Mr. Babb was born on a farm in Delaware County, Indiana, July 24, 1876, and is a son of John M. and Emily (Hupp) Babb. His paternal grandfather, Evan T. Babb, was born in Virginia, in 1809, and when his father died, in 1819, accompanied his brother and widowed mother to Indiana, taking up a quarter section of land in Delaware County, east of Muncie. Although he was only ten years of age at the time, he assumed a man’s responsibilities, and not only assisted his brother in the cultivation of the farm, but secured sufficient education to become a teacher in the rural schools, thus adding to his small income. In later years, through constant industry and the exercise of good judgment, he became one of the substantial men of his community, where he was greatly esteemed for his many sterling qualities. He espoused the cause of the Union, and when the war between the states broke out, although he was fifty-two years of age at the time, he joined the Home Guard, at which he continued to be a member until the war closed. John M. Babb, his son, and father of Charles V. Babb, was born in Delaware County, where he received his education in the rural schools and under the preceptorship of his father. He grew up on the home farm, and spent his entire life in agricultural operations. Mr. Babb married Emily Hupp, also of Delaware County, and they became the parents of eleven children.
Charles V. Babb attended the public schools of Delaware County, and was only eighteen years of age when he entered upon his independent career as a worker in the gas and oil fields. After seven years of that kind of work he returned to farming in Delaware County, and was thus engaged until 1907, in which year he came to Clark county, and discharged the duties of that office faithfully for twelve years, when he resigned to enter upon the responsibilities of the office of county clerk, to which post he had been elected in 1926 and which he has since filled energetically and commendably. Mr. Babb has always been a loyal, partriotic and public-spirited citizen, and during the World war was active in all the drives and in encouraging the production of agricultural supplies. As a fraternalist he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodsmen of America, in both of which he has numerous sincere friends.
Mr. Babb was married at Muncie, Indiana, to Miss Anna Shroyer, of Delaware County, a member of a pioneer agricultural family of the 1819 period in Indiana. To this union there have been born two children: Florence Armina and Eugene Shroyer, both of whom are attending school. Mr. Babb maintains offices in the courthouse at Jeffersonville, and his pleasant home is a 1207 Spring Street.
Click here for photo.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CURTIS BUTLER, an undertaker and embalmer at Oakland City, was a native of Southern Indiana, and was a very capable business man and one of the men to whom Oakland City turned when it needed public spirited cooperation in progressive community undertakings.
Mr. Butler was born in Pike County, Indiana, June 10, 1887. His father, Fred Butler, was a native of England, and was brought to the United States by his parents when he was a boy. On the voyage one of his sisters died and was buried on Jamaica Island. Mr. Butler’s father for many years was a live stock dealer and is now in the grain business. He has always taken an active part in politics and served eight years as county chairman of the Democratic party, and for two terms was trustee of Barton Township. The mother of Curtis Butler was Sarah France, who was born in Pike County and is now sixty-three years of age. There were two children, Curtis and Lillie, the latter the wife of Vern Billart.
Curtis Butler secured his early education in public schools, including high school, and for two years was a student in Lockyear's Business College at Evansville. At the beginning of the Wilson administration he was appointed postmaster of Oakland City and filled that office eight years, until 1920. In 1920 he was graduated from the Askin Embalming School of Indianapolis and in the same year returned to Oakland City and has carried on an embalming and undertaking business that represents a splendid standard of professional service throughout Gibson County.
Mr. Butler married, June 28, 1910, Miss Etta Hurt, daughter of James and Florence (Pfohl) Hurt, natives of Gibson County. They had three children, Jean, born in 1911, Betty Lou, born in 1916, and Mary Alice, born in 1924. Jean is a graduate of Franklin College of Indiana. Mr. Butler was a Democrat and found expression for his public spirit through his party and through active membership in clubs and various civic organizations. He was a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, and it was through his determined efforts that Oakland City Masons undertook and completed the building of a fine Masonic Temple. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias and was secretary and president of the Kiwanis Club. He also served on the school board. Mr. Butler died October 11, 1929, of neuralgia of the heart.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES W. HALBRUGE. Dean of the business men of Rockport in point of continuous connection with commercial affairs, Charles W. Halbruge, president of the large dry goods firm of C. W. Halbruge Company, Inc., is also one of the most prominent citizens of his community as to public service. His career commenced when he was only thirteen years of age, and from modest beginnings he has worked his way steadily upward to independence and recognition, always maintaining a high place in the esteem and confidence of those among whom he has lived and labored.
