USA > Kentucky > Memorial record of western Kentucky, Volume II > Part 5
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
He was a native of Smith county, Tennessce, born in the year 1799, and was a son of Godfrey Fowler, a native of South Carolina, of English descent, and a pioneer of Tennessee, whose many virtues and great ability made him a highly respected citizen of the several com- munities in which he made his home.
Judge Fowler married Arminta Given, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Dickson G. Given, also a native of Kentucky and of Scotch-Irish extraction. In early life they resided at Smithland, but later located in Paducah. Five children were born to them, namely : Dickson G., Joseph H., J. W., W. P. and L. A. Early in life Judge Fowler embraced the profession of a lawyer, and soon rose to prom- inence among the members of the bar of Kentucky. In 1840 he was appointed judge of what was then the first judicial district of Ken- tucky, and extended from Henderson to Hickman, but later changes were made in the judicial district. For thirty-five years he remained on the circuit court bench, retiring about 1875. As a jurist he won an
1
166
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
enviable reputation. He possessed a clear, analytical mind, and had a profound . knowledge of the law. He presided over the court with a dignity well worthy of the ermine he wore. His decisions were char- acteristic of justice, equity and a thorough knowledge of the law in- volved. He left to the rising generations a life record well worthy of emulation, and to his family the richest of heritages, that of an hon- ored and untarnished name. In 1880 he passed away in death, having lived a little more than four-score years, being eighty-one years old at the time of his demise. His remains were borne to Smithland, his former home, and there interred, the last sad rites being performed by the Masonic fraternity, of which he was an honored member. Judge Fowler was revered and loved by all who knew him, and in his death there passed away one whose life had graced the community and enriched the biographical annals of the state in which he had lived.
Captain Joseph H. Fowler was reared in Princeton, Kentucky, and there educated in Cumberland College. In 1849, when only six- teen years of age, he started in life for himself, beginning what has been an unbroken, eventful and successful life in the wharf and steam- boat business. For years he has been a conspicuous figure among those interested in navigation upon the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Among the many financial and industrial enterprises with which he has been identified may be mentioned: The Fowler Wharfboat Company, of which he is vice president; the Evansville, Paducah and Cairo Packet Line, of which he is president. To him and his associates is due much credit for the maintenance of river navigation, and among those who have contributed much toward the upbuilding of Paducah he has always been a prominent figure. His home has long been in the city,
١
467
IVESTERN KENTUCKY.
and he has ever taken a deep interest in public affairs. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and for many years has served as chairman of the council of the city, having first been elected to the office in 1867. He is a member of the Methodist church, to which he is a very liberal contributor. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
In 1855 Captain Fowler and Miss Mattie E. Leech were married. She is a native of Livingston county, Kentucky, and with grace and fidelity has presided over his home. The following children were born to their marriage: Given, Mellie Arminta, Mattie, Josephine, Rose B. Mellie married Dr. F. T. Davis, who was a successful physician of Paducah, but died in 1888; Mattie married Cook Husbands, teller of the American-German National Bank of Paducah; while Josephine is. the widow of E. M. Post, who was interested with the H. B. Claflin Company, of New York city, and died in 1900.
Captain Fowler has passed the three-score year and ten milestone of life, but is still a well preserved man and very active in business affairs. His has been a strenuous and useful life, and one filled with good deeds, great works, through which and his own pleasing person- ality he has made numerous friends.
LEE BALLOWE.
Lee Ballowe, who owns and resides upon a nice farm near Padu- cah, Kentucky, is a native of the neighboring state of Tennessee, where he was born in the year 1868. His parents, William and Martha (Brown) Ballowe, also were natives of Tennessee, and his father was
!
£
£
1
468
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
a carpenter and farmer in Tennessee and Kentucky, owning sev- cral large farms. He passed the latter part of his life in McCracken county, Kentucky, where he died at the age of fifty-six years.
The Ballowe family moved up into Kentucky when Lee was quite young, and in McCracken county he received his education. When he started out in life to do for himself he was at first engaged in the lumber business, and from this he directed his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he has been very successful. He is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and eighty acres, and in connection with his farming is interested in stock-raising. Like his father before him, Mr. Ballowe is a Democrat and a public-spirited citizen, abreast with the times and well posted on public affairs.
