History of Vigo county, Indiana, with biographical selections, Part 79

Author: Bradsby, Henry C
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co.
Number of Pages: 1032

USA > Indiana > Vigo County > History of Vigo county, Indiana, with biographical selections > Part 79

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

HENRY FRAZA (deceased) was born in Prussia, Germany, February 20, 1820, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Sunafield)

764

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

Fraza. He came to Clay county, Ind., in 1846, and November 6, 1851, was married to Miss Caroline, daughter of John and Catharine (Schmidt) Harsh, who had a family of seven children of whom Mrs. Fraza is the sixth. Mr. and Mrs. Fraza had ten children, as follows: William; Catharine, who died March 17, 1855; Helen, who died Jan- uary 7, 1857; John W .; Bertha, who married William Soules; August, who married Callie Hoffman; Clements, who married Kate Jacobs; Mary, Rosa, and George who died in August, 1872. Mr. Fraza's widow still survives and lives on the farm. She owns a farm containing eighty-six acres in a good state of cultivation. Her two sons, William and John W., carry on farming, and also have a traction engine, a threshing machine and a cider press. Mrs.' Fraza is a member of the Methodist Church.

WILLIAM FUHR, grocer, No. 532 South Second street, Terre Haute, was born in Rimbach, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, August 11, 1835, and is the youngest in the family of two children of Sebastian and Gertrude (Banhart) Fuhr, natives of Germany. Our subject learned harness-making in his native land, and in 1856 he came to Terre Haute, where he worked at the trade, four years, He commenced in business for himself July 4, 1860, and contin- tinued it until January, 1865, when he was compelled to abandon it on account of poor health. Selling out his harness shop to Mr. Peter Miller, the present Democratic candidate for county commissioner, Second District, he engaged in the grocery and saloon business, and in 1874 he erected a brick building, where he is located at the present time. He has had to depend on his own resources, and has made his own way in the world. He was married in Terre Haute, Ind., May 19, 1859, to Margaret, daughter of Adam and Margaret (Owenslicker) Kadel. Mrs. Fuhr is the second in a family of eight children and was born July 15, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Fuhr have eight children: Katy, William, Anna, Mary, Sophia, Edith, Carey and Hattie. Mr. and Mrs. Fuhr are members of the Lutheran Church. He is a member of the Liquor Dealers' Association, Terre Haute. In politics he is a Democrat, and was a member of the city council from 1886 to 1888.

ALBERT GALLINGTON, farmer and stock-grower, Sugar Creek township, P. O. Macksville, was born in Licking county, Ohio, April 14, 1841, and is a son of Daniel and Amelia (Cline) Gallington, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Irish and German origin ; the father, who was a farmer all his life, came here in 1851, and died in Clark county in 1880. Albert, who is the fourth in a family of five children, was reared on the farm, attending the district schools, and afterward followed farming, in which he has met with great success, now owning 358 acres of valuable land. He was

765

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

married in Vigo county in 1869, to Angeline, daughter of Elias V. Sheets, and of Irish and German descent. Their union was blessed with four children: Ora A., Edgar, Ray D. and Carl. Mrs. Galling- ton died in 1888, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Gallington in politics affiliates with the Democrats.

EDWARD GILBERT, Terre Haute. This gentleman was at one time prominently identified with the Phoenix Foundry Company of Terre Haute. He was born in that city April 16, 1850, and is a son of Curtis and Mary C. (King) Gilbert, former of whom was one of the most prominent men in the history of the county, having served twenty-one years as county clerk; he died in 1877. Our subject, who is the fifth in a family of seven children, attained to his ma- jority in the paternal home, receiving his education in the public schools, and afterward at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind. He then accepted a position in the old Prairie City Bank, first as a clerk, and subsequently as cashier, in which employment he remained six years. He then established the Phoenix Foundry, and was the manager of the concern ten years. Mr. Edward Gil- bert was married January 21, 1874, to Miss Sue Buntin, daughter of T. C. Buntin, of Terre Haute, and their children are Helen S., Emma and Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are members of the Episcopal Church. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, and has taken the thirty-second degree; he is past commander of Terre Haute Com- mandery, Knights Templar. In politics he is a Democrat.

