USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 44
USA > Indiana > Parke County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 44
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In September, 1887, Mr. Spencer was married to Mary E. Smiley, daughter of John S. and Isabelle (Dunn) Smiley, a highly respected family of Greene township, Parke county, Indiana. This family is of Irish ancestry. Mrs. Spencer's grandfather Dunn died while crossing the ocean and was buried at sea. One daughter, Jessie A., died when seven years of age, she having been the only issue to the marriage of the subject and wife.
Fraternally, Mr. Spencer is a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and Mrs. Spencer are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he being a member of the board of stewards of the same.
Grandfather Spencer was originally a Democrat, having voted for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860 for President, and, like Douglas, he later be- came a strong defender of the Union and voted for Lincoln at the next elec- tion. Grandfather Crooks was a commissioner of Parke county at one time, and the commissioner's record No. I in the auditor's office was written by him.
WILLIAM C. WAIT.
In a brief sketch of any living citizen it is difficult to do him exact and impartial justice, not so much, however, for lack of space or words to set forth the familiar and passing events of his personal history, as for want of the perfect and rounded conception of his whole life, which grows, de- velops and ripens, like fruit, to disclose its true and best flavor only when it is mellowed by time. Daily contact with the man so familiarizes us with his many virtues that we ordinarily overlook them and commonly under- estimate their possessor. Nevertheless, while the man passes away, his deeds of virtue live on and will in due time bear fruit and do him the justice which our pen fails to record. There are, however, a number of elements in the life record of William C. Wait, the present able and popular county attor- ney of Vermillion county and one of the leading attorneys of the section of Indiana of which this volume treats, that even now serve as examples well worthy of emulation, and his fellow citizens are not unappreciative of these. He is a splendid example of the virile, progressive, self-made man who be- lieves in doing well whatever is worth doing at all, a man of keen discernment
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and sound judgment, broad minded, public spirited and actuated by honorable impulses, and therefore he enjoys the confidence and good will of all classes.
Mr. Wait was born near Danville, Vermillion county, Illinois, October 21, 1876, and he is a son of William C., Sr., and Sarah M. (Farris) Wait, natives of Illinois. His paternal grandfather, George Wait, was an early set- tler of Vermillion county, Indiana, and here entered land from the govern- ment, near Perrysville, but later moved to Illinois, where the father of the subject was born. William C. Wait, Sr., grew to manhood in his native state and there received a common school education. He devoted his life suc- cessfully to agricultural pursuits, and was known as a man of energy, hos- pitality and scrupulous honesty. His death occurred in May, 1912, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was twice married, first. to Catharine Foley, later to Margaret Moudy, four children being born of the latter union, namely : Kate Rogers; Albert N., of Highland township, Vermillion county, Indiana ; Sherman, and Grant. His third and last wife was Sarah M. Farris, and four children were also born of this union, named as follows: Mrs. Grace Carithers, of Highland township, this county; Ray C. is cashier of the Palmer National Bank; George B. is farming ; and William C., subject of this, sketch.
William C. Wait, Sr., was a Democrat, and he belonged to the Masonic order, being the oldest member of Olive Branch Lodge, at Danville, Illinois, at the time of his death, having identified himself with that lodge in 1856.
William C. Wait, the immediate subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools, the Danville high school and the preparatory school to the University of Illinois. In the last named institution he spent two years as a student in the law department. He then entered the University of Indiana at Bloomington, graduating from the law department in 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He came to Newport in 1904 and has since been suc- cessfully engaged in the practice of his profession and has built up a large and lucrative clientele, taking rank among the leaders of the local bar. He is known as a careful, painstaking, conscientious advocate who always goes into court thoroughly prepared, and as a speaker he is logical, earnest, interesting and not infrequently truly eloquent. An idea of his high standing as a law- yer and trustworthy public servant may be gained from the fact that Governor Thomas R. Marshall appointed him judge for the forty-seventh judicial cir- cuit, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Hon. Charles W. Ward, in September, 1910, and the able and unbiased manner in which he has dis- charged the duties of this important position has proven the wisdom of his
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selection. He is at this writing county attorney and is giving eminent satis- faction to all concerned, irrespective of party alignment. Politically, he is an ardent Democrat and is a local leader, always active in the ranks. Frater- nally, he is a member of the Masonic order, Unity Lodge No. 344, at Perrys- ville, Indiana ; also belongs to Riverside Lodge No. 342, Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America, the two latter at Newport. He is secretary of the Collett Home board and is one of the managers of that in- stitution.
