George Robert Wilson. Some of the
worthiest services and experiences of life have been credited to George
Robert Wilson, now a resident of Jasper and Indianapolis and a leading
insurance man. By profession he is a surveyor and civil engineer, and
for many years was county superintendent of schools in Dubois County.
He was born at Cannelton, Indiana.
August 15, 1863. He is the eldest son of Michael and Elizabeth
(Chilton) Wilson. His parents are English, and he is the first of the
family on either side born without the folds of the British flag.
Michael Wilson, only son of Anthony and Anna (Pratt) Wilson, was born
in Rainton Gate, not far from Durham, England, October 3, 1834. He came
with his father, Anthony, to America in 1854 from Shield's Harbor,
England, on the good ship Josephine Hardin, and arrived at the port of
New York August 11, 1854. From New York they went to Hawesville,
Kentucky, on the Ohio River, opposite Cannelton, Indiana, and there
located, removing later to Cannelton. Michael Wilson's wife was born in
England October 13, 1844, daughter of George and Margaret (Bruce)
Chilton who came to America in June, 1848, on the ship Mary Matthews
and landed at Philadelphia. The family settled at Cannelton, and there
on November 1, 1862, Elizabeth Hutchinson Chilton became the wife of
Michael Wilson.
In 1868 the Wilson family moved from
Perry County to Dubois County, and there George R. Wilson was reared
and spent many years of his life. At eleven years of age he went to
work in the coal mines near Jasper. Ambitious beyond the ordinary, he
devoted himself to study at such intervals of leisure as he could
command during the four years he spent in the coal mines, and at the
age of fifteen he was possessed of a good English education. He then
secured a position as teacher in Bain- bridge Township, in the meantime
taking a practical course in civil engineering, under the direction of
Major Stiles, the celebrated author of "Stiles' Curves and Tables." In
all Mr. Wilson taught school for nine years, during the last two of
which he was principal of the high school at Ireland.
In the intervals between teaching he
served for three years in his father's office as deputy surveyor of
Dubois County, and for four years as county surveyor. His father and
also his uncle, George Chilton, were civil engineers and served as
surveyors of Dubois and Perry counties.
In 1889 Mr. Wilson's eminent
qualifications as an educator were recognized by his appointment to the
position of county superintendent of schools. His work in this position
was so thorough and striking in character as to have attracted
attention in educational circles all over the state. Briefly referred
to, his record as superintendent is summarized as follows: The
reorganization of the school system of Dubois County, comprising the
introduction of uniform courses of study and the classification of
schools throughout the county; the introduction of a system of
bi-monthly examinations of pupils, a system which has since been
adopted by the state; the introduction of a uniform set of examination
papers for pupils in all the county schools; the organization of the
Teachers' Reading Circle, of Dubois County, which for years stood first
in the State of Indiana; the organization of the Young People's Reading
Circle in Dubois County; the introduction of common school
commencements in every township in Dubois County, and the reduction of
township institutes to a system. In addition to this creditable work
Mr. Wilson prepared an excellent map of Dubois County. He also
collected and arranged the exhibit of the Dubois County school children at the World's Fair
at Chicago, which was awarded two diplomas and one medal.
Mr. Wilson did much to advance the
educational interests of the state. He served on many state committees,
in all of which he was a leading spirit. He served as president of the
Indiana County Superintendents' Association, having previously filled
the offices of secretary and vice president of the same organization.
He also served as chairman of the executive committee of the Indiana
Teachers' Association. Mr. Wilson was identified with almost every
educational project in the state. He has the degree of Bachelor of
Laws, but never practiced law.
In 1903 Mr. Wilson refused a
unanimous re-election as county superintendent, and associated himself
with the State Life Insurance Company as its Indiana manager, which
position he now holds, and is one of that company's best managers. Mr.
Wilson is a graduate of the New York Insurance School. He helped
reorganize the Indiana Association of Life Underwriters, and became its
president.
