USA > Kentucky > Memorial record of western Kentucky, Volume II > Part 26
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George W. Wood was reared and educated in Christian county, and has made this the scene of his life with the exception of about seven years. He went to Texas in 1886 and was in the milling business for a time, and then bought a farm near Fort Scott, Kansas, where he carried on general farming for six years, after which he returned to Hopkinsville for a visit; while here his wife died, and he then sold his Kansas farm and remained in his native town and county. He bought a livery business in Hopkinsville, which he conducted for five years, and then sold it and bought a farm one mile and a half west of town, fifty acres of which he still owns, having disposed of fifty acres.
Mr. Wood was married in 1848 to Miss Mary Steele, who was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, and died in 1893, having been the mother of five children: Mary, deceased; George, a resident of Mis- souri ; James, deceased; Nannie, the wife of W. D. Ennis, of Hopkins- ville; Susan, wife of Michael Erskin, of Texas. Mr. Wood is a life- long Democrat, and is a member of the Methodist church of Hopkins- ville.
No other family in Christian county is better known than the Wood family, nor any more closely identified with the making and development of the county. Grandfather Wood gave four acres for the public square of Hopkinsville; three acres for a cemetery and Bap- tist church, which is one of the old landmarks, and one acre for school buildings. He also gave the half-acre about Rock Spring, and by these donations brought the town to the present site of Hopkinsville. The name of the city was changed from Elizabethtown to Hopkinsville in
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honor of a later settler by the name of Hopkins. Mr. Wood recalls the interesting scenes of an election in those days. At that time an election lasted for three days, and everybody from all the country round came to the town by every known conveyance and made the occasion a holiday and celebration that could never be forgotton by anyone who had ever witnessed it.
R. U. KEVIL.
R. U. Kevil, one of the native sons of Caldwell county, Kentucky, has been a prominent citizen, farmer and business man of the same for a number of years, and few enjoy a better reputation for ability and general popularity than he. He was born on a farm August 28, 1845, and represents one of the oldest families in the county. His great- grandfather, of Scotch descent, came from North Carolina to Kentucky as a pioneer, when all the country was wild and abounding with Indians and wild animals. His son Thomas was born in North Carolina and was but a child when he was brought to Caldwell county. He was a farmer by occupation, and died on the farm on which he had been reared.
James E. Kevil, the father of R. U. Kevil, was born in Caldwell county about 1822, and passed all his life there, living to the age of seventy-six years. Ile. married Nancy Bell, who was born in Ireland and came to America with her mother when sixteen years old. She is still living at the age of seventy-eight years, and has been the mother of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, all of whom reached their majority and seven are still living.
R. U. Kevil, the second child and son, was reared on the home farm,
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where he was taught the value of independent and honest toil, and received a common school education. He remained at home until his marriage on July 19, 1865, when Miss Laura Holloway became his wife. She was born in Lyon county, Kentucky, a daughter of Robert and Catherine ( Boyd) Holloway, and was reared in her native county. Mr. and Mrs. Kevil have six children: J. R .; Alva, wife of W. H. Patrick, of Evansville, Indiana; Laban; Catherine, wife of Charles S. Thomas, a prominent business man of Chicago; Birdie, wife of George Pettit, Jr., of Princeton; and J. U., of Franklin, Indiana.
After his marriage Mr. Kevil located on a farm in Caldwell county, and afterward bought the old homestead, where he was en- gaged in farming and stock-raising. At the same time he was in- terested in milling, having built a mill in Trigg county in 1871 and owning a share in it. He sold this in 1875, and bought an interest in' the Banner mill in Princeton. He disposed of this in 1883 and then purchased the Princeton Roller Mills, which he has been successfully conducting ever since. He tore down the old mill in 1885 and rebuilt an entirely new and modern plant, equipped with all up-to-date contri- vances and machinery, and to show how progressive he is he again remodeled and rebuilt in 1895, having now a mill of two hundred bar- rels' daily capacity and perfect in all its departments. It is the largest mill in the county, and has a large trade in all directions. Mr. Kevil has a farm in Ballard county, Kentucky, on which a town has been es- tablished and named Kevil in his honor. It is located on the Illinois Central Railroad, and is a growing place. He also owns a plantation of seven hundred acres on the Illinois Central in Tallahatchie county, Mississippi, and in Caldwell county has a fine farm of two hundred and sixty-eight acres, one of the finest in the county. All this indicates
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how successful he has been in his business operations, and it is the more creditable because he has won it all by his own efforts, studious atten- tion to business and good and diligent management.
