USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume II > Part 20
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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
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conjunction with his trade. In 1894 he was elected sheriff of Living- ston county, and served one term. In 1897 he was elected judge of the county court, receiving 321 more votes than both of his oppo- nents, notwithstanding the fact that they were prominent politicians of the county. He was re-elected to this important office in 1901, and three years later (1904) received the nomination of the Democratic party for the same office. His ability and energy are shown by the construction of twenty-one steel bridges which span the streams of his county as monuments to his memory. On Nov. 26, 1885, he married Miss Lelia Miles of Crittenden county, a daughter of Richard and Sallie (Barnett) Miles. The former died in 1874. The widow was born in Crittenden county, and still survives. Richard Miles, Jr., was a son of Richard, Miles, Sr., and the grandson of William Miles, who came from Virginia to Crittenden county, where he died. Richard Miles, Sr., was a farmer by occupation, served as sheriff of the county for eight years, and died near Salem. Richard Miles, Jr., was a farmer, a Democrat, deputy sheriff of the county under his father, and a Mason. He was drowned at the mouth of Deer Creek, Crittenden county, in March, 1874. The wife of Mr. Evans is a member of the Christian church, to which he himself inclines. They have one child, Elaine, who was born Aug. 2, 1893.
GIBSON AARON RUDD, farmer, stock raiser and justice of the peace, was born in Union county, Ky., Oct. 31, 1866. He is the son of Joseph K. and Elizabeth (Taylor) Rudd, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Union county. His maternal grandparents were Aaron and Nancy Taylor, the former coming to Union county in an early day, where he died. Joseph K. Rudd was reared and educated in his native state and came to Union county when a young man. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, of whom six are still living. He died June 21, 1897, and is survived by his widow, who still resides in the old home- stead in Union county. In his day he was an active Democrat, an Odd Fellow, and with his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and was educated in the common schools of Union county. After
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engaging for a time in farming he was for three years in the grocery business as a member of the firm of Mckinley & Rudd, at Commer- cial Point. Quitting the grocery business he returned to the old homestead. In 1896 he came to Livingston county, where he, with N. B. Robinson, managed the T. T. Barnett farm under the firm name of Rudd & Robinson for three years. He then bought a farm in Pan- handle precinct of Livingston county, where he is now engaged in farming and dealing in stock. On Feb. 1, 1905, he accepted a position with the Ayer & Lord Tie Company, with headquarters at Smithland, Ky. In politics Mr. Rudd is a stanch Democrat. Gov. W. O. Brad- ley appointed him a justice of the peace to fill out an unexpired term. He was twice elected to the same office and is at present the incum- bent of this office. He is a member of the Humane lodge, No. 37, Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Morganfield.
JAMES A. CLOPTON, a successful merchant of Smithland, Ky., is a native of that city and is a descendant of one of the old Virginia families. He can trace his ancestry back to one William Clopton, who was born in the Old Dominion, of English ancestry, Sept. 9, 1764. He mar- ried Betsey, daughter of John and Eliz- abeth Hale, and one of their sons was Reuben Ford Augustus Clopton, the great- grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Reuben Ford Clopton was engaged in mercantile pursuits, was an ardent Whig, and both he and his wife, Elizabeth, were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as were all the members of the Clopton family. This couple had a son named Reuben F., who was born on March 18, 1795. He grew to manhood in Virginia, married Mary Ann Taylor, and in 1833 came to Kentucky. After stopping for a while at Frank- lin and Princeton he finally settled in Livingston county, where he died on Aug. 20, 1845. His son, Reuben A., was born at Felix- ville, Cumberland county, Va., Jan. 24, 1823, and was therefore ten years of age when his parents came to Kentucky. Upon reaching man's estate he married Catherine Harris, who was born at Princeton, Caldwell county, Ky., Oct. 15, 1828. Their marriage occurred on Nov. 4, 1847. The father of Catherine Harris died when she was a mere child, while on a business trip south. Her mother died at the