During his spare time, and as a
source of pleasure, Mr. Wilson wrote a history of Dubois County, now
classed as one of the best county histories in Indiana. In 1916, as a
favor to his county, he resurveyed a part of the Freeman lines, on the
south side of the Vincennes tract in Dubois Oounty, so as to maik it
with proper historical markers. This was a part of Dubois County's
contribution to the state's centennial celebration of 1916. Mr. Wilson
was commissioned by Governor Balston to make this survey. He has made a
thorough study of pioneer trails and surveys, and has written many
articles on that subject for historical societies and magazines. He is
considered an authority on pioneer surveys in Indiana, and prepared a
pamphlet on that subject for the Indiana Historical Society
publications.
In 1893 Mr. Wilson married Miss
Carolina It. Kuebler. They have one daughter, Hiss Roberta. Mr. Wilson
has been very successful in all his business undertakings. He is public
spirited, liberal, progressive and energetic, a gentleman of kindly and
courteous demeanor and of great popularity throughout the state. Source: Indiana and Indianans By
Jacob Piatt Dunn, General William Harrison Kemper, George William
Harrison Kemper
JOHN SEATON, OF HUNTINGTON, INDIANA.
John Seaton was born February 20,
1828, in Crawford county, Indiana. His father was born in Tennessee, in
1802. and his mother in Indiana. Crawford county, in 1803. They were
married in 1821 by a Methodist minister. Mr. Seaton being a preacher of
that denomination. Mrs. Seaton's ancestors are said to have come from
Caucasia.
John Seaton was married to Mary
Catharine Ott, at Mifflin, Indiana, by the Rev. John Hughes, in the
Methodist Church, October 16, 1856. Mary Catharine was a daughter of
Malachi Ott, who married a lady by the name of Ware, her mother being a
Burr.
John is a retired blacksmith, being
too old to perform such strenuous labor as is required of artists in
his business. He has lived in Huntington, Dubois county, Indiana, for
about eight years, having formerly made his residence near Grantsburg,
in
1865, from which locality he moved to
Mifflin in 1872. and to St. Anthony in 1896, thence to Huntington.
He enlisted in the Union Army July
13, 1861, and was not discharged until May 31, 1865, at AVashington, D.
C. In politics he 'is a Republican and in religion a Methodist.
The children vouchsafed to this
family were: John Wesley Gordon Seaton, born at Mifflin, Indiana, June
4, 1860; married C. E. Tillman July 13, 1884, at Banta, Indiana. He is
a Republican, and a member of the Friends' Church. His business is
carpentry. For ten years last past his home has been at West Newton,
Indiana. From 1860 to 1893 he lived at the home of his birth, then at
Banta from 1893 to 1894.
The children of J. W. G. and C. E.
Seaton are Nellie Alra, born at Mifflin, July 20, 1885, and Ward
Tillman, whose birthday was November 21, 1891.
Oliver Preston Morton Seaton, son of
John and Mary, was born at Grantsburg August 19, 1862. He lives at
Taswell, Crawford county, Indiana. He married Alice Benham, at Mifflin.
March 24. 1887.
Emma Lou Alice Seaton was born at
Grantsburg, March 24,
1866. She married "Rile" Robertson,
at Taswell, October 30. 1887, Rev. Mr. Brock performing the interesting
ceremony. They reside at English, Crawford county, Indiana.
Mary Luarcia Seaton, born at
Grantsburg in the year 1868, September 8, was married to Elias Stolk
Beard, February 14. 1898, at St. Anthony, by Esquire Ray. They are
domiciled at Hun- tingburg. Dubois county. Indiana.
Walter Seaton was born May 1, 1871,
at Mifflin, and his brother. Charles T. Seaton, July 6, 1874, at the
above home.
Maud E. Seaton was born August
12,1877, at Mifflin. She was united in marriage with Hugh H. McConnel.
at Huntingburg, June 21, 1904. by Rev. Mr. Priest. Their home is at
Evansville, Indiana, 1103 South Governor street. George G. Seaton, a farmer and
pioneer settler of Rockford, Illinois, was a very devout man, and
smoking and drinking he held to be sins that could not be condoned by
any religion. He had a deep-rooted horror of the cigarette habit, and
never lost an opportunity to wage war against it. either in public or
among his friends and relatives.
