USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana > Part 24
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William Frier .- A publication of this nature exercises its most impor- tant function when it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those who have risen, through their own unaided efforts, to positions of prom- inence and usefulness in the community and who have been of material value in its growth and development. Mr. Frier has realized a sub- stantial success in the business world, is the owner of an important manufacturing enterprise in the city of Mt. Vernon and merits distinctive recognition in this publication. William Frier is a native of Illinois and was born at Shawneetown on August 12, 1875. His parents were Wil- liam Matthew and Hannah (McGuire) Frier. The father was also born
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at Shawneetown. He was a printer by trade, an occupation he fol- lowed until 1909. From 1892 until 1897 he resided in Mt. Vernon, sub- sequently in McLeansboro, Ill., and is now a resident of East St. Louis. He retired from active business in 1909. William Frier received his education in the public schools of his native town and later learned the cigarmakers' trade. He came, with his parents, to Mt. Vernon in 1892, where he secured employment with A. C. Fogas, a pioneer cigar man- ufacturer of the city. He was employed in the Fogas factory until 1897, when, with Frank Kahn, he established the Mt. Vernon Cigar Com- pany. The following year, 1898, he withdrew from this partnership and established his present factory, operated under the business style of William Frier, cigar manufacturer. During the fifteen years in which this enterprise has been under his ownership and management a trade has been developed requiring a factory output of over one million cigars per annum. His products have always had that necessary essential to success-quality. He possesses executive ability of a high order, is rec- ognized by the trade as a salesman of exceptional ability, and his finan- cial judgment sound. Mr. Frier has a substantial and profitable invest- ment in Sapulpa, Okla., owning the controlling interest in the firm of Lawrence & Frier, wholesale and retail cigar merchants. They have a large and growing jobbing business in the territory surrounding Sa- pulpa and the most extensive retail business in their line in that city. Essentially a business man, Mr. Frier has neither inclination nor time for politics. He is independent as to party. On questions and measures affecting the welfare of the community he can be relied upon to lend his support. He is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, Mt. Vernon Aerie, No. 1717, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a liberal contributor in support of the Catholic church. On August 15, 1900, Mr. Frier married Miss Lula Lawrence, a daughter of David Lawrence, a well known stock dealer of Mt. Vernon. Mrs. Frier is a native of Ala- bama and was born in Huntsville on October 27, 1876. They are the parents of one child, a son, Lawrence Matthew Frier, born October 3, 1903.
Marshall Hume Hall .- History is the preserved record of events-as biography is the personal record of those who have been actively con- cerned in the molding and action of the events from which history is made. A publication of this nature exercises its most important func- tion when it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those citizens who have been of material value in the advancement and development of a community. Mr. Hall is well and favorably known to the citizens of Posey county through his service as a public official, which is attested through his election in 1912 to the office of sheriff by the largest ma- jority ever received by a candidate for that position. Marshall Hume
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Hall is a native of Posey county and was born on his father's farm in Black township December 16, 1859. His father was John T. Hall, a native of North Carolina, who settled in Black township about 1830, where he took up land and engaged in farming, an occupation which he followed until his death, which occurred on April 7, 1869. He was a man of strong religious convictions, served as clerk of the Baptist church at Farmersville for over twenty-five years, and became an influential citizen of his county. He married, when a young man, Lavina, a daugh- ter of John Bradley, of Black township, and granddaughter of Cornelius Bradley, one of the early pioneers of Posey county. Cornelius Bradley was a native of Ireland who came to the Virginia colony previous to the War of the Revolution, in which he served until its close. The Posey county records show that he drew a pension for his services dur- ing the struggle of the colonists for independence. He took up land and was engaged in farming in Black township until his death, which occurred in 1840. His daughter, Lavina, and her