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 51
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 51
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JAMES H. KERR.
The man who is really great is he who can always find at hand some good to accomplish, and goes to work at is with a courage and industry that win. His work is usually so entwined with the interests of his native community, and his actions reflect so much good to his neighborhood that to see what has been accomplished in his immediate vicinity is to know something of the man. For this reason the history of Parke county would be very incomplete without marked mention of the life and work of James H. Kerr, of Bridgeton, Rac- coon township, Parke county, Indiana. He and his father before him have taken such a leading part in the building up of that country that the name of Kerr is well known, and honored wherever it is known.
James H. Kerr is the son of James and Mary (Hartman) Kerr. James Kerr, Sr., was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and lived there until he was eight years old. At that time there was a general westward movement, and the Kerr family joined the migration to the west, settling first in Fleming county, Kentucky. They stayed there for only two years,
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however, and then went to Mason county, Kentucky. In 1816 Mr. James Kerr first came to Indiana, and bought land. At that time Indiana was very thinly settled and there were no houses at all in Parke county. During the next two years Mr. Kerr made frequent trips back and forth between Kentucky and Indiana. Finally, in 1822, the family moved to Indiana, and Mr. Kerr took up farming. He had twelve children, three of whom are still living. He died in 1876, at the age of eighty-five. His wife was a native of Virginia, and moved to Parke county, Indiana, in 1818. She died in 1884, at the age of eighty-three years.
James H. Kerr was born in Raccoon township, Parke county, Indiana, August 22, 1839. He lived the life of the farm lad of that day, attending the common schools, helping on the home farm, and enjoying the healthful sports of the country. The school house was one of the type known now-a-days only in fiction, and the seats from which James H. Kerr learned his three R's were logs, split in two, and propped up on pins for legs. As soon as he was through with school Mr. Kerr turned his attention to farming, and was progressing rapidly in his agricultural education when the call "To Arms" came, and he left all to take his place in the ranks of the army of the Union. He enlisted in 1861 in Company H of the Second Indiana Cavalry, in the Army of the Cumberland, taking part in the battle of Shiloh and other engage- ments on the way. He was mustered out in July, 1862, and discharged at Indianapolis because of sickness.
Mr. Kerr was married March 10, 1863, to Mari H. Nichols, the daugh- ter of Andrew J. Nichols. She died in 1895, at the age of fifty-two years. They had six children, Ella Edna, George, James and Mary E.,, who are liv- ing, and Hattie M. and Grace V., who are dead. On June Io, 1897, he was married to Edith A. Gillet and they have had three children, Paul S., Samuel E. and Mabel Esther.
As soon as he returned from the army and regained his health Mr. Kerr took up farming and was active in the farm work until 1899. when he re- tired. He has been very successful in his farming, bringing his land to a high state of cultivation.
He has found time, however, to also take a great deal of interest in the public affairs of his community, and has always taken an active part in the political life of his county. Although he is a successful man of the old school, Mr. Kerr is not narrowed in his perception and has not allowed himself to get into such habits of thought that he cannot see what is good ""in new ideas, and his views on all the problems that confront the country
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today are those of the young, progressive thought, tempered to a degree through experience. Mr. Kerr is a Progressive. He has always been a prominent political figure in Parke county, being the only man who has been elected the second term to a position of trustee in his township. He is an ex-county commissioner, which office he held for six years. He was county trustee for five years, and held the office of township assessor for two years. Mr. Kerr had an ample political education, his father being elected to the Legislature for five terms, and he has put his knowledge into practice for the good of his county.
Mr. Kerr is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has been active in church work. He has always used his political prominence for the good of his community and is very popular in Parke county. It is well for any county when they put their political power in the hands of men who know how it can best be used to promote the general good and who are brave enough to carry out the plans of the people in spite of heavy odds. James H. Kerr has clone this for Parke county and the people there will long feel the influence of his personality and his work will live long after him.
JOHN W. GILMORE.
