USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume I > Part 32
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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 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
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and court houses have been built according to their plans and under their supervision. Their business extends over a large scope of terri- tory, and, considering the length of time that the partnership has been in existence, few firms in the Middle West are better or more favor- ably known. In recent years Harris & Shopbell have made a specialty of the Carnegie library buildings, nine of which have been designed by them, viz .: Shelbyville, Greensburg, Franklin, Seymour, Salem, Princeton, Mt. Vernon and Poseyville, Ind., and Henderson, Ky. Mr. Shopbell is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Crescent and Country clubs, and to the Evansville Business Men's association. He was married in 1897 to Miss Wini- fred Dunlap, of Indianapolis.
BYRON PARSONS, the subject of this sketch, was born in Rodman, Jefferson county, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1835, and is of Scotch-English descent. Just when the traditional three Parsons brothers came to New England is not known, but a deed now in his possession, bearing date of Oct. 30, 1718, clearly proves that his ancestors were early settlers there. This deed is signed by Samuel Parsons, and conveys land located upon the east bank of the Connecticut river, in Hampshire county, to his son Samuel Parsons, Jr. This an- cient document had been handed down to him through the oldest sons of succeeding generations. His father Elam Parsons, was born in Connecticut in 1809, and moved with his father, Samuel Parsons, to Jefferson county, N. Y., about the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century. His mother was the daughter of Capt. Samuel McNitt, who served this country in the war of 1812, and distinguished himself in the battle of Sackett's Harbor in May, 1813. Byron Par- sons was the only son born to Elam Parsons by the first wife. Soon after his birth his father moved to Ellisburg, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he grew to manhood. His early life was spent on a farm, and his education was obtained in the country schools and Belleville Union academy. In the spring of 1856, and prior to his twenty-first birth- day, he caught the Kansas fever, and left the paternal roof to seek his fortune in the Far West. At this time the Kansas-Nebraska act,
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which had become a law in 1854, began to bear fruit, and Kansas became the battle ground for the settlement of the great slave ques- tion. Settlers in great numbers were pouring into the territory from both north and south; those from the north for the purpose of organ- izing a free state, and those from the south for the purpose of organ- izing a slave' state. About this time Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, from his pulpit in Brooklyn, N. Y., declared that settlers to Kansas should go armed with a Bible and a Colt's revolver. Mr. Parsons took his advice. He journeyed by rail to St. Louis, and from thence to Wy- andotte by river, on a steamboat loaded to the guards with emigrants and supplies destined for the "New Eldorado." The staterooms did not hold half of the passengers, and Mr. Parsons was obliged to sleep on a cot in the cabin with many others, who were no more fortunate than himself. On landing at Wyandotte he put up at the Free State hotel. He soon learned that the feeling between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions was already at fever heat. Late in the day he was advised that he had better seek lodgings elsewhere, as the pro- slavery mob from the other side of the river, that two days before had gone to Lawrence to pillage and burn that town, were expected back that night, and the hotel would probably be destroyed, as it was owned by a free state man. The mob returned as expected, armed with all sorts of firearms and bearing banners with various pro- slavery mottoes, but they did not molest anything. They went on board a ferry-boat, and with three cheers for Lawrence, pulled out into the stream and left for their homes in Missouri, on the other side of the river. On the following day, he joined a party of ten in the purchase of two ox teams and a "prairie schooner" with which to transport baggage and supplies. With these they set out for the uninhabited prairies of Southeast Kansas, which were fast being set- tled. At Ossawatomie a halt was made and a quarter section of land pre-empted. He at once went to work, cutting down trees with which to build a house, in order to hold his claim, but had scarcely more than got the logs up, before rumors were current that a Missouri mob might be expected at any time. A vigilance committee was organized and Mr. Parsons was called upon to do his first duty in defense of right and free institutions, under the direction of Capt. John Brown, later of Harper's Ferry notoriety. The mob' came as expected, and Capt. Brown, with his unorganized force, did what he could in defense of the town and postoffice, just established, but was overwhelmed by superior numbers, the town taken and pillaged and the postoffice robbed. Captain Brown lost one son, killed in the fight.