E. M. GILMAN, manufacturer of tight barrel staves, heading, and proprietor of cooperage, No. 805 North Second street, Terre Haute, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, August 25, 1825, and is a son of Ichabod and Lida (Mattox) Gilman, natives of Ohio, who left the State of Ohio in 1832 and located in Shelby county, Ind. Mr. Gilman received his education in the common schools of Shelby county, and in 1845 he came to Terre Haute, where he learned the trade of cooper, at which he worked until 1850, when he commenced business for himself on Park street, between First and Second. In 1867 he moved his establishment to its present location, where he does a very extensive business, making a specialty of white oak whisky barrels, the factory giving employment to eighty men. Under his ever watchful eye, and through his great energy, his business has rapidly increased. About half of the product of his establishment is sold in the city of Terre Haute. Mr. Gilman is assisted in his extensive business affairs by his two sons, Frank and Harry. April 10, 1850, Mr. Gilman married Miss Helen Reeves, the fourth in order of birth of the five children of Cyrus and Phœbe (Larkins) Reeves. To this union have been born four children: Helen L., wife of James B. Reynolds; Anna; Frank, who

766

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

married Alice Lee; and Harry, married to Jennie Feltus. Mrs. Gilman is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Gil- man is a member of Lodge No. 157, I. O. O. F., and of the En- campment. In politics he is a Republican, and has served the city of Terre Haute, two terms, most efficiently as member of the council.

CHARLES C. GIVENS, M. D., Pierson township, P. O. Lewis. This gentleman has attained prominence as a physician in Vigo and Sullivan counties. He is a son of Rev. William M. and Eliza J. (White) Givens, and was born in Paris, Ill., February 26, 1850. Rev. William M. Givens is a native of Washington county, Tenn. His parents removed from there to Edgar county, Ill., early in the " thirties" or at the early settling of that county. John and Patsy Givens, natives of East Tennessee, who died in Edgar county, were his parents. When a young man he learned harness making and carriage trimming, and in 1846 he went to Mexico as a soldier, par- ticipating in the various battles. At the close of the war he returned home and resided near Paris, Ill., until 1849, when he was attacked by the gold fever. He set about curing it by crossing the plains to the mines of California, where he remained eighteen months, after which he returned home and engaged in farming until 1858, when he was ordained a minister in the United Brethren Church, for which cause he has labored zealously. For the last eight years he has been a presiding elder in the Lower Wabash Conference. In 1849 he was united in marriage with Eliza White, and to this mar- riage there were born five children (four of whom are living) : Charles C .; Henry L., superintendent of cotton-mills at Dallas, Tex .; Tina, wife of R. L. Kennedy, real estate dealer, Center Point, Clay Co., Ind .; Otto L., weighmaster at the coal mines, Cen- ter Point; and Walton H., who was baggagemaster on the Iron Mountain Railroad, and was killed in.a wreck near St. Louis when twenty years of age. Rev. Givens was born in 1827, and after liv- ing in Edgar county until 1860, he removed to Clay county, Ind., where he now resides. His wife, who was born in Barren county, Ky., in 1828, is a daughter of Middleton and Margaret White, pio- neers of Illinois, former of whom was one of the first jailers of that county.

Charles C. Givens attended the Westfield Seminary, both before and after the Civil war, where he received a very liberal education. In May, 1864, although only fourteen years old, he joined the One Hun- dred and Thirty-third Ind. V. I., and in December, 1864, by re-enlist- ment was transferred to the Twenty-ninth Ind. V. I. He was orderly, or dispatch carrier, at headquarters during the most of his service. He was the youngest member of his regiment, and was discharged from the service December 2, 1865. In 1868 school teaching

767

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

became his business in Clay and adjoining counties. When but a mere boy he had formed a liking for the medical profession, and while teaching school he read medicine, but not until 1873 did the opportunity present itself for him to begin the study in earnest. With F. M. Pickens as a preceptor, he studied at Bowling Green until 1875, when he attended the Louisville Medical College, one term. He then commenced the practice of his profession at Center- ville, Ind., but in 1881 he again went to Louisville, where he gradu- ated in February, 1882, since which time his practice has rapidly increased, until now he has a lucrative business. The money required to pay for his medical education was earned by the hardest kind of toil. During his first term at Louisville College, street-car driving at night was the source from which a part of the money, used in paying board bills, came. January 15, 1878, one of the happiest events of his life occurred-Miss Lizzie Thomas on that day became his wife. She was the daughter of J. T. and Hester Thomas, of Sullivan county. They having died when she was but a child, C. F. Wood, her uncle, became her foster-father. She was born September 22, 1860, and July 27, 1889, was called home.

