History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Conrad Meinschein (deceased), a German-born farmer of Marrs township, Posey county, Indiana, came to the United States when two years of age, with his parents, who located in Posey county and lived there the remainder of their lives. Our subject was a farmer in Marrs township all his life, and died there in 1894. He married Miss Mary Espenscheid, daughter of Peter and Katherine (Schnare) Espenscheid, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Posey county. Their daughter, Mary, was born January 1, 1857, in Leavenworth, Kan., to which place the family had removed about 1850. They returned to Posey county in 1878. Mr. Espenschied died in 1892. He was a butcher. Mr. and Mrs. Meinschein became the parents of six children: Adam, born August 1, 1884, died August 2, 1885; Conrad, born January 29, 1886; John, born January 2, 1888; Frank, born July 2, 1890, died in infancy; William, born September 20, 1892; George, born June 2, 1894. Mr. Meinschein died in 1894. He was a Republican and a member of the German Presbyterian church, in which organization he was an officer.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Edward Lewis, a farmer of Marrs township, was born April 20, 1879, son of Thompson Price and Elizabeth (Green) Lewis (see sketch of former). He was married July 23, 1902, to Miss Anna Katherine Niemier, daughter of Antone and Katherine (Wolfe) Niemier, of Marrs township, where she was born, July 23, 1885. Mr. Niemier was born in Germany, coming to the United States at the age of eighteen. He was a farmer in Posey county until his death, in 1898. By his first marriage he had one child, Henry Niemier, who lives in Marrs township. By his second marriage he had eight children: Antone, Benjamin F., Anna K., John, Maggie, Lena, Philip, and Mary. The Niemiers were Catholics, as are Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lewis, who became the parents of three sons: Amanel Antone, Edward Benjamin, and Charles Ellis. This family also belongs to the Catholic church.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Thompson Price Lewis, a pioneer farmer of Marrs township, Posey county, Indiana, was born June 8, 1840, in the same farm house where he now lives. He is the son of Robert and Martha (Price) Lewis, the former having been born March 26, 1814, in Marrs township, where he was a farmer till his death, on August 10, 1848. The father of Robert Lewis was a native of Kentucky and came to Posey county in 1809, making the trip on foot and carrying his supplies, and blazing the way with a hatchet. This was Col. John Lewis. He had two sons: James and Robert, the latter the father of our subject; and four daughters - Jane, Betsie, Nancy and Martha, all deceased. Colonel Lewis resided in Posey county till his death in 1854. Robert Lewis had four sons and one daughter: James, born in 1835, died March 16, 1876; John, born in 1837, died in infancy; Thompson Price, of this sketch; Orila Jane, born January 30, 1849, now the wife of Thomas M. Green, a farmer in Black township; Nathaniel, born in 1847, died in December, 1864. Thompson Price Lewis was married November 3, 1558, to Miss Elizabeth J. Green, daughter of Thomas S. and Mary Green, of Harnilton county, Illinois. She was born February 22, 1834, in the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis became the parents of six sons and six daughters: Mary Jane, born May 11, 1860, now the wife of Miles Thomas, farmer and trustee of Black township; James Robert, born October 7: 1861, now a farmer in Marrs township; Udora, born January 6, 1863, now the wife of Alexander S. Goodall, a farmer of Marrs township; Nathaniel, born January 6, 1866, a farmer in Marrs township; Patsey, born April 12, 1868, now the wife of Jacob Benner, farmer in Marrs township ; William David, born April 15, 1870, died October 18, 1877; Orila, born August 22, 1872, died August 26, 1873; Price, born August 18, 1874, a farmer in Lynn township; Ellsworth, born September 22, 1876, a farmer in Marrs township; Edward, born April 20, 1879, a farmer of Marrs township; Thompson, born July 27, 1882; now on the old home place with his parents, married Miss Margaret Keitel December 31, 1905, and has one child - Elwood Thompson Lewis, born August 27, 1912; Oscar, the youngest child of Thomas Price Lewis, was born May 17, 1885, died May 4, 1887. Mr. Lewis has 365 acres of land in Marrs township and has one of the best improved farms in Posey county with a fine residence and a number of large barns. He is a Democrat and a Baptist.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

A. C. Thomas, New Harmony. Perhaps no other man in Posey county is more entitled to the substantial success that he has made of his efforts and opportunities than the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. His early advantages for an education were limited to what was known as the Bayou school in Bethel township, Posey county, but he continued to be a student of books as well as of men and affairs, so far, throughout a career of advancement and accomplishment. He is a native son of Posey county, born in Bethel township, November 28, 1857. His parents were Shelby H. and Sarah (Williams) Thomas. The father was a native of Kentucky and the mother of Indiana. The Thomas family consisted of three brothers, and one sister who died in childhood. A. C. remained at home and worked on the farm until he reached majority, when he went to Kansas to join a brother, who had preceded him a short time. He located in Cloud county, between the towns of Minneapolis and Concordia. This section of Kansas was well on the frontier in those early days. He bought land and remained there two years, during 1879 and 1880. These two years of pioneer life on the great plains of the West gave the young man an insight into the development of the country, which, no doubt, was a valuable asset to his business career. In 1880 he returned to Posey county and engaged in farming until 1885. About this time the Corbin Milling Company was organized. Mr. Thomas took stock and became secretary and treasurer of the company. He later took more stock, and in 1906 became the active manager of the company. His management of this extensive milling and grain business was characterized with the same energy and keen business insight typical of the man. In 1913 he retired as the active business head of this institution in order that he might be able to devote more attention to his other investments and extensive real estate holdings. Mr. Thomas was united in marriage October 16, 1881, to Miss Ella C. Bailey, a refined daughter of William and Elizabeth Bailey, prominent pioneers of Posey county. To Mr. and Mrs. 'Thomas have been born four children: Clauda B., who died in childhood; William H., a resident of Los Angeles, Cal.; Jessie M., who married Robert Ribeyre, of New Harmony; and Helen C., a student at a young ladies' school at Oxford, Ohio. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, a director of the New Harmony Banking Company, and has been a member of the Working Men's Institute twenty years. He has been a Democrat all his life, casting his first Presidential vote for Cleveland in 1884, and the last one to date for Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have one of the finest residences in Posey county and their genial hospitality is highly prized and much appreciated by their many friends.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