The Scotch have brought to this country some of the most valuable traits that make the American citizen. The Scotchman in this county al- ways stands for the highest integrity and his unceasing industry and careful attention to his task have put him in places of trust wherever he is found. The kindly nature of the Scotchman and the quiet good humor with which he meets the perplexing problems that come up in the business world, to- gether with his tact in working with his fellows, have often placed him in positions of authority. Although he has spent almost his entire life in this country and is a capable American business man, John W. Gilmore, of Dia- mond, Raccoon township, Parke county, Indiana, has brought into his life many of the Scotch traits and he stands in a prominent place in the life of his community.
John W. Gilmore was born in Scotland. January 5. 1881, and lived in that country for eleven months, at which age he was brought to the United States. His first home on this side of the Atlantic was in Brazil. Indiana. where he lived for twenty years, and received his education in the common
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schools. On October 3, 1900, he was married to Jennie Spence, who was a native of this state, having been born about three miles north of Brazil, In- diana, on April 10, 1885. She received a common school education also. They have four children: Evelina was born July 12, 1901 : Sarah, on May 28, 1904; Georgine, on March 12, 1906; and James, on March 2, 1909. Sarah, Georgine and James were born at Diamond, Indiana. Evelina was born at Cardonia, Indiana.
Soon after he finished school Mr. Gilmore started trapping in the mines near Brazil, Indiana. Later he worked as a miner for about a year, and com- menced firing. Mr. Gilmore was a hard worker and very competent and thorough in his work, and as a result he soon became an engineer with the Brazil Block Company. In 1902 John W. Gilmore moved to Parke county, Indiana, locating at Diamond, Raccoon township. He accepted a position with the Brazil Coal Company in that district, and has proved a very valuable man to them. He is now the engineer for Mine No. 9.
In the ten years in which he has lived in that community, Mr. Gilmore has proved himself a reliable citizen and a man worthy to be respected by his neighbors and friends. He has made this land his own, as have so many of those who have come here from the old country, and is as loyal as if this were his native soil. For such men as these, bringing new blood into the country, any community should be grateful, especially when they prove them- selves such additions to the social, political and business life of the place as Mr. Gilmore, their place in the history of the county is established.
MILO J. RUDY.
From the pioneer period through many decades the subject of this sketch has been identified with the history of Vermillion county, Indiana, and has won for himself an honorable position in the circles in which he has moved. being a distinct type of the successful, self-made man. Not a pretentious or exalted life has been his, but one that has been true to itself, and to which the biographer may revert with feelings of respect and satisfaction. His life has been identified with agricultural activities of his community and he gained a good reputation as an intelligent and successful tiller of the soil. He is recognized as a man of alert mentality, deeply interested in every thing per- taining to the advancement of the community along material, civic and moral
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lines, and is generally recognized as one of the representative men of the locality in which he lives.
Milo J. Rudy was born on October 21, 1839, in Highland township, Vermillion county, Indiana, and is the son of Jacob and Catherine (Lilly) Rudy. The subject's paternal grandfather, Martin Rudy, was a native of Germany, who emigrated to the United States, taking passage on a sailing vessel which required sixteen weeks to make the voyage. Landing in New York City, the family went to Pennsylvania, locating near Williamsport. In 1832 he made the long and tedious overland journey to Rockville, Indiana, then, the following year, located in Vermillion county, where his remaining years were spent. He was the father of eight children, namely: Margaret, Jacob ( father of the subject), Andrew, Elizabeth, one that died in infancy, Martha, John and Christina.
Jacob Rudy was born in Switzerland in 1818, and his death occurred on January 31, 1880. His wife died in 1840, at the early age of thirty-five years. They were the parents of four children, namely: Martin, Catherine, John and Milo J. Jacob Rudy secured his education in the common schools and during his active years followed the vocation of a shoemaker. He was a man of splendid personal qualities and enjoyed to a marked degree the esteem of all who knew him.
