USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
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E. R. STOCKER.
E. R. Stocker, who for the past years has conducted a large under- taking business in Vincennes, his establishment being particularly well equipped, is a native of Greenville, Ohio, born on the 19th of March, 1875. His parents were Andrew and Margaret (Rader) Stocker. The father was a farmer and landowner who for some years engaged in the tilling of the soil but afterward turned his attention to the butchering business. In both lines he was quite successful and eventually became a man of wealth, his
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prosperity enabling him to retire from active business life, so that he is now spending his days in the enjoyment of well earned and well merited rest.
Spending his youthful days in his native city, E. R. Stocker pursued his education in the public schools of Greenville until graduated from the high school. Immediately afterward he began learning the undertaking business with his brother and subsequently pursued a course in embalming in Cincin- nati, Ohio. He worked with his brother for four years and has been en- gaged altogether in the undertaking business for twenty years. He came to Vincennes from Lawrenceville, Illinois, where he had conducted an under- taking establishment for six years, and since 1903 has been located in Vin- cennes, where a very extensive patronage has been accorded him, his being one of the leading undertaking establishments in the city.
On the 28th of June, 1909, Mr. Stocker was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Frances Groves, of Allison Prairie, Illinois, a daughter of Frank and Delpha (Hepsher) Groves. Mrs. Stocker was formerly a trained nurse, a graduate of the Chicago Baptist Hospital.
In fraternal circles E. R. Stocker is widely and favorably known. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; to Corner Stone Lodge, No. 126, K. P .; to the Modern Woodmen camp; to Court of Honor, No. 432; to the Independent Order of Samaritans and the American Home Circle. All of these indicates much of the nature of his interests and the principles which govern his actions. He is, moreover, a consistent member of the Christian church. His popularity is well deserved as in him are em- braced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags. He finds delight in serving his fellowmen in con- formity to the fraternal spirit of the different lodges to which he belongs, and he is a worthy representative of that class who constitute the best force in the citizenship of the community.
CURTIS T. MCCLURE.
One of the prosperous and successful farmers of Knox county is Curtis T. McClure, the owner of a highly improved farm of two hundred acres in Palmyra township. He was born in that township, September 1, 1876, and is a son of W. T. and Sarah E. (Bunting) McClure, the former of whom was born in Palmyra township, October 16, 1842, and the latter in Vigo township, this county, January 28, 1848. The father was educated in the district schools of Knox county and became one of its very prominent citizens not only as an agriculturist but in the political affairs of the county. At the time of his death, which occurred July 16, 1907, he was the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres, provided with all modern conveniences. He was a public-spirited man and one of the prime movers in the county fair associa- tion, of which he was a stockholder. He took a great deal of interest in
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politics and for two years, from 1894 to 1896, he was treasurer of the county and also filled the office of county trustee for two years. Socially he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his religious belief was indicated by the active support which he gave to the Presbyterian church. Mrs. McClure was a daughter of S. A. and Elizabeth (Scott) Bunting, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Knox county. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom Sarah E. was the second in order of birth. There were seven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. McClure: William, who died in infancy; Emma, the wife of J. R. Huddle- son, of Chicago, and the mother of one child; Effie, deceased; Curtis T., of this review ; and Louis P., Mary and Fannie, now living at home.
The subject of this review grew up upon the farm and attended the dis- trict schools of Knox county but, having shown a strong inclination for in- tellectual research, he became a student in Vincennes University and from that institution went to Lebanon, Ohio, where he entered the National Nor- mal University, which was presided over by the celebrated Alfred Holbrook, one of the most remarkable teachers that this country has produced, who remembered the names of the students of his institution until they had accumulated to the number of more than thirty thousand. After returning from the university he resumed operations upon the farm and at twenty- seven years of age purchased two hundred acres of land in donation No. 4, Palmyra township, where he has since continued, and he now enjoys the comfort and abundance which is the reward of rightly directed effort, being the fortunate owner of one of the valuable farming properties of the town- ship.