In 1897 Mr. Ballowe married Miss Larah Collier, daughter of Thomas Collier, a prominent and wealthy farmer of McCracken county. Their marriage has been blessed in the birth of two children, Jewel Ethel and Earl.
THOMAS JEREMIAH ATKINS.
In point of duration of residence, Thomas J. Atkins is the oldest living male resident of Paducah, Kentucky, and he is also prominent as one of the most successful business men of the city. He is the son of Edmund and Lavina ( Baugh) Atkins, both of whom were natives of the vicinity of Richmond, Virginia. Edmund Atkins was a cooper, and followed that occupation for many years of his life, although his last years were spent on a farm. He and his wife had settled in Mc- Cracken county, Kentucky, near Florence, ten miles south of Paducah, as early as 1836, and the farm there was Mr. Atkins' home till his death, in 1852. His wife died in Paducah in 1875. There were eight
47!
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
children in their family, but three of whom are now living: Thomas J .; Mrs. Sarah F. Agnew, the widow of J. W. Agnew, and residing in Paducah; and Mrs. Emily S. Williams, also in Paducah, the widow of B. R. Williams.
Thomas J. Atkins was born near Richmond, Virginia, March 12, 1829. His early education was obtained in the country schools of Kentucky, and, of course, he had the experience of farmer boy until he was fifteen years old. He then came to Paducah and was employed as a clerk until he was twenty-one, when he embarked in a mercantile venture on his own responsibility, for three years dealing in steamboat supplies. He evidently acquired a thorough knowledge of the craft of river boating, for some years later, from 1860 to 1862, he was captain of a boat, the Ashland, running between New Orleans and Camden, Arkansas. From 1864 to 1868 he was also engaged in dealing in boat supplies. But his special branch of commercial activity has been in the retail grocery line, and after thirty-five years of successful operations in that business he retired. He has also had experience as a wholesale grocer, and at present is carrying on a prosperous ice business, for the past ten years having been treasurer of the Paducah Ice Company, one of the leading firms in the city. In addition to this extensive activity in business circles, he is vice president of the American German National Bank, and was formerly a director and stockholder in the Globe Bank- ing Company.
When Mr. Atkins first began considering politics he was an ad- herent of the Whig party and Henry Clay, but he is now a Democrat. During the fifties he was justice of the peace for eight years; was town marshal for two years, and city treasurer of Paducah one year, and since 1892 has been county treasurer. He was one of the first council-
472
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
men after Paducah was incorporated, and in many other ways not here enumerated has assisted in the development and prosperity of the city of his choice.
In 1850 Mr. Atkins was married to Christiana Elizabeth Jones, a native of Brunswick county, Virginia. She died in 1895 at the age of sixty-four, having been the mother of four children, only one of whom is now living, Edward L., who was born in Ballard county, Kentucky, during a temporary sojourn of his parents in that county, on June 1, 1862. He is now the cashier of the American German National Bank at Paducah. He married Miss Grace Greer, a daughter of Judge W. D. Greer, of Paducah.
In 1896 Mr. Atkins married Miss Florence Lee, a native of Ken- tucky and a most charming lady, but she died three years after her mar- riage, aged fifty years. Mr. Atkins is a member of the Broadway Methodist church, of which he is one of the trustees and stewards. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for fifty- one years, at present with Ingleside Lodge No. 195, has occupied all the offices in that body, and for the past six years was grand patriarch and grand representative to the grand lodge of the United States. He is also one of the trustees of the Odd Fellows' Widows' and Orphans' Home at Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Atkins is thus seen to be one of the prosperous citizens whose services have in more ways than one added to the wealth and upbuilding of Paducah, and the city honors him in proportion to his deeds.
473
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
JOHN G. MORTON.
John G. Morton, of Madisonville, Kentucky, is the wealthiest and one of the oldest citizens of Hopkins county. He is a native of the county and a member of one of the pioneer families of Kentucky, the Mortons having originally come to this country from Scotland and made settlement in Kentucky at an early day. Samuel Morton, the father of John G., was born in Jessamine county, this state, and in 1798 came with his father to Hopkins county, their location being at what has since been known as Morton's Gap. Here Samuel Morton built the first brick house in the county, which stands to-day as a land- mark, and which, although over a hundred years old, is still in a good state of preservation. A man of sterling worth, Samuel Morton figured prominently in the affairs of the primitive settlement. Besides conduct- ing his farm, he filled numerous official positions; was postmaster, mayor, sheriff and magistrate, and for many years filled the office of county judge. He died at the age of sixty-eight years, honored and re- spected by all who knew him.
