USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 23
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In March, 1900, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Roberts, a daughter of Noah S. and Sarah Roberts and a native of Bruceville. Her father was a merchant and farmer and one of the most prominent men in the community. One son, Roberts, born June 6, 1903, brightens the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hill.
Aside from his active advocacy of prohibition, he has adhered with un- abated persistence to the law which is indeed a "jealous mistress" and ad- mits no rival. He has been retained as counselor by a number of business concerns and has in a high degree the respect of the business men of the community. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and for many years has been actively identified with the Christian church, being at the present time an elder. A fair-minded man who has earned the high place he occu- pies in the esteem of the people of Vincennes, he may be regarded as a steadily growing factor whose influence will ever be for good in Knox county and the surrounding region. As a prohibitionist he has taken an
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active part in politics, being a candidate for congress in 1906; candidate for secretary of state in 1908; candidate for appellate judge in 1910; and a member of the platform committee at the state convention in 1908 and 1910, being chairman of the committee the latter year.
RICHARD M. FREEMAN.
Richard M. Freeman, who is known as the father of the coal industry in Knox county, has long been numbered among Bicknell's foremost and leading citizens. His birth occurred in Burslem, England, on the 20th of April, 1842. His paternal grandfather, who worked as a miner in Eng- land, passed away in that country in 1850. In that year the father of our subject, who was also a miner, crossed the Atlantic to the United States and the following year his wife and four children joined him in this coun- try. Mrs. Freeman, likewise a native of the Merrie Isle, was called to her final rest in 1889. Her children were seven in number, as follows: Edward, who died in Bicknell, Indiana, two years ago; one who died in infancy; Richard M., of this review; Job, now a great coal magnate of Linton, Indiana, who at one time served as auditor of Knox county; Martha, who gave her hand in marriage to John Wilson, now a retired resident of Bicknell; Jethro, living in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, who is mas- ter mechanic of a chain of mines; and Joseph, whose demise occurred in Bicknell. The last named was a druggist by profession and the originator of the Field trial dog sport, which gained for him a national reputation, but died after he passed away.
Richard M. Freeman located at Youngstown, Ohio, with his father and when nineteen years of age enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the Seventh Ohio Regiment. He remained with that command for three years and was often in the thickest of the fight, participating in the battles of Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, where he was wounded, Look- out Mountain, Mission Ridge and Resaca, Georgia. After the close of hostilities he returned to Ohio and was married. In the year 1870 he took up his abode in Washington, Indiana, working in the coal mines there until 1877, when he removed to Edwardsport, Knox county, where he also worked in the coal mines until 1882. In that year he came to Bicknell in Knox county, and acted as superintendent at the Indian Creek mine for many years. He also bears the distinction of having shoveled the first dirt in the Bicknell and Freeman mine. In 1910 he sold the Bicknell mines to his son, but still holds the Freeman mine, owning about a fifth interest in the same. He also has a mine at Jasonville, Indiana, and located the No. 5 vein of coal. He owns a number of residences in Bicknell and also a great deal of coal underlying the land around the town. In various ways he has promoted the growth and development of Bicknell and his exten-
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sive mining interests have gained him recognition as one of Knox county's leading coal magnates.
In 1865 Mr. Freeman was united in marriage to Miss Angelina Wise, by whom he has six children: Frank J., a resident of Jasonville, Greene county, Indiana, operates their mine at that place. Charles E. is the man- ager of the Freeman & Bicknell Coal Company at Bicknell, Indiana: Susie B. is the wife of Edgar Phillipe, of the firm of Lemon & Company, at Bicknell. Pearl V. gave her hand in marriage to H. C. Chancelor of Minden, Missouri, who is now engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business. He was formerly editor of the Knox County Democrat, and also founded the Bicknell Beacon, the first paper in Bicknell. Two years ago he served in the legislature of Missouri. Roy H., who acts as book- keeper for the California Vegetable Union, makes his home in Los Angeles, California. Lewis G. is studying dentistry in Chicago, Illinois.