In 1901 Mr. McClure was united in marriage to Miss Helen Niblack, a daughter of Sandford L. and Susan (Brooks) Niblack. Two children have brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. McClure: Persis and Thornton Niblack. Although a young man and, therefore, just fairly launched upon his business career, Mr. McClure has gained and established a reputation as one of the substantial citizens of the county, whose success is founded on real worth and whose future is practically assured. As a business man he ranks very high, having demonstrated his reliability by a straight-forward course in all dealings with his fellowmen, from which he has never wavered. He and his estimable wife have many friends in the community where they make their home.
ALBERT M. SHEPERD.
The life of Albert M. Sheperd proves that a business, honestly conducted in accordance with the great laws which control all legitimate lines of trade, may rise to the forefront of the productive industries of the locality in which it is carried on. Never employing the methods of frenzied finance but giving adequate value for each dollar received, he has proven that the business
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which is conducted on the value for value system is the only one that tends to the prosperity of this great republic. The exactness of modern business methods has made the study of success a science and the life record of each truly successful man contains lessons of intrinsic value to all who would attain advancement and promotion. As the head of a paper manufactory of Vincennes, he is today one of the chief factors in commercial and manufac- turing circles in this part of Indiana.
His birth occurred near Dayton, Ohio, July 22, 1864. He is a son of Jacob H. Sheperd, a native of Pennsylvania, who in his boyhood days went to Ohio with his father, Henry L. Sheperd, who was a native of Berne, Switzerland, and after coming to the new world lived for some time in the Keystone state ere his removal westward. Reared to agricultural pursuits, Jacob H. Sheperd followed the occupation of farming until 1884, when he turned his attention to the manufacture of paper in Piqua, Ohio. In 1886 he removed to Vincennes, where he organized the Vincennes Paper Company and established the paper manufacturing plant which he conducted until his death in 1893. In early manhood he had wedded Elizabeth Grimes, a native of Virginia and a representative of one of the old families of that state. She died in Vincennes in 1900 in the old William Henry Harrison home, passing away at the age of sixty-eight years, while the death of Mr. Sheperd occurred when he was sixty-seven years of age.
In the country schools of Ohio Albert M. Sheperd pursued his education and through vacation periods worked upon his father's farm. He was twenty years of age when his father turned his attention to the business of manufacturing paper and from the organization of the enterprise Albert M. Sheperd was associated therewith, thoroughly learning the business in principle and detail. He commenced at the very beginning and worked his way steadily upward, familiarizing himself with each branch of the trade. He came with his father to Vincennes in 1886 and upon the death of his father took charge of the business, which he has since conducted. At that time it was a comparatively small undertaking, but in the intervening years he has increased the trade five times and is now making further improvements and additions to the plant in order to meet the growing demands of the trade. He ships his product all over the United States and also exports his goods to Canada and foreign lands. He employs the most modern and improved processes in manufacturing and his well equipped factory enables him to turn out a product of excellent grade, which finds a ready sale on the market. In addition to his paper manufacturing interests Mr. Sheperd is the president of the American Filler Company, also of the Vincennes Egg Case Company and of the Vincennes Agency Company, all of which profit by his sound judgment and keen business discernment.
Mr. Sheperd was married in Vincennes to Miss Clara S. Burlingame, who was born near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They have two sons, Howard and Dwight, but lost their youngest child, Helen, in 1900, when she was but four years of age.
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Mr. Sheperd has long exercised his right of franchise in support of the principles of the republican party and has served as a member of the city council for two terms from the third and fourth wards. He has devoted his time and attention to business and not to politics, however, yet is not neglect- ful of the duties of citizenship nor of his obligations to his fellowmen. He belongs to the Methodist church and his life has been guided by its teachings. He is a most highly respected man, who speaks today by his character, by his conduct, by his splendid success, to young men to give up all fictitious methods of business and, returning to that which is honest, laborious and true, win not only prosperity but also the gratitude and honor of their fellow- men. Building upon the simple, old-fashioned principles of business that "honesty is the best policy" and that "there is no excellence without labor" he has gained a most creditable and gratifying position among the merchants and manufacturers of Vincennes.
