A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 13

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III > Part 13

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ies and was graduated from the Institute in 1866. From 1866 to 1871 Mr. Overton was engaged in the manufacture of tobacco in Louisa county, Virginia. He had ever been attracted by the idea of his native state, and in 1871 he concluded again to cast his for- tunes with it, locating in Frankfort. Six months later the Farmers' Bank of Kentucky engaged his services as bookkeeper in the branch bank at Henderson, and this position he held for three years. Mr. Overton was made general bookkeeper in the mother bank at Frankfort, to which city he changed his residence. In 1888 Mr. Overton was called to the position of assistant cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Kentucky, and in 1898, upon the death of the cashier, he was pro- moted to the cashiership of the bank. This bank went into liquidation in 1900 and was succeeded by the new and present institution, known as the Farmers' Bank of Frankfort, and Mr. Overton has held the office of cashier since its organization.

On March 1I, 1877, Mr. Overton laid the foundations of a happy home by his union with Miss Laura Ellen Harris, a native of Louisa county, Virginia. They have but one child, a son, named Waller Bullock Overton.

In the matter of politics Mr. Overton gives his allegiance to the Democratic party and takes a keen interest in the solution of all problems pertaining in any way to the pub- lic welfare. He is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Episcopal church, hav- ing been a vestryman of his church for years.

EDWARD DANIEL SHINNICK, proprietor and editor of the Shelbyville Record, Shelbyville, Kentucky, has gained a reputation, not only as an excellent man to conduct a newspaper as a disseminator of news, but as an active participator in every effort to advance the in- terests of the community. A few words con- cerning the life and career of the present proprietor of the Shelbyville Record, will be of interest to the readers of this history.

Mr. Shinnick was born in Shelbyville, June I, 1854, and is the son of William and Alice (Casey) Shinnick, the father being a native of Troy, New York, and the mother of county Cork, Ireland. The grandfather was Edward Daniel Shinnick, a native of Ireland, who as an emigrant settled at Troy, New York, where he lived the balance of his life. His son, Will- iam Shinnick, came to Shelbyville in 1849, and was a carriage-maker, which business he followed until within a few years of his death, which occurred in May, 1892, his wife's death having occurred in February, 1888.

At Dodd's High School, Shelbyville, Ed- ward D. Shinnick of this sketch finished his

education, and then followed the carriage- making business until 1886, when he entered the newspaper business as local editor and business manager of the Shelbyville Sentinel, afterwards purchasing a half interest in that paper, his partner being T. F. Pointer until March, 1898, when the Sentinel was sold to C. M. Lewis. From that time on for two years, Mr. Shinnick was bookkeeper for the Shelbyville Water and Light Company and also as a side business engaged in a farming venture. From the fall of 1900, he was a commercial traveler from Louisville until February, 1902, when he returned to Shelby- ville and bought the Shelbyville Record, which he has been conducting ever since with signal success, having kept abreast of the times and adding materially in other interests. For a number of years he was secretary of the Shelby County Democratic committee. In 1896 he became a Gold Standard Democrat and was relieved from his position as secre- tary of the committee. He was president for nearly two years of the Eighth District Pub- lishers' League and is now chairman of the executive committee of the Kentucky State Press Association.

Mr. Shinnick married Miss Mollie Sulli- van, of Shelbyville, and they have four sons: William C., Frank B., Edward D. Jr., and Charles L. Mr. Shinnick belongs to the Knights of Columbus and in religion is a member of the Roman Catholic church.

MORDECAI WILLIAMS .- Popular and well known in political affairs as well as in the business world, Mordecai Williams, who is now living in virtual retirement at Normal, Kentucky, is a man of unusual vigor and keen business acumen. He is widely known and respected both on account of his ability and genial kindliness of spirit and as a citizen his loyalty and public spirit have ever been of the most insistent order.

