USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana > Part 31
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Schuyler C. Newman, lumber merchant and former school teacher, came of an English family, and was born in Armstrong township, Van- derburg county, December 21, 1869, son of William and Jane (Rutter) Newman. His father is a native of Vanderburg county, and his mother was born in Posey county. His father was a successful farmer, and is now retired, and living in Cynthiana, where he and Mrs. Newman cele- brated their golden wedding January 26, 1913, all of their six children being present. The father is seventy-seven and the mother seventy- eight years of age. Schuyler C. Newman was reared on his father's farm in Vanderburg county, and received his education in the district schools, Cynthiana High School, the normal school at Princeton, and the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. After finishing his education he engaged in teaching for six years in the rural schools of Vanderburg county, farming the last two years of this time. He then gave up teach- ing and farmed for two years. About 1903 he bought a farm adjoining Cynthiana, and in 1905 he became a resident of that town, where he estab- lished a lumber business, which he still owns. In 1906 his brother was admitted to partnership in the firm, under the style of Newman Brothers. The firm carries a well assorted stock of lumber, sashes and doors, fence posts, cement, sand, lime, plaster and paints and oils. They also oper- ate a planing mill. Their business is profitable, and the firm enjoys a reputation for honest and fair dealing. Mr. Newman is an active worker in the Presbyterian church, in which he has his membership. He be- longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he was formerly a Republican, but is now a Prohibitionist. He was married in Cynthiana on May 7, 1899, to Miss Ada Stewart, daughter of Frank and Martha Stewart, of Vanderburg county, where she was born and raised on her father's farm. Mr. and Mrs. Newman have two children: Iva S., born March 6, 1900, and Maurice T., born March 13, 1907, both now attending the Cynthiana schools.
Carlos B. Macy, superintendent of the city schools of Cynthiana, Ind., was born on a farm in Posey township, Rush county, Ind., November 29,
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1882, son of Thomas B. and Lutitia (Pitts) Macy, natives of the same county. Our subject attended the common and high schools of Manilla, Ind., and then spent one year in the academy at Spiceland, Ind., after which he began teaching school in the rural districts, continuing his edu- cation in the University of Valparaiso in the summer months. He was also a student at Purdue, at the University of Indiana, and graduated from the Indiana State Normal, Terre Haute, in the class of 1912. After leaving Rush county he taught one year in Marion county, at New Au- gusta, and one year in Corydon, and one year at Wadesville. In 1910 he was appointed principal of the high school at Cynthiana, and in 1912 be- came superintendent. He is a member of the Quaker church and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1908 Mr. Macy married Nelle Underwood, daughter of Joseph N. and Elizabeth Underwood, of Ver- sailles, Ind., where her father was a merchant. Mrs. Macy was reared in the town, graduated from its high school in the class of 1901, and taught school for a number of years prior to her marriage. She is a member of the Baptist church. They are the parents of one child, a daughter, Mary Elizabeth.
Henry Thomas Calvert, of Cynthiana, Ind., is a representative of a family long established in Southern Indiana, the first of that line to lo- cate in this section having been Patrick Calvert, who was born in Ten- nessee in 1784. In 1804 he married Miss Sarah Martin, who was born in South Carolina in 1783. They came to Indiana in 1811 and settled near Owensville, in Gibson county. About this time the country was in the throes of war and Patrick Calvert, like a true patriotic citizen, assisted in bringing about peace, driving the Indians permanently from the fertile Wabash Valley. He was also a soldier under Gen. W. H. Harri- son in the famous battle of Tippecanoe. After the war he returned to his farm, and in 1816 removed to Armstrong township, Vanderburg coun- ty, and purchased from the Government land which is still in possession of the family. Here he followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, in 1860. His wife died in 1840. Patrick Calvert was a man of rigid convictions on matters of right and wrong, dealt justly and honor- ably with all and being always friendly and neighborly he was loved by all who knew him. Leroy Calvert, the seventh child of Patrick Calvert, was born on February 4, 1819. On January 13, 1843, he married Pene- lope Shelton, who was born in Mason county, Kentucky, September 24, 1821, coming to Indiana with her parents when two years of age. His- tory records no stronger, cleaner character than the Hon. Leroy Calvert, father of our subject. He had strong religious convictions, and worked earnestly for the advancement of his country and community. His early life was spent in attending the common schools and in working on his father's farm, where he received strict training and high ideals of right and wrong, which later were so noticeable in his character in han-