JOSEPH L. EBNER.
Joseph L. Ebner, one of the successful business men of Vincennes, was born in this city, January 6, 1863, and has always made his home here. He is a son of John and Catherine (Kuhn) Ebner, both natives of Alsace, France, now a part of Germany, the former born in 1817 and the latter in 1832. The father came to Vincennes about 1855 and engaged in the brewing and ice business. At that time one thousand pounds of ice a day was the limit. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ebner : Magdalena, now Mrs. Joseph Schmidt, of Vincennes : John Ebner, Jr., deceased ; Mary E., now the widow of Herman Wissing; Joseph L., the subject of this sketch ; Lawrence A .; and Teresa H., now the wife of George G. Schaller.
Joseph L. Ebner was educated in the German Catholic schools and high school of Vincennes, later attending for a year the college at Tentopolis, Illinois, under the management of the Franciscan Fathers. In 1880, at the age of seventeen, he left school and became assistant to his father in the ice business and has ever since been identified with business interests of this city. In 1889 he built the first ice plant in Vincennes, which was the second ice manufacturing plant erected in the state, the first having been erected at Evansville. In 1906 the ice plant, having a capacity of eighty tons per day, was sold to the Ebner Ice & Cold Storage Company, which now owns four ice plants with a capacity of two hundred tons per day. In addition to the ice business each plant has a cold storage department. The main cold stor- age building is constructed of brick with reinforced concrete columns and floors and is five stories in height, the capacity being sixty thousand barrels. The other three plants have a storage capacity of fifty thousand barrels, mak- ing a total of one hundred and ten thousand barrels. This is one of the most complete plants of the kind in the middle west. In addition to serving as
JOSEPH L. EBNER
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president of the Ebner Ice & Cold Storage Company Mr. Ebner is vice presi- dent of the Vincennes Milk & Ice Cream Company. He is also a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank and for many years has been known as an important factor in the growth and prosperity of the city.
In 1887 Mr. Ebner was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Raben, who was born at St. Wendells, Indiana, in 1864, a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Tenbarge) Raben, natives of Holland. Her father was engaged in the general merchandise business and had the distinction of being the oldest postmaster in this state at the time of his death. Mrs. Ebner departed this life January 24, 1894. By her marriage she became the mother of three daughters, all of whom are now living: Vivia, born at Vincennes in 1888; Laurine, born in August, 1891 ; and Mary, born in July 1893.
For nineteen years Mr. Ebner has been a member of the Vincennes Board of Trade and the esteem in which he is held by his business associates is in- dicated by the fact that he is one of its directors. He is recognized as a man of sound business principles, a competent manager of important enterprises, and as a citizen who aims to discharge his duties in such a way as to enhance the prosperity and happiness of all with whom he is identified.
W. S. KEITH.
W. S. Keith, postmaster of Bicknell and one of its most esteemed citizens, was born in Knox county, February 2, 1850, and is a son of Warren C. and Elizabeth (Chambers) Keith. The father was a native of Kentucky. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Chambers, came to this region at a very early day, while the country was still occupied by Indians and when settlers were obliged to live in forts and carry guns as a protection whenever they traveled through the country. He was a successful farmer and a leader in the com- munity, being active in establishing churches and schools and in the settle- ment of questions which arose in those early times. The mother of our subject was a woman of many excellent qualifications and greatly endeared herself to all with whom she was associated. She departed this life in 1876. There were ten children in the family: Angeline, deceased; Nannie, deceased ; Maggie, of Vincennes ; W. S., our subject ; Alice, deceased ; Joseph Lewis, of Indianapolis ; Jonathan, who became a lawyer of Vincennes and is now deceased; Charles Spurgeon, formerly of Wichita, Kansas, now deceased ; and Milton and Morton, both of whom died in infancy.