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and several others of his unorganized force were wounded. From that time on he was known as Ossawatomie Brown. At this time. Mr. Parsons was sick at the home of a Quaker, two miles away, but distinctly remembers hearing the fusilade, which lasted for about half an hour. Letters for him were found opened in the streets of the town after the mob had finished their pillage and left. Owing to continued illness he returned to his father's home in Jefferson county, N. Y., in the winter of 1856-57. In the spring of 1857 he accepted a position as clerk in a general merchandise store in Ellisburg, at a salary of $75.00 per year, and was so employed until the early fall of 1859, when he accepted a position as traveling salesman for a wholesale boot and shoe house in New York City. The firm failed in the early part of 1860, and he accepted a similar position with Lewis Brothers of Utica, where he remained until October, 1861, when he returned to his native town, in Jefferson county, to assist in raising a company of volunteers for the 94th regiment, then being organized at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. He enlisted as a private October 16th, and on the organization of Company C, was elected second lieutenant and mustered into the United States service Feb. 14, 1862. On March 15, the regiment was ordered to Washington, and was immediately assigned to duty as provost guard at Alexandria, Va. It did duty there during the embarkation of McClellan's army for Fortress Monroe but soon after joined McDowell's army on the Rappahannock, opposite Fredericksburg. It was with McDowell's corps in its fruitless march to the Shenandoah Valley, after Stonewall Jackson, from May 25th, to June 18th. The regiment was first under fire at Cedar Mountain, August 9th, and almost daily there- after until the great battle of Bull Run, in which it participated August 30th. First Lieutenant B. D. Searles, then commanding the company, was wounded in that engagement and the command de- volved upon Lieutenant Parsons. He remained in command until Lieutenant Searles' return about October Ist. He participated with his command in the battles of Chantilly on September Ist; South Mountain September 14th, and Antietam September 17th, where he was promoted to first lieutenant and was with his command during the march of the army down through northern Virginia, taking part in the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13th. He was promoted to captain Jan. 6, 1863 ; participated in Burnside's "mud march" January 20th, to 24th; in Hooker's Chancellorsville campaign April 27th, to May 6th; also in the Pennsylvania campaign, and was wounded in the first day's battle of Gettysburg. He was granted leave of absence
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for thirty days and at its expiration was detailed on special duty at Elmira, N. Y., and subsequently at Riker's Island, New York harbor, until November 25th, when he was detailed on general court-martial which convened at Fort Hamilton and adjourned to New York City. He served on that court until Jan. 16, 1864. On January 22d, he was detailed as. second in command of a cargo of conscripts to Fortress Monroe and Alexandria, Va., and subsequently went with another cargo in the same capacity. He rejoined his command then doing duty at Camp Parole near Annapolis, Md., February 12th and on the 19th of May left with to join the army of the Potomac, then fighting the battles of the Wilderness under Grant. His command reached the front on the line of the Tolopotomy May 30th, and was assigned to the first brigade, second division fifth army corps. Thus organized, his com- mand participated in the general movement towards Petersburg, and was hotly engaged in the swamps of Chickahominy on the 13th, holding the enemy in check while the main army was crossing to the James river. He reached the front before Petersburg on the 17th, and participated in the advance and final unsuccessful assault upon the enemy's works on the 18th. He was continually with his command during the investment of that city; participated in the movement for the possession of the Petersburg and Weldon railroad that began August 18th, and was taken prisoner in the battle that gave the Federals permanent possession on the afternoon of the 19th. He was a prisoner of war at Belle Isle, Libby, Salisbury, N. C., and Danville, Va .; was paroled from Libby prison Feb. 22, 1865, and was discharged on application by reason of expiration of term of service, March Ioth. He was then appointed major, rejoined his command April 13th, and served in the field until mustered out with his regi- ment July 18th. While in Libby prison he formed the acquaintance of Capt. Jesse Armstrong of Evansville, Ind., who became one of his messmates in that noted hostelry. Captain Armstrong was enthusi- astic in his praise of Evansville, and the acquaintance thus begun resulted at the close of the war in a correspondence with Coolidge Bros., who were formerly of Watertown, Jefferson county, N. Y., but at this time the leading dry goods men of Evansville. Thus it was that Major Parsons together with Capt. C. E. Scoville and Col. S. A. Moffett were persuaded to come to Evansville. These three young men had been comrades in arms and officers in the same regiment for nearly four years. This close relationship resulted in a mutual understanding that when the war was over they would
