USA > Indiana > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Indiana > Part 54
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ANDREW ROBERTSON is a native of Hamilton Town- ship, where he now lives, and is one of the family of Blaze and Mary Robertson, who were early settlers in the county, and are elsewhere mentioned in this volume. Andrew was their third
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son, and was born August 28, 1858. His education was acquired in the common schools of Jackson County, and is as good as they usually afford. His marriage with Miss Amanda Sanders was celebrated August 28, 1880. She is a native of Salt Creek Town- ship, Jackson County, where a large part of her life has been spent. They are the parents of three children, all sons. Mr. Robertson has always devoted his attention to farming, and his efforts have been more than usually successful. He is now one of the promising young farmers of the township. Politically he is a Democrat, as were his ancestors.
GEORGE W. RAINS, physician and druggist, of Courtland, was born in Grant County, Ky., May 25, 1858. He was the sec- ond son born to John and Mahala Rains, also natives of Ken- tucky. His early schooling was good, he having received a liter- ary education at Cynthiana, Ky., where he graduated in 1873. He then engaged in teaching in his native county, which he fol- lowed for three years, devoting all his leisure time to the study of medicine. He soon after entered the office of and received instruction from Prof. J. B. A. Risk, of Kentucky. In 1877 he entered the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, and the year following he came to Jackson and located, in the practice of his profession, at Spraytown. He remained there until the fall of 1882, when he came to Courtland, still continuing his prac- tice. Two years later he embarked in the drug business, in which he carries a complete line and does a lucrative trade. On the 14th of September, 1876, Louisa Gossett became his wife. She, too, is a native of Grant County, Ky., and has borne him three children, of whom Stella and Omer are still living. The Doctor is a young man of energy and ability, which are the essential elements of success in any business.
MOSES N. SEWELL, a farmer of Hamilton Township, is a native of the same township, and was born April 22, 1833, being the eldest son of Moses and Mary A. (Slade) Sewell, natives respectively of Ohio and Virginia. The mother was but six years of age when she was brought to this county, her people set- tling near Vallonia, and for the first two years living in a fort, as the Indians were troublesome. She is still living at Ewing, this county, at the advanced age of eighty years. The subject of our
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biographical notice, Mr. Moses N. Sewell, received only three months' schooling, and that was in the time of limited opportu- nities and meager advantages. He learned to read and write, however, the two greatest essentials to education, of which he has since made good use, adding to his intellectual stock by observation and experience. At the age of twenty-two Mr. Sewell struck out into the cold and stormy world for himself, working as a hired hand. As he approached the age of forty years, he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Abi- gail Swartwood, who is a native of Bartholomew County, Ind., and this union has been crowned with the birth of six children, three of whom are living, whose names are Edward, Mary A. and Bessie. In his views of national policy Mr. Sewell advo- cates the principles of the Democratic party. Mrs. Sewell is & member of the Christian Church.
FREDERICK WHITE is a native of Prussia, Germany, and was born in 1821. His early schooling was received in his native country, and he obtained what the most of his countrymen do, a good practical education. At the age of twenty-one he concluded to come to America, and in 1842 he landed at New Orleans, and after considerable traveling he located on a farm near Vallonia. In 1870 he bought and moved to a farm in Hamilton Township, near Courtland, and is now one of Hamilton Township's most prosper- ous farmers and valuable citizens. He was married to Miss Liz- zie Miller, a native of Germany. This union has been blessed by four children, of whom three are living: John, Carle and Cath- erine. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.
