Dudley F. Davis was born on a farm in Harrjson County, Indiana, November 22, 1868, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Nancy C. (Arnold) Davis. His grandfather, John Davis, was born in Virginia, whence as a child he was taken to Kentucky, and about 1825 came to Harrison County, Indiana, where he took up unimproved land, developed a productive farm and continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of a long, useful and honorable career. Benjamin F. Davis was born on his father's farm in Harrison County, where he attended the country schools and in young manhood adopted the vocation of farming, which he followed all of his life. He was one of the reliable citizens of his community and served in several offices, including those of township trustee and member of the county advisory board. He married Nancy C. Arnold, who is also deceased, and they became the parents of seven children.
Dudley F. Davis attended the primary and grade schools of Harrison County and Central Normal College, at Danville, this state, following which he entered the University of Kentucky, at Louisville, and was graduated therefrom with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1892. At that time he engaged in the general practice of medicine at Crandall and New Albany, in the meantime continuing his scientific studies along certain lines in which he had become greatly interested, this interest culminating in his engaging in the study of clinical surgery, first in Bellevue Hospital, New York City, and then in Europe, at the London (England) Hospital, a part of London University, and at the Central Hospital, Berlin, Germany. In 1906, on his return to the United States, he reestablished himself in practice at New Albany, where he has become distinguished in the field of surgery.
Doctor Davis is a member of the Ohio Valley Medical Society and the New Albany Academy of Medicine, of which he was the first president, serving two terms. He is also a member of the Floyd County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Association and is a fellow of the American Medical Association. During the World war he was a member of the New Albany draft board and assisted in examining nearly 4,000 men for service. He was secretary of the board of health of Floyd County for thirteen years and county physician for a long period, was United States pension examiner for sixteen years, and at present is a member of the staff of Saint Edward's Hospital and consulting surgeon in the Clark Memorial Hospital at Jeffersonville. In 1899 he was elected county treasurer of Crawford County and served in that capacity for one term. As a fraternalist Doctor Davis belongs to Pythagoris Lodge, A. F. and A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men. His office is at 416, Elsby Building.
Doctor Davis married Miss Laura K. Krackman, a native of Harrison County, whose grandparents were pioneers of Indiana. Doctor and Mrs. Davis have two children: Dr. Parvin Milton and Miss Katherine Elizabeth. Parvin M. Davis was attending the University of Indiana during the World war and entered the United States Medical Reserve Corps, but was not called upon for active service. After graduating from the University of Indiana, in 1918, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, he completed his medical studies at the University of Cincinnati, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine as a member of the class of 1922. He served his interneship at the City Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky, and in the latter part of the same year became associated in practice with his father. At present he is doing post-graduate work in clinical surgery at London, England, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Berlin, Germany. He married Katherine Hunter, of Bloomington, Indiana, a graduate of Indiana University, and they are the parents of two children: Marylan and Arnold V. Miss Katherine Davis, daughter of Dr. Dudley F. Davis, is one of the most accomplished young ladies of New Albany, being a graduate of the University of DePauw, degree of Bachelor of Arts, having taken her degree of Master of Arts from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and being also a graduate of the Conservatory of Music, Louisville, Kentucky. The atractive family home is located at 2403 East Market Street.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
REV. JOSEPH J. SERMERSHEIM. One of the favorably situated and commercially prosperous cities of Perry County, Indiana, bears the name of Tell City, and because of its many advantages in the way of good government and educational and social opportunities it has become the seat of many religious bodies that serve to add still further to the general welfare. One of the older of these bodies is Saint Paul's Catholic Church, of which Rev. Joseph J. Sermersheim is priest in charge.
Father Sermersheim was born at Jasper, Indiana, February 10, 1878, a son of Joseph F. and Minnie (Burger) Sermersheim, both born near Jasper, and there the father was born in 1852. He followed the watchmaker's trade for many years. His four children all survive: Joseph J., Carl, Irma and Clement.