husband, John T. Hall, were the parents of six children, of whom but two are living at this writ- ing, 1913: Mary E. Whipple, widow of Marion Whipple, residing in Black township, and Marshall Hume Hall, the subject of this review. Those deceased are Medora, who married Polk Dowen; Lawrence T .; Edward B. and William J. The latter married Emily Dunn. She is a resident of Mt. Vernon. Marshall Hume Hall was called upon to earn his living at the age of ten; his father having died in 1869 and his mother when he was aged three. His education was acquired in the country schools during such time as the earning of a livelihood would permit. He was employed as a boy in doing odd jobs and later engaged in farming. In 1886 he entered the employ of A. Wassem & Company, lumber manufacturers of Mt. Vernon, and remained with this firm until 1893, when he was appointed custodian of the Posey county court house. He was made a deputy sheriff in 1901, and served in this capacity under Sheriffs James F. McFaddin, Alonzo K. Grant and Joseph M. Causey. Recognition of efficient service was given him in 1912, when he was made the nominee of the Democratic party for the office of sheriff and his election by a greatly increased majority over previous incumbents of the office attests to his qualifications for the position and his popularity in the county of his birth. It is certain that his administration of the office of sheriff will meet the approval of the citizenship of Posey county, as has his service in the past. He is a member of the Mt. Vernon Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Court of Honor and of the Metho- dist church. Mr. Hall married on February 20, 1884, Ruth, the daugh- ter of John and Ellen Russell, of Black township. Mr. Russell was a native of England, became a resident of Posey county in 1850, where he was a successful farmer and well and favorably known. Mr. Russell died in 1872. His widow is a resident of Black township and has reached
,
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the ripe age of eighty-seven. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of three children: John W., born December 4, 1884, a merchant tailor of Mt. Vernon; Ina B., born July 31, 1889, employed as cashier by Stinson Brothers, Mt. Vernon, and Orran R., born February 9, 1900.
Theodore Raben, president of the Mt. Vernon Construction Company, the Consumers Ice and Cold Storage Company, and the John Larkin Company, is a native of Posey county, and was born in St. Wendel, May 17, 1860, the son of Anthony and Mary S. (Ten Barge) Raben, the for- mer of Lichtendoorde, Gelderland, Holland, came to the United States in 1840 and settled in St. Wendel, Posey county, Indiana. He was a cooper and he established the first cooper shop in St. Wendel, also the first general store. Some years later he formed, with George Naas, the firm of Raben & Naas, general merchants and millers. The business of this firm grew to be the largest, in point of sales, in the county. They owned the leading stores in Mt. Vernon and St. Wendel, and were also interested in flour mills in both towns. In 1884 the junior partner, Mr. Naas, died and the firm style was changed to Raben & Sons, of which firm our subject, Theodore Raben, was an interested principal. The money stringency of 1893, together with too generous credits, forced the firm to make an assignment, and the business was liquidated. Anthony Raben resumed business in St. Wendel, where he conducted a general store until his death in 1904. He served as postmaster of that town for about fifty years, through both Republican and Democratic administra- tions, although he was a Democrat and an active and influential member of the party in his section. He was reared a Catholic and gave generously toward the support of his church. He married, when a young man, Mary S. Ten Barge, who died in 1867. They were the parents of sixteen children, eight of whom are living at the present time (1913). They are as follows: Johanna, the wife of Frederick Brakamp, merchant tailor, of Evansville ; John, a retired farmer, of St. Wendel; Joseph, who owns extensive farm property near Ridgeway, Ill .; Theodore, the subject of this review ; Mary, the wife of Frank Thuis, a well known manufacturer of Vincennes; Louisa, the wife of Anthony Louix, wholesale dealer in dairy products, Evansville ; Charles, a general merchant of St. Wendel, and who succeeded his father in that line; and Elizabeth, the wife of George Mann, a farmer of Black township. Five children died in in- fancy and the following lived to maturity: Anna, the wife of William Heyns, the well known furniture dealer and manufacturer of Evansville, who was the owner of the Vendome Hotel and promoted the organiza- tion of the company which built the present structure, operated as the new Vendome; died in 1891; Kate, the wife of Joseph Ebner, president of the Consolidated Ice Company, of Vincennes, died in 1893; and Henry, manager of the Raben merchandise business and mill at St. Wen- del, died in 1910. Theodore Raben received his early educational dis-