John G. Morton was born in Hopkins county, June 8, 1822, the eldest of a family of eight children, and spent the first eighteen years of his life on his father's farm, his father then moving with his family to Madisonville. John G. early in life learned the secret of accumu- lating a fortune. He began work at twenty-five cents a day, and each day saved half of his earnings. When he was twenty he was made post- master of Madisonville, and in connection with his duties as such con- ducted a grocery business. Two years later he was made constable and sheriff, and served a term of four years. After this he engaged in the dry-goods business, which he conducted off and on for about fifteen
474
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
years. When the Civil war broke out he commenced dealing in to- bacco in connection with his other merchandising, and was very suc- cessful. Calico he bought at seven cents per yard and sold at twenty- five cents. In 1867 he opened a private bank, called the John G. Morton Bank, which was some years later organized as the Morton's Bank, and is still conducted as such. It is now the oldest banking es- tablishment in western Kentucky, has a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and is under the direct management of Mr. Morton's son, William C., who is president of the company. Careful attention and good management characterized Mr. Morton's efforts, and in the various ventures in which he engaged he prospered, and to-day he is rec- ognized as the wealthiest man and the largest taxpayer in the county.
Mr. Morton was married in 1846 to Miss N. E. Young, and six children came to bless their union, namely: Charles E .; David, de- . ceased; Mollie, deceased; Helen, wife of John Hall; Lizzie, wife of Joel McPherson; and William C. Politically Mr. Morton is a Demo- crat. He is one of the stanch members and liberal supporters of the Christian church.
JOHN WINSTEAD OGILVIE.
One of Paducah's most distinguished citizens, who for many years was prominent in business and political affairs of western Ken- tucky, was the late John Winstead Ogilvie, who was born in William- son county, Tennessee, December 28, 1825, and died at Paducah, Kentucky, February 7, 1900. He was of Scotch descent, and the son of Lemuel and Elizabeth ( Winstead) Ogilvie, both natives of Ten- nessee. He was reared on a farm, and the education he re- ceived in those early days was rather limited, according to present-
1
475
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
day standards. In 1831 his father took the family to Calloway county, Kentucky, and five years later to McCracken county, of that state, where Lemuel Ogilvie passed away at the age of seventy-two years.
Mr. Ogilvie was a farmer by occupation, and his last days were spent on his fine place four miles out from the city of Paducah. But much of his life was spent in public service, and especially in the halls of the state capitol. He was a Democrat, and it was on the ticket of that party that he was chosen to represent the people in the legislature in 1864, and for fourteen years was in the lower branch. He was also state senator for ten years, being first elected in 1884, and re-elected for a second term. At the time of his election, the term of office having been changed by law, a long and a short term were created, and by lot Mr. Ogilvie chose the long term. He was an able legislator, and a good debater and speaker, giving formidable . opposition or powerful support, according to his views on the matter under discussion.
In 1848 the Hon. Mr. Ogilvie was married to Miss Margaret Griffith, a native of Kentucky. By this union he had six children : Virginia, William H., Nannie, Lemuel B., John W. and Benjamin T. The mother of this family died in 1862, at the age of thirty-four, and in 1868 Mr. Ogilvie married Miss Carrie Bell, who is a native of Ten- nessee and is still living. She was the mother of two children, David Bell and Alpheus Hugh. Mr. Ogilvie was a faithful member of the Methodist church, and was honored in the fraternal fellowship of Masonry, and in all the departments of life in which he was called to perform his part his career was exemplary and one which reflects credit on his descendants.
Lemuel B. Ogilvie, the son of Hon. John Winstead Ogilvie by the
LITE
476
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
latter's first marriage, was born on a farm in McCracken county, Ken- tucky, December 15, 1856. He had a common school education, and became a dry-goods clerk in Paducah; he remained in the employ of C. J. Morton for seven years, and was then in the employ of W. H. Reicke & Son, retail dry-goods, for three years. In July, 1886, the retail dry-goods firm of L. B. Ogilvie & Company was organized, the company being William M. Reicke. The firm constructed a fine store building of four stories, and here they carry on a large business in dry-goods, notions, carpets, etc., ranking second to no other similar concern in this section of Kentucky.
