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Surnames: Gregg, McCamon, Manley, Hasler
Classification: Biography
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Ci.2ADE/5494
Message Board Post:
This book has no cover, and no index, and no author. I bought it on Ebay; it just has the
insides, but it is full of Indiana biographies. I am not researching this family, just
thought I would share. I do not know anymore about these families or these surnames. NOTE:
I don’t know if there is any additional mention of this family in the book, it has no
index. I do not want to sell this book. I am typing the biographies from it.
Typed by Lora Radiches:
Other surnames mentioned in the biography of CLAUDE E. GREGG are: Gregg, McCamon, Manley,
Hasler,
CLAUDE E. GREGG lived an abundant, full life. He achieved prominence and distinction in
diverse fields, first in the law, then as a manufacturer, and also in politics and public
affairs. The record of his life is the more significant and his loss is felt the graver
because the span of his years was comparatively brief. In the course of its long and
romantic history the City of Vincennes has paid a special measure of gratitude to several
distinguished men, but it will be a long time before the good work and the character of
Claude E. Gregg will require a visible reminder in the affections of his fellow citizens.
The Gregg family was established in Indiana a century ago, but the late Claude E. Gregg
was born during the few years his parents were living at Myrtle, Missouri. He was born
there November 26, 1885, and a few years later his parents returned to their native State
of Indiana, locating at Switz City in Greene County. The Greggs were of Scotch ancestry.
On coming to Ame!
rica they settled in the Carolinas, later moved north to Ohio. His grandfather, Andrew
Gregg, came from Ohio to Indiana and settled at Switz City in Greene County about 1831.
Andrew Gregg was with an Indiana regiment in the Union army during the Civil war. Claude
E. Gregg was one of the three children of D. H. and Elizabeth (McCamon) Gregg. He attended
school in Greene County, graduated from high school, and the interval between high school
and law school were filled in with educational work, he having taught school at Newberry,
Greene County, Indiana. In 1910 he took his law degree in the law Department of Indiana
University and immediately he located at Bloomfield, where in a few years he had won
recognition for his abilities and energy. He practiced law at Bloomfield for eight years
and during six years of this time he served as deputy prosecuting attorney of the
Sixty-third Judicial Circuit and was a member of the local school board. At the beginning
of the World war Mr!
. Gregg was a member of the Greene County Draft Board. In 1918 he move
d his residence to Vincennes, where he became associated with the law firm of Emison,
Hoover & Gregg. Shortly afterward he enlisted as a private in the field artillery and
was in the training school at Camp Taylor, Louisville, until after the armistice. He then
rejoined his law firm at Vincennes. The partnership was dissolved in 1920, after which he
practiced alone. A practice of more than ordinary volume and importance was attracted to
him. Among the important interests he served in his profession were the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad Company, of which he was district attorney, the Interstate Public Service
Company, the Central State Gas Company, and the Vincennes School Board. From November,
1923, until April, 1927, Mr. W. K. McFarland was associated with Mr. Gregg in the law firm
of Gregg & McFarland. His versatile ability made him equally successful in the field
of practical business and as an executive. Among other accomplishments for which the
community of Vincennes is gr!
ateful to him was the leadership and work, which developed the Vincennes Packing
Corporation, one of the city’s largest and most important industries. In 1923 Mr. Gregg
bought the Dyer Packing Company, reorganizing it as the Vincennes Packing Corporation.
Under his leadership the corporation expanded until its business today ramifies over a
large section of Southern Indiana. The company grew by the acquisition of the Plainville
Canning Company and the Rider Packing Company. The main offices are at Vincennes and there
are also plants at Crothersville, Elnora, Freetown, Hayden, Kurts, Medora, Plainville,
Seymour and Washington. The business has provided for the employment of thousands of
persons engaged in the production of tomato and other vegetables, and largely through the
plant at Vincennes tomato growing has become one of the leading agricultural specialties
among Knox County farmers. The main brands of the Vincennes Packing Corporation are “Alice
of Old !
Vincennes,” “Class A” and “Dixie,�0� and foods under these brands are sold and
distributed all over the country, and many shipments have been sent abroad to Europe, Mr.