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dling the important affairs of life intrusted to him by his friends and neighbors, and in his public service. Until 1876 Armstrong township had been without a church, and the one built at that time was called "Cal- vert's Chapel," in appreciation of the assistance of Mr. Calvert and of his worth to the community. The building is free to all Christian denomi- nations. The political career of Leroy Calvert has been a notable one, and such as to reflect credit upon himself and family. He was a staunch Democrat until 1884, when he voted for St. John for President. Under the old constitution he served as clerk of the board of trustees, after which he held offices as follows. He was elected justice of the peace in 1848 and served two years, resigning to become a candidate for county commissioner, to which office he was elected in 1850. At the time of the building of the Vanderburg county court house, in 1852, he held the re- sponsible position of president of the board. From 1856 to 1860, he served as township trustee, being in the latter year elected county treas- urer. His execution of the duties of his office was so satisfactory that he was re-elected to the office. At the expiration of his second term he retired to his farm, but was chosen by the people of Armstrong town- ship as their trustee once more, and in 1868 was elected representative in the general assembly. When in the session following his election, an at- tempt was made to pass the fifteenth amendment, Mr. Calvert, with fifty-five of his fellow Democratic members, resigned and returned to their homes. In the special election which was then called by Governor Baker, Mr. Calvert was re-elected and returned to the assembly, but the obnoxious attempt being made again at a special session he resigned a second time and came back home to stay. Upon his affiliation with the Prohibition party, in 1884, he was made their first nominee for Con- gress, in the First district, and was an exceptionally strong candidate. In 1888 he was placed upon the ticket as a candidate for presidential elector for the First district. His death occurred in 1898, and that of his wife in 1876. They had seven children, five girls and two boys, Henry T. Calvert, the sixth child, being our subject. Henry T. Calvert was born in Armstrong township, Vanderburg county, Indiana, April 25, 1855, son of Leroy and Penelope (Shelton) Calvert. He was reared in his native township, where he attended the common schools, first in an old frame school house of early construction, later attended the Fort Branch schools, and for several years went to school in Cynthiana. After leaving school he began farming, first with his father, and later for him- self on a rented place. After his marriage he farmed the homestead, and his father lived with him until his death. Our subject farmed and raised stock for several years and lived on the farm until 1899, when he re- moved to Cynthiana and built a nice city home. In the fall of 1900 he became an employee of the Ziliak Schafer Milling Company's elevator at Cynthiana. He was engineer for four years and was then made man-
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ager of the elevator, which position he held until 1909, when he resigned to make a trip to California. He left Indiana in July, 1909, and remained through the next winter. Since his return to Cynthiana, Mr. Calvert has lived a retired life, still owning his farm and city property. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which he has always been an active worker. Until 1900 Mr. Calvert was a staunch Democrat, but since that time he has been a worker in the Prohibition party. His first Presidential vote was cast for Samuel J. Tilden. On October I, 1879, Mr. Calvert married Marietta McConnell, daughter of Robert G. and Sarah (Kimball) McConnell, the former a native of Smith town- ship, Posey county, and the latter of Gibson county. Robert G. Mc- Connell was born about 1832, the son of John B. and Lucinda (McCrary) McConnell. John B. McConnell was born in Scotland, August 29, 1794, and his wife was of Irish descent. He was married December 23, 1817, to Lucinda McCrary, who was born July 7, 1800, and to them were born nine children: James C., born February 28, 1819; Alexander R., born December 7, 1821 ; Marinda K., born April 17, 1824 ; Ann E., born Septem- ber 29, 1826; Miner G., born October 20, 1829; Robert G., born March 2, 1832 ; Zerelda C., born December 25, 1833; John C., born March 16, 1837, and Mary Ruth, born March 9, 1839. The mother of Mrs. Calvert died August 23, 1874, and her father died September 17, 1881. The mother was born November 12, 1837. John B. McConnell came to this country from Scotland, about the year 1800, and settled in North Carolina. He removed to Tennessee, where he remained only a short time before com- ing to Indiana and locating with his family in Posey county, where his son, Robert G., father of Mrs. Calvert, was born. Robert G. and Sarah E. McConnell became the parents of six children: Marietta, the wife of our subject, born June 28, 1857; Louella, born May 27, 1862; William G., born September 21, 1866; Eliza C., born January 7, 1869; Lillian G., born September 16, 1871, now deceased; Sarah E., born August 9, 1874. Mrs. Calvert attended the common schools of Posey county as a child. She and Mr. Calvert are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. To Mr. and Mrs. Calvert four children were born: Eva, born September 22, 1895 ; Maude, died in infancy ; Ethel died aged eight years, and Edith died aged four years and six months.