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JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
WILLIAM ACKER is a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., and was born June 12, 1839, being the second son of John F. and Mary Mag- dalina Acker, who were natives of Bavaria. They immigrated to America and settled in Washington City in 1819; thence to Pittsburgh, Penn., where the subject of this sketch was born. John F. Acker followed wagon-making at this place. He removed . with his family to Louisville, where the subject of this sketch fol- lowed huckstering until the age of twenty-one, when in contact with the busy work-a-day world, he learned many valuable lessons in human nature and business that have contributed largely to his subsequent successes. In February, 1860, he came to Jack- son County, and located at Dudleytown, where he established a country store, and continued in this business until 1881, when he was elected by the Democratic party to the office of county treas- urer in 1880, and was re-elected to the same office in 1882, his . second term expiring August 15, 1885. In the administration of the affairs of this office he displayed marked ablilities as a fin- ancier. Upon the incorporation of the Jackson County Bank, Mr. Acker was called upon to assume the position of cashier. He was elected to this office October 6, 1885. He is also the largest stock- holder in the bank, and to a great extent molds its financial policy. William Acker was united in marriage to Miss Annie Elizabeth Otte April 15, 1860. These children have been the issue of this union: Mary M., Elizabeth, Catharine, William, an infant (dead), John F., Charles, Ella and Johnnie. Mr. Acker has served the citizens of Washington Township as assessor for eight years and trustee for two years. Mr. Acker and wife are consistent members of the Lutheran Church. The subject of this ยท sketch is pre-eminently a self-made man, and has steadily arisen from poverty to afflunce. He has been faithful to every trust imposed upon him, and in every relation of life he has been an honest man and a perfect gentleman.
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CONRAD ACKERET is a native of Switzerland. He was born January 22, 1812. In his twenty-sixth year he left his Alpine home, and immigrated to America to seek his fortune. He settled in Jackson County in January, 1835. He engaged to labor by the month. He was married, on the 16th of November, 1837, to Dorothea Werli. Six children were born to this happy couple, two only of whom are living: Solomon and Elizabeth. Mr. Ackeret has always followed the vocation of a farmer, and has been a man of prodigious energy and physical endurance; he has cleared over 200 acres of land in Jackson County. He came to this county among some of the earliest of the pioneers, when wild game was still abundant, and the war whoop of the savage Indian had scarcely died away in the forest. He is a genial old Swiss gentleman, still retaining to a strong degree many of the predilections born of the Alps. He has one of the finest and most productive vineyards of the county, and has demonstrated, beyond a peradventure, that vine culture can be successfully carried on in this county. He manufactured over 500 gallons of wine from the vineyard about his residence in the year 1885. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife is a member of the German Method- ist Church. In politics he is a Republican.
JAMES BLAIR, a prominent citizen of Jackson Township, is the ninth in order of birth in the family of James and Delilah (Johnson) Blair. His father was a native of Kentucky, and immi- grated to this State in 1816; and John Blair,grandfather of our sub- ject, located in Indiana very early in this century. Being a man of considerable education and influence, hospitable in disposition and a justice of the peace, his residence was a favorite place for the gathering of the people of the neighborhood. James Blair, Sr., had ten children, eight of whom grew to matur- ity. Some years previous to the war of the Rebellion, he was honored by an election to the office of county commissioner. James Blair, Jr., whose name heads this sketch, was born October 6, 1837, in Jackson County, Ind., and passed his boy- hood upon the farm and at the common schools, where he acquired the rudiments of an education. During his life he has been for three years a member of the State militia, and in the late war he participated in the pursuit of John Morgan, the noted guerrilla.
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On the 29th of January, 1871, Mr. Blair was married to Amanda E. Thompson, a native of this county, but of Irish ex- traction; her parents, however, were natives of Washington County, Md. Of the three children born by this marriage, Reova R. and J. Robbie are living. In his political views Mr. Blair is a Democrat, and in religion a Baptist, while his wife belongs to the Christian Church.
