USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume II > Part 35
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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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FRED D. NELLIS, wholesale and retail coal dealer, Cairo, Ill., was born in that city July 2, 1876. He is a son of Captain Charles and Anna (Kaha) Nellis, the former a native of Ohio, the lat- ter of Germany. During the Civil war Capt. Charles Nellis was a pilot on one of the Federal gun- boats. After the war he located in Cairo, coming to the city in 1866, and he became the owner of the dry docks as well as acquir- ing an interest in several steam- boats. Sometime in the eighties he was elected to the legislature from the Twenty-fifth district and was subsequently elected city treasurer. He was one of the active Republicans in the city and county ; was a Knight Templar Mason and in his day was one of the best known men about Cairo. His wife was a member of the Lutheran church. Their children were: W. O., captain and engineer on the Western rivers; Etta, now the wife of William Steele, of Corry, Pa .; C. F., pilot and captain of transfer steamers; Anna, deceased; Fred D., the subject of this sketch; DeWitt C., a resident of Cairo; Juanita, widow of Van B. Miller and a resident of Denver, Col. Fred D. Nellis fin- ished his education in the Cairo schools and at the age of eighteen went to steamboating with Capt. J. F. Beatty, of Paducah, Ky., fol- lowing this occupation until in 1898, when he formed a partnership with D. F. McCarthy for dealing in coal. This partnership lasted until 1901, when Mr. Nellis bought out his partner and since that time has conducted his business alone. He conducts a wholesale business extending over Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky, and has the satisfaction of seeing his trade constantly growing larger. In addi- tion to his immense coal trade, he manages a farm of 100 acres, and during the summer he is interested in contracting in various ways. Politically Mr. Nellis is a Republican and takes an active interest in scoring victories for his party. In April, 1903, he was elected alder- man from the Fifth ward. That office he still holds and is also a member of the Republican county central committee. He is a mem- ber of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Commercial club of Cairo, which is
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composed of the business men of the city, the Knights of the Mystic Krew of Comus, and the Ohio Valley Improvement association, in all of which he is very popular because of his genial disposition. On Oct. 4, 1903, Mr. Nellis and Miss Sarah Blanche Langsdon were united in marriage. She is the youngest daughter of Sarah Elizabeth and Dayton Langsdon and was born in Warren county, Ind .; her mother deceased and father living retired at Cairo.
ED. P. FITZGERALD, wholesale dealer and distributing agent for Pabst's Mil- waukee beer for the territory adjacent to Cairo, Ill., was born in that city Oct. 19, 1870. His parents, Patrick and Catherine Fitzgerald, were both born in Ireland. The father was born in County Limerick in the year 1840, came to America when he was sixteen years of age and located in Cairo in 1860. The mother was born in County Armagh. She came to America in childhood, was married to Patrick Fitz- gerald in Cairo in 1861, and still lives in that city. Patrick Fitzgerald died on May 14, 1896. During his life he was a prominent and highly esteemed citizen, a very indus- trious man, and from the first took great interest in public affairs. During the war he was in the hotel and restaurant business and was a member of the Cairo city council. He was afterward engaged in the livery business and still later in contracting until his death. As a contractor he built part of the levees around Cairo, and took great interest in securing the construction of these levees. He also graded a great many of the streets of the city and constructed about twenty miles of the Mobile & Ohio railroad north of Cairo. By his industry and good management he accumulated considerable prop- erty and died respected by all who knew him. He and his wife were members of the Catholic church. Of their children Daniel, Margaret, and James are deceased; Mamie lives in Cairo as the widow of Frank P. Walsh; and Edward and Frank constitute the firm of Fitzgerald Bros., dealers in sand, lime, cement, plaster, brick, etc., and contractors for street filling, and earthwork for railroads, levees, etc. All the children attended college. Ed. P. Fitzgerald, after attending the common schools of Cairo, entered the Christian Brothers' college of St. Louis in 1885, and graduated from the com-
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mercial department of St. Vincent's college in 1889. Upon leaving college he returned to Cairo, where he was manager for his father until the latter's death, when he and his brother formed the firm of Fitzgerald Bros. In 1903 Ed. P. Fitzgerald took the wholesale agency for the Pabst Milwaukee beer for a territory extending over Southern Illinois, and parts of Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. His business for the year 1904 amounted to over $25,000. He personally travels over the territory and is familiarly known as "Eddie Pabst." Mr. Fitzgerald is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Knights of the Mystic Krew of Comus. Like his father, he is an enthusiastic Democrat and always takes an interest in local politics. He is very popular among "the boys." His genial disposition and merry nature win friends for him wherever he goes, and his many sterling qualities hold these friends to him for all time.