M. B. Pote, postmaster of Kew Harmony, is a native son of Posey county, born in New Harmony July 28, 1844. He is a son of Thomas and Maria Pote, both natives of England, and early settlers in Posey county, and spent the latter part of their lives in New Harmony. The subject of this review spent his boyhood days in New Harmony, where he attended the public schools during the winter terms. He was just growing into manhood when the Civil war came on, and July 28, 1862, which was his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted in Company A, Ninety-first Indiana infantry. He was in Sherman's march, including the campaign in pursuit of Hood, then back to Clifton, Tenn. Then, they were ordered to Cincinnati, and from there to Washington, then to Wilmington, Cape Fear, Raleigh, and he was mustered out at Salisbury, N. C., July 7, 1865, which gave him an active and honorable military career of three years, lacking twenty days. He served as orderly on General McClain's staff for a time. At the close of the war Mr. Pote returned to New Harmony and was engaged in farming until July 1, 1897, when he was appointed postmaster of New Harmony, having served in that capacity to the present time. Mr. Pote has given general satisfaction in the conduct of the office. He was united in marriage, May 6, 1866, to Miss Mary, daughter of Luther Schnee, a Posey county pioneer. To Mr. and Mrs. Pote have been born five children: Carrie married J. W. Bailey, New Harmony; Anna resides at home; Ray married F. J. Hortsmah, Chicago; Sara married Alva J. Ragon, Evansville; and Geraldine is a teacher of art and music in the New Harmony public schools. Mr. Pote has a fine farm of 160 acres just east of town. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Episcopal church, and is a Republican.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

William Oliphant Wilson, who has so capably and acceptably filled the position of superintendent of schools for Posey county, occupies a notable position among the educators of Indiana. He was born on his father's farm in Center township, Posey county, on September 22, 1878, a son of Lewis M. and Missouri (Record) Wilson. John S. L. Wilson, grandfather of the subject of this review, was the founder of this branch of the family in Indiana. He was a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and came to Posey county previous to 1820. It is probable that the Wilson family have had a more important part in connection with the development of Lynn township than has any other. They were among its first settlers, accumulated extensive land holdings, were active in practically every movement which concerned the progress of the community, and were, without exception, men of influence. Lewis M. Wilson, the father of Superintendent Wilson, was born in Lynn township. His early life was spent on the farm of his father. After acquiring his education he was for some few years a teacher, but later returned to farming. He was a Democrat, but political office never appealed to him, although he served for several years as a justice of the peace. He married Missouri Record, who died in 1888. Mr. Wilson died in 1895. They are survived by the following children: Clara E., the wife of Rev. William L. Rhein, of Francisco, Ill.; William O., the subject of this sketch; Nina D., the wife of E. Benson Oliphant, a salesman in the employ of the Vincennes Bridge Company, who resides at Fort Branch, Ind.; Lewis O., a well known educator of Tulsa, Okla.; and Ethel M., the wife of Charles Fox, a farmer of Center township, Posey county, Indiana. Two children are deceased, viz.: John, who died in infancy; and Ernest Cleveland, born in 1887, a graduate of the Mt. Vernon High School, who completed a two-years course in the School of Mines at Rolla, Mo., and who died at Bisbee, Ariz., on September 29, 1911. In 1884 Mr. Wilson removed to a farm near Carmi, Ill., his place of residence at the time of his death. Here also occurred the death of his first wife and his marriage, in 1889, to his second, who was Miss Anna Donoghue. One child, a daughter, was born of this union. She died aged three. William Oliphant Wilson was graduated from the high school at Mt. Vernon with the class of 1899. He initiated his career as an educator in the fall of that year as a teacher in the Mt. Vernon schools. From 1901 until the close of the spring term in 1904, he was principal of the Wadesville, Ind., schools. During the summer months of the years in which he was employed in teaching he was a student, completing a one-term course in the State Normal School at Terre Haute in 1900, a similar course in the State University at Bloomington in 1901-02-03 and returned to the latter institution in the fall of 1904. In August, 1905, he was elected superintendent of schools for Posey county for the unexpired term of Charles A. Greathouse, who had resigned. He was elected to succeed himself in 1907 and in 1911. During the eight years in which Professor Wilson has been at the head of Posey county schools, he has proven the possession of administrative ability of a high order, has initiated reforms which have greatly benefited the pupils of the county, and has been a consistent advocate of system in all departments of school work. He has brought about uniformity in length of school term in all district schools, uniform reports, and has developed interest among the pupils as regards the Young People's Reading Circle, which has resulted in an increase in the number of books read of about 700 volumes. There is not a school in the county which does not possess a good library, well selected and of wide range, and numbering zoo or more volumes. His administration has been marked by the harmony which has prevailed between superintendent and teachers. Agriculture was included among the studies for students of the seventh and eighth grades in 1912, anticipating by one year its introduction by law. Domestic science was introduced in the country schools in 1913, and although entailing an expense of $2 per student, it is proving generally popular and cannot help but be beneficial to the pupil. Mr. Wilson is a member of the National Educational Association, the Indiana State Teachers' Association, the Southern Indiana Teachers' Association and the Southwestern Indiana Teachers' Association, and of the last named was one of its most active organizers and has served as secretary of the organization. He has attained to the Council degrees in Masonry, is a member of the Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Court of Honor, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows - a charter member of Wadesville Lodge. He is an influential factor in the political life of his county, is a Democrat and chairman of the county central committee of his party and treasurer of the Mt. Vernon city committee. Mr. Wilson married on June 29, 1910, Miss Harriet Brinkman, a daughter of Henry Brinkman, of Mt. Vernon, personal mention of whom is to be found elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Wilson is a graduate of the Chicago Musical School and popular in the social circles of Mt. Vernon, in which she is a leader.