USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana : from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, notes, etc. : together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 48
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EUGENE V. JOHNSON, insurance agent and president of the Posey County Agricultural Association, was born in Posey County, October 5, 1849. He is a son of Zachariah and Catha-
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rine (Staley) Johnson, both of them natives of Posey County, the former having been born here in 1820, and the latter in 1822, He is of German and Scotch descent. His early life was spent upon the farm, and in attendance at the district school, until he arrived at the age of twenty years. In 1875 he engaged in the hardware and agricultural implement business in New Harmony, in which he continued until 1884, when on account of ill-health he was obliged to retire from active business. His firm was known as the New Harmony Machine Company. In November, 1884, Mr. Johnson was elected president of the Posey County Agricultural Association. For several years he has been in the insurance business, but did not devote much attention to it previ- ous to 1884. He is a self-made man, has been successful, and is one of the prominent men of Posey County. In politics, he is a Democrat, and is a member of the town council. Mr. Johnson was married, in 1878, to Miss Louisa Fretageot, a native of Posey County, by whom he has four children; Eugenia L., John T., Nettie and Gertrude.
CHARLES KEMMERLING (deceased), was born in Ger- many, March 10, 1828. Both of his parents were also natives of Germany. Early in life he learned the butcher's trade and car- ried it on for quite a number of years in his native country. In 1851 he immigrated to America, landing at New Orleans, coming up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Evansville, and thence to Posey County. For many years he resided near New Harmony, carrying on the butchering and meat market business, and also farming extensively. In 1872 he bought the farm on which his widow still continues to reside, consisting of 245 acres of well- improved land, and familiarly known as the " Old Pelham farm." Mr. Kemmerling was an enterprising and successful man, being worth, at the time of his death, about $50,000. He died, Sep- tember 9, 1885, and was mourned by many friends. In politics he was a Democrat, and a prominent, honorable man. He was married, September 15, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Schafer, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (King) Schafer, and born in Germany, in 1832. Of fourteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kemmer- ling, only eight survive, as follows: Charles, Louisa, Elizabeth, Henry, Jacob, Anna, Mary and Frederick.
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JULIUS C. MILLER, of New Harmony, was born in Le- high County, Penn., January 6, 1834, and is a son of Joseph and Barbara (Fahrlender) Miller, who were natives of Ettenheim, Germany, the former having been born in 1798. Joseph Miller immigrated to the United States, in 1832, and settled where our subject was afterward born. Three years later the family moved to Posey County, Ind., and settled near New Harmony, where the father died in 1858, and the mother in 1863; Julius C. Miller was reared to early manhood by his parents receiving a common school education. In 1851 he went to Evansville and there learned the confectioner's trade. In 1854 he returned to New Harmony where he has since successfully carried on that branch of trade. Mr. Miller cast his first presidential ballot for James Buchanan, but for the last twenty-nine years has been an active Republican, In July, 1861, he was appointed postmaster at New Harmony, and with the exception of about eighteen months dur- ing Johnson's administration, he served continuously in that office up to August 15, 1885. He is an Odd Fellow, a Freemason, and is one of the foremost citizens of the place. September 18, 1857, Miss Phebe Grant, a native of this county and daughter of Collin and Margaret Grant, became his wife, and by him, the mother of these two children, now living: Emma G. and Frank J.
JOHN W. MILLER was born March 25, 1847. He is a son of Lavis and Margaret ( Wise) Miller, and of English descent. His father was born near Strasburg, France (now Germany), January 16, 1803, as was also his mother, April 11, 1813. They both immigrated from the old country to America when quite young, and came to Indiana in its early days. The subject of this sketch is the sixth of a family of nine children. With his parents and the rest of the family he came to Posey County in 1852, and settled near Stewartsville, where his parents still reside. At the age of eighteen he began learning the marble business at Evansville, under the direction of Uhlhorn & Brinkmann. In 1868 he went to Mount Carmel, Ill., and began the marble busi- ness on his own account. In 1871 he came to New Harmony,
where he has ever since continued in the same business. He is now one of the most extensive marble and granite dealers in southern Indiana. He handles all kinds of granite, and the fol- lowing kinds of marble: Tennessee, Whitney, Italian, Mottled
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Blue of Vermont, Esperenza of the same State, and the Mottled Blue of New York. He also deals in all kinds of statuary. His. work is sold and erected in many towns in Indiana - Evansville, Vincennes, Princeton, Owensville, Mount Vernon, Oakland, Jasper, Haubstadt, Fort Branch, and also in Illinois-Mount Carmel, Grayville, Albion, Carmi, Burnt Prairie and other towns, all of which demostrate the fact that Mr. Miller is a man of enterprize and energy. He was married, in 1868, to Lydia A. Burrucker of Evansville, a daughter of George and Catharine Burrucker. They have four children: Ralph S., William L., Clarence J. and Oscar M. Mr. Miller is a Democrat, and has been a member of the town council. He became an Odd Fellow in 1868, Lodge No. 87, of Encampment No. 78, and of the A. O. U. W. No. 87.