Milo J. Rudy secured his education in the public schools of his home com- munity and upon attaining mature years he engaged in farming, to which vocation the major part of his life has been devoted. He has given thoughtful and intelligent direction to all his efforts and he has been rewarded with a fair measure of success, so that he has for many years been numbered among the substantial and representative men of his section of the county. In March, 1912, Mr. Rudy assisted in the organization of the Perrysville Bank, which has a capital of ten thousand dollars, and of which he is vice-president.
Politically, Mr. Rudy is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and has rendered efficient service as trustee of Highland township. He is a trustee of the Colletts Orphans' Home, near Cayuga. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is an earnest supporter by his time and means.
On January 13, 1869, Mr. Rudy married Sophia S. Lesce, the daughter of Samuel and Harriet (English) Lesce, natives of Maryland and early set- tlers in Vermillion county. To Mr. and Mrs. Rudy no children were born, but they reared a boy, who is known as Alonzo L. Rudy. Mrs. Rudy, who was born on August 21, 1844, died on February 25. 1904, aged sixty years.
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She was a woman of many gracious qualities of head and heart and her loss was deeply regretted by a large circle of friends. Her father, Samuel Lesce, was born in Maryland in 1832, while her maternal grandfather, Charles Eng- lish, was born on September 9, 1786, his daughter Harriet, Mrs. Rudy's mother, being born on December 18, 1813.
Though now advanced in years, Mr. Rudy still takes a keen interest in public affairs and is numbered among the leading citizens of his section of the county. A pleasing and unusual relic of other days is in his possession. in the shape of the first baby clothes which were put on him nearly three-quarters of a century ago. They are hand-made and are in an excellent state of pres- ervation.
RICHARD F. CHURCH.
Vermillion county has a popular and efficient public official and pro- gressive man of affairs in the person of Richard F. Church, of Helt town- ship, a man who has always made it a point to do well whatever task he found to be done, whether in line of public duty or for himself and family, and, being a man who keeps well posted and a keen observer by nature, he has never been found behind the times, and his influence for the betterment of his community has been most potent in every way.
Mr. Church was born in Helt township, Vermillion county, Indiana, Feb- ruary 12, 1850, the son of Josiah and Fannie (Ford) Church. His paternal grandfather, Alanson Church, was a native of Vermont, where he spent his boyhood and from there he came to Fountain county, Indiana, in an early day. There the father of the subject was born, and there he grew to manhood, was educated and when a young man he established his future home in Ver- million county and here was married. He settled first on Helt Prairie, later moving to the old James land, which he bought for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, which land was entered from the government by Elijah B. James. Here Mr. Church went to work with a will, cleared up the land and developed a good farm, becoming one of the substantial men of the neighbor- hood. His family consisted of twelve children, namely: Richard F., of this sketch, being the oldest : Alanson L., Nancy, Susan, Merina Jane, Mary Cath- erine: Josiah Otis is deceased: Eliza Ann. Joel Lincoln, Lewis Morton. George Wilbur. and John Augustus.
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Josiah Church was a Republican and for some time was constable in his township.
Richard F. Church grew to manhood on the home farm in Helt town- ship, and there he received a good common school education, continuing to work for his father until manhood, and he has made farming his life work, being very successful and is now in possession of a good farm and a pleasant home as a result of his industry and close application.
In 1870 Mr. Church was married to Eliza Ellen Michael, daughter of John and Missouri ( Edward ) Michael, both natives of Kentucky, from which state they removed to Missouri in an early day and were living there when the subject was married. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Church, namely : Ollie May, Josiah Otis, Orpha Myrtle, Clarence E .. Oscar F., Ren A., William Frederick, Lewis Evan, Ruth B. ; Harry A. and Roy are both deceased.
Mr. Church has been deputy township assessor one term, also supervisor and school director, discharging the duties of the office most worthily and ac- ceptably. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist church.
BIRD H. DAVIS.
Bird Herman Davis, oldest son of Samuel Brenton and Sarah Canady Davis, was born in Newport, Indiana, April 29, 1869, and has lived in the little county-seat town under the "famous big hill" all the time since. His education was obtained in the Newport schools. He has been connected with the Hoosier State all of his life, having filled every position about the office from "devil" up to editor. He began "up-ending the cold metal" at nine years of age ; at seventeen he was foreman and at twenty-four he was editor and manager.