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Peter W. Roche, editor and publisher of the Mt. Vernon "Democrat," was born October 14, 1867, in the city of Evansville. His father was John D. Roche, who served as city treasurer of Evansville one term. His grandfather, Peter W. Roche, was a pioneer who settled in Point township and was a large land owner. He was a resident of Ireland and came to America in his early days, after one of the numerous insurrections in that country. He was educated for a Catholic priest and taught school after coming here. He died in 1844. Dr. Moses Wining was the maternal grandfather of Mr. Roche. He died in 1875. He was born in 1790 and came to this section in the '20s. He was one of the earliest doctors in Posey county and blazed the trail to make many calls in his practice. Peter Roche has been in charge of the "Democrat" since September, 1907, when he purchased his brother's interest in the paper. April 15, 1891, he was married to Miss Letitia Pugh at Paducah, Ky., a daughter of Captain Phineas Pugh, one of the noted river men of the war times. He was pilot of many boats that transported soldiers during the war. Mr. Roche has served as Democratic county chairman and been on the Posey county executive committee for twenty years. He served three years as a member of the Mt. Vernon school board, two years being president of that body. At the session of the Indiana State Senate in 1913 he served as chief clerk of the engraving department, a very responsible position.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Dr. Carl Flucks, of Armstrong, Ind., one of the best known men in his section of the State, was born in Patchkau Schlesien, Germany, December 11, 1847, son of Carl and Anna Ertelt Flucks, both born and reared in that place, where the father was a veterinary surgeon. The grandfather of Dr. Flucks, who was sheriff of the State of Prussia, sold the property and rights back to the State. The father of our subject was born in the prison where the grandfather was sheriff. Carl Flucks attended at the Perfectorat School of Patchkau and later Neisse in Eresiau Neurachi Clinic, after which he was in the sanitary service in the Austrian war and later in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and 1871. After the latter war Dr. Flucks came to America, locating in Terre Haute, Ind., where he practiced medicine. Here he married Miss Mary McHenry, daughter of George (of Scotch parentage) and Hannah McHenry (a native of Ireland). Mrs. Flucks was born in Terre Haute. Dr. Fluclcs practiced there one year and then came to St. Wendell, where he has practiced continuously since 1872, except for a short period when he was in Arkansas. In point of service he is the oldest physician in the county. He keeps abreast of the times, being a reader of all the modern journals dealing with his profession, and belongs to the American, State and county medical associations. In 1887 Dr. Flucks went from St. Wendell to Conway county, Arkansas, for his health. Here he had a drug store and also engaged in the gin business and had other interests which were profitable. In 1892 he was elected to the legislature of Arkansas, where he was a member of the medical committee and of the immigration committee. He introduced the first sanitary bill ever drawn in the State, besides fathering several other bills that became laws. Dr. Flucks also bought several hundred acres of land near the town of Moralton, Ark., the county seat of Conway county, and remained in that place until 1897, when he returned to Posey county, taking up his practice at St. Wendell. He made many friends on his sojourn in Arkansas, among whom are Governor Clark, the present United States senator, Jefferson Davis, Congressman Reed, of the Fifth District, and Captain Carroll Arrnstrong, of Moralton. He was at one time postmaster of Oppelo, Ark. Since his return he has been exclusively engaged in the practice of his profession, but does only office practice. Dr. Flucks had three brothers: one in Germany, one in St. Louis, and Emmett Flucks, now deceased, for several years a veterinary surgeon of St. Wendell. Dr. Flucks was married May 21, 1873, and had twelve children, seven of whom are living: Annie, born February 26, 1876, married Fred Sheller, lives in Washington, Mo., and has five children, Carl, Harold, William, Mary Alice and Helen Marie; Martha, born January 29, 1880, married William Hildebrand, lives at Moberly, Mo., where Mr. Hildebrand is foreman in the Brown shoe factory, had two children, Hubert and Margaret (deceased) ; Carl Joseph, born August 20, 1884, married Bessie Kabe (now deceased), by whom he had one child, married as his second wife Miss Florence Sneyd, of Terre Haute, has four children, Melvin, Carl Jay, William and John Silas; John J., corporal of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh company at Ft. Crockett, Galveston, Texas, where he is serving his second enlistment, his first being in the Forty-fifth company coast artillery at Fort Du Pont, Del., where he was first gunner; Theoderic, born July 29, 1896, at home with parents; Albertine, born August 18, 1899, living with parents, and Paul, born September 26, 1904, now attending school at St. Wendell. Dr. Flucks is prominent in the councils of the Democratic party in this section of the State, especially in his own county. He is a member of the Catholic church and of the Woodmen of the World.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

