Gibson County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1914 (part 1 of 20)

Biographical sketches

In the largest and best sen.se of the term, Judge Oscar M. W'elborn is distinctively one of the notable men of his day and generation, and as such his life record is entitled to a conspicuous place in the annals of his county and state. As a citizen he has been public-spirited and enterprising. As a friend and neighbor he has combined the qualities of head and heart that have won confidence and commanded respect. As an attorney who has a comprehensive grasp upon the philosophy of jurisprudence he is easily the i)eer of his professional brethren of the Indiana bar, while as a judge of the circuit court he discharged his duties with signal ability, conscientious care and in such a manner as to win the universal commendation of all who had business in his court. It is scarcely less than supererogation in outlining the leading facts in his life to refer to him as a lawyer in the ordinary phraseology which meets requirement when dealing with the average member of the legal profession. He has indeed been much more than eminentl}' successful in his legal career, as indicated by his splendid record at the bar and his long retention on the bench of his judicial circuit. He is a master of his profession, a leader among men distinguished for the high order of their legal aliility and his eminent attainments and ripe judgment make him an authority in all matters involving a sound knowledge of jurisprudence, achieving success in the courts at an age when most young men are just entering upon the formative period of their lives. Wearing the judicial ermine with liecoming dignity and bringing to every case submitted to him a clearness of perception and ready power of analysis characteristic of the learned jurist, his name and work for years earned him recognition as one of the distinguished citizens in a community noted for the high order of its talent.

Oscar M. Welborn is the fourth son of Samuel Parsons and Mary (Waters) Welborn and was l)orn and reared on a farm near Owensville, Indiana. In close touch with nature and amid the bracing- air and whole- (25) some influence of a rural life, the future la\v\er and jurist spent his youth and young manhood. His early experience on the farm tended to de\elop a healthful physique, and wJiile engaged in the labor of the fields he learned to place a correct value upon honest toil, besides laying broad and deep the foundation for his future course of action. He received his elementary education in the public schools of Owensville and Princeton, and then, having decided to make the practice of law his life work, he took the law course at the University of Ohio. After completing his legal studies, Mr. Welborn returned to Princeton and at once entered upon the active practice of his profession, in which he rapidly forged to the front and early earned recognition as a capable lawyer. Though he efficiently discharged the duties of some minor official positions, Judge Welborn's public career really began when, on March 15, 1873, Governor Thomas A. Hendricks appointed him judge of the eleventh judicial circuit to fill a vacancy created by the abolishment of the court of common pleas. Judge Welborn came to the bench well qualified for his exacting duties and responsibilities, and from the beginning his judicial career was characterized by such a profound knowledge of the law and an earnest and conscientious desire to appl\ it impartially that he was not long in gaining the respect and confidence of the attorneys and litigants and earning for himself an honorable reputation among the leading jurists of the state. From the first his labors were very arduous, as many important cases were tried in his court, not a few coming before him by change of venue, in addition to which he was also frequently called to other districts to sit on cases in which large interests were involved. So far as known, his rulings in all cases were eminently satisfactory and impartial and his decisions so in accordance with law and practice that everybody interested was thoroughly satisfied with his course. As a judge he more than met the expectations of his friends and the public and so discharged the duties of the office as to receive the hearty approval and warm commendation of the bar in his own and other circuits without regard to part}-. He brought to the bench the dignity becoming a higli position, and in the line of duty was industrious, careful and singularly painstaking, which, combined with his sterling honestv and fearlessness of purpose, made him one of the most i)0])ular and efficient men ever called to preside over the court in this circuit. It is but just to say, and greatly to his credit, that no jiolitical prejudice or party zeal was ever allowed to deflect his mind from its own convictions, and while discharging his official functions personal ties and friendships, as well as his own interests and opinions, were lost sight of in his conscientious efforts to render equal and exact justice to iln)se whose affairs were adjudicated in his court. His opinions and decisions were always lucid, unstraineil and vigorous, his statements full and comprehensive, and his analysis and interpretation of the law logical and complete. That Judge Welborn's course on the bench met with the full approval of his constituents was attested by the fact that he was re-elected to succeed himself time and again until he was finally compelled to decline election to this office, thus serving a period of thirty-six years and seven months, a record without parallel in the state of Indiana, and probably in the United States. The eleventh judicial circuit nver which Judge Welborn presided for so long a period was originally organized in 1873, and was composed of the counties of Gil)s<jn, Dubois antl I'ike. The Legislature of 1895 changed the circuit, which after that year was made up of the counties of Gibson and l'i>sey. which furnied the eleventh judicial cirsuit, after the retirement of Judge Welborn and until i<H3-

At a meeting of the bar of the circuit court of I'ike county, held on April 5, 1895, the meeting having been called to take leave of its long-time judge, who had been assigned to the new circuit, the following memorial

"The members of the bar of I'ike omnty who have long cherished an affectionate respect for the Honorable Oscar AI. Welborn. who has been the judge of this court since May, 1873. desire to bear testimony to his great learning, legal acumen and probity as judge. While enforcing obedience, he has yet been merciful to the transgressor and sought his reformation, and in the decision of controversies between individuals he has lieen painstaking in the highest degree and his decisions have been learned, imjiartial and accurate far beyond the usual incumbent of the judicial office. To the members of the bar, especially those beginning the practice, he has been instructor and advisor and helped with his ready learning to solve difficulties and intricacies else insurmountable and while dispensing inflexible justice, has been genial and kindly.

"Therefore, in testimony of his courtesy and kindness as well as his labor and learning, we express in this manner our deep regret at the sundering of existing relations and hope that his future a.s.sociations will be as pleasant as the past and as profitable to the new jurisdiction he assumes."

On the conclusion of his long and faithful service as jurist, and bv way of commemorating his retirement from the bench, the members of the Trince- ton bar arranged a reception and banquet complimentary to Judge VVelborn, and which was held at the Masonic Temple at Princeton on the evening of October 8, 1909. Between fifty and sixty members of the Vincennes, Petersburg, Evansville and Mount Vernon bar associations were present and participated in the exercises of the evening. On this occasion Thomas R. Paxton, who was toastmaster, said in part :

"This is the first and only time when the bar of Gibson county has given a dinner in honor of one of its members - the occasion is unique and remarkable. This dinner calls attention to, and celebrates, the unique and remarkable record of a Gibson county lawyer who was appointed as judge by Governor Thomas A. Hendricks in 1873.

"Since his appointment, continuously to the present time, this Gibson county lawyer has faithfully discharged the numerous and onerous duties of a judge of the circuit court with signal ability, and with conscientious care, and with unflagging diligence, and with great learning and legal acumen, and with good, sound judgment, and without fear, and without favor. For thirty-six years he has worn the judicial robes with grace and dignity ; and moreover, gentlemen, he has kept the judicial ermine clean, unsoiled and untarnished.

"His term of service exceeds by two years that of the great John Marshall, as chief justice of the supreme court of the United States. Truly it is a remarkable record; it is also a very honorable record, one that a young man may laudably covet and strive to attain. Seldom is a man permitted to devote so manv years to honorable public service. The influences of such a life are far-reaching and abiding: they roll from soul to soul, and still go on forever. 'Progress in societv and civilization is due in large measure to such good influences. We cannot overestimate the value of our inheritance from the past, from the noble, the great and the true, who still rule us from their arms.'

"The city of Princeton is proud that one of its citizens has attained such distinction. For nothing confers such honor and glory upon a city as highminded, noble men. And the Gibson county bar is proud that the reputation of one of its members as a learned and just judge extends far and wide."

A number of letters of regret were received from prominent members of the southern Indiana bar, who were not able to be present on this occasion, and from which the following excerpts relative to the life and character of Judge Welborn are quoted :

Alexander Gilchrist, of Evansville ; "It would be a high privilege to join with my brethren of the Gibson county bar in this testimonial to Judge Welborn, who for more than a generation has been a good judge, a great judge, a fearless judge. A potent force for righteousness. Lawbreakers will now breathe more freely, but all good men must deplore the ending of his noble judicial career."

E. B. Richardson, of Petersburg: "He has been an honor to the districts in which he has presided as judge, and he retires from his long services with a record of ability and faithfulness that will last for all time."

Arthur H. Ta}lor, of Petersburg: "Let me assure you that I think it fitting upon Judge Welborn's retirement from his high office that this public recognition of his services to the bench and bar of this circuit be shown in the manner contemplated. I have had the honor of many years' practice in his courts and ever found him large-minded, unselfish, just and, abnve all, the honest, fearless arbitrator. He wi^rthily upheld the dignity anfl arlniinistered the high trust reposed in him with justness and impartiality. In the performance of his duties he proceeded along lines, as I have heard himself express, 'That there were no small cases. Every trial is a contest between principles, which has for its object the discovery of truth and the administration of justice,' and I know that the love of justice is the strongest element in this character of exceptional symmetry and strength. The examiile of his career may well be taken as a model by those who follow him in the high office he so long and worthily held."

