Vanderburgh County IN

Biographical Sketch of Nathan H. Anspach

Anspach, Nathan H.; chief of tariff bureau, L. S. & M. S. R. R.; born, Evansville, Ind., June 19, 1873; son of Herman and Rosa Kaden Anspach; educated Evansville schools; married, Cleveland, Oct. 25, 1898, Sadie Goldsmith; two sons, Herman F. and Robert G.; 1889-90, clerk E. & T. H. R. R.; 1890-93, F. P. agt., E. & T. H. R. R.; 1893-97, sec’y G. S. A., C. & E. J.; 1897-05, C. C. G. M., L. S. & M. S. R. R.; 1905 to date, C. T. B., L. S. & M. S. R. R.; member Transfer Club, Cleveland, … Read more

Slave Narrative of Henry Clay Moorman

Interviewer: William R. Mays Person Interviewed: Henry Clay Moorman Location: Franklin, Indiana Place of Birth: Breckenridge County, Kentucky Date of Birth: Oct. 1, 1854 Place of Residence: 427 W. King St., Franklin, Ind. William R. Mays District 4 Johnson County HENRY CLAY MOORMAN BORN IN SLAVERY IN KENTUCKY 427 W. King St., Franklin, Ind. Henry Clay Moorman has resided in Franklin 34 years, he was born Oct. 1, 1854 in slavery on the Moorman plantation in Breckenridge County, Kentucky. Mr. Moorman relates his own personal experiences as well as those handed down from his mother. He was a boy about … Read more

Elder James Martin of the District of Orangeburg South Carolina

Elder James Martin and his brother Simon Martin title page

Steve Malone’s work, “Elder James Martin of the Districts of Orangeburg, Lower Ninety-Six, Edgefield and Barnwell, South Carolina; Warren County, Kentucky; and Knox, Gibson, Posey and Vanderburgh Counties, Indiana Territory/Indiana, and his brother, Simon Martin of the Same Districts in South Carolina,” offers a meticulous exploration into the life of an individual whose existence paints a vivid picture of the American frontier during its formative years. Free to read or download.

Biography of Stephen S. Glidden

STEPHEN S. GLIDDEN. – Spokane Falls, Washington, has been fortunate in possessing from the first business men accustomed to large enterprises. Such a man is Mr. Glidden. He was born in Northfield, New Hampshire, in 1829, and at the early age of two years removed with his parents to Scotia county, Ohio. Upon reaching a few more years, he was taken back by his mother to his native state to enjoy educational advantages. Returning s a youth of eighteen to Ohio, he entered the store of the iron company with which his father and uncle were connected. Upon their purchase … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J.T. Willett

Among those who have toiled and continuously wrought for the development of the resources of Wallowa county in the agricultural portion of the population, we may mention the capable and intelligent subject of this sketch, who has demonstrated in the years in which he has been domiciled in our county his fitness to be classed with the representative men of the county and to take rank among the leading ones whose names appear in this compendium of the builders and pioneers of Wallowa County. In Union County, Kentucky, on May 3, 1856, J.T. was born to James M. and Mattie … Read more

Slave Narrative of John W. Fields

Interviewer: Cecil Miller Person Interviewed: John W. Fields Location: Lafayette, Indiana Place of Birth: Owensburg, KY Date of Birth: March 27, 1848 Age: 89 Place of Residence: N. 20th St., Lafayette, Indiana Cecil C. Miller Dist. #3 Tippecanoe Co. INTERVIEW WITH MR. JOHN W. FIELDS, EX-SLAVE OF CIVIL WAR PERIOD September 17, 1937 John W. Fields, 2120 North Twentieth Street, Lafayette, Indiana, now employed as a domestic by Judge Burnett is a typical example of a fine colored gentleman, who, despite his lowly birth and adverse circumstances, has labored and economized until he has acquired a respected place in his … Read more

