A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 48

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 48

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early settlers in Kentucky, the original pro- genitor of the name in this state having been a native of Pennsylvania. To George F. Wil- son and wife were born nine children, of whom but two are living in 1911. One son, John Samuel, was a member of the Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Cavalry in the Civil war and he was one of the four or five who made their escape from capture in Geor- gia, all the rest of the company being taken prisoners.

Robert Dye Wilson was the sixth in order of birth in the above-mentioned family of nine children and he was reared on the home far111, his preliminary educational training consisting of such advantages as were afforded in the public schools of this county. Subsequently he attended Professor Smith's Academy, at Maysville, and he also pursued a course of study at Center College, at Danville, Ken- tucky. Prior to graduating from his collegi- ate course he was obliged to give up study on account of trouble with his eyes. In 1882, however, he was elected clerk of Lewis county on the Democratic ticket, he being the first Democratic county clerk to be elected after the war. In 1893 he was appointed master commissioner of the circuit court of Lewis county, remaining incumbent of that positon for the ensuing fifteen years. In 1897 he was candidate on the Democratic ticket to represent his district in the state legislature but met defeat by a small vote in a largely Republican county. While county clerk he began the study of law and he was admitted to the bar of the state in 1889, after which he immediately entered upon the active prac- tice of his profession at Vanceburg. For three years he was a law partner of W. C. Halbert, present circuit judge. He has been identified with the work of his chosen voca- tion for more than a score of years and dur- ing that time has won for himself an enviable place as an eminently skilled lawyer and as a business man whose methods have ever been of the most honorable and straightforward or- der. In addition to his legal work he is deeply interested in various industrial concerns in the vicinity of Vanceburg. He was largely re- sponsible for the establishment of the button factory at Vanceburg, the same employing a force of fully sixty men at the present time, and he also helped to organize and is one- third owner of the spoke factory, which is do- ing a most prosperous business at Pikeville, Kentucky, employing fifty men.

As already intimated Mr. Wilson is a staunch Democrat in his political convictions and he has ever manifested a deep and sin- cere interest in all matters projected for the

good of the general public. He is an active politician and has done much to advance the interests of his party in this section of the state. Fraternally he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding mem- bership in Only Hope Lodge, No. 363, Free & Accepted Masons; Burns Chapter, No. 74, Royal Arch Masons; and Maysville Comman- dery, No. 10, Knights Templar. In his relig- ious faith he is a devout member of the Chris- tian church, while his wife is a zealous Pres- byterian.

On the 23d of May, 1892, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wilson to Miss Margaret M. Ingrim, who was born and reared at Vance- burg and who is a daughter of the late John C. Ingrim, long a prominent business man in this city. No children have been born to this union.

JAMES MOSS SOUTHGATE .- A prominent and one of the leaders in his line of business is James Moss Southgate, a real estate dealer of Highlands, born in Newport, Kentucky, January II, 1848. He is the son of Edward L. and Ann (Dozier) Southgate, more ex- tended mention of whom will be found in the biographical sketch of W. W. Southgate, to be found on another page of this volume. He was educated in Newport in private and pub- lic schools and he early learned to depend upon his own resources, for his father died when he was but four years of age. He first took up agriculture and engaged in this for a number of years, but eventually removed to Newport and there devoted his activities to the lumber business, enjoying an extended success in the latter. In later years he has entered the real estate field and is one of the ablest and best-known representatives. Mr. Southgate was one of the original stockhold- ers of the German National Bank of New- port. He afterward became a director and after the death of Samuel Shaw for some years served as vice-president of the institu- tion.

Mr. Southgate keeps abreast of the times and is an ever interested student of public af- fairs, giving his support to such measures as he believes will prove conducive to the general good. He was originally Democratic in poli- tics but of late years has manifested independ- ent tendencies. He was a member of the Newport board of aldermen and for several years has been trustee of the Highland dis- trict. He is a Mason, holding membership in the Blue Lodge. Both he and his estimable wife are members of the Methodist church, South.