In March, 1887, he received the appointment to the West Point Mili- tary Academy from Congressman James T. Johnston, of Rockville, having won the honor in a competitive examination against twenty-one others. He reported to the academy in June, 1887, but the army surgeons rejected him on account of his physique, he being five feet ten and only weighed one hun- dred and twenty-six. He weighs two hundred and ten now.
Mr. Davis was married May 9, 1894, to Grace Carter. They have
BIRD H. DAVIS.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
three children, Shell Carter Davis, Jennie Doyne Davis and Samuel Brenton Davis.
He is a member of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Masonic lodges. He has received all the honors of the subordinate lodge of Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, having been secretary of the local lodge for eight years and is now a trustee of the local order. He represented the lodge in the grand body at Indianapolis and in that body was appointed a member of the committee on Daughters of Rebekah and was appointed proof reader for the year 1912.
He was appointed a member (as a Republican) of the board of trustees of the Southern Indiana Hospital for the Insane by Gov. J. Frank Hanly in May, 1907, and was re-appointed by Gov. Thomas R. Marshall in May, 191I. He served as secretary of the board for the first four years and has been president of the board for two years.
He is also president and secretary of the Newport Cemetery Association and president of the Newport Building and Loan Association.
He was secretary during the last campaign of the Republican county central committee. He filled that position during three other campaigns.
CHARLES HENRY MEYERS.
One of the best known of the younger business men of Clinton, Vermil- lion county, is Charles Henry Meyers, a man who is the possessor of indomit- able courage, industry and progressive ideas and whose code of business ethics has ever been of the best, consequently he enjoys the confidence and good will of those with whom he comes into contact, and, being a genial, obliging, gen- teel gentleman, he is popular with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Meyers was born in Terre Haute, Vigo county, Indiana, October 30, 1875. and is a son of Henry and Eliza (Hinzes) Meyers. The father was born in Germany, where he spent his early life and when a young man he emigrated to the United States, landing at New York City, from which place he came direct to "Terre Haute. He was accompanied by his wife, who also was a native of Germany, where they grew up, were educated and married. The elder Meyers was a book-binder by trade and followed that all his life. He became very comfortably established in Terre Haute, where he spent the rest of his life and where he died in 1878, and there the mother is still living.
(35)
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They became the parents of eight children, namely: Albert, Emma, Court, Fritz H., Alvina, Henry, Mamie, and Charles H., the subject, who is the youngest of the family.
Charles H. Meyers was reared to manhood in Terre Haute and he re- ceived a good education in the common schools there, also took a course in Carvin's Business College. He then entered the mercantile business, which lie followed two years, after which he came to Clinton and went into the restaur- ant and bakery business, later took up the hotel business, operating successfully the Hotel Clinton, also started a wholesale bakery business, both of which he has continued to the present time and is eminently successful in both, his hotel being popular with the traveling public and his bakery products are sent all over this section of the state, there being an eager demand for his goods owing to their uniform high grade quality. Mr. Meyers has met with a large measure of success in a business way, being a man of keen discernment and good judg- ment, and he is a fine specimen of a progressive, virile, self-made man, pos- sessing those qualities that would have brought him success in any field of endeavor.
Fraternally, Mr. Meyers is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On September 14. 1905, he was united in marriage to Nellie Lambert, daughter of George and Melissa (Sheppard) Lambert. Both the Lambert and Sheppard families are old settlers of Vermillion county and highly re- spected people, and here Mrs. Meyers grew to womanhood and received her education. To Mr. and Mrs. Meyers three children have been born, namely : Carl. Frederick and Alice, all at home.
DARWIN ANDREWS.
The subject of this sketch is known to his many friends and acquaintances as one of the leading citizens and business men of the town of Dana and one of the worthiest native sons of Vermillion county, being a man of progressive ideas and at all times ready to do his part in furthering any interest for the public good.