Mr. Kevil has been a life-long Democrat, and was a private soldier under General Forrest during the war of the Rebellion. He is a promi- nent Royal Arch Mason, and in every relation that he has with society in general is influential and progressive and held in universal esteem. The Kevils have resided in this part of Kentucky for over a hundred years, and they are well known all over western Kentucky.
ABRAM KOLTINSKY.
Abram Koltinsky, a prominent wholesale and retail grocer of Princeton, Kentucky, was born at St. Louis, Missouri, September 18, 1856. His father, Solomon Koltinsky, was a native of Russian Poland, and settled in St. Louis. Abram moved with his parents to Kentucky when he was about nine years old, in 1865, and was reared in the towns of Cairo and Pooles Mill. He lived at home until November 1, 1878, on which date he came to Princeton and engaged in the grocery busi- ness in partnership with S. Koltinsky. Two years later he bought out his partner, and since that time has been running the business by him- self. He has increased his trade and enlarged his stock in proportion, and now conducts one of the largest wholesale and retail grocery es- tablishments in this part of the state. He bought his present large store in 1902, and has made many improvements, bringing everything up to date and always endeavoring to please the people and furnish a stock of the best and freshest goods.
Mr. Koltinsky married Miss Emma Kaufman, who was born and
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reared in Louisville, Kentucky, a daughter of S. Kaufman. They are the parents of four sons and one daughter, Samuel, Roy, Edwin, Claude and Rosa. Mr. Koltinsky is prominent in Masonry, and affiliates with Clinton Lodge No. 82, F. & A. M., and with the chapter in Princeton; and with the Knights of Honor, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a public-spirit- ed citizen, with mind and heart devoted to the good of his community, and in his family and among his business associates he is beloved and esteemed for his worth and excellent traits of character.
W. A. JAMES.
W. A. James, a retired merchant of Princeton, Kentucky, is one of the oldest citizens of the town, and has a life record of unusual interest and filled with honorable and effective endeavors. He was born in Morganfield, Union county, Kentucky, August 6, 1821. His father, Hon. Thomas James, was also a native of Kentucky and of English descent. He was a farmer and politician, and served in the legislature on the Democratic side for twenty-four years, and was also in the con- stitutional convention of 1849, so that he spent twenty-five winters away from home. He was one of the leading men of the state, and ex- erted a wide and beneficial influence in legislation and other affairs dur- ing his long life of seventy years. He died in Memphis, Tennessee, whither he had moved after retiring from politics. His wife was born near Frankfort, Kentucky, and lived to be fifty-five years old. They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom reached majority.
W. A. James, the second child and son, was taken in infancy to
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the Jackson Purchase in Hickman county, and was reared there and received some of his education in Missouri and Tennessee. He entered upon his business career at the age of seventeen by selling goods as a clerk, and afterwards engaged in general mercantile business on his own account in middle Tennessee. He has also carried on business in Missouri and Ohio, having been located in Cincinnati for about eight years. He was in business in Princeton, Kentucky, for some years, and in 1900 returned to this city permanently. He has had a business career of forty-nine years, and has well earned his retirement and rest.
Mr. James married a daughter of John C. Collier, and they have three children living: J. E., the wife of Judge Caton, of Dexter, Mis- souri; John T., in the railroad business in Chicago; and W. A., the wife of John G. Orr. Mr. James is a Democrat in politics, but has never taken an active part because of his devotion to business and do- mestic affairs. He has been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church for many years, and affiliates with the Masonic order. He is a representative and well known citizen of western Kentucky.
JOHN BOYD.
John Boyd, ex-county sheriff of Lyon county and mayor of Eddy- ville, was born in Caldwell county, Kentucky, May 10, 1832. His grandfather, of Irish descent, was a native of Virginia, and his father, John Boyd, was also a native of that state, and came in boyhood to Kentucky, being reared in Barren county. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and settled in Caldwell county, where he reared his family, and afterward moved to Lyon county, where he died at the age of seventy years. He was a member of. the Baptist church. He married Mildred
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Goodall, a native of Lyon county and a daughter of John Goodall, who was a Kentucky pioneer. She lived to the age of sixty-five years. They were the parents of twelve children, all but one of whom grew up, but only three are living: James, of Eddyville; Mary, the widow of Jacob Young, of Eddyville; and John.