Mr. Wait was married on September 14, 1904, to Nellie M. Rabourn, daughter of William and Dorothy (Carithers) Rabourn, a well known and highly respected family of Williamsport, Indiana. Mrs. Wait is well edu- cated and is a lady of many estimable attributes.
GEORGE B. STUTHARD.
The reputation George B. Stuthard bears as an engineer is second to none in the Wabash mining district and he has for years been well known in Vermillion county, being in charge at present of the splendid equipment at the Universal mine No. 5, Clinton township, which he manages in a masterly manner, for he had made this line of endeavor his special care, keeping well abreast of the times in all that pertains to it.
1
Mr. Stuthard was born in Nevins township, Vigo county, Indiana, Octo- ber II, 1862. He is a son of David and Ann (McGrannahan) Stuthard, the father having been born near Rockville, Parke county, this state, and the mother was born in Vigo county, Indiana, on the old McGrannahan home- stead. David Stuthard grew up in his native community and early in life took up farming, which he continued to follow successfully until his death, in 1897, at the age of sixty-eight years. His father, Richard Stuthard, was one of the early settlers in Parke county. Seven children were born to David Stuthard and wife, namely: Emma, James, George, Rachael, Mary, Henry and George B., of this sketch ; there were two half brothers, William Stuthard and Charles White.
George B. Stuthard grew to manhood on his father's farm and there as- sisted with the general work in the summer time, and during the winter months he attended the neighboring schools. On December 4, 1888, he mar- ried Cora Cress, daughter of William and Mary (Webster) Cress, which family were residents of Vigo county, this state. Five children have been
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born to Mr. and Mrs. Stuthard, namely: Versa, Mucie, Ethel, Clyde and Thelma, all at home.
Mr. Stuthard has been an engineer for thirty years, also served as master mechanic, together with engineering, for the Bunsen or Universal mine No. 5 in Clinton township, which is one of the finest mines west of the Ohio river, and one of the best equipped plants in Indiana or in the middle West. It is one hundred and forty-six feet deep, all concrete, there being concrete arches. It is equipped to handle two thousand tons daily, and the coal is of a high grade quality. The subject is responsible for the hoisting apparatus and other accessories.
Mr. Stuthard in his fraternal relations belongs to the Free and Ac- cepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both in Illinois. His religious views are in harmony with the creed of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Interested in local public affairs, Mr. Stuthard assisted in the in- corporation of the town of Westville, Illinois.
JOHN O. STARK.
Among the young men who have made their way to the front in the city of Clinton is the present popular young postmaster, John O. Stark, whose administration of affairs in this capacity has gained for him general com- mendation and strong support. He is a man who early took an interest in matters relating to the common good, and who can be counted on for aid in every enterprise which promises the betterment of conditions in his city and county. His practical attention to the business which has fallen to his care has rendered him an efficient servant of the government and the public, and to entitle him always to high esteem among the people of his community it is only necessary that he shall continue in the ways and methods which he is now following.
John O. Stark is the son of Mortimer and Josephine (Chambers) Stark, and was born in Jackboro, Texas, on July 29, 1884. He attended the com- mon schools of Indiana and completed his education by graduating from high school. He received the appointment of postmaster from President Taft, through the influence of Senator Albert J. Beveridge, on March 14. 1910.
Mr. Stark was married on December 1, 1911, to Ruth Owen. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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In politics he is a Republican. He has many friends in Clinton and its vicin- ity, and though, since the years of his life are short, the record of his achieve- ments is necessarily somewhat brief, yet his years have been well filled with substantial work and accomplishments.