Shock, Mary Amanda Wallace Mrs. – Obituary

Halfway, Oregon “Pine And Haines Resident Passes” Funeral services will be held for Mrs. Amanda Shock, who died early Wednesday, April 16, at the home of her son Jesse in Pine, at Halfway Friday afternoon at 2 o’clock. Mrs. Rev. Mae Budd will officiate at services at the Christian church. According to Baker Funeral home, burial will be made Saturday, with grave services at Haines cemetery at 2 pm. Mrs. Shock was born on August 15, 1862, in Evansville, Indiana. She moved to Fort Scott, Kansas when a small girl and later to Missouri where she was married in 1882 … Read more

Slave Narrative of George W. Arnold

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: George W. Arnold Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Birth: Bedford County, Tennessee Date of Birth: April 7, 1861 Occupation: porter in a wholesale feed store This is written from an interview with each of the following: George W. Arnold, Professor W.S. Best of the Lincoln High School and Samuel Bell, all of Evansville, Indiana. George W. Arnold was born April 7, 1861, in Bedford County, Tennessee. He was the property of Oliver P. Arnold, who owned a large farm or plantation in Bedford county. His mother was a native of Rome, Georgia, where she remained … Read more

Biography of John Lane

Colonel John Lane, the senior member of the law firm of Lane & McDonald, has long resided on the Pacific coast, but has made his home in Lewiston for only two years. In that time, however, he has gained prestige as one of the ablest members of the bar of this locality, and is therefore a valued addition to the professional circles of the city. A native of the state of Indiana, Colonel Lane was born in Evansville, May 17, 1837. His ancestors were of Irish and French stock and were early settlers of North Carolina, where they founded the … Read more

Slave Narrative of George Taylor Burns

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: George Taylor Burns Location: Evansville, Indiana Ex-Slave Stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel THE LIFE STORY OF GEORGE TAYLOR BURNS [HW: Personal Interview] Ox-carts and flat boats, and pioneer surroundings; crowds of men and women crowding to the rails of river steamboats; gay ladies in holiday attire and gentleman in tall hats, low cut vests and silk mufflers; for the excursion boats carried the gentry of every area. A little negro boy clung to the ragged skirts of a slave mother, both were engrossed in watching the great wheels that ploughed the Mississippi river … Read more

Slave Narrative of Katie Sutton

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Katie Sutton Location: Evansville, Indiana Folklore District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel “A TRADITION FROM PRE-CIVIL WAR DAYS” KATIE SUTTON, AGED EX-SLAVE Oak street, Evansville, Ind. “White folks ‘jes naturally different from darkies,” said Aunt Katie Sutton, ex-slave, as she tightened her bonnet strings under her wrinkled chin. “We’s different in color, in talk and in ligion and beliefs. We’s different in every way and can never be spected to think oe [TR: or?] to live alike.” “When I was a little gal I lived with my mother in an old log cabin. My mammy … Read more

Biography of F. M. Garvin

F. M. GARVIN. The American bank is the synonym of dignity, respectability and safety; the medium of exchange between cities and foreign countries and the great sustainer of the various business enterprises of the country, The bank is the teacher of method and system and is a check upon reckless and indiscriminate speculation, the spirit of which is too prevalent in the country. The Harrison Bank, of Harison, Arkansas, of which F. M. Garvin is the efficient and trustworthy cashier, was established in November , 1887, with a capital stock of $30,000, the stockholders of which were largely residents of … Read more

Slave Narrative of Adah I. Suggs

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Adah Isabelle Suggs Location: Evansville, Indiana Date of Birth: 1862 Stories from Ex-Slaves 5th District Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel 1415 S. Barker Avenue, Evansville, Indiana ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE OF ADAH ISABELLE SUGGS Among the interesting stories connected with former slaves one of the most outstanding ones is the life story of Adah Isabelle Suggs, indeed her escape from slavery planned and executed by her anxious mother, Harriott McClain, bears the earmarks of fiction, but the truth of all related occurences has been established by the aged negro woman and her daughter Mrs. Harriott Holloway, both … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Andrew Barclay Meldrum

