History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 64

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918

USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 64

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Elwood Lodge No. 368 of the Order of Elks, and with the Improved Order of Red Men. In politics he is a Democrat and is a citizen who is always ready to use his influence and efforts to advance the welfare of Elwood.

BARTLETT H. CAMPBELL. A senior member of the law firm of Camp- bell & Kidwell in Elwood, Mr. Campbell is head of the best known com- bination of legal talent in this city, and has been an active member of the Madison county bar for more than twenty years. During this long practice as a lawyer, he has become one of the conspicuous leaders in political affairs and has been prominent in the councils of his party in many capacities. Bartlett M. Campbell is a native of Madison county, born in Richland township, April 14, 1862, and represents the best of citizenship and family stock through his forebears. The paternal grandparents were of Scotch stock, as the name Campbell would indi- cate, and they spent all their lives in England, where they died well advanced in years. There were four children in their family. The parents of the Elwood lawyer were John A. and Miriam B. (Trowbridge) Campbell, the father a native of Huddersfield, England, and the mother of Ohio. The four children in their family are named as follows: Alfred E., of El Centro, California; Joseph B., of Winona, Indiana; Bartlett H., of Elwood; and Imogene, wife of Charles Solomon of Anderson, where Mrs. Solomon is principal of the Washington school.

John A. Campbell, the father, came to America when about seven- teen years of age and finally located in Blountsville, Henry county, Indiana, where he was married. While in that county he enlisted in Company K of the Thirty-Sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and though an adopted son of America gave three years of faithful and efficient service as a soldier for the preservation of the Union. He was wounded at the battle of Shiloh. After the war he began work as a stationary engineer, being located first at Chesterfield and later at Anderson where he resided during the rest of his years. He was killed in an accident at the Paxton Planing Mill at Anderson on the first of September, 1881. At that time he was about fifty-three years of age. He served as justice of the peace of Anderson township for one term and he and his wife were members of the Christian faith. His widow, who is now eighty-five years of age was a daughter of Joseph B. and Ruhama Trowbridge, the former a native of Virginia. Joseph B. Trowbridge was a character whosc life and achievements have a proper place in Madison county history. He was a preacher and disciple of Alexander Campbell, the founder of what is known as the Christian church, and himself became the founder of the church of this denomination at Anderson. He lived to be eighty-six years of age, while his wife attained the great age of ninety-six. Joseph B. Trowhridge was twice married. By his first wife he had three chil- dren, namely, John, Lorenzo, and Daniel. By his second wife there were the following nine children: Ann Maria; Miriam B .; David; Bartlett H., who died in the Civil war; Hannah Sparks of Muncie, Indiana; Laura; Joseph, of Muncie ; Jasper, and James, twins.

Bartlett H. Campbell was reared from early childhood in Ander- son, which city remained his home up to 1907, at which time he came to Elwood. As a boy he attended the grammar schools and was graduated from the Anderson high school in 1879. He then spent two years as a teacher in the district school, and followed the same vocation for three years in the Anderson City Schools. From the educational branch of

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public service he was appointed in 1885 as assistant postmaster of An- derson, under John W. Pence. During his work as assistant postmaster, he pursued the study of law. He was in the postoffice until November, 1888, at which time he was appointed deputy sheriff under James Etch- ison, and remained as deputy until 1892. Another early public service was his election as a member of the school board during the period he was with the postoffice, and he continued a member of the board while the first high school building was being erected in Anderson.

Early in 1892 Mr. Campbell was admitted to the bar and in the same year was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, serving one term in that office which has since been considered a prize among young attorneys as the best possible training ground for later successful prac- tice. He continued after leaving the office of prosecuting attorney in private practice of law at Anderson, and became a partner with Mr. Mark B. Turner, under the firm name of Turner & Campbell. This partnership continued until 1897 at which time Mr. Campbell entered the firm of Goodykoontz and Ballard, his name being placed as the last partner in the new title. After the death of Judge Goodykoontz in 1902 the firm continued as Ballard & Campbell until 1904 at which time the partnership was dissolved.

