. integrity and business ability, and as a public official he has given universal satisfaction because of his strict attention to his duties.
Thomas M. Maxam, the son of John S. and Patsy ( Mattingly ) Maxam, was born in Gibson county, near Maxam Station, on February 26, 1847. John S. Maxam was a native of Connecticut, and his wife of Spencer county, Indiana. The grandfather of Thomas M. Maxam came from New York to this state in the beginning of the last century, and. was associated for some years with Judge William Prince, who was afterwards a congressman from this district. The grandfather settled on a farm near Princeton at Maxam Station, and, so the story goes, the first tree which he cut down was a sassa- fras from which he made a feed trough. John S. Maxam came to this state when he was seven years of age and lived on the farm which was entered by his father until his death in 1872.
Thomas M. Maxam was educated in the district schools of his township, and later took a course in music at Chicago. Following this he taught music
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for five years, and is still a music composer of note. For ten years he was a section foreman on the railroad which ran through Gibson county. He has always taken an active interest in politics, and as a Republican was elected trustee of Center township in 1904. He filled this office with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the community, taking an active interest in the building up of the schools and the construction of highways through- out the township. He was also elected justice of the peace for several terms and filled this important office with distinction. He has always been known as a man of sterling honesty and because of his good common sense, his counsels have been frequently sought by his fellow citizens. His worth as a citizen was recognized by President Roosevelt by appointing him postmaster of Francisco, in which position he has given such universal satisfaction that he has held the office from the time of his appointment up to the present time.
Mr. Maxam was married on March 29, 1874, to Eliza Hiley, the dangh- ter of John and Lavina (Crist) Hiley, both of whom are natives of Indiana. This marriage has been blessed with seven children: Mrs. Loretta Suliling. who lives on a farm in Gibson county; Adrian H., a school teacher and attor- ney living at Boonville, Indiana; Mrs. Gertrude Klusmeier, who lives on a farm in this county; Mrs. Estella Bruce, a resident also of this county; Cor- liss, who is at present principal of the high school at Marengo: Stanley ( .. who married Ethel McGrew and is still at home; Fannie, the youngest of the family, who graduated from the Francisco high school in the spring of 1914.
Fraternally, Mr. Maxam is a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Francisco, and also of the Tribe of Ben-Hur, of the same place. He is secretary of the Ben-Hur lodge at the present time. He and his family are loyal and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Francisco, and are liberal supporters of that denomination, and take an active interest in all the affairs of the church.
Mr. Maxam has always been a hard worker and an industrious man, and as a result every mile post of the years he has passed has found him further advanced, more prosperous and with an increased number of friends. In the community in which he has lived for so many years, his influence is felt among his fellow men and he has earned a name for enterprise and integrity which justifies him being accorded a place among the representative citizens of Gibson county. He is a straightforward, unassuming, obliging and genial man and enjoys the confidence and respect of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances throughout the county.
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THOMAS H. FRENCH.
The occupation of farming, to which the entire business life of Thomas H. French, one of the well known and popular citizens of Gibson county, has been devoted. is the oldest pursuit of a livelihood of mankind and the one in which he will ever be the most independent. His name has long been connected with the general growth of Gibson county, of which he is a native and where his entire life has been passed. While primarily attending to his own interests. his life has been largely devoted to his fellow man, having been untiring in his efforts to inspire a proper respect for law and order and ready at all times to uplift humanity along civic and social lines.
Thomas H. French, one of the leading farmers and influential citizens of White River township, Gibson county, Indiana, was born in this county on June 2, 1860, and is the son of Lucius S. and Margaret (Jerauld) French, both of whom were natives of Gibson county. The parents of Lucius French were among the earliest settlers of the county, having come here in 1818 and obtained a tract of land which they cleared and converted into a homestead. now known as the old French farm. This was about one mile north of the town of Patoka. Here their son Lucius was born and raised and in this same neighborhood was the family of Jerauld whose daughter, Margaret, Lucius French married, and they became the parents of the immediate subject of this sketch. Lucius French died April 17, 1886, and his wife lived until 1903, having passed her entire life in Gibson county. Lucius French's father was a Icading man in his community in his day, being considered one of the most progressive citizens. In the year 1836 he built the first two-story brick residence in the county and in the year 1840 he built a large bank barn, the timbers of which were so heavy that it required the efforts of seventy-five men to raise the structure. Both this house and barn are still standing in an excellent state of preservation, due to the care exercised in selecting the materials going into their construction, the size of the timbers much surpass- ing anything in use today.