The Nezv Harmony Times, Friday, March 8, 1907: "Judge Welborn's occujjancy of the bench has been long and honorable, and it is a career whose history if written would reflect a tireless industry and an intensely earnest desire to uphold the majesty of the law and administer without fear or f;ivor the justice that an enlightened people demand.

"The period that Judge W^elborn has served the people of this judicial district has been crowded with official duties which would have tried the endurance of men less resolute. During his career he has been called upon to preside over cases when a right or wrong decision meant a step forward or a march to the rear; he has sat upon the bench when his personal safety was a matter of deep concern to his friends, yet through the years that marked his judicial course his purpose to mete out justice as his trained and educated mind divined it has never faltered and his occu])ancy of the bench has left the people that he served a rich heritage in decisions rightfully given; decisions that have stood for all that was good and clean and uplifting."

The Louisville Courier-Journal, October, 1909 : "In the speeches made at the banquet frequent references were made to Judge Welborn as an 'able and just judge' and as a 'model citizen.' It may well be believed that he was worthy of such high tributes. Few judges, subject to popular favor, which is often uncertain and shifting, are able to win election after election and to continue in service with the tmimpaired confidence of the bar and their constituents for a period of thirty-six years. In that length of time a circuit judge tries thousands of actions at law and passes sentence in thousands of criminal prosecutions. It is a [josition where a man in the fulfillment of his duties necessarily must make enemies. Litigants often are bitter in their prejudices and disposed to resent decisions unfavorable to their contentions. Men convicted of criminal offenses have no 'good opinion of the law,' and no great love for the court officers charged with the law's execution.

"There are manifold ways wherein a jurist may create enemies. He is constantly passing on motions and demurrers, smoothing out knotty places in the laws and settling controversies between lawyers and contentions between litigants. Many lawyers are politicians and there are few litigants who do not take an interest in politics. Circuit judges owe their nominations to political parties and he who can discharge conscientiously the exacting duties of his office and at the same time maintain his political balance, must be an 'able and just judge' and a 'model citizen,' strongly intrenched in the affections of his constituency, or a man of rarest diplomacy.

"Judge Welborn's record is a remarkable one, and it is a striking tril3ute to his integrity and ability that more than .fifty leading representatives of the bar associations of Evansville, Vincennes, Mont Vernon, Petersburg" and Princeton gathered at the festal board to do him honor. He could receive no higher testimonial, no fitter encomium, as he closes his official career of thirtysix years and voluntarily seeks retirement to private life."

The Princeton Democrat, February, 1890: "Judge W^elborn has long filled that office to the satisfaction of the people of all parties in this circuit. His long experience, great learning, untiring industr}-, patience, and absolute impartiality render him one of the best trial judges in the state. These quali^ fications eminently fit him for the supreme bench, where his services would be equally satisfactory to the state at large. Had all our supreme judges been so eminently endowed with these traits, the docket of that court would not be so far behind."

Gibso.V Cotntv, Indiana. 39 1

Mount VcnioH Evcniiuj Sun, (October 22. 1909: "In his Idu.i; judicial service, many cases, civil and criminal, of vast import have been tried before him. Whatever popular opininii may have been as to the results reached, few ever questioned his conduct as judge. Many of these cases have been appealed. In most instances the judgments were affirmed and not a few of the cases are today landmarks of the law in Indiana, both from the importance of principles involved and the novelty of questions decided. One characteristic of Judge Welborn which greatly commended him to the people, has been his firm stand for the peace and quiet of societ}'. While tempering justice w ith mercy when circumstances warranted it, he believed the crime should be punished and, above all, life and property protected."

Judge Welborn has ever kept in touch with the interests of his city and county, and is an ardent advocate and liljeral patron of all worthy cntcrjjrises making for their advancement and prosperit}-. The Judge was a stockholder and director of the People's National Bank of Princeton, in the success of which he was a very important factor, and, as throwing a side light on his character and on the business methods advocated by him, the following lines are quoted from the Berkeley, California, Independent, of December 10, 1907:

"In the city of Princeton, Indiana, there is a bank that has matle a unique record for itself during these trying times. It is the J'eoplc's National Bank, with a capitalization of only one hundred thousand dollars, but carrying deposits well up towards a half million. When the crash came in the last days of October, the banks where it was carrying its main reserve funds suddenly sent out word to all the interior banks that their money could not be furnished them on call, and along with this disturbing news volunteered the advice to them that the only thing to do was to run on a limited schedule so to speak. But it did not take the directors and officers of this bank long to decide that they would do nothing of the sort. For nearly half a century they had met every legitimate demanil without ca\il. and they decided to maintain the same policy to the end. This in sjjite of the fact that ]>r()bably no other bank in hundreds of miles around would undertake to do the same thing. But what happened? When the end of the first week came they had more money than at the beginning; at the close of business the second week they were abundantly su])plied with funds, and at the close of the fifth week they were in better condition than at any time in the history of the bank. This bank didn't scare the people by first getting scared itself. The panic in that city lasted less than three days, for the people didn't hoard their money."

ing in the communit}^ where he has so long resided, and it only remains to be said that throughout his entire professional and official career he has been animated by lofty motives and made every personal consideration subordinate to the higher claims of duty. Broad and liberal in his views, with the greatest good of his fellow men ever before him. his conduct has been that of the lover of his kind and the true and loyal citizen who is ready at all times to make any reasonable sacrifice for the cause in which his interests are enlisted. He is withal a man of the people, proud of his distinction as a citizen of the state and nation for whose laws and institutions he has the most profound admiration and respect, while his strong mentality, good judgment and unimpeachable integrity have demonstrated to the satisfaction of all his ability to fill honorably important official positions, and to discharge worthily the duties of high trust.

Col. William M. Cockrum

The Cockrum famil)- of Gibson county are of Scotch descent and among the very early settlers in this part of Indiana. Col. James W. Cockrum, the father of William M.. was born in North Carolina in 1799. From there he removed to Tennessee, and in 1816 came to Gibson county, Indiana. He settled near Francisco, but soon afterwards removed to a farm east of Oakland City, where he lived for several years. He subsequently moved onto a farm where the town of Oakland City now stands and remained there until his death, in 1875. In early days he was a colonel of militia. He was a man of unusual intelligence and business capacity and for ten years followed steamboating on the southern ri\ers. Fie was the owner of two steamboats, the "Otsego" and the "Nile,'' and wore them out in the southern cotton trade. He ran a great manv tlat-boats that carried produce to New Orleans and other southern cities. In addition, he always carried on farming and mercantile business at home. In later years he became an active and zealous member of the General Baptist church. His efforts in building up that religious denomination of which he was a member and supplying it with a house to worship in, are still remembered by the older people of Oakland City. He was a just man. It can be truthfully said of him that he died leaving to his posterity the legacy of a life and name untarnished by an act of wrong or injustice to a living man. His intelligence pointed out to him that a free and liberal system of schools was the best safeguard of our liberties, therefore, any proposition in that direction found him an enthusiastic supporter.

Politically, he was an old-line Whig and later a Republican. He represented Gibson county in the State Legislature in 1848 and again in 1852. He was an active supporter of the old Straight-line railroad and one of its directors. He was a firm temperance man and, with the aitl of his two sons, kept Oakland City free from saloons as long as he lived, and ibe two sons fought it out for the next seven years, or until r88i. Mr. Cockrum was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Barrett, a native of South Carolina. By that union there were seven children, none of whom are now living. After the death of his first wife. Colonel Cockrum married Indah P. Barrett, a sister of his first wife and a daughter of William Barrett. Col. William M. Cockrum is the only survivor of that union. He was born December 8. 1837, on the old Cockrum homestead, now in the center of Oakland City.

William M. Cockrum is a self-made man. There was but poor opportunity in his youth for receiving an education. He was very active in "underground railroad" work in this section. After the passage of the fugitive slave law of 1850, there was a great impetus given to fugitixe slave hunting in all the free states, and in many cases free negroes were captured and sold into slavery for life. He was one of the twelve men who kidnapped the ten negro hunters who were trying to capture free negroes and gave them a lesson that they never forgot. This act greatly lessened the annoyance that our people had from these negro hunting bullies.

At the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in Company F, Forty-second Indiana Infantry, and rose through the intermediate grades from a second lieutenancy to the lieutenant-colonelcy of tht- regiment. He re-enlisted and continued in the service until the close of the war. In the battle of Chickamauga he was desperately wounded, an ounce ball passing through his body at his hips. He was captured lying on the battlefield and taken to Libby prison, where he remained for eight months, suffering untold misery which has left him a cripple for life.

In his younger days, William M. Cockrum engaged with his brother, James M. Cockrum, in a general store and the produce business and dealt largely in pork and leaf tobacco. They had over one hundred hogsheads of tobacco in New Orleans when the war came that they never got one cent for. Since the war he has engaged in farming and fruit growing. Colonel Cockrum, in many respects, is a typical Westerner, imbued with that vim and push that is so characteristic of the free sons of the West. He has done more to build up the town of Oakland City than any other resident.