He left an estate worth $50,000. The
principal legatees under his will were his daughters, Mrs. Alice
Crunke, and his son, Arthur Seaton. To four nieces and six nephews he
bequeathed sums ranging from one hundred to two hundred dollars each,
with the proviso that if any of the legatees should use to excess
either cigarettes or alcoholic liquors, that portion which was to go to
them should go to some charitable institution, to be determined by the
executors. All of the heirs are said to have been of the same opinion
as Mr. Seaton, on this question. The Seaton Family, with Genealogy and
Biographies By Oren Andrew Seaton 1906
THOMAS SHOULDERS, SENATOR FROM THE COUNTIES OF PIKE,
DUBOIS AND GIBSON.
Mr. Shoulders was born in Warren
county, Kentucky, January 25th, 1806. His father, Cader Shoulders,
emigrated to this State in the year 1823, and located in Dubois county,
near the present residence of Thomas Shoulders. By occupation his
father wasa chair maker, but Thomas was reared to the occupation of a
farmer, to which his whole life has been devoted. His education was
confined to that afforded by the common schools of those early times in
the history of Indiana. In his nineteenth year, and two years after his
emigration to this State, Thomas Shoulders was married to Miss Polly
Boler, of Kentucky, and immediately thereafter commenced house keeping
in a log cabin in Dubois county, at that time quite new and wild. With
the hardships incident to pioneer life, Mr. Shoulders and his wife had
to contend, but being nerved with brave hearts and strong arms, they
overcame all obstacles, and secured a competence against want. About
one year after their marriage, he purchased a farm and settled at once
on his own land, and dwelt in his own home. In 1831 Mr. Shoulders
received a commission as Captain of the Militia, in which capacity he
served four years, when he was promoted to the position of Colonel of
the Forty-third Regiment of the Indiana Militia, where he served five
years, when he resigned his commission. In the year 1838 he was
appointed by the Board of County Commissioners as Collector of the
revenue of Dubois County. Filling this position one year, he
was elected to the office of Associate Judge of Dubois county, in which
he served five years. In 1856 he was elected to represent Dubois county
in the lower branch of the Indiana Legislature, where he served two
years. Filling this position, as all others to which he had been called
by his fellow-citizens, with honor and credit, he was taken up in 1860
as a candidate for State Senator for his district, and elected over
Harvey Green, a prominent Republican of Dubois county, by 1329
majority. His first vote for president was for General Jackson, in in
1828; his second for Van Buren, and has always votedfor Democratic
candidates for the Presidency, down to Douglas in 1860. All through
life Mr. Shoulders has applied himself to manual labor. Making his home
in a new country, among the timber, it was no small amount of hard work
that sufficed to prostrate and clear away the forest where his broad,
fertile fields now appear. Industrious in every sense of the word, he
availed himself of all the advantages pf mental culture ho could
command; and is now, for the chances he has had, one of tde ablest men
in the Indiana Senate. As prudent in the halls of legislation as he is
at home in the conduct of his business, his constituents will never
regret having selected him to represent their interests in the General
Assembly of the State. Post office Address—Celisteen, Dubois county,
Indiana. Source: Biographical Sketches of the
Members of the Forty-first General Assembly of ... By James Sutherland
1861
COLONEL CHARLES C. SCHREEDER.
Colonel Charles C. Schreeder,
republican representative from Vanderburg county to the Indiana
legislature, has the distinction of being the only citizen of the state
ever elected for five consecutive terms to the general assembly,
thereby becoming the dean of the sixty-sixth session of the law-making
body of the state. He was first called to office when but twenty-one
years of age and almost continuously since has been connected with the
public service, a fact indicative of fidelity to duty, of loyalty to
principle and to promise and of capability in the discharge of the
official tasks that have devolved upon him.
Mr. Schreeder was born in Berlin,
Germany, January 19, 1847, and was but five years of age when brought
to America by his widowed mother, the father having died during the
infancy of his son Charles. In 1853 he became a resident of Evansville
and a pupil in the public schools, therein pursuing his studies to the
age of fifteen years, when aroused by the spirit of patriotism that was
spreading throughout the north, he enlisted as a private soldier in the
Union army, doing active duty at the front until the close of
hostilities.