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age of thirty, leaving her and four sisters orphans, and she was reared by Dr. Miles of Salem. For fifty-six years Reuben A. Clopton was engaged in mercantile pursuits. For more than fifty years he dealt with the firm of E. Q. Smith, manufacturers of furniture, Evans- ville, Ind., and in the last days of his business career dealt exclusively in furniture. Although he met with many reverses, he died free from debt. From the commencement of his business career in 1847 he made it his rule to owe no man more than he could pay and to suffer no one to owe him more than he was able to lose. During the war he was associated with a Mr. Wiley in the clothing business at Murray, Calloway county, and after the war he formed a partnership with W. C. Ellis at Smithland. Subsequently he was in business by himself until his death, which occurred Sept. 10, 1903, at Evansville, Ind., where he had gone for medical treatment. His wife died on April 27, 1904. During the war he and ten other young men of Livingston county were arrested and taken to Louisville as military prisoners but all were released through the influence of Henry F. Givens. Later he was drafted but hired a substitute. The children of Reuben A. and Catherine Clopton were thirteen in number, of whom five are now living, viz .: Mrs. T. F. Bunton, of Smithland; J. T., of Evansville, Ind .; J. D. and James A., of Smithland, and Maria A., wife of John T. Watson, a patent broker. James A. Clopton was born Sept. 24, 1868, and reared in Smithland, where he received his education in the public schools. After clerking for some years for his father and other parties he, in 1890, embarked in the confectionery and fancy grocery business, which has ever since been his vocation. In 1897 he received the appointment of trustee of jury funds for Livingston county at the hands of Judge T. J. Nunn, to which office he was re- appointed in 1903 by Judge Fleming Gordon. He is a Democrat and a Knight of the Maccabees. On May 20, 1891, he married Miss Katie Metcalf of Union county, who was born Jan. I, 1872. She is the daughter of Frank and Hannah Metcalf, formerly of Union county, but now of Paducah, Ky. The children of this marriage are Leonard, James, Lorena, Winfield Schley, Willard Caroline, and Katie Harris. Of these James A., Lorena and Katie Harris are deceased.
ZED A. BENNETT, superintendent of Livingston county, Ky., schools, was born in that county March 13, 1874. He is the son of Roland and Mina (Aydelott) Bennett, both natives of Livingston county, the father born Sept. II, 1849, and the mother May 10, 1857. Roland Bennett is the son of Alfred Bennett, who was born in Liv-
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ingston county in 1808, his father being Nathan Bennett. Alfred Bennett's wife, whose maiden name was Susan Stringer, was born in Georgia in 1810. She died Nov. 26, 1904, being in her ninety-fifth year. She was the daughter of Leonard Stringer, a Baptist preacher, teacher and doctor. He was a Revolutionary soldier and was inti- mately acquainted with George Washington; preached in a pulpit
once occupied by John Wesley, and was a close friend of Andrew
Jackson. He was in prison when Cornwallis surrendered, having been captured by the British. He had two sons in the war of 1812, under General Andrew Jackson. Susan Bennett was made a member of the National society of the "Daughters of the American Revolu- tion," only one month before her death, she being the only real daugh- ter in the State of Kentucky at that time. After the marriage of Alfred and Susan Bennett, which occurred in Livingston county, they went to Illinois and spent one year there, but returned at the end of that time to Livingston county and lived there until death. They were members of the Baptist church and were the first subjects bap- tized between the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The maternal grandfather of Zed A. Bennett, Zed Aydelott, was born in Illinois and came to Livingston county, with his parents, where he lived and died. His wife was Miss Lucinda Spell, a native of Livingston county, the daughter of Wiley Spell, a pioneer of the same county, where both died. Roland Bennett was reared and educated in Liv- ingston county ; is a farmer by occupation and a Democrat in politics. His wife died in 1882. They had four children, the subject of this sketch being the eldest. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his native county; Smithland graded schools; Hampton academy; and Marion high school. He taught six years, having taught in the country schools and also at Pinckneyville and Salem, both in Livingston county. He was elected county superin- tendent of schools by the Democratic party, to fill out the unexpired term of H. V. McChesney, who was elected state superintendent of public instruction. In 1901 Mr. Bennett was re-elected and still holds the office. He has the distinction of being the only man living "between the rivers" who ever got a majority of the votes on the "north-side" of Cumberland river, over a man living on the north
side. He received every vote in his home precinct but one. In addi-
tion to his duties as county superintendent of schools, Mr. Bennett is interested in the life insurance and real estate business. On Dec. 24, 1902, he married Miss Melville Glenn of Marion, Ky. She is the daughter of Francis Marion and Susan E. Glenn, both natives of
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Caldwell county. The husband died at Marion in March, 1896. Mrs. Bennett was a graduate of the Marion high school and a student of Stetson university of Florida. She taught in the Marion graded schools and the Ohio Valley Baptist college of Sturgis, Ky. She died Aug. 30, 1904, being only twenty-one years of age. She had a host of friends who bowed in grief at her death. Mrs. Ben- nett was known far and wide as a woman of great beauty, queenly bearing and possessing a wonderful versatility of mind. She was one of the most devout Christian characters the world ever knew, and took a leading part in the church. Mr. Bennett says the greatest honor of his life was the winning of her heart and hand and he loves to be called Melville Glenn's husband. Mrs. Bennett and her husband were members of the Baptist church, she having been converted and joined the church at fourteen years of age and he at the age of fifteen.