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enter into business together. So after being mustered out of service, they came to Evansville, arriving here in the latter part of August, 1865. October 12th, they bought out William Riley, then doing a retail grocery and feed business at 124 Main street and commenced business under the firm name of Parsons, Scoville & Moffett. Since then Major Parsons' life has been an open book to the people of Evansville, except for the most part of the time from the summer of 1885 to the spring of 1893, while engaged in developing a salt indus- try in Texas. Major Parsons was the pioneer in the salt business in that state and in company with Mr. Frederick R. Blount succeeded in building up a large and lucrative salt industry, which was incor- porated, in 1889, under the name of the Lone Star Salt Company, and Major Parsons was made its president. This corporation is now one of the large industrial enterprises of that great state. The firm of Parsons Scoville & Moffett took front rank in the retail grocery business of that city from the beginning. In the spring of 1871, Parsons & Scoville bought Colonel Moffett's interest in the business and he moved to Chicago. The new firm of Parsons & Scoville gradually merged the wholesale business into their extensive retail trade until their warehouse, No. 127 Main street, was inadequate to their growing business. They, therefore, July 17, 1881, sold a one- half interest in their retail business to Mr. Ezra Lyon and established the wholesale grocery house, corner of Second and Sycamore streets. July 1, 1882, they sold their other one-half interest in the Main street business to David Bros., and since then have conducted an exclusive wholesale grocery business. In July, 1894, they incorpor- ated under the name of Parsons & Scoville Company. Captain Sco- ville died in January, 1902, thus terminating a most harmonious busi- ness association of more than thirty-six years. At the time of his death it was believed that he and Major Parsons were the oldest associated business co-partners in the city of Evansville. Major Par- sons has been the president of the Parsons & Scoville Company since Captain Scoville's death. The concern ranks today among the fore- most jobbing grocery houses of the Ohio Valley. In politics he has al- ways been a stanch Republican. He has been frequently asked to accept office at the hands of his party, but has steadfastly declined all politi- cal honors. Major Parsons is a man of progressive ideas, a clear thinker, a thorough business man, well read, active in all worthy enterprises for the good of the city and the well being of his fellow citizens. He is a man of high moral principles and for many years has been a member of Walnut street Presbyterian church. He is a
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comrade of Farragut Post No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic ; also a companion of the Indiana commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. His wife, Oella Howard, was born in Ellisburg, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1841. Her father, Daniel Howard, was born in Connecticut June 16, 1796. He removed to Ellisburg, N. Y., when a small boy and at the early age of sixteen was a minute man under the command of Capt. Gad. Ackley, in the war of 1812. Her mother was Phebe Winters, who comes of Revolu- tionary stock, thus making her eligible to membership in the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution. But one child was born to Major and Mrs. Parsons, and it died in infancy.
JAMES D. SAUNDERS, a well-known civil engineer and surveyor of Evansville, Ind., is a native of that state, having been born at Bloomington, Dec. 4, 1853. His immediate ancestors on both sides were civil engineers. His father, whose name was also James D., was born at Manches- ter, England, in 1829, and was the son of a civil engineer. He learned the business with his father and in 1850 married Mary Sweeney, a native of County Donegal, Ire- land, and emigrated to America. Her father was a civil engineer and was em- ployed on the ordinance survey of Ireland. When James D. Saun- ders, the father, and his young wife came to this country they located at Bloomington, Ind., where he was employed as one of the engineers in the construction of what was then known as the New Albany & Salem railroad (now the Monon). In 1854 he came to Evansville as the engineer of the Evansville, Indianapolis & Cleveland railroad, generally referred to as the "Straight line." The next year he was elected surveyor of Vanderburg county, and in 1857 was made city engineer and surveyor. From that time until 1861 he held both posi- tions, but resigned at that time to become a member of Company D, Forty-second Indiana infantry. He was afterward promoted to captain and served with that rank until 1862, when he resigned and returned to Evansville. Soon after his return he was again elected city engineer, and held either that position or county surveyor until his death, which occurred on June 6, 1880. His three sons, Miles S., George W. and James D., all became civil engineers. James D.,
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the subject of this sketch, received a common school education, after which he studied his profession under his father's instruction, and became a skillful and proficient surveyor and engineer. In 1872 and again in 1876 he was elected county surveyor, but resigned in 1880 to accept the place of city engineer, which had been made vacant by his father's death. He was re-elected to the place at each succeeding annual election until 1887, when he was defeated by a majority of 200, though the rest of his ticket was defeated by about 1,400. For many years Mr. Saunders has been actively identified with the Demo- cratic party in political contests. His ability as an organizer has been frequently called into play in such cases, and in 1904 he was the choice of the party for the position of chairman of the county central committee. Mr. Saunders is a member of several fraternal organiza- tions. He was married in 1886 to Miss Lizzie McQuigg, of Iron- ton, O.