General Alvin Peterson Hovey. A pioneer family in any community is of more or less historic interest, no matter if its tenure of residence be of long or short duration. But when a family is not only among the first to settle in a community, but also continues to reside in it for decade after decade and generation after generation, and certain of its members at all times are leaders in every movement intended to conserve the community's welfare and promote its progress, then that family becomes of special historic interest and prominence. One of the most prominent families of southern Indiana, and, indeed, of the whole State, is the Hovey family of Mt. Vernon, established there in 1818 by Abiel Hovey, a native of Vermont and son of Rev. Samuel and Abigail (Cleveland) Hovey. Abiel Hovey married in 1802 Frances Peterson, born in Vermont on May 20, 1780. He brought his family to Posey county in 1818, then in a formative condition, and engaged in farming. He possessed energy, thrift characteristic of the native of New England, his home training had imbued him with high ideals, which, together with his desire to attain a competence in his new home, soon caused him to become one of the influential men of the county. His death occurred on July 17, 1823, after a residence of five years in Posey county. That of his wife, on September 6, 1836. Alvin Peterson Hovey, the youngest child of Abiel and Frances (Peterson) Hovey, was born in Mt. Vernon on September 6, 1821. He acquired-his education in the schools of his native town, was variously employed, while a boy, part of the time as a mason, and while in the latter occupation studied law of evenings in the office of Judge John Pitcher. He was admitted to the bar in 1843. In 1849 he was elected delegate to the Indiana constitutional convention. He served as judge of the circuit court of Southwestern Indiana, composed of eleven counties, from 1851 to 1854. He was elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court of Indiana in 1854 and served for one year, being the youngest member in the history of that body. He was appointed by President Pierce in 1856 United States attorney for the district of Indiana. When the division in the Democratic party occurred, with President Buchanan and Stephen A. Douglas as leaders of the two factions. Mr. Hovey became a partisan of the latter and his activities in his behalf were so fruitful that Buchanan removed him from office, appointing Daniel W. Voorhees to succeed him. On the first call of President Lincoln for volunteers, Judge Hovey began the organization of a company and in a short time the First regiment of Indiana legion, of which he was commissioned colonel, was ready for the field. Later he became colonel of the Twenty-fourth Indiana, which joined Tremont's army in Missouri. He was with General Grant in the Vicksburg campaign and was made brigadier-general for gallant conduct at Shiloh. In the battle of Champion's Hill, Miss., May 16, 1863, Hovey's brigade suffered one-third of the entire loss of the Federal forces. He commanded the Twelfth division of the Thirteenth army corps in this engagement. General Grant, in his memoirs, gives special credit to Hovey for his part in the battle. In July, 1864, he was appointed major-general and ordered by General Grant to raise 10,000 men. Only those unmarried were invited to enlist and when the quota was made up it was found that many of the recruits were mere boys and on that account were afterward known as "Hovey's babies." However, there were no more effective troops in the march to the sea. In the latter part of 1864 Secretary of War Stanton appointed General Hovey military commander of Indiana, an office made necessary by a growing hostility in the State toward the national government. While serving in this capacity General Hovey caused the arrest of a number of persons belonging to the so-called "Sons of Liberty," a treasonable organization, five of whom were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, their sentences being commuted to life imprisonment by President Lincoln. In 1865, at the request of General Grant, he was appointed minister to Peru, serving in this capacity until 1870, when he returned to Mt. Vernon and resumed the practice of law. In 1872 he refused the nomination for governor as he did not wish to reenter politics. However, in 1886, he accepted the unanimous nomination as the Republican candidate for Congress from the first district and was elected by a majority of 1,357 over McCullough, his Democratic opponent. In Congress he championed the cause of the Union veterans in the matter of pensions. In the Republican State convention of June, 1888, he was unanimously nominated for governor and in the election the following November received a majority of 2,000 over the Democratic candidate, C. C. Matson. While in the executive chair the legislature passed a measure making the State Board of Education a text-book commission and authorizing it to determine what text-books should be used in the schools. During the debate on this bill Governor Hovey urged that all text-books used in the public schools should be furnished by the State. The Australian ballot system was also adopted during his administration. At the annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, held in St. Louis in 1888, Governor Hovey was unanimously elected president of the service pension association of the United States and in December, 1889, he addressed an appeal "to the loyal people of the United States and their representatives in Congress," demanding on behalf of the many surviving Union soldiers of the late war the passage of a service pension law. Governor Hovey married on November 24, 1844, Miss Mary James, a daughter of Col. E. R. James, a prominent citizen of southern Indiana. She was born at Baton Rouge, La., February 22, 1825, and died at Mt. Vernon, Ind., on November 6, 1863. They were the parents of five children, who are, in order of birth, as follows, viz.: Esther, born January 8, 1846, the wife of Major G. V. Menzies, of Mt. Vernon, personal mention of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; Enoch James, born February 7, 1848, died August 4, 1852 ; Charles James Hovey, a sketch of whom, follows this article ; Mary, born January 18, 1854, died March 30, 1855; and Mary Anne, born April 17, 1857, died April 7, 1858. Governor Hovey was married a second time to Mrs. Rosa Valette Smith, the daughter of Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Lincoln. She died about six months after her marriage. Governor Hovey died in Indianapolis on November 23, 1891. The tributes of respect, and in many cases of affection called forth by the death of Alvin P. Hovey have seldom been equaled in the State in the passing away of a citizen. His own standard of life was high and it was apparent throughout his life while in the practice of his profession, during his service in defence of the Union, and in the positions of public trust which he so creditably filled. What may be termed his life work was finished; it had met to a great extent the fullness of his ambition. But infinitely more precious and of personal consequence to him was the fact that he died rich in the possession of a well earned popularity, in the esteem which comes from honorable living, and in the affection that slowly develops only from unselfish works. In his professional and public life he was the embodiment of honor, as he was in his social and domestic life, the perfection of love and gentleness.