LEE B. DAVIS, clerk of the circuit court and ex-officio recorder of deeds, Cairo, Ill., was born in Marion county of that state, Feb. 27, 1873, his parents being James P. and Amanda (Benham) Davis. The father was born in Kentucky, July 3, 1831. In 1854 he came to Cairo, but later went to Missouri, where he re- mained until 1867, when he returned to Illinois and located on a farm near Salem in Marion county. The mother was born near Crawfordsville, Ind., in 1832. Her first marriage was to a Mr. Ramsey, by whom she had two children: Hiram E. Ramsey, a farmer near Odin, Ill., and Mrs. Eudora Dursky, living not far from Salem. Two chil- dren were born to her second marriage: Mrs. May Aird and the sub- ject of this sketch, both living in Cairo. The mother died in 1892 and the father is now living, at the age of seventy-three years, with his son. Lee B. Davis received his education in the Salem schools, graduating from the high school in 1891. Upon leaving school he went to Alexander county, of which Cairo is the county seat, and engaged in teaching. This occupation he followed for nine years, the last six of which he was principal of the graded schools at Willard. He resigned this position to take charge of the clerk's office, to which he was elected in the fall of 1900. He was re-elected in the fall of
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1904, his second term beginning on December 5th. Mr. Davis is a Democrat in politics, and the fact that he has twice been elected clerk of Alexander county, which is strongly Republican, attests his popu- larity. In 1900, when he was first elected, the Republican national ticket carried the county by over 1,000 majority. At that election he defeated, by a small majority, a man who had held the office for six- teen years, but in 1904 he carried the county by 450, while the Repub- lican national ticket received a majority of more than 1,500. He has made a record as an efficient and conscientious official, and has won the regard of his fellow-citizens, as his second election plainly shows. Mr. Davis is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was married on March 28, 1893, to Miss Adelia Pickett, of Alexander county, and they have three daughters: Doro- thy, born Oct. 3, 1895; Beulah, born March 6, 1897; and Leota, born June II, 1903.
JAMES S. ROCHE, of Cairo, now sheriff and ex-officio collector of taxes of Alexander county, Ill., was born in Pulaski county, of that state, on Christ- mas day, 1852. He,is a son of Michael and Ellen (Murphy) Roche. The father came to Pulaski county from the State of New York in 1848, and was for many years a contractor in the employ of the Illinois Central Railway Company. He died Sept. 16, 1882. The mother died just one year later, Sept. 16, 1883. Sheriff Roche and a sister, Mrs. Anna Sitphin, of Jones- boro, Ark., are the only surviving children. James S. Roche grew to manhood and received his education in his native county. Upon reaching his majority he engaged in fruit farming, which he conducted successfully until 1884, when he bought a farm on the Mississippi river, about twenty miles above the city of Cairo, and removed to Alexander county. Since then he has made several purchases of the land adjoining his farm until he now owns nearly 1,200 acres, prac- tically all of which is under cultivation. Few farms in Southern Illi- nois are better stocked with implements, machinery, live stock, etc., or in the character of buildings and other improvements. Although Mr. Roche fills the office of sheriff and has his temporary residence in Cairo he still retains the management of this farm, employing men to
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do all the work under his personal direction. Ever since attaining his majority he has been an ardent Republican, and has held several minor offices. Soon after he was twenty-one he was elected justice of the peace in Pulaski county, and after holding this office for sev- eral years, was county commissioner for one term, just before he removed to Alexander county. In the fall of 1902 he was elected sheriff for a term of four years by a handsome majority, though a portion of the Democratic county ticket was elected. Sheriff Roche was married in 1884 to Miss Maggie Atherton. To this marriage were born three children: Francis D., aged seventeen years; Leslie B., aged fifteen, and Leon, aged twelve. The mother of these children died in 1894, and in 1896 Mr. Roche was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Martin, one of Alexander county's best known and most popu- lar school teachers.
