Switzerland
County, Indiana
Biographies
Jacob H. Keeney
Jacob H. Keeney. The coal
interests of Bell County are of such importance as to command the
attention and engage the energies of some of the leading men of the
state who find in this line of business profitable investments. Jacob
H. Keeney of Middlesboro is one of the men who have been connected with
the development of the natural resources of this region. He is a man of
unusual business acumen, and his name and influence have been sought by
other organizations, and he is vice president of the National Bank of
Middlesboro.
Jacob H. Keeney was born
in Switzerland County, Indiana, October 5, 1863, a son of Hiram B.
Keeney, and grandson of John Keeney, who was born in New York State. He
was drowned in the Ohio River in Switzerland County, Indiana, when he
was in middle life. By trade he was a millwright, and he spent the
greater part of his life in New York State, coming to Switzerland
County at the same time as his son, Hiram B. Keeney. He was married to
a Miss Harris, a native of New York State, who died in Switzerland
County.
The birth of Hiram B.
Keeney occurred in New York State in 1821, and his death, in
Switzerland County, Indiana, in 1866. When a young man he came to
Switzerland County, Indiana, was there married, and there he became a
prominent farmer and civil engineer. He married Delilah Humphrey, who
was born in Switzerland County, Indiana, in 1829, and died in that
county in 1884. Their children were as follows: Laura K., who married
P. W. North, a farmer of Rising Sun, Indiana; George H., who was a
civil engineer, died at Rising Sun, Indiana, in March, 1920; Hosier,
who was a retired wholesale druggist, died at Seattle, Washington, in
1919; and Jacob H., who was the youngest in the family.
Jacob H. Keeney was
reared on his father's farm and attended the schools of his native
county, remaining at home until he was twenty-two years of age. From
1887 to 1888 he was engaged in railroad construction work in Missouri
on the Santa Fe Railroad, and then in December, 1889, he came to
Middlesboro. His first employment after coming to this city was secured
with the fire department, and he remained in it for three years,
leaving it to enter upon his present line of endeavor. At present he is
general manager and a stockholder of the Bryson Mountain Coal &
Coke Company, whose mines are located in Bryson, Tennessee, and have a
capacity of 200,000 tons of bituminous coal annually. Mr. Keeney is
also vice president of the National Bank of Middlesboro, and is also
interested in 15,000 acres of coal and timber land
near Stearns, Kentucky.
He is a republican. In religious belief he is a Christian Scientist. A
Mason, he belongs to Pinnacle Lodge No. 661, F. and A. M.; and
Middlesboro Chapter, R. A. M. Mr. Keeney owns a modern residence on
Arthur Heights which is one of the very finest and most desirable homes
in the city. During the late war he took an active part in all local
work, was chairman of the committees of all the drives for the Liberty
Bonds in Bell County, and was particularly zealous in behalf of the Red
Cross. He bought bonds and war savings stamps, and contributed to all
of the war organizations to the full extent of his means.
In 1884 Mr. Keeney was
married in Switzerland County, Indiana, to Miss Mary E. Moore, who was
born at Cincinnati, Ohio, and educated in the public schools of that
city. She is a very active worker in the Christian Science Church, and
she also belongs to the Middlesboro Music Study Club. Mrs. Keeney is a
daughter of William Moore, who was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1831,
and died in that city in 1867, having passed his entire life there. For
many years he was a member of the city fire department, and was also a
City Commissioner. In politics he was a republican, while in fraternal
matters he was a Mason. William Moore married Mary Belknap, who was
born in New York State, in 1832, and died at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1868.
Mr. and Mrs. Keeney have had the following children born to them: Arden
Belknap, who resides at Bryson, Tennessee, is superintendent of the
Bryson Mountain Coal & Coke Company; Helen, who married C. B.
Finley, a coal operator, lives with her parents; Philip H., who is a
mechanical engineer and prospector living at Middlesboro, enlisted in
the chemical warfare service during the late war, was a corporal, and
served overseas for seven months; William J., who is a student of the
College of Music of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is developing his
remarkable talent as a violinist; and Delilah, who lives at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, married Oliver P. Hoyt, an employee of the
Central Leather Company of Philadelphia. Mr. Keeney has been connected
with some of the most constructive development of Middlesboro, and is
recognized as one of the leading men of the city and county.