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Charles James Hovey, former banker, and postmaster of the city of Mt. Vernon, Ind., was born in the old Hovey residence, now the property of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and used by them as their club house, on January 8, 1850, the son of General Alvin Peterson and Mary Ann (James) Hovey, a review of whom preceded this article. Charles J. Hovey acquired his education in the schools of the city of Evansville and at the Northwest Christian University at Indianapolis. In 1867 he visited his father, then minister of the United States to Peru, and made an extended tour of South America. He then visited Europe, remaining there three years and attended Polytechnical school at Carlsruher, Baden, Germany. He returned home in 1870 and purchased a one-fourth interest in the Mt. Vernon Banking Company, entering that institution as teller. In 1870 he engaged in the retail shoe business and continued in this line of commercial activity until 1876, when he journeyed to Europe, sailing via the Straits of Magellan, and remained abroad three years. He was obliged to pass through three armies in order to reach the city of Paris, as the Franco-Prussian war was in progress. He was graduated in medicine and chemistry. On completion of his studies he returned to Mt. Vernon and engaged in farming. He served as justice of the peace for five years, was a railway mail clerk for one year and has twice been postmaster of Mt. Vernon, having served during the administrations of Presidents Arthur and Harrison. Mr. Hovey retired from active business in 1900. Charles J. Hovey married on March 6, 1871, Miss Lillie R. Jaques, a daughter of Jonathan and Parna (Whittlesey) Jaques, of Evansville. Mrs. Hovey died on June 5, 1912. They were the parents of five children: Dr. Alvin Jaques Hovey, a prominent dental surgeon of Mt. Vernon, who married Miss Anna Williams, the daughter of S. Jett Williams, a successful agriculturist and influential citizen of Posey county. Dr. and Mrs. Hovey are the parents of four children: Helen, Louise, Florence, Esther and Anna Jaques. Mabel, the second child, born September, 1873, died August 26, 1876. Mary, born August 17, 1875, is the wife of Otto T. Brinkman, of Mt. Vernon. Randolph Jaques Hovey, born March 23, 1879, married Miss Ruth Nepper, a daughter of Thomas Nepper, St. Louis, Mo. Nina Hovey, the youngest child, was born June 23, 1881. She is the wife of Edwin M. Daniel, of Mt. Vernon, Ind.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Frank Deig, a prosperous farmer and land proprietor of Black township, Posey county, Indiana, was born in the same township where he now lives June 29, 1873, son of John S. Deig and Mary (Miller) Deig, the former a native of Germany who came to this country when quite small, and the latter a native of Posey county. (See sketch of John A. Deig for history of the family.) Frank Deig was reared in Black township, attended common school, and two years of high school in Mt. Vernon. He then went to St. Mary's Institute in Dayton, Ohio, two years, from 1889 to 1891. After leaving college he secured a position as clerk with E. B. Schenk, later working for Alles Bros. and for Stinson Bros. He left the latter concern to engage in farming and stock raising in Black township. This was about 189 and he has remained on the farm ever since except for one year when he lived in Mt. Vernon with his mother. Mr. Deig has a very large farm containing 404 1/2 acres, on which there are two tenants. The crops are chiefly wheat, corn and clover. On May 28, 1901, occurred the marriage of Frank Deig to Mary A. Muth, daughter of Clements and Elizabeth (Kiehhause) Muth, natives of Dubois county, Indiana, where the father engaged in farming and stock raising. Mrs. Deig was born in Spencer county, Indiana, in August 18, 1880. After finishing the common schools she came to Mt. Vernon, where she lived with E. B. Schenk and family. Mr. and Mrs. Deig became the parents of three children: John Stephen and Elizabeth J., both now attending school in Mt. Vernon, and Frank J., who is deceased. The family are members of the St. Matthew's Catholic Church of Mt. Vernon and Mr. Deig is a Democrat and belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 277, of Mt. Vernon, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Muth, parents of Mrs. Deig, are still living in Spencer county.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

John P. Ehrhardt, a prominent farmer of Mt. Vernon, Ind., was born at St. Philip in the same State August 14, 1870, son of Jacob Ehrhardt (see sketch). He was reared at the place of his birth, where he was educated at the public and parochial schools. After leaving school he began farming at home for his mother, his father having died when he was quite young. At the age of twenty-two he started out in life for himself, first renting the place where he now lives, and after four years buying the property. He has a farm of eighty acres under cultivation and well improved. His specialty is wheat and he has been very successful with it. On April 23, 1893, Mr. Ehrhardt married Miss Carolina Appel, daughter of John and Louisa (Krittenstein) Appel, her father a native of Germany who came to this country when a small boy with his parents, who took government land. A part of this land is now in possession of George Ehrhardt, brother of our subject. Mrs. Ehrhardt was born in Marrs township and attended school at the Hartman school house. They have two children, John J., born January 29, 1894, and Edward G., born August 18, 1899. John J. is a graduate of the country schools, the Mt. Vernon High School, class of 1912, and of Draughan's Business College, Evansville, Ind., where he took bookkeeping and stenography. Edward G. is a graduate of the common schools. Mr. Ehrhardt is a member of the Christian Science church, in which he is a trustee, and is independent in politics. He is a stockholder in the St. Philip Telephone Company and in the Home Insurance Company.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