Of studious habit and earnest, thoughtful, religious temperament, Joseph J. Sermersheim was early designed for the church. After completing his course in the Jasper parochial school he entered Jasper College, from which he was graduated in 1894. One year later he entered Saint Meinrad's Seminary, where he completed his theological studies and was ordained to the priesthood in 1901. For two years afterward he served as assistant at Saint Boniface Church, at Evansville, when his physician interrupted his arduous labors and sent him in search of health in out-door life in Texas. Returning greatly improved; he resumed his work with his old zeal and in 1906 became pastor at Saint Mary's Church in Floyd County, and in 1925 became pastor of Saint Mary's Church of Washington, where he continued until June, 1929, at which time he came to Tell City, as pastor of Saint Paul's Church, and here he has two assistants, Rev. Francis E. Reeves, who has been associated with Father Sermersheim since 1929, and Clement I. Conen, who has just been assigned to this pastorate.
Not only as a man of learning but as a kind, pleasing and gracious personality Father Sermersheim was warmly welcomed at Saint Paul's. He has become acquainted and highly esteemed in the city even outside his own parish, because of his helpful charities and unselfish Christian character. He is widely known throughout the Diocese of Indianapolis to both ecclesiastics and laymen.
Father Sermersheim also has charge of the mission churches at Derby and Magnet. The Derby station is one of the oldest mission stations in the state, baptismal records going back to 1830.
Saint Paul's Church was organized soon after the founding of the Swiss colony at Tell City, the present edifice being erected in 1873. The parish now consists of about 500 families and a good parochial school is maintained, with an enrollment of 378, including only the eighth grade. When Father Sermersheim took charge he found the school greatly overcrowded and one of his chief efforts has been to enlarge the school building and equipment, including a fine auditorium, the total improvement costing about $110,000.
His interest in his adopted community extends to other interests outside his parish and he is a member of the local Kiwanis Club and of the Chamber of Commerce.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
HON. JACOB ZOERCHER. Mayor of Tell City, Indiana, for a number of years and the official head of the city's largest and most prosperous industry, the Tell City Chair Company, Hon. Jacob Zoercher has long been an active moving civic force and a public-spirited citizen. He has other important interests in Perry County and is well-known both financially and personally in many manufacturing centers. Although not a native of Indiana, many years covering his early school days and some business experiences were passed at Tell City, and his permanent home has been here for a quarter of a century. During this period he has been prominently identified with the city's best interests and on many occasions has been given proof of the confidence and esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens.
Mr. Zoercher was born June 10, 1862, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a son of Christian and Mary Ann (Christ) Zoercher. His father was born in Bavaria, Germany, where he received a public school education and subsequently applied himself to learning the trade of cabinetmaker. On his arrival in the United States, when still a young man, he first settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he found employment at his trade, and later moved to Tell City, where he became foreman of the Cabinetmakers' Union. He was a man of high character who was greatly esteemed in his community, and served for four years as a member of the City Council, having been elected thereto on the Republican ticket. To Mr. and Mrs; Zoercher there were born eight children: Katherine; Jacob, of this review; Henry, of Detroit, Michigan, who has two children, Frieda and Alma; Christian, who died in infancy; Philip, a resident of Indianapolis, who married Martha McAdams and has three children, Mary, James and Martha; Anne, who married Albert Fenn, of Tell City, and has three children, Christian, Roy and Helen; Christian, who married Hilda Schlemmer and has three children, Kathryn; Maurice and Ralph; and Louis, a Tell City undertaker and funeral director, who married Alice Patrick and has one child, Mary Margaret. Mary Ann Christ, the mother of these children, was a daughter of John Christ, a native of Germany, who immigrated to the United States in young manhood and spent the rest of his life in farming at Alexandria, Kentucky. Mrs. Zoercher died September 26, 1906.