Mr. Halbruge was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 30, 1853, and is a son of Charles and Barbara (Reichel) Halbruge, the former a native of Germany, who came to the United States in young manhood and settled at Baltimore, subsequently moving to Rockport, Indiana, where he passed the remainder of his life. The early education of Charles W. Halbruge was acquired in the tuition schools of Baltimore, where he attended every day of the year from six to eleven years of age, as was then the custom, and this training was later supplemented by attendance at an academy at Rockport which was under the control of the Methodist Church. In March, 1867, when he was about thirteen years of age, he secured employment in the dry goods establishment of Grant T. Dunnigan, who died soon after and in July, 1868, Mr. Halbruge entered the employ of T. S. Taylor & Son, also dry goods merchants of Rockport. His initial salary was ten dollars per month, but as he proved faithful, honest and industrious he was advanced from time to time, was admitted to partnership in 1873, and in 1886 the firm name of Taylor & Halbruge was adopted. This continued until 1891, when the firm name became C. W. Halbruge, and in 1904 the present name of the C. W. Halbruge Company,. Inc., was adopted. In 1909 Mr. Halbruge purchased his present commodious building, to which he added during the same year, and now has one of the largest and most modern establishments of its kind in this part of the state, doirig an extensive business throughout the section. He is widely known because of his business integrity and probity, and is a devout member of the Presbyterian Church. He is a Democrat in politics, and in 1900, was elected a delegate from the First Congressional District. In 1916 he was elected a member of the County Council, and served as its president for four years. During the World war he was county publicity man and a member of the food administration committee. Fraternally he is a Noble of Hadi Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., being a charter member, also a charter member of Rockport Lodge No. 107, K. of P. He has various financial interests, having been a promoter of several city industries, and always takes an active part in public movements.
On January 8,1892, Mr. Halbruge was married at Rockport to Miss Carrie V. Proctor, a descendant of two of the oldest historical families of the state. She is a daughter of James Proctor, a native of Hollis, New Hampshire, who came to Rockport in young manhood, engaged in mercantile pursuits, and died in 1864. He was commissioned, July 15, 1853, by Gov. Joseph A. Wright, colonel of the Fourth Regiment, First Military District of the State of Indiana. His father was given a land grant by President John Quincy Adams, under the date of April 7, 1825. Colonel Proctor married Mary E. Morgan, who was born at Rockport, January 5, 1821, and died January 3, 1896. Her father, John Morgan, was born March 25, 1785, in Ireland, and in young manhood immigrated to the United States and settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he found employment at clerical work. Later he came to Rockport, where he became the first postmaster and was also first clerk of the Circuit Court. A man of superior intellect, he took a prominent and active part in civic and public affairs, was a generous supporter and member of the Baptist Church, and served as a captain in the State Militia.
To Mr. and Mrs. Halbruge there was born one son: Charles, born July 3, 1893. After attending the public schools of Rockport Charles Halbruge pursued a course at the University of Illinois, graduating in commerce and business as a member of the class of June, 1916, and majoring in these two subjects. He is now associated with his father in business, and is known as one of the substantial and capable young business men of his native city. He is a York Rite Mason and a member of Hadi Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Evansville. Charles Halbruge married Miss Norma Seipel, a native of Rockport, and they have two children: Mary Emily, born in 1918; and Frederick Seipel, born in 1920. Mrs. Halbruge takes a prominent and influential part in club and social life, having been grand officer of the state in 1911 and 1912 and is a past president of the Woman's Club. She is likewise a member of the Spencer County Historical Society, the Southwestern Historical Society and the Southern Indiana Historical Society and is well informed upon the early history of the southern part of the state.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CARL C. WOLLNER, A. B. In naming the men who through superior intellectual attainments, enlightened views and great capacity for application have contributed to the educational advancement of Indiana, mention is due Carl C. Wollner, A. B., of Rockport, who since June, 1925, has occupied the office of superintendent of schools of Spencer County. His entire career has been devoted whole-heartedly to the profession of his choice, and while he has been a resident of Rockport for only a comparatively short period, he has already established himself firmly in the confidence of the friendly people of this thriving community.
Superintendent Wollner was born in Hancock County, Kentucky, September 21, 1885, and is a son of Charles and Annie (Banks) Wollner. Charles Wollner was born on a farm in Spencer County, where he was educated in the public schools and reared to the pursuits of farming. In young manhood, however, he decided upon a different career, learned milling, and at present is chief engineer of the Cadeck Milling Company, of Grand View, Indiana, and one of his locality's leading and highly-respected citizens. Mr. Wollner married Miss Annie Banks, a native of Hancock County, Kentucky, and they became the parents of three children: Lily, who died at the age of fifteen years; Lila, the wife of Oscar Basedou, manager of the Tip Top Creamery Company, of Tell City, Perry County, Indiana; and Carl C., of this review.
