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 46
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 46
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
C. W. OVERPECK, M. D.
As a physician Dr. C. W. Overpeck, of Rockville, is known as a man of high attainments and practical ability, and as one who has achieved success in his profession because he has worked for it persistently and in channels of honest endeavor. His rapidly growing prestige as one of the leading younger physicians of Parke and Vermillion counties stands in evidence of his ability and likewise serves a voucher for his intrinsic worth of character. His career has been wisely founded on the premise that perseverance, integrity and fidel- ity to duty will lead to success, and he has thus used his intellect to the best purpose.
Dr. Overpeck was born in Parke county, Indiana, the representative of one of our sterling old families, his birth occurring on July 17, 1879. His parents were T. H. and Cynthia A. ( Ball) Overpeck. The father was born on a farm in Adams township, this county, and he still lives on the place on which he was born, being now seventy-six years of age. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and stock raising and has met with a larger degree of success than falls to the average tiller of the soil. He has kept the old place which his father settled in pioneer days, well improved and carefully cultivated so that it has retained its original fertility and richness of soil. His wife, who is still living, is also a native of Adams township, being the daugh- ter of another highly respected old family. To T. H. Overpeck and wife six children have been born, namely: Mrs. Ella Ball, of Annapolis, Indiana : Mrs. Will Neet lives near Rockville; Frank L. also lives near Rockville: Perley H. lives south of Rockville : and Dr. C. W., of this review.
Dr. Overpeck was reared on the home farm and there he assisted with the general work when a boy, attending the rural schools in his neighborhood during the winter months at Wesley Chapel school. He spent one year at Bloomingdale Academy and one year at De Pauw University. His medical training began in 1899, when he entered Indiana Medical College at Indian- apolis, where he made an excellent record and from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1904. He soon thereafter returned to Parke county and began practicing at the village of Catlin, near where he was reared, remaining three and one-half years there. being successful from the start. In the spring of 1907 he came to Rockville, where he has since re- mained and has built up a large and constantly growing practice with the town and surrounding country, maintaining a neat and well equipped office in the Rockville National Bank building.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Dr. Overpeck was married on April 23, 1904, to Luana H. Baker, daugh- ter of Samuel Baker, well known citizen of Rockville. This union has re- sulted in the birth of one child, Evelyn Louise.
Fraternally, Dr. Overpeck belongs to the Masons, Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Parke County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Politically, he is a Democrat and is loyal in his support of the party, though he does not find time from his general practice to take a very active part in public affairs. He served very acceptably and ably as coroner of Parke county for a period of two years, from 1908 to 1910.
HOWARD MAXWELL.
In no profession is there a career more open to talent than is that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful prepara- tion, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the un- derlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application and determination fully to utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of justice and in the practice of which success comes only as the legitimate result of capability. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, Howard Maxwell stands today among the eminent practitioners of the Parke county bar,
Howard Maxwell is a native of the county which is now honored by his citizenship, having been born at Rockville on September 1, 1865. He is the scion of one of the prominent old families of Parke county, his parents hav- ing been David H. and Anna F. (Smith ) Maxwell, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. David H. Maxwell, who was born in 1825 and whose death occurred on September 13, 1903, was a lawyer by pro- fession and for over a half century he was one of the leading members of the local bar, having been connected with most of the important litigation in this county. His ability as a lawyer was supplemented by the highest personal qualities of character. He was survived several years by his widow, whose death occurred on April 15, 1912. They were the parents of two children, the subject of this sketch and Dr. Hugh S. Maxwell, of Pittsburgh. Pennsyl- vania.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Howard Maxwell received his elementary education in the public schools of Rockville, being a graduate of the high school. He then attended Indiana State University one year and then for three years was a student at Wabash College, where he was graduated in 1886. During the following year he was engaged in teaching school and then, having determined to make the practice of law his life work, he began its study in the office of his father. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar and was thereafter associated with his father in the practice of his profession until the latter's death, in 1903. He then practiced alone until June, 1907, when he formed his present partnership with John S. McFadden.
As a lawyer Mr. Maxwell evinces a familiarity with legal principles and a ready perception of facts, together with the ability to apply the one to the other, which has won him the reputation of a safe and sound practitioner. Years of conscientious work have brought with them not only increase of practice and reputation, but also that growth in legal knowledge and that wide and accurate judgment the possession of which constitutes marked ex- cellence in the profession. In the trial of cases he is uniformly courteous to court and opposing counsel, caring little for display, but seeking to impress the jury rather by weight of facts in his favor and by clear, logical argument than by appeal to passion or prejudice. In discussions of the principles of law he is noted for clearness of statement and candor, his zeal for a client never leading him to urge an argument which in his judgment is not in harmony with the law, and all the important litigation with which he has been con- nected no one has ever charged him with anything calculated to bring dis- credit upon himself or cast a reflection upon his profession. Mr. Maxwell possesses exceptional powers as a speaker whether at the bar or in public dis- course and is forcible and persuasive, though never offensive.