Lucretia, daughter of John and Mary (O'Neil) Harper. She also is of Scotch-Irish descent Nine children have been born to them. Their names in the order of their birth are: John B., who is a lawyer, is and has been for the last fifteen years Vanderbilt's general attorney for the Lake Erie railroad and its tributary ; he has recently served two years as grand sire of the Odd Fellows of the World ; is a thirty-second-degree Mason and lives in Indianapolis. Ella C, the widow of W. S. Wheatley, deceased, is the teacher of English and dean of the women of the Oakland City College. Clara C. is the wife of T. M. Campbell. Willie died in infancy. Oliver M. was government land inspector and died in Bismark, North Dakota, in 1907. Zoe C, the wife of Prof. B. W. Aldrich, at Moores Hill College. Mary C, the wife of Rev. W. P. Bearing, president of Oakland City College. James W., president of the J. W. Cockrum Printing Company. Marion O. Cuckrum, owner of the M. O. Cockrum jewelry store.

Mr. Cockrum is an earnest worker in the cause of Christianity, a member of the General Baptist denomination. Politically, Colonel Cockrum since casting his first vote has been an earnest Republican. In 1907 he published "A Pioneer History of Indiana." The book is full of thrilling incidents of the pioneer life, telling how people had to live, their manners and customs, giving the history of many of the battles they had with Indians and the beasts of the forest. A history of the public schools is also given.

Gilbert R. Stormont was born ( 1843 ) i" Gibson county, about four miles east of Princeton. His father was William Stormont, who came with the .Stormont family from South Carolina in 1832, and whose ancestry is given in detail in the history of the Stormont family in another place in this volume. His nx)ther was Elvira Louisa Carithers, a daughter of Andrew Carithers. who came from Lincoln county, Tennessee, in 1836. His mother died in 1852; her sister, who married James Stormont, died in 1877; a brother, Andrew J. Carithers, died at his home near Princeton in 1893; another sister, Mrs. Jolm Dunlap, of Chicago, is the only one of the Andrev,' Carithers family now living.

The early boyhood life of the subject of this sketch was spent on the farm, and he contributed a boy's part to the work incident to farm life. His advciit was ai a time when most of the neighborhood in wh' :h he lived was in the native forest, and the changing of this forest into cultivated fields re- quired much hard lahor mi the part of the head (if the faniilw and all the hnys who were available fnr service. .Mxmt the time he S"t his enoii.uh In make a full hand on the farm the Civil war came, and, foUnwing the example nf nearly all the boys and able-bodied men of the neigliborhood. he enlisted in the army. His enhstment was in Company B. Fifty-eighth Indiana Infantry, dated October i, 1861, organized in Princeton. The regiment left the organization camp for the front December 13, 1861. The subject of this sketch followed the fortunes of this regiment until the expiration of his term of service, November 12, 1864, participating in the liattles of Stone's River, Chickaniauga, and a number of other engagements.

The opportunities for education were limited in the early life of this subject, but the opportunity was not altogether lacking. There was the district school, in the old log school house at the foot of that big lull near the Makemson home, where "lickin' and larnin" " was carried on in a spasmodic sort of a way for two or three months in the year; then there were other schools of more modern methods in the neighborhood later on. The teachers in these schools, as a rule, didn't know much, but etlucational qualitication was not the most essential requirement for a school teacher in those days. Whatever education the subject of this sketch acquired was obtained in these schools and in the more advanced schools in Princeton, and in the Indiana University, which he attended after his army service.

Mr. Stormont was engaged in teaching for awhile, Init it is not necessarv for the reader to make any deductions as to (jualilications from the foregoing paragraph. His first experience in that line of work was in a district school down near the old reservoir, hard by the limpid water where the fn »gs rendered grand opera, by day and by night; one term in Oakland City, when that town had Alayhugh's hotel, two stores and a blacksmith shop; one )ear in the old Seminary, in Princeton, where the hogs were wont to hold slated meetings under the floor, and engage in nois}- dispute for favorite place, and where the fleas roamed at will throughout the building; two years in liic Princeton graded school in the new building, with 1). blckley Hunter as superintendent. Then he got into the newspaper game. He went to Albion. Illinois, in 1873, and bought an old iiile of junk and converted it into a ncws- ]iaper outfit with which the Albion Journal was founded. This venture, though at first it did not appear very promising, proved to be a financial success. After three years Mr. Stormont sold the Joitrnal plant and returned to Princeton, and, in 1877, he bought the Princeton Clarion, which he continued to publish for nearly twenty-five years. If there is any marked distinction or creditable record made in his life work it will ])roIiabl\- be conceded that it was made while editor and publisher of the Clarion, .\nyhow.

this record, whether creditable or otherwise, remains open for inspection and review. The files of the Clarion are in the pubhc library in Princeton, and are in constant use b)' those seeking information of past events. In addition to his newspaper work, Mr. Stormont has engaged in other work of literary character. His name appears as the author, compiler and publisher of several books and pamphlets of historical character, the most important of which is "Right's History of the Fifty-eighth Indiana Regiment."

The political affiliation of the subject of this sketch is with the Republican party. His first vote for President was cast for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. His last was for William Ploward Taft. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention, in 1884, that nominated James G. Blaine and Gen. John A. Logan. He was presidential elector for the first district of Indiana and cast one of Indiana's fifteen votes for Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Warren Fairbanks for President and Vice-President. As census supervisor, in 18S0, he had supervision of the census enumeration in fourteen counties in the southern part of the state. He was deputy collector of internal revenue, in the Evansville district, in 1899-90, under Judge Henry, collector, at Terre Haute. Resigning that position, he accepted an unsolicited appointment as commandant of the Indiana State Soldiers' Home, at Lafayette, continning in that service for nearly four years. Resigning that position, he returned to his home in Princeton, and soon after was again appointed to the revenue service. This appnintment was in the special revenue service, with headquarters at Cincinnati, in a district comprising Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. In 1908 he was transferred to Indianapolis, and later was assigned to the dutv of division deputy collector, with headquarters at Terre Haute. On account of the political upheaval of 1912 his connection with the revenue service ceased May i, 1914, his brand of politics not being in accord with that prevailing in Washington. That it was not because of inefficiency, is evidenced bv the following testimonial from his chief accompanying his discharge from the service: "In this connection I desire to acknowledge the good service you have rendered as deputy, and to testify to your fidelity and fitness as an official in the United States revenue department."

Mr. Stormont has been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic since its organization as a national order in 1868. He is a charter member of Archer Post, Princeton, and served as department commander of Indiana in 1890-91. With few exceptions, he has attended all the national and department encampments since the organization of the order.

Mr. Stormont was married to Kate Keys, in Princeton, March 16, 1870. They are members of the United Presbyterian church. The children living are Harry K., who married Eunice Heston, their son, Lo\\ell Heston, living at Indianapolis. Ralpli AI., who married Mary Genunj,'. living in Oakland City. Donald M., who married Pearl Murphy, their daughter, Margaret Catherine, living in Princeton.

(Publisher's Note: The publishers of this work take the jjrivilege of adding a few words to the above sketch, to say that Mr. Stormont has for many years been numbered among the leading citizens of Gibson county, and is a worthy representative of a family which, from the .pioneer jjeridd. has been closely identified with the history of this section of the slate. The family has been characterized by personal courage, love of justice, intense loyalty and sturdy integrity, qualities which will make any people great. These same qualities have been exemplified in the subject of this review, who, as soldier, editor, puljlic official and private citizen, has stood firmly for those things which are right and which ha\e tended to advance the general welfare of the community. He has thus rightfully earned the pi)siti(}n generally accorded him as one of the representative men of his count}-. )

William L. West

The gentleman whose name appears at the head of this biographical review needs no introduction to the people of Gibson county, since his entire life has been spent in this community, a life devotetl not only to the fostering of his own interests, but also to the welfare of all. An honorable representative of one of the esteemed families of his section and a gentleman of high character and worthy ambitions, he has filled no small place in the public view, as the important official positions he has held bear witness. He is a splendid type of the intelligent, up-to-date, self-made American in the full sense of the term, and is regarded as one of the very best business men the county can boast of. As a citizen, he is progressive and abreast of the times in all that concerns the common weal and has the unqualified respect and confidence of all.

William L. West, president of the First National Bank, formerly the People's State Bank, of Oakland City, Indiana, first saw the light of day on May 6, 1849, two miles east of Fort Branch, Indiana. He is a son of Samuel H. West, Sr., and his wife, Catherine (Sidle) West, who was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1823. She was a daughter of George and Barbara Sidle, who came from Pennsylvania to Gib.son county in 1828 and settled in Union township, north of the old West homestead. Here they obtained land, which they cleared and upon which they built their home and continued to

Samuel H. West, Sr., father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born seven miles west of Fort Branch, Indiana, in 1820. He was the son of James West, of South Carolina, who was the first member of the family to come to Gibscjn comity. Here he settled near Blythe's Chapel, where he obtained heavily timbered land, which he converted into well tilled acres, with comfortaljle dwelling and outbuildings, and where he passed the remainder of his life. He married Barbara Borum and to their union were born the following children, namely: Samuel H., afterwards known as Samuel H.. Sr., father of the immediate subject of this sketch. Eliza, who died at home. William, a farmer in Union township, who married Xancy Pritchett. Doss, ime of the sons, died during the war, at Knoxville, Tennessee; he was unmarried and a memlier of the Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana \'olunteer Infantr\-. Betsy married John Redmond and they lived in Union township. Both are no\v dead. Louisa, another daughter, married Harrison Eaton and they made their home in Owensville. The youngest child was Poll}", who became the wife (if Jnlui Pritchett and they lived near Owensville.