John Boyd, the seventh child and fifth son of his parents, was reared in Caldwell county for the first fifteen years of his life, spending that time on a farm and in the country schools. He then went to Pitts- field, Pike county, Illinois, where he attended school and remained about five years. He then returned to Lyon county and clerked in a dry-goods store at Eddyville, until 1861. He was appointed deputy sheriff in that year, and after three years' faithful service in that ca- pacity was elected, in 1864, sheriff of Lyon county, receiving a re-elec- tion in 1866, so that he served the full period limited by law in that office, and gave the people one of the most satisfactory administrations ever known. In 1873 and in 1875 he was again elected to this respon- sible position, which shows how well the citizens appreciated his former services. While not in office he has been engaged in various lines of business, and has been a successful and enterprising man. In 1893 he was elected mayor of Eddyville for a term of four years, and was re- elected for a similar term. He did much for municipal improvement and progress during his tenure of the chief executive position, and his administration is remembered as connected with much benefit to the town.
Mr. Boyd was married in 1872 to Mrs. Elizabeth (Gracey) Henry, the widow of Uriah Henry. She was born in Eddyville, a daughter of Matthew and Maria Gracey, pioneers of Lyon county. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have two daughters, Maria and Bessie, both at home. Mr. Boyd
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owns a farm of two hundred acres, and he is still engaged in the man- agement of this property, although he has given up the more strenuous labor of his earlier years, being now enabled to enjoy a fitting repose from toil. He has been a life-long Democrat, and is well known and popular in the county where he has spent nearly all his life.
DR. D. J. TRAVIS.
Dr. D. J. Travis, a young physician of recognized skill and ability and enjoying a satisfactory and ever increasing patronage in Eddyville, Kentucky, was born in Lyon county, Kentucky, July 17, 1873. His father, D. J. Travis, was also born in Kentucky and is a farmer of Lyon county. Hle married Elizabeth Gray, who was born in Kentucky and died at the age of about fifty-two years. He married, after the death of his first wife, Ella Lovell. One child was born of the first marriage, and ten by the latter.
Dr. Travis, the eighth child of his parents, was born on a farm and received his first schooling in the country. He enjoyed a good public school training, and later entered the medical department of the University of Louisville, from which he was graduated in 1901. He at once located for practice in Eddyville, and has enjoyed a fair share of the professional demands and is gaining the confidence of a wide circle of households in the town and county. He is a member of the Lyon County Medical Society, of the Kentucky State Medical Association and the Southwestern Kentucky Medical Society. He also affiliates with the Masonic order and has filled all the chairs of the blue lodge, and is junior warden and medical examiner of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and medical examiner of the Tribe of Ben Hur. In politics
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he is a Democrat, and devotes an intelligent interest to practical affairs, although his time and endeavors are almost completely given up to his profession.
W. L. GORDON.
W. L. Gordon, a leading and prominent attorney of his native city of Madisonville, Kentucky, was born November 23, 1837. The Gordons were among the first settlers of the territory of Kentucky, contemporaries of Daniel Boone and others. William Gordon, the great-great-grandfather of W. L. Gordon, was a Scot and was beheaded after a battle in Scotland. John Gordon, the great-grandfather, was born in Scotland, was a captain of militia and was killed at the battle ever memorable in Kentucky history of Licking River, August 17, 1782. His son, John Gordon, was a native of Woodford county, Kentucky, was a surveyor and assisted in laying out and organizing Hopkins county. Ambrose G. Gordon, the father of W. L. Gordon, was born in Hopkins county, in 1803. He served as justice of the peace, and was a lawyer and prominent man. His eldest son succeeded him in practice, and was in turn succeeded by W. L. Gordon. Ambrose G. Gordon married Sarah Dobyns, who was a native of Webster county, Kentucky, but which was then Hopkins county. They were the parents of nine children, and all but one grew to manhood and womanhood, but only one lived to be over forty years of age.