John Oscar Dixon, a popular and influential citizen of Posey county and one of its most successful farmers, was born on the Dixon farm in Point township, July 21, 1870, the son of John and Angeline (Welborn) Dixon. The founder of the family in Indiana was John Dixon, a native of Kentucky, who came to Posey county previous to the year 1820 and entered upon land in Point township. He was the great-grandfather of the subject of this article, who is descended from him as follows: John Dixon, Junior, the son of John, and his son, John Dixon, who married Angeline Welborn, and they were the parents of John Oscar Dixon. The family have been prominent in the affairs of Point township since its organization. In the first township election, held on May 30, 1835, John, David and James Dixon were among the registered voters. The members of the family were extensive land owners, which when purchased by them was virgin forest, and the township owes much to their pluck and energy in clearing the large acreage which they owned and in bringing their lands up to a high state of cultivation John Dixon, the father of our subject, was one of the successful men of his time, influential in the civil and religious life of his district, and well and favorably known throughout the county. He was a Republican and active in the work of that organization, but without inclination for public office. He was born in Point township on January 28, 1840, and died on April 7, 1888. His wife, who survives him, was the daughter of John Welborn, a native of North Carolina, and one of the successful farmers of Black township, of which he was a pioneer settler. They were the parents of one child, the subject of this sketch. John Oscar Dixon was reared on the Dixon farm in Point township and educated in its public schools. His father died when he was aged eighteen and his large farming interests were placed under the management of his widow. He was called upon to take the active management, under his mother's guidance, and his success in the working of the property was such as to persuade his mother to give him full charge upon reaching his majority. He is an untiring worker, progressive in his methods, and is recognized as one of the foremost agriculturists in the county. The Dixon farms comprise over 500 acres, are well improved and stocked. Mr. Dixon has always been found among the supporters of those measures which have had for their object the development and betterment of his township, while the schools have received from him liberal support. He has been an earnest advocate of better school buildings and an extended school term, and has served as school director for several years. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, but, like his father, has no inclination for public office. He is a member of the Masonic order, Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 277, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Posey Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Dixon married on August 8, 1898, Miss Mary Elizabeth Winston, the daughter of Allen Winston, of Tennessee. They are the parents of three children: Douglas Dixon, born May 31, 1901; James Grover Dixon, born January 6, 1906; and Ola Elizabeth Dixon, born May 31, 1913.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Lannie Gilbert Morrow, manager of the Wadesville branch of the Home Mill and Elevator Company of Mt. Vernon, was born in Poseyville, Ind., July 15, 1888, son of Anderson and Mary Louise (Reeves) Morrow. The father was born in Ohio and came to Posey county in 1882, locating at Poseyville, where for ten years he was a building contractor. He retired in 1910 and now lives at Wadesville. Anderson Morrow and Mary Louise Reeves were married in 1884 and had seven children: Lannie G., of this record; Minnie, born September 21, 1891, now the wife of Julius Gambrel, of Caborns Station, Ind.; Lawrence Earl, born September 27, 1893; Nettie, born August 11, 1897; Harry, born March 28, 1902; and two of whom died in infancy. Lannie Morrow was educated in the public schools of Poseyville and Wadesville, graduating from the Wadesville High School in 1905. He was employed in clerking, farming and was a teacher in the district schools of Harmony township. In June, 1912, he became manager of the Wadesville branch of the Home Mill and Elevator Company, of Mt. Vernon. Mr. Morrow was married January 18, 1913, to Miss Myrtle Oliver, daughter of Samuel Oliver, of Center township. She was born December 23, 1887, at Oliver. Her parents are natives of Posey county. Mr. Morrow is a Democrat.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Dr. Charles Arburn, a leading physician of Wadesville, Ind., was born on a farm near Haubstadt, Johnson township, Gibson county, that State, October 13, 1858, son of John and Angeline (Henson) Arburn. John Arburn was born in England July 13, 1824, and came to America with his parents in 1831, locating in Gibson county at an early date. He was a farmer all his life and died at Fort Branch in 1883. In 1840 he married Miss Angeline Henson, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1826. She died in July, 1899. Four sons and six daughters were born to these parents: John M., born March 22, 1844, now a retired merchant of Oakland City, Ind.; Frances, born September 29, 1843, who married Charles Loper, of Francisco, Ind.; Rebecca, born June 3, 1846, died May 27, 1849; Nancy Jane, born March 6, 1848, died March 6, 1849; David F., born February 14, 1850, died August 4, 1909; Joel H., who became a physician, born February 20, 1852, died in September, 1883; Parthenia, born February 7, 1854, now the wife of Jonathan E. Douglass, a farmer, of Fort Branch, Ind.; Mary Elizabeth, born February 16, 1856, now the wife of James T. Dorsey, a farmer of Fort Branch, Ind.; Martha Belle, born October 17, 1860, died December 10, 1861; Angeline, born September 8, 1862, now Mrs. Patterson, of Durango, Colo.; Charles, our subject. Charles Arburn attended the public schools of Gibson county and began teaching at the age of twenty. He taught for four years in that county and then engaged in farming. At the age of twenty-eight he entered the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville, from which institution he graduated with the class of 1889. He located for practice at Carmi, Ill., where he remained two years. In 1892 he removed to East Lynn, Ill. After practicing in that town four years he located in 1896 in Wadesville, where he has an extensive practice and where he has since lived. Dr. Arburn is a student, keeps abreast of the advancement made in medicine and surgery and in 1896 completed a thirty days course in Chicago Post-Graduate School. He is a member of Posey County and Indiana State Medical Societies, and the American Medical Association. He is a Democrat, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Court of Honor, Modern Woodmen of America and has occupied all the chairs in his various lodges. Dr. Arburn was married May 1, 1884, to Miss Martha Florence Smith, daughter of George W. and Mary Jane (Calvert) Smith, farmers of Smith township, Posey county. She was born November 27, 1861, in Smith township, where her parents were also born. Her grandfather, Daniel Smith, came from North Carolina at an early date and when Posey county was organized in 1814, Smith township was named in his honor. Mrs. Arburn has a sister and brother, both younger than herself, Lizzie, now the wife of Dr. James E. Gudgel, of Cynthiana, Ind., and J. W. Smith, a merchant, of Champaign, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Arburn have two sons and two daughters: Will Smith Arburn, born January 10, 1886, now in the bond brokerage business at Terre Haute, Ind.; James E. Arburn, born March 27, 1892, an employe of the Adams Express Company in Indianapolis; Mary Ruth, born June 6, 1894, and Agnes Dorothy, born December 9, 1900. Dr. and Mrs. Auburn are members of the Primitive Baptist church.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