After the close of the war Mr.
Schreeder returned to Evansville and in the year in which he attained
his majority was elected city assessor. Later he was chosen to the
office of township assessor and subsequently to the office of city
clerk, and the prompt and faithful discharge of his duties won for him
high commendation. In 1876 he removed to Hunting- burg, Dubois county,
Indiana, where he served as postmaster during the administration of
Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur and Harrison. From early boyhood he
has taken a deep interest in political affairs and has been active in
his advocacy of party principles. He organized the first republican
county central committee in Dubois county, which was the democratic
stronghold, and served for twelve years as its chairman. In 1880 he
established the first republican newspaper in that county and remained
its publisher and editor until his return to Evansville in 1894. Long
before he took his seat in the legislature as one of its duly elected
members, he was a familiar figure in the house for in 1887, during the
fifty-fifth session of the general assembly, he was principal
doorkeeper of the house of representatives. In 1892 he was commissioned
colonel on the staff of Governor Chase and was again commissioned in
1897 on the staff of Governor Mount. In 1901 he was recommissioned on
the staff of Governor Durbin and again in 1905 by Governor Hanly.
In 1900 Mr. Schreeder was elected
joint representative to the legislature from the counties of
Vanderburg, Gibson and Knox and in 1902 was reelected from Vanderburg
county and again in 1904, 1906 and 1908, thus being five times
consecutively a member of the house and was renominated for the sixth
term in 1910, an honor which has not been conferred upon any other
citizen of the state under the present constitution. By reason of these
elections he served in the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth,
Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth sessions of the general assembly and of the
last was termed "dean." He has served on many important committees,
including the ways and means, appropriation, banking, fees and
salaries, the military and other committees. He is the author of
several important bills which have become laws, securing the passage of
a bill appropriating twenty-eight thousand dollars for the erection of
twenty-two monuments on the battlefield of Shiloh in memory of the
Indiana troops who participated in the engagement there; another
appropriating ten thousand dollars for the erection of a monument at
Andersonville, Georgia, in memory of the Indiana soldiers who suffered
and died in the Confederate prison stockade at that place; and an
appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars for erecting monuments and
markers on the battlefield of Antietam, Maryland, in memory of the
Indiana troops who fought for the Union cause at that point. During his
legislative career four United States senators have been elected. In
1903 he supported Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, in 1905, Hon. A. J. Bev-
eridge and Hon. James A. Hemenway and in 1909 voted for the reelection
of Mr. Hemenway. Colonel Schreeder has always been an active worker in
the Grand Army of the Republic and has held numerous prominent
positions in that organization.
Colonel Schreeder was married in
Huntingburg, Indiana, on the 12th of April, 1868, to Miss Louise C.
Behrens, a daughter of an early merchant of that place. She died April
28, 1892, leaving two children: Emma Mary, now the wife of E. W. Nash
of New Harmony, Indiana; and Walter D., at home. On the 27th of March,
1894, in Evansville, Colonel Schreeder was married to Mrs. Rebecca
Keller, widow of the late Charles Keller, a prominent merchant here.
In whatever relation we find him, in
government service, in political circles, in business or in social
circles,—he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman whose
worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him. That he
is a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit has been
shadowed forth between the lines of this review. Strong in his
individuality, he never lacks the courage of his convictions, but there
are as dominating elements in this individuality a lively human
sympathy and a sterling integrity which have naturally gained for him
the respect and confidence of men.
Source: History of the City of
Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana By Frank M. Gilbert Published
by Pioneer Pub. Co., 1910
SAMUEL KESTERSON 1888-1889 DuBois County IN
Samuel Kesterson, born about 1872 was convicted of killing his
stepfather Daniel Nicholson in 1889. He received a life sentence in the
Indiana State Prison. The murder of Mr. Nicholson occurred on January
12, 1889 in Hillham, Dubois Co IN. John T. Kesterson, the first husband
of Mary McCune, had apparently died young. She then married Daniel
Nicholson 13 September 1880 Dubois Co IN, when Samuel was about 8 years
old. Samuel grew up and later married Minnie Byrum 13 September 1888 in
Dubois Co IN so its evident that Samuel was married and out of the
parental home at the time of the murder. We can only guess as to the
reason why he might have killed his step-father. A change of venue for
the court and the trial was held in Orange County, Paoli Circuit Court
with Judge Collins.