There is no death, the stars go down To rise upon some fairer shore; And high in Heaven's jeweled crown They shine for evermore.

She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Dr. Givens is a trustee. He is past master of Vigo Lodge No. 29, A. F. & A. M .; past grand of Comet Lodge No. 615, I. O. O. F., and surgeon of Gen. Cruft Post, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican.

ABRAHAM GLICK, farmer and stock-grower, Sugar Creek township, P. O. Macksville, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, July 3, 1825, and is a son of Henry and Sarah (Peters) Glick, for- mer a native of Pennsylvania, latter of Maryland, and who were of German descent. The father who was a farmer all his life, died in 1871. His family consisted of sixteen children, Abraham being the fifth. Our subject was reared on the farm in Ohio, obtaining his education in the district schools, and turned his attention to mercantile trade for ten years. Then he dealt in groceries and pro- visions, and made a success of the business. In 1859 he com- menced farming in Sugar Creek township, and is now the owner of a valuable farm consisting of 240 acres, highly improved and well stocked. Starting in life as a poor boy, his success can truly be said to be entirely due to his own efforts. He was married, first time, in Ohio in 1849 to Miss Lydia A. Anderson, who was of En- glish descent, and their children were Luther, Charles (deceased)

768

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

and George C., a farmer. Mrs. Glick dying in 1856, Mr. Glick was married October 13, 1857, in Edgar county, Ill., to Miss Nancy Catherine, daughter of Martin Ray, and they had three children: Emma J., Clara Bell and Martin Ray. Mrs. Glick died February 9, 1863, and our subject married, January 24, 1865, in Ohio, Miss Caroline Helt. Mr. Glick is a member of the Lutheran Church; politically he votes the Republican ticket.

ANDREW GOSNELL, farmer and stock-grower, Sugar Creek township, P. O. St. Mary's, was born in Fayette township, Vigo coun- ty, Ind., September 15, 1835, and is a son of John and Jane (Leek) Gosnell, who were of English and German descent, the father born in Kentucky, the mother in Indiana. They came to this county in 1828, and settled in Terre Haute, carrying on a farm, and the father died in 1865. His family consisted of six sons and six daughters, Andrew being the third in order of birth. Our subject was reared on the farm with his parents, attending the neighboring schools, until he reached his majority, when he went west, and remained away one year; then returned to this county, and has since devoted his entire time to agriculture, now owning a farm of 151 acres, highly improved. Mr. Gosnell was united in marriage, in this county, in 1857, with Rebecca, daughter of John M. Reese, who was an early settler of Vigo county, coming in 1836. Her parents were of Scotch-Irish and Welsh descent. This union has been blessed with the following named children: Charles J .; Rebecca, wife of John Irwin; U. S .; William A .; Dennis S .; Phillip S. and Berthia Ann. Mr. Gosnell enlisted in 1861 in the Thirty-first Ind. V. I., Company K, became a non-commissioned officer, and took part in several battles. He was at Shiloh and Stone River, where he was taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison. In 1864 he was mustered out of service, in Tennessee, after serving three of the best years of his life, devoted to his country. Politically Mr. Gos- nell is a Democrat.

ALBERT GRAY, of the firm of Sykes & Gray, wholesale and retail dealers in hats, caps, furs and straw goods, Terre Haute. This house was established in 1852 by B. Sykes, who carried on a successful business, which was transferred to his son, who is now the senior member of the firm of Sykes & Gray. Albert Gray was born in Greene county, Ohio, November 1, 1838, and is a son of William and Mary Gray, who were of English and German descent. The father was a farmer in Ohio, the son receiving his education in Dayton, Ohio. Albert was sixteen years old when he came to Terre Haute, and was engaged as salesman in a store, which em- ployment he continued until he enlisted, in 1863, in Company D, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, and served until the close of the war.

769

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

When he returned from the war he engaged as salesman with the firm of which he is now a partner. Mr. Gray was married October 31, 1860, to Miss Emily, daughter of B. Sykes, and of English descent. This union has been blessed with three children, as fol- lows: Helen A., William B. and Mary Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are members of the First Baptist Church. He is a member of the G. A. R., Morton Post No. 1, also a member of No. 51, I. O. O. F., and No. 81, K. of P.