In 1894 Mr. Maxwell was elected prosecuting attorney of the fifty- seventh judicial circuit and held that office for two terms, having also been deputy prosecuting attorney for four years prior to his election. For several years he rendered good service as counsel for the board of county commis- sioners, in which capacity he always stood for the best interests of all the people. He was appointed county attorney, holding the office twelve years, or until his resignation in 1911. In 1908 he was the Republican nominee for Congress in the fiftieth congressional district, but in the general landslide of that year he met defeat with the remainder of the ticket. He was a member of the Rockville school board for several years, having always taken a deep interest in educational matters, but he resigned that position on accepting the
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
nomination for Congress. It is worthy of note that Mr. Maxwell has never lost any appointive office held by him except by resignation.
In business affairs Mr. Maxwell has been successful. his ripe judgment and persistent energy insuring success in that field as well as professionally. He is a stockholder and director in the Rockville National Bank and is a member of the company which erected the splendid opera house at Rockville.
Politically, Mr. Maxwell is a stanch Republican from honest convictions and he has taken an active and influential part in the campaigns of his party ever since attaining his majority. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. While in college, he became a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
On December 27, 1894, Mr. Maxwell was united in marriage to Jennie Thomson, the daughter of William M. Thomson, one of the pioneer citizens of Rockville, and this union has been blessed in the birth of three children. Margaret. Warren and Richard.
A. B. LOCKRIDGE, M. D.
Although yet a young man, Dr. A. B. Lockridge, of Rockville, has had a wonderful success in alleviating the ills and sufferings of his fellow men, and in Parke county he is regarded as a credit to the noble profession in which he has been engaged for several years. When but a boy he manifested a lau- dable ambition to become a medical practitioner, and when his common school days came to an end his parents decided that the longing of his heart should be gratified and he was given every advantage possible to make him what he is today, a well rounded, capable and talented general practitioner.
Dr. Lockridge was born in Greencastle. Indiana, August 22, 1879. He is the son of AAlbert O. and Jessie ( Birch) Lockridge, the father a native of Putnam county, this state, and the mother of Bloomington, Illinois, although she spent most of her life in Putnam county, Indiana. At this writing Albert O. Lockridge is postmaster at Greencastle and an influential citizen there. In fact. the Lockridge family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Putnam county. Two children were born to Albert O. Lockridge and wife. Dr. A. R .. and Elizabeth, of Kansas City.
Dr. Lockridge received his education in the public and high schools of Greencastle and later entered De Pauw University, also in that city. He re-
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
ceived his medical training at the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, where he made a splendid record and from which institution he was grad- uated with the class of 1906. Soon thereafter he went to Parke county, In- diana, and began practice at the town of Montezuma, remaining there two years, and in 1908 he came to Rockville, where he has built up a large and lucrative patronage, his practice extending all over the county, and he is re- garded as one of the leading younger members of his profession in Parke and Vermillion counties.
Dr. Lockridge was married on December 6, 1906, to Edna Arnold, of Greencastle. Indiana, and a young lady of many commendable attributes, the representative of an excellent family.
Dr. Lockridge is a member of the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Association and the Parke County Medical Society. He also belongs to the Beta Theta Pi, of Greencastle, and the Phi Chi, of the Indiana Medical College. Fraternally, he holds membership with the Knights of Pythias at Rockville. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and politically is a Republican, and, while he has neither the time nor the in- clination to mix very extensively in public affairs, he is always ready to sup- port any movement that has for its object the improvement of his town and county in any way.
ISAAC A. PICKARD.
There can be no greater honor or privilege than to conscientiously serve one's country during its days of peril. It requires something more than patriotic zeal for a man to forsake home, business, the pleasures of social or public life and voluntarily assume the hardships of the camp and the field. much less risk one's life in the brunt of battle, and the younger generation of today are apt to not give the respect due the honored "boys in blue" who saved the nation's integrity and who did so much for them. Isaac A. Pickard, one of Parke county's worthy native sons, who for many years was one of her leading business men and commendable public servants and who is now living retired in his pleasant home in Rockville, is one of the Northland's brave veterans who is eminently deserving of the high esteem in which he is univer- sally held.