The public schools of Tell City furnished Jacob Zoercher with his early educational training, and later he attended night school at Cincinnati, where he pursued a general business course. Subsequently he became general foreman in a Milwaukee furniture company, and then took charge of the Saginaw Furniture Company, of Saginaw, Michigan. In 1895 he returned to Tell City, where he was associated with the furniture business, and soon afterwards went to Memphis, Tennessee, where for one year he was superintendent of the Tennessee Furniture Company. In 1900 he returned to Tell City and became superintendent of the factory of the Tell City Chair Company, associating himself with his brother- in-law, Mr. A. P. Fenn, then president of the company. Mr. Fenn died in 1920 and Mr. Zoercher became president of the company, which position he still holds. He is looked up to as one of Tell City's leading citizens, a man of fine personality and gracious manner and exemplary habits who has materially improved Tell City's chief industry. He is likewise secretary of the Knott Manufacturing Company, and has a number of other interests. Departing from family traditions, Mr. Zoercher became the first Democrat in his family. In 1906 he became the Democratic party's candidate for mayor of Tell City and was elected and served until 1911. In 1926 he again headed his party's ticket successfully and gave his fellow-citizens an excellent and business-like administration, retiring January 1, 1930. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club, through and with which bodies he has supported many worthy movements of a civic character. Fraternally he belongs to the local Blue Lodge of Masonry, and the Chapter, Commandery and Hadi Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Evansville; and also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On February 26, 1889, at Saginaw, Michigan, Mr. Zoercher was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann Ebach, daughter of Joseph and Emma Ebach, members of an early pioneer family of Michigan, who were for many years engaged in agriculture and merchandising in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Zoercher have three children, the eldest of whom, Emma Mary, is the widow of Julius Rathsan, of Tell City, and they had no children. The second child of Mr. Zoercher is Anna, who married George F. Coyle, of Cannelton, and they have two children: George Jacob and Mary Ann. Karl J., superintendent of the Tell City Chair Company's plant, married Florence Birchler, of Tell City, and they have one child, Marjorie.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
MICHAEL BETTINGER. Among the men who have contributed to the welfare and prestige of Tell City, few are entitled to greater respect and esteem than Michael Bettinger, president of the Tell City Woolen Mills, and a member of a family which has an illustrious history, dating back to the period of colonization. During his long and interesting career Mr. Bettinger has had his share of misfortune, but each obstacle in his path has been met with firm determination and increased confidence. As a result, he finds himself today listed among the leading men of his community, and respected alike not only for what he has but for what he is.
Mr. Bettinger was born February 28, 1865, at Tell City, Perry County, Indiana, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Angst) Bettinger. Michael Bettinger, the elder, was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, in 1825, and was educated in his native land, where he subsequently learned the trade of barber. When he was about twenty-one years of age he immigrated to the United States and took up his residence at Cincinnati, where for a time he worked at his trade as a journeyman, but later bought a brewing plant, which he conducted for a number of years. In 1858 he became a director and one of the moving spirits of the Swiss Colonization Society, and at that time became a pioneer settler of Tell City, coming with the Swiss colonization, which has made history in this section. Here he first engaged in the sawmill business, but later founded the Tell City Woolen Mills, which was incorporated in 1890 and of which he continued to be president until his death, March 4, 1904, when he was seventy-nine years of age. He had various interests in the community, was a man of the highest ability and personal character, and was president of the Tell City National Bank until his death. Mr. Bettinger married Elizabeth Angst, daughter of Xavier Angst, the latter of whom later came to Tell City and resided with Michael Bettinger, Sr., until his death. Five children were born to Michael and Elizabeth (Angst) Bettinger. Charles, the eldest, who resided at Tell City until his death in 1878, married Minna Schergens and had one child. Albert, the second child, was a distinguished attorney of Cincinnati and senior member of the law firm of Bettinger, Schmitt & Kreiss at the time of his death, June 27, 1922. At one time he was president of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association, which honored his memory by the erection of an historic marker at a demonstration held in October, 1929, for his work in the interests of the nine-foot stage of the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cairo. He was also president of the Ohio Life Insurance Company at the time of his demise. He married Antoinette Steinhauer, and they became the parents of five children. Emalia, the third child, married Clay Switzer, lives in Tell City, and has five children. William, the fourth child, who died September 17, 1913, married Carrie Striker, and they had five children.
Michael Bettinger received his early education in the Tell City public schools, and for two years following worked in the Tell City Bank. In 1881 he joined his father in the woolen mills, and has passed the half-century mark in that business. The firm was incorporated in 1890, at which time Mr. Bettinger was named secretary-treasurer, under his father, who was succeeded as president by William Bettinger in 1904. In 1913, at the death of William Bettinger, Michael Bettinger became president and general manager, which positions he has retained to the present. Years of hard work, efficient management and careful planning have evolved one of the finest plants at Tell City. On June 14, 1881, the plant suffered a heavy loss by fire, without insurance, but the Bettingers were equal to the crisis and within thirteen weeks had started a new factory, which has been enlarged and added to with the passing of the years. Michael Bettinger has various interests and since 1904 has been a member of the board of directors of the Tell City National Bank. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Evansville and the Loyal Order of Moose at Tell City. He is a Republican in politics and for eight years served capably as a member of the City Council.