Darwin Andrews was born in Vermillion county, Indiana, April 29, 1857, and is a son of James and Hannah (Puffer) Andrews, the father born in Vermillion county in 1834 and the mother was a native of Deerfield. Massa-
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chusetts, born November 22, 1822, from which state her family removed to the state of New York in 1839. . She married, first, William Rhodes, January 21, 1845, and to them were born three children, two now living, William Rhodes, a merchant at Dana, and Mrs. Didama McDonald, of. Memphis, Tennessee. William Rhodes died November 6, 1851, and in July, 1856, she was married to James Andrews, and they had four children, three living. She died in October, 1895. James Andrews grew to manhood in his native locality and received his education in the common schools. When the Civil war came on he enlisted in 1862 at Terre Haute in the Eighty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Bales. Among the engagements in which the elder Andrews participated was that of Resaca, Georgia, in which battle he was killed May 15, 1865.
Darwin Andrews is one of a family of four children, three of whom are still living, the others being Courtland Andrews and Miss Maryland Andrews, both of Urbana, Illinois. He grew to manhood in this county and received his education in the common schools. On December 5, 1880, he married Lula E. Downs, who was born May 16, 1859. Mrs. Andrews grew to woman- hood in this vicinity and received a good common school education.
To the subject and wife four children were born, Lavere, whose birth occurred September 6. 1889, being the only surviving one. She married Ray- mond B. Monser, of Hanover, Indiana, an enterprising young business man who is engaged in merchandising with Mr. Andrews, of this review. Mrs. Mouser grew to womanhood at Dana and is a graduate of the high school there, later taking a course in a commercial college at Indianapolis.
Darwin Andrews began life for himself as a farmer, which he followed with pronounced success until 1886, when he turned his attention to mer- chandising, in partnership with W. M. Rhodes, under the firm name of Rhodes & Andrews, which continued successfully until 1901, when Mr. Andrews went into business for himself, which he has continued to the present time, his son- in-law now being with him. A large and carefully selected general stock is carried, also dry goods, and a very extensive business is carried on with the town and the surrounding country, many of their regular customers coming from remote distances.
Mr. Andrews has been very successful in a business way and has accu- mulated a competency through his close application and good management. He owns a large, attractive home in Dana and some good business lots there. Politically. he is a Democrat and while he takes much interest in the affairs
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of his community in a public way, he is not by any means a politician. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen, and he is one of the pillars of the local Methodist church, being a trustee in the same and he assisted in building the present church edifice.
DANIEL S. STRONG, M. D.
The medical profession of Vermillion county has a very able and popular representative at Dana in the person of Dr. Daniel S. Strong, a young man who seems to combine all the natural characteristics of head and heart for a successful physician, at least he has had continuous success and is well liked by the people, although he has not been long established in our midst, but judg- ing from his excellent start the future promises much for him.
Daniel S. Strong was born February 24, 1878, in Santa Cruz, California, a son of Alex. U. and Saphronia E. (McCampbell) Strong, both natives of Indiana. and both still living, making their home in Parke county, where they are engaged in general farming. They are the parents of eight children, six of whom are still living.
Dr. Strong received a good preparatory education in the common schools, later taking a course in the Bloomingdale Academy, and a business course in Indianapolis, but, finally determining upon a medical course, he went to Cin- cinnati, and entered the Eclectic Medical College, where he made a splendid record and from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1908. He soon after established himself at the town of Hillsdale, Vermillion county, where he soon had a very lucrative practice and where he remained until he came to Dana in June, 1912, where his fame as a general practitioner had preceded him, and here he has enjoyed a large and rapidly growing practice. which extends over this part of the county and he often responds to calls from remote parts of the locality.
Dr. Strong was married on January 27, 1903. to Essie B. Baldridge, of Terre Haute, who was born October 4, 1882, and she received a good common school education. To this union two children have been born, Kathleen Ruth, born October 15. 1905, and Gertrude, born March 7. 1909. They are both winsome little lassies, who add much sunshine to the cozy home of their par- ents. Dr. Strong and wife own a good residence in Dana.
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