USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc. > Part 88
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were soon taken, and the entire township became, almost as if by magic, a garden where it had been with few exceptions, wil- derness, and soon, instead of the hunter's trail or the cartway from settlement to set- tlement, the best of roads were provided in all its parts. These industrious new-com- ers were principally from Germany, though many came from Pennsylvania and the older states of this country. As a class they are economical, industrious and good citizens, and to their efforts is due much of the pros- perity of the present.
Incidents .- One of the most stirring events of early times in Armstrong town- ship. was the kidnapping of the Gothards. Isaac Gothard was a poor Englishman, who drifted into the township and took his place in the community as a shiftless, easy-going, ambitionless fellow, with no particular men- tal or moral development. He had not been here long before his wife took the small- pox, and the entire neighborhood was alarmed for their safety. A mulatto was found who had passed safely through a siege of the disease, and he was impressed as a nurse for the sick woman. He was so at- tentive to her wants that he soon ingratiated himself into her affections. During the pa- tient's convalescence their intimacy increased, but when she had recovered, Isaac, the husband, took his accustomed place in the household, and the mulatto went his way. At length, however, in 1819, twins made their appearance in the Gothard household, and both were mulattos. Isaac made no com- plaints, and continued to live in peace and har- mony with his faithless spouse. The children waxed strong as the years went by and be- gan to be quite interesting to the com- munity, when one day much to everybody's chagrin, they were kidnapped and carried to Diamond Island in the Ohio river, where Patrick Calvert, the Rogerses, Caters and
others went to rescue them. While attempt- ing the rescue, Mr. Calvert was struck on the head with a gun barrel by a desperado named Lynn, who was in league with the kidnappers, the blow causing a fearful cut which left a permanent, unsightly scar. Some time afterward Mr. Calvert was in Texas, when the scar attracted the attention of a ferryman to whom he related the story of the kidnapping. Somewhat excitedly the listener declared he had ferried the parties with the negro boys across the stream, and proceeded to give information which led to their discovery. They were brought back to Armstrong township as free children, and were bound out to Mr. Calvert and grew to manhood on his place. They were industrious, intelligent men; one was considered a genius as a cabinet-maker. In after years they removed to Illinois.
Churches .- Until 1876 there was not a church in Armstrong township. It must not be inferred from this statement, however, that the people of the township were not many of them pious, devoted worshipers of the Divine Father. In early times there was frequent preaching at the school-houses and at the cabins of the settlers. The Bap- tists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Christians and other sects kept up the struggle for su- premacy here as elsewhere. The Regular Baptists were the most prominent in the township at first, but later gave way to the Cumberland Presbyterians. As the country became more thickly settled facilities for worship were supplied by churches built out- side of the township and yet near enough the borders to have a large portion of their membership within the township. Cynthi- ana, in Posey county, has been the most fre- quented place by Armstrong township people.
A union church was built in the extreme northwest corner of the township, in section
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19, township 4 south, range II west, in 1876, which is free to all Christian denominations, though used chiefly by the Cumberland Presbyterians and the Christian order. The community believing it had been without a church long enough, took the mat- ter up and soon after determining to build, the edifice was erected. It was named by the trustees " Calvert Chapel" in honor of Mr. Leroy Calvert, much being due to his very munificent gifts in behalf of the building enterprise. The structure is a frame, 30x50 feet, nicely furnished, and cost about $1,600.00. Rev. J. B. Hadlock was the first to preach to the Cumberland Presby- terian organization now using Union church. He was followed by Revs. N. F. Gill and H. D. Onyett, D. D. At the expiration of Dr. Onyett's ministry Mr. Hadlock was again called to the church. For the Chris- tian order congregation Rev. Collins was the last minister in charge. His predecessor was Rev. D. M. Schumaker. A union Sab- bath school with about thirty-five attendants, superintended by Mr. Leroy Calvert, meets every Sabbath in this church.
In and about St. Wendell's, a village on the line between Vanderburgh and Posey coun- ties, reside a great number of Roman Cath- olics, whose house of worship is in Posey county. As early as 1841 a log church was erected there. Rev. Roman Weinzopfel regularly visited the church up to May, 1842. Rev. Conrad Schneiderjans became the first resident pastor in October, 1842. Afterward, in 1845 and 1846, Rev. Charles Opperman and Rev. Martin Stahle now and then visited the church and in April, 1846, Father Weinzopfel returned and accomplished much good by his labors, re- maining until August, 1858. The old church soon became too small for the rapidly in- creasing congregation. April 17, 1853, Bishop de St. Palais laid the corner-stone
for a handsome new edifice, and blessed the new church October 22, 1854, assisted by the pastor, Rev. E. J. Durbin, Rev. A. Deydier, Rev. J. B. Chasse, and the Rev. Benedictine Fathers, Bede O'Connor and Ulrich Christen. The edifice cost, exclu- sive of much labor and material contributed, $5,600. The congregation is in a flourish- ing condition. Its pastors have been: Revs. Paul Wagner, J. Kauffman, J. H. Deistel, J. B. Merl, Fr. M. Andres, C. Exel, N. Galweiler, Aloysius Daennhoffer, Joseph Schuck, John Stoltz and M. Heck.