Dan Williams, banker and farmer of Wadesville, Ind., is a native of Posey county, a member of one of its oldest pioneer families and was born on his father's farm in Harmony township on September 3, 1868, the son of Jonathan and Mary Ellen (Cox) Williams. The family was founded in Indiana in March, 1828, when Urbane Williams, a native of Virginia, came from Nelson county, Kentucky, and located on land near Stewartsville, Posey county. About two years later he bought a tract of land in Harmony township, which he cleared and improved, and on which he resided until his death, June 25, 1848. He had married, while a resident of Kentucky, Nancy Johnson, a native of that State, who died in February, 1845. Their son, Asa C. Williams, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, October 20, 1818. He was reared on his father's farm in Harmony township and was educated in the schools of that early day. On reaching his majority he engaged in farming, purchasing a tract of forty acres in what is now Center township. He was not only a successful farmer, but a man of exceptional financial ability, and accumulated a large fortune for his time. In 1867 he removed to Mt. Vernon and was elected vice-president of the First National Bank, an institution which he had helped to organize. He was elected president of the bank in 1873 and remained at its head until his death, which occurred in 1896. As a banker he was known as a discriminating financier, one who brought the administrative policy of his bank up to the point of highest efficiency, and whose efforts in fostering the development of the manufacturing and commercial interests of Mt. Vernon were second to none. He was a generous supporter of the Baptist church and his charities were many and varied. As a citizen he was greatly esteemed and he exerted a potent influence for good throughout the county. He was married twice - first on January 28, 1840, to Dicy Cox, a native of Posey county, who died on August 29, 1844. Three children were born of this union: Jonathan, the father of our subject; Martha, who married Charles Hays; and Asa, all of whom are deceased. On July 17, 1845, he married Anna Gwaltney, a daughter of Benjamin Gwaltney, a pioneer citizen of the county. Through his second marriage three children were born: John T., a farmer of Harmony township; Stephen Jett, personal mention of whom appears elsewhere in this work; and Dicy, deceased. Jonathan Williams became a successful farmer in Harmony township. He took an active part in the political life of his section and wielded an influence for good. He did not possess the commercial genius of his father, preferring to remain on the home farm, where he was at home in the fields, in the woods and with his stock. He married in 1861, Mary Ellen Cox, a daughter of John Cox, a native of South Carolina, who came to Posey county with his parents in the early days of its settlement. The death of Mr. Williams occurred in January, 1873, and that of his wife in April, 1887. They were the parents of seven children, who are as follows: John C., born September 4, 1862, died February 28, 1869; Laura Isabel, born August 12, 1865, who became the wife of David Hutchinson, who resides near Carmi, Ill. She died January 31, 1885; William Henry, born November 22, 1863, died October 15, 1883; Dan, our subject; Leona, born November 26, 1870, the wife of Stephen Hancock, a farmer of Robb township; Alden L., born June 29, 1879, died April, 1900; and Mary Ellen, born April 22,1867, died August 21,1870. Dan Williams was reared on the old home farm in Harmony township and received his education in the public schools of Posey county. On reaching his majority he bought a farm in Lynn township and operated it with such success that his profits equaled the purchase price during the seven years he farmed there. His next venture was in Center township, where he bought 115 acres where he duplicated his former success. He now owns one of the large farms of the county, 320 acres, situated about three miles from Wadesville. The land is exceptionally good, is in a high state of cultivation, and in the matter of improvements is not excelled in southwestern Indiana. He became a resident of Wadesville in I905 and in 1907 he promoted the organization of the Farmers National Bank. He was elected cashier of the institution upon incorporation and has since served in that capacity. As a banker he is demonstrating the possession of the sound financial judgment, executive and initiative ability, and progressiveness which made Asa C. Williams a power in the financial circles of his section of the State. In the administration of the business of the institution he has been the controlling executive and to him is due the highly favorable showing made during its six years of business life. The bank has an earned surplus of $4,750, undivided profits of $750, and its deposits average about $120,000, a very creditable showing, considering the population of Wadesville and the strong competition of nearby towns which have long established institutions. His political affiliations have been with the Democratic party. He was elected trustee of Center township in 1904 and served during a term of four years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Williams married on January 1, 1891, Miss Eurie M. Willis, a daughter of Robert M. and Jane (Downen) Willis, the father a farmer o f Center township, where she was born on December 31, 1869. Mrs. Williams died on December 7, 1903. They were the parents of five children: Mildred, born October 15, 1891, died October 6, 1898; Harold, born November 8, 1893; and Asa Dan, born January 31, 1896, died September 2, 1896; Anna Jane, born August 10, 1897; and Eurie May, born May 15, 1900. On December 6, 1904, Mr. Williams married Miss Amy Anna Stallings, the daughter of John W. and Martha Stallings, both of whom were born in Posey county, but now reside in Omaha, Gallatin county, Illinois. Mrs. Williams is also a native of Posey county and was born on November 6, 1881. Three children have been born of this union, viz.: Amy Marie, born December 12, 1905; Mary Corine, born June 18, 1908; and Fannie Jauna, born December 5, 1910

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913