DAVID E. GRAY, farmer, Lost Creek township, P. O. Glenn, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, August 20, 1825, and is a son of Erskine and Elizabeth (Wood) Gray. His father came from Scot- land to New York City, where he remained a short time, then re- moved to Chicago, and after about seven months' stay there came to the farm where he lived. He was a carpenter by trade, follow- ing also farming, and died in February, 1870, in his eighty-third year; the mother died in January, 1872, in her seventy-first year. They had two children who grew to maturity, of whom David E. is the younger. Our subject was married May 2, 1850, to Isabel, daughter of Samuel and Jennie (Thompson) Malone, former of whom was of English descent, latter of Irish, and they were pio- neer settlers of Vermillion county, Ind. Her father served in the War of 1812, and was in the battle of Tippecanoe. Her mother is said to have been the second white woman to cross the Wabash river at Clinton, Ind. They had a family of five children, of whom Mrs. Gray is the youngest, born March 12, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Gray had born to them eleven children, as follows: Elizabeth, mar- ried to Eli Carpenter; Francis, deceased; Martha, deceased wife of Herman Rockwood; Anna B., who married Charles Runion; Will- iam; Samuel, who married Cora Ferrel; Lucy; Robert; Drusella, deceased; Helen and August. Mr. Gray has made agricultural pursuits his business, and lives on a farm of thirty acres belonging to his brother, William. Mrs. Gray is a member of the United Brethren Church.

THOMAS GRAY, C. E., B. Sc., F. R. S. E., professor of dynamic engineering, Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, was born in Lochgelly, Scotland, February 4, 1850, and is the second son of John and Margaret (Wilson) Gray of the same place. Our subject was educated in the public schools of his native place, also at Glasgow University, and soon after leaving the university he accepted a position on the staff of the Imperial College of Engineering, Tokio, Japan, where he remained from 1878 to 1881. He then accepted the position as assistant to Sir William Thompson and Prof. Fleming Jenkin, of Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, in the work of cable and general electrical

770

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

engineering. During a portion of the time of this engagement he was employed in superintending the manufacture and laying of the Commercial Cable Company's Trans-Atlantic system of cables. In 1888 he was tendered and accepted his present position in the Rose Polytechnic Institute, and came to America.

Prof. Gray distinguished himself while a student at Glasgow, gaining several prizes and medals in such subjects as physics, mathematics and engineering, and when quite a young man he con- tributed papers to European scientific journals, and to transactions of learned societies, which attracted the attention of the scientific men of both the Old and the New World. Though yet a young man he is recognized as among the foremost in authority, especially on subjects of electrical standards and electrical measurements, generally. He is the inventor of a very complete form of seis- mograph, and carried out jointly with Prof. Milne, of Japan, a long series of investigations on earthquake phenomena. He is the author of the article on seismology in the British Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry, and also of the articles on telegraphy and telephony in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. This is no common record for so young a man. It is an advance along the walks of intellectual life that might gratify the highest ambition of maturity and even old age. Hardly more than upon the threshold of mature intellectual life, his career is before him. Scientific thought and the genius to construct and invent are among the noblest types that are given to the world. Prof. Gray was married October 18, 1876, to Miss Jane, daughter of James and Jane (Wilson) Brown, of Govan, Scotland, and of this mar- riage are the following named children: John, Margaret Jane and Agnes Wilson. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

JAMES W. GREEN, farmer, stock-grower and brick mason, Riley township, is a descendant of one of the early pioneer settlers of Vigo county. He was born in Riley township, April 16, 1836, and is a son of John and Lucy (Mallory) Green, former of whom was born in Maryland, latter in Vermont, both of English descent. The father was a carpenter, and helped to build the first meeting- house in Riley township, also the locks on the canal, and he quar- ried the stone on his farm in Riley township for the National Road. His family consisted of twelve children, eight of whom grew to maturity, only two, however, being residents of this county, viz. : William B. and James W. Our subject was reared on the farm, attending the log school-house, and engaged in farming, fol- lowing also the trade of brick mason. He is the owner of a farm of forty acres situated on Section 15, Riley township, where he has

771

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

lived since he was four years old. Mr. Green was married Novem- ber 17, 1858, to Miss Rachel Ritchey, a native of Kentucky, of Ger- man descent, and daughter of Hannah (Young) Ritchey. Their children are Rosetta, wife of John Myers; Lucy, wife of William Myers; Jesse B., who is a farmer; Mildred, wife of James Myers, and John S. Mr. and Mrs. Green are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has been class leader, trustee and Sabbath-school superintendent. Mr. Green is a Republican, and has served eighteen years as supervisor of Riley township. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., has represented his lodge at the Grand Lodge for two years, and has passed all the chairs in the subordi- nate lodge. He was a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and was overseer of the Grange at Riley.