Towns .- Armstrong township boasts of no important towns. St. Wendell's, partly in the township and partly in the adjoining county of Posey, is the largest. It has a flouring mill, a store, blacksmith shop, and such other conveniences as are usually de- manded by an agricultural neighborhood. Raben & Sons are the principal business men, conducting the mill and the leading store. Joseph Ammon is the proprietor of the only store in the town, which is in Arm- strong township. In the village are centered the religious and educational facilities for the Catholic church in this part of the county.
Armstrong, a station on the P., D. & E. R. R., was brought into existence by the construction of the railroad. William Kneer is the postmaster, and proprietor of the only general store at this point. Probably as early as twenty years ago, near the present railway station, a little village called Arm- strong Cross-roads grew up. It is now wholly abandoned. It consisted of a post- office, a small store and a blacksmith shop.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HON. LEROY CALVERT was born Feb- ruary 4, 1819, two miles north of Armstrong. His parents, Patrick Calvert, born in Ten- nessee in 1784, and Sarah Martin, born in
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South Carolina in 1783, were married in Tennessee in 1804, and removed to Gibson county in 1811, making their home for five years near Owensville, and then moving to the site of the farm on which Mr. Calvert now lives. The father was a soldier of the war of 1812, under Gen. W. H. Harrison, and was in the famous engagement of Tippecanoe. After the war he resumed agriculture and followed that pursuit until his death, in 1860. The mother died in 1840. Leroy Calvert was the seventh of ten children, of whom he and a younger brother alone survive. His early life was spent in attending the common schools and working on his father's farm, and at the age of twenty-four he was married to Miss Penelope Shelton, January 13, 1843. She was born in Mason county, Ky., September 24, 1821, and was brought to Indiana by her parents, when two years old. They have had seven children, Sarah E., Catherine J., Minerva J., Maria H., Andrew J., Henry T. and Luella F. Three of the daughters are deceased. In religious affiliations Mr. Cal- vert is a Cumberland Presbyterian, and he is a prominent member of the Masonic order and K. of P. His political career has been a notable one, and throughout such as to re- flect credit upon himself. He was a staunch democrat until 1884, when he voted for St. John for president. Under the old constitu- tion he served as clerk of the board of trus- tees. In 1848 he was elected justice of the peace, and served for two years, when he resigned to be a candidate for . county commissioner, to which office he was elected in 1850. During the erection of the court-house, in 1852, he occupied the responsible position of president of the board. From 1856 he served as township trustee until his election in 1860 as county treasurer. He was a most popular officer, and was re-elected to a second term. On
the expiration of this he returned to his farm, but was chosen by the people of his township as trustee again, and in 1868 was elected representative in the general as- sembly. In the session following his elec- tion, during the attempt to pass the fifteenth amendment, Mr. Calvert, with fifty-five of his fellow-democratic members, resigned and came back to their homes. A special election was called by Gov. Baker, and Mr. Calvert was re-elected, and returned to the assembly, but the attempt being renewed at a special session, he felt it his duty to resign a second time, and he came home to stay. Upon his affiliation with the prohibition party, he was made their first nominee for congress in the First district, in 1884, and proved to be a strong candidate. In 1888 he was selected as candidate for presidential elector for the First district on the ticket of the prohibition party.
GEORGE HOEFLING, SR., was born in the village of Stettin, Germany, December 26, 1829, and came to this county with his par- ents when he was eleven years of age. He was the third of nine children of Antony and Theresa ( Lamprecht) Hoefling. The father was born April 1, 1803, at Stettin, and the mother, May 8, 1805, in the same country. They were married in Germany, and emigrated to America in 1840, coming di- rect to Evansville. They lived one year in German township, and then came to Arm- strong, near St. Joseph, where they have re- sided ever since. The mother died in 1877, at the age of seventy-two, but Antony Hoef- ling was still living, April, 1888, the oldest man in his township. George Hoefling, sr., until he was sixteen, worked on his father's farm, then for ten months was engaged in the livery stable of E. Garnett, at New Or- leans, after which he followed steamboating for about seven years. Then he returned to his father's farm, and remained until he was
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twenty-three when he was married to Chris- tine Behm, September 27, 1853. She was a native of Westphalia. To them were born six children: Mary F., Anna W., George A., Fred A., Catherine C. and Mary A. Mrs. Hoefling died in 1875, at the age of forty-one, and October 12, 1876, he was married to Barbara Drunk, who was born in Bavaria, September 15, 1846. The children of this union were Joseph A., John L., Louisa J., and John W. and Mary T., twins. He was elected township trustee in 1878, but soon after resigned. From 1878 to 1880, he held the important position of president of the Mutual Fire Insurance company. He is a member of St. Joseph congregation of the Catholic church, and has held many prominent positions in that organization, and is at present on the committee for the con- struction of a new church at St. Joseph.