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cipline in the public schools of St. Wendel, which was supple- mented by a course in St. Meinrad's College, Spencer county, Indiana, and St. Francis College, Teotopolis, Ill. He also attended a commercial college at Evansville and completed a course there in 1879. His first employment was with the firm of Hankins, Naas & Co., for whom he clerked from 1876 until 1879, and in the last named year he en- tered the employ of Fuhrer, Boyce & Co., millers and grain dealers, of Mt. Vernon, of which firm his father was a partner. In 1881 he married, resigned his position in Mt. Vernon and removed to St. Wendel, where he had secured a position with the firm of Raben & Naas, general mer- chants and millers, of which his father was the senior partner. On the death of Mr. Naas in 1884 the firm of Raben & Sons was organized and he became an interested principal, and he was given the management of the Mt. Vernon store, of which he was in charge until the closing out of the business in 1893. From 1893 until 1896 he was the resident agent at Mt. Vernon of the Fulton Avenue Brewing Company, of Evansville. In the the last named year Rosa Raben secured the agency for southwest- ern Indiana and southeastern Illinois from the American Brewing Com- pany, of St. Louis, for their product, and Mr. Raben covered the ter- ritory as her agent, continuing in this capacity until 1898, when she se- cured the Mt. Vernon agency of the F. W. Cook Brewing Company, of Evansville, since which time he has been her agent. In 1907 he, with Rosa Raben, Louis Raben and S. A. Gano organized the Mt. Vernon Construction Company. It was incorporated with a paid-in capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and the following officers elected: Presi- dent, Theodore Raben; secretary and treasurer, Louis W. Raben; and S. A. Gano, general manager. Since the establishment of its business, in 1907, the company has constructed fifteen miles of rock road in Gibson county, sixty-five miles of gravel road in Posey county, and some two hundred bridges, the latter of various types, and all in Posey county. The company operate a large gravel plant at New Harmony and are extensive employers of labor, as many as one hundred teams and two hundred men having been on the pay roll at one time. The work done by the company has given entire satisfaction, the business is in a most satisfactory condition, has paid large dividends to the stock- holders, and since the retirement of Mr. Gano, in 1909, has been under the management of Louis W. Raben, the secretary and treasurer. In 1901 our subject, with Allyn B. Hart and the late August Schieber, or- ganized the Consumers' Ice and Cold Storage Company, of Mt. Vernon (see chapter on Manufacturing and Commercial Enterprises), of which he is president. He is also president of the John Larkin Company, of Mt. Vernon, manufacturers of washing compounds and toilet preparations. As a builder of residence property Mr. Raben has done much for the city of Mt. Vernon, having built within the past ten years twenty-one houses.
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He has had in view, as his principal object in this work, the offering of an opportunity to men of the laboring and salaried class to own their own homes, as he has sold on the small payment plan and at prices which have been reasonable. Measures having for their object the welfare of the city and its residents have always received his active support. His political allegiance has been given to the Democratic party. He is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and of its house committee since the General Hovey home was purchased; Posey aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the German Aid Society of Mt. Vernon. Mr. Raben married, on May 17, 1881, Miss Rosa Fuelling, the daughter of Clamour and Regina Fuelling, of Mt. Vernon, where Mr. Fuelling is a well known merchant tailor. They are the parents of three children: Antoinette, born December 13, 1883, the wife of John W. Hall, dry cleaner and tailor of Mt. Vernon ; Louis W. Raben, a sketch of whom follows this review; and Vera, born March 16, 1892, who resides with her parents. In the successes realized by Mr. Raben, and they are substantial ones, his wife has been of poten- tial assistance. Shortly after their marriage, when reverses had swept away about all he possessed, her sympathy, counsel and courage put heart and fighting spirit into his efforts, while her sound business judg- ment, keen financial sense, and sound advice were drawn upon within stint. Her possession of business qualification of high order have in no wise detracted from her love of home and family. She has reared her children to be useful citizens, the home life of the family has been per- fect, and she is one of the popular hostesses of her home city.