Samuel H. West, Sr.. grew up on the homestead, assisting his father. He had very little opportunity for schooling, owing to the moderate circumstances of his parents and the meager opportunities at best, but he was a natural reader and student and acquired through his own efforts quite a good education. As he gre\\- to manhood, he desired to possess land in his own right and, in return for a horse, saddle and bridle, he received eighty acres of heavily timbered land lying two miles east of Fort Branch. To this first possession he added from time to time until he finally possessed four hundred acres of the finest land in the county. This he continued to farm until he retired in 1892. He had the reputation of l^eing an exceptionally good business man, a man who could truthfully style himself "self made," and was well known all o\'er the county. To Samuel H. West, Sr., and his wife Catherine were born se\'en children : Louisa, who 1)ecame the wife of N. H. Dorsey, a retired farmer at Oakland City: she died in February of 1913. The second child in order of birth was William L., the immediate subject of this sketch. John A., liorn October 28, 1851, lives at Antioch, California, and is president of the Antioch National Bank. He married Emma Tecklenburg. Elzaphan was born August 25, 1853, and died August 30. 1855. Mary was born February 7, 1856, and is the wife of P. Bryant, of Fort Branch, Indiana. Isabella, born November 18, i8s8, married Charles Gil- bert, of Columlnis, Ohio. Susan, liorn October ii, 1863, is the wife of Wilhani A. Baldwin, residing at Lake Winona, Indiana. Samuel II., born July 8, 1861, is the president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank at ]'"ort Branch. He has been twice married. His first wife was Mattie Cooper, and the second wife Agnes Blessing. Samuel H. West, Sr., and wife were lifelong members of the JNIethodist Episcopal church, and gave much of their time and means to further the cause of religion. His death occurred in June. 1898, and she died December 28, 1910.

^^'illiam L. West received his elementary education in the home schools, later attending Indiana University at Bloomington four years, graduating in 1873. He then matriculated in Miami Medical College at Cincinnati. Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1876, and immediately took up the practice of medicine at Owensville, Indiana. He practiced there but a short time and on January 11, 1877, was united in marriage to Lisetta D. Speck, of Owensville. She was the daughter of William A. and Lisetta D. (Weikel) Speck, of Dresden. Prussia. They were both young when they came to America and both located in Owensville. Here their marriage took place. Lisetta died and Mr. Sj^eck married a second time, his bride being Elizabeth Schlosky, of Germany. She died in July of igii. He went to California, where his death occurred.

After his marriage, William L. West left Owensville. going to Fort Branch, w^here he engaged in the <lrug business with his brother under the firm name of W. L. & J. A. \\'est. This partnership continued for nearly three years, when he sold his interest to his brother, John, and went to Boonville, Indiana, where he was in the drug business for about two years. He then went to Oakland City in 1881, where he was engaged in the same line for about ten years. In 1891 he sold out and was one of the organizers of the People's State Bank of that place, this organization taking place in 1889. John J. Murphy was president and William L. ^^'cst was cashier for fifteen years. At the time of Mr. Murphy's death, ^Ir. West was raised to the presidency and Alvin Wilson was made cashier. The directors are T. Wilson, W. H. Lowry, L. J. Deutsch and David Ingle.

Mr. \\'est was one of the organizers of the Citizens Bank of Princeton in 1903 and served as president for four or fi\e years. .\lso he and two of his brothers organized the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Fort Branch, which organization he served as president for sixteen years. In August, 1904, Mr. and Mrs. West moved their home to Princeton, locating at No. 213 East State street, where they have since resided, their home beiiig a center of interest to their host of friends. Mr. and Mrs. West have an in- teresting family ol children, the oldest of whom, a little daughter called Bertha, died at the age of thre^ years. The next in order is Carl R., a traveling salesman for a jewelry firm in Indianapolis, whose wife was Miss Jessie Dill. Roland E. is attending school at Valparaiso, Indiana. The fourth child was a little son, Fred, who died when one year old. William L., Jr., has been a telegraph operator stationed at Ashland, Kentucky, but he is now attending Purdue University. The youngest daughtei of the family is Catherine, who is in her first year at the State University at Bloomington.

Mr. West is a member of that time-honored body of Free and Accepted Masons, holding his membership in the Oakland City lodge. He has also attained the York Rite or Knights Templar degree of ]\Iasonry and is a member of the Eastern Star. The religious sympathies of the family are with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. West is a member of the Oakland City church. Mr. West comes of a family the different members of which have served their community to the best of their ability in their different days and he and his brothers have done much to advance business interests along safe and conservative lines. One of the brothers. John A., was treasurer of Gibson county at one time. William L. West is a self-made man in the true sense of the term and his keen business judgment coupled with right principles have made him a man highly esteemed by all with whom he comes in contact. He stands as one of the best types of the modern man, clean and strong, and an incentive to young men on the threshold of life.

John E. Butler

In 1859 a charitable society in New York city, a part of whose mission was to find homes for homeless children, sent about two hundred of the homeless waifs under their charge to Indiana, a number of them coming to Princeton. Among this number was a mite of a boy of about nine years of age whose full name was John Edward Butler, but as that appeared to be too much of a name for so small a boy, they called him "Johnny Butler." Johnny found a home in Princeton, and. as the years passed, he increased somewhat in size and stature, but he never increased to such an extent as to outgrow his boyhood name. Even in the mature years of manhood his old Princeton friends, and his army associates, know him only as "Johnny Butler," and they prefer to call him by that name. So in this personal sketch, in conformity with the practice of his old-time friends, we will call him by the name by which he is best known.

johnny Butler was born in (liilwav, Ireland, August 8, 1850, a son of Mark and Catherine Butler. There is no definite information as to the time his parents came to America, or as to their life history. It is only known that Johnny Butler was cast adrift in the city of New York and became a street waif, and that he was picked up and sent to a charitable institution on Randall's Island, an institution under the management of the department of charity and correction. Here he remained for about two years, receiving such instruction and training as was given by that institution, then under the superintendency of Air. Ripley. That there was some fond attachment formed for this institution, his onl}' childhood home, is evidenced by a desire to revisit the place in after years. This visit was made a few years ago. But he found that time had made many changes and there was very little to remind him of the scenes of boyhood days. In the office Johnny Butler found in the record kept there one item of interest. It was a record of his name with the memorandum: "Was found on the streets of New York city in the year 1857, about seven years of age. In 1859 was sent to Princeton, Indiana, where he found a home with Mr. AI. j. Brady. The last heard of him he was going to school."

But that was not the last that has been heard from Johnny Butler. When the war of the Rebellion came, and President Lincoln called for volunteers, Johnny Butler was among the first to offer his services. He enlisted .\pril 19. 1861, as drummer boy, in the first company that was made up in Princeton, although at that time he was less than ele\en years of age. This company was enlisted for three months' service, but was not accepted because the quota for this state was full. A few months later Johnny Butler found service with the Seventeenth Indiana Company, that was enlisted in Princeton for the three-year service. He served as drummer lioy in this regiment for several months and was honorably discharged by reason of a general order of the war department, mustering out all regimental bands. In 1864 he re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Twentieth Indiana Regiment and served until January 8. 1866, when he was honorably discharged.

After his army service he attended the pul)lic schools in Princeton and Owensville, and took a course in a business college at Vincennes. His ambition was to acquire an education sufficient to fit him for business, and his success in business in after life is evidence that he wisely improved every educatonal opportunity afforded him.

prospects in the Pennsylvania oil fields and he determined to try his fortune there. Here he found favorable opportunity for the employment of his capital, which consisted largely of industry and push. He became identified with the oil industry of Pennsylvania and made investments in that line which proved to be highly remunerative. That there are ups and downs in the oil industry is the experience of every one who has engaged in it, and Johnny Butler's experience is not an exception. But his careful and conservative business judgment has enabled him to make a good showing on the profit side of the ledger in the se\'eral years he has been engaged in the business. At present he is president of the Butler Oil Company, and also president of The Marvin Manufacturing Company, producing and manufacturing lubricating oils and greases, at Franklin, Pennsylvania, where his home has been for several years. In that community, and wherever known, he is regarded as a man reliable and trustworthy, and it is to these traits of character that his success in life is due.