On May 8, 1888, Mr. Bettinger was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Frey, a daughter of Fred and Fronie Frey, farming people of Spencer County, Indiana. Two children, a son and a daughter, have been born to this union. The son, Earl H. Bettinger, now secretary-treasurer of the Tell City Woolen Mills, attended the public schools of Tell City, took a special course in a business college at Peoria, Illinois, and later attended Indiana University for a short time before he was called into service. He is known as one of the capable and energetic business men of the city, who has a thorough knowledge in all its details of the woolen business, and is a supporter of worthy civic movements. He married Carla Herrmann, and they have two children: Ella Margaret, born September 26, 1926; and Charlotte Ruth, born in August, 1928. The daughter of Michael and Margaret Bettinger, Edna Rovilla, is the wife of John Rathsam, of Kansas City, Missouri, and has one child, Ruth Bettinger Rathsam.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
MAURICE P. CARR. Both in private life and in business affairs Maurice P. Carr has proved himself eminently capable, energetic and trustworthy, and during the long period of his association with Perry County has won a permanent place as a practical and determined promoter of the interests of Tell City. In his capacity of manager of the Tell City branch of the U. S. Hame Company he occupies a position of prestige among the men at the heads of large and important industries, and his career has been one in which he has made his own way, never having had to depend upon the assistance of others or fortuitous circumstances.
Mr. Carr was born November 11, 1870, at Andover, New Hampshire, and is a son of Robert C. and Emily (Procter) Carr. His father, a native of the same state, was a manufacturer of vehicles and became the founder of one branch of the U. S. Hame Company, a New York State concern, formed by a consolidation of five prominent manufacturing companies. Later he moved from Andover to Concord, where his death occurred in 1892. Mr. Carr married Miss Emily Procter, daughter of Amos B. Procter, a member of an old New Hampshire family. Mr. Procter operated a blacksmith shop during the old stage-coach period and manufactured parts for the ancient vehicles, as well as horse shoes, nails, etc. Three sons were born to Robert C. and Emily Carr: Robert P., president of the United States Hame Company, of New York, who married Anna M. Upton and has two children; Lawrence, connected with the Tell City branch of the same concern; and Maurice P., of this review.
Maurice P. Carr attended the public schools and Procter Academy at Andover, New Hampshire, and in 1888, when the family moved to Concord, engaged with his father in the manufacture of harness. Following the death of his father he followed work of various kinds, being for a time identified with a Boston wholesale grocery concern, and in 1907 came to Tell City, Indiana, and became associated with his brother, Robert P. Carr, who at that time was manager of the plant of the United States Hame Company. In 1911 the latter went to Buffalo to take charge of the plant there, and Maurice P. Carr assumed the management of the Tell City plant. During his management of this plant the company has done much to protect its workmen, being the first factory here to install guards for machines, to install a sprinkler system and to provide for group insurance. It set the pace during the World war in the manufacture of McClelland riding saddles and two kinds of cart trees, and at the time of the signing of the armistice was filling four contracts and had spent $50,000 for special equipment. The plant is now engaged in making a complete line of commercial bodies in addition to the main line, which is bames. This is a rapidly progressing field and means enlargement of the local plant and further development.
Mr. Carr has never held elective office, but was appointed a member of the board of education and became its president during the time the Tell City High School was being constructed. He gave leadership to the program for a $230,000 school building, which is one of the finest of its kind in the state. He was also an advocate of a public swimming pool and was active in a campaign during a special election to decide the issue, which was lost by the slim majority of six votes. Mr. Carr was president of the Tell City Chamber of Commerce for fourteen years, is a member and presiding officer of the library board, a member of the board of directors of the Kiwanis Club and a member of the Hoosiers Heights Country Club. He was brought up as a Unitarian, but has been a supporter of all of the churches and a thorough Christian to the point of practical application of his belief, which has won him the respect and affection of all who know him.