CAPT. FRED BENNETT, steamboat owner and general contractor, of Cairo, Ill., was born in Clermont county, O., April 22, 1863. His parents, Peter and Elizabeth Bennett, were both born in Ger- many, but some time in the forties came to America and located at New Richmond, O., where the father followed farming until his death in July, 1903. His widow is still living. They had three sons and two daughters, all living. Both parents were members of the Catholic church, to which the mother still belongs. Captain Bennett received a common school education and began his business career as an employe of the J. M. Blair Brick Company, with which he was employed from 1881 to 1887. He was then with the Hunt- ington & St. Louis Towboat Company for about ten years, at the end of which time he embarked in business for himself. He is the owner of the steamer Carrie V., also a steam derrick boat and several barges, and covers both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in a general logging business amounting to about 6,000,000 feet a year, the logs being towed to Cairo and Mound City from the lower river chiefly. Captain Bennett is a Republican in his political creed, although his father was a life-long Democrat. In fraternal circles he is well known as a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protect-
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ive Order of Elks. In August, 1897, he was married to Miss Jennie L., daughter of William D. and Rachel C. Gaskins, of Nine Mile, O., her father being one of the best known farmers in Clermont county. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have had two children: Ruth, born Nov. 22, 1898, and Velma, born Sept. 7, 1901, and died in the second year of her age.
JOHN B. WALTERS, farmer and justice of the peace, liv- ing about six miles west of Shawneetown, Ill., was born in that county, Sept. 25, 1846, on the farm now owned by A. Meyer, in Bowlesville township. His grandfather, Hiram Walters, was a Vir- ginian, who went to Tennessee when he was a young man and located near Sparta. There he married and had one son, John T., who was the father of the subject of this sketch. Hiram Walters' wife died soon after the birth of this son, and the widowed husband returned to Virginia, carrying the infant all the way on a pillow. There he made his home with a sister until 1834, when he came with his son to Gallatin county, entered government land in Bowlesville town- ship, and followed farming there until his death. After coming to Illinois he was married to a Mrs. Kinsall, but no children were born to this second marriage. John T. Walters was born at Sparta, Tenn., in 1820, and was therefore about fourteen years old when his father brought him to Gallatin county. A year or two later he began life on his own account as a farm hand, and continued in this occupa- tion until he married Eliza Brown, a native of South Carolina, and commenced farming on part of the old home place. There they both lived until death overtook them, with the exception of a short time they lived in Shawneetown. He was prominently identified with the affairs of the county, served as constable, sheriff, and county commissioner, as well as school treasurer and other minor officers. He was for many years regarded as one of the leading Democrats of the county, and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Generous to a fault, he went security for his friends, and in the latter part of life was made almost bankrupt from this cause. He and his wife had three children : Hiram, living at Equality, Ill .; John B., the subject; and William, residing at Shaw- neetown. John T. Walters died at the age of sixty-two and his wife lived to be seventy-four years of age. John B. Walters was edu- cated in the common schools and at Notre Dame university, South Bend, Ind. He married Nannie, daughter of James M. and Rebecca Wathen, of Gallatin county, and commenced life on his own account
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as a farmer near where he now lives. In 1878 he bought his present place of 100 acres, forty of which were under cultivation. Since then he has added by purchase another fifty acres, and nearly all of his farm is now under cultivation and well stocked and improved. Mr. Walters has been for years one of the Democratic wheel-horses of Gallatin county. With the exception of about eighteen months he has served as justice of the peace for the last twenty-six years. Of the children born to him and his wife Bertha, Mattie and one who died in infancy are deceased; Estella and Lydia are married and live in Gallatin county; John T., Edith, Hiram, William I., Rebecca, and James are at home. Mrs. Walters died on Nov. 23, 1900.