Mr. Campbell then continued in practice alone. When Mr. John L. Forkner was elected mayor of Anderson in 1902, he appointed Mr. Campbell as city attorney, and he held that office for four years.

In 1907 Mr. Campbell established his office in Elwood, and has since enjoyed a splendid practice, from this city and vicinity. Since January 1, 1910, he has served as city attorney. One of the Democratic leaders, he served as chairman of the Democratic county committee from 1898 to 1900, was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee from the eighth congressional district of 1900 to 1902, and was on the presi- dential electoral ticket in the campaign of 1896. In 1912 Governor Marshall appointed him marshal for the eighth congressional district to collect and canvass the votes for presidential elector.

Mr. Campbell on July 7, 1883, married Miss Luella Wright, daughter of James and Sarah (Hamilton) Wright. The seven children of their marriage are named Dale J., Lena, Edith, Colin, Ralph, James, and Marian. The son Dale J., is in the shoe business at Portland, Oregon, and by his marriage to Edith Dowling has two children, Maxine and James. Lena married George O. Kennedy and they reside on a ranch near Anderson, California. Miss Edith is a teacher in the Elwood public schools; Colin died in infancy ; Ralph lives in Elwood, and by his wife Hazel Smith has one son Jack. The son James was killed in a railroad accident at Anderson, December 31, 1906, his death following on January 2, 1907. Marian is now ten years of age and attending school. Mrs. Campbell was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Her parents, the father a native of Indiana, and the mother of Philadelphia, died in Philadelphia when she was a small child and she was reared in the family of a Mrs. Fobes, best known in her community as Grandma Fobes. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are both members of the Christian church and his fraternal affiliations connect him with Mount Moriah Lodge No. 77 A. F. & A. M. at Anderson, with Elwood Lodge No. 368 of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and with Madison Council No. 334 of the Royal Arcanum at Anderson.

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MARK E. WININGS. The proprietor of the undertaking parlors at 1610 Main Street in Elwood, Mr. Winnings is a young business man whose conscientious work in his profession has been much appreciated in Elwood, where he has been a resident for the past ten years, and has enjoyed a progressive success in his business. He was born, reared and spent most of his life in Indiana, and Mr. Winnings has enjoyed prob- ably a larger share of world travel than any of his contemporaries in business at Elwood, and his career has had many diversified and inter- esting experiences.

He was born in Millville, Henry county, Indiana, April 22, 1878, a son of Samuel and Mary A. Winings. The grandparents on his father's side were Joseph and Jane (Mullin) Winings, the former a native of Ohio and of Scotch stock, and the latter a native of Ireland. They became early settlers in Henry county, Indiana, where the grandfather was a farmer and where he lived to the age of sixty-five, while his wife was seventy-two years of age at the time of her death. Their six chil- dren were Samuel, William, Wilson, Thomas, Lemuel, Alonzo, and Pearl. On the mother's side the grandfather was Micajah Forkner, who married an Allen. He was born in North Carolina, while his wife was a native of Wayne county, Indiana. Micajah Forkner was a long estab- lished merchant at Millville, and for many years in partnership with his son-in-law, Samuel Winings. His death occurred at Millville in 1880, when he was well advanced in life. The children in this branch of the Forkner family were Granville, William, Mary A., Mark E., Benton and John L.

Samuel Winings, the father, was born in Ohio, while his wife was a native of Henry county, this state. The former was brought to Henry county at an early age, was reared on a farm five miles east of Newcastle, attended school at Dublin, and had taken up the study of medicine when the war came on, and he then enlisted in Company C. of the Thirty- Sixth Indiana Infantry, under General Wm. Gross. That regiment was a purely Henry county organization. He was in service for three years and at the close of the war engaged in the mercantile business at Mill- ville, where he continued for a number of years. He was also for a time in the grain business at Ashland, and was still active in that line of trade at the time of his death. He died December 11, 1886, at the age of forty-nine years. During several years he had been in the Federal service as an internal revenue collector. The widow still survives and now makes her home at New Castle. Both were active members of the Christian church and for a number of years were members of the old Flat Rock congregation of this church. The children in the family were six in number and named as follows: Arletha, wife of John A. Geisler, of Hagerstown, Indiana; Josie, wife of Harry Kos of Columbus, Ohio; Horace Greeley of Indianapolis,; Walter A., of Newcastle; Arthur M., of Montpelier, Indiana, and Mark E., of Elwood.