JOHN H. BLISH is a native of Woodstock, Vt., and' was born April 21, 1822. He was one of a family of eight children born to John and. M. (Walis) Blish. He received a liberal education, and graduated from Newberry Academy, Ver- mont. ' Having a strong predilection for mathematics, he deter- mined to gratify the bent of his mind, and studied civil engineer- ing. He was later employed in this capacity by the Rutland & Burlington Railroad. He severed his connection with this line, and while en route to California in 1849, stopped off at Jeffer- sonville, Ind., while the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad was being built. Learning of his abilities, the com- pany tendered him a position as civil engineer, which he ac- cepted. He served the road in this capacity for several years. He was married, in 1854, to Miss Sarah Shields, daughter of Meedy Shields, mention of whom is made elsewhere. John Blish was the founder of the Old Reliable Mill, recently burned, and is vice-president of the First National Bank of Seymour, and is identified with several local enterprises, but has practi- cally retired from active business life, leaving the management of his affairs to his sons, Meedy S. and Tipton. Mrs. Blish is a descendant of the old pioneer stock of Jackson County, and is a well-preserved lady of middle age, of great native ability, and very conversant with the history of her section. They are the parents of five children: Meedy, Emma, John, Lucy and Tipton. John, the third son, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, of the class of 1879. After taking a two-years' cruise he was made a member of the faculty, occupying the chair of elec- tricity and chemistry.
HON. JASON B. BROWN was born February 26,1839,in Dear- born County, Ind., and is a son of Robert D. Brown, a lawyer of ability, and at one time State librarian, who is still living. His
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mother, Mary Hubbard Brown, died when he was but nine months old. Both were devout Methodists. The subject of this sketch obtained the rudiments of his education at Wilmington, and upon leaving school spent one year in a dry goods store at Maysville, Ky., and then went to Indianapolis, where he entered, as a student, the office of the Hon. Cyrus Dunham, at that time Secretary of State. He was admitted to the bar in February, 1860, and immediately engaged in the practice of his profession at Brownstown, Jackson Co., Ind. March 5, 1866, on motion of Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1862 he was elected to the Legislature, and was re-elected in 1864. In 1868 he was one of the Democratic electors for the State at large. In 1870 he represented his district in the State Senate. On the 26th of March, 1873, he was appointed secretary of the Terri- tory of Wyoming, which position he held until his resignation, May 1, 1875. During that time he was elected to assist in the prosecution of Peter P. Wintermute, at Yankton, Dak., for the murder of Gen. Edwin S. McCook. For the masterly argument made in behalf of the people in this celebrated case, Mr. Brown received the encomiums of the entire legal fraternity, of the press, and of the people. From that time he was ac- knowledged as one of the leading members of the bar in the West. On his return from the West Mr. Brown settled at Seymour, in the year 1875, and married Anna E. Shiel. In 1862 he became known in Indiana politics, and to-day is a prominent member of the Democratic party of the State, and is widely known else- where. During the campaign in Ohio between Brough and Val- landigham, he stumped that State in the interest of the Demo- cratic party. He has always been a strong supporter of the principles of Democracy, but was not a supporter of Horace Greeley, as he considered this nomination inconsistent with his views as a Democrat. Mr. Brown is well known all over the country, and as one of the leading members of the Indiana bar is constantly engaged on important cases. He is especially suc- cessful in criminal cases, in which he has few equals. He is much esteemed by those who know him.
DANIEL H. BROWN, a native of Jackson County, was
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born November 9, 1825. He was the eldest of nine children born to Jesse and Sarah W. (Stryker) Brown, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of New Jersey. The parents immigrated to Indiana in the year 1819, and settled near Rockford, afterward removing to Brownstown, where the subject of this sketch was reared. He received his early education in the schools of Brownstown and vicinity. At the age of fourteen he was ap- prenticed to William C. Durland, a carpenter. After his term of apprenticeship he continued to follow his trade in Jackson County until 1876, at which time he became an extensive correspondent for several years, at which business he is still engaged, being city editor of the Seymour Daily Republican. Mr. Brown was elected coroner in 1878, to which office he has been three times re-elected, always filling the office acceptably and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. Brown was married, Jan- uary, 1849, to Miss Lucinda Jacobs, and to this union five chil- dren were born, three of whom are now living: Emmons, Ella and Lura. Mr. Brown and wife are old and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Brown is a Democrat, though in that, as in everything else, he is conserva- tive.