Source: History of
Kentucky By Charles Kerr, William Elsey Connelley, Ellis Merton Coulter
Published by American Historical Society, 1922
Professor Hal L. Hall
Professor Hal L. Hall is
a native of Indiana, his birth occurring in Switzerland county October
29, 1865. lie is the son of Eldwin A. and Martha (Henry) Hall, the
father being a native of Switzerland county, Indiana, and a carpenter
and builder by trade, and the mother, a native of the same county,
where both passed their lives and finally died.
Hal L. Hall was reared in
his native county and there continued to reside until he had reached
his twenty-first birthday. He was educated in the public schools in the
village of Center Square, and for four years, beginning when he was
seventeen years old, he taught country schools. In 1887 he attended the
spring term of school at the De Pauw University Normal School, and the
succeeding year he attended the same institution. In the autumn of 1888
he went to what is now North Dakota .and was there engaged in teaching
in Ransom and Cass counties for something like four years. In 1892 he
returned to his old Indiana home because of the serious illness of his
mother, and during the ensuing winter taught in the high school at
Moorfield. In 1893 and 1894 he was a student at the Indiana State
University, at Bloomington, and in 1894-5 he was principal of the high
school at Rockport, Indiana. In the fall of 1895 Mr. Hall came to Peru
as a teacher of mathematics in the high school. In 1897 he again
entered the State University, where he continued through 1897, there
specializing in the subject of mathematics, and in 1899 he was
graduated from the State University with the A. B. degree. His mother
died in that year, and he remained at home during the remainder of the
year, and in the next year he accepted a position as teacher of
mathematics in the high school of Anderson, Indiana. The fall of 1900
found him once more in Peru as principal of the high school, and that
position he continued to fill for three years. The next five and a half
years Mr. Hall was occupied in the insurance and real estate business
in Peru, at the end of which time he withdrew from business activities
and once more resumed his educational work, going to Shawnee, Oklahoma,
where he was principal of the high school for three years. In 1912 Mr.
Hall was elected superintendent of the schools of Peru, which position
he is now filling. Mr. Hall is recognized throughout the state as an
educator of more than usual merit, and one who keeps apace with the
newest and best methods in the educational system. He is in every way
fitted for his work, and finds favor wherever he has been identified
with the educational interests of a community.
Source: History of Miami
County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its
People and Its Principal Interests By Arthur Lawrence Bodurtha
Published by Lewis Pub., 1914
Frederick Stucy
Frederick Stucy.—A man of
fine initiative powers and extraordinary ability and one who has ever
manifested the keenest interest in public affairs, Frederick Stucy has
gained distinctive precedence as a prominent tobacco dealer and banker.
He was born at Canton Glattris, Switzerland, on the 23d of March, 1846,
and is a son of Henry and Afra (Stone- man) Stucy, both of whom were
likewise born in Switzerland, where their marriage was solemnized and
whence they emigrated to the United States in 1849, having for
destination the Swiss settlement at Vevay, Switzerland county, Indiana.
The sailing vessel in which they made the voyage across the Atlantic
encountered stormy weather and fifty-four days were consumed in the
trip. In due time they arrived at New Orleans and after disembarking
they boarded a steamer and proceeded up the Mississippi river to their
destination. Henry Stucy was a stone cutter and contractor by
occupation, having been apprenticed to that trade in his native land.
He was identified with this line of enterprise during the major portion
of his active business career and was very successful. In 1852 he
purchased a farm in Switzerland county, Indiana, and there located his
family, following the work of his trade in Indiana and in Carroll
county, Kentucky. He was summoned to the life eternal at Vevay in 1893,
at the venerable age of eighty years, and his cherished and devoted
wife passed away seven months later, her death having occurred in
January, 1894, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Stucy
became the parents of eleven children, one daughter dying in infancy
and another at the age of fifteen years. Nine grew to maturity and of
the number six are still living (1910).