This sketch of Johnny Butler is not given for his personal gratification and aggrandizement. It is rather under protest and against his wish that any publicity regarding his life is given. But there is a lesson in such a life that is worth reading. For one to begin life as a street waif, in New York city, without home, kindred or friends, and to work his way to a place among successful and respected business men, is a life worthy of emulation. It happily illustrates the possibilities of a successful life, open to every boy, under the benign influences and advantages of our American institutions, even though the earlv environments are most unfavorable.

Hon. Simon L. Vandeveer

Simon L. Vandeveer, who is filling with ability and satisfaction the position of judge of the sixty-sixth judicial circuit, is a native son of Indiana, having been born on a farm near English, Crawford county, on October 26. 1868. His parents, Joel and Jemima A. (Monk) Vandeveer, who are both now deceased, were both also natives of this state, the father having been for many years a successful practicing physician in Crawford county, where he was widely known and highly respected, not only because of his professional success, but also for his high personal character.

Gibson Col Ntv, Indiana. 4O3

schools of Crawford count)', supplcnicntin;;- this by attendance at Marengo Academy, Marengo, Indiana, and Borden Institute, in Clark county, both being excellent educational institutions. During this educational period he taught in the public schools of his native county for several terms. Having entertained an ambition to take up the practice of law as his life work, Simon L. Vandeveer entered the law office of Jerry L. Suddarth, at Leavenworth, which was at that time the county seat of Crawford county, being thus employed for four years. During this same period his brother, John M. Vandeveer, was studying law at New Albany in the office of Charles L. Jewett, and after completing their studies and being admitted to the bar, the brothers came to Oakland lit\ , Gibson county, opening a law oflice here un December 24, 1891. There, under the firm name of J. M. & S. L. \andevcer, they continued in the practice for four years, proving themselves able and trustworthy attorneys and attaining a high standing at the Gibson county bar. On January I, 1895, Simon L. Vandeveer came to Princeton and the law firm of J. N. & S. L. Vandeveer from that time forward was one of the best known and most successful in this section of the state. The subject was, in February of 1913. appointed judge of the sixty-sixth judicial circuit and is the present incumbent of that position. In the active practice of law Judge Vandeveer stood admittedly in the front rank of his profession in this county, being one of the most successful lawyers before the local bar. In his ])resent position his career has been all that his previous record promised. His qualifications for the office of judge are unquestionable. lMr.st of all, he has the integrity of character, and then he possesses the natural ability and essential requirements, the acumen of the judicial temperament. He is able to divest himself of prejudice or favoritism and consider only the legal aspects of a question submitted. These are, indeed, words of praise, but the encomium is justified, for the Judge has proved himself a man in all the term implies, and its implication is wide. His career on the bench and at the bar offers a noble example and an inspiration, while he has never been known to fail in that strict courtesy and regard for professional ethics which should ever characterize the members of the bar, his career reflecting credit upon the judiciary and dignif3nng the profession to which he belongs. Judge Vandeveer is an active member of the State liar Association and in that societv is a member of the ccjmmittee on legal education and adnn'ssion to the bar of the State Bar Association.

Politically, Judge Vandeveer giACs his supjiort to the Democratic party, to the success of which he has contrilnited by his personal efiforts and being prominent in its councils. i'Vaternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being a charter member of the last-named lodge at Princeton. Religiously, he is a member' of the Presbyterian church and gives his earnest support to every movement looking to the advancement of the highest and best interests of his fellows.

On March 18, 1895, Simon L. Vandeveer was married to Mary Castetter, a daughter of Ira and Florence (Jackson) Castetter, former residents of Gibson county, but now residing in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Personally, Judge Vande\eer is genial and easily approached, possessing to a marked degree those qualities which win and retain friendships. He has been successful in his life work, respected in social life and as a neighbor he has discharged his duties in a manner becoming a liberal-minded, intelligent citizen of the community honored by his citizenship.

It is with pleasure that the biographer has an opportunity to place before the readers of this work the life record of the honorable man and physician whose name initiates this paragraph. .\ history of Gibson county would be wholly incomplete should there be failure to include one who has passed so many years of usefulness in the community, the influence of whose upright life cannot be estimated. There is no outsider so closely admitted to the love and confidence of a family as the trusted and faithful physician. There is no form of service higher than a heartfelt desire to relieve suffering humanity, and when a physician goes deeper in his diagnoses than mere bodily ills, and treats also moral and spiritual weaknesses, the result is a most beautiful life, the whole effect of which cannot be adjudged from any earthly viewpoint.

Dr. William ^^'. Blair was born at Bloomington, Monroe count}*, Indiana, on August 6, 1827, the son of James and Jane (Neil) Blair, both of whom were natives of South Carolina. The father was born in 1789 and died March 26, 1849, and the mother's death occurred April 5, 1854, in the seventy-fourth year of her age.

Doctor Blair's father followed the vocation of farming all his life. In the year 1816 he left South Carolina with his little family and settled in

Tennessee, where tlie_\- remained until i8_'5, at which time he 1)rouglit them on to Bloomington, Indiana, wliere he lived until his death. Doctor Blair is the last remaining memhcr of a family of six children, heing the youngest of the famil)-. His elementary education was recei\ed in Bloomington, where he later attended the State University in 1844-48. He received special training in his chosen profession at the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was gradu'ated March 7, 1850. He had previously decided upon Princeton as the field for his future labors, and arrived here May 15th after his graduation. He immediately took up his j^ractice and has been here ever since, excepting the time later spent at the front during the Civil war. On October 19, 1861, he was commissioned surgeon of the Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana \'olunteer Infantry and on .\ugust 8, 1862, was made medical director of (ien. T. j. \\'ood's division. Ivelurning home in the summer of 1864, 'it- resumed his practice here, which has since been uninterrupted.

On October 7, 185 1, Doctor ISlair was united in marriage to Margaret VVarnock, who was born in Ireland. Mrs. Blair"s death occurred January 20, 1887. To their union were born seven children: Hetty, wife of Dr. S. F. Gilmore, of Indianapolis; Isabelle, of Princeton; Marie, also at home; Dr. Frank Blair, who died May 11, 1907; Xellie, who died October 7, 1886; Archibald W., who died July 17, igoq, and William, resident in Princeton.

Doctor Blair has the distinction of being the oldest jihysician in Gibson county and one of the oldest in the state. Princeton was but a small village, with a population of seven hundred and fifty, when the Doctor first came here, and it is difficult for one of a younger generation to appreciate the changes and improvements which time has brought to pass. The physician of today, who makes his calls in his automobile, over excellent country roads, can have no conception of the hardships endured by a physician of the old school who went his way on horseback, along roads which were often scarcely more than a dim path through the woods, fording streams, wading swamps and suffering much personal discomfort in order to traverse the many miles which sometimes separated him from a suffering mortal. It was his untiring faithfulness through those earlier days, as well as his e(|ual attention through the years when modern improvements made his task an easier one, that has made a jilace for Doctor Blair in the hearts of all those with whom he has come in contact during his long life. In the early days Doctor Blair prepared his own medicines from the crude drugs, an arduous task which is no longer necessary.

Doctor Blair has been a life-long and consistent member of the United Presbyterian church and enjoys the unique distinction of having served as an elder since February 14, 1856. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party, and while he has always taken a keen interest in politics, he has never entertained any ambitions along that line. He is also a member of the honored Grand Army of the Republic. While he has always made his home in Princeton, he is the owner of a farm nearby and has other landed interests.

In this necessarily brief sketch, it is absolutely impossible to do justice to the life history of such a man. He holds the admiration of all, counts his friends in great numbers, and surely no higher tribute can be paid him. Right principles of heart and mind, untiring energy and indomitable will have made the life of Doctor Blair a worthy incentive to those who have chosen the practice of medicine as their life work.

Joseph P. Yochum

The office of biography is not to give voice tu a man's modest opinion of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the ,'Hibject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid fulsome encomium and extravagant praise; yet he desires to hold up for consideration those facts which have shown the distinction of a true, useful and honorable life - a life characterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well-defined purpose. To do this will be but to reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by the people who have known him long and well.

Joseph P. Yochum was born November 8, 1S59, in Patoka township, Gibson county, Indiana, south of Princeton, the son of John and Barbara (Huffmann) Yochum, natnes of the fatherland, they having been born in the city of Munich.

The mother of the subject was the daughter of Frank and Mary (Be.al) Huft'mann, who came to America in 1852 and settled near King's Station, in Patoka township, where the father, in addition to farming, conducted a store and followed his trade of tailoring. These parents were of the Catholic faith, the father dving in Fort Branch in his sixty-sixth year and the mother reaching the extreme age of ninety.

John Vochum, the subject's father, came alone to America in 1849 ^^'i*-' hrst Hved in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he learned the wagonmaker's trade, following this vocation in the Queen City for three years, when he removed to Gibson county and located three miles south of Princetun on the State road, where he erected a shop and followed his trade until his retirement ; he also engaging to some extent in farming. He died in 1895 and his widow removed to Princeton, where she now resides, she being a woman of great intelligence and remarkable memory.