Frank E. Lewis, editor and publisher and former minister of the Chris- tian church, of Cynthiana, Ind., was born in Jasper county, Ill., January 5, 1871, son of James and Joan (Woodward) Lewis, mother a native of Kentucky and the father a native of Jasper county, where he was chief engineer of the light plant at Newton, Ill. Frank Lewis was raised in Newton and attended the common and high schools, after which he began work in a newspaper office at the age of fourteen years. He learned the printer's trade, which he followed until 1906, when he was ordained a minister of the Christian denomination. He located at Danville, I11.,
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where he had several churches on a circuit, and remained here until April I, 1912, when he bought the Cynthiana "Argus" and took charge of the paper, which he has since edited and published. He is a Democrat in pol- itics and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows On July 3, 1891, Mr. Lewis married Miss Maude Johnson, daughter of Harry D. and Belle (Phillips) Johnson, of Noble, Richland county, Illinois, where her parents were born and where her father was proprietor of a hotel. Here Mrs. Lewis was born and educated. They became the parents of five children: Lucile, Aden, Hershey, Isabelle and Harry T., the last deceased. Aden and Hershey are attending school in Cynthiana and Lucile is assistant in the "Argus" office. The family are members of the Christian church.
David C. Alcorn, a prominent farmer of Smith township, Posey county, Indiana, was born in the same place where he now lives on October 3, 1868. He is the son of James T. and Anne (Boren) Alcorn, both born in Gibson county, Indiana. The great-grandparents of our subject set- tled in Indiana at an early date and the family helped wrest the land from the Indians and wild beasts and develop it into what it has now become. The grandfather, also James T. Alcorn, married a Miss Haines. The family have always been farmers. The father of David C. died November 7, 1870, when the latter was but two years old and his mother married R. J. Brown and still lives, residing in Poseyville. David was reared on a farm, attended common school, later graduating from the schools of Poseyville. He then took a course in a commercial college at Terre Haute, Ind., graduating in 1888. He then obtained a position as bookkeeper in the Calvert & Bozeman Lumber Company, of Poseyville, Ind. He had a small piece of land containing thirty-three and one-third acres near town and decided to farm it, so he gave up his position and lived on his farm, "batching" for one season. He then thought he would like to be a commercial traveler, but as he expressed it in his own lan- guage, "After spending money for two beds in one night and not having time to get either of them warm," decided once more to return to the farm. His experiences at first were not so pleasant, as he did his own farm work and housekeeping for the first four years, until he got a start. On October 27, 1894, he married Ella Saulmon. Mrs. Alcorn was born in Gibson county and was raised in Posey county, where she was educated, and was married in her twenty-sixth year. Two years after his marriage Mr. Alcorn discontinued the old way of farming and began with new methods, breeding hogs for the market. By adding good blooded stock to keep his drove up to the standard and by exercising care not to over-fatten his animals he made a great success of the business. Mr. Alcorn is one of the most scientific farmers in Posey county. He runs his farm on business principles, taking an invoice each year. His land is well improved, having tile drainage and other conveniences. He
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keeps strict account of each investment, which enables him to stick to the most profitable ones. He is active among the hog breeders of the county and has taken a trip west into Kansas to study the cattle feeding business, in which he is now engaged to some extent. From his start of thirty-three and one-third acres Mr. Alcorn has, by scientific methods, close study, industry and economy amassed a comfortable fortune, now owning 370 acres of land. He is a director in the Poseyville Mutual Telephone Association. Mr. and Mrs. Alcorn have two children: Corry A., born June 26, 1897, and Alma, born December 18, 1899. Corry A. is a freshman in the Poseyville High School. He raised fifty acres of corn last year, which made eighty-one bushels to the acre. This field was the best reported in the county and he sold more than 200 bushels for seed. Alma is now attending school in Poseyville. The family be- longs to the Christian church, Mr. Alcorn being an elder in the church.