NAME: Samuel Kesterson
OCCUPATION: Farmer
COUNTY WHERE CONVICTED: Orange
CRIME: Murder, 2nd degree
TERM: Life
WHEN SENTENCED: October 21, 1889
WHEN AND HOW DISCHARGED: July 10, 1893; escaped. Missed from place in
shop about 4:45 or 5:00 P. M. No trace found. A ladder was discovered
under a lumber pile but had apparently not been used. July 10, 1893.
AGE: 18? (hard to read)
HEIGHT: 5 ft. 8 1/2 in. (not positive, hard to read)
COMPLEXION: Light
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Dark
NATIVITY: Indiana
FORMER CHARACTER: Temperate
SOCIAL RELATIONS: Married; reads and writes
REMARKS: Hare lip; freckle face; indentation over left corner of mouth;
prominent scar across right wrist; dark freckle on right forearm;
little finger on left hand crooked; scar above right knee; scar on left
foot across border of big and of second toes; two scars on lower
back; uses tobacco. Wife and one child; Minnie Kesterson, William;
Dubois Co., Indiana
NOTES: Escaped from prison on November 16, 1891 by scaling the wall
midway between No. 293 ???, at which time wall guard Andy Wheeler fired
4 shots at him withoueffect. Kesterson went to schoolhouse in Ohio
Falls, mounting a horse hitched to a delivery wagon, and rode the
horse by Akron brick kiln, where he abandoned him and took to the
woods, and was recaptured at Edwardsville in Floyd Co., and returnedto
prison November 18, 1891. Reward $100.00
Contributed by Jenna Cain
DIVORCE: CHANCERY NOTICE
Notice is hereby given to you, Samuel Kesterson, that Minnie Kesterson,
complainant, heretofore filed her bill of complaint to the circuit
court of Effingham county, Ill., for the October term, 1894, on the
chancery side thereof for divorce, and summons thereupon issued out of
said court against the above named Samuel Kesterson, as defendant,
returnable on the first day of the said October term, 1894, of said
court to be held at the court house in Effingham, Ill., on the third
Monday of October, 1894, as by law required, and which suit is still
presiding. HENRY HUBRICH, Clerk, August, 1894 Samuel Kesterson was the
son of John T and Mary (McCune) Kesterson. He was convicted of killing
his stepfather and received a life sentence in the Indiana State
Prison. The murder occured on January 12 1889 in Hillham, Dubois Co IN.
John T, the first husband of Mary McCune apparently died young. She
married Daniel Nicholson 13 Sep 1880 Dubois Co IN. Samuel married
Minnie Byrum 13 Sep 1888 in Dubois Co IN, so Samuel was married and out
of the parental home at the time of the murder. We can only guess as to
the reason. A change of venue for the court and the trial was held in
Orange County, Paoli Circuit Court with Judge Collins.
(Notes from Christine Walters) Jenna Cain sent to the Indiana State
Archives for the papers or any information on Samuel Kesterson and
received them April 6, 2001. This is what they tell us:
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF CONVICTS IN THE INDIANA STATE PRISON, AT
JEFFERSONVILLE
NAME: Samuel Kesterson
OCCUPATION: Farmer
COUNTY WHERE CONVICTED: Orange
CRIME: Murder, 2nd degree
TERM: Life
AGE: 18? (hard to read)
HEIGHT: 5 ft. 8 1/2 in.