Louis William Raben, secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Mt. Vernon Construction Company, is a native of Posey county and was born in Mt. Vernon on July 26, 1887, the son of Theodore and Rosa (Fuelling) Raben, personal mention of whom precedes this review. Louis W. Raben received his early educational discipline in the public schools of Mt. Vernon and subsequently completed a course in the Chris- tian Brothers College at St. Louis, Mo. In 1903, when but seventeen years of age, he entered the employ of the Lee Lumber Company, of Memphis, Tenn., as bookkeeper, a position he filled with credit until 1906, when ill health compelled him to resign. He returned to Mt. Ver- non and spent the year in recuperating from an operation. In 1907 he assisted in the organization of the Mt. Vernon Construction Company, and upon its incorporation was elected secretary and treasurer. In 1909 he was made general manager, succeeding S. A. Gano, who had filled the position since the establishment of the business. That he possesses busi- ness qualifications of high order is proven in the growth of the business of the company under his management, together with the standard of work which it has completed. He has pluck and energy, a pleasing per- sonality and is recognized as one of the most successful of the young
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business men of the county. Mr. Raben is unmarried and resides with his parents. He is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is lecturing knight. He is a communicant of the Catholic church.
Daniel Oscar Barker, a leading lawyer of southwestern Indiana and a prominent citizen of Posey county, of which he is a native, was born on his father's farm in Robb township, July 31, 1853, the son of Hiram and Elizabeth A. (Fitzgerrell) Barker. Hiram Barker is a native of Ken- tucky, born near Bowling Green on February 25, 1824, and now a resident of the city of Mt. Vernon. He came to Indiana when a lad of ten years of age, his parents locating in Gibson county. Here he spent the early years of his life, underwent the vicissitudes incident to that pioneer period, and became a successful farmer. His farm and residence were near the city of Owensville. He became a resident of Mt. Vernon about 1889, and is one of the oldest men in Posey county, his ninetieth birth- day occurring in 1914. His wife was a daughter of John S. Fitzgerrell, who was a native of Posey county, and the son of James and Elizabeth (Ray) Fitzgerrell, natives of Ireland, who became pioneer settlers in Robb township. Daniel Oscar Barker acquired his early education in the public schools of Owensville. Subsequently he entered the law de- partment of the Indiana State University and was graduated a member of the class of 1875. He located for practice in Brinston, Ind., where he remained but a few months, removing to McPherson, Kan., the county seat of McPherson county, then in its formative period. Here he built up a lucrative business, was recognized as one of the leading men in his profession in the county, and attained an influential position as a citi- zen. The severe crop failures, grasshopper plague and reaction from the booming of county seat towns in the early '8os, caused him to return to Indiana, in 1885. He became a resident of the city of Mt. Ver- non and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1897 he formed, with George F. Zimmerman, a son-in-law, the firm of Barker & Zimmer- man, and was his associate in practice until 1907. In 1909 he formed with Roscoe Usher, his son, the firm of Barker & Barker, with which he was connected at the time of his death, on February 25, 1910. During his practice in Posey county, which covered a span of twenty-five years, Mr. Barker appeared in connection with the most important litigations in its courts. He had wide and comprehensive knowledge of the science of jurisprudence, was a man of strong character and individuality, an orator of no mean power and in argument logical and convincing. He was held in high esteem by the fellow members of his profession and the citizens of his county, in which he attained a position of prominence. Mr. Barker married, on May 25, 1876, Miss Alice B. Doss, the daughter of Azriah Doss, who built the first grist mill in Posey county. This was located at Blairsville. Mr. and Mrs. Barker became the parents of six
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children, five of whom are living. They are, in order of birth, as follows : Mabel, born January 8, 1878, the wife of George F. Zimmerman, for ten years the associate of Mr. Barker in the practice of law and now a res- ident of Oklahoma City, Okla .; Roscoe Usher Barker, a review of whom follows this article; Mary V., born February 20, 1889; Claude F., born July 1, 1892, an employe of the Chalmers Motor Company, of Detroit, Mich .; and Gladys A., born October 2, 1894, a graduate of the Mt. Ver- non High School, class of 1912; Loyette Barker, born July 8, 1882, died February 4, 1902. When a child of eighteen months she received an injury that resulted in curvature of the spine. She was a brilliant scholar and though an invalid through life was insistent on being al- lowed to attend school, and completed the tenth grade. Mr. Barker was a high type of the American gentleman, unassuming and conservative, diligent in his duties and commercial affairs, and conscientious in all things. He was a student, possessed a large and well selected library and kept thoroughly in touch with the men and affairs of his day. Po- litical office never appealed to him, although he never neglected in the least his civic duties. He was a Democrat. He was a member of the Masonic order and prominent in the work of the various bodies of that order in Mt. Vernon. He was a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Criterion Lodge, Knights of Pythias.