JOSEPH BURKE is a native of Ireland, and is a son of Michael and Easter (Laughlin) Burke. He was born in March, 1833. Seeking to improve his condition, he immigrated to Amer- ica in 1847, when he settled at New Orleans. His early school advantages were very good, having attended the public schools of that city. At the age of fifteen with his parents he removed to Cincinnati, where he attended school for a short time. Shortly before his majority he began burning lime on Walnut Hills, Cin- cinnati, in which employment he continued for four years. In the spring of the year 1853, he began work on the Ohio & Mis- sissippi Railroad, in the repair department of the shops, in which employment he has since continued. He removed to Seymour in 1855, when the line was only completed to that point. He was first married to Anna Carroll. Nine children have been born to this union, five only of whom are living: Thomas, Joseph, Oli- ver, John and Anna. Mrs. Burke died. twelve years ago. He then married Martha Davis. Three children blessed this union,
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only one of whom is living, James. Mrs. Burke died in 1879. He remarried to Sarah Scoby, who is a native of Ireland. Three children were born to this union: William, Mary and Charley. He is a member of the Catholic Church.
PETER L. CARTER was born February 28, 1820, in Grassy Fork Township, Jackson Co., Ind. He was the seventh in a fam- ily of thirteen children born to Job and Gracy (Sneed) Carter. The former was a native of Maryland, the latter of Virginia. Both were of English extraction. They were married in Stafford County, Va., November 8, 1808, and remained in Virginia till four of the thirteen children were born, after which they removed to Clark's Reservation, in Clarke County, Ind., where the five were born. They next removed to Jennings County, Ind., where they remained one year, then came to Jackson County in 1817, and permanently located in Grassy Fork Township, where the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day, in an old log cabin, with dirt floor. He was reared upon a farm, and under- went all the hardships incident to pioneer life. He received but & limited education, frequently going three miles to the near- est schoolhouse, through an unbroken forest. By a system of self-culture he acquired a sufficient knowledge of the common branches to enable him to teach, which vocation he followed in and about Brownstown later on. He was married, in August, 1847, to Sarah Elizabeth, the daughter of Austin and Jane Gould. Mr. Carter's wife died in 1878. About the year 1850 Mr. Carter engaged in business at what is now known as Dudleytown, this. county, and after five years removed to New Farmington, where he continued his mercantile pursuits, and in this connection acted as agent for the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad, at this place. In the spring of 1861 he removed to Seymour, where he established a store, handling general merchandise, building his own store and residence. Mr. Carter assisted in the establishment of the spoke factory of Seymour, and also invested in a stock stave factory. He was always an active and ardent supporter of the common school system, and when the town was incorporated he was elected school trustee. This position he held for twelve years, during which time he built the schools up to the standard of excellence that has since characterized them.
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He was the principal promoter of the erection of the Shields High School building, and the colored school, and also the large addition to the former. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1847. The following children have blessed his married life: Eva, Jane and Maurice (twins), Sandford E., George D. They are all dead except George and Sandford. The Carter family is one of the most prominent among the early pioneers.
TRAVIS CARTER, who has watched the growth of Sey- mour from a mere hamlet to its present prosperous proportions, and has been closely identified with its material growth, is a na- tive of Jackson County, born September 26, 1819. His parents, Benjamin and Nancy (Reynolds) Carter, were natives of Virginia. His early educational advantages were only those offered to pio- neers generally-the old log schoolhouse and the three months' term. He remained upon a farm in Grassy Fork Township until 1852, when he came to Seymour, where he located before there were any lots sold. In 1854 he built the first carding-machine, and in 1856 added a planing-mill. On the 24th of December, 1840, he was married to Esther Killey, a native of Tennessee. Seven children have been born to them, five of whom are living: Benjamin, Julia, William A., Mary and John A. He formerly held the office of trustee of Grassy Fork Township, and has been a justice of the peace of Seymour. He was one of three who established the Seymour Woolen Mills, John Love and Charles Butler being associated with him in this enterprise. He was one of the directors of the hub and spoke factory, selling out after it began operations. He was also first postmaster of Seymour.