HENRY MANN, proprietor of the New Harmony lumber yard, and of the New Harmony Washboard Factory and Planing- mill, was born in Posey County, Ind., August 6, 1854. He is a son of Martin and Elizabeth (Mann) Mann, and is of German descent. His parents were both born in Germany, his father in 1827 and his mother in 1826. His father came to America when eighteen years of age, and settled in Evansville, Ind. In 1848 he came to Posey County, where he now resides. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm and during the winters at- tended the common schools. At the age of twenty-one he began business on his own account. In 1876 he engaged in the saw- mill business; in 1878 in the lumber business; in 1880 he opened a lumber yard at Calvin Station, and in 1885 he purchased the New Harmony Washboard Factory and Planing-mill, all of which branches of business he still continues to operate. He is con- ducting a prosperous business, and employs twenty-five men. He has been an enterprising and is a successful business man; is a Democrat and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs.
Mann is also a Presbyterian. He was married in 1878 to Miss Elizabeth Kemmerling, who was born March 3, 1855, a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth K. Kemmerling. They have three chil- dren: Henry M., born May 30, 1880; Charles J., born February 22, 1882, and Elizabeth, born November 8, 1883.
ANDREW NASH, an old pioneer of Posey County, was born in Butler County, Penn., November 26, 1809. He is a son of Jesse and Sarah (Cavett) Nash, and of Welsh and Irish descent.
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His father was born in Delaware in 1765, and was raised in that State. His mother was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., in 1775. The Nash family came to what is now Posey County in 1815. Jesse Nash was a carpenter, a natural mechanic and a farmer. He died here in 1846, and Mrs. Nash in 1857. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm and had very little opportunity to obtain an education. In 1832 he began clearing for himself the farm he now owns. In 1838 he bought his pres- ent home for $5 per acre, and now owns 385 acres of fine land. He has been successful, and has lived to see Posey County trans- formed from a dense wilderness to one of the first agricultural counties in the State, and now, at the advanced age of over the allotted three score years and ten, he has sufficient property to permit him to rest from active labor. In politics he is a Repub- lican. He was married, in 1831, to Miss Maria Montgomery, a native of Kentucky, by whom he had one child, Eliza J. Mrs. Nash died September 15, 1838. Mr. Nash was again married in 1841, to Miss Julia Ann Smith, a native of Posey County, born May 31, 1820, daughter of George W. Smith, also a pioneer of the county, having come here before 1815. Of this marriage there are nine children, as follows: William C., Mary E., John A., Charles E., Martha A., Nancy A., James, Andrew J. and Eu- gene W.
DR. DANIEL NEAL, one of the oldest practicing physicians of Posey County, Ind., and for many years a resident of New Harmony, is a son of Max and Ann ( Williams) Neal, who were of Irish extraction. These parents were natives of South Caro- lina, and when Indiana was yet a Territory they removed thither and settled in Posey County, where the subject of this biography was born January 21, 1828. Until 1846 his life was passed upon a farm, and the succeeding three years he attended the Mount Vernon schools. He was employed then as a dry goods clerk for one year, but in 1850 crossed the plains by ox-team to the gold fields of California, where he remained until 1852, when he returned to his native county. In 1853 he began the study of medicine with Dr. F. A. Mott, of New Harmony; in 1854 he at- tended the Transylvania Medical College of Lexington, Ky., and two years later began the regular practice of medicine. In 1857 he removed to Jackson County, Ill., but in 1866 returned to New
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Harmony, which has since been his home. Dr. Neal is a Dem- ocrat, a representative of one of the pioneer families of the county and an enterprising citizen. To his marriage with Martha Ben- nett, which occurred in May, 1857, four children have been born: Nellie, Mollie, Benjamin and August.