Carl C. Wollner attended the public schools of Grand View, Indiana, following which he spent four years in the high school at Lebanon, Ohio, and then enrolled as a student in the University of Indiana, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1916. He is now working for his degree of Master of Arts, which he expects to secure in the summer of 1930. Following his graduation in 1916 Mr. Wollner did some further preparatory work, and in 1917 became principal of the high school at Richland, Indiana, where he remained for two years and achieved great popularity. His next position was that of professor of mathematics at Seymour, Indiana, where he remained for one year, then returning to Grand View, where he was made superintendent of city schools. In June, 1925, he was elected superintendent of schools of Spencer County, at that time moving his home to Rockport, and administered the affairs of his office so capably that he was reelected to the position in June, 1929. Mr. Wollner is not only an able educator, but a capable executive, and has done much to improve standards since assuming the duties of his present position. He has an excellent reputation in his profession, and belongs to the leading educational organizations. His offices are located in the courthouse. Politically Mr. Wollner is a Democrat. He is a past worshipful master of Grand View Lodge No. 191, A. F. and A. M., and patron of the Eastern Star Chapter at Rockport. He is the owner of land in Spencer County and is interested in farming operations.
On December 2, 1923, at Evansville, Indiana, Mr. Wollner was united in marriage with Miss Dora Hagan, the youngest of the three children of Charles and Mary (Gilman) Hagan, natives of Spencer County, where Mr. Hagan has been engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
SAMUEL GRAHAM SHANNON. Few remain amid earthly scenes of the early hardy group of venturesome men and women who were present at the beginning of organized society in the Middle West. Those who confronted the hardships and privations of the pioneer period in Indiana, and whose lives have been bounteously lengthened out into the fourth generation succeeding their birth, are conspicuous through their rapidly-diminishing numbers. However, they have been succeeded and are represented today by worthy individuals who have taken up their work where they laid it down, and who have cherished and maintained the standards set by those who blazed the way for civilization. Among the men who represents an old and honored family of the state is Samuel G. Shannon, the owner of Shannon's Dairy, at Jeffersonville.
Mr. Shannon was born on a farm in Clark County, Indiana, September 4, 1893, and is a son of Randall and Helen (Wright) Shannon. His paternal grandfather, John F. Shannon, was born in Pennsylvania, about 1849, and was only sixteen years of age when he enlisted for service in the Union army during the last year of the war between the states. Subsequently he came to Clark County, .Indiana, where he spent the rest of his life in farming and was known as one of the substantial citizens of his community. He married Miss Eliza Yarbrough, of Clark County, a member of the first family to settle in this county.
Randall Shannon was born in Clark County, where he attended country school, and was reared on his father's farm. He engaged in farming in young manhood and later began dairying, and followed these two occupations during the remainder of his active career. He was a man of integrity and good citizenship, and supported education, religion and all movements making for progress and development. Mr. Shannon married Miss Helen Wright, who was born in Kentucky, and they became the parents of eight children.
Samuel G. Shannon acquired a rural school education. He was about fifteen years of age when his grandfather died, and this necessitated his giving up his studies and assist in the support of the family, as he was the eldest of the boys. Being a lad of industry and ambition, he established himself in the dairy business, with six cows and about sixty customers in the vicinity of Jeffersonville, and has continued in the same line to the present. His industry and good service have been awarded by success in his chosen field of activity, and he now has about 4,000 accounts on his books and does business allover Clark and Floyd counties. He uses three wagons and three trucks in delivering his milk, cream and other dairy products, and travels allover this region buying cream from the farmers. His modern, sanitary establishment gives employment to thirteen people, and is located at 113 West Maple Street. Mr. Shannon has become known as one of the most progressive men in his line in this part of the state, and is a valued member of the Indiana Dairymen's Association. By straightforward dealing he has won public standing and confidence, and a recognized place in business circles. The faith in which he is held by his fellow-citizens at Jeffersonville is evidenced by the fact that he is treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce, in addition to which he is an active and enthusiastic Rotarian. Fraternally he is affiliated with the local Blue Lodge of Masonry.
Mr. Shannon married Miss Frankie C. Hill, a native of Clark County, and to this union there has been born one child, Juanita Catherine.
Clickhere for photo.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
FREDERICK H. HAGERMAN was a youth of about eighteen years when he came from his native Prussia to the United States, with virtually no financial resources and dependent upon his own energies in making his way to the goal of independence and prosperity. He proved one of the world's workers and in the course of the passing years he gained rank as one of the prosperous, enterprising and representative exponents of farm industry in Posey County, Indiana, where he long lived and wrought to worthy ends and where he was an honored and influential citizen at the time of his death, he having here passed away at the age of seventy-six years. To his daughter Elizabeth, widow of August Blosfeld and residing on her farm one-half mile west of Mount Vernon, the county seat, are the publishers indebted for the data for this memoir to a citizen whose name is held in lasting honor in Posey County.