JAMES MITCHELL, a farmer of Gallatin county, Ill., living five miles southwest of Shawneetown, is a native of Ireland, having been born on Dec. 20, 1838, in County Londonderry. His father, John Mitchell, was a farmer, but died when James was about eleven years of age, and from that time the son was thrown upon his own resources. In 1855 he came to America and made his way directly to Cincinnati, where he had uncles. These relatives found him a place in a machine shop, where he served his apprenticeship, becoming an expert machinist. He was working at his trade when the Civil war broke out, but left the bench to enlist in Company B, Sixth Ohio infantry, and was mustered into service at Camp Dennison. The regiment was first assigned to duty in Western Virginia, but was soon transferred to the Department of the Tennessee and took part in the engagements at Pittsburg Landing, Stone River, Chickamauga, and a number of minor engagements and skirmishes. At Stone River Mr. Mitchell was wounded in the shoulder, and at the battle of Chick- amauga his left leg was shattered and he was left on the field. In his helpless condition he was captured and held a prisoner for ten days, when he was exchanged and sent to the hospital. Altogether he served for three years and three months, being mustered out at Camp Dennison, June 1, 1864. After the war he returned to work at his trade in Cincinnati and remained there until 1868, when he came to Gallatin county, as engineer and machinist for the Bowlesville Coal Company, and remained in the employ of that corporation for seven- teen years. In 1885 he gave up his position with the mining com- pany and began farming. In 1901 he bought the place of 100 acres where he now lives, and where he has been successful as a farmer and stock raiser on a modest scale. Mr. Mitchell was married in 1864, to Miss Minnie Heitzelman, a native of Germany, and to this union
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have been born twelve children, seven of whom are yet living. Mary Ann, William, Robert, and Rena are all married and live in Gal- latin county, and Minnie, Jennie and James are at home. Mr. Mitchell is an unswerving Democrat in his political views, and with his family belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
JOSEPH LOGSDON, a farmer, living five miles southwest of Shawneetown, Ill., is of German extraction, and a descendant of one of the first settlers in that section of the Lower Ohio Valley. His great- grandfather came from Germany some time prior to the Revolutionary war, set- tled in Maryland, and there passed the re- mainder of his life. He married there and reared a family of children, one of whom, a son named Joseph, served with Braddock in the French and Indian war, and after- ward fought in the Revolution. This Joseph Logsdon married Susan Durban, whose father owned the ground upon which a part of the city of Baltimore now stands, and who leased it for a period of ninety-nine years. The leases have long since expired and the tenants remain in possession, though the land rightfully belongs to the Durban heirs. Soon after his marriage Joseph Logsdon packed his worldly goods upon horses, and with his wife made his way to Virginia, then to Kentucky, next to Indiana, and finally to Southern Illinois, settling in what is now Gallatin county. The region was at that time the extreme frontier, and troubles with the Indians were of no uncommon occurrence. After a short stay in his new location he and his wife were compelled to seek the protection of old Fort Massac, in what is now Massac county, and there he passed the rest of his days. Most of his life was spent on the frontier and he had frequent brushes with the Indians. While living in Kentucky he was attacked by two Indians, one of whom shot him from his horse, but the ball glanced and saved his life. In the hand to hand fight which followed he killed one of the Indians with his knife, and wounded the other so badly that he committed suicide afterward. He was known as "Big Joe" or "Bulger Joe" Logsdon, the latter name having been given to him while he was with Brad- dock. Although a man of great physical strength he was not quar- relsome, and few of the pioneers had more friends. During the latter
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part of his life he took great interest in encouraging immigration to Southern Illinois. He and his wife had the following children: Thomas, Polly, Prudy, Peggie, Susan and Joseph. Thomas married in Ripley county, Ind., while the family were living there, and his descendants still live in that state. Polly married Isaac Williams, and Prudy married James Meyer, both of Ripley county. Peggie married a man named Cox, after the family came to Illinois, and died at Shawneetown. Susan died young and Joseph was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born near Covington, Ky., Aug. 19, 1795. After the death of his father at Fort Massac he returned with his mother and one sister to Gallatin county, and bought a farm near Shawneetown, where his mother died some years later. On Dec. 16, 1829, he was married to Matilda Thompson, who was born Aug. 13, 1802, and they commenced their married life on the farm above mentioned. He no doubt inherited some of his father's liking for a military life, for he served in the Black Hawk war. In the cholera epidemic of 1832 he, his mother and his sister Peggie all fell victims to the dread disease. His widow afterward married Richard Tarlton, a native of Gallatin county, and lived until 1837. Joseph and Matilda Logsdon had four children: Eliza married a man by the name of Rogers and is deceased; Peggy lives north of Shawnee- town; Joseph is the subject of this sketch, and Thomas died in Ore- gon from the effects of a kick from a horse. Joseph Logsdon, the third to bear that name, was born about a mile southwest of Shawnee- town, Oct. 22, 1825. In his boyhood he attended the old subscription schools for six months, which constituted his entire schooling. After the death of his mother he went to Indiana, where he lived with rela- tives for four years, at the end of which time he returned to Gal- latin county. For some time he was employed as a farm hand, after which he followed the river for a while, making nine trips to New Orleans. In 1850 he made the trip overland to California. Leaving Fort Leavenworth on May 22, he reached Hangtown, Cal., on August 22d, which was then the quickest trip on record. After working in the mines and in Sacramento for about eighteen months he returned to Illinois in 1852, and took up the occupation of a farmer, which he has followed ever since. In 1859 he bought 185 acres where he now lives, and the following year built the house he occupies. He now owns 435 acres, all under cultivation but about forty acres, and is one of the successful farmers of the county. In 1853 he was married to Mary A. Rogers, who was born Feb. 10, 1835, and died Jan. 23, 1892, leav- ing no children. On April 23, 1896, he was married to Mrs. Ann
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Lacey, widow of George Lacey. Mr. Logsdon is an ardent Demo- crat ; has been an Odd Fellow since 1866; and he and his wife belong to the Cumberland Presbyterian church in which he has been either deacon or elder for the last twenty-eight years.