Mr. Mark E. Winings spent his early boyhood at Ashland and New- castle, Indiana, attaining most of his education in the grammar and high schools of Newcastle. His first practical experience in business life was in the employ of Mr. W. A. Fox in the undertaking business. This period of preparation was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish- American war in 1898, at which time he enlisted in Company G of the One Hundred and Sixty-First Indiana Volunteers, and during his ten months service spent three months in Cuba. He was a private throughout his service. After the war he returned to Newcastle, and again resumed

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his work with Mr. Fox. On June 1, 1900, he was appointed government embalmer of the United States Transport Mcclellan. The Mcclellan was the boat which carried the senatorial investigating party to the Philippine Islands, towards the close of President Mckinley's adminis- tration. The trip was begun at New York and after seventy-two days en route, the MeClellan arrived in the Philippines having voyaged twelve thousand and eighty miles. It was on the arrival at Manila that the first news was given them of the assassination of President Mckinley, their information coming from Governor-General Taft, who was then at the head of the Philippine government. The party spent some three or four months in the Philippine islands, visiting and inspecting all the islands and the principal centers. The Mcclellan then returned to New York where it arrived on December 23, 1901, and remained until February 22, 1902. Mr. Winings continued with the service when this boat again started for the Philippines, this time carrying a passenger list. chiefly made up of two hundred and fifty school teachers bound for the Philip- pine service. The McClellan reached Manila after a voyage of sixty- five days, and was for some time engaged in transportation between the Islands. It was finally sent to Hong-Kong, China, where the ship was dry-docked and overhauled, and during that time Mr. Winings visited all the important cities of China by rail. With his ship he returned to Manila and thence to New York with a number of soldiers, arriving there in December, 1902.

Returning to New Castle in the spring of 1903, he remained there a few months, and on October 11, 1903, located at Elwood. Here he was in the employ of Mr. F. E. Kramer in the undertaking business, and the following year bought a half interest in the establishment. Then in 1905 he became sole proprietor, and has conducted the business on sub- stantial and successful lines ever since. He owns the building in which his business is conducted and makes that his residence.

On October 18, 1905, he married Miss Ortha C. Bolt, a danghter of Lincoln and Anna (Young) Bolt. Mrs. Winings was born in Clinton county, Indiana, where her parents were also natives, and where they still reside. She has one brother, Carl. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Winings are Carl and Miles. Fraternally he is affiliated with Quincy Lodge No. 230 A. F. & A. M. Elwood Chapter, R. A. M .; Tipton Commandery K. T .; and also has membership relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, and the Sons of Veterans. In politics he is Republican.

HONORABLE JOHN LARUE FORKNER. As a volume of biography on Madison county would hardly be complete without the name of John L. Forkner, who as supervising editor of the present history is naturally modest concerning his own life record, the publishers take upon them- selves the responsibility for the preparation and publication of the fol- lowing sketch of a man who has been known in Madison county for nearly fifty years, and in many important relations with the business and civic life of his home city of Anderson and the county of Madison.

John LaRue Forkner was born near the village of Millville, in Liberty township, Henry county, Indiana, January 20, 1844. His grandfather, Isaac Forkner, born in North Carolina in 1775, settled during the early twenties in Indiana, at Centerville, Wayne county, from there moving to Henry county. Previous to coming to Indiana, he had been a soldier

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in the War of 1812, having entered the service from his uative state. Micajah Forkner, father of the Anderson citizen, was born in Virginia, in 1812, and was a young boy when the family moved to Indiana. Mica- jah Forkner married Elizabeth Allen, a daughter of Hugh and Mary (Brooks) Allen, natives of Kentucky. She was born in 1814 and died in 1849. Micajah Forkner, who for many years was a merchant and farmer, died August 11, 1879, at the age of sixty-seven.