W. L. Gordon, the fifth child and the only survivor, was reared and educated in Madisonville, attending the common schools. He began the study of law with his brother in 1858, and on April 13, 1859, was licensed to practice. In 1860 his brother died, and, as mentioned above, he succeeded to the business. He has been in constant practice
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for over forty years, and is one of the best known as well as one of the most learned lawyers in western Kentucky. The firm of which he is the senior member are attorneys for the Illinois Central Railroad, for the Roanoke Coal Mining Company, the Fidelity Insurance Com- pany and a number of other concerns, and they handle the largest amount of legal business of any firm in this part of the state. Mr. Gordon has been connected with some of the most important litigation before county, district and state courts, and his ability and record are conspicuous in a state noted for its bright galaxy of legal lights. During the Civil war he sided with the Union, although all his people were slaveholders and supporters of the "peculiar institution."
In February, 1860, Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Cordelia Arnold, who was born in Hopkins county and died in 1897. Her father was W. K. Arnold, and her people were early settlers of Hop- . kins county, coming here from Tennessee. Mr. Gordon's eldest son, William L., Jr., is a civil engineer, and is connected in a professional and business capacity with some of the leading mining companies of Hopkins county. Judge J. F. Gordon, the second son, is mentioned below. Morris C., the youngest son, is in partnership with his father. The daughter Ora is deceased. Effie is the wife of Abner Johnson; and the other daughter is the wife of Ed Thompson. Mr. Gordon was formerly a Republican in politics, but is now a self-styled Mug- wump, casting his vote for the best man. He is a member of no church, but gives his influence and means for their support. He is a public-spirited and upright citizen, his many years filled with honor and esteem, and is an ornament to the county and state which gave him birth.
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JUDGE J. F. GORDON.
Judge J. F. Gordon, president of the Kentucky Bank and Trust Company and otherwise prominent in business and political and social affairs in Madisonville, Hopkins county, Kentucky, was born in the city of his present residence, on December 7, 1866. He is the second- son of William L. Gordon, whose history, with that of the family ancestry and other interesting information, is given above.
Judge Gordon studied law under his father's direction, and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He entered into partnership with his father under the name of Gordon and Gordon, and this relationship was continued until March, 1901, at which time Judge Gordon with- drew and associated himself with W. J. Cox, under the firm name of Cox and Gordon. January 1, 1903, he was appointed by Governor Beckham as judge of the fourth judicial district of Kentucky, and is the nominee of the Democratic party for re-election. He is the youngest circuit judge in the state, and had just passed the required age limit at the time of his appointment. At the organization of the Kentucky Bank and Trust Company in March, 1901, he was made president, and still holds that responsible position. The capital stock of the in- stitution is fifty thousand dollars, and the other officers are W. J. Cox, vice president; P. B. Ross, cashier; C. W. Lindsay, assistant cashier; and the directors are W. J. Cox, Judge Gordon, O. L. Tinder, C. E. Martin, J. H. Laffoon and J. W. Glaton. Judge Gordon owns a farm of three hundred acres, part of which lies in the city limits of Madison- ville, and he gives part of his time and attention to its management and the raising of stock. He is a thoroughgoing business man, alert and quick to seize the opportunity as it is presented, and has gained
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success because he has deserved it. He is a man of great breadth of mind, and is a credit to the high judicial position which he holds.
In 1887 Judge Gordon was married to Miss Sally Pritchell, a native of Madisonville and a daughter of the late Dr. J. W. Pritchiell, who occupied a prominent place in the medical fraternity of Madisonville. Judge Gordon is a past exalted ruler of the Elks. He is one of the well known Democrats of western Kentucky, and was active in party affairs before he went on the bench.
DR. C. H. LINN.
Dr. C. H. Linn, one of the leading physicians of Kuttawa, Ken- tucky, where he has gained a large practice and made himself a well known figure in professional circles, was born in Coles county, Illinois, near the city of Mattoon, June 30, 1862. His father, Cyrus C. Linn, was a native of Coles county, Illinois, and a farmer by occupation. During the Civil war he entered the service of his country and lost his life when he was but twenty-eight years old. His wife was Susan E. Means, a native of Paris, Illinois, and she died at the age of forty-one years.