Politically Mr. Freeman is a stalwart advocate of the republican party, supporting its men and measures by his ballot. He was initiated into the Masonic fraternity on the night that Garfield was elected president, and now belongs to the lodge and chapter at Bicknell, acting as trustee in both organizations. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist church, of which he served as steward for thirty-three years. He early recognized the fact that the superstructure of success must be built upon the solid foundations of indefatigable energy and irreproachable probity, and as the architect of his own fortunes, he has builded wisely and well. Depending upon no outside aid or circumstance, he has exerted his powers to the utmost and seems to have accomplished at any one point of his career the possibilities for successful accomplishment at that stage.
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WILLIAM A. HUNT.
William A. Hunt, editor of the Oaktown Record, was born in Martins- ville, Indiana, August 5, 1853, the only child of Nathan A. and Mary A. (Coble) Hunt. The parents were natives of North Carolina and were of English and German extraction, respectively. In 1854 the family removed to Mooresville, Indiana, where, with the exception of two years spent in Danville, Indiana, William A. Hunt resided until 1888. At the age of fourteen years he was thrown upon his own resources and his schooling, limited to about eight months in the aggregate, was procured after that time. In 1865 he entered the confectionery store owned by his grand- father at Mooresville, there remaining until 1874. In the meantime his grandfather died and Mr. Hunt then embarked in business on his own account. For two years, although his capital was extremely limited, he managed not only to support himself, but also his mother and grandmother, hoth of whom were invalids. In 1877 he entered the office of the Moores-
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ville Herald as a printer's "devil" and continued there for three years, learning the printer's trade. In 1880 he secured the position of a com- positor on the Mooresville Monitor, but in 1881, upon the retirement of A. W. Macy, Mr. Hunt was appointed editor by the directors, filling the position with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the patrons of the paper. The Monitor was owned by a joint stock company and soon Mr. Hunt found himself holding a controlling interest, for whenever oppor- tunity offered he invested in the stock. In three years from the time he took charge of the paper he was sole proprietor and had made substantial progress on the high road to fortune.
Moreover, Mr. Hunt was prominently connected with the interests of Mooresville in many other ways. He became a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church there, was chosen reporter of the local lodge of Knights of Honor, was elected president of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and for five years was secretary of the Old Set- tlers' Association of the district comprising the counties of Morgan, Hen- dricks, Johnson and Monroe. The association held its fortieth annual meeting at Mooresville, August 9, 1910. Mr. Hunt as a stalwart republi- can in politics and a trusted and active worker of his party, wielded a great influence in its behalf through the columns of his paper. In 1884 he was elected city clerk of Mooresville, but after serving for one year declined a second term.
On the 9th of January, 1877, Mr. Hunt was married in Mooresville to Miss Mary E. Dickerson, and unto them were born three children: Mar- garet A., Dwite A. and William A. In November, 1887, his wife died, the children being at that time but nine, seven and two years of age, re- spectively. This bereavement made desolate that which had hitherto been a happy home. His impulse was to fly from the scenes of former happi- ness, from the surroundings and familiar objects which, in reminding him of past joys, only intensified present pain; and with his motherless little ones, he fled to "the land of Egypt," otherwise known as southern Illi- nois. There he was welcomed by warm hearts and kind friends and suc- ceeded-not, however, without labor and hardship-in rearing his chil- dren to manhood and womanhood. The elder son, Dwite A., is a first- class and artistic job printer, now acting as foreman of the job depart- ment of the Lawrence county (Illinois) News. The younger son, Wil- liam A., remained with his father and is now a thoroughly competent, all- around printer and newspaper man who, at this writing is associated with his father in publishing the Oaktown Record, which plant they own under the firm name of W. A. Hunt & Son. The daughter, Margaret A., is mar- ried to a prominent contractor and builder of El Paso, Texas.