John L. Forkner was reared on a farm, attended the district schools until 1856, when his parents went to Millville he alternated between village school and clerking in his father's store. In 1862, at the age of eighteen, he started out to fight the battle of life for himself. In the general store of Lontz Brothers at IIagerstown, Indiana, he was em- ployed as a clerk until the spring of 1863, when he found a similar em- ployment in the store of Honorable Lafe Develin in Cambridge City. In December, 1864, he went to Tipton, Indiana, to represent the interest of an older brother in the mercantile establishment of Forkner & Allen, and remained there until February, 1866. The latter date marked his location at Anderson, where he has had his home and chief interests ever since.

Mr. Forkner soon after locating at Anderson, where he first worked as a salesman in different stores, became interested in local politics, and in 1868, was the successful candidate on the Democratic ticket for the office of city clerk. He was re-elected in 1870, and served three years. During the same time he was also deputy clerk of the Madison county courts, under Hon. William C. Fleming, and under T. J. Fleming, until the fall of 1872. When, in the latter year, Albert J. Ross, was elected sheriff, John L. Forkner became his office deputy, and filled that place for two years. In 1872 he was local editor and business manager of the Anderson Democrat in addition to his duties as, deputy sheriff and has been more or less connected with the Madison county press for the past forty years as a contributor to the newspapers. In 1874 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket, and elected county auditor, and as his popularity showed no signs of abatement, he was re-elected in 1878.

During his last term as auditor, Mr. Forkner purchased a third interest in the Exchange Bank of Anderson, and when he left office in 1883 he took up the duties of president of the bank. In 1892 the bank was reorganized and made a national institution under the name of the National Exchange Bank, in which he became cashier and remained in that position until 1912 when he retired, a period of twenty years, and accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the Pennsyl- vania Glass Company, having been a stockholder in that company since 1891.

The early political honors already mentioned by no means exhaust the services of. Mr. Forkner in a public capacity. In 1884 he was chair- man of the County Democratic Central Committee, and his local leader- ship largely contributed to the signal victory gained by his party for Grover Cleveland, and for the state and county tickets in the campaign of that year. In 1891 he was elected to the city council as a Democrat from the Second Ward, overcoming a large normal majority on the other side. While a city councilman he took an active part in securing for Anderson an electric light and sewerage system, and also the construc- tion of many miles of brick-paved streets. He was elected mayor of the city of Anderson in 1902, and again in 1904, serving two terms.

He takes pride in the fact that during his incumbency the Electric

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Light plant and the waterworks systems were rebuilt and enlarged and a filtering plant built that gives Anderson pure water and ample fire protection. These utilities are not only the pride of Anderson, but are patterns for other cities to follow and are large money earners for the city.

Credit must also be extended to Mr. Forkner for his liberal assistance in co-operation with other men of enterprise in taking advantage of the situation created by the discovery of natural gas and directing these resources to the upbuilding of a great industrial and commercial center at Anderson. He was a member of the board of trade at the time of the discovery, of natural gas, and contributed liberally of both time and money in locating industries and otherwise improving the city, which up to that time had been only a small country and county seat metropolis. Mr. Forkner was one of the incorporators of the Citizens Natural Gas Company, and for five years was its president. He was among the original organizers of the Anderson Iron & Bolt Company, an important local industry which long held the distinction of being the only manu- facturing plant in Anderson, whose stockholders were entirely home capitalists. This plant was sold to L. S. Taylor and others, and removed to Louisville, Kentucky.

In the formative days of the Union Traction Company of Indiana, Mr. Forkner was one of the men who helped to lay the foundation for the present system. He was associated in 1897 with Hon. Charles Henry ; J. A. Van Nosdal and Ellis C. Carpenter of Anderson, and Phillip Matter of Marion, Indiana, in the organization of the Union Traction Company, and the construction of its electric line between Anderson and Summitville, and also in the construction of other links iu the system. Mr. Forkner was treasurer of the company from its organization until it consolidated with Marion and Muncie lines.