In a district on the Weiser River in Prussia, Germany, the birth of Frederick H. Hagerman occurred on October 3, 1839, and his somewhat limited education in his youth was obtained in the schools of that locality, his broader education having been gained through self-discipline and practical association with men and affairs. At the age of fourteen years he was indentured, or bound out, to a man of the old home neighborhood, for a term of three years, and at the expiration of his period he found employment at Bremerhaven, where he remained about two years. In November, 1857, he embarked on a sailing vessel for the voyage to the United States, and after landing in the port of New Orleans, Louisiana, he found employment at chopping wood, for which service he received sixty cents a cord. Mr. Hagerman worked as a general laborer until he was twenty-six years of age, and in coming to Indiana he proceeded by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Evansville. In this state he turned his attention to farm enterprise, and at the time of his death he was one of the most progressive and substantial farmers in Posey County. He rendered good account for himself in all the relations of life, his political allegiance was given to the Republican party and he and his wife, who died at the age of sixty-four years, were active members of the Trinity Evangelical Church at Mount Vernon.
March 14, 1867, marked the marriage of Mr. Hagerman to Miss Augusta Deusner, daughter of Philip and Amelia (Esskuchen) Deusner, and of this union were born nine children, concerning whom brief record is made in the concluding paragraph of this memoir.
Katie A., first of the children, was born January 6, 1868, and died on the 11th of the following July. Philip H., who was born June 26, 1869, and who is one of the extensive representatives of farm industry in Posey County, with his residence now maintained at Mount Vernon, married Miss Dora Schelhorn, and their two children are Mrs. John Bernd and Harry Philip. Molly A., next younger of the children, was born October 14, 1871, and died on the 14th of the following month. Frederick O., who was born July 12, 1874, and who died May 17, 1930, at Bloomington, Illinois, married Miss Katherine Leorch, who is now deceased. They had two children: Mrs. Charles Cheevers and Ralph, both residents of Bloomington. Sophia V., who was born December 30, 1876, is the widow of Frank J. Wittmer, resides at Evansville, Indiana, and has no children. Elizabeth H., who was born December 29, 1878, became the wife of August Blosfeld, who died December 8, 1911, and she resides with her sister on a fine farm estate near Mount Vernon, which is the Hagerman homestead, her only child, Augusta, who was born February 27, 1910, being now a dietician in the Herman Kiefer Hospital at Detroit, Michigan. William L. and Charles E., twins, were born June 16, 1881, and the former died October 23, 1925, the maiden name of his widow having been Amelia Kreie. They were the parents of five children: Frederick L., who lives at Denver, Colorado, where he is a bank cashier, and has two children, Richard Frederick and Sherley Ann, his wife's name being Florette Galher, of Wyoming; Lucile, who married Roy Dawson, is manager of Crest Hotel at Chicago; Philip L., who is unmarried and is a salesman in Chicago; Florence Hilda, who is unmarried and lives at Mount Vernon; Janet, who also lives at home in Mount Vernon, where she attends school. Charles E. Hagerman, who is a prosperous farmer in Posey County, as was also his twin brother, married Miss Bertha Gronemier, and they have three children, two of whom died quite young, the third being Wilford, who assists his father on the farm. Bertha P., youngest of the children, and who was born September 23, 1885, is the widow of John H. Moore, of Evansville, and maintains her home on the Hagerman homestead with her sister, her only child, Martha, born December 8, 1908, being now manager of the Southland Coal Company at Mount Vernon.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
LORONZO D. GOODWIN, M..D. In Dr. Loronzo D. Goodwin, physician and surgeon at Holland, Indiana, is found one of Dubois County's able and experienced medical practitioners, and a broad-minded citizen who always has lent his influence to advance the welfare of his community. A native of Illinois, Doctor Goodwin's boyhood and early school days were passed there, but all of his subsequent life of earnest effort has been spent in Indiana. Immediately after receiving his medical degree from Evansville Medical College he established himself in a country practice near Owensville and continued there until 1919. He then moved to Winslow, where he carried on a successful practice until December 3, 1930, when, in response to an urgent request from leading business and professional men of Holland, he moved to his present location to become the only doctor in that section. He has a wide professional acquaintance as a valued member of the Pike County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
Doctor Goodwin was born October 30, 1862, at Noble, Richland County, Illinois, and he is a son of Joseph S. and Nancy (Rawlings) Goodwin, the former of whom, born in Kentucky, died in 1884, and the latter, born in Maryland, died in 1897. They had but the one child, but by a former marriage the father had eleven children.