Mr. Southgate was married September 13. 1866, to Miss Mary Emma Hills, a native of

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Highlands. Her father, Benjamin Hills, was born in Canada, but removed to the Blue Grass state and for many years farmed in Campbell county. Five of the children born to this union are living: Frank Hills is a physician of Highlands; Jesse lives in Cincin- nati, where he also engages in the practice of the medical profession; James Taylor is a wholesale tobacco dealer in Birmingham, Ala- bama; Mildred is the wife of Dr. Greer Ba- ker, of Cincinnati; and Martha is the wife of William Heney, of Danville, Virginia.

MORTIMER DELVILL MARTIN .- For upwards of four score years a resident of Harrison county, Mortimer Delvill Martin, living retired in Cynthiana, is an honored representative of the earlier pioneers of Kentucky, and a true type of the sturdy, energetic and self-reliant men who have actively assisted in the develop- ment of this fertile and luxuriant agricultural region. Since the days of his boyhood he has witnessed wonderful transformations in the county, the pathless forests giving way before the pioneer's axe, the log cabins of the fore- fathers being replaced by substantial frame houses, while the hamlets of early times have grown into thriving and populous villages, towns and cities. Although he was not yet born when the original settlements were made in this vicinity, his parents, William and Cath- erine Martin, contributed their full share of the pioneer labor. Mr. Martin was born De- cember 5, 1822, at Robinson Station, Harrison county, a grandson of Joseph Martin, the pioneer, who came with his family from Mary- land to Harrison county, Kentucky, and lo- cated not far from Cynthiana, where he hewed a farm from the wilderness.

William Martin was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1790, and came with the family to Harrison county and here learned the car- penter's trade, which he followed until after his marriage. He served in the war of 1812. going to the front in several engagements. Be ginning his career as a farmer on a part of the parental homestead near Robinson Station, he conducted his operations with such skill and ability that he was able to buy more land, in due course of time. acquiring title to two hundred and fifty acres. On the farm which he cleared and improved he spent his remain- ing days, passing away in 1833, while yet in manhood's prime, his body being buried on his farm. The maiden name of the wife of William Martin was Catherine Clapton Per- rin. She was born at Crab Orchard, Lincoln county, Kentucky, in 1804, and died in 1865. She was of pioneer stock, being a daughter of General Josephus Perrin, Jr., and granddaugh-

ter of Josephus Perrin, Sr. Josephus Perrin, Sr., migrated with his family from Charlotte county, Virginia, to Kentucky, settling near Crab Orchard, Lincoln county, in 1774, long before the organization of the state and dur- ing the most perilous times of the "Dark and Bloody Ground," when every male settler was compelled to be both soldier and farmer.

Josephus Perrin, Jr., came with his parents to Kentucky, and though young soon became conspicuous in the new settlement for his ac- tivity and bravery in helping to expel the dusky savages who made frequent incursions into the country then being opened up by the courageous pioneers. After the defeat of General Harmar, at Chillicothe, he helped to raise a company of volunteers, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant, and with his command marched to the aid of General St. Clair and was actively engaged in the battle that terminated in the inglorious defeat of that General. Returning to Kentucky, General Perrin subsequently took up land in Harrison county, on the south fork of the Licking river, about eight miles below the town of Cynthiana. On the farm which he redeemed from the wilderness he lived until his death, at the age of seventy-three years. As was natural to one of his mental calibre and characteristics, General Perrin was active in political affairs, and for more than twenty years served in the State Legislature, having been repeatedly elected to both the Lower House and to the Senate. In both branches he was active and influential, serving his constituents with abil- ity and fidelity.

General Perrin married Elizabeth Perrin, a daughter of George Perrin, who moved with his family from Charlotte county, Virginia, to South Carolina, locating near the Edgefield district. Both George Perrin and Josephus Perrin, Sr., the maternal and paternal grand- fathers of Mr. Martin's mother, and two of their brothers served throughout the Revolu- tionary war, taking an active part in many of the more important battles of that great strug- gle for independence. General and Elizabeth (Perrin) Perrin became the parents of twelve children, of whom one daughter, Catherine Clopton, became the wife of William Martin.