WILLIM B. GREEN, a farmer, residing on Section 23, Riley township, where he owns sixty acres of valuable farm land in a high state of cultivation, is a native of this county, and was born in Riley township, August 7, 1830. He is a son of John and Lucy ( Mal- lory) Green, former of whom was a native of Maryland, of English descent, and latter of Vermont, of French extraction. They were married in this county, and were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living. The father died in 1854; the mother in 1869. William B. was reared on a farm and to the occupation of a farmer, receiving a limited education at the subscription schools of that day. He was married in this county to Eleanor Knight, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, August 4, 1830, and they became the parents of six children, as follows: Anna M., wife of John Stockberger, of Fulton county, Ind. (they have three children) ; Orlena, wife of Webster Lucas, of Greene county, Ind. (they have one child) ; Mary L. wife of Theodore Shumard, of Greene county, Ind. (they have three children) ; Lucy A., wife of William W. Shumard, of Hot Springs, Ark. (they have three children); Indiana, wife of Barton Streeter, of this county (they have three children); and William M., at home, married to Pearl Foulke (they have one child). Mr. Green enlisted in the Civil war in 1862, in Company B, seventy-first Ind. V. I., and participated in the battle of Richmond, Ky., August 30, same year ; was also all through the Atlanta campaign under Gen. Sherman. He was twice captured, the first time by Kirby Smith's men, and the second time by John Morgan's forces, and was paroled in each case a couple of days after capture; he was also at the siege of Knoxville, Tenn. He was mustered out at Pulaski, Tenn., June 13, 1865. Mr. Green keeps himself remarkably well informed on the current subjects of the day. He is a member of the F. M. B. A., also of the G. A. R .; is a member of the Disciples Church, known as the "Campbellites," and in politics he is a stanch Republican.

772

HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

U. C. GREGGS, Terre Haute, is a native of Vigo county, born May 17, 1853, to Jacob G. and Malinda J. (Stark) Greggs, natives of Indiana. Mr. Greggs' great-grandfather, Adam Stark, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under George Washington. Jacob G. Greggs was killed on the Terrre Haute & South Eastern Rail- road July 6, 1856; his widow died January 23, 1875. U. C. Greggs, who is the third in a family of four children, received a common-school education, and learned the brick-molder's trade, which he followed eight years during the summer season, working at the cooper's trade during the winter. September 15, 1880, he was appointed on the police force, served two years and eight months, when he resigned and engaged in his present business. He is a self- made man. He was married in Terre Haute, December 26, 1876, to Miss Jemima A., daughter of Moses P. and Emily ( Gaskins ) Cum- mins, natives of Indiana, and now residents of Clark county, Ill. Mrs. Greggs is the sixth in a family of seven children, and was born in Sullivan county, Ind., January 20, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Greggs have had born to them five children: Luetta May; Ger- trude, deceased; Harry Arthur, deceased; Nellie Irene and Amel. Mr. Greggs is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and also of the A. O. U. W., Select Knights. He is president of the V. L. D. Association. In politics he is identified with the Re- publican party.

D. C. GREINER, postmaster, Terre Haute, was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, November 17, 1844, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Welty) Greiner, former born in Virginia, latter in Maryland, and they were of German origin. The father was a blacksmith in Dayton, Ohio, for several years, and died there in 1880. D. C. Greiner's grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war, from Virginia. Our subject, who is the youngest in a family of five children, was reared in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent his childhood and youth in school. At the age of sixteen he vol- unteered in the Forty-fourth O. V. I., Company H, and served un- til the close of the war, participating in many battles and skirmishes, and was twice wounded. In 1866 he went to Clinton county, Ind., and engaged in farming one year; then came to Terre Haute and embarked in the dry-goods business, which he sold in 1872, and then engaged in the boot and shoe trade until 1878, when he again sold, and purchased a hominy-mill, which, after managing one year, he sold. He then became a commercial traveler for a wholesale boot and shoe house, so continuing until 1883, when he started the business of manufacturing ladies' shoes, in which he employed about thirty people. In politics Mr. Greiner is a Republican; is a mem- ber of the G. A. R., and is a Sir Knight Templar. He was

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Vigo county, Indiana, with biographical selections, Part 79

Author: Bradsby, Henry C Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co. Number of Pages: 1032

Author: Bradsby, Henry C
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co.
Number of Pages: 1032