W. A. CARTER was the fourth born to Travis and Esther (Killey) Carter. Travis Carter was one of the pioneer citizens of Seymour as well as Jackson County. W. A. Carter is a native of Jackson County. He was born October 16, 1849, near Tam- pico, in Jackson County. They, after their removal to Seymour, occupied the second existing house in the place. He attended the common schools of his day, where only the common branches were taught in a rude and imperfect manner. He here acquired the rudiments of an education. He afterward served an appren- ticeship to a carpenter, and followed this vocation until, his eyes
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failing him, he was compelled to abandon his trade. He then engaged in the book and stationery business, in Columbus, Ind., where he removed in 1878. He soon closed out his business here and returned to Seymour, where he engaged in the heading busi- ness, making them direct from the log. He was married, Decem- - ber 4, 1872, to Carrie Roeger, the daughter of an old and influential German family, of Jackson County. Five children have blessed this union, all of whom are living: Arthur P., Travis R., William O., Lloyd S., Anna Esther. Mrs. Carter is a native of Jackson County. Mr. Carter is at present engaged in the daily market business, on Second Street, east of Indianapolis Avenue, Seymour. He is conducting 'a thriving business. Al- though comparatively a young man, he has seen Seymour expand from a hamlet of two houses to a large and progressive manu- facturing town. He is a member of the order of K. of P. His wife is a member of the First Baptist Church.
DR. WILLIAM M. CASEY, of Seymour, was born in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, June 16, 1850, the third son of Thomas and Eliza (Hancock) Casey; both parents were natives of Maryland. His father came to Indiana in 1860, settling upon a farm in Scott County. Until he arrived at the age of seventeen years, young William alternated farm labor with attendance at school. He then entered Moore's Hill College and pursued the curriculum there three years; after which he spent a short time in Decatur County, this State, where he taught a nine months' term of school. Returning home he taught school the follow- ing winter in Scott County, and in 1870 he came to this county and followed the same calling for four years, half of this time being principal of the Crothersville schools. The Doctor began the study of medicine in 1874, attending a course of lec- tures the following year at the Louisville (Ky. ) Medical College, and the next year attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincin- nati, and graduated there in 1878. For the practice of his pro- fession he first located at Deputy, Jefferson County, this State. and eighteen months afterward sold out his situation there and for the ensuing five months attended the Bellevue Hospital Med- ical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York City. Returning West, he located in Seymour, this county,
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in July, 1880, where he is now building up a good practice. He is zealously devoted to his chosen calling, and, being capable, he is proving himself to be successful. He is a self-made man, attaining his present standing by merit alone. In his political action he votes the Republican ticket, and in his social relations a member of the Masonic order. For two years now he has been secretary of the city board of health. September 3, 1878, the Doctor was united in matrimony with Miss Eunice Foster, who is a native of Jackson County. Their two children are Lula and Thomas.
HON. ALBERT PRIEST CHARLES, is a native of Lowell, Middlesex Co., Mass. He was born January 26, 1840. He is firstborn to Ambrose and Besmath (Dickey) Charles, who are both natives of New England. He received his elementary training in the schools of his native town, after which he attended Phillips' Academy at Andover, and there prepared himself to enter the famous Dartmouth College, which he did in the fall of 1860. He graduated in 1864, with the degree of B. A. Soon after leaving college, he entered the law office of Samuel N. Bell, of Manchester, N. H., where he remained as a student for three years, with the exception of a few months which he spent in teaching at Gloucester, Mass. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, in 1867, and in October of the same year came West, and located at Seymour, where he has since resided. He soon won the confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen, who elected him mayor in 1872; he declined a re-election, but submitting to the clamor of his friends, ac- cepted the same office again in 1874, and again in 1876. Though urgently solicited he positively refused a fourth term. In the fall of 1880, he was nominated for Congress by the Republican party of the Second Congressional District. His party being largely in the minority he was defeated, though running far ahead of his ticket. He has been a member of the school board of Seymour for five years and is a zealous worker in educational affairs. He has a large and lucrative law practice, being attorney of several of the wealthiest corporations in this section of Indiana. He is an able advocate as well as a fine judge of law, and has one of the largest and best selected law libraries in the State. Mr.
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