Obtaining his early education in the com- mon schools, Mortimer Delvill Martin ac- quired while young an intimate knowledge of agriculture in all of its branches. After his marriage he located on land originally settled upon by his Grandfather Martin, near Cyn- thiana, and engaged in farming. He subse- quently bought out the interest of the re- maining heirs, and in course of time became

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owner of a finely improved farm of three hundred and seventy-eight acres, one of the best in its appointments and improvements of any in the neighborhood. Several years ago Mr. Martin disposed of that estate and he has since lived retired from active business cares in Cynthiana, enjoying the fruits of his for- mer years of toil. Prominent for many years in political affairs, Mr. Martin served for four years as magistrate, and in 1867 and 1868 represented his district in the State Legisla- ture. In 1863 he united with the Christian church, of which he and his wife are valued and trustworthy members. He helped organ- ize the Farmers' National Bank, of which he has since been a director and of which he was president two years and vice-president for a short time.

Mr. Martin married, November 16, 1843, Zerilda Ann Sellers, who was born December 25, 1825, near Robinson Station, Harrison county, a daughter of David and Susan (Eck- lar) Sellers, pioneer settlers of that locality. Ten children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Martin, four of whom are now living, namely: Edwin Wilder Martin, M. D., a practicing physician in Fremont, Nebraska; George Perrin, living at home; Emma, wife of Rev. E. W. Elliott, of Tampa, Florida; and Arabelle, wife of James G. Van Deren, of Harrison county.

THOMAS A. KEITH holds prestige not only as a scion of one of the old and honored fam- ilies of Mason county, with whose history the name has been closely and prominently identi- fied for more than a century, but also as one of the representative business. men and land- holders of this favored section of the state, where his capitalistic interests are wide and varied. He is well upholding the honors of the name which he bears and is one of the sterling and influential citizens of his native county, where he holds a secure place in popu- lar confidence and esteem.

On the old family homestead in Mason county Thomas A. Keith was born, and the date of his nativity was March 16, 1860. He is a son of John A. and Lucy M. (Cox) Keith, the former of whom was born on the home farm. in this county, August 20, 1810, and the latter of whom was born in Maysville. this county, on the 27th of March, 1831. The father was summoned to the life eternal on the 11th of February, 1881, and his widow still maintains her residence in Maysville. Of this union were born five children concerning whom the following brief data are offered : Alice F .. the first-born, became the wife of Dr. H. K. Adamson, of Maysville, and is now deceased : Thomas A., of this sketch is second

in order of birth ; George C. is a representative farmer and stock-grower of Mason county ; Judith, who was the wife of Edward P. Browning, of Maysville, is deceased; and John A. died when two years of age.

Thomas A. Keith, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review and who bears the full patronymic, was born in Fau- quier county, Virginia, on the 14th of March, 1770, and in the same county, an the 14th of March, 1779, was born his wife, whose maid- en name was Judith Key. Grandfather Thomas A. Keith was a son of John and Mary (Doniphan) Keith and the former was a son of James and Mary Isham (Randolph) Keith. James Keith, who was a stanch Episcopalian in his religious faith, was commonly known as Parson Keith, as he was especially active in church work. He was a native of Scot- land and a scion of one of the sterling old families of the land of hills and heather. A' member of the House of Keiths, earl mari- chals of Scotland, he was a lineal descendant of Sir Robert Keith, who commanded the Scottish cavalry at the battle of Bannockburn. At the breaking out of the Rebellion of 1715, with his relatives, George and James Keith; under the banner of the Pretender, he wielded a claymore at the battle of Sheriff-Muir, where he was wounded and subsequently made his escape to the continent. He returned to Scotland in 1719 when there was an abor- tive attempt to renew the rebellion. After that he came to Virginia and from 1730 to 1733 he was rector of Henrico Parish. He mar- ried Mary Isham Randolph, a daughter of Thomas Randolph, and their daughter, Mary Randolph Keith, married Thomas Marshall, whose name is distinguished in the history of the Old Dominion commonwealth. He was afterwards rector of Hamilton Parish and died December 10, 1752.