Mr. Ogilvie was married in 1897 to Miss Elizabeth Temple Wool- folk, of Paducah, and they have one child, Lemuel B., Jr. Mr. Ogil- vie is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, is a steward and otherwise active in religious work.
ROBERT A. BURGESS.
Robert A. Burgess, whose pleasant country home is near Cecil, Kentucky, and who is ranked with the representative citizens and pros- perous farmers of MeCracken county, dates his birth in Clarksville, Tennessee, in the year 1853.
Mr. Burgess is a son of W. F. and Venetia ( Fitsworth) Burgess, who came to Kentucky when Robert A. was quite small, and settled in MeCracken county. Their other children are William Burgess, M. D., a practicing physician of Johnstown, Illinois; Mack, a well- known farmer of MeCracken county, Kentucky; and Viola, wife of Dr. Allison, of Paducah, Kentucky. The mother of this family died in 1901, at the age of fifty-one years.
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
After completing his schooling, Robert A. Burgess engaged in farming in McCracken county, starting out in life with no capital save good health, energy and ambition. With these he has made his way to success. He now owns a beautiful home, on a forty-acre tract of land, and in the western edge of the county he has one hundred and forty acres, all well improved and under a high state of cultiva- tion.
Mr. Burgess' family consists of wife and four children. Ile married, in 1882, Miss Ellen Stanley, daughter of Ephraim and Mar- garet Stanley, of MeCracken county. Her brothers and sisters are Robert, William, Richard, George and Charlie Stanley, and Mrs. Lucy Williams, wife of Andrew Williams, a well known and successful farmer of McCracken county; and Miss Fannie Stanley, a popular school teacher. of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Burgess are the parents of the following children: William, Edgar, Eula May and Robert S.
Mr. Burgess is a man well posted on public affairs, and has always taken an active interest in local politics, affiliating with the Democratic party. In the year 1878 he was appointed deputy sheriff of Me- Cracken county, to collect taxes, and served efficiently in that ca- pacity.
WILLIAM W. GREER.
William W. Greer, a farmer and representative citizen of Fredonia, Kentucky, where he was born March 2, 1838, is a son of Thomas J. Greer, an old settler of Fredonia, born in Livingston county, Ken- tucky. Early in life the father learned the tailor's trade and moved to Tennessee, where he married, in Dover, Katherine Williams, born in
28
478
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
1810, in Livingston county. Six children were born to them, namely : James A. ; Mary, deceased; William W .; Henry, deceased; Helen; Felix, all born in Kentucky. After his marriage the father moved to Fredonia, Kentucky, and remained until his death, in 1896. He also carried on a mercantile business, and became wealthy and prominent. In politics he was a Democrat, and took an active part in public affairs. Religiously he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
William W. Greer has spent his life upon a farm, his first one being on Livingston creek, in Crittenden county, where he had one hundred and thirty acres, but after about six years he removed to the old home- stead and remained there until his marriage in 1885. He was mar- ried to Mrs. Lucy Neel, widow of Elbert Neel, a native of Virginia and a resident of this county, who at the time of his death was a prominent merchant of Fredonia.
Lucy A. Matthews, daughter of W. W. Matthews, was born in Campbell county, Virginia, in 1840, twenty miles from Lynchburg, Virginia. She had seven brothers, all of whom fought in the Civil war, and one was killed. She was married to Elbert Franklin Neel in Montgomery county, Virginia, in March, 1857. Her children were : Mollie; W. L .; Robert; Albert; John; Clarence; Frank, deceased. By her second marriage she had Mollie, who married a wealthy farmer, T. G. Pettit, is now a widow, living on her farm, two miles from Princeton ; WV. L. traveled for Simmons Hardware Company, St. Louis, Missouri, ten years, and he and Albert are now traveling for Norvell Shapleagh, St. Louis; John travels for a house in Louisville, Kentucky; Clarence for McCormick Machine Company; Kirby is attending Princeton Col- lege, Kentucky. E. F. Neel was a merchant in Mechanicsburg, Vir- ginia, when he was married.
1
£
£
479
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
Mr. Greer located on his present farm of thirty acres, and still owns his original farm. The house is a very large one, having been used many years ago as a tavern, and the stage coaches stopped at it at the same time. In politics Mr. Greer is a Democrat, while he and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and he helped to build the present structure. Fraternally he is a Mason, and is highly esteemed by all who know him.