Frederick Stucy was the
sixth in order of birth of the family of eleven children and he was but
three years of age at the time of his parents' emigration to the United
States. He was reared on the farm near Vevay and received his
rudimentary education in the district schools of his home county. When
sixteen years old he enlisted in Company C, Fifty-fourth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, for a period of three months, at the expiration of
which he enlisted in Company C. One Hundred and Seventeenth Indiana
volunteer Infantry, for six months. Thereafter he enlisted in Company
G, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for one
hundred days' service and when this last term of enlistment expired he
tendered his services as a member of Company E, One Hundred and
Forty-sixth Indiana volunteer Infantry, for one year. All of the
foregoing companies were organized at Vevay, Indiana. Mr. Stucy gave
most valiant service until the close of the war and he was honorably
discharged in August, 1865, being mustered out of the army at
Baltimore, Maryland. He had seen active service all the time and was
promoted from a private to the rank of lieutenant. Although he did not
participate in any large engagements, he was in the valley of the
Tennessee during the one hundred days of continuous fighting. He was
not wounded but while in the Shenandoah valley was severely injured by
being thrown from his horse, this accident being the result of the
saddle girth breaking. He suffered severe bruises and his right wrist
and ankle were broken. At that time he was second lieutenant and was
detailed as ambulance officer of the brigade. In September, 1862, he
was captured, together with the entire company, at Shepardsville,
Kentucky, by General Morgan's command, and that same day the
Confederate forces were themselves captured by Union reinforcements and
Mr. Stucy was paroled. After many exciting adventures and most faithful
service, and when peace was again established. Mr. Stucy returned to
Vevay and attended school for one year. Thereafter he remained on the
old home farm in Switzerland county until his marriage, at the age of
twenty-three years. He then rented a farm near Vevay and operated the
same with eminent success for three years, at the expiration of which
period he removed to Ghent, Carroll county, Kentucky. Here he purchased
a wharf boat and entered into the general commission business, shipping
fruit, produce, and various commodities. He continued to be thus
engaged for five years and succeeded in building up a large fruit
trade, shipping big consignments to New Orleans and other points in
Louisiana. About 1874 he disposed of his interest in this line of
enterprise and became interested in the tobacco business. It has always
been characteristic of Mr. Stucy to make an exhaustive study of
whatever interested him and when he directed his attention to the
tobacco industry his first move was to become fully informed concerning
the demands of the factories as to kind and quality of tobacco
preferred. He set about to fill the demands and furnished a high-grade
product. He purchased, re-dried and prepared tobacco on a large scale
for a number of years, doing business with many of the largest
factories, and he is now one of the best known tobacco men in the Blue
Grass state. He sold large quantities of tobacco to the American
Tobacco Company for many years and in 19x54 confined his business to
their market. Soon after the Burley tobacco pool was formed he was
urged, on account of his ability and knowledge, to become a member of
the board of directors of that company, and for years he has been most
active in the promotion of its interests.
Mr. Stucy has other
financial and real- estate interests of broad scope and importance. In
1877 he purchased large tracts of land in Texas, which have since
increased considerably in value. He was one of the promoters of the
Vevay, Indiana, Deposit Bank, served as vice-president of this
substantial monetary institution for several years and he has been an
active member of its board of directors since its organization. He is
also a stockholder, director and president of the Ghent Deposit Bank in
his home city. In all of his ventures he has met with the most
gratifying success and he has accumulated a competency. His magnificent
home at Ghent, overlooking the Ohio river, is one of the finest in
Carroll county and is a recognized center of most gracious and refined
hospitality.
In politics Mr. Stucy is
aligned as a stalwart supporter of the Republican party in all affairs
of national import but in local matters he maintains an independent
attitude, preferring to give his support to men and measures meeting
with the approval of his judgment.
Though never ambitious
for public office of any description he is ever alert and
enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures projected for the
general good of the community. In a fraternal way he has passed through
the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in the Blue Lodge,
Free & Accepted Masons; Blue Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and
DeMolay Commandery, Knights Templars, at Louisville. He is also
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Ghent, and
both he and his wife are devout members of the Baptist church, to whose
charities and benevolences he has been a most generous contributor and
in the various departments of whose work they have ever been active.