Mordecai Williams was born in Greenup county, now Boyd county, Kentucky, on the 20th of December, 1835, a son of Marcus Lindsey and Elizabeth (Kring) Williams, both of whom were born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania. The Williams fam- ily is of Scotch-Irish descent and prior to the war of the Revolution three brothers. of the name came to America, locating respectively in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. He whose name introduces this paragraph is a representative of the Pennsylvania branch. Marcus Williams, father of Mordecai, was born in 1813, in the old Keystone state of the Union, whence he accompanied his parents as an infant to Lawrence county, Ohio. He was a son of Mordecai and Elizabeth (David-

Mordecai Williams

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son) Williams, who removed from Ohio to Kentucky about the year 1815. Location was made on Williams creek, which took their name as they were the first settlers in what is now Boyd county. The father engaged in farming and built the first log cabin in that section, his nearest neighbor being at Catletts- burg, some fourteen miles distant. He re- claimed a fine farm from the wilderness. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1833. his wife having survived until 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Mordecai Williams became the par- ents of seven children, of whom Marcus was the fourth in order of birth. He was reared to the invigorating discipline of the home farm, with whose work he continued to be identified until the time of his marriage, at which time he located near Clinton Furnace, where the family home was maintained for the ensuing ten years, at the expiration of which he purchased six hundred acres of land adjoining Catlettsburg. There he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1887. He was prominent and influential in local affairs and in his political convictions he was a staunch adherent of the principles of the Democratic party. In the early '50s he was honored by his fellow citizens with mem- bership in the state legislature. During the Civil war he was an ardent sympathizer with the cause of Secession and owing to their out- spoken manner he and his son, James L., were taken to Camp Chase by the Federal soldiers and there held in duress for several months.

Mrs. Marcus Williams survived her hon- ored husband for many years and was sum- moned to eternal rest in 1898. She accom- panied her parents from Pennsylvania to Kentucky when a mere child. The Kring family same down the Ohio river from their native state by keel boat and stopped at Mays- ville, Kentucky. Henry Kring, the father, was a practical furnace man and had come to Kentucky to take charge of Beaver Furnace, in Bath county, one of the earliest furnaces in the state. The family continued to reside in Bath county for a number of years and sub- sequently Mr. Kring had charge of other fur- naces in other sections of Kentucky. He died in Bath county, his wife having preceded him to the life eternal, dying at Oakland furnace. Mr. and Mrs. Williams were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church and they were prominent and well beloved citizens dur- ing their lifetime. They became the parents of two children-Mordecai and James L., the latter of whom died in 1868.

Mordecai Williams was reared in Boyd county, Kentucky, to whose public schools he is indebted for his early educational training,

later supplementing this discipline by a course of one year in Center College, at Danville, Kentucky. He remained under the parental roof until he had reached the age of twenty- three years, when he engaged in the clay busi- ness, shipping his product by river to parties in Cincinnati, Ohio. He carried on an exten- sive business in this line for several years and in 1861 he turned his attention to the lumber industry, shipping logs by river to cities on the lower Ohio river. In the latter business he was associated with David D. Geiger for a period of thirteen years and he also operated a saw mill for a few years. He is still inter- ested in the lumber industry, owning a log boom on the Mud river in West Virginia, about seven miles from the Ohio river. In all his ventures Mr. Williams has met with most gratifying success and he is now living practically retired at his beautiful home in Normal, Kentucky.

In politics Mr Williams endorses the cause of the Democratic party and his citizenship has ever been characterized by those qualities which foster progress and development and which tend to promote the general welfare. In 1871 he was elected to represent the district comprising Boyd, Carter and a portion of El- liot counties in the Kentucky state legislature, in which he served with efficiency one term of three sessions. While in the legislature he was a member of several important com- mittees connected with the revision of statutes and he introduced a number of bills, some of which became laws. In 1898 he was a candi- date for congress from the Ninth district and in the ensuing election, while he received the largest number of votes ever awarded a Dem- ocrat for that position in Boyd county, he was defeated in the district by ten votes. Later errors were discovered in connection with the count which would have given him his seat by a good majority. However, no contest was made.