From his boyhood Doctor Goodwin was determined to be a physician, and bent his energies to accomplish his desire, there having been four of his half-brothers who became physicians before him. As a student he was persevering and apt, and when he was graduated, in 1886, with his degree of Doctor of Medicine, he was fully prepared to engage in his life work.
Doctor Goodwin has been thrice married, first to Miss Emma Madox, of Gibson County, Indiana, to whom he was united in December, 1885. She bore him six children. John L. is employed in a paper mill at Terre Haute, Indiana. He married Emma Conklin, and they have four children. Orville, who lives in East Saint Louis, Illinois; married Hattie Hendricks, and they have four children. Marie, who lives in East Saint Louis, is the wife of Clyde Boyer, and they have one daughter. Margaret, who is unmarried, lives in East Saint Louis. Loran, who lives in Evansville, Indiana, married Francis Springfield, but they have no children. Alonzo married Viva Trennan and they live in East Saint Louis, no children. On July 1, 1911, Mrs. Goodwin died and in May, 1920, Doctor Goodwin married Miss Effie Chesser. She died September 30, 1928, leaving no children. On October 15, 1930, Doctor Goodwin married Miss Lola Nelson, of Winslow. While he has never cared for public honors, Doctor Goodwin exerts his right of suffrage, and always votes the Republican ticket. In religious affiliations he is a Baptist. His practice is a remunerative one.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES WASHINGTON LADD, M. D. For nearly half a century Dr. Charles W. Ladd was engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery at Cannelton, Perry County, and during this time had risen steadily to it leading position among the members of his calling in Southern Indiana. Coming here immediately following his graduation from college, he took his place in the life which a thriving community offered to a young and ambitious man, and as the years passed contributed by his services to the development of his adopted locality both as a physician and a citizen.
Doctor Ladd was born at Louisville, Kentucky, a son of Washington and Mary (Steel) Ladd. His father, who was a North Carolinian by birth, moved to Indiana in young manhood, and with the exception of a short stay in Kentucky spent the rest of his life in the Hoosier State, becoming a substantial cattle man and stock dealer of Sullivan County. He married Mary Steel, who was born in Indiana, and they became the parents of nine children: Mattie, James, Anna, Lula, Charles W., Ella, John, Frank and Robert.
The early education of Charles W. Ladd was acquired in the country schools of Sullivan County following which he taught school for two years, and then entered the University of Louisville, Kentucky, from which he was graduated with honors and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine as a member of the class of 1882. Immediately thereafter he opened an office at Cannelton, where for nearly fifty years he was engaged in a constantly increasing practice in general medicine and surgery, and was universally recognized as one of the most learned, capable and reliable men of his calling in the southern part of the state at the time of his death. He was a constant student of his profession, did post-graduate work at the New York Polyclinic, and was a member of the Perry County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Throughout his career Doctor Ladd was a benevolent man, giving his services freely to those who were without means, and many men who are now engaged in successful practice owe their start in life to his kindly instruction and financial aid when they were beginning their careers. He was a great friend of education, showed a commendable degree of public spirit, and backed all movements making for religion, morality and good citizenship. Politically he was a Democrat without aspirations for public office. He belonged to the Catholic Church and to the Catholic Knights of America.
On August 20, 1882, at Louisville, Doctor Ladd was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Reardon, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Linahan) Reardon, of Louisville, and to this union there has been born one daughter: Anita, the wife of Dr. L. P. Casper, a successful practicing physician and surgeon of Louisville. Doctor and Mrs. Casper have four children: C. L., a graduate of the Electrical Engineering School, who passed his examination with high honors; and is now employed by the Bell Telephone Company as a consulting engineer and trouble man allover the line; and Eugene, Vernon and Ruth, who reside with their parents.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
FERDINAND E. BURGER. Digital dexterity is not all that is required of a merchant tailor in order that he may reach the heights of popular patronage in his calling. He must possess in addition the good taste that amounts to an art that not only enables him to select the colors and materials best suited for his trade, but also to know what is best suited to the individual in order to bring out his best points, and conceal those less admirable. If he is not a sound business man, and a good mixer as well, the patronage will go to someone better prepared to meet all of the exacting requirements of a trade that has been raised to the dignity of an honored calling. Princeton, Indiana, had one man, Ferdinand E. Burger who was universally recognized to possess all the requirements mentioned above, and his establishment, at 126 West State Street, became patronized by the fashionable clientele of the city and its environs.