JOHN A. MILLER, late one of the leading jewelers of Cairo, Ill., president of the board of county commissioners and of the Merchants' League, was born at Coblentz on the Rhine, Germany, June 17, 1840. His parents, Andrew and Gertrude Josephine (Adams) Miller, were both na- tives of Germany, though the mother's father, Christian Adams, was the great- grandson of an English gentleman who came to Germany from his native land, and whose descendants continued to live in Germany. Andrew Miller, the father of John A., was a cabinet-maker by trade, and in later life, before com- ing to America, he operated a factory for the production of fine fur- niture. He was an inventor of considerable note, among his inven- tions being the process of gluing together numerous strips of differ- ent kinds of woods for the purpose of bending into almost any shape desired. This process led to the manufacture of the now celebrated Vienna chair. He was also the inventor of the differential roller system, for malting purposes, and equipped the first malt mill in Ger- many with this process, operating it for some time after its comple- tion. In addition to his other business undertakings he was the manufacturer of veneers for fine furniture. The name was originally spelled "Mueller," but after coming to America Andrew Miller changed the spelling to the English form. In April, 1854, the family
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left their native land for America, and landed at New Orleans in December of the same year. Their destination was St. Louis, but owing to ice in the Upper Mississippi they were compelled to remain in New Orleans until the following spring. John A. Miller was one of a family of five children, viz .: Joseph Augustus, Christian Wil- liam, Gertrude Josephine, John Andrew, and Christian. Soon after their arrival in St. Louis Christian, the youngest child, died of meas- les, and not long afterward the mother fell a victim to the. cholera. Joseph A. died on Dec. 28, 1904, at Providence, R. I. He was one of the chief engineers in the construction of the Union Pacific railway, and later a patent attorney making a specialty of electrical cases. Christian William served in the Union army during the war and died at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1893, where he was superintendent of the con- struction of the national soldiers' home. Gertrude Josephine married G. A. Staff, and died at her home in St. Louis in 1900. After the death of the mother the father went to Alton, Ill., where he had a son living, and died there in 1859, at the age of sixty-one years. John A. Miller attended school from the age of five years to the age of thirteen in his native land, with a vacation of six weeks each year. After com- ing to St. Louis he entered the jewelry store of Benjamin Grane, cor- ner of Fourth and Locust streets, as an apprentice and served four years. Mr. Grane was succeeded by the present well known house of Mermod & Jaccard. While serving his apprenticeship Mr. Miller attended night school, where he acquired a good English education. In 1858 he went to Alton, where he obtained a position as clerk in a jewelry store and worked there until the commencement of the war. He then went to Springfield and offered his services to his adopted country, but was rejected on account of his physical appearance, the government officers deeming him unfit for military duty. Soon after he returned home he learned that he could get into the army by going to Cairo. He accordingly went there, but being overtaken by a spell of sickness he was never mustered in. However, he went with Gen- eral Prentiss on the Cape Girardeau expedition, but soon returned to Cairo, where he accepted a position in the jewelry establishment of David Ford. After a year with Mr. Ford he went to Paducah and opened a jewelry store of his own. There he did a prosperous business for twenty years, part of which time he was president of the Western Watch Manufacturing Company, of Chicago, which was organized for the manufacture of watches, but never succeeded in establishing itself on a paying basis. In 1881 Mr. Miller came to Cairo and from that time until his death was engaged in, the jewelry business in that city.