On October 20; 1910, Mr. Carr was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. Smith, daughter of John B. Smith, of Spencer County, Indiana. Mr. Smith, who was a Union soldier during the war between the states, came of a pioneer family and died at the age of eighty-three years, in 1922. Her mother was Louise Jaundy, whose parents came from Alsace-Lorraine. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carr: Charles. Clifford, who met an accidental death by drowning in the Ohio River, in 1923, a sad event which caused universal grief; and James, seventeen years old, who is a graduate of Tell City High School in the class of 1931 and is now attending Purdue University at Lafayette.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES PHILLIP TIGHE. For more than twenty years a member of the Indiana bar, and at present engaged in practice at New Albany, Charles P. Tighe has, during an extraordinarily active and varied career, been identified with the solving of many of the most important questions and problems that have confronted the legal forces of the state and federal governments. It is evidence of his skill and comprehensive knowledge of the law that he has been successful as a private practitioner, as a county executive and in the handling of intricate and complex situations.
Mr. Tighe was born April 22, 1886, at New Albany, Indiana, and is a son of Thomas and Johanna (Herley) Tighe. His paternal grandfather was William Tighe, a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, who in young manhood immigrated to the United States, and after a short stay in the East made his way overland to Indiana, eventually taking up his residence at New Albany, about 1850. There he passed the rest of his life in various occupations and became one of the sterling and highly respected men of his community. Thomas Tighe was born in Indiana and grew up in his native locality, attending the public schools of New Albany. He was early attracted by the romance of the railroad, and for many years his mechanical skill and industry kept him employed in good positions in various railroad shops, where he was known for his fidelity and good workmanship.
Charles P. Tighe attended the grade and high schools of New Albany, and then enrolled as a student at Indiana University, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1908, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. During the same year he was admitted to the bar at Indianapolis, where he commenced practice, and remained until 1914, for the greater part of this time being attached to the Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice, an office to which he had been appointed by the United States attorney general. In 1921 Mr. Tighe purchased and operated an insurance adjustment bureau, but in 1925 disposed of his interests and holdings at Indianapolis and located permanently at New Albany, where he has since been in the enjoyment of a large and constantly increasing practice, his offices being located at 401-402 Elsby Building. Mr. Tighe is more of a general practitioner than a specialist in any line of his profession, but has been retained as state representative in advocating education in the fundamentals of constitutional government, as advocated by the Indiana State Bar Association, of which he is a member, as he is also of the Floyd County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is a stanch Democrat in his political allegiance and has served on numerous committees and as delegate to national, congressional and state conventions, and in 1926 was elected county attorney of Floyd County, an office in which he served capably for one term. As a fraternalist he holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus. Mr. Tighe gives his full support to all worthy measures and has been connected actively with several civic organizations.
Mr. Tighe married Miss Anna Moser, who is also a native of New Albany, Indiana, where she received her education, and is a member of an old and honored family of this state. She and her husband have no children, and their attractive home is located at 1801 DePauw Avenue.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES M. AYDELOTT, retired, is a resident of Rockville, Parke County. All his life has been spent in that county, where he is known and respected as a land owner, a very successful farmer and a progressive citizen.
Mr. Aydelott was born in Parke County May 18, 1857. His father, George W. Aydelott, was also born in this section of Indiana, was a farm owner, and made his farm widely known as a pioneer center of pure bred cattle raising. He died in April, 1912. George W. Aydelott married Ann Woolleverton, who passed away in 1909. She was born in Union County, Indiana, and was a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Crawford) Woolleverton. Thomas Woolleverton came to Indiana a hundred years ago, and some of the land he entered as a pioneer is still owned by his grandson, Charles Aydelott.
Charles M. Aydelott was the only child of his parents to grow up. The public schools gave him his early educational advantages and from boyhood he learned the duties and routine of a farm while helping his father. He gave his active supervision to his farming interests until a few years ago, when he retired. Mr. Aydelott owns several farms, comprising several hundred acres of valuable land. He has been fortunate and it is an index of his character as a farmer and business man that his tenants have been well satisfied not merely to work out a contract of a few years but on a permanent basis, so that one of his farms is operated by a tenant who has been with him thirty-five years, and another renter has been on his land for a quarter of a century.