PROF. RICHARD OWEN, LL.D. Among the most celebrated and eminent men of Indiana, is Prof. Richard Owen, youngest son of Robert Owen, the English philanthropist and social reformer, who was born at Newton, Montgomeryshire, England, in 1771, and who died November 19, 1858. The subject of this sketch was born January 6, 1810, at Braxfield House, near New Lanark, Scot- land. He was educated chiefly at Hofwyl, Switzerland, but subse- quently attended lectures in Glasgow, Scotland, delivered by Dr. Andrew Ure. In 1828 Prof. Owen immigrated to America, and settled at New Harmony, the scene of his father's social experi- ments. He here engaged in farming until the breaking out of the Mexican war, when he was commissioned captain of the Six- teenth United States Infantry, in which position he served until the close of the war. In 1849 he became assistant to his brother, Dr. David Dale Owen, in his survey of the Northwest Territory, under the General Government, and in company with Dr. I. G. Nor- wood, examined the northwest shore of Lake Superior. Later he was elected professor of geology and chemistry in the Western Military Institute of Kentucky, and there remained about ten years. While connected with thatinstitution he published a work . entitled " Key to the Geology of the Globe." In 1850, Prof. Owen returned to Indiana, and became assistant, and subse- quently State geologist. On the breaking out of the late civil war he was commissioned by Gov. O. P. Morton, lieutenant-col- onel of the Fifteenth Indiana Volunteers, and participated in the battles of Rich Mountain and Greenbrier, W. Va., was at the first siege of Vicksburg, under Sherman, at the battle of Arkansas Post, and at the fall of Vicksburg under Grant. He was a true and brave soldier, and was honorably discharged. In 1863 he was elected to fill the chair of natural science in the Indiana State University, which position he filled with great credit and ability. In 1872 he was elected president of the Perdue University, but declined the proffered honor, and in the same year Wabash Col- lege conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. In 1837 Prof.
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Owen was married to the fourth daughter of Joseph Neef, the as- sociate of Pestalozzi. In 1869 he visited Europe, extending his travels to Turkey, Egypt and Palestine. He is a great and cele- brated naturalist. He resigned his professorship in the Indiana State University at the close of 1879, and a brief account of a portion of his labors since then is here introduced. In 1883 the king of the Belgians offered a prize of 25,000 francs for the work adjudged most meritorious in recommending "The best system of popularizing Geography, and teaching it in institutions of all grades." The award has not yet (September 1, 1885), been made. Prof. Owen's work for the prize consisted of a manuscript in En- glish, French and German, advocating in the study of geography, the advance step by step, from the known surroundings of the student, viz .: the homestead, measured and mapped, to the less known but visited neighborhood, and finally to unknown but well described regions. He recommended models in relief of any country the pupil might be studying, and sent many specimens of such relief maps, etc., besides about eighty-five illustrative maps and diagrams. Since the completion of this work for Belgium, Prof. Owen has sent to the Montreal meeting of the A. A. S., a paper showing that the earthquakes most frequently occurring in Great Britian are transmitted along a great circle, which after leaving Etna and Stromboli, traverse the poles of the land hemisphere in Switzerland, skirt the east coast of England, and passing through a part of Scotland, frequently shaken by slight tremors (comrie), reach Hecla in Iceland. Dr. Owen, having been made a member of the British Association at their Montreal meeting, sent to the Aberdeen meeting a communication on the "Correlation of Solar and Terrestrial Dynamics," endeav- oring to show the close connection existing between any changes in the sun, as sun spots, solar storms, etc., and the meteorological and other conditions of our earth, thereby modifying, directly or indirectly, the development and well being of its inhabitants. When the International Geological Congress met in Bologna, in 1881, Dr. Owen, by request, sent a paper on the "Unification of Geological Nomenclature." The president of the congress sent an autograph letter expressing the thanks of the congress for the communication, and requested a translation in French, for inser- tion in their "proceedings," which request was granted. The con-
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gress meets once in four years, this year (1885), in Berlin, Prussia. In response to an invitation by circular. to be present or contribute a paper, Dr. Owen transmitted a box, containing a relief map, a section, a painting and a descriptive manuscript, recommending a system of uniform coloring for geological maps, based on a selection of the colors of the rainbow, from red to violet, to characterize geological formations from the oldest to the newest.
ERNEST DALE OWEN, attorney at law, was born at New Harmony, Posey Co., Ind., April 17, 1853. He is a sou of the late celebrated Robert Dale Owen, and Mary Owen, whose maid- en name was Robinson. The subject of this sketch is of Scotch and Welsh ancestry. His father, Robert Dale Owen, came to Posey County in 1825, and settled at New Harmony, with his kinsmen. In 1853 he went to Europe as United States Minister to Naples, Italy, taking with him his son, the subject of this sketch. Ernest Dale Owen received an excellent education at European schools and in New York City. He began the study of law in 1870, and in 1871 was admitted to practice in the Indiana courts, and has built up for himself an extensive practice by industry and rigid adherence to principle. He is a consistent and earnest Re- publican, and in 1884 was the candidate on the Republican ticket for circuit judge of this judicial district. He is a representative man of southern Indiana, and is widely and favorably known for his many excellent qualities of head and heart. In 1871 he was made a member of the I. O. O. F., and was married April 17, 1873, to Miss Frances Mann, a native of Posey County, Ind. The father of our subject died at Lake George, N. Y., in 1877, and his mother in New Harmony in 1871.