In 1892 Governor Matthews appointed John L. Forkner a trustee of the Northern Asylum for the Insane at Logansport, and during the three years of his service he was president of the board for two years. From the time he cast his first vote, Mr. Forkner has always been a Democrat, and in his home county and district has probably done as much as any other man to promote the success of the party.

In March, 1873, Mr. Forkner married Miss Anna B. Hernly of New Castle, Indiana. At her death in 1876 she left one child, Emma Neff Forkner. She married Lee C. Newsom, who during the Spanish- American war was sergeant of Company L in the One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana regiment. In 1878 Mr. Forkner married Miss Mary Carson Watson, of Anderson, whose father, David H. Watson, was a soldier in the Mexican war and at one time sheriff of the county. The two children of his second marriage were: Wade Hampton Forkner, who died in 1882 at the age of four years; and Nellie Grant Forkner, who married Mr. Frank I. Remy of Anderson, who yet resides in the city of her birth.

Mr. Forkner is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Elks, and has other fraternal affiliations. In religion he holds to no particular creed, and bestows charity, without ostentation.

While few citizens of Madison county have been more actively im- mersed in the current activities, Mr. Forkner has also taken great pleasure and interest in the things of the past. In connection with honorable Byron H. Dyson, in 1897, he published "Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County," a book of one thousand pages,

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devoted to local history and events from the organization of the county to the present time. This book has since been one of the standard sources of information concerning Madison county, and has received many tributes and compliments from the citizens of the county, and also many flattering press notices over the state. Mr. Forkner has always had a high regard and admiration for the "old-timers," and it was this admiration which prompted him to engage in the task of writing his book. He delights in the old songs, the old stories of long ago, and has for a number of years held the post of president of the Old Settlers Association in Madison county. In his private collection he probably has more essential data concerning the history of Madison county than any other resident. For a long time he has kept a faithful record of the important events of the county, particularly of the death of the old settlers, and his chronological tables have from time to time been pub- lished in the local press. Mr. Forkner on every hand is justly regarded as the county historian of Madison county. Though he had not held an editor's chair for a number of years he has done much writing for the local press on a great variety of subjects. John L. Forkner stands at the present time in Madison county as one of its ablest and most honor- able business men, is a citizen of eminent public spirit, and with personal success has also given many returns in the form of public service to the city and county with which he has been identified by residence for so many years.

GEORGE W. SHOWERS. Now filling the office of justice of the peace in Anderson, Mr. Showers has been identified by residence and business with Anderson and with Madison county for more than twenty years. In business affairs he is best known as a building contractor, and has done much substantial work as evidence of his ability in this line.

George W. Showers was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1847, a son of John H. and Maria (Hicks) Showers. In 1856, when George was nine years old, the family moved from Pennsyl- vania to Henry county, Indiana, locating at a little place known as Mechanicsburg, Henry county, Indiana. The father was by trade a brick moulder and shoe maker and, besides his work for his family and immediate community, deserves an honored memory as a soldier of the Union. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E of the Eighth Indiana Infantry, and served under General Grant in the siege of Vicksburg. He died on August 16, 1863. He was taken sick at Vicksburg and died at Jefferson Barracks Hospital, in St. Louis.

George W. Showers was reared and educated in Henry county, attending the grammar and high schools. During boyhood days he assisted his father. At the age of nineteen he became a worker for wages on a farm, but in the following year began learning the carpenter's trade. He followed his vocation with success in other parts of the state, and in 1890 located in Anderson. From an individual carpenter he developed a business as a contractor, and since that time many of the stores, shops, churches and school houses in Anderson and vicinity have heen erected under his management and contracting. He has a reputa- tion for reliable performance of all his contracts, and is a very skillful and thoroughly versed mechanic.

On June 8, 1871, Mr. Showers married Miss Lucinda A. Harter, a daughter of David Harter. Their marriage has been blessed with eight children, three surviving, Ralph W., John D. and Fred, all residents of

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History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 64

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926 Publication date: 1970 Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918