Mr. Aydelott married at the age of twenty- five Miss Edith Steel, a daughter of General and Jennie (Polson) Steel. Their children were: Beulah, who died at the age of eight years, and Claude, who passed away at the age of twenty-six. Mr. Aydelott is a Democrat in his political affiliation and has been quite active in local affairs.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
JOHN HAYS LEE, M. D. While he has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Cannelton only since 1921, Dr. John Hays Lee is widely known and universally respected as one of the leading members of his community. His professional career commenced in 1881, four years before he received his collegiate degree, and has continued with increasing success over a period of almost half a century, filled with splendid humanitarian work.
Doctor Lee was born at Columbia, Tennessee, in April, 1857, and is a son of Captain and Virginia (Hays) Lee. His father, who was born in Tennessee, enlisted in the Confederate army at the outbreak of the war between the states and rose to a captaincy under the leadership of Generals Hood and Johnson. He died at Columbia, June 22, 1930, having attained the remarkable age of almost 102 years. He married Virginia Hays, a niece of President James K. Polk, and she died in 1857, leaving two children, one of whom died in infancy.
John Hays Lee attended the public schools of Kentucky, following which he applied himself to the study of medicine and was granted a permit to practice in 1881. Subsequently he entered the Louisville Medical School, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1885, and immediately opened an office at Beulahville, Kentucky, where he practiced as a country physician for four years. He then removed to Rome, Perry County, Indiana, where he carried on an extensive country practice until 1921, since which year he has made his home at Cannelton. Doctor Lee's career has brought about a constant rise in his fortunes, and he has won the confidence of the community by his skill as a diagnostician and his successful treatment of complicated and stubborn disorders. He is a student who recognizes no end to the road of science and who forges ahead faithfully, patiently and conscientiously. He belongs to the Perry County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Society. In addition to his large practice he is the owner of much real estate at Cannelton and in Perry County. Doctor Lee is a Democrat, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in politics, although he has always been a generous and loyal supporter of worth while and beneficial civic movements in his community. Fraternally he is a Mason. He is a religious man, but has no church connection.
In 1885, in Perry County, Doctor Lee was united in marriage with Miss Anna Bubenzer, a member of an old and honored family of this county, and to this union there have been born four children: Harold, who has large oil interests at Los Angeles, California; Gustavus E., a farmer at Rome, who died in 1918, in the influenza epidemic; Helen O'Phelia, who died in infancy; and Dr. Allen, a successful medical practitioner of Terre Haute, Indiana; Naomi, an adopted child, married Raymond Fuchs, of Rome, Indiana, and has two children: Ruth and Harold. Doctor and Mrs. Lee reside in a pleasant home at Cannelton, in which community they have numerous warm and appreciative friends.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
OLIVER PERRY WORLEY is a physician and surgeon whose professional career covers a period of over forty years, and during that time he has been a very successful and honored doctor in several Indiana communities. His home is at Hagerstown, Wayne County, where he carries on a large general practice in his profession.
Doctor Worley was born in Boone County, Indiana, June 22, 1857, son of William Floyd and Prussia J. (Cromwell) Worley, the former a native of Rush County and the latter of Clay County, Indiana. His parents after their marriage settled on a farm in Boone County, where his father lived until his death on January 10, 1904. The widowed mother was born in 1836 and is now ninety-three years of age, in full possession of all her faculties except her eyesight.
Oliver Perry Worley had a farm rearing, was educated in district schools, and after reaching his majority followed farming as a business for four years. On March 26, 1886, he was graduated from the Medical College at Indianapolis, and during the next eight years gave his undivided time to his duties as a town and country physician. In 1894 he was elected county clerk of Boone County, taking up the duties of his office in October, 1896, and serving four years. During two years of that time he continued his medical practice.
Doctor Worley after leaving the office of county clerk moved to Kokomo, Indiana, where he practiced as a physician and surgeon for sixteen years. On June 14, 1918, he came to Hagerstown to take over the practice of Doctor Thurston, deceased, and he brought his ripe experience and mature abilities to the community and has built up a wide prestige as a professional man in this section of Wayne County. He is a member of the Sixth District Medical Society. Doctor Worley is a Republican, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star.