LOUIS PELHAM, Adams Express agent, New Harmony, was born in New Harmony in 1838. He is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Posey County. He is a son of William C. and Catharine (Gex) Pelham, and of English descent. His father was born in Massachusetts in 1801, and his mother at Vevay, Ind., in 1810. His grandfather was a native of Massachu- setts, came to Posey County in 1825, and died here in 1835. His father came to this county in 1826, and was by occupation a far- mer and miller, and died in 1846. His mother died in 1850. The subject of this sketch himself remained in the county until after
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the death of his father and mother, and then he went to Mason County, Ky., where he followed farming until 1860, when he re- turned to his native county, and there followed the same occupa- tion until 1872. From this time until 1881, he was in the insur- ance business, and in the latter year was appointed agent for Adams Express Company, at New Harmony. For some years he has been giving much attention to fine poultry, making a specialty of the Plymouth Rock variety, He is a Republican and a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., and himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Pelham was married in 1864, to Miss Mary Chadwick, of Posey County, by whom he had two children: Cassie C. and Charles L. Mrs. Pelham died in 1878, and Mr. Pelham married again in 1884, this time to Miss Elea- nora, daughter of D. M. Schnee.
HENRY R. POTE, one of the leading farmers of Harmony Township, was born in Posey County, Ind., November 4, 1842, the son of Thomas and Maria ( Coad) Pote and is of English de- scent. He was reared on the farm, attended school but a short time, working for his father until twenty-two years of age and then beginning for himself. In 1867 he bought what was known as the Ptolemy Wells farm, upon which he resided until 1872, when he removed to his present place of residence, owning in all 101 acres of well improved land. In 1865 he was married to Miss Nancy Bailey a native of this county and daughter of John A. and Cynthia Bailey, and by her is the father of three children, named Thomas B., George W. and Grace. Mr. Pote is a Democrat, and in 1875 was made a member of the I. O. O. F. He is a stock holder of the Posey County Agricultural Society and has been superintendent of the association for six years. He is one of the foremost citizens of Posey County.
MAURICE B. POTE, farmer, was born near New Harmony, Posey Co., Ind., July 28, 1844, the son of Thomas and Maria Pote, and is of English descent. He was reared on the farm, attending the early schools in youth, and assisted his father on the home place until he enlisted, in July, 1862, in Company A, Ninety-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for three years or dur- ing the war. He participated in the battles of Fort Knoxville, Lookout Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Marietta, Atlanta, Frank- lin and numerous other engagements and was discharged July
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9, 1865. In 1866 he began farming for himself, and in 1868 bought his present place. He is one of the progressive farmers of this county, and his valuable farm is just outside the corpor- ation of New Harmony. Mr. Pote bought the first sulky plow sold in New Harmony, and had the first wind engine put up in the county, all of which shows an enterprising spirit. May 6, 1866, he was married to Miss Mary Schnee, daughter of Luther and Caroline Schnee and four children, named Carrie M., Annie B., Racie and Sarah B., have been born to them. Mr. Pote is a Republican and was made a member of the I. O. O. F, in 1875. He has been the architect of his own success.
SAMUEL O. RAWLINGS, M. D., one of the successful disci- ples of Æsculapius in Posey County, was born September 10, 1845, at Olney, Ill., where he was reared and educated. Lloyd Rawlings, his father, was born in the Buckeye State in 1803, and at an early day moved to Illinois. In 1849 he was attracted to the gold fields of California and while there had an encounter with that king of the western forests, the grizzly bear, in which he was not only disabled but suffered disfigurement for life. He died in 1883. The mother of our subject was born in the year 1813. Dr. Raw- lings, in 1867, began the study of medicine in his native county under the direction of Dr. M. Vancougdon; and in 1869 attended the Cincinnati College of Physicians and Surgeons which gradu- ated him in 1873. In 1870 he established himself in his pro- fession at New Harmony where he has won a desirable practice. Alice Youngblood, of Boonville, Ind., became his wife in May, 1877, and by him the mother of these children: Elbert W., Claude E. and Aden. Since 1875, Dr. Rawlings has been an Odd Fellow. He is a Democrat and leading citizen of the county.
