Vanderburgh County IN

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

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

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.

Slave Narrative of Samuel Watson

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Samuel Watson Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Birth: Webster County, Kentucky Date of Birth: February 14, 1862 Ex-Slave Stories 5th District Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel 1415 S. Barker Avenue, Evansville, Indiana THE BIOGRAPHY OF A CHILD BORN IN SLAVERY SAMUEL WATSON [HW: Personal Interview] Samuel Watson, a citizen of Evansville, Indiana, was born in Webster County, Kentucky, February 14, 1862. His master’s home was located two and one half miles from Clay, Kentucky on Craborchard Creek. “Uncle Sammy” as the negro children living near his home on South East Fifth Street call the old man, … 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

Biography of Guy Wilson

Guy Wilson, president of the Traffic Motor Truck Corporation of St. Louis, has in his business career demonstrated the fact that opportunity is ever open to ambition, diligence and determination, for these qualities have been the dominant factors in the attainment of his present position and the success which has rewarded his labors. He was born in Christian county, Kentucky, May 1, 1878, his parents being Richard Henry and Maggie (Smith) Wilson. The father was a planter, who was descended from a long line of ancestors engaged in the same pursuits in Virginia. He had removed to Kentucky immediately following … 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 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 Joseph William Carter

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Joseph William Carter Location: Evansville, Indiana Age: 100+ Ex-Slave Stories 5th District Vandenburgh County Lauana Creel SLAVE STORY JOSEPH WILLIAM CARTER This information was gained through an interview with Joseph William Carter and several of his daughters. The data was cheerfully given to the writer. Joseph William Carter has lived a long and, he declares, a happy life, although he was born and reared in bondage. His pleasing personality has always made his lot an easy one and his yoke seemed easy to wear. Joseph William Carter was born prior to the year 1836. His … Read more

Biography of George W. Veale

George W. Veale was one of the makers of history in Kansas, in which territory and state ho had his home continuously for sixty years. He was born on a farm about five miles south of the Town of Washington in Daviess County, Indiana, May 20, 1833. Until seventeen he attended school about three months each year. From 1852 until 1857 he was employed as a clerk in the dry goods store of Filching Johnson at Evansville, Indiana. January 20, 1857, he married Miss Nannie Johnson, and on the 29th of March the bride and groom left Evansville on the Steamer White … 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

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

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

Slave Narrative of James Childress

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: James Childress Location: Evansville, Indiana Place of Birth: Nashville, Tennessee Date of Birth: 1860 Place of Residence: 312 S.E. Fifth Street, Evansville, Indiana Ex-Slave stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel JAMES CHILDRESS’ STORY 312 S.E. Fifth Street, Evansville, Indiana From an interview with James Childress and from John Bell both living at 312 S.E. Fifth Street, Evansville, Indiana. Known as Uncle Jimmy by the many children that cluster about the aged man never tiring of his stories of “When I was chile.” “When I was a chile my daddy and mamma was slaves and … 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

Vanderburgh County Indiana Will Abstracts, 1821-1873

Sample Last Will and Testament

Abstracts of over 600 wills for Vanderburgh County, Indiana, extracted by Mrs. Arthur C. Bitterman. Book A was typed by Mrs. James A. Gentry, book B typed by Mrs. Marvin J. Huff, and published as one by the Vanderburgh Chapter of the DAR. Book A primarily covers wills written or filed within the time period of 1823-1849 and book B includes the years of 1849-1873. In both cases there are wills that fall outside those dates.

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

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

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

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