W. S. Keith was educated in the common schools and grew up upon the home farm. At eighteen years of age he began to work at farm labor by the month and at the age of twenty-three he was married, after which he began farming on his own account, continuing until 1889, when he removed to Bicknell. Here he engaged in various lines of business until 1896, when he was appointed postmaster. At the time of his appointment the office be-
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longed to the fourth class but through his efforts it was advanced to the third class, October 1, 1896. He has filled the position to the acceptance of the people of Bicknell and vicinity and also to the satisfaction of the officials at Washington. He is very careful and considerate in his management of affairs and devotes his entire attention to his duties. The business has grown until he now requires the aid of four assistants. Financially Mr. Keith has prospered and he is the owner of a handsome and commodious residence on Sycamore street.
In 1873 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth A. Wallace, and to this union six children have been born: Stella, the wife of Frank Linn, of Bicknell; Jesse C., who married Noma Phillippe and lives at Indianapolis; Earl G., who married Mabel Bicknell and lives in Bicknell; and Morton, Lottie and an infant, all deceased.
Politically Mr. Keith has from the time of casting his first ballot been a stanch supporter of the republican party. Socially he is identified with the Court of Honor and the Masonic fraternity, both of Bicknell. By his obliging disposition and kindness of heart he has attracted a wide circle of friends and acquaintances and his able discharge of official duties is an indica- tion of his ability as a business man. His influence ever since he arrived at the age of discretion has always assisted in the promotion of good-will and of those qualities that contribute most to the development of useful char- acter. Hence it is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most popular men in Bicknell and that he enjoys the confidence of all with whom he associates either in social or business life.
HAMET D. HINKLE.
Prominent both as a lawyer and a business man, Hamet D. Hinkle, of Vincennes, is well known in Knox county, where he has spent most of his life. He was born September 18, 1869, and is a son of James S. Hinkle, a native of Jefferson county, Kentucky, born April 28, 1839. The father came to Knox county in 1849, and here engaged in farming. He mar- ried Eliza Walker, who was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1841, and departed this life in that county in 1878. There were six chil- dren in the family, three sons and three daughters: Elzora, deceased; John, who married Anna Jones and has two children; Carrie, deceased; Cora, now deceased, who became the wife of J. K. Harbin and the mother of one child; Hamet D .; and Charles, who married Sallie Spencer. The father was a second time married in 1886, to Mrs. Margaret Learned, and there were two children by this marriage, Pansy and Pearl, both at home.
Hamet D. Hinkle was educated in the public schools of Missouri, Illi- nois and Indiana, and after leaving the common schools, became a student
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at the Indiana State Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1895. He was for a number of years engaged in school teaching in Knox, Sulli- van and Bartholomew counties, Indiana, and purchased a farm on which he lived during the last six years as a teacher. Although successful in anything he undertook, he felt attracted to the legal profession and, dis- posing of his farm, he came to Vincennes and studied law in the office of C. B. Kessinger and was admitted to the bar in 1907. He has since en- gaged in practice and has his office in the new La Plante building, Having been interested in land and real-estate transactions for a number of years on his own account, his practice consists largely of probate business, in which he is meeting with remarkable success, and in his own real-estate operations he has shown a judgment almost phenomenal, as he is now the owner of eighty acres of land in Lawrence county, Illinois, three hundred acres in Sullivan county, Indiana, and one hundred and fourteen acres in Knox county and also is heavily interested in real estate in Vincennes. Eighty acres of his land is very valuable on account of the extensive oil deposits.
On March 31, 1898, Mr. Hinkle was married in Knox county to Miss Grace McClure, who was born in McDonough county, Illinois, in 1872. Her father, Rev. Thornton S. McClure, was born in Knox county in 1833 and is well known as a Presbyterian minister. The mother, Melissa Louns- dale, is a native of Pike county, Indiana. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hinkle: Hamet, Jr., born January 10, 1905; and Helen Elzora, May 21, 1907. The wife and mother died August 14, 1907, and on November 14, 1909, Mr. Hinkle was married to Miss Grace Prow, one of the leading supervisors of music in the state, who was born at Salem, Indiana, April 7, 1875. She is a daughter of Fred L. and Lucretia ( Montgomery) Prow, the former born in Lawrence county, Indiana, in 1840, and the latter in the same county in 1847.