To the subject's parents were born nine children, namely : Frank, now deceased, lived in P'atoka township and married Indiana Arbuthnot, now also deceased. He was a farmer nearly all his life, but for many years was bookkeeper for the R. P. Moore Milling Company, of Princeton. He was the father of hve children, Carl, Edith, Florence, Floyd and Frank; Joseph P.; August. William, Henry and John are deceased; Charles is a buggy manufacturer in Cincinnati; John is cashier of the American National Bank at Princeton and married Jessie Witherspoon ; Annie Mary is the wife uf Elza Wilkinson, of Princeton.

The subject received a common school education and lived at home luitil 1882, when he was united in marriage to Maggie Nestler, of Gibson county, the daughter of Casper and Frances Nestler, of Germany, who were early settlers in this community, where they spent the rest of their lives.

To the parents of the subject's wife were born four children, namely: Nicholas, deceased, was a saddler and lived at Fort Branch; Frank, also deceased, was engaged in the hardware business at Fort l>ranch; Maggie; Peter, deceased, was a saddler at Fort Branch.

To Mr. Yochum and his wife have been born four children, namel}- : Amy M. lives at home; Ada is the wife of Carl Mangrum. of Princeton; Lora and Esther arc living at home. Amy and Lora graduated from the Princeton high school and then took up a course of training for the teacher's profession; Amy is attending Valparaiso University and Lora is at the State Normal School at Terre Haute. Both are now teaching. Amy in the Princeton schools and Lora in the high school at Haubstadt.

After the subject's marriage he engaged in agricultural pursuits three and a half miles southeast of Princeton, where he continued until August, 1906, when he purchased his beautiful home in Princeton. Here he has a fine residence at No. 528 East Broadway, which he has remodeled and made modern in every respect.

devoted much of his attention to the breeding of fine registered liorses, Poland China hogs, Barred Plymouth Rock chickens and Mammoth Bronze turkeys. His farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres in Patoka township.

The subject has taken an active interest in the success of the Democratic party and served for six years as county commissioner, in which ofifice he acquitted himself to the eminent satisfaction of his fellow citizens. Under the recently enacted law he has been appointed county superintendent of highways. Fraternally, he is an appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 64, of Princeton, while his religious affiliations are with the Cumberland Presbyterian church.

James A. S Prowl

An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have honored the locality to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of him whose name forms the caption of this sketch. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful men of Gibson county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow men, for his career has been one of well directed energy, strong determination and honorable methods.

James A. Sprowl is a native son of the Hoosier state, ha\-ing been born about four and one-half miles east of Princeton, on July 28, 1840, and is the son of John O. and Margaret (McClellan) Sprowl, the former a native of Chester, South Carolina, and the latter of Greene county, Ohio. The subject's paternal grandfather, John Sprowl, was a native of Ireland who, after emigrating to the United States, located in South Carolina, where he remained until his marriage, when, about 183 1, he came to Gibson county, settling in the Stormont neighborhnod, aliout four miles east of Princeton, where he entered a tract of gvn-ernment land, tie married ]\Iiss Orr, and to them were born nine children, six daughters and three sons, of whom the father of this subject was the oldest. Here John S])rowl remained until his death, which occurred in 1844. John O., father n{ the subject of this sketch, died .August 6, 1841, when his son, James \., was about a year old. His widow afterwards became the wife of James Wilson and reared another familv of children.

James A. Sprowl

The subject had two sisters, Rose Ann, who hecame the wife of A. J. Gillespie, of Monroe county, Indiana, and they moved to Kansas, where she reared a family of children. Joan became the wife of Thompson Sjjencer, and at her. death left one child, Ann, who became the wife of Harry Mc- Clellan, of Dayton, Ohio. The subject also has a half-ljrother, Joseph S. Wilson, of Santa Rosa, California.

James A. Sprowl received his education in the country schools of his home community and was reared on the paternal farmstead under the direction of his mone}', until in 1861, when about twenty-one years of age, tired by his country's call for defenders, he enli.sted in Company B, Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served valiantly and faithfully, re-enlisting in 1865 in the One Hundred I-'orty-third Regiment and serving until the close of the war. His record was a good one and one of which he is deservedly proud. Upon his return to the pursuits of ]jeace Mr. Sprowl devoted himself to agricultural labor until 1873, when he removed to Princeton in order to give his children better educational advantages. In 1875 he was elected constable, serving at that six years, and at the end of that time he was appointed deputy sheriff, in which ])osition he rendered efficient and satisfactory service for two terms, or eight years. In 1890 Mr. Sprowl was elected justice of the peace, in which office he ha^ lieen continued by re-election until the present time. His record has been an en\-iable one, his decisions being marked by a sense of fairness and justice which has commended him to the higher courts of the county. A wide reader and keen observer of men and events, Mr. Sprowl is a well-informed man, keeping in close touch with current events and is well founded in the fundamental principles of jurisprudence. Congenial and unassuming, he has won a host of warm and loyal personal friends who esteem him highly because of his high character and genuine worth.

In 1867 James A. Sprowl was married to ATartha L, Cmw, who was born and reared in Gibson county, and to thcni have l)cen born eight children, namely: John O., of Cleveland. Ohio; Carrie, the wife of W. J. Schumat, of Princeton; George N., of Princeton; Charles, of Lansing, Michigan; Nellie Margaret, the wife of Elwood Lichtenberger. of Mt. \ ernon. Indiana: J. .Arch, of Princeton, and Roy and Arthur, who are deceased.

Politically, Mr. Sprowl has given his life-long support to the Republican party and has been active in the ranks in his efforts to advance the interests of the organization. Politically, he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while his religious afifiliation is with the United Presliyterian church. His hfe-long residence in Gibson county, his upright life and mature judgment and the many favors which he has rendered have won for him the confidence and esteem of the people with whom he has so long mingled. He is imbued with the deepest and mo.st helpful public spirit and is well fortified in his opinions on matters of public policy, giving of his best to the furthering of good government and Ijeing neglectful of no civic duty.

Wilbur F. Fisher

The men most influential in promoting the advanceiiient of society and in giving character to the times in which they live are two classes, to-wit, the men of study and the men of action. Whether we are more indebted for the improvement of the age to the one class or to the other is a question of honest difference in opinion; neither class can be spared and both should be encouraged to occup)' their several spheres of labor and influence, zealously and without mutual distrust. In the following paragraphs are briefly outlined the leading facts and characteristics in the career of a gentleman who combines in his makeup the elements of the scholar and the energy of the public-spirited man of affairs. Devoted to the noble and humane work of teaching, he has made his influence felt in the school life of Gibson county and is not unknown to the wider educational circles of the state, occupying, as he does, a prominent place in his profession and standing high in the esteem of educators in other than his own particular field of endeavor.

Wilbur F. Fisher, superintendent of the schools of Gibson county, was born on July 21, 1876, at Patoka, this county, and is the son of John B. and Sarah Jennie (Marsh) Fisher, the father a native of Patoka and the mother of Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Both are now deceased. John B. Fisher was a farmer by vocation, and was a veteran of the Civil war, having served for thirty-nine months in the Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He took part in the great battle of Chickamauga, and many others of almost equal prominence, and was with Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea and at the fall of Atlanta. He was a man of prominence in his community and served efficiently as a justice of the peace. His death occurred on November i, 1910, having survived his wife a number of years, her death having occurred on March 26, 1883. They were the parents of the following children, Carrie, Herbert, Harry, deceased, Ralph, Roy. deceased. Wilbur, Henry and Chester, deceased.

Wilbur F. Fisher received his education in the coninum and the high schools of Patoka, and then was a student in Indiana University. He had taught some before entering the university, and after attending that institution he took up pedagogical work, in which he has during the subseijuent years achieved a pronounced success, being numbered among the leading educators of southwestern Indiana. His work embraces six years in the common schools in White River township, this county, and ten years in higli school work, four years as superintendent at Hazleton, Indiana, and six years as superintendent at Patoka. While incumbent of the latter position, Mr. Fisher was elected county superintendent of schools on June 5, 191 1, and is the present incumbent of this position. As a teacher, Professor iMsher met with merited success and in his capacity as principal of schools lie has met with a series of successes and advancements. He pursues his present calling with all the interest of an enthusiast, is thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the work, and has the proper conception of the dignity of the profession to which his life and energies are so earnestly devoted. As superintendent of schools, his work has been characterized by greater efficiency antl closer grading in the schools. He has done much to raise the general standing uf education and scholarship in Gibson county, and his work stamps him as a man of unusual ability. A polished gentleman and possessing the traits of character necessary to insure success, the services thus far rendered bespeak for him a wider and more distinguished career of usefulness in years to come. Unlike so many of his calling who become narrow and pedantic, the Professor is distinctly a man of the times, broad and liberal in his views, and has the courage of his convictions on the leading public questions and issues upon which men and parties divide. He also keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought along its various lines and, being a man of scholarly and refined tastes, is acquainted with the literature of the world in general, while his familiarity with the more practical affairs of the day makes him feel at ease with all classes and conditions of people whom he may meet. Deeply interested in the work to which his life is devoted. Professor I-'isher has not been unmindful of his duties as a citizen, and to this end takes an active part in public matters and lends his influence and support to all matters having for their object the advancement of the city and the intellectual and moral good of the people.