Mr. Pickard was born in Sugar Creek township, Parke county, Indiana, October 14, 1845. His parents were Isaac W. and Sarah (Ephlin) Pickard.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
The father was born in North Carolina, as was also the mother, and they spent their earlier years in the old Tar state. Isaac W. Pickard came from his far-away old Southern home to Parke county, Indiana, about 1830, and was thus among the early settlers, locating in Liberty township, where he began life in typical pioneer fashion. He devoted his life to farming and was a local preacher of the United Brethren church and a good and useful man. He died in Sugar Creek township in 1854, at the early age of forty-eight years. His wife survived nearly a half century, dying at an advanced age in 1899. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are living at this writing, namely : John S., of Sugar Creek township; William M., of Liberty township; Amanda M., widow of James H. Russell, of Rockville; Sarah C., widow of George Moore, of Sugar Creek township; Mary M., widow of Joseph Harvey, of Liberty township; Mirinda, wife of Joseph Thompson, of Sugar Creek township, and Isaac A., of this review.
Isaac A. Pickard was reared on the home farm, where he remained until he was seventeen years of age, working on the farm during the crop seasons and attending the rural schools in the winter time. He went from the farm to participate in the Civil war, enlisting in Company A, Eighty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served over two years with much credit and gallantry, seeing considerable hard service, participating in many engage- ments, including the battles of Resaca, Peach Tree creek, and those inci- dent to the Atlanta campaign. After the fall of that stronghold he accom- panied his regiment in its march with Sherman's army to the sea, and after taking the city of Savannah, went on through the Carolinas, participating in the battle of Averasboro, then on to Raleigh, and was in that city at the close of the war. He marched from Raleigh to Richmond, Virginia, thence to Washington City, where he took part in the Grand Review. He and other soldiers were sent from Washington on flat cars to Parkersburg, Virginia, where they took a boat to Louisville, Kentucky. Being discharged he came on home, and soon resumed farming in Sugar Creek township, which he con- tinued for one year. He then took a term in a graded school, desiring to com- plete his education in Fountain county, Indiana. Later he worked at the car- penter's trade and was also in the livery business for a while. He moved to Rockville in 1884 and has since resided here.
Taking a deep interest in public affairs, Mr. Pickard was elected county treasurer in 1884 on the Republican ticket, and, making a most commendable record therein, he was re-elected to that important office in 1886, thus serving two terms with much credit.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Mr. Pickard was married on January 2, 1876, to Josephine Brockway, who was born in Liberty township, this county, the daughter of Hiram and Indiana (Laberty) Brockway. To this union have been born the following children : Alvis Burnie, deceased; Gloria May, wife of Lee Woolery, of Tombstone, Arizona; Louis Aquilla lives on a farm in Penn township, Parke county ; Sadie is the wife of Henry Haines, of Indianapolis; Isaac A., Jr., lives at home.
Mr. Pickard belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order at Rockville. He is a Republican in his political affiliations. Personally, he is a plain, unassuming and obliging gen- tleman who has a host of friends.
C. C. MORRIS, M. D.
The physician who would succeed in his profession must possess many qualities of head and heart not included in the curriculum of the schools and colleges he may have attended. In analyzing the career of the successful practitioner of the healing art it will inevitably be found true that a broad- minded sympathy with the sick and suffering and an honest, earnest desire to aid his fellow men have gone hand in hand with skill and able judgment. The gentleman to whom this brief tribute is given, Dr. C. C. Morris, one of the best known general practitioners in Parke and Vermillion counties, fortun- ately embodies these necessary qualifications in a marked degree, and by energy and application to his professional duties has built up an enviable rep- utation and has drawn to himself a large and ,remunerative practice, being recognized not only as one of the leading physicians of this locality, but as a man of honor and integrity at all times.
Dr. Morris is one of the county's native sons and the scion of one of our worthiest pioneer families, his birth having occurred in Washington township, Parke county, Indiana, August 8, 1848, and he is a son of Exum and Eleanor (Newlin) Morris, both natives of North Carolina, the father having come north about 1838, first locating in Orange county, Indiana, later removing to Vermillion county, Illinois. In about 1842 he removed with his family to Parke county, locating on a farm a mile and a half east of Bloomingdale, known now as the Mendenhall farm. He lived there until 1860, when he sold the place and moved to Plainfield, Hendricks county,
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
where he lived until his death, which occurred about a year later, in 1862, at the age of sixty-two years, having been born in 1800. The mother of the subject then moved to a farm which she bought near Rockville, Parke county, where her death occurred in 1865. Ten children were born to these parents, only three of whom are living at this writing, namely: Mrs. Anna J. Wilson, of Topeka, Kansas; Mrs. Joshua K. Trueblood, of Long Beach, California, and Dr. C. C., of this review.
Dr. Morris grew to manhood on the home farm, where he made himself generally useful during his boyhood days. He received his primary schooling in the rural schools and at the Bloomingdale Academy, later taking a col- legiate course at the State University at Bloomington. He prepared himself for a teacher, which profession he followed with success for a period of three years, but not finding the same entirely to his liking he entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1874, from which historic institution he was graduated with the class of 1876. He at once took up the practice of medicine at Rockville, Indiana, where he has remained to the present time, with ever-increasing success, having remained a profound student of all that pertains to his profession and having kept well abreast of the times in every advancement in the same, and his name has long since become a household word throughout this locality, being now one of the oldest practitioners in the county.