The birth of Ferdinand E. Burger occurred in Germany, May 10, 1845, and he was a son of Joseph Burger, also a tailor, who followed his trade until his death. He married Martha Burger, a native of Germany, whose death occurred in 1911, and they had eight children, four sons and four daughters.
Reared in his native land, Fredinand E. Burger attended the public schools until he was twelve years old, at which time he was set to work learning his trade in his father's shop, and completed his apprenticeship with great thoroughness. In 1865 he came to the United States, at which time he was but nineteen years old, arriving at the port of New York, from whence he went to Buffalo, New York, to visit an aunt, and remained in that city for a time. From there he came still further west, to Cincinnati, Ohio, where, until 1870 he continued to follow his trade. In 1870 he came to Indiana, and after several years spent at Petersburg he, in 1873, located permanently at Princeton, and here he remained until his recent death, not only building up a very select patronage, but educating the taste of his customers.
In September, 1873, Mr. Burger was married to Miss Matilda Bitter, a daughter of Peter Bitter, of Cincinnati, and eleven children were born to them, namely: Ida, Lou, Daisy, Emma, Frances (known as Tot), Mabel, Charlstine, Nettie, George Edward, Amelia and Ferdinand. Ida, deceased, was the wife of William Stewart, the mother of one child, and lived at Saint Louis, Missouri. Lou is the wife of Sidney Jacobs, and mother of one child, and they live in California. Daisy married George Shrader, and they have one child. Emma married Harry Smith, and they have two children. Frances married Harry Sanford, they have one child, and live at Saint Louis, Missouri. Mabel, who married John Dorsey, is now a childless widow. Charlstine married Frank Beeler, they have one child, and live at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nettie married John Parrot, manager of the Princeton Electric Light Plant, and they had four children, one died in infancy. George Edward, who is a capitalist and oil operator of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is married and has four children.
Mr. Burger of this review was a Presbyterian and a Republican. His fraternal affiliations were those which he maintained with the Knights of Pythias. He owned valuable business property at Princeton in addition to his tailoring establishment, and all that he accumulated he earned through his own efforts. Mr. Burger was a successful business man during practically all of his life, had an enviable reputation for ability and integrity, and enjoyed the full fruits of an active and honorable career. He always employed an able and conscientious force of employes about him whom he educated up to his ideals of clean business methods, and it is the truth that no establishment of his kind in the state stands higher for fair and square dealing.
It was a source of great pride to Mr. Burger that he was able to give his large family better advantages than fell to his own lot in life, although he respected the memory of his parents and realized that the stern, thorough training he received under his father's watchful supervision was of great benefit to him in his own career. At times he wondered if parents today are not becoming a little lax in their dealing with their children, and that the latter may have to pay for undue indulgences. While he was born on foreign shores no man in the country was a better American than he, and he had the best interests of Princeton close at heart, never hesitating to respond promptly and generously to demands made upon, him for contributions to those measures which have for their object the betterment of conditions at Princeton and in Gibson County. Mr. Burger passed away January 15, 1931, and is buried at Princeton, and Mrs. Burger passed away April 14, 1914.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES LONG. The value of a useful trade, of making one's energies count toward one thing, of forging steadily ahead regardless of obstacles and discouragements, have found emphatic expression in the career of Charles Long, who since 1919 has been proprietor of the Acme Machine Works, at Jeffersonville. Mr. Long is a self-made man in every sense, as he has been independent of the help or assistance of others since he was seventeen years old, when he began his wage-earning career. The success that has come to him has been fairly and honorably earned, and in the meantime he has held the confidence of his fellow-citizens as a man of public spirit and civic pride.
Mr. Long was born August 24, 1879, at Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana, and is a son of John Oliver and Alice (Hickman) Long. The Long family traces its genealogy back to the Colonial period of American history, and its members have taken a prominent and helpful part in the Revolutionary war, the War of 1812, the war between the states, and the other struggles of more recent dates. John Oliver Long was born at Homestead, Pennsylvania, where he was reared and educated, and there learned the machinist and boilermarker's trades. In 1875 he came to Jeffersonville, where he followed those vocations industriously until his death in 1881, when he was still a young man. He married Alice Hickman, who was born at Wheeling, West Virginia, and they became the parents of two children.
Charles Long was only two years of age at the time of his father's death, when he was taken into the home of and reared by his grandfather. He attended the public schools, including the high school, and when he was seventeen years of age, having probably inherited some of his father's natural predilection for mechanics, began to learn the trade of machinist, at Jeffersonville. He followed this calling with some success until the outbreak of the World war, when he was taken into the Government service and became chief mechanic in the motor transport service.