He first married, December 28, 1892, Mrs. Laura Pedro, a widow, with one daughter, now Mrs. Minnie Otterman, of Bakersfield, California. To Doctor and Mrs. Worley were born three children: Maude, of Fort Wayne; Noble E., who died while in the United States Army; and Lillian, wife of Arthur Supp, of Bakersfield, California. The mother of these children died August 20, 1898, and on December 8,1900, Doctor Worley married Mrs. Mollie Sanders, who died the following year. By her former marriage she had three children and the two now living are Mamie and Teressa.
Doctor Worley on June 14, 1902, married Enza Conner, who was born in Honey Creek, Indiana, daughter of George W. and Florence A. (Swain) Conner. Her parents were both born in Henry County, Indiana, and now live at Omaha, Nebraska. Doctor and Mrs. Worley have had two children, Robert H., who died in infancy, and George William, who married Dorothy Stamm.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
RUSSELL PATRICK KEHOE. Among the many distinguished lawyers of Clark County, few have brought to the practice of their profession greater gifts of scholarship, learning, experience and native talent than Russell P. Kehoe, of Jeffersonville. His career has been an active and varied one and has included excursions into the schoolroom as an educator and services as a soldier. Today he stands at the top of his profession, both as an individual and as the repository of large trusts and interests.
Mr. Kehoe was born at Jeffersonville, October 29, 1891, and is a son of Michael Joseph and Daisy (Russell) Kehoe. His paternal grandfather was Patrick Kehoe, a native of County Kildare, Ireland, who sailed for the United States about 1856 and first took up his residence at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While residing there he enlisted in the Union army for service during the war between the states, and at the close of his four years of military life came down the Ohio River to Jeffersonville, where he established himself in the grocery business and continued to be engaged therein during the remainder of his life. He married Bridget Kehoe, of Ireland, who, while bearing the same name, was no relation.
Michael Joseph Kehoe was born in Clark County, Indiana, where he was reared and educated, and as a young man entered his father's store, to which he subsequently fell heir and conducted for a number of years. e has long been prominent in public affairs, having served as deputy auditor of Clark County, and at present is deputy county clerk. e is a man of high character and one who is esteemed and respected for his sterling citizenship. Mr. Kehoe married Miss Daisy Russell, a native of Charleston, Indiana, daughter or Solon Russell, and they are the parents of three children: Estella, the wife of Earl Miles, a business man of Aurora, Illinois; Russell P., of this review; and Daisy Bell, assistant to the secretary of the Standard Oil Company. Russell P. Kehoe attended the grade and high schools of Jeffersonville, following which he pursued a course at Hanover College, from which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1914, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. During the following two years he taught public school at Jeffersonville, and in the meantime attended summer courses at the law school of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to the Indiana state bar in 1915. He continued to pursue his studies at the University of Michigan until the summer of 1917, when he enlisted in Troop E, Thirteenth Cavalry, Regular Army, and served therein until the spring of 1919, when he received his honorable discharge, with the rank of captain. At that time Mr. Kehoe entered the law school of the University of Louisville, following which he taught school at Jeffersonville for two years, and finally, in June, 1923, settled down permanently to the practice of his profession, in which he has since won high honors and position. Mr. Kehoe's practice is general in character, as he is familiar with all branches of his calling, and in addition to having a large private clientele is attorney for the Clark County Board of Children's Guardians, the Clark County State Bank and the Falls County Grading Company, of which concern he is also president. He is a member or the Clark County Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, the Phi Delta Theta and the Chamber of Commerce, and belongs to the executive committee of the Indiana State Tuberculosis Association and the executive committee of the local post of the American Legion. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to the Knights of Columbus, of which latter he was grand knight in 1924-25 and in 1926 was district deputy. In the fall of 1930 he was elected a state senator for a four-year term.
Mr. Kehoe married Miss Ellen S. Shippen, of Louisville, and they have two children: Sarah Jane and Russell Patrick. Mr. Kehoe's law offices are located in the Beck Building.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
REV. VICTOR L. RAPHAEL is one of Indiana's prominent Presbyterian clergymen. Recently the congregation of his church at Greencastle honored him by special observance of the tenth anniversary of his service in that community.
Mr; Raphael was born in Rochester, New York. His father, James Raphael, was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, born in 1835, and was seventeen years of age when he came to America. He lived in Canada for a time and died at Rochester, New York, in 1912. He married Eva F. Love, who was born in New York State. They had a family of five children: Thomas, of Ottawa, Canada; John, of Mallory, New York; George, or Texas; Victor L.; and one who died in infancy.