On the 10th of February,
1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stucy to Miss Anna Golay. a
native of Vevay, Indiana, and a daughter of Seldon Golay, who died when
Mrs. Stucy was a young girl. He was likewise born in Vevay, whither his
parents emigrated from Switzerland in the early pioneer days. Mr. and
Mrs. Stucy have two daughters, Ella and Estella. One son, the first
born, was named Frederick, Jr., and was summoned to the life eternal
when but four years of age. Ella is the wife of W. J. Rice, a merchant
in Ghent, Kentucky; and Estella married J. W. Yager, a banker and
agriculturist of La Grange, Kentucky.
Source: A History of
Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in
Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities By E. Polk Johnson, Lewis
Publishing Company Published by Lewis Pub. Co., 1912
Abraham Miller
Abraham Miller with his family (John S. (m. Catherine Gullion), William
M. (m. Betsy Remley-Truitt-Smith-Dillman), David (m. Polly Gullion),
Sarah (m. John Roberts) and Elizabeth (m. Thomas Rayl)) migrated from
Kentucky to Switzerland County before 1812; William received Bounty
Land Grants for his service in the Indiana Rangers (both Abraham and
his son William served together) during the hostilities of circa 1812
with the indigenous Indian tribes. The family resided in Jefferson and
York Townships until approximately 1832 (son William married Betsy
Dillman in 1832) when they migrated to Knox and Shelby Counties in
Missouri.
The exceptions to the migration being John S. Miller who moved to
Jasper County Illinois and David Miller who stayed in Switzerland
County where he and his wife are both interred at the Bethel Ridge
Cemetery. The families kept close ties with Switzerland County
with some of the grandchildren of Abraham going back to be married in
Switzerland County. During their sojourn in Switzerland County, Abraham
decided to throw his hat into Switzerland County Politics.
Excerpt from the History of Switzerland County, Indiana; Weakly,
Harraman & Co., Publishers 1885. Page 1097
“At another election for representative Mr. Merrill was a candidate and
he appeared to be very acceptable to a majority of the voters, and it
was thought he would have no opposition. However some persons for
sport a few days before the election prevailed upon one Abraham Miller
to become a candidate, and about ten days before the election he was
thus announced as a candidate:
To the Voters of Switzerland County:
Having at the solicitations of my
friends and neighbors consented to become a candidate for
representative in the Legislature of Indiana. I pledge myself, if
elected, to use the utmost of my abilities to support, such measures
only as will be beneficial to the county I represent and the State at
large.
Respectfully,
his
ABRAHAM [X] MILLER.
Mark.
Mr. Miller was an honest old farmer, but as was the case with many who
were raised in the Western wilds, was an uneducated man, and in this
consenting to be a candidate no doubt was like his friends and
neighbors, anticipating some rare sport during the remainder of the
canvass, and on election day. The day of election came, and as
Mr. Miller was a voter of Jefferson Township. He came to Vevay on the
morning of that day full of fun and frolic, electioneering to secure
votes, which he did with a great deal of success at the polls of
Jefferson Township. During the day his friends and himself
appeared to be confident of his election, for he went to some of the
prominent men about Vevay and assured them he did not wish to be
elected, that he and some of his neighbors seeing there was no
opposition to Samuel Merrill, had determined to have a candidate and
some sport out of his candidacy. He appeared fearful he might be
elected, and stated to some of his friends that “ if he was elected he
did not know what in the devil he would do, for he was not able to fill
the place as he ought to fill it” and such other expressions. He
received a very fair proportion of the votes cast, but was defeated by
about fifty or seventy-five votes.”
According to the Indiana Election Returns 1816-1851, Compiled by
Dorothy Riker and Gayle Thornbrough, Indiana Historical Bureau 1960;
pages 183-188 (part of the Digital Collections of IUPUI University
Library)
There are only two years where this could have take place 1819 or
1820. Mr. Merrill ran and was elected as the only representative
for Switzerland County. In 1821 Mr. Merrill and a William B Chamberlain
were both elected to represent Switzerland County and in 1822 Mr.
Merrill was appointed as treasurer of the State, which office he held
for some time.
Source: Mary (Miller) Borowski