The grandfather, Thomas A. Keith, came. to Kentucky in the latter part of the eight- eenth century and secured a tract of wild land in Mason county, where he reclaimed a farm and where both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, secure in the high regard of all who knew them. They lived up to the full tension of the pioneer epoch and ! contributed their quota to the material and social development of this now favored and opulent section of the Blue Grass state.

John A. Keith, son of Thomas A. and Ju- dith (Key) Keith, was reared to maturity on the old homestead plantation in Mason county and he early assumed his quota of the labors and responsibilities involved in its improve- ments and various operations, and the while he made good use of the somewhat meager

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advantages afforded in the common schools of his locality and period. He assisted in the work of the farm during the summer seasons and attended school during the winter terms, when there was but little demand for his ser- vices on the home place. After attaining ma- turity he continued to give his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture and he eventually became the owner of the major part of the old homestead. He was a man of strong intellectual force and well fortified opinions so that he was well qualified for leadership in thought and action in his com- munity, where his steadfast character gained and retained to him unqualified confidence and good will. In the early '5os he was- elected to represent his native county in the state legislature, in which he served and with marked ability, for several terms,-a fact that indicates the appreciative estimate placed upon him and his work by the people of Ma- son county. He was a man of mature judg- ment and great business sagacity, and thus he gained a generous measure of success in con- nection with the productive activities of life. He was reared in the faith of the Democratic party and never wavered in his allegiance to its cause. For several years prior to his de- mise he lived virtually retired in the city of Maysville. He was an avidious and appre- ciative reader of good literature during his entire adult life and always kept in close touch with current events, particularly such as had reference to the state and nation.

Under the beneficent and invigorating in- fluences of the homestead farm Thomas A. Keith, subject of this sketch, was reared to maturity, and after completing the curriculum of the public schools he continued his studies for three years in the Kentucky Military In- stitute, at Frankfort, Kentucky. In 1884, when twenty-four years of age, he engaged in the pottery business at Maysville, but the suc- cess of this venture was of distinctively neg- ative order. After severing his connection therewith he turned his attention to the retail coal business, with which he was actively iden- tified for the following eight years, in Mays- ville. Upon retiring from this association he was engaged in the harness business for four years, and he then purchased an interest in the Ohio Valley Pulley Works, bringing about a thorough reorganization and the incorpora- tion of a company, of which he became presi- dent. Upon disposing of his interest in this industrial enterprise, which is still continued in Maysville, Mr. Keith turned his attention almost exclusively to the supervision of his fine landed estate, though he still continues to maintain his residence in Maysville. He is

the owner of five hundred acres of as fine land as can be found in this section of the state, and of this three hundred acres are a part of the ancestral homestead secured hy his grandfather many years ago. As a farmer and stock-grower Mr. Keith has shown great energy and enterprise, and his progressive pol- icies have enabled him to realize large and definite success in his operations. He is a member of the directorate of the First Na- tional Bank of Maysville and also that of the Limestone Building & Loan Association, and he is president of the Limestone Tobacco Warehouse Company, another of the im- portant concerns of Maysville. His po- litical views are indicated by the stal- wart support given by him to the prin- ciples and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and while he has had no ambition for public office, he was for sev- eral years a valued member of the city council of Maysville. He takes a lively interest in all that tends to conserve the progress and prosperity of his home city and county, and is liberal in the support of the enterprises and measures projected with this end in view. Mr. Keith is a most appreciative member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, as is evident when it is stated that in 1906 he served as Grand Commander of the Kentucky Grand Commandery of Knights Templars. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife hold mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Their beautiful home is celebrated for its gracious hospitality and is a favorite rendezvous for their wide circle of friends.