COMPLEXION: Light
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Dark
NATIVITY: Indiana
FORMER CHARACTER: Temperate
SOCIAL RELATIONS:
Married; reads and writes
REMARKS:
Hare lip; freckle face; indentation over left corner of mouth;
prominent scar across right wrist; dark freckle on right forearm;
little finger on left hand crooked; scar above right knee; scar on left
foot across border of big and of
second toes; two scars on lower back; uses tobacco. Wife and one child;
Minnie Kesterson, William; Dubois Co., Indiana WHEN SENTENCED: October
21, 1889
WHEN AND HOW DISCHARGED:
July 10, 1893; escaped: Missed from place in shop about 4:45 or 5:00 P.
M. No trace found. A ladder was discovered under a lumber pile but had
apparently not been used. July 10, 1893.
NOTES: (His 1st attempt to Escape from Prison)
Escaped from prison on November 16, 1891 by scaling the wall midway
between No. 293 ???, at which time wall guard Andy Wheeler fired 4
shots at him without effect. Kesterson went to schoolhouse in Ohio
Falls, mounting a horse hitched to a delivery wagon, and rode the horse
by Akron brick kiln, where he abandoned him and took to the woods, and
was recaptured at Edwardsville in Floyd Co., and returned to prison
November 18, 1891. Reward $100.00
CHANCERY NOTICE: Notice is hereby given to you, Samuel Kesterson, that
Minnie Kesterson, complainant, heretofore filed her bill of complaint
to the circuit court of Effingham county, Ill., for the October term,
1894, on the chancery
side thereof for divorce, and summons thereupon issued out of said
court against the above named Samuel Kesterson, as defendant,
returnable on the first day of the said October term, 1894, of said
court to be held at the court house in
Effingham, Ill., on the third Monday of October, 1894, as by law
required, and which suit is still presiding.
HENRY HUBRICH, Clerk,
August??, 1894 (ink blot)
**This information apparently given to Samuel Kesterson in Prison
1894.. So it appears as though both his attempts to escape failed.
However there is no record of his death.
There seems to have always been hard feelings between the Nicholson and
Kesterson families in Dubois Co IN. In 1849 Zachariah Nicholson shot
and killed Squire Kesterson. Now some 50 years later Samuel Kesterson
kills Daniel Nicholson. Was it just part of the ongoing fued between
the families - or was it personal between Samuel and Daniel Kesterson?
Squire Kesterson
It has been the unlucky fortune of
Jackson Township to be the scene of a number of tragic deeds. The first
of these occurred about the year 1850, at the store of John A.
Wininger, in the northwest part of the township. This was one of the
old-fashioned "grocery" stores, where the custom was prevalent to keep
plenty of whisky in the back room for accommodation of customers and
others. The facts that brought about this affair seem to have been
about as follows: Squire Kesterson, the victim, went to the Mexican
war, and left his business affairs in the hands of Zachariah Nicholson,
both of whom were residents of Dubois County. Soon after his return
home, Kesterson became violently jealous of Nicholson, and accused him
of being unduly intimate with his wife. It is said that Kesterson had
several times threatend and attacked Nicholson, who had often avoided
him, as Kesterson was a large and powerful man. On this occasion of
their meeting at the store of Wininger, Kesterson had been drinking
considerably, and when Nicholson came in, drew a knife on him. The
latter immediately left the room, Kesterson following. When he had
reached the farther end of a long porch in front of the building,
Nicholson stopped, and having his gun with him, said that he would
shoot Kesterson through if he came out to him. Kesterson said he was
not afraid and started for him, but before he came in reach, Nicholson
took deliberate aim and shot him. Death occurred soon after, and
Nicholson succeeded in escaping, and has never since been heard from.
It is said that the woman whom Kesterson called his wife, was not such.
Some effort was made, mostly by ex-soldiers of the Mexican war, to
capture Nicholson: other than this, popular opinion seems to have been
charitably inclined toward him.
Source: History or Orange County Chapter 3.
(Notes from Christine Walters) See "Samuel Kesterson" (above) for the
story of the Nicholson Murder. The parents of Squire Kesterson still
remain a mystery. Squire was married to Rebecca Watson 11 December 1837
in Dubois IN according to County Records but this article seems to
indicate he might not have been living with her? Their children were
George, Nancy, Emily, Victoria and Taylor.
Submitted by Christine Walters