August Schieber. History is the preserved record of events, as biography is the personal record of those who have been actively concerned in the moulding and action of the events from which history is made. A publication of this nature exercises its most important function when it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those citizens who have been of material value in furthering the advancement and development of a community. The late August Schieber, a resident of Mt. Vernon for nearly fifty years, its most extensive owner of business and residence property, and one of Posey county's most successful men of affairs, is entitled to distinctive recognition in this volume. August Schieber was born in Wittenberg, Germany, February 7, 1841, a son of Frederick and Magdalena Schieber, residents of the town of Stuggart, where the father died when August was seven years of age. His mother married a second time, her husband being Frederick Richert, and in 1848 he brought his family to the United States and located in Evansville, Ind., where he established a brewery. August Schieber was reared in Evansville, was educated in its schools, was variously employed in the brewery of his step-father and also learned the cooper's trade. He completed a course in Buchanan's Commercial College at Evansville, attending this school at night. On the breaking out of the war in 1861 he enlisted in defense of the Union and served throughout the conflict, being a member of the Twenty-fourth Indiana volunteer infantry, of which General Alvin P. Hovey, then colonel, was in command. Frederick Rickert erected, shortly after the war, a hotel on Water street in Mt. Vernon, named the Flower House, in which young Schieber managed the cafe. In 1871 the hotel was sold and August Schieber initiated his first commercial enterprise. He established a retail grocery and liquor store on Water street. In the conduct of this business he demonstrated the possession of those qualities necessary to success as a merchant and built up an exceedingly profitable enterprise. About 1890 he disposed of the store and removed to a more central location at Mulberry and Water streets, where he continued as a merchant until his realty interests became so important that he retired from commercial life, giving his entire attention to the management of his business, residence and farm properties. From the time he entered commercial life he was a consistent buyer, with the profits derived from his business, of farm and city property, until his holdings were the largest of any individual in Mt. Vernon, and required not only his entire time in their supervision, but necessitated the employment of assistants. He was the owner of a number of improved business properties, including the Masonic Hall building, forty-one residences, farm lands totaling over 2,000 acres, the Posey county fair grounds of about forty acres, and had been interested directly or indirectly with many other business enterprises of his home city. He was one of the organizers, the largest stockholder and president of the Consumers Ice and Cold Storage Company, of Mt. Vernon, which is reviewed at length in the chapter on "Manufacturing and Commercial Enterprises," and president of the Lee Lumber Company of Memphis, Tenn., of which his son was general manager, one of the most important concerns in the lumber industry in the South. Essentially a business man, Mr. Schieber had neither time nor inclination for political office, although he served for several terms as a member of the council of Mt. Vernon, believing that a citizen of large property interests should devote a portion of his time and business experience in the management of civic affairs. He was a Republican. Mr. Schieber married on June 18, 1870, Miss Mary Anna Schutte, a daughter of Frank and Clara (Knair) Schutte, both of whom were born in Pricen, Germany. Frank Schutte was a farmer and came to the United States in 1856, locating on land in Marrs township, Posey county, Indiana, which he operated until his death. Mrs. Schieber was born in Pricen, Germany, on June 22, 1851, and was reared in Marrs township. She acquired her education in the St. Philip parochial school and attended the church there. She is a woman who has developed a talent for business affairs, has a comprehensive knowledge of the responsibilities of property ownership, and since the death of Mr. Schieber, which occurred on February 8, 1910, has supervised the management of the large and varied interests left her by her husband. She has been, to some extent, a student, is well read on a variety of subjects, and is the reader of the Christian Science church of Mt. Vernon, of which she is a member. August Frank Schieber, the only child of August and Mary Anna Schieber, was born in Mt. Vernon on March 17, 1871. He received his early educational discipline in the public schools of his native city and through a course of study in St. Francis College at Teotopolis, Ill., and the Catholic College at Dayton, Ohio. He was subsequently employed in his father's store and mill in various capacities and received a thorough business training under the supervision of the elder Schieber. In Gates, Tenn., he initiated his first independent venture when he formed, with Charles Finley, the firm of Schieber & Finley and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, their plant being removed some time afterward to Benoid, Miss. This venture was a success and he demonstrated his possession of executive ability of a high order. He was able to secure recognition among men in the trade as an able manager and one who knew lumber values. An opportunity offering in which he was assured of further advancing his importance among men in his line, he retired from the firm of Schieber & Finley and, with his father and M. E. Montgomery, purchased the business of the Lee Lumber Company, of Memphis, of which he became general manager and his father president. In the management of this enterprise he continued his former success and the company became one of the most important factors in the lumber trade of the South. On the death of his father he succeeded him as president and remained in this capacity until his death on March 11, 1913. His death, which occurred while he was in the prime of life, at a time when he had attained a commanding position in his chosen field of enterprise, was a severe blow to his mother, who had but three years before lost her husband. August F. Schieber possessed many likeable qualities, his friends were many and worthwhile, he promised to become a business man of unusual worth, and his loss to the business circles of Memphis was deplored by the press of that city. August F. Schieber was twice married. His first wife was Miss Annie Naas, of Mt. Vernon. No children were born of this union. After her death he married Mrs. Margaret Drury, nee Freeman. Of this union one child was born: Mary Augusta Schieber, February 18, 1904.

History of Posey county, Indiana
John C. Leffel, Editor
Standard Publishing Company
Chicago 1913