Dr. Linn was the younger of the two sons in the family, and was educated in the common schools of Illinois. He came to Kentucky in 1878, and in 1886 took up the study of medicine with Dr. E. Purdy, of Kuttawa. He had taken a literary course in Princeton in 1881. Hle studied in the medical department of the University of Tennessee, and later attended the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York city, from which he was graduated in 1891. He then located at Grand Rivers, Livingston county, Kentucky, and after two years located in
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Kuttawa, where he has been a successful practitioner. He was a phy- sician by state appointment at Eddyville for two years, from 1896 to 1898, and then resumed his practice in Kuttawa. He has been prominent in public affairs, and is one of the best known and most popular citizens of Lyon county.
JOHN B. BRASHER.
John B. Brasher, county clerk of Hopkins county and residing at Madisonville, was born in Christian county, Kentucky, December 29, 1853. His father, Dr. A. W. Brasher, was also a native of Christian county and was physician for the penitentiary at Eddyville. He mar- ried E. S. Causler, a native of Christian county and a daughter of Jack and Matilda Causler and a sister of Judge Polk Causler of that county. They were the parents of three children, and two are living : John B. Brasher and Mrs. Dick Bacon, the wife of the postmaster of Madisonville.
John B. Brasher, the eldest child, was reared in Christian county and was educated in the schools of the county, remaining at home until he was twenty-two years old. At the age of fifteen years he began learn- ing the drug business, and was engaged in that line of enterprise until he was elected county clerk of Hopkins county in 1897. He took up his residence in Hopkins county in 1875, and was in the drug business at Dawson Springs for a number of years. In his election to the office of county clerk Mr. Brasher has broken two precedents of Hopkins county. He is the first man elected to that office whose previous resi- dence had been outside the city of Madisonville, and never before did the Democratic party renominate a man for that office without opposi-
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tion. Ile is now serving with ability and credit his second term in the office, and enjoys the esteem and good will of all citizens of the county.
J. C. MOORE.
J. C. Moore, who died on his farm four miles from Hopkinsville, January 28, 1903, was for many years one of the most esteemed citizens and successful farmers of Christian county. He was born in Murfrees- boro, Tennessee, December 28, 1846. a son of J. C. Moore, who was also a native of Tennessee. When three years old he was brought to Kentucky by his parents, and . s reared to manhood in Christian county. He received a common school education, and then devoted him self to his life work of farming. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and a stanch Democrat in politics.
Mr. Moore was married in June, 1877, to Miss Bettie Campbell, a native of Hopkinsville. Her grandfather, Ned Campbell, was one of the pioneers of Christian county, and died when a young man. His son, B. S. Campbell, was a native of Jessamine county, Kentucky, and at the age of two years came to Christian county, where he was reared and educated. He was married in Logan county to Miss Maria Star ling. Hle was a merchant in Hopkinsville for many years, and in 1854 moved to the farm which is now owned by Mrs. Moore, and on which he died in May, 1901, at the age of eighty-nine years. Ile was a. stanchi Republican, a member of the Christian church and well known and es- teemed throughout the county! Mrs. Moore was the youngest of five children, three of whom grew up. She was reared in Christian county, and graduated from the South Kentucky College at Hopkinsville. She became the mother of five children, four sons and one daughter, as
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follows : Miss Mary; James C., of Evansville, Indiana : Benjamin C., at home; G. H., at home; and Milton G., at home. The family are members of the Presbyterian church in Hopkinsville. Mrs. Moore has two hundred and ninety acres in her home farm, and her son Milton is conducting it and making a success of general farming and stock- raising.
GABRIEL L. SPINK.
Gabriel L. Spink, a lumber contractor and operating a planing mill in Princeton, is one of the most honored citizens of this section of Kentucky. He was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, near Abra- ham Lincoln's birthplace, on March 14, 1848. His family is of English descent, and his grandfather, a native of Maryland, was one of the pioneers of Kentucky, settling on the Ohio river in Meade county.
Henry Spink, the father of Gabriel L. Spink, was born in Meade county, Kentucky, and was a farmer by occupation. Ile settled in Hardin county about 1825, and remained there until 1862, when he moved to Louisville. He died at the age of seventy-four years. He was a member of the Catholic church, and in politics was a Douglas Democrat, but on the breaking out of the Civil war took sides with the Union. Ilis wife was Matilda Brewer, of English descent and of a prominent family in England. She was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, and lived to be fifty-five years old. They were the parents of twelve children, all of whom reached manhood and womanhood, and all were married but two, who died in service during the Civil war.
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