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By trade he was a practical watch maker, attained prominence as a scientist and inventor, was one of the leading promoters of distribut- ing weather signals and was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His practical knowledge of the business, and his careful attention to details, soon enabled him to build up a large patronage. He employed a number of skilled work- men and there was nothing in the jewelry line too pretentious for him to undertake. Nearly all the railroads that center at Cairo employed him as their inspector, because of his well known skill in repairing and adjusting fine watches. The visitor to his store, on looking around at the large and well selected assortment of jewelry, clocks, watches and silverware and optical goods, might well imagine himself to be in one of the leading establishments of some large city. Mr. Miller was a Republican in his political views, and took a keen interest in public affairs. He was twice elected county commissioner and at the time of his death was president of the board. Before his election as com- missioner he was for twenty years a member of the Cairo school board. He served as president of the Merchants' League from its organization several years ago. For a number of years he was inter- ested in the good roads movement, and as commissioner did much to improve the public highways of Alexander county. Each time he was elected to any public office it was without his solicitation or personal effort. As an advocate of the improvement of the Ohio and Mis- sissippi rivers he attended nearly every meeting of the associations to discuss the proposition. In fraternal circles Mr. Miller was a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. During the years 1894-95 he was grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of Illinois, the highest office of the order in the state. In business, political or fraternal matters Mr. Miller never dallied with duty. Whatever he found to do was done promptly and to the best of his ability. It was to these traits of character he owed his success. People learned to depend upon him and were never disappointed. He was married on June 19, 1862, at St. Louis, to Miss Katie F., daugh- ter of John Lohrum, who was the pioneer street paving contractor of that city. To this marriage there were born the following children: John A., who holds a responsible position in the jewelry store; Hat- tie, wife of George Petter, who has charge of the optical department of the business; Minnie, a teacher in the Cairo public schools; and Adele, now bookkeeper in the jewelry store established by her father. All received good education, being graduates of the high school, and Adele studied music in the Boston conservatory. In 1899 Mr. Miller
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visited his birthplace in Germany, after an absence of forty-eight years. While he had the true German sentiment in his love for the traditions of the Fatherland, there was none who had a higher conception of the duties of American citizenship, or who stood more ready to discharge such duties. He died suddenly of heart disease, Jan. 7, 1905, and his remains were cremated at St. Louis two days later.
DR. JOHN JUDSON JENNELLE, a prominent dentist of Cairo, Ill., and a member of the board of county commis- sioners of Alexander county, was born at Le Roy, Genesee county, N. Y., Aug. 3, 1850. His father, John Jennelle, was a native of Canada, born near Quebec in 1818. He learned the trade of tinner and was connected with that and the hard- ware business all his life, working for years in the city of Toronto, after which he came to the United States, locating at Albion, N. Y. He was of pure French Canadian stock, his ancestors coming from France, and he did not learn the English language until after he went to Toronto. Shortly after he came to New York he was married to Miss Elvira Barter, of Albion, a native of Heuvelton, St. Lawrence county, where she was born in 1821. Their children were: George William, Joanna, Ade- laide E., John Judson, Joseph Abel, Silas Edgar and David. George William enlisted at Buffalo in the regular army about the outbreak of the Civil war. Being a musician, he joined one of the largest regi- mental bands in the service, being stationed at Fort Preble, Portland Harbor, Me., Hart Island, N. Y., Washington, D. C., and San Antonio, Tex., where he was mustered out after a continuous service of six years, and died at Pontiac, Mich., in March, 1880. Joanna and David both died in childhood in New York. In May, 1870, Adelaide E. married Mr. O. C. Morris of Pontiac and died at Orchard Lake, Mich., April, 1900, surviving her husband some twenty years. Joseph Abel lives in St. Louis, Mo., and Silas Edgar, in Pontiac, where the family went in 1865. The father died in Detroit, July 18, 1901, and the mother at Pontiac, July 3, 1904. The boyhood of Dr. Jennelle was passed in his native village. After removing to Michi- gan with his parents he decided to study dentistry, and before he was seventeen years of age he entered the office of Dr. J. A. Harris of
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