James Cale, a member of one of the pioneer families of Kentucky and Indiana, was born April 3, 1829, son of Ellison and Margaret Cale, natives of Kentucky, who came to Posey county, Indiana, where James was born and reared. After finishing common school he began farming and accumulated a large fortune before his death. He bought his farm in Smith township in 1849, and on May 2 of the next year married Jane Jolly, daughter of Maxie and Nancy (Price) Jolly, natives of South Carolina, who came to Posey county in 1804, and are said to have been the first settlers near Stewartsville, where they located in the midst of the forest, there being no road, or even trail, near their home. Here a small clearing was made and a cabin built. The clearing was added to from time to time and the land farmed. Eight years after his location here Mr. Jolly joined the army of Gen. W. H. Harrison and helped drive out the Indians in the Wabash valley. Upon the restoration of peace he returned to his home and continued farming and stock raising. He was a blacksmith by trade, and being the only skilled workman in the vicinity, he had plenty of this kind of work. He helped build the first church in Posey county, which was located in the grove where Stewartsville now stands. In the erection of the building a log fell and killed a little boy, and his was the first grave in the church yard. This cemetery in the church yard is now said to the largest in the county. Mrs. James Cale is the sixth child in a family of eleven children, of whom only herself and one sister are living. She was born April 14, 1825, and attended such schools as were in those days available. The first one was held in her father's kitchen, before any school building had been erected in the county, and the first teacher was James Wasson. When school buildings finally were erected they were of logs with puncheon seats and no ceiling except the boards of the roof. Heat was furnished by large fire-places. In those days the woods of Indiana were full of Indians and wild animals. The Jolly family had a neighbor by the
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name of Parks who was a bee hunter, and who had three children whom he was accustomed to take with him on his expeditions into the woods. One day when he had just cut down a bee tree on the Wabash the In- dians came up and killed him and took his children captives. When they did not return the neighbors went to look for them, finding the body of Mr. Parks, but before they got it home they were ordered to Vincennes for the War of 1812. At that time there were no towns of New Harmony, Mt. Vernon or Evansville, and Mr. Jolly went to Red Banks, now Henderson, to trade. This was through woods uninhabited except by wild animals and Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Cale became the parents of five children: Annie, Sidney (deceased), Della (deceased), Oscar, and Maxie (deceased). Annie married James Kimball and they live in Gibson county. They have no children. Sidney married Joseph Davis and lived in Gibson county until her death. Joseph Davis and Sidney Cale had five children-Mabel, Della, James, Ewell K. and Lois. Della Cale married Dr. Thomas Young, of Poseyville and they had one child, Morris, who was two years of age when his mother died and who was raised by his grandmother Cale.
Oscar Cale, banker and landowner of Poseyville, Ind., was born in Smith township, same county, March 5, 1862, son of James and Jane (Jolly) Cale (see sketch). He attended school in Smith and Robb town- ships, after which he entered college at Valparaiso, Ind. Upon complet- ing his education Mr. Cale returned home and engaged in farming and stock raising. After his marriage, in 1884, he went to Gibson county, Indiana. Here he remained for about six years, and in August, 1890, he located in Smith township, Posey county, on a farm, where he has since lived. Mr. Cale is president of the First National Bank, in which he is also a director. He was one of the first stockholders of the institution. He is also the largest landowner in his township. In politics he is a Democrat. Mr. Cale married Mary J. Young, daughter of Thomas and Martha (McFadden) Young, on October 26, 1884. The grandparents of Mrs. Cale on her mother's side were among the first settlers of Mt. Ver- non, Ind. Both parents were natives of Posey county, where they were engaged in farming and stock raising. Mrs. Cale was born in Smith township, August 28, 1863. She attended the common schools of her native township and of Robb township. Mr. and Mrs. Cale became the parents of four children : Mattie, born August 31, 1885; Lena, born Feb- ruary 26, 1890; Mary, born September 22, 1901, and one that died in infancy. Mattie married Kern A. Williams and lives in Poseyville, Ind. Lena and Mary are at home with their parents. The family are mem- bers of the Christian church.