Dr. Morris was married on June 29. 1876. to Alice Canaday, who was born and reared near Georgetown, Vermillion county, Indiana, and is the daughter of William Canaday and wife. Four children have been born to this union, namely : Jesse C., who lives at Green River, Utah; Stella is the wife of Dick Ott, one of the leading druggists of Rockville, Indiana ; Mary is the wife of Roger H. Miller, of Los Angeles, California: Morrill Justin, who spent two years in Wabash College after his graduation from the Rockville high school, entered the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and is now in his second year in that institution.
Dr. Morris is a member of the Parke County Medical Society, the In- diana Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and politically he is a Republican and at present he is ably serving the county as a health commissioner, which office he has held for many years. He is medical inspector for the schools of Adams township. He has long led every movement for bettering the health and sanitary conditions of the county. He was influential in getting the state tuberculosis hospital located at Rockville, and he is president of the county organization having for its
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
object the prevention of tuberculosis, his work in this line having made him widely known over western Indiana.
Grandfather Newlin, mentioned above, was a pioneer of Parke county. He gave a church and a large grove to the town of Bloomingdale, it being a Quaker church. His death occurred at the advanced age of ninety-nine years. Dr. Morris' father was also a prominent Quaker and was instrumental in founding the Bloomingdale Academy.
EWING CHAPMAN.
The old-fashioned notion that hard work, patient industry and far-sight- edness make for success in the various avenues of life does not seem to be accepted so unreservedly in our day. The spread of pessimism engendered by many phases of our complex life is in a great measure responsible for the lack of faith in the old idea. However, if we observe conditions closely we will find that the intelligent individual who leads a practical and industrious life will reach a point of success commensurate with his efforts. The life of Ewing Chapman will afford us an instance of this. For many years he ranked as one of the most popular and efficient educators of the section of the Hoosier commonwealth of which this volume treats, but finally, tiring of that vocation, he turned his attention to business affairs and has for some time been conducting a furniture and undertaking establishment in the town of Rockville, Parke county, being regarded as one of the most representative citizens of that place.
Mr. Chapman was born September 1, 1874, in Jackson township, Parke county, Indiana. His parents were Nathan and Minerva ( Miller) Chapman, the father born in Missouri and the mother in Putnam county, Indiana. Nathan Chapman has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, in which he has met with a large measure of success, and he is now living in Greencastle. In- diana, still owning his finely improved farm in Parke county. His wife, mother of the subject, passed to her rest on May 9, 1890, leaving two sons, Ewing, of this sketch, and William, who lives near Mansfield, Parke county.
Ewing Chapman was educated in the common schools and in the In- diana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He prepared for life as a teacher, and followed this line of endeavor with gratifying success for a period of eight years in Parke county, during which time he was for three years prin- cipal of the schools at Marshall, the other five years being devoted to the rural
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
schools. He gave eminent satisfaction to both pupils and patrons, and his services were in great demand.
Taking an abiding interest in public affairs, Mr. Chapman was elected county clerk in 1904 on the Republican ticket, after having served four years as deputy in that office. Thus he spent eight years in this important office, during which time he discharged his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, gaining a wide acquaintance all over the county and numbering the major portion of his acquaintances as friends, owing to his genial and obliging nature, his scrupulous honesty and high sense of honor and his faithful devotion to the best interest of the people.
In the fall of 1909 Mr. Chapman engaged in the furniture and under- taking business, which line of endeavor he has continued to the present day with ever-increasing success, until he now has a large and lucrative patron- age. He keeps a large and carefully selected stock of furniture, and prompt- ness and high-grade service is his aim in the undertaking department of his business. He is in partnership with Mr. Teague under the firm name of Teague & Chapman.
On November 28, 1900, Mr. Chapman was united in marriage to Mellie Beeson, daughter of Stephen and Ellen (Teague) Beeson, an excellent and well known family of Marshall, this county. This union has resulted in the birth of one child, Maxwell Miller Chapman, born March 27, 1904.
Fraternally, Mr. Chapman belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. He is also a member of the Sons of Veterans, and religiously holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church.
WILLIAM H. GILLUM, M. D.
No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to present in detail the interesting life career of the well known venerable physician and surgeon, Dr. William H. Gillum, of Rockville, whose name has been a household word in Parke and Vermillion counties for nearly forty years, he having maintained his home here since 1873, during which time he has done much for the general development of the county along all lines and has won a wide reputation among his pro- fessional brethren of this section of the Hoosier state, and he is eminently entitled to the respect of his fellow men owing to the well ordered life he has led, his public spirit and his useful career.
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