Wilbur F. Fisher was married October 25, 1907, to Bessie Sjjain, who was born near Hazleton, Indiana, the daughter of Byron S. Spain, a prominent citizen of that community, and to this union has been born one child

Jennie Louise. Religiously, Professor Fisher is a member of the Presbyterian church, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is a Democrat of the Bryan type and takes a deep interest in the success of his party. Personally, Professor Pisher is a popular man, possessing to a marked degre the characteristics which win and retain warm friendships. He is a member of one of the old pioneer families of Gibson county, his paternal grandfather, Jonathan Fisher, being one of the first settlers of Patoka, and here the family early became prominent and influential in local affairs. Jonathan Fisher engaged extensively in the pork packing business and ran a flat boat down the Alississippi river to New Orleans, Professor Fisher's father assisting him in this work. He married Polly Milburn and reared a family of eight children. From such sterling stock, the subject of this sketch inherited qualities which have enabled him to gain success, namely, perseverance, industry, and the strictest ideals of integrity and honesty. By his kindness and courtesy he has won an abiding place in the esteem of his fellow citizens and by his intelligence, energy and abiding spirit has made his influence felt among his associates during his residence in this county, and as a result occupies no small place in the esteem of the public.

Judge William M. Land

Judge William M. Land, at the time of his death on April 19, 1904, was the Nestor of the Princeton bar and one of the most prominent jurists in southern Indiana. He was born in Johnson township, Gibson county, Indiana, August 28, 1827, making his age at death nearly seventyseven years. He was a son of Abraham and Sarah Ann (Edwards) Land. His grandfather was a colonel in the Colonial army during the war of the Revolution. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. Abraham Land was a South Carolinian, hut married in Tennessee and came to live in Gibson county, near Fort Branch, in 1827. To this union were l)orn four sons nad four daughters, judge Land being the oldest of these children. The father was a cooper by trade, but became the pioneer miller of Gibson county, devoting his time to milling, although he lived on a farm. He served for many years as a justice of the peace and was held in high regard. His death occurred in 1S44. and his wife followed him in 1864.

youth attendeil the schools of his nci,L;hl)orli(H)(l. At the at^c of twenty, in January, 1848, he enlisted for service in the Mexican war as a meinher of Company I, Fourteenth United States Infantry, C(jntinuing with this command until honorably discharged in August, 1848. Returning home, he attended school for a time and then engaged in teaching for twelve years. The oldest of eight chiklren, he assumed the management of the farm and was the mainstay of the family until the children grew to maturity. While quite young. Judge Land was called upon to ser\e in positions of public trust. From 1853 until i860 he served successively as township assessor, county commissioner and township trustee, and while acting as trustee he erected the first frame school house in the township.

Shortly after returning from the Mexican war he took up the study of law, devoting spare hours to a diligent reading of Blackstone. He was admitted to. the Gibson count)- bar in February, 1857, and was the oldest living member up to the time of his death. In 1864 he moved to Princeton so he might engage more extensively in the practice of his profession. His ability, honesty and constant application resulted in a most successful career. He had a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the science of jurisprudence, and his argument of a case rested more on the clear, decisive truth and logic than upon oratorical effects. He was always devoted to his clients' interests and went to the depth of every legal point at issue. Wthough years crept upon him, his disposition for work and activity made it a pleasure to continue the practice until the time came when physical ailments precluded a further pursuit of business. During his career no less than nine or ten of the Princeton attorneys read law in his oflice.

Judge Land served as deputy district attorney, also as attorney for the city of Princeton. He became a member of the board of education in 1868 and during his term the first brick school house in Princeton was erected. In July, 1872, he was appointed to fill the unexpired term as judge of the common pleas court for the first district of Imliana, composed of the counties of Gibson, Vanderburg, Posey and Warrick. On dit¥erent occasions he served as special judge of the circuit courts of the above mentioned counties, and acted as judge of the superior court of Vanderburg county. Few cases tried under him were ever appealed and not one reversed by a higher court. This record indicates his superior ability as a jurist and his successful career in the field of law.

county, who died in 1888, and to this union there \\ere born six chilch-en, of whom the following survived their father: Oma, the wife of James B. Gamble, who is represented elsewhere in this work; Marion, Henry, Jessie and George.

Jutlge Land was a public-spirited citizen and encouraged public enterprise. He was especially interested in educational matters and aided much in the advancement of school interests in the city and county. In 1868 he became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took a deep interest in this order. In the order he held many high places and was a past grand.

During his life Judge Land was a member of three political parties. He voted with the Democracy early in life, but was a Republican from 1862 until 1884, when he took up the Prohibition cause and became a leader in the ranks of that party. He was earnest in the cause of temperance and his advocacy was fraught with much good for the cause he espoused.

Judge Land recognized in the worship of God a privileged duty of man and his life was lived along lines consistent with Christianity. He was a faithful member of the General Baptist church at Enon.

Judge Land was of literary bent, although this phase of his life was not as publicly known as was his ability as a lawyer and jurist. He possessed one of the largest libraries in the county and he was never so happy as when among his books. Among his many talents was that of verse writing, and his productions in verse are meritorious and deserve a wide circulation. These poems were carefully typewritten on pages of uniform size and collected in two books. The title of one, "Voyage to Waterloo, and Other Poems;" the other he called "The White Stone King," and other poems. The poems are on varied subjects and the genius of the author has given them a smoothness in style and a depth of thought which mark their excellence.

In the death of Judge Land, Gibson county lost an eminently useful man. He had ability and, what was more important, the disposition to use it at all times for the advancement of good morals and right principles. As a Christian gentleman, he was a model for the rising generation, and as a public-spirited citizen he had few peers in the community. There was in him a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commanded the respect of all, but greater than these was his unswerving integrity, and "an honest man is the noblest work of God."

Harvey Milburn

Specific mention is made in the following paragraphs of one of the worthy citizens of Gibson county, Indiana, one who has figured in the growth and development of the educational and financial interests of this favored locality, and whose interests have been identified with its progress, contributing in a definite measure in his particular spheres of action to the wellbeing of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Earnest purpose and tireless energy, combined with mature judgment and every-day common sense, have been among his most prominent characteristics and he has merited the respect and esteem which are accorded him by all who know him.

Harvey Milburn was born August 3. 1870, in I-ineus county, Missouri, the son of Augustus and Isabelle (Devin) Milburn. The father was born in Indiana, where he spent his life in farming in Gibson county, his death occurring there on August 2, 1009. The mother died on November 2, 1889. To the parents of the subject five children were born, namely: Preston is engaged in the general mercantile business and lives in Patoka; Alex D. is deceased; Harvey; Sue married Oscar Witherspoon, a farmer of Gib.<5on county; Mary married D. R. Trippet, a lumberman, and lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Augustus Milburn was allied politically with the Republican party, but never aspired to public ofifice.

A thorough education was granted Harvey Milburn, the suliject of this biographical review. He attended the common schools, then graduated from the high school at Patoka, and took the course in teacher training, supplementing this with a course in the State University at Bloomington, Indiana. At the conclusion of his studies he engaged in the jirofession of an educator, teaching in the schools of Gibson county for fifteen years and was principal of the South school for seven years.

On May 28. 1906, Mr. Milburn forsook pedagogical pursuits and entered the American National Bank as assistant cashier, which position he is yet filling in a praiseworthy manner, his genial personality and accommodating manners having won for him a wide circle of friends and been of inestimable value to the institution which he so capably .serves.

In December, 1898, the subject of this review was married to Ethel May Witherspooon, daughter of James C. and Fanny (King) Witherspoon. The father, who died in February, 1910, was an old settler in Gibson county, where he engaged in agriculture all his days. To the subject and wife have

The Republican party has constantly claimed Mr. Milburn's suffrage, while, fraternally, he is an earnest and appreciative member of the Masonic order. A worthy member of the First Presbj'terian church, Mr. Milburn takes a deep interest in its welfare and contributes liberally to its support.

Personally, the subject is a man whom it is a pleasure to meet, jovial, agreeable, hospitable and a well informed man. The Milburn family bears an excellent reputation throughout the county and takes tirst rank in the citizenship of this favored section of the fioosier state.