Victor L. Raphael was educated in public schools in Rochester and completed his high school work during ten years he lived at Cincinnati, Ohio. As a young man he was a student for a time in the Berea College of Kentucky, a celebrated institution of learning where the students work their way through. Mr. Raphael subsequently took his A. B. degree from the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio. He was a teacher in early life and in 1917 was graduated from the Lane Theological Seminary of Cincinnati. After graduating he became assistant of the Avondale Presbyterian Church, and on January 25, 1918, accepted the call to Greencastle as pastor of the Presbyterian Church here.
Mr. Raphael has been a valuable factor in his home community. He is well known in his church throughout the state. For four years he was stated clerk of the Indianapolis Presbytery. He has also been president of the board of religious education, for eight years was president of the Ministerial Association of Greencastle and has been chairman of the Putnam County Red Cross. He was for four years secretary and is now president of the Greencastle Rotary Club.
Mr. Raphael married, December 30, 1909, Miss Lena E. Wolff, who passed away January 25,1929.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
WILLIAM H. MUELCHI, M. D. In the early permanent settlement of Southern Indiana the Swiss colonization movement bore an important part, bringing to this section as it did a most desirable class of settlers, sturdy, intelligent, industrious, homeseeking farmers and artisans, with a necessary leavening of shrewd, active business men. Of such stock were the founders of the community they named in honor and memory of their hero, William Tell. One of Tell City's foremost citizens today is Dr. WiIIiam H. Muelchi, physician and surgeon, who enjoys the distinction, among many others, of being the oldest medical practitioner here.
Doctor Muelchi was born at Teutopolis, Illinois, February 3, 1858, a son of John and Marie (Schwab) Muelchi, both of whom have long since passed away. His father, a native of Switzerland, born November 1, 1837, was a young man when he immigrated to the United States and took up his residence first in Illinois and later moved to Tell City, Indiana, where he was living at the outbreak of the war between the states. Filled with patriotism for the land of his adoption, he volunteered in an Indiana infantry regiment, and died in his country's service in an army camp at Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1862. He married Miss Marie Schwab, daughter of John F. Schwab, a school teacher of Berne, Switzerland, and to this union there were born five children, one of whom died in infancy, before the parents left Switzerland. The others are: Fred, of Tell City, who married Matilda Bierwirth and has eleven children; Dr. William H., of this review; and Louise and Emma, who are both deceased.
William H. Muelchi attended the public schools of Tell City and after his graduation entered Valparaiso (Indiana) University, where he graduated from the teacher's course. Subsequently he specialized in a commercial course and for a time was employed as a bookkeeper at Tell City, but his determination to become a professional man remained with him and eventually he was able to enter the famous Rush Medical College, of Chicago, Illinois, from which institution he received his coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine as a member of the class of 1891. For two years thereafter he was engaged in the practice of his profession at Saint Wendell, Posey County, Indiana, and then took up his permanent residence at Tell City, where he has since been engaged in a general practice and is now dean of the physicians and surgeons of the city. Doctor Muelchi is a valued member of the Perry County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is a constant scholar, keeping fully abreast of the various advancements made in his calling, has spoken from the lecture platform and at all times has been generous in his assistance to young men who are just entering upon their careers. In addition to his large practice he has other interests, and at present is president of the Southwestern Furniture Company of Tell City. Fraternally he is a member of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Loyal Order of Moose, in both of which he has numerous friends, as he has in all walks of life. He has never cared for the doubtful honors of the political arena, but is a good citizen who is always ready to assist worthy civic movements.
Doctor Muelchi married, April 24, 1892, Miss Minnie Meyer, a daughter of J. J. Meyer, of Tell City, and to this union there have been born five children: Mildred, who married Nelson Fenn, of Tell City, and has no children; Sigrid, who married J. M. Stockert, of New Harmony, Indiana, and now lives at Saint Louis, Missouri, and they have no children; Dr. Adeline, a medical practitioner of Evansville, Indiana, who is unmarried; and Leah, the wife of E. B. Burrows, also of New Harmony but now lives at Saint Louis, and who has no children; and a son, Falk, who died when nine and one half years of age.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