On the 17th of November, 1886, Mr. Keith was united in marriage to Miss Anna Dudley Richardson, who was born in Maysville, on the 20th of December, 1865, and who is the only child of Dudley A. and Angeline N. (Walker) Richardson, the former of whom was born in Virginia on the 7th of May, 1806. and the latter of whom was born in Kentucky, on the 24th of May, 1823. Both passed the closing years of their lives in Maysville, where the father died October 13, 1890, and the mother on the 13th of August, 1907; she was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Mr. and Mrs. Keith have two sons, both of whom still remain at the parental home- John Dudley and Thomas A., Jr.

EDWARD ADISON WEBER .- One of the very eminent citizens of Ft. Thomas is Edward Adison Weber, of the firm of C. C. and E. A. Weber, architects, whose business field ex- tends over Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky and constitutes in itself one of the most extensive

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operating firms of its kind in the latter state. His abilities are of a versatile order and when elected to the legislature by the Republican party in 1909 he made an enviable record as a legislator, being identified with many impor- tant and beneficent causes destined particu- larly to assist in the development of that part of the state in which Covington and New -. port are situated. A part of his wide-spread prominence and popularity is due to his high Masonic rank, he being one of those who has attained to the Thirty-second degree.

Mr. Weber was born in Dayton, Ohio, Oc- tober 29. 1876, and thus is a comparatively young man for one of his achievements. His parents were Christian and Elizabeth (Mey- er) Weber, the former a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the latter of Campbell county, Ken- tucky. Christian Weber was reared in Day- ton, where he lived for a number of years, and later moved to Newport, Kentucky, of which place he was a resident for a short time previous to his death, which occurred Oc- tober 5, 1884. He died from wounds acci- dentally inflicted, being shot while assisting to maintain order at the polls at Newport at election.

Mr. Weber is Teutonic in origin, the Weber ancestry as well as the Meyer being German and the grandparents on both sides coming to the United States in 1841, when young married people. They settled in Bal- timore and later in Pittsburg and came down the Ohio river on flat boats to Cincinnati. Mr. Weber's mother survives and resides at Ft. Thomas. There are three children in the family, the subject of this biographical sketch being the eldest.

To the common schools of Newport is Mr. Weher indebted for his earlier education, he having been seven years old when his parents went there to live. He was graduated from the Cincinnati high school and for four years thereafter worked as a clerk in the "Queen City." When he was about twenty-one years of age he became a traveling salesman and sold stoves and ranges for five years. He afterward engaged in architectural work, which proved extremely congenial and in 1906 he became associated with his brother, Chris- tian C. Weber, in this business, Mr. Weher he- ing superintendent of architectural construc- tion and his brother having charge of the practical end. Within the last few years the business has grown extensively, and real es- tate transactions have been added. There is a large force, seven draughtsmen heing em- ployed and five superintendents of the differ- ent departments. Their offices are located in the Mercantile Library Building of Cincinnati.

As said before this firm operates in Ohio, In- diana and Kentucky. They have secured many important contracts, among them the Eastern Kentucky Normal School at Rich- mond.

Mr. Weber gives his heart and hand to the Republican party, and almost since the attain- ment of his majority has been active and in- terested in politics. In 1904 he was appont- ed United States deputy collector of internal revenue for eastern Kentucky, and served in this capacity for about two years. In the fall of 1909 he was elected to the Kentucky state legislature on the Republican ticket, by a majority of two thousand and thirty-five votes over the Democratic candidate, Rev. R. D. Harding, the wonder of it being that this was a distinctly Democratic district. In the session he took a prominent part and was a member of various important committees, among them the one on revenue and taxation, and classification of cities. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, this including the Shrine, and has membership in the Elks at Newport.

In 1903 Mr. Weber was united in marriage to Miss Hester M. Cargill, a native of New York city, where she was reared and educat- ed. Four children have been born to them: Glenn Elizabeth, Linton Adison, Hester Isa- bel and Edward A.

A. JOHN CRAIG .- Identified with a line of enterprise that has important bearing upon the material and civic advancement of every community Mr. Craig is recognized as one of the representative contractors and builders of the city of Covington and is a citizen who has a secure place in the popular confidence and esteem. His career has been marked by im- pregnable integrity and fair and honorable dealings and he has gained success through his well directed efforts.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 48

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