Mr. Williams is one of the most promi- nent Masons in this section of the state, hav- ing passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry. He was first affiliated with the or- der at Catlettsburg in 1862, and holds mem- bership in the lodge, chapter and commandery. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church. South, and in the same have won distinction for ex- tensive charity and many good works. A few years ago Mr. Williams had a narrow es- cape from losing his life. Two burglars en- tered his home at an early hour in the morning and their prowlings awakened him. Getting out of bed he took his Masonic sword and in the exciting encounter which followed he was

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shot twice, one of the bullets entering the stom- ach and proving quite serious. The burglars escaped but later were captured and are now serving out terms in the state penitentiary.

Mr. Williams has been twice married. In 1859 was celebrated his marriage to Miss Nancy J. Cox, a native of Bath county, Ken- tucky. She was a daughter of Joshua and Rosanna Cox and her death occurred in 1871. Of the two children born to this union one died in infancy and the other, Anna Dicken- son, passed away at the age of thirty years. In 1875 Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Mrs. Neppie (Savage) Roberts, widow of Luman Roberts, who was a native of Vermont and former professor in the Millersburg schools. No children have been born to this latter marriage but Mr. and Mrs. Williams have reared and are educating one of Mr. Williams' granddaughters, Annie Williams Haney, who was left an orphan at the age of seven years.

Mrs. Williams is a daughter of John P. Savage, a son of James Savage, of Revolu- tionary fame, he having served throughout the entire struggle for independence. After the close of the war, in 1791, James Savage removed from Virginia to Kentucky, with his wife and children. Settlement was made at Poplar Flat, Lewis county, Kentucky, some fourteen miles above Maysville. There Mr. Savage improved a fine farm from the virgin wilderness and in those early pioneer days it was necessary to barricade the doors against the attacks of Indians. The old homestead is now owned by the fifth generation of his descendants and the old log cabin built by him in the early days is still a part of the fam- ily residence. A fact worthy of record here is that during the many years which have elapsed since the time of the immigration of James Savage to Kentucky not a single death occurred in the house from disease until a few years ago. James Savage continued to reside on his homestead during the remainder of his life, and prior to his death, through thrift and industry, he had accumulated a large property, owning at one time a great number of slaves His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Phil- lips, was a native Virginian and was descend- ed from King Philip, of England. To Mr. and Mrs. James Savage were born eight chil- dren-six sons and two daughters.

John P. Savage, father of Mrs. Williams, passed his life on the old homestead and he there reared and educated a family of fifteen children. He was one of the leading planters in that section and he married Margaret Friz- ell. whose birth occurred in Lewis county. Kentucky, she being a direct descendant of

Lord Baltimore. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1891, at the home of her daugh- ter, Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams was reared in Lewis county, where she attended the country schools in her girlhood. Subse- quently she was a student in the seminary at Maysville and also at the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating in the latter institution in three different courses. After leaving school she taught at Millers- burg for several years and later was a teacher in mathematics and Latin at the National Nor- mal School for five years. In 1867 she es- tablished the Eastern Kentucky Normal School, at Catlettsburg, this being the first school of reputation in the eastern section of the state. After conducting the same for some six years she left the institution in the charge of others to go abroad to study German and French. Her stay in Europe, however, was suddenly curtailed by the financial trou- bles of the day and she returned to Catletts- burg in 1874, at which time she closed the Normal school and turned her attention to pedagogic work again. In 1878 she reorgan- ized the Eastern Kentucky Normal School at her home at Normal and she continued head of the same for the ensuing eleven years. Mrs. Williams is one of the best known edu- cators in eastern Kentucky and is a woman of brilliant mind and most gracious personality. She is a representative of a fine old military family, members of the same having served in the Revolution, the Civil war and the Span- ish-American war. Three of her brothers were dashing and gallant soldiers in the Con- federate army in the sanguinary struggle be- tween the states. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are universally esteemed and are deeply beloved by all with whom they have come in contact. Their contribution to progress and education in the Blue Grass state has been of most im- portant order and their entire lives have been characterized by good deeds and kindly con- sideration for others.