S. F. MAX PUETT.
The gentleman whose name initiates this review is eminently deserving of mention in a compilation as is the nature of this one, owing to the fact that he ranks among the leaders of the younger members of the bar of Parke and Vermillion counties, because of his unswerving integrity and his past record which has been fruitful of good results, and among his acquaintances he has ever held an honorable position.
S. F. Max Puett was born on August 3, 1879, in Rockville, Parke county. Indiana, the son of Samuel D. Puett, one of the notable figures of his day and generation in this section of Indiana, a complete sketch of whom appears on other pages of this work.
The subject of this review grew to manhood in his native town and there received his primary education, later attending the Western Military Acad- emy at Upper Alton, Illinois, later the Virginia Military Academy at Lex- ington, Virginia, after which he took a course at Wabash College. Crawfords- ville, Indiana. Early in life he determined upon a legal career and with this end in view he entered his father's office in 1900 and studied law. Making rapid progress, he was admitted to the bar in 1901, and at once began practice in Rockville, where he has remained to the present time, being successful from the start. He is regarded as a painstaking and careful attorney, a trusted advocate and a young man to whom the future must needs hold much of honor and success. However, his regular practice at the bar is curtailed owing to the fact that he is compelled to devote a great deal of his attention to his large landed interests, he and his mother being owners of nineteen hundred acres of valuable, productive and highly improved land, all in Parke county.
Mr. Puett was married on January 1, 1901, to Madge Ott, daughter of David B. Ott, one of the prominent pioneers of this county, the Ott family having been well known and highly respected here from the early settlement of the county to the present time, and here Mrs. Puett grew to womanhood and received her educational training. She is a lady of many estimable traits
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and has always been popular in the best social circles. This union has been blessed by the birth of two children, namely: Ott Maxwell Puett, born August 27, 1901, and Samuel D. Puett, born January 15, 1911.
Fraternally, Mr. Puett is a thirty-second-degree Mason, a member of the Blue Lodge at Rockville, the Scottish Rite at Indianapolis, and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Terre Haute. He is one of the prominent Masons of western Indiana and it would seem that he en- deavors to carry the sublime precepts of Masonry into his everyday life. He is also a member of Lodge No. 483, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Crawfordsville. Politically, he is a Democrat and is influential and active in party affairs. He and Mrs. Puett are members of the Presbyterian church.
SAMUEL DUNCAN PUETT.
One of the distinguished men of a past generation in Parke county and one of the ablest lawyers in this section of Indiana was the late Samuel Dun- can Puett. Brilliant, energetic, pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere ; uniform, dignified and commanding, yet kind and unostentatious, his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting, and his memory will long be revered in the hearts of the vast circle of friends who still press onward and upward along the great highway men call life, beside which, weary with the burden, this noble character fell and perished, but whose influence did not cease with the going out of the vital spark.
Mr. Puett was born March 22, 1846, near Rockville, this county. He was the fourth son of Johnson and Palsey (Noel) Puett. His father and mother were children when their parents came from North Carolina to In- diana. Not long afterwards they located in Parke county, near Rockville. From the earliest history of that town until thirty years had passed these two families were most conspicuous in the affairs of the community, material, political, civic and moral; in fact, they did as much if not more than any others of that period for the general upbuilding and progress of the county.
It was the earnest desire of his parents that this son, Samuel D. Puett, should receive a college education. In fulfillment of their wishes he worked his way through school and studiously devoted himself to the gratification of the ambition of his parents. He entered Asbury (now De Pauw) University, at Greencastle, Indiana, completing the course in 1870, having made an ex- cellent record for scholarship.
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On May 13, 1873, Mr. Puett was united in marriage to Mamie E. Max- well, the daughter of Judge Samuel E. Maxwell, and this union was graced by the birth of one son, S. F. Max Puett, a well known young lawyer and business man of Rockville, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Puett survives.