Gregg, himself, had more than a casual relation with the agricultural industry, and he
owned and managed more than a thousand acres of productive farm land in Knox and Greene
counties, He had three farms in Greene County and his rural interests In Knox County
consisted of a farm of 475 acres. Mr. Gregg was elected president of the Indiana Canners
Association in the fall of 1930, and this association was one of many organizations and
institutions, which acknowledged his splendid service by adopting special resolutions as a
tribute to his career. One paragraph from the resolutions adopted by the stockholders of
the Vincennes Packing Corporation expressed some of the rare qualities, which his fellow
citizens in all walks of life appreciated. These resolutions read: “Possessed of a keen
mind, his excep!
tional ability, clear judgment and !
wise counsel, combined with his high sense of honor, commanded the respect of all those
associated with him or with whom he came in contact, and the memory of his cheerful, kind
and lovable qualities, his dynamic leadership, personality and sterling character will be
an abiding inspiration to all who enjoyed his friendship.” The climax of his public
service came as mayor of Vincennes, an office he filled from 1925 to 1929. This was a
thoroughly progressive administration of municipal affairs. During those four years
Vincennes undertook a paving program that has caused it to be referred to as the
best-paved city in the state. The city park system was expanded in keeping with the growth
of the city and the modern demands for parks in all progressive communities, and there was
no phase of local development, which appealed more strongly to Mayor Gregg than this. One
acquisition for park purposes was the old fair grounds, and the City Council paid a
well-deserved tribute!
to his leadership in this matter in naming the new park Gregg Park. W
hile he was mayor the police department was completely motorized and the fire department
brought to a high state of efficiency. Not only as mayor but also in all his relations he
gave vital significance to the word efficiency. He was a fine example of the fine
executive, and whether in public or private business he showed a genius for the selection
of his associates, all of whom he insisted upon being producers and constructive workers.
In politics Mr. Gregg was a Democrat and he served as chairman of the Second District
Committee, and his name was known among the outstanding state leaders of the party.
Undoubtedly had he been spared the years would have brought him many other notable honors
in public affairs. When he was elected mayor of Vincennes in 1925 he was paid the
compliment of getting the largest majority ever given a candidate for mayor. There was
hardly any important movement or enterprise undertaken in Vincennes during the past decade
with which he was not identi!
fied in some helpful way. He was publisher of the Vincennes Commercial before its merger
with The Sun in 1930. Some of his best efforts were given to the American Legion and he
bad the honor of being the third person elected commander of the Department of Indiana of
the Legion. His many friends in the Legion Post of the state and of the Forty and Eight
Society as well had good reason to deplore his premature death. After the war he had held
a commission in the Officers Reserve Corps. Claude E. Gregg was not yet forty-six years of
age when death came to him on April 14, 1931. His funeral was the largest ever held in
Vincennes. Members of many organizations attended the service in a body, floral tributes
came to him from many sections of the state, and hundreds of citizens, business men and
political leaders in Indiana and other states came to express their appreciation of the
significance of his life. Among other tributes that express some of the vital and
significant things!
about him are the resolutions founding the municipal records, signed
by the mayor and other officials. These resolutions note the fact that in his business and
professional life he had become one of the foremost industrial leaders of Southern
Indiana, and through his leadership had not only afforded employment to hundreds of
citizens, but had helped to advertise and establish Vincennes as an industrial center. “As
a private citizen, public official, business leader and a soldier he has demonstrated,” to
give the exact words of the resolutions, “the finest quality of citizenship and has
endeared himself to all who enjoyed his acquaintance.” The late Mr. Gregg was a member of,
the Indiana Historical Society, had been vice president and director of the Vincennes
Chamber of Commerce, was a former president of the Vincennes Rotary Club, a member of the
Harmony Society, of Newberry Lodge No. 166, A. F. and A. M., belonged to the Scottish Rite
bodies and the Shrine at Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Athletic Club, the !
Columbia Club of Indianapolis, the B. P. 0. Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr.
Gregg married at Vincennes, November 29, 1905, Miss Julia E. Manley, of Newberry, Greene
County, daughter John E. and Martha E. (Hasler) Manley. Her father, who was an Indiana
farmer and stock raiser until he retired, died July 22, 1928 and her mother resides at
Newberry. During his lifetime Mr. Gregg provided a beautiful home at 1325 McDowell Avenue
in Vincennes, and this is occupied by Mrs. Gregg.