WILLIAM RICHARDS, dealer in hardware, farm machin- ery, buggies and wagons and grain, was born in Harmony Town- ship, July 17, 1846. He is the son of John J. and Mary (Dun- bar) Richards, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. His father was born in North Carolina, October 3, 1819, and his mother in Pennsylvania, in 1826. His grandfather William Richards was also a Carolinian. The Richards family came to Indiana about 1832 and settled in Harmony Township. The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood upon the farm until he was eighteen years old. He then taught school four years, and during the
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four subsequent years was engaged in farming and saw-milling. From the end of this period until 1884 he was engaged in farm- ing, and he now owns an excellent farm of 180 acres near New Harmony. In 1884 he entered upon the business of selling bug- gies and wagons in New Harmony, and in the spring of 1885 added a full line of hardware, and now has an exceedingly pros- perous business. Mr. Richards is one of the prominent men of New Harmony, having led a successful life. He was made a Mason in 1869, and a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the I. O. O. F. in 1872. Politically he is a Democrat, and in 1884 was elected trustee of New Harmony Township by sixty-nine ma- jority. He now owns a part of the old Richards' homestead. Mr. Richards was married February 12, 1873, to Miss S. Jennie Wilson, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth Wilson. They have four children: Hattie, Nettie, Minnie and Nola. Mr. Rich- ards has been president for two years of the Posey County Agri- cultural Society, and is one of the most enterprising men of Posey County.
RICHARD RICHARDS, farmer of Harmony Township, and a representative of an early family of Posey County, was born within the county in 1857. He is a son of Joshua and Polly (Wilkerson) Richards and is of Scotch and German origin. His father was born in North Carolina in 1813, came to Posey County in 1832 and here died in 1872. Mrs. Richards was born Decem- ber 23, 1823, and still resides on the old homestead. The sub- ject of this sketch was raised on the farm, and received his edu- cation at the common schools. At the age of seventeen he began farming the home farm, at which he has since continued, and at which he has been reasonably successful, having sixty-seven acres of well improved land. Politically he is an earnest Democrat, and a highly respected citizen. In 1881 he became a member of New Harmony Lodge No. 394, A. F. & A. M. and is recognized as one of the county's best citizens.
LEWIS RICHARDS, farmer, was born in Harmony Town- ship, Posey Co., Ind., September 14, 1861. He is a son of John J. and May (Aldridge) Richards, is of Scotch and German de- scent, and is the eldest son by his father's second marriage. At twelve years of age he began life for himself as a farmer on the old homestead, He attended the common schools, but being an
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extensive reader he has gained more by his own efforts than with the aid of schools. He has succeeded in business also by his own efforts. His father was a leading early settler, and he himself is an active, enterprising man. He is a Democrat in politics, and an earnest worker for his party's succcess. He was married, March 15, 1883, to Miss Lizzie Schaeffer, who was born in 1855, a daughter of George and Louisa Schaeffer. Mr. and Mrs. Rich- ards have one child, viz., Pearl, born December 22, 1884. Mr. Richards settled in 1884, where he now resides.
DAVID M. SCHNEE, grocer and harness-maker, was born at Lancaster, Penn., November, 1820. He is a son of Jacob and Catharine (Krips) Schnee, and of German descent. His father was born in Lebanon County, Penn., in 1784, and in 1827 came to Posey County, Ind., with a number of Pennsylvania families. After remaining in Posey County about a year and a half he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, remaining there until 1829, when he returned to New Harmony, and settled on the farm. He was a prominent man among the early settlers, and was at one time county judge. He died in 1838. The subject of this sketch was next to the youngest in a family of ten children, only four of whom now sur- vive. He remained in his father's service until nineteen years of age, when he began learning the trade of a harness-maker in Evansville under J. P. Elliott. After serving an apprenticeship of three years, in 1845 he engaged in business for himself at New Harmony. He continued in the harness-making business alone until 1880, when he added thereto the grocery business, both of which he still carries on. Mr. Schnee is one of the prominent and well-known men of New Harmony. In 1850 he was appoint- ed by the General Government to take the census of Posey County. In May, 1851, he became a member of the I. O. O. F., and has been chosen three times a delegate to the Grand Lodge. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but is now a Republican. Mr. Schnee was married, in 1845, to Miss Nancy W. Traverse, of Warren County, Ky., by whom he has three children: Eleanora M., Kate M. and Harry T.
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