Mr. Puett studied law under Judge Maxwell and subsequently became his partner. The death of the Judge occurred in 1877, and for some years Mr. Puett continued the practice alone, rapidly advancing to the front rank of lawyers in western Indiana. Judge Hiram E. Hadley came to Rockville in 1882 and formed a partnership with Mr. Puett. Mr. Hadley finally went to the state of Washington, and Albert M. Adams and J. M. Johns were then associated with Mr. Puett. The latter formed a partnership in 1893 with John S. McFaddin, which continued until the death of the subject of this memoir.
In almost all of the important cases tried in this county during his time, Mr. Puett's services were retained. His untiring industry and great energy, his continuous success as an advocate and his unscrupulous honesty in deal- ing with his clients and all men, brought to him a lucrative practice and a large and faithful clientage. Ready in resources, fruitful in expedients, of long and varied experience, quick to detect the weak points of his adversary and to bring forward the strong parts of his own case, the great number of important cases he won attests to the great success he so well deserved. He was ever a profound student of all that pertained to the law, to every phase of jurispru- dence and to the latest statutes of his state, so that he always went into court fully prepared and ably and conscientiously looked after his clients' interests. As a pleader at the bar he was logical, forceful, convincing and not infre- quently truly eloquent.
Samuel D. Puett was never a candidate for office on his own account. In 1876 he was placed on the Democratic electoral ticket and cast his vote for Samuel J. Tilden for President. In all civic affairs he took an active interest. He was repeatedly elected to the school board. In social life he was always a central figure. Fraternally, he was a Mason, belonging to the Scottish Rite and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also held membership with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He was a genial companion at all times ; a pleasant word, a kindly greeting, something of jest or repartee, always characterized his meeting with friends and acquaintances. From early life he was a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. He regularly attended divine ser-
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vice, was a trustee of the local church organization and was a teacher in the Sunday school many years. He was interested in all things having as their object the betterment and upbuilding of Rockville and Parke county, and in the business world he was a powerful factor, a man true to his convictions and to his ideas of right, and firm in his opinions. He rose equal to every occa- sion. Splendid in his physical manhood, broad minded, social, genial, charit- able, whole-souled and kind-hearted, his friends were legion-friends which throughout all his life he literally "grappled to him with hooks of steel."
Mr. Puett practiced both in the supreme and appellate courts, and men in those bodies as well as in minor courts were a unit in their agreement that he was a man of remarkable powers. His mind was eminently practical and he possessed the valuable faculty of common sense in an unusual degree. His large experience in the management of his own extensive property was ex- ceedingly valuable to him in his profession. He had fine business capacity. From his youth he had large plans. One of the marked traits of his charac- ter was his tremendous energy. It moved him like an engine. Every fibre of his mental and physical being seemed surcharged with this quality of in- tense and compelling energy. He was cast in a large mould, a man of com- manding personality, and he attracted attention in any crowd. He was most successful in a business way, becoming one of the men of wealth of his county, leaving landed interests and an estate amounting to a handsome fortune to his widow and son.
The death of Samuel D. Puett occurred suddenly, of apoplexy, on Sun- day evening, May 5, 1907, and his sudden demise was a severe shock to his thousands of friends, and a distinct loss to Parke county.
HON. JAMES T. JOHNSTON.
Upon the roll of representative citizens and prominent and influential public men of Parke county during a past generation consistently appears the name of the late James T. Johnston. He was a resident of this locality for many years, during which time he gradually won his way into the affections of the people, for he possessed those sterling qualities of character which commend themselves to persons of intelligence and the highest morality, so it is no cause for wonder that he achieved so high a position in the general estimation of all who came in touch with him. As a business man, a public servant and a soldier his record is well worthy of careful consideration and
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emulation by the youth of the land whose fortunes are yet matters for future years to determine.