Mr. Hinkle has been prominently identified with the prohibition party in Knox county and was twice a candidate upon its ticket for prosecuting attorney of the county, receiving at the time of his second candidacy fif- teen hundred and fifty votes, which was thirteen hundred and fifty more votes than there were prohibitionists in the county. He is a stanch sup- porter of the Methodist church and is a member of the official board. As indicated above, he has been in a very high degree successful financially. At the time of his marriage his worldly possessions consisted of eighty- two dollars in money. Six years later he had accumulated ten thousand dollars and at the present time he is one of the well-to-do men of Knox county. In the various relations of life Mr. Hinkle has so conducted him- self as to make many friends and to retain the confidence and respect of every community where he is known. The possessor of unusual sagacity, he is recognized as one of the clear-headed business men of the county. He is a man of unsullied integrity and strong convictions, and is absolutely fearless when he feels himself to be in the right. He has never courted
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popularity and would rather go down in defeat in a good cause than to win in one that he felt to be wrong. All enterprises aiming to secure the best good of the people financially, socially or morally have found in him a steadfast friend.
HENRIETTA (HAMM) LYTTON.
Steen township can claim no more worthy or respected resident than the one whose name stands at the head or this review. For fifty years she has noted the progress of events in that part of Knox county and she and those with whom she has been identified have assisted most creditably in upholding the welfare of the township. Born in Lawrence county, Indiana, February 5, 1840, she is a daughter of Alfred C. Hamm, who was born in Madison county, Kentucky, June 27, 1812. He removed to Lawrence county in his boyhood. There he was educated, grew to manhood and learned the carpenter's trade, to which he devoted a large part of his life. He was highly successful in his calling and by an honest and straightforward course in business affairs, he gained the respect of all with whom he came in contact. Originally a member of the old whig party, he became affiliated with its successor, the republican party, of which he was an ardent sup- porter. As a believer in the inspiration of the Bible, he was also a supporter of the church and held membership in the Methodist denomination. In December, 1830, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ann Knight, who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, June 15, 1819. Her father was a farmer and a native of Kentucky. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hamm, three of whom are now living.
Henrietta Hamm was educated in the public schools and grew to woman- hood under the protection of a kindly home. On June 5, 1860, she was united in marriage to Dr. Jefferson R. Lytton, who was born June 5, 1833, in Lawrence county, and after having obtained his preliminary education in the common schools, he attended the State University at Bloomington and later entered a medical college at Louisville, Kentucky, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. Immediately after they were married the young couple came to Knox county and Dr. Lytton here began practicing his profession in 1860. Having been well prepared for his duties and being a man of fine natural attainments, he soon gained the confidence of the community and was eminently successful as a practitioner. He also possessed unusual business capacity and acquired six hundred acres of land in the county besides some town property and during the later years of his life lived retired from practice and devoted his attention to his private interests. Politically he was an adherent of the democratic party and socially a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was called from earthly scenes October 2, 1904, and the general expression of regret at that time was evidence of the high esteem in which he was held by the community.
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Unto Dr. and Mrs. Lytton were born eight children, namely : Gertrude, deceased; Jessie; Sallie; Gilbert; Lydia; Walter; Frank, deceased; and Ralph. Jessie is the wife of A. C. Nicholson and has five children: Irene, Henrietta, Lytton, Gene and Hugh. Of these Irene is now Mrs. Langdon and has one son, Louis. Gilbert Lytton has eight children : Raymond, Louise, John, Floyd, Lawrence, Ralph, Hugh and a baby boy.
Mrs. Lytton is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and fifty acres and also of town property which came to her from her husband. Her ear is always open to the call of distress and she is ever willing to assist in every worthy cause that seeks to soften or remove the ills of the unfortunate. A descendant of pioneers, she understands the difficulties under which many labor in seeking to establish a home and she also knows the value of a home after it is once secured. She has the esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who recognize in her those qualities which are most essential in contributing to the comfort and happiness of life and which are the foundation of all that is estimable in human character.
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