EDWARD HERMANN, M. D .- Although be- longing to the younger generation of medical practitioners, Edward Hermann, M. D., has already taken an assured position among those who so ably represent the profession in the city of Newport. He was born here June 10, 1879, his parents being Joseph and Caro- line (Blesch) Hermann. The mother was a native of Kentucky, though of German ex- traction, but Joseph Hermann was born in the Fatherland and came to the United States in 1858. The story of how he finally came to take up his residence in Newport is an inter- esting one, although it was by no means an agreeable one for the gentleman most con-

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cerned. Upon casting his fortunes with the United States Joseph Hermann located in New York city, where he secured employ- ment. At the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted, September 24, 1861, in Company K of the New York Volunteer Infantry, and after having served two years was discharged in May, 1863. On August 24 of that same year he made his second enlistment, in Com- pany L of the Fifteenth Regular New York Volunteer Heavy Artillery. He was in a great many engagements and saw a great amount of hard fighting, his service to his adopted country being at the expense of great physical well-being, for he was wounded early in 1865, lost the sight of one eye while in service, and became a sufferer from rheuma- tism. He was mustered out August 30, 1865, at Dukamp Hospital on Davis Island, where he had been sent to recover from his disabili- ties. After he had returned to the great me- tropolis in which he had begun his American career he looked about him for a business opening and went into partnership with a Hebrew in the manufacture and sale of leather pocketbooks. The business proved exceed- ingly prosperous, and for several years Mr. Hermann was upon the road as salesman and he amassed a property worth several thousand dollars. Upon his return from an extended trip over the country what was his chagrin to find that his partner had converted everything into cash during his absence and had de- camped. He immediately started out in pur- suit, what clues he had taking him westward, and finally he landed in Newport in a state of great financial stringency, and although he perhaps did not suspect it at the time, the town was to prove his future home. He se- cured work and after he had got well upon his feet again, figuratively speaking, he engaged in the hotel business in Newport, playing the pleasant role of landlord for a number of years and with entire success and popularity. He died very suddenly February 27, 1910, from a stroke of apoplexy suffered while at the supper table. He is regretted by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and nowhere more than in William Tell lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he was treasurer for about twenty years.

Mrs. Joseph Hermann survives her hus- band, being now about sixty years of age. Although she was born in Newport, her par- ents were natives of Germany, her father, Sebastian Blesch, having come to America when a young man, and upon settling in New- port, married here and here engaged in mer- chant tailoring. He carried this on success-

fully and was known as one of the well-known business men in the early days. Joseph Her- mann and his wife, Caroline Blesch Hermann, were the parents of nine children, of whom four sons and three daughters are living at the present time, Dr. Hermann, whose name initiates this review, being fourth in order of birth.

Dr. Edward Hermann was reared in New- port and is indebted to the excellent public schools of the city for his early educational advantages. Graduated from the high school at the age of seventeen, it was not long before he came to a decision as to his future career and accordingly at the age of twenty began the study of medicine. In 1903, when he was twenty-four years of age, he received his de- gree from Miami Medical College at Cincin- nati, and has ever since carried on his practice in his native place, where he has received gratifying recognition of his talents in minis- tering to the ills of suffering humanity. He is one of the staff of Speer's Hospital of Day- ton, Kentucky, and is a member of the Amer- ican Medical Association and the Kentucky State and Kenton-Campbell County Medical Societies.

Mr. Hermann is Republican in politics, par- ticularly in national and state affairs, but in those of local import he has independent ten- dencies, voting for whom he believes to be the best man rather than the party he favors. In the year 1905-6 he served as district physician, bringing no small amount of ability to the dis- charge of the duties of this office. He is a member of the great Masonic fraternity and also holds membership in the Modern Wood- men of America.

Dr. Hermann laid the foundation of a happy home life by his marriage on June 29, 1906, to Miss Otillia Shaefer. She is a native of Portsmouth, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph Shaefer, who died when she was an infant.