Mr. Johnston was born in Putnam county, Indiana, January 19, 1839. He was the oldest child of Anderson and Louise Johnston, and he showed in his large physical build and exceptional mental capacity the sturdy stock of his parentage. He grew to manhood on a farm in his native county and later in life during his professional and official career it was well known that he was a man of sound judgment and keen discernment, also the possessor of unusual practical knowledge of agricultural affairs. He was educated in the common schools of Putnam county, being at one time a pupil of his long-time law partner and friend, the late Thomas N. Rice. He was married February 14, 1866, to Martha Morrison, who died in 1872, leaving one child. Mrs. Mattie Cooper, of Greencastle, Indiana. On November 6, 1873, he was united in marriage to Lucy Daly, in Rockville, with whom he lived happily until his death, she still surviving, making her home in Rockville, where she has a host of friends who know her as a woman of fine intellectual attain- ments and gracious personality.
James T. Johnston commenced the study of law in 1861 in Greencastle, Indiana, in the office of Williamson & Daggy, and he continued perusing Blackstone and Kent there until in July, 1862, that solemn year of gloom, when he enlisted as a private in Company C, Sixth Indiana Cavalry, in which he served until September. 1863, when he was transferred to Company A. Eighth Tennessee Cavalry, and commissioned second lieutenant, in which capacity he served until January, 1864, when he resigned on account of dis- ability, but later he served as commissary sergeant of the One Hundred and . Thirty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned lieutenant and assistant quartermaster of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and mustered out with that regiment in September. 1865. His military record is one of faithful service from Richmond, Kentucky, in 1862, to Decatur, Alabama, in 1865. It is a record without a blemish, in the desperate and disastrous battle of Richmond, in the gloomy mid-winter cam- paign of suffering among the bleak mountains of eastern Tennessee in 1863, in battle and skirmish, in honorable wounds borne with fortitude and without vanity. It is a record which his widow and daughter can treasure with silent pride and to which his countrymen can point with proud satisfaction. In appreciation of his record as a soldier for the Union his comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1893 elected him commander of that organi- zation for the department of Indiana, which he filled with unusual ability, to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned.
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Mr. Johnston was a Mason and one would have judged from his upright daily life that he endeavored to carry the sublime precepts of this time-hon- ored fraternity into his every relation with his fellow men.
In 1866 Mr. Johnston removed to Rockville, Parke county, and became as thoroughly identified with the people of this locality as "if to the manor born." In the last mentioned year, having studied law and been admitted to the bar, he was elected prosecuting attorney, which office he filled for two years. In 1868 he was elected representative to the state Legislature from Parke county and in 1874 was elected to the state Senate from the counties of Parke and Vermillion, serving four years. He was elected to the forty- ninth Congress, in which he made such a brilliant record that he was re-elected and served with equal credit in the fiftieth Congress, as a Republican, his popularity in his home district being shown by the fact that he was elected by a large plurality, receiving twenty thousand nine hundred and eighteen votes against nineteen thousand eight hundred and sixteen votes cast for Judge John E. Lamb, Democrat. During his term as congressman he served with credit on a number of important committees and rendered valuable and distinguished service, winning the hearty commendation of his constituents; in fact, all concerned, irrespective of party alignment, for he made his in- fluence felt for the general good of his home district in many ways. Mean- while he was unremitting in his study and practice of the law, building up a large clientage and taking a front rank at the local bar; in fact, he had few peers in the state, being for many years a conspicuous practitioner in state and federal courts. His knowledge of law was comprehensive and profound, and, ever a student, he kept well abreast of the times in all that pertained to his profession, and was regarded a careful, safe and honorable advocate and a man who wielded a powerful influence with a jury. As a public speaker he was earnest, forceful, convincing and truly eloquent, holding his audience as if spellbound, for the natural gifts of an orator were his. As a citizen he was public spirited and always led in movements looking to the betterment of his community in any way. Socially, he was an old-fashioned neighbor, friendly, hospitable and charitable. He was no recluse. He felt the great immensity of life, was a lover of nature and loved men more than books, al- though always a great student, his ample and carefully selected library being his closest companion. He loved to call men by their plain names or better by some familiar sobriquet. He delighted in meeting his friends on the street, in shopping places and along the country roads and engage them in short, familiar talks. Some of his friendships seemed singular, almost picturesque, by reason of the persons and the tenacity with which his interest and friend-
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