Later he was made chief mechanic in the engineering division, and retained that position for five years. In 1919 Mr. Long founded the Acme Machine Company, manufacturers of all kinds of machine parts, and from a modest beginning has built up a substantial and prosperous business. He owns a modern, up- to-date plant at 110 Spring Street, which he has equipped with the latest machinery, and has a contract to do all the general work for the New Albany, Jeffersonville & Louisville Railroad, specializing also in Diesel engines and electric motors. He is known as an expert mechanic and a man of high business integrity, and has the confidence and regard of the people among whom he has lived and labored. Fraternally Mr. Long is identified with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but has never sought public preferment of any kind Mr. Long was united in marriage, at Jeffersonville, with Miss Mabel Brown, who was born in Washington County, Indiana, a member of an old family of this state and daughter of a substantial agriculturist. To this union there have been born eight children: Charles, Jr., a machinist, who is associated with his father in the works at Jeffersonville, Hazel Ivy, Madge Laverne, Warren Shelby, Myra Ruth, Mabel Esther, Norma Louise and Marilyn Rose. The pleasant family home is located at 910 Pratt Street.
Click here for photo.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
SAMUEL SLUTSKY is a South Bend plumbing and heating contractor, a business man who came here from Chicago and has built up a very satisfactory and prosperous business in the course of ten years.
He was born in Russia, April 15; 1898, and was seven years of age when, in 1905, his parents, Abraham and Ida Slutsky, left Russia and came to the United States, locating in Chicago, where Abraham lived until his death on April 10, 1922, when eighty-one years of age. The widowed mother resides in Chicago, and of their twelve children eight are living, Samuel having been the fourth in order of birth.
Samuel Slutsky was educated in schools in Chicago and as a boy began his apprenticeship at the plumbing and heating trade. During the World war he was employed as a civilian in maintenance work in army camps, and soon afterward, in 1919, located at South Bend as a plumbing and heating contractor. He has installed plumbing and heating and ventilating apparatus in many large buildings over Northern Indiana. Recently he completed at 1216 W. Washington Avenue a fine new building, providing ample show room for equipment and supplies and shops for his staff of expert mechanics. Mr. Slutsky is president of the Main Street Realty Company.
He married Miss Agnes Taylor, who was born in South Bend, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Taylor. They have two children, Harold and Lila. Mr. Slutsky is a member of the Masonic Lodge, is active in the West side Business Men's Association, and in the line of his profession belongs to the South Bend Sanitary Engineers Society and the National Pipe Fitters Association.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
EARL R. SNYDER, M. D. As a follower of the most humanitarian profession known to mankind, Dr. Earl R. Snyder has achieved that success which comes to an individual who finds his work congenial and who invests it with determination, enthusiasm and natural ability. The physician has ever before him the chance of making himself an enormously useful factor in a community, and a realization of this possibility has come to Doctor Snyder at Troy, Perry County, where he has been engaged in practice since April, 1902.
Doctor Snyder was born at Cannelton, Indiana, July 14, 1881, and is a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Nicolay) Snyder. This branch of the Snyder family was founded in Indiana by the grandfather of Doctor Snyder, an early settler who secured wild land and developed a well-cultivated and productive farm, becoming one of the substantial agriculturists of Perry County. Charles Snyder was born on his father's farm in Perry County, where he acquired a public school education, and as a young man took up the vocations of farming and stock raising, in which he continued to be engaged all his life. He was a man of high character and enjoyed to the full the respectful regard of his fellow-townsmen. He married Elizabeth Nicolay, also a member of an old and honored Perry County family, and to this union there were born five children: Earl R., Bert, Olive, Harry and Charles.
The early education of Earl R, Snyder was acquired in the public schools and after graduating from the high school at Cannelton took up the study of medicine under Doctors Ladd and Hendershot. He next entered the medical department of the Louisville (Kentucky) University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine as a member of the class of April, 1902, and immediately commenced practice at Troy, where he is now in the enjoyment of one of the largest practices in this part of the state. Doctor Snyder has always been a general practitioner, being fully at home in all departments of his profession, and as a diagnostician, practitioner and operator has won high standing and universal confidence. During his long period of practice he has served as coroner of Perry County two terms, and two terms as county health officer. He belongs to the Perry County Medical Society, of which he is president, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In addition to his extensive practice he has owned and operated for twenty-one years, the only drug store in Troy, a well stocked store that serves the people of Troy and surrounding territory in an important capacity. He is also a member of the board of directors and president of the Troy Bank, and president of the Troy Chair Factory. He recently completed a residence which is one of the finest homes in the county. Doctor Snyder is a staunch Democrat in his political convictions and is president of the school board. He belongs to the Catholic Church .and is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and as a public-spirited citizen has been an active supporter of all worthy civic movements.