CHRISTOF HOFFMAN, one of the leading farmers of Armstrong township, was born September 15, 1835, in Rhine-Pfalz, Bavaria. Eleven years later his parents came with their family to America, and settled at Evansville. After a year or more there, they removed to Armstrong, and thence to Mount Carmel, Ill., where the father died in 1877, and the mother in 1887. There were eleven children, of whom Christof was the fifth, and five of them are still living. He gained his education in the schools of his native land and afterward in this country, and since attaining manhood, has always pursned the occupation of farm- ing. Politically he has been a republican, honored in the councils of the party, and in the way of social organizations, has been a member of the I. O. O. F. On November 12, 1861, he married Elizabeth Frippon, and they had eight children, five of whom are living. His first wife died in 1876, and in 1882, he was united in marriage with Cath- ine Kolle, of this township, and they have
had three children born unto them, all of whom are living.
WILLIAM MARTIN was born January 30, 1814, in what was then known as Knox county, now Vanderburgh, near Armstrong. His father was Charles Martin, who was born in 1791 in South Carolina, and came to Indiana territory in 1805. In 1812 he mar- ried Frankie Rook, who was born in South Carolina in 1797, and they settled four miles from Armstrong. William Martin is the oldest of thirteen children, three of whom survive. He still resides on the farm, where he has labored since 1833. Mr. Martin was married October 3, 1833, to Miss Nancy Robinson, who was born near Knoxville, Tenn., May 3, 1813, and came with her parents to Indiana in 1815. They are the parents of thirteen children, of whom three died in infancy. There are living: M. D., Charles S., Abner N., James T., Thomas A., Susanna, Jasper, William F., Naomi J. and Joseph L. Mr. Martin is the grandfather of forty-nine children, of whom but seven are deceased. He served his community as constable and trustee for a number of years. Mr. Martin and his entire family are, in religious matters, Regular Bap- tists, his grandfather having been a minister of that denomination. Mr. Martin is one of the few men who are almost uniformly well and hearty, and by wise and simple living gives promise of added years of activity.
HON. JOHN F. PRUITT is the third of eight children born to William and Elizabeth Pruitt, among the earliest pioneers of the county. The father was born December 10, 1806, in Allen county, Ky., and the mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth A. Spain, was born in 1816, near Harper's Ferry, Va. In ISIO William Pruitt came with his parents, Moses and Phœbe (Will- iams) Pruitt, to settle in the Indiana woods, and in his youth labored as the old settlers
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did, gaining also the education to be ob- elected township assessor, served two years, tained in the log cabin schools of those days. and in 1860 was chosen trustee for one He ivas county commissioner for nine years, term. To this office he was appointed in 1878, to fill a vacancy, and at the expiration of that term, was again elected, serving until ISS2, when he was elected representative in the general assembly by the overwhelming majority of 1,085. His distinguished ser- and major of the militia, then necessary for protection from the Indians. He died May 9, 1870, and his widow followed him on the 5th of the next July. That year is sadly memorable in Mr. Pruitt's family. Not only his father and mother, but two of his vices assured his re-election in r884, and as sisters, died in the four months beginning chairman of the agricultural committee, and author of several important bills, he filled a responsible position in the assembly. Mr. Pruitt is a prominent member of the Cum- berland Presbyterian church, and belongs to the Master Masons. He is still engaged in farming, with good health and constitution, and gives promise of many more years of usefulness. May 9. The children of William Pruitt were: Mary J., born January 25, 1831; Elizabeth E., born May 7, 1833; John F., subject of this sketch, born May 14, 1835; James C., born July 24, 1837; Joseph A., born August 10, 1840; Julia A., born October 14, 1844; Susan L., born March 20, 1847, and Sarah E., born June 10, 1853. After receiving a common school education, WILLIAM REIMANN was born near Reich- enbach, Silesia, November 23, 1831. In 1852 he came with his parents from Germany, and has ever since lived upon the farm near Armstrong, which they settled upon. His father died in 1855, but the mother is still living and makes her home with her son. The parents had five children, three boys and two girls. Four of them are yet living, and are residents of this county. Mr. Reimann was educated in the schools of Silesia, and has a fine knowledge of the German language. Since childhood he has followed agriculture, and has been very successful. He is a member of the German Evangelical church at Darmstadt, and in politics is a republican. Mr. Pruitt entered the grammar department of the Evansville schools, and at the age of twenty-one began teaching school, and remained in that profession ten years, also farming during the summer. January 16, 1862, he married Sarah E. Calvert, daughter of Leroy and Penelope Calvert, and to them were born four children: Emma L., Cather- ine J., Leroy E., and Ann R., of whom Emma and Leroy survive. Mrs. Pruitt died June 28, 1874, and on January 2, 1876, he was married to Lydia E. Wilkinson, who died November 5, 1877. His third marriage was to Elizabeth A. Calvert, April 17, 1879. In politics Mr. Pruitt is an earnest democrat and is an active worker. In 1857 he was
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