MAJ. HAMILTON ALLEN MATTI- SON, a prominent attorney of Evansville, Ind., and ex-judge of the circuit court of Vanderburg county, was born at South Berlin, Rensselaer county, N. Y., Sept. 23, 1832, his parents being Allen J. and Lucy (Thomas) Mattison. Major Mattison's grandfather, Allen Mattison, was a Rhode Island Quaker. In 1775 he joined the American army under Gen. Nathaniel Greene, fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, and at various other places during the war for Independence. After the Rev- olution he removed his family to South Berlin and lived there until his death in 1854. Major Mattison was reared on his father's farm, receiving his early education in the district schools. At the age of nineteen years he entered the New York conference seminary at Charlottesville. While completing his education in this institution he earned enough as assistant teacher to pay for his tuition and living expenses. After a thorough preparation in the seminary he entered Union college, while Dr. Eliphalet Nott was president, and graduated from that institution in 1860. For the next two years he was the principal of the Bacon seminary at Woodtown, N. J. In July, 1862, he gave up the school room for the tented field by enlisting in the Union army. In this action he was only true to his inheritance,
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nobly defending the institutions his grandfather had fought to estab- lish. He was empowered to raise a company, which was afterward mustered in as part of the Twelfth New Jersey infantry, with him as second lieutenant. His natural talent for military affairs, and his strict adherence to duty, led to his rapid promotion through the rank of first lieutenant and captain to that of major. He served on the staff of Generals Alexander Hayes and Nelson A. Miles and was in twenty-five of the greatest battles of the war. At Chancellorsville he was wounded three times; in the battle of the Wilderness he had h:s horse shot from under him, was twice wounded and captured. Soon after his capture he was introduced to Gen. Robert E. Lee on the field, and has a distinct recollection of his conversation with the famous Confederate commander. He was taken first to Lynchburg, then to Macon, Ga., where he was confined until the following July "on short rations." He was then taken to Savannah, and was one of the fifty officers sent from that city to Charleston and placed under the fire of the Federal guns that were shelling the city from Folly Island. Some weeks later he was confined, with other prisoners, in an open pen at Columbia, S. C., where, with scant food, no shelter, and ragged clothing, he was kept until November 28th, when he and another prisoner, Rev. John Scamahorn, managed to make their es- cape. Notwithstanding they were half starved and half naked they took to the woods, determined to intercept Sherman's army, then on its way to the sea. Traveling by night and concealing themselves by day, they succeeded in crossing the State of South Carolina and reached the Savannah river. There they procured a small boat, suc- ceeded in eluding the Confederate guards and gunboats, and finally reached Savannah, which had in the meantime surrendered to Sher- man. Thus, after tramping nearly fifteen hundred miles through the enemy's country, they found themselves once more under the protection of the old flag. Major Mattison was sent home to recuper- ate, and ordered to report to the army of the Potomac as soon as he was able for duty. Accordingly he joined that army about March 1, 1865, and was engaged in all the military operations about Richmond until the final surrender. Shortly after he was mustered out he entered the Albany law school and graduated in 1866 with the degree of Bach- elor of Laws. He began practice in partnership with Hon. Marinus Fairchild at Salem, N. Y., but in February, 1868, came to Evansville, where he has ever since made his home. In the campaign of that year he took an active part, advocating the election of General Grant. In 1870 he was appointed county attorney. The following year a