WILLIAM S. MOORE.
William S. Moore, a highly esteemed and eminently successful business man and representative citizen of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in MeCracken county, Kentucky, in 1838, and is a son of Duncan James and Susannah ( McNeill) Moore, the former of whom was born in Hopkins county, Kentucky, and the latter in Muhlenberg county, Kentucky. The paternal grandfather, Austin Moore; was a native of North Carolina, of Irish descent, while the maternal grandfather, Hec- tor McNeill, was born in Tennessee and was of Scotch descent. Dun- can James Moore was a very successful farmer, was a Democrat and became very prominent in his party. In religious matters he was a Baptist, dying in that faith when sixty-six years of age, in 1875, while the mother died at the age of eighty-nine years, in 1901, she then being the second in point of years in the county. The children born to these worthy people were as follows: Nancy Jane Spence, Mary Ann Spence, William Samuel, Amanda M. Gilmore, John, Joseph F., James Louis, Martha Susannah Houser and Louise Joanna, and all were reared and educated in the schools of the county.
William S. Moore is a potter by trade, but for some years has not
480
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
followed his calling, he having been called upon to represent the Demo- cratic party as county trustee of the county. His religious affiliations are with the Baptist church, in which he is very active.
In 1863 Mr. Moore was united in marriage with Satynah Augusta Morrison, who was born in Montgomery county, Tennessee, in 1846, and she bore her husband the following children: John Lloyd Norton, Robert Emmitt, Clara Susan, Virgil Franklin, Henry Davis, Aubry Arlando and Lucie, all of whom were reared and carefully educated in MeCracken county, Kentucky. Mr. Moore enjoys the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen, and has many friends, not only in Padu- cah, but throughout the surrounding country.
CHARLES SMITH.
Charles Smith, one of the German-American residents and suc- cessful business men of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Germany, May 13, 1836. Ilis parents were John and Katherine ( Ellwanger) Smith, and both were born in Germany, where the father died at the age of seventy-seven years, and the mother died at the age of ninety- two years, although prior to that time she had enjoyed good health. By occupation the father was a wine-maker, and was very successful as a business man of his locality.
Charles Smith was educated in his native land, but left it in 1855 for America, and upon reaching this country located in Louisville, Kentucky, entering the employ of Charles Fritz, a butcher. There he remained until 1858, when he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, to engage with Charles Bremer in the same line, but after a year he went to New Or- leans and made there a short stay. The yellow fever breaking out, he
481
WESTERN KENTUCKY.
removed to Paducah in that same year, and, being stricken down, lay in the marine hospital for several weeks, until his recovery, when he entered the employ of Henry Theobalt, a butcher, and remained with him until 1861; then he embarked in the same line for himself, in which he still continues, being now one of the leading butchers of Paducah.
In 1863 he married Miss Katherine Bayer, a daughter of John Bayer, a well known farmer of MeCracken county, Kentucky. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith are as follows: John; Henry; Fred; George; Louise, a widow; Lena, the wife of Christ Kolb; and Rosa, wife of Isaac Anderson. Mr. Smith has long been recognized as one of the leading representatives of the commercial life of Paducah, and is a man who inspires fullest confidence, as well as draws to him friends in all walks of life.
DR. BENJAMIN F. EAGER.
Dr. Benjamin F. Eager, a prominent physician of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, belongs to an old and respected AAmerican family. Accord- ing to tradition, two brothers, of English-Scotch origin, coming from Ireland, were the progenitors of the family in America. The grand- father of the subject of this sketch, Benjamin Eager, was a merchant in Swanton, Vermont. ' His grandmother was a Miss Smith, of Albany, New York. Fourteen children were born to this couple.
The father of Dr. Eager was Rev. E. C. Eager, a Baptist minis- ter of Mississippi. He was born at Swanton, Vermont, and was edu- cated at Madison University, Rochester, New York, graduating in both the literary and theological departments. He married Harriet Ide,
482
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
a daughter of Jacob Ide, of Passumpsic, Vermont. Mrs. Harriet (Ide) Eager was educated at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and Philadelphia. She was a cousin of the well known Baptist minister of Philadelphia, Dr. George B. Ide.
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.