JOSEPH ROBINETT, a farmer living near Spark's Hill, Hardin county, Ill., was born Feb. 8, 1841, on the farm now owned and occupied by J. B. Hetherington, ten miles southwest of Shawneetown. He is a son of Joseph and Clara (Nighswonger) Robinett, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. Joseph Robinett, the father, was born in 1790, came to Illinois in 1818, fought in the Black Hawk war, and at the time of his death in 1853 was one of the largest land owners in that section of the state. He owned land in Gallatin, Hardin and Saline counties, and was an extensive dealer in live stock, the market for which in those days was New Orleans. He was twice married. His first wife was Rachel Tatman, by whom he had five children, all now deceased. After her death he was married to Clara Nighswonger, and of the eight children born to this union three are living. Blueford lives in Shawneetown; Rachel Jane lives with her brother Joseph, who is the subject of this sketch. The mother lived to be eighty-six years of age. Joseph Robinett attended the subscription and district public schools in his boyhood, and remained with his parents until about twenty-two years of age, when he enlisted as a private in Company I, One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois volunteer infantry, commanded by Col. John G. Fonda, and was mus- tered in at Camp Butler. The regiment was first sent to Memphis, where Mr. Robinett was taken sick and was assigned to hospital duty. He continued in this capacity for over two and a half years, and was then discharged. Before going into the service he had bought the farm of two hundred and eighty acres where he now lives. In 1867 he was married to Angie Thomson, a native of Saline county, and with the exception of eight months spent in Eldorado they have lived on this farm. Mr. Robinett has about two hundred and thirty-five acres under cultivation, devotes a great deal of attention to stock raising, and has one of the finest orchards in Southern Illinois. In political matters he is a Republican, but is not an active politician.
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He and his family belong to the Presbyterian church. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Robinett: , William Allen, deceased, and Mrs. Laura Zinn, a widow, now living with her parents. She has four children: Gertie, Jacob, Gretchen and Angie.
JOHN HART CRENSHAW, the son of William Crenshaw and Elizabeth Hart, the daughter of John Hart of New Jersey, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born in the southern part of North Carolina on Nov. 19, 1797. His parents moved to New Madrid, Mo., in 1808, and in the earthquake of 18II their home was ruined. They then re- moved to Gallatin county, Ill., and settled on Eagle Creek, not far from the salt wells called the "Half Moon." His father died soon after coming to Gallatin county, leaving his mother and seven children. John, being among the oldest children, went to the salt works and began drawing water for the company who were making salt. He continued in this business until after he married Miss Sina Taylor in 1817. He went to housekeep- ing in the "Half Moon," and in a few years rented the wells from the state and began to make salt, which industry he followed for many years. He bought a large body of land near Equality, and moved his salt works to his own land, which was heavily timbered. He used the wood in, the salt works, and in that way cleared his land. When the production of salt became unprofitable, he turned to farm- ing, which he continued to follow until his death, Dec. 4, 1871. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife died Sept. 14, 1881, at the age of eighty-two years. They had ten children, five of whom lived to maturity, viz .: Mary, widow of John E. Hall; Elizabeth, widow of Gen. M. K. Lawler; William T., deceased; Margaret, who married Charles Lanphier, of Springfield, both now deceased; and Julia, widow of James Foster, a native of Bledsoe county, Tenn. He was born Dec. 14, 1827. On arriving at man's estate he became a dealer in live stock. This business made it necessary for him to make frequent trips to the North, and on one of these occasions he formed the acquaintance of Mrs. Julia A. Morris, née Crenshaw, to whom he was united in marriage on April 6, 1858. From that time until the commencement of the Civil war
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he followed farming on what is now known as the old Crenshaw place. At the beginning of the war he enlisted in the First Illinois cavalry and was made captain of his company. In September, 1861, he was captured at Lexington, Mo., and soon afterward was paroled. He returned home while on parole and never rejoined his command. He continued agricultural pursuits on the farm where his widow still lives until his death on Dec. 16, 1875. They had four children, three of whom died in infancy. Edward, their youngest son, lives on the old home place with his mother. He married Miss Mary Lamb, of St. Louis, and they have seven children ..