David Ingle, Sr

Indiana has been especially honored in the character and career of her active men of industry. In every section have been found men born to leadership in the various vocations, men who have dominated because of their superior intelligence, natural endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh their motives and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher excellence on the part of others. These reflections are suggested by the career of one who forged his way to the front ranks of the favored few, and who, by a strong inherent force and superior business ability, directed and controlled by intelligence and judgment of a high order, stood lor over a quarter of a century one of the leading men of his section of the state. No citizen in southwestern Indiana achieved more honorable mention or occupied a more conspicuous place in the public eye than David Ingle, Sr., whose earthly career is ended, but whose influence still pervades the lives of men, the good which he did having been too far-reaching to be measured in metes and bounds. In this age of colossal enterprise and marked intellectual energy, the prominent and successful men are those whose ambition and abilities lead them into large undertakings and to assume the responsibilities and labors of their respective fields of endeavor. Success is methodical and consecutive and though the rise of Mr. Ingle may have seemed rapid, it will be found that his success was attained by the same normal methods and means - determined application of mental and physical resources along a rightly defined line. To offer in a work of this province an adequate resume of the career of this good man would be impossible, but.

with Others of those who have conser\ed the civic and commercial progress of this section of Indiana, we may well note the more salient points that marked his life and labors. He was long a dominating power in public utilities as well as extensive private operations of a varied nature. He achieved a position as a substantial capitalist, gaining his success through legitimate and worthy means and he stood as an admirable t^pe of the self-made man.

David Ingle, Sr., was born on December 14, 1831, at Evansvillc, Indiana, and was a son of John and Isabella (Davidson) Ingle, the father a native of England and the mother of Scotland. The subject's paternal grandfather, John Ingle. Sr., was postmaster at Inglefield, north of Evansville, under President Andrew Jackson. He was a successful farmer, well-known justice of the peace and a very prominent and influential man in his community. John Ingle, Jr., was a well-known lawyer in Evansville and was successful in many other enterprises, having built and surveyed the Exansville & Terre Haute railroad, of which corporation he became the first president. He remained a citizen of Evansville until his death, which occurred in 1875, at the age of sixty-one years. David Ingle received only a public school education in the schools at Evansville and on leaving school he obtained employment in a hardware store in that city. A few years later he went to work for his father in the Ingleside mine, wbicli was the oldest mine in Indiana, and which had been opened in 1850 by some members of the Ingle family, and which had evidently come into the possession of John Ingle, Jr. After leaving the mine David Ingle became freight agent for the Merchants Dispatch fast freight lines, and in this capacity became somewhat acquainted with the details of railroad business. He was thus engaged until 1880, when he came to Oakland City and opened the old Tngleton coal mine just across the line in Pike county, and which at that time was the terminus of the railroad. The mine was a success from the start, though somewhat hampered in its operations because of the fact that the railroad company could not supply cars fast enough to ship the product. He was the pioneer in the coal industry in this section, and for many years operated this mine and then, going further east, opened other mines. He operated on a large scale on his own account, but in 1890 he organized the Ayrshire Coal Compan)-, which corporation branched out and opened and operated seven other plants, onl\- two of which are now being operated, the others having been worked out. Of this company David Ingle was president up to the time of his death, which occurred on October 18, IQ09. He did not confine his actixities to this immediate localitv. l)ut was heavilv interested in other mines over the state, though he did nut turn his ' f27) attention to any extent into other lines of business. Strong mental powers, invincible courage and a determined purpose that hesitated at no opposition so entered into his composition as to render him a dominant factor in the business world and a leader of men. He was essentially a man of affairs, of sound judgment, keen discernment, rare acumen, far-seeing in what he undertook and the enterprises to which he addressed himself resulted in liberal financial returns, his success in life being the legitimate fruitage of consecutive efifort directed and controlled by good judgment and correct principles.

Politically, Da\'id Ingle was a stanch supporter of the Republican party, but did not take a very active part in public affairs, his private business concerns demanding his undivided attention. Religiously, he was for many years a member of the Presbyterian church at Oakland City, being one of the prime movers in the erection of the present magnificent church building at Oakland City. He was for many years a member of the board of elders and treasurer of the church board.

On February 2, 1S75, David Ingle, Sr., was married to Fannie Burbank, the daughter of Bradford Burbank, of Evansville, and to them were born the following children, David and William D., who are mentioned in later paragraphs of this sketch; I'rances, the wife of William Bebb, who is a scientist and college professor in Chicago ; Katherine, the wife of M. K. Mitchell, also an educator in Chicago. Personall)^ Mr. Ingle was a man of great force of character and was usually found in the lead when any movement was on foot for the betterment of his community. In his business career, as well as his private life, no word of suspicion was ever breathed against him. His actions were always the result of careful and conscientious thought, and when once convinced that he was right no suggestion of policy or personal profit could swerve him from the course decided upon. His career was rounded in its beautiful simplicity, for he did his full duty in all the relations of life and it is said today that no man in the county in which he. lived enjoyed to a greater extent the affection and the confidence of the people more than did Mr. Ingle.

David Ingle, Jr., who succeeded his father as president of the Ayrshire Coal Company, was born on October 5, 1875, at Evansville, Indiana, and received his education in the public and high school at Oakland City, supplementing his studies by a course in the Rose Polytechnic Institute at Terre Haute, where he was graduated in civil engineering in 1S97. Then for a }'ear he was employed in the engineering department of the Evansville & Terre Haute railroad, at the end of which period he became associated with his father in the Ayrshire Coal Company, with which he has since been identified.

On October 5, 1904, I^a\icl hi,L;lc, jr., was married lo l^llic Uut^lies, tlie daughter of R. P. Hughes, a successful and well-known merchant of Evansville, and to them has been l)orn a son. I)a\id. braternally. Mr. ingle is a member of the Masonic order, having attained the degree of Knight Templar and belonging to the commandery at Princeton.

\\'illiam D. Ingle, second son of David Ingle, Sr., received his education in the public schools and Rose Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated in 1903 in the electrical engineering de])artment. After completing his studies he became connected with the St. Louis Transit Company, with which be remained for about three years, ami was then for four years in i'"\ansville, where he had charge of the old Ingle mines. Since then he has been connected with the Ayrshire Coal Company as secretar}-. and has been active in the management and advancement of this enterprise.

On August 30. 191 T, Mr. Ingle married Grace Ross, the daughter of W. W. Ross, of Evansville, and to them have been bom two children, William and Kenneth. Religiously, Mr. Ingle is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder and in the various activities of which he is deeply interested.

George C. Burton

It is proper to judge of the success of a man's life Ijy the estimation in which he is held liy his fellow citizens. They see him at work, in his family circle, in church, hear his views on public c^uestions, observe the operation of his code of morals, witness how he conducts himself in all the relations of society and civilization, and are therefore competent to judge of his merits and demerits. After a long course of years of such daily observation, it would be out of the question for his neighbors not to know the truth concerning his worth, for, as has been said, "actions speak louder than words." In this connection it is not too much to say that the subject of this sketch, who has long since passed to his reward, passed a life of unusual honor, that he was industrious and had the C(Mifidence of all who had the pleasure of bis friendship.

George T. Burton was born November 12. 1833, in London. England. the son of Robert and Rosamond Burton, and died August 6. 1909, in Princeton, Gibson county. Indiana. Robert Burton and children emigrated to America when the subiect was a boy and. in 1846. settled in Gibson county..

Indiana, southeast of Princeton. Here they acquired one hundred and sixty acres of land, to which they subsecjuently added an additional tract of one hundred and twenty acres. The subject's mother died in England. Robert Burton was a piano tuner in England, but on his arrival in Gibson county he turned to agriculture, which he followed the rest of his days, his death occurring on the home farm. The four children of the subject's parents were: Robert, who died in Princeton ; George C. ; .Sarah married Jasper Heisy and both are now deceased; Lizzie died on September 5, 1913.

George C. Burton had attended the common schools in London, England, before his parents brought him to America, and on his arrival here he lived with his father, helping in the work on the place and continuing the operation of the home farm after his father's death. Li 1901 the subject retired from active agricultural life and moved to Princeton, where he spent the remainder of his days in peaceful and honorable retirement.

On August 10, 1865, Mr. Burton was united in marriage with Nancy Geise, who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 18-L6, a daughter of William and Mary (Groves) Geise, he a native of Germany and she of Ohio. The father of Mrs. Burton came to the United States when quite a young man and located in Indianapolis. He was a baker by trade. In 1852 he removed to Gibson county and secured a farm in Patoka township, which he operated until his death, in his sixtieth year. His wife passed to her reward at the age of seventy-three. The father was a Lutheran in his religious belief, while the mother belonged to the Baptists. To the parents of Mrs. Burton were born eight children, namely : Mary is the wife of Henry White and lives north of Princeton ; Nancy, now Mrs. Burton ; Sophia married Charles Heisz, of Patoka township; August, an expert machinist, lives at Oakland City, Indiana; William is a retired farmer at Princeton; Christina is the wife of Fred Hasselbrink, a farmer in Patoka township; Henrietta, deceased, was the wife of John Keifer; Lizzie is unmarried and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

To the subject and wife were born seven children, as follows : Rosamond married Frank Stormont, proprietor of a moving picture show at Princeton; George married Ruth Milburn and is superintendent of a coal mine; Ronald is operating the old home place in Patoka township and married Nina Williams; Jesse is a painter in Princeton and married Thursa McCullough; Ralph married Susan Bremer and is employed by the Independent Telephone Company at Princeton; Mabel is the wife of Burt Mc- Cullough, a restaurant keeper in Princeton; Harry, who is unmarried and