Thomas H. French was the third child in a family of nine children and received his schooling in the district schools of the county. When quite young, he commenced assisting with the work around the farm and remained at home until the age of twenty-six years, when he was united in marriage with Mary E. Daugherty on September 1, 1886. She is the daughter of Joseph and Kate (Rhardon) Daugherty, both natives of Ireland, who had settled in Gibson county a number of years before. At the beginning of the
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Civil War, Joseph Daugherty enlisted for service. To Thomas H. French and wife have been born six children, namely: Eunice, Mary, Isabell, Grace, Laura and Elizabeth, all of whom except Mary are at home, though Isabelle is engaged in teaching in the public schools. Mary is the wife of Ray Watson.
Mr. French and his family reside on his farm of one hundred and forty acres of finely located land, adjoining the corporation line of the town of Patoka and here he engages in general farming, paying especial attention to the raising of melons for the market. In this branch of agriculture he has been engaged for the past twenty years, increasing his efforts from year to year, until he now has about sixty acres in melons each year and for the last three years he has been raising quite a number in hot beds. He has made for himself quite a reputation in this line of endeavor and has been eminently successful.
Politically, Mr. French gives his support to the Progressive party, while his religious membership is with the Presbyterian church in whose wel- fare he is sincerely interested. His fraternal affiliation is with the Tribe of Ben-Hur and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. French is numbered among the progressive agriculturists and public spirited citizens of this county and is one of the substantial men of his com- munity. Endowed by nature with strong mental powers and possessing the courage and energy to direct his faculties in the proper channels. he early became a man of resourceful capacity, as the management of his affairs testi- fies. He has met every issue of life squarely and his life-long residence here has placed him high in the estimation of all who know him by reason of his sterling worth.
D. H. SWAN, M. D.
Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commercial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are known as the learned professions advancement is gained only through painstaking and long-continued effort. Prestige in the healing art is the outcome of strong mentality, close application, thorough mastery of its great underlying principles and the ability to apply theory to practice in the treatment of diseases. Good intellectual training, thorough profes- sional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and at- tributes essential to success have made the subject of this sketch eminent in
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his chosen calling and he stands today among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a county noted for the high order of its medical talent.
Dr. D. H. Swan, the son of Daniel H. and Ruth (Cumelsham) Swan, was born September 30, 1868, in Harrison county, Indiana, both of his par- ents being natives of that county also. His boyhood days were spent in his native county, where-he attended the country schools and laid the foundation for his future career. After finishing his elementary education in Harrison county, he entered the Southern Indiana Normal at Mitchell, Indiana, where he continued his work in the higher branches. He then went to Danville, In- diana, and entered the Central Normal College, from which he graduated in 1890. He had taught some before graduation, and upon his graduation from the Normal School at Danville, he came to Gibson county and taught in this county in Washington and White River townships for six years. He was rapidly building up his reputation as a successful teacher, when he decided to leave the profession and study medicine. With this end in view he entered the medical college at Louisville, Kentucky, in the fall of 1896, and took the full four years' course in that institution, graduating in the spring of 1900, after which time he returned to Gibson county and opened his office for prac- tice at Mackey, where he remained for a period of three months. Francisco seeming to offer a better opportunity for advancement in his profession, he moved to that place in the fall of 1900, and there he has continued to reside until the present time. He rapidly built up a large and lucrative practice and was gaining a reputation for thorough and conscientious work in dealing with all kinds of diseases. He became a stockholder in the State Bank at Francisco, and in 1908 he was elected president of the bank. Preceding his election to the presidency of the bank he served four years as trustee of Center township on the Democratic ticket, during which time he gave uni- versal satisfaction throughout the township for his excellent administrative qualities. At the expiration of liis term of office as trustee he was induced to become the cashier of the bank of Francisco, but held that position for only one year, and in the beginning of the year 1910 he resumed the practice of medicine and has continued uninterruptedly in the profession since that date.
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