Meldrum, Andrew Barclay; Presbyterian minister; born, Scotland, Sept. 9, 1857; son of Capt. Robert and Agnes Ness (Grant) Meldrum; educated, professionally, at Knox College and University of Toronto, graduating in Theology at the Theological Seminary of San Francisco; (D. D. Hanover College); married, in 1885, to Laura R. Rison, of Oakland, Cal.; issue, two sons and two daughters; in 1907, married Ella Hoyt Herrick, of Cleveland; pastor in San Francisco, Cal., Evansville, Ind., St. Paul, Minn., and now Old Stone Church, Cleveland; Grand Chaplain, Masonic Grand Lodge of Ohio, 1913; member Robert Burns Society of Cleveland, and Rotary Club; Chaplain … Read more

Slave Narrative of George Washington Buckner

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Dr. George Washington Buckner Location: Evansville, Indiana Date of Birth: December 1st, 1852 Ex-Slave Stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel A SLAVE, AMBASSADOR AND CITY DOCTOR [DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON BUCKNER] This paper was prepared after several interviews had been obtained with the subject of this sketch. Dr. George Washingtin [TR: Washington] Buckner, tall, lean, whitehaired, genial and alert, answered the call of his door bell. Although anxious to oblige the writer and willing to grant an interview, the life of a city doctor is filled with anxious solicitation for others and he is always … Read more

Smart, Mildred Lucille – Obituary

Mildred Lucille Smart, 92, formerly of La Grande, died Oct. 1 at a care center in Salem. A memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in La Grande. Private burial was held at the Grandview Cemetery in La Grande. Mildred was born on June 11, 1915, to Ferris and Grace (Wakeland) Miller in Evansville, Ind. On Feb. 26, 1935, she married Alva Asa Smart in Evansville. The couple moved to Missouri, Arizona and Southern and Northern California before finally settling in La Grande in 1997. Alva preceded her in death on Dec. 11, 2004. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Amy E. Patterson

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Amy Elizabeth Patterson Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Birth: Cardiz, Trigg County, Kentucky Date of Birth: July 12, 1850 Place of Residence: 512 Linwood Avenue, Evansville, Indiana Age: 87 Ex-Slave Stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel MEMORIES OF SLAVERY AND THE LIFE STORY OF AMY ELIZABETH PATTERSON The slave mart, separation from a dearly beloved mother and little sisters are among the earliest memories recalled by Amy Elizabeth Patterson, a resident of Evansville, Indiana. Amy Elizabeth, now known as “Grandmother Patterson” resides with her daughter Lula B. Morton at 512 Linwood Avenue near Cherry … Read more

Slave Narrative of Betty Jones

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Elizabeth Jones Location: 429 Oak Street, Evansville, Indiana Ex-Slave Stories District No. 5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel THE STORY OF BETTY JONES 429 Oak Street, Evansville, Ind. From an Interview with Elizabeth Jones at 429 Oak Street, Evansville, Ind. “Yes Honey, I was a slave, I was born at Henderson, Kentucky and my mother was born there. We belonged to old Mars John Alvis. Our home was on Alvis’s Hill and a long plank walk had been built from the bank of the Ohio river to the Alvis home. We all liked the long plank … Read more

Slave Narrative of George Fortman

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: George Fortman Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Residence: Cor. Bellemeade Ave. and Garvin St. Evansville, Indiana Occupation: Professor of faith in Christ, Janitor Ex-Slave Stories District 5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel INDIANS MADE SLAVES AMONG THE NEGROES. INTERVIEWS WITH GEORGE FORTMAN Cor. Bellemeade Ave. and Garvin St. Evansville, Indiana, and other interested citizens “The story of my life, I will tell to you with sincerest respect to all and love to many, although reviewing the dark trail of my childhood and early youth causes me great pain.” So spoke George Fortman, an aged man and … Read more

Slave Narrative of John Rudd

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: John Rudd Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Birth: Springfield, Kentucky Date of Birth: December 25, 1854 Age: 83 Ex-Slave Stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel TOLD BY JOHN RUDD, AN EX-SLAVE “Yes, I was a slave,” said John Rudd, “And I’ll say this to the whole world, Slavery was the worst curse ever visited on the people of the United States.” John Rudd is a negro, dark and swarthy as to complexion but his nose is straight and aqualine, for his mother-was half Indian. The memory of his mother, Liza Rudd, is sacred to … Read more