For nearly fourteen years Mr. Hunt was editor and proprietor of the Local Reporter of Bridgeport, Illinois, and did some of his best editorial work in that field. In 1897, in company with W. A. Hunt, Jr., he took a trip to Texas and New Mexico, finally returning to Indiana, where they
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first leased and then purchased the Oaktown Record. The father is yet a vigorous writer, knows the country newspaper business from ink roller to cylinder press and, with the efficient aid of his son, is making the Record a power in journalism in this part of the state. ,
WILLIAM ALEXANDER POLK.
Among the men long established in business in Knox county the name of William A. Polk occupies a very high place. As a financier he has also been eminently successful and at the present time, although he is seventy-seven years of age, he is at the head of a bank and in active charge of its affairs. Mr. Polk was born in Widner township, Knox county, May 16, 1833, and is a son of James and Harriet (Shepard) Polk. He belongs to the same family as James Polk, the eleventh president of the United States, and Will- iam Polk, who was a delegate to the first constitutional convention of Indi- ana. A record of the family, in possession of a sister of our subject, extends back to the year 1100 A. D .- soon after the landing of William the Con- queror in England. The American branch of the family centered in North Carolina before the Revolutionary war and later became pioneers of the south and west, the name now being known in all the states of the Union and its members occupying prominent places in business and professional circles.
Charles Polk, the great-grandfather of our subject, was with George Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat and later became a settler of Kentucky. He died in 1827 in Knox county and was buried near Oaktown. One of the thrilling stories of pioneer history is the story of the capture of Charles Polk's wife by the Indians. She was carried through the wilder- ness to Detroit and there gave birth to a son; Charles Polk, Jr., the grand- father of our subject. The mother escaped with her son and returned to Kentucky and there he grew to manhood and was married to Margaret Mc- Quade. He was a teamster at the battle of Tippecanoe. He emigrated to Knox county very early in the nineteenth century and was one of the first settlers of this county. Here his son James married Harriet Shepard and there were seven children born to them, the subject of this review being second in order of birth. The other members of the family were: Louise, who married Captain Henry Gilham, a Mexican war veteran and also cap- tain in the One Hundred and Twentieth Indiana Volunteers at the time of the Civil war; Edmund, living at Bicknell; Charles, of Winterset, Iowa ; Mary, deceased; Horace ; and Helen, the widow of Edmund Clarke, of Vin- cennes.
Educated in the public schools of the pioneer period, William A. Polk began his battle with the world as a school teacher and agent for the McCor-
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mick Harvester Works. He taught school in the winter for seven years and. in summer devoted his attention to the sale of harvesting machines, becom- ing highly expert as a salesman. He made his first extensive trip from home at eighteen years of age. Going aboard a flatboat at Edwardsport, he floated with his companions down the White river to the Wabash, thence to the Ohio, on the Ohio to the Mississippi and on the broad waters of this great river to the point of destination, which was the city of New Orleans. He was absent from home about six weeks and the incidents and scenes of this journey made a lasting impression upon his mind and gave him many new ideas as to human nature and the magnitude of this great country. After having accumulated a small capital he went to Madison county, Iowa, and located one hundred and sixty acres of land, which cost him $1.25 per acre. He lived for three months in that county and then disposed of his property to a brother, who still lives there. Returning to Oaktown, Indiana, he entered the employ of G. & A. Bond, working for the firm in the winter and selling harvesting machines in the summer. In 1865, being then thirty-two years of age, Mr. Polk became a partner in the general mercantile business as a member of the firm of Bond & Polk. In 1869 he entered the hardware busi- ness, having for his partner, R. S. Walker and the name of the firm being Polk & Walker, but in 1887 he purchased his partner's interest and the firm became W. A. Polk & Son, the junior member being Eugene E. Polk. In 1902 Mr. Polk entered the private banking business at Oaktown with a capital stock of twelve thousand dollars and conducted the bank with such success that in 1908 it became a state bank with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars and he has since been president of that institution. He is also extensively identified with other interests and is the owner of three hundred acres of land in Busseron township and a stockholder in the First National and German National Banks of Vincennes, the Citizens Trust Company of the same city and the Continental National Bank of Indian- apolis. He is the owner of valuable property in Oaktown and, having been blessed with a good business judgment, has been almost uniformly success- ful in the large number of enterprises with which he has been connected.