RAPHAEL E. LAWLER, a farmer, living three and a half miles east of Equality, was born in December, 1858, on the spot where he now lives, though the house in which he was born was destroyed some years ago by fire. His father, Gen. Michael K. Lawler, was born in County Kildare, Ireland, Nov. 16, 1814. When he was about a year old his parents, John and Elizabeth (Kelly) Lawler came to the United States. After about a year in Baltimore, Md., they came to Gallatin GEN. M. K. LAWLER. county, Ill., making the greater part of the journey by way of the Ohio river in a flatboat. John Lawler was the first Catholic to settle in that part of the state, and was regarded with some curiosity by his neighbors for this reason. He first bought land in what is known as the Pond, or Irish Settlement, which land is still in the possession of his descendants. It was largely through his influence that the first Catholic church was established in that section. The old hewed log house with puncheon, seats has long since been replaced by a more modern structure, and many of the Catholics now living in the vicinity are descendants of men who were induced to come there by John, Lawler. He and his wife both died comparatively young. Their children were Mary, Margaret, Michael and Thomas, all now deceased. Michael K. Lawler grew to manhood in Gallatin county. On Dec. 20, 1837, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John and Sina Crenshaw, old residents of the county. At the time of the marriage her father was the largest land owner in the county, and gave the young couple the farm where Raphael E. now lives. They commenced their mar-
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ried life in a log cabin of one room, later built a cheap frame house, then one of more modern character-the one that was burned. When the Mexican war broke out M. K. Lawler was bookkeeper for his father-in-law. He gave up his position, organized a company, of which he was elected captain, and was immediately sent to the front. At Cerro Gordo the company distinguished itself, and from that time until the close of the war was in several of the fiercest engagements. After the war Captain Lawler took up the occupation of farming, which he followed until the commencement of the Civil war. Then the old military spirit revived and he organized the Eighteenth Illinois volunteer infantry, afterward known as the "Bloody Eighteenth," of which he was commissioned colonel. The regiment was in many of the hottest engagements of the war, par- ticularly in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. At Fort Donelson Colonel Lawler was severely wounded in the arm, but after a short time rejoined his command and remained in the field until the end. On April 15, 1863, he was made brigadier-general by President Lincoln, and on April 17, 1866, received the rank of brevet major- general from Andrew Johnson. At the close of the war he was appointed commandant of the post at Baton Rouge, and while there bought a cotton plantation, but soon afterward sold it, having been appointed to a position as government storekeeper at San Antonio, Tex., where he remained for two years. He then returned home and lived on his farm until his death, July 26, 1882. Since his death his widow has made her home with the subject of this sketch. The children of Michael and Elizabeth Lawler were Margaret, de- ceased; Sina, now Mrs. Evans, in Mexico; John C., deceased; Mary, who married a man named Riley and now deceased; Addie, Mrs. Walters, of Equality; Judith, also a Mrs. Walters, now dead; Mi- chael, Elizabeth and William, all three deceased, and Raphael E. The parents were both members of the Catholic church, in which General Lawler took great interest. He was also active in politics and was one of the best known Democrats in Southern Illinois. Raphael E. Lawler attended different colleges in his youth, but left college to assume the management of his father's business, on account of the latter's failing health. On Jan. 10, 1881, he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis and Elvira Fowler, and a native of Gallatin county. After his marriage he lived with his parents until the death of his father, and since then has had full control of the farm, which he now owns. Like his father, he is a Democrat and a Catholic, now being one of the trustees of the
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