Roscoe Usher Barker, prosecuting attorney of the Eleventh judicial circuit of Indiana, was born at McPherson, Kan., November 2, 1879, the son of Daniel O. and Alice B. (Doss) Barker, a review of whom precedes. this article. Roscoe U. Barker was reared in the city of Mt. Vernon, where his parents located when he was six years of age. His early education was gained in the schools of the city and subsequently he entered the lit- erary department of the Indiana University, from which he was grad- uated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1901. He re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1907. He engaged in teaching in the school year 1901-2 in Mt. Vernon, and was principal of the gram- mar school during the years 1902-3-4 and 1905. From 1905 until 1907 he was in the office of Baker & Zimmerman, of which his father was the senior member. In the last named year he commenced the active prac- tice of law, although admitted to the bar in 1901. He formed with his father, in 1909, the firm of Barker & Barker, an association which lasted but one year, his father's death occurring in 1910. He was appointed to his present office on March 1, 1913, by Governor Ralston, for a term of two years, his circuit, the Eleventh, comprising Posey county, having been cut down by the making of Gibson county a separate circuit in 1913. Since attaining his majority he has taken an active part in the political affairs of his home city and county. He is president of the Democratic Central Committee of Mt. Vernon, and is influential in the councils of
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his party. He has attained the Council degrees in Masonry and is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is exalted ruler. Mr. Barker is recognized as not only one of the coming men of the Indiana State bar, but as one of the progressive citizens of Mt. Vernon who are using their best efforts toward the growth and development of their city.
Frederick W. Nolte, deceased, formerly a farmer and land owner on a large scale, was born in Prussia, Germany, June 14, 1847, and died August 20, 1899. He was a son of August and Charlotte (Schwartz) Nolte, natives of Germany, who came to the United States in 1856, locat- ing at Evansville, Ind., where he followed the occupation of shoemaker. Frederick Nolte obtained a good German education in the schools of Germany, but his English education was acquired by his own efforts. At the age of thirteen years he began clerking in a dry goods, boot and shoe establishment in Evansville, continuing there for a number of years, and then going into an exclusive dry goods store. Here he re- mained seven years. Later he became managing proprietor of a large dry goods store, but discontinued this after eighteen months and became a traveling salesman, which vocation he followed successfully for five years. In 1880 he removed to Mt. Vernon and bought 1,400 acres of land, at once becoming a successful farmer on a large scale. Frederick Nolte was twice married. His first wife was Miss Lizzie Link, whom he married in 1875, but who lived but seven months after their marriage. On April 23, 1879, Mr. Nolte married Miss Mary Ann Evison, daughter of James and Mary Ann (Broadhead) Evison. She was born May 10, 1855, in Mt. Vernon. Her father was born March 16, 1809, in England and came to America by way of New Orleans at the age of twenty-five. He died September 5, 1873, at Mt. Vernon, where he had been a merchant tailor. He was a consistent member of the Episcopal church. During the Civil war he was a member of the State Home Guards. Mr. Evison was married, August 13, 1839, to Miss Mary Ann Broadhead, daughter of William and Mary Ann (Baldwin) Broadhead. Mary Ann Broadhead was born April 12, 1813, and died August 3, 1883. They had seven chil- dren, all of whom died in infancy except Mary Ann, who became Mrs. Frederick Nolte. Mr. and Mrs. Nolte had six children, four daughters and two sons: Mary Evison, born September 17, 1880, graduated from the Mt. Vernon High School and became a teacher of note in the State, married E. M. Spencer, Jr. (see sketch of Elijah M. Spencer), November 30, 1900, and they have one child, Elizabeth, born July 20, 1901 ; Lola Evison, born November 3, 1881; Frederick Evison, born February 25, 1884; James Evison, born April 2, 1885; Lucy Isabel, born January I, 1892; Emily, born August 9, 1894.
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