Doctor Snyder married Miss Floretta Smith, in March, 1903, and she died in December, 1903, leaving one child, Floretta, who now resides at Louisville, Kentucky. In 1905 Doctor Snyder married Miss Carolyn Backer, of Troy, and she died in 1918, during the epidemic of influenza. There were five children born to this union: Earl F., Lucile, Evelyn, Dorothy and Maxine. In 1920 Doctor Snyder married Miss Agnes Paulin, and three children have been born to this marriage: Pauline, Charles C. and Alfred. Earl F. Snyder graduated from the Oakland City College with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1929, and is now attending the Louisville College of Pharmacy in the class of 1933. Lucile E. is a graduate of Evansville College, in the class of 1931, in the teachers' training course, and will teach for a time while pursuing the study of music. Evelyn is also taking the teachers' training course at Evansville College and will graduate in 1932. Dorothy and Maxine are in Troy High School, the former in the class of 1933 and the latter in the class of 1935. The other children are still in the grade school.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
LAWRENCE O'CONNOR. With the exception of the time during President Grover Cleveland's administrations, members of the O'Connor family have occupied the office of postmaster of Troy, Perry County, Indiana, from the year; 1865 until April 1, 1931, when Lawrence O'Connor retired from office. Mr. O'Connor is a man of sterling integrity and high conception of the responsibilities of public service. He has been a resident of Troy all of his life and for many years was engaged in business as a painting and decorating contractor, and after serving two terms as town clerk, in 1922 was appointed postmaster. He gave the people conscientious and expeditious service and has the full confidence of his fellow citizens.
Mr. O'Connor was born at Troy, August 12, 1866, and is a son of Samuel K. and Mary (Protsman) Connor. The O prefixing the name was not used by any of Mr. O'Connor's ancestors here mentioned but is used by himself because he was so christened. His great- great-great grandfather, Terrence Connor, was born in Virginia and served under General Washington during the War of the Revolution, following the close of which he was given Government grant land in Bellefontaine County, Ohio, but did not settle on it, instead moving to Indiana, where he developed a farm and passed the rest of his life in tilling the soil, being buried at Rome, this state. His son, Samuel Connor, widely known as "General Sam," served with the rank of captain in the Mexican war, and was with Gen. William Henry Harrison in the noted battle of Tippecanoe. Frederick Connor, the grandfather of Lawrence O'Connor, was born in Indiana, where he was educated for the law and followed that profession and also surveying throughout his life. Samuel K. Connor, the father of Lawrence O'Connor, spent his entire life in Perry County, where he died in 1910. In his youth he learned surveying and also studied law and was admitted to the bar, following both vocations with great success. He also was prominent in Republican politics and on several occasions served as county surveyor and county treasurer. He married Mary Protsman, a native of Troy, and they had three children: Hettie, who married William H. Salm, a tobacco dealer of Troy, and has seven children; Lawrence, of this review; and Fred, deceased. Mrs. Mary (Protsman) Connor died in 1875 and Mr. Connor subsequently married Amanda Huff and three children were born to this union. The second Mrs. Connor died in 1884 and Mr. Connor married Alice Purcell and they had four children. The children of the second marriage are: Morton, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Mrs. John A. Huffman, of El Paso, Texas. and Sam, deceased. The children of the third marriage are: William L., of Cleveland, Ohio; Florence, a school teacher in Ohio; Anna, who resides at Chicago; and George, of Tell. City, Indiana.
Lawrence O'Connor completed the public schools and learned the paperhanging and decorating trade. After following this vocation for some years as a journeyman he established himself in business as a contractor at Troy, and during his long career in this capacity completed many large contracts in this section of the state, in public buildings, business structures and residences. Elected town clerk, he served capably for two terms in that capacity, and in 1922 was appointed postmaster of Troy, in which office he remained until April 1, 1931. He effected numerous much needed reforms and raised the standard of the mail service at Troy, where he stands high in public esteem. Mr. O'Connor is a staunch Republican in politics, and has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1890.
On March 13, 1889, Mr. O'Connor was united in marriage with Miss Stella McDaniel, daughter of Curtis and Sarah Jane (Johnson) McDaniel, and a member of an old and prominent pioneer family of Troy whose members took an active part in the early development of this section. To this union there have been born three children: Curtis, a resident of Alton, Illinois, married Evelyn Taul, of Tell City, and has four children, Robert, Jane, Curtis (deceased) and Helen; John, of Claypool, Indiana, who married Mary Hill, of that place; and Hettie, residing at home.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