James W. Wiggins, a successful farmer of Poseyville, Ind., was born in Saline county, Illinois, March 10, 1865, son of John M. and Emily (Endicott) Wiggins, the mother a native of Virginia and the father of
1
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Kentucky. They came to Illinois in 1867, removed to Gibson county, Indiana. John M. Wiggins was the son of Thurin Wiggins and his wife was the daughter of John H. Endicott. A short time after John M. came to Indiana his father located in Montgomery county, this State. Thurin Wiggins had six sons and one daughter, of whom John was the fifth child. Three of the boys, Charles, Newton and David, were in the Civil war. Two of them were killed. John Wiggins was born April 23, 1827, and died March 5, 1885. Emily Endicott was born April 16, 1830, and died March 21, 1887. They were married in Saline county, Illinois, where they engaged in farming and stock raising, and where our subject was born. They removed to Gibson county, Illinois, and after two or three years came to Indiana and located in Smith township, Posey county, in 1869. They became the parents of ten children: Leoma M. (deceased), Mary E. (deceased), Sarah E., John N., Kesiah F. (deceased), Matilda F., James W., Emily M. (deceased), David S. and Elam G. James Wig- gins attended the country schools and the high school at Cynthiana until his father's death, when he was called upon to look after the farm. Two years later the mother died. At that time two of the children were mar- ried and three were dead, and our subject remained at home with Ma- tilda F., Emily M., David S. and Elam G. The first of those remaining to marry was David S., who went to farming for himself in Smith town- ship. The next was our subject, who marred Miss Emma E. Martin, daughter of Ellison L. and Mariah (McDonald) Martin, of Posey county, the wedding occurring May 7, 1892. Her father was a son of Harrison and Mary (Russell) Martin, and her mother was the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Graves) McDonald. Ellison L. was a native of Arm- strong township, Vanderburg county, Indiana. Mrs. Wiggins was born in Vanderburg county, January 14, 1869, but while she was still a child her parents removed to Posey county, where she attended the country schools and the Poseyville High School. Mr. and Mrs. James Wiggins have two children: Jesse E. resides at home and is a graduate of the common schools and is working on the farm with his parents, and Oma A., a graduate of high school, is also at home. The family are members. of the Christian church at Poseyville, in which organization Mr. Wiggins is an elder. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and in politics is a Prohibitionist.
Thomas D. Shelton, former county commissioner of Posey county, is a native of Indiana, having been born in that State April I, 1837, one of the ten children of John and Catherine (Finch) Shelton. He made his home with his parents until the death of his father, when Thomas was about twenty years of age. He then made his home with his brother, George. Three years later (February 14, 1860) he married Keziah Mur- phy, daughter of Aaron and Amelia Murphy, who was born in Posey county, February 2, 1839. At the time of his marriage Mr. Shelton lo-
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cated on the home place in Vanderburg county. A year later he removed to Posey county, purchasing land in Smith township. He sold this holding in 1871 and bought another tract of eighty-five acres, which he farmed until 1906, when he retired. Mr. Shelton was elected county commissioner in 1886 and served six years. He was later elected ditch commissioner, still holding that office. He has settled up nu- merous estates, was appointed guardian and several different times was appointed by the court land commissioner. For several years Mr. Shelton was a wheat buyer, doing business on commission. He was successful and amassed a comfortable fortune. The Shelton family are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Our subject is a Prohibitionist in politics and a member of the Ancient Free and Accept- ed Masons. Mr. and Mrs. Shelton had four children: George M. (de- ceased), James A. (deceased), Flora married E. W. Anderson and they live in Poseyville, Ind., and Jesse, whose biography is here given.
Valentine Bender, a German farmer of Poseyville, Ind., was born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, November 6, 1863, son of August and Catherine (Berg) Bender, natives of the same province in Germany, who came to America in 1865, locating in Vanderburg county. August Bender taught school in Germany and farmed. When he came to America he engaged in farming and stock raising. He died in Vander- burg county in 1874, and his wife died in 1886. Valentine Bender at- tended the common schools of Vanderburg county, first going to a pub- lic school held in a log school house and later attending private school. After finishing his education he worked on the farm. His father hav- ing died when he was eleven years old he remained at home until after the death of his mother. In 1888 he removed to Posey county, locating in Smith township, where he bought a farm near the Robb township line. Here he began improving the place and doing general farming, and raising stock for sale. He has sixty-two and one-half acres under cultivation. Mr. Bender was married, June 1, 1886, to Threase Will, daughter of Jasper and Louisa (Sanders) Will, natives of Vanderburg county, Indiana, where they were farmers. Mrs. Bender was born in the same county, in Armstrong township, where she attended school. They have nine children: Louisa, who married George Augermeyer, lives in Vanderburg county on a farm ; Henry, Frederick A., Olivia T., Alamanda C., Ida M., Viola T., Oscar Antone, Albert A. Jasper, Ida, Viola and Oscar are attending common school in Posey county and all the children are at home except the married daughter. All the family are members of the Catholic church at Poseyville, and Mr. Ben- der is a Democrat. Mrs. Bender was born December 26, 1865. Her father died in 1870. Mr. Bender came of a family of musicians, his grandfather, Philip Bender, having been an organist as well as a school teacher and his father also having been an organist of note in Ger-
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