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vacancy occurred in the office of prosecuting attorney in the Vander- burg county criminal court and he was appointed by Governor Baker to fill out the unexpired term. At the election in the fall of 1872 he was elected by the people to the same office for a full term of two years. Not long after the expiration of this term he was appointed register in bankruptcy by Chief Justice Waite of the United States supreme court, and held this position until the office was abolished by an act of Congress. In 1887 he was appointed city attorney of Evansville, and reappointed the following year. He retired from the office, however, before the expiration of his term, to become a member of the law firm of Mattison, Posey & Clark, later Mattison, Posey & Chappell. In 1896 he was elected judge of the Vanderburg circuit court for a term of six years, being the first Republican ever elected to that office. Upon retiring from the bench he again resumed the practice of his profession, and since February, 1903, has been the senior member of the firm of Mattison & Curry, with offices at 125 Upper Fourth street. Judge Mattison joined the Masonic fraternity at Troy, N. Y., in 1862. After coming to Evansville he transferred his membership to Reed Lodge, No. 316, and also acquired member- ship in the higher Masonic bodies of the city. He is a Past Master of Reed Lodge; Past High Priest of Evansville Chapter, No. 12, Royal Arch Masons; Past Illustrious Master of Simpson Council; and Past Eminent Commander of La Valette Commandery, No. 15, Knights Templars. Not long after coming to Evansville he became a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, and has taken an active interest in church and Sunday school work. In 1866 he was married to the daughter of Hon. Marinus Fairchild, his first law partner, and one daughter was born to the union. The wife died in 1873, and the daughter in 1892, aged twenty years. On Feb. 7, 1878, Judge Mattison was married to Miss Henrietta M. Bennett, of Evansville, formerly of Brooklyn, N. Y. Although past the age of threescore and ten years, he is still one of the active attorneys at the Evansville bar, with an honorable record both as a private counselor and a pub- lic official.
ALBERT J. OTT, president of the Crescent Handle Works, of Evansville, Ind., was born at Tell City, Perry county, in that state, in the year 1870. His father, Conrad Ott, was for many years engaged in the planing mill business in Tell City, and died there in 1875. The son was reared in his native town and there received his primary education. At the age of seventeen years he entered the business
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department of the Central Normal college, Danville, Ind., and gradu- ated the following year. He then went to Indianapolis, where for the next thirteen years he was in the employ of the Vonnegut Hardware Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in the state, in vari- ous responsible positions. While with the hardware company he learned the possibilities of the handle trade, and in 1901 established a factory at Washington, Ind. The business was soon removed to Evansville, where it has become one of the substantial manufacturing concerns of the city. The product embraces all sorts of handles for farming tools, shovels, etc., and elm hub blocks for wheels, the prin- cipal purchasers being the jobbing trade, tool and wheel manufactur- ers. The establishment has been "running on orders" almost ever since its organization four years ago. Since coming to Evansville he has identified himself with the progressive element of the city, and is a member of both the Manufacturers' and Business Men's associa- tions. He is also a member of the Walnut Street Presbyterian church, and vice-president of the Men's club of the church. In 1891 Mr. Ott was united in marriage to Miss Anna L. Marsh, of Danville. She died in June, 1896, and subsequently he was married to her sister, Miss Victoria Marsh.
GEORGE W. VARNER, M.D., one of the most popular and successful physicians and surgeons of Evansville, Ind., was born on a farm in Spencer county of that state, in the year 1862. After the acquisition of such an education as the common schools afforded he graduated from the National Normal university at Lebanon, O., and took up the profession of teacher. While engaged in teaching he devoted his leisure hours to the study of medicine, and in 1886 graduated from the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville with the highest honors of his class for general proficiency in his work. He also received the highest honors for the best work in anatomy, and was awarded two gold medals in token of these honors. He was also the recipient of the appointment as interne or house physician at the Louisville city hospital for one year, an honor much desired by the students because of the experience to be obtained. At the close of his year in this position he was appointed interne in the New York
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