In 1858 Mr. Polk was united in marriage to Mary C. Harper, a daugh- ter of Jesse Harper, a noted pioneer of Kentucky. Five children were born to the union, of whom two are now living: Eugene E., who is married and is the father of one child; and Katie, at home. The wife and mother hav- ing departed this life in 1876, William A. Polk was again married, the lady of his choice being Miss Martha Ann Parker. Three children blessed this union, one of whom is now living, Chauncey J.
Throughout a long life of business activity Mr. Polk has uniformly been governed by principles of the strictest integrity and his success in an important degree has been due to the character he early acquired as a man of unimpeachable honesty. Beginning on a small scale, he gradually amassed a fortune and he never sought to advance his own interests through
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the infliction of injury upon others. It may truly be said that he has been ยท faithful to every trust reposed in him and his sincere and unfeigned cordi- ality has won the friendship of all with whom he has been brought into contact.
CHARLES W. SMITH.
Charles W. Smith, pleasantly located upon a good farm in donation 22. Palmyra township, is one of the native sons of Knox county, his birth having occurred December 19, 1842, in the township which is still his home. His father, Charles Smith, who was born in England in July, 1805, spent his youthful days in that country and when a young man came to the United States, settling in Knox county, Indiana, where he took up the oc- cupation of farming. He had previously learned and followed the black- smith's trade and also worked at it for a short time in this county but devoted the greater part of his life to agricultural pursuits. In that work he was successful and, adding to his land as opportunity offered, became in time the owner of four hundred acres which he continued to till until his life's labors were ended in death. He brought his fields under a high state of cultivation and the farm became one of the valuable properties of the community. He married Susanna Mize, who was born in Indiana and was of Scotch-Irish extraction. They held membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church and in that faith reared their family, which num- bered thirteen children, although only two are now living.
Charles W. Smith, who was the fifth in order of birth, was sent as a pupil to the district schools near his father's home when but six years of age, and therein continued his studies until he had largely mastered the branches of learning that constitute the country school curriculum. At the age of twenty-two years he enlisted in the Federal army, for the coun- try was then engaged in civil war. At Vincennes he was enrolled as a member of Company I, Forty-fourth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, and went to the front where he was on active duty until honorably discharged at Chattanooga, Tennessee, after which he was mustered out at Nashville in August, 1865. He had participated in a number of hotly contested en- gagements and never faltered in the performance of any military duty, whether called to the firing line or stationed upon the lonely picket line.
When the war was over and the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Smith returned to his home in Knox county and there engaged in farming with his father until 1868, when he started out in the business world on his own account. His father compensated his services in former years by a gift of one hundred and forty acres of good land situated in donations 91 and 92. Upon that farm he has since resided, and it bears evidence of the care and labor which he has bestowed upon it. He has
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worked industriously and energetically, and the place reflects his careful management and practical methods. In 1905, however, he retired from active business life, although he still maintains his residence upon the farm and his ownership therein. To the original gift from his father he added as his financial resources increased until his place today comprises two hundred and ninety-two acres of rich and valuable land.
On February 13, 1868, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Vir- ginia Boyd, a native of Knox county. They became the parents of eight children of whom five are still living, namely: Mary, who married J. B. Johnson and has two children; Martha A., the wife of J. D. Myer, by whom she has three children; Arthur, who is also married and has four children; Jennie, the wife of George King and the mother of one child; and Nellie, who married Rollie Roberson.
Mr. Smith is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has guided his life by its teachings. He has held many township offices and in the discharge of his duties has proven his loyalty to the general welfare. Interested in everything that pertains to the progress of the community, he gives loyal support to all those projects which are working for the public good and is classed with the valued and public- spirited citizens of Palmyra township. His friends are many, and the fact that his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time is an indication that his life has ever been honorable and upright.