FERDINAND GEORGE OTT .- One of Dayton's substantial citizens and prosperous business men is Ferdinand George Ott, who is engaged in the drug business. He was born on a farm near Lanesville, Indiana, July 12, 1857, but is of foreign extraction. His parents were Bern- hard and Pauline (Neuman) Ott, the former a native of Wurtemberg and the latter of Prussia, Germany, who came to the United states when young and located in Newport, Kentucky. It was in that city that they were married, and not long after their union they located upon a farm near Lanesville, Indiana, and for a number of years engaged in its cul- tivation. In 1862 they returned to Newport, where they passed the remainder of their lives,

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the demise of the father occurring when he was seventy-three years of age and that of the mother when she was sixty-four. This es- timable couple were the parents of ten chil- dren, five of whom grew to maturity. At the time of the Civil war the father was a mem- ber of the old home guards.

Ferdinand George Ott, who was the eldest of his father's large family, was five years of age when his parents located in Dayton. He attended the public schools for a time and ow- ing to straitened circumstances very early in life found it necessary to face the problem of earning a living. His first position was as a bell boy in the old Gibson Hotel in Cincinnati. His future work was no doubt determined by the fact that when he was fourteen years old he found a position of humble character with a drug store in Cincinnati and followed this with several similar positions. He found the work so congenial and proved so apt in pick- ing up the details that the question of a voca- tion in life was settled without much difficulty. He entered the Cincinnati College of Phar- macy and was graduated from this institution in 1882. He was thrifty and an excellent man- ager and after clerking for about one year he found himself in a position to go into busi- ness for himself, and so bought a drug store in Dayton. Three years later he sold out and for the thirteen years following worked in stores in Covington, Cincinnati and Newport. In 1905 he bought his present drug business in Dayton and has ever since carried it on with the utmost success.

Mr. Ott is a socialist in politics, has always taken an active interest in the cause and be- lieves in its triumphant future. He was one of the original members in an organization known as the Dayton's Men's Club, a civic organization which has done a great deal for the improvement and advancement of the city and which has an active membership of about one hundred at the present time. He is an enthusiastic Mason, a member of the blue lodge and senior deacon of the Henry Barnes Lodge, No. 607.

The marriage of Mr. Ott to Miss Florence L. Davidson, a native of Springfield, Ohio, was celebrated February 10, 1891. She was reared and educated in Springfield, where her father, Otho Davidson, engaged in the coop- er's trade and lived until his demise. Iler mother, Laura Savilda ( Black) Davidson, was a lineal descendant of John Quincy Adams. Her death occurred in Cincinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Ott have one child, a daughter, named Laura Elizabeth, twelve years of age.

CHARLES WHEELER BELL .- Most men es- teem themselves fortunate to succeed in any one line, but to few is it given to become

prominent in many fields of endeavor. The versatility of Charles Wheeler Bell is indeed remarkable, for he has won the most flatter- ing recognition as a factor in the world of af- fairs, and likewise as a lecturer and educator, while as insurance commissioner of Kentucky he has gained the esteem of all who best realize the efficiency he has brought to the dis- posal of the duties of his office.

Charles Wheeler Bell is a native son, hav- ing been born at Springfield, Washington county, Kentucky, April 23, 1866. He is the son of William H. and Ann M. (Scott) Bell. The father also had his birthplace in the state, his nativity having occurred in Mercer county, Kentucky, and his death at Lawrenceburg, the date of the latter event being 1892, his age at the time being sixty-five years. Mr. Bell's grandfather was Burrus Bell, also of Mercer county, and the Bells, like so many of the old Kentucky families, had been previously founded in the Old Dominion. Tracing the line to remoter generations it is discovered that it is of English origin. The mother of Mr. Bell was born in Washington county, Kentucky, and her father was William Scott, a pioneer of Washington county and a man of prominence.

William H. Bell was a farmer, but his agri- cultural operations were interrupted by the breaking out of the Civil war. He saw ex- tended service in the conflict, for as captain of Company H, Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, he served from a date very little subsequent to the firing of Fort Sumter to the treaty at Ap- pomattox. For a number of years after the close of the war he was in the government service as gauger and store-keeper. In later years he followed the vocation of a grocer at Lawrenceburg. He was interested in party affairs and gave hearty support to the cause of Republicanism.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 13

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860