Jacob Mettel was born on August 12, 1845, in Hesse, Hamburg, Germany. His family immigrated to Franklin County, Indiana, when he was an infant. After learning the shoemaking trade in Ohio, Mettel settled in Gallatin in 1872, eventually opening his own shop in 1875. He married Catharine C. Bird in 1869, and they had four children: Frederick, Minnie, Oliver, and Harry. Mrs. Mettel is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Joshua H. Higdon, born June 25, 1845, in Franklin County, Indiana, learned blacksmithing and farming before enlisting in the Union Army in 1863. He fought in significant battles such as Chattahoochie and Nashville, being discharged in 1865. After moving to Chillicothe, Missouri, in 1869, he farmed for eight years and then established a successful blacksmithing and agricultural implement business in Jamesport in 1880. He married Emma J. Humphrey, with whom he had two children, and she is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Henry Clay Jones, born December 2, 1842, in Franklin County, Indiana, moved to Douglas County in 1860. A Civil War veteran, he served in the Seventy-ninth Illinois Infantry, sustaining a leg wound at Liberty Gap. Post-war, he engaged in farming and later became the County treasurer after serving as deputy. Married to Harriet E. York, he had three daughters. A member of the Methodist Church and the Grand Army of the Republic, Jones is noted for his integrity and contributions to Douglas County.
Thomas J. Flint was born on August 4, 1835, in Indiana and later moved to Daviess County, where he pursued education and began teaching at age eighteen. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving in two regiments before returning home. After the war, Flint engaged in mercantile business and held various public offices, including treasurer and sheriff of Daviess County. In 1873, he founded a business selling musical instruments and other goods. He married Lydia A. Adams in 1859 and they were active members of the Christian Church in Gallatin.
Father Berthold Staubach has been instrumental in developing the Church of the Sacred Heart in Emporia, Kansas, into a thriving Catholic parish over his decade-long pastorate. Under his guidance, the congregation grew significantly, necessitating the construction of a modern church in 1912, with a capacity for 500 attendees and currently serving 650 parishioners. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 12, 1876, Father Berthold pursued extensive theological education before serving in Kansas, beginning at Hartford before arriving in Emporia in 1906.
Richard Thomas was born on December 18, 1832, in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, and immigrated to the United States around 1847. He married Sarah L. Worden in 1853, and they had seven children, five of whom survived. His early years in the U.S. included farming in New York and Connecticut, work in a rolling mill, and boating. In 1856, he moved to Indiana, continuing his farming career until relocating to Illinois in 1870, where he has since owned eighty acres, earned through hard work.
Dr. Wilson Bowlby, a significant figure in Washington County, was born on July 4, 1818, in New Hampton, New Jersey. After working in New York City and studying medicine, he practiced in Indiana before relocating to Oregon in 1852. A member of Oregon’s first state legislature, he served in various political roles, including as an examining surgeon during the Civil War. Residing in Forest Grove for most of his life, he balanced his medical practice with public service, earning respect and recognition in his community. Dr. Bowlby has three living children and remarried after his first wife’s passing in 1883.
S.S. White, born in Franklin County, Indiana, in 1811, became a significant figure in Oregon’s early history. He migrated to Oregon in 1845, where he served as chief justice of Clackamas County and later as a state legislator. White was involved in legislative actions following the Whitman massacre and participated in the gold rush to California in 1848. He returned to Oregon to engage in various entrepreneurial ventures, including the construction of the first steamer on local waters. White remained active in Portland until his later years.