MRS. CATHERINE BELL ROOT.
Mrs. Catherine Bell Root owns and occupies a good farm in donation 79, Palmyra township. She has always lived in Knox county, her birth having occurred in Steen township on the 17th of September, 1859. She is a daughter of Richard and Frances (Stevenson) Robinson and a sister of Dr. J. L. Robinson, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. In the days when Knox county was considered upon the western frontier, when the work of progress and development had scarcely been begun here, her grandparents came to this part of the state. Her father, Richard Rob- inson, was born in Knox county on the 15th of October, 1824, and he was a lifelong resident of the county, his death occurring within its borders on the 13th of February, 1888. He was reared to the occupation of farm- ing and made it his life work. His education was acquired in the sub- scription schools and with only that early training for business he entered upon the arduous task of developing the fields and making his farm pro- ductive and valuable. He married Frances Stevenson, a daughter of John and Sarah Stevenson, who were natives of county Tyrone, Ireland. Hav- ing come to America when a young man, Mr. Stevenson here followed
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farming and met with notable success, his judicious investments in prop- erty making him at length the owner of fourteen hundred acres.
Catherine Bell Robinson spent her girlhood in her parents' home, where she was trained to the duties of the household, while in the public schools she acquired her education. On the 8th of September, 1886, she gave her hand in marriage to Lester S. Root, a native of Palmyra town- ship, born on the 13th of March, 1860. He acquired his early education in the district schools of Knox county and later spent two years at Vin- cennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. He remained with his parents until 1886 and then began farming on his own account on a tract of sev- enty acres given him by his father. His labors were attended with sub- stantial success, and as good crops brought him a substantial financial re- turn, he made further purchase of property until he became the owner of two hundred and forty-nine acres, of which he retained possession to the time of his death, in 1904. He also owned and operated a grain eleva- tor at Wheatland for several years, but abandoned this in order to return to farming, to which he devoted his attention exclusively during his later years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Root were born six children: Hazel, Richard. Waldo, Ruth, Francis and Lester S., all residing at home. The children are all yet living, but the family circle was broken by the hand of death when, on the 3d of March, 1904, the husband and father passed away. He was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church and was identified with the Tribe of Ben Hur and the Court of Honor. He affiliated with the republican party, believing its principles were most conducive to good gov- ernment. All who knew him recognized him as a man of high integrity whose word was as good as his bond. He represented a prominent pioneer family of the county and his record never cast a shadow upon the un- tarnished name. His genuine worth was widely recognized by all who knew him, and when he passed away many friends as well as his im- mediate family mourned his death.
WILLIAM HENRY HALL.
Although scarcely past middle life William H. Hall, of Busseron town- ship, Knox county, has gained a competence in agricultural pursuits and is now living retired in the enjoyment of comfort and ease, having early in life laid the foundations of his fortune. He is the owner of a well improved farm of three hundred and seventy acres, which under his management has been brought to a high degree of cultivation and yields an income that makes him practically independent for the remainder of his life. Born in the township where he now lives, February 8, 1855, he is the son of Lance Woodward Hall, who was one of the early settlers of Knox county. He be-
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came closely identified with farming interests and departed this life in 1861.
The subject of this review was educated in the public schools of Vin- cennes and at eighteen years of age was married to Mary Jane Lunday, a native of Kentucky. By thrift and perseverance he accumulated sufficient capital to purchase a farm of fifty acres and he has managed so well that he is now the owner of the beautiful place comprising three hundred and seventy acres. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, all of whom are deceased, and the mother passed from mortal view in 1879. Mr. Hall chose as a second wife Martha Lunday, who died in 1881, and on August 5, 1881, he was married to Josephine Spencer and ten children were born of this union: Columbus E., deceased; Matilda, now Mrs. Arthur Gardner ; James Alfred; Nettie Ann, deceased; William, who married Bertha B. Hall; and Clinton P., Lilly, Nellie, Robert and Paul, all of whom are at home.
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