Following is one of the Biographies and Stories which where gathered by Charles Sumner McKamy in the 1950s for publication in a Crawford County History Book. Unfortunately he passed away before the book was published.
Levit William Singleton, Sr. was born September 24, 1885, on a small farm south of Wheatland, Daviess County, Indiana. His father was Albert Newton Singleton and his mother was Ida May Banks, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Ellis Banks.
Lt. Col. James Johnson, born in Penn. and a soldier in the Revolutionary War, was a great-great-grandfather on his father's side. He and his wife, Elizabeth Lindsay, and nine other families, came to Vincennes on the Wabash River by polling, pulling and rowing. He was the first Justice of the Peace in the New West Territory and elected Treasurer of the Vincennes University in 1806. William Henry Harrison was elected the first President of the university at the same time.
Albert Newton Singleton was next to the youngest of eight children of William and Mahulda Johnson Singleton. Mahulda was the daughter of Elijah and Mildred Horrall Johnson. Elijah was the son of Lt. Col. James Johnson. William, Levit's grandfather, was born near Crab Orchard, Ky., and when a small boy, came with his parents to Daviess County, Indiana. He was a tanner by trade and followed this profession for several years. He was a Republican and a class leader in the Bethel Methodist Church south of Washington, Indiana, for over thirty years.
Levit William was about 3 when his father moved to Raglesville, Daviess County, Indiana, and it was there on a farm that he spent his early childhood and up until he was 18. They were a family of three children, Maidie, the oldest, Levit and Louie, a sister, the youngest. They attended school in a one-room frame building a short distance from their home.
Maidie, wife of Fred Pulliam, who was Agent at the station at Birds, Ill. for several years, was killed in an automobile accident in 1947. He attended High School for one year at Raglesville, one mile from home, and later decided he wanted to be a Telegrapher, and became an apprentice at the Southern Indiana Railroad station at Odon, four miles from home, for eleven months, after which he worked as an Extra along that line which ran between Terre Haute and West Port, Ind. He worked on the railroad for thirteen years as Telegrapher and Cashier.
He thought his life's work would always be on the Railroad, but in 1916, Thomas Flynn, who was connected with the Bradford Supply Co. at Robinson, came down to the Illinois Central Railroad station where he was working as cashier and asked him if he would accept a position as Bookkeeper with that Company. He got a leave of absence and after working less than sixty days, he knew he was leaving the Railroad for good. It was a hard decision to make, but he was never sorry.
At the time, the Bradford Supply Company's office and Oil Well Supply Store was on the south side of the Square, the office over the store which was in the building now occupied by Kimmel's Clothing store. A few years later, the office and store were moved down to where the Bradford Machine Shops were on East Main St. and East of the big Four Railroad tracks, which in later years became the New York Central.
He became Manager when E.G. Cottingham resigned and remained in that capacity until he resigned in 1944 to take the position as Secretary of the Robinson Building and Loan Association, succeeding the late Ira Jordan. He had been a director of this Association for about five years.
It was when working as Cashier on the Southern Indiana Railroad at Linton, Ind. in 1909 that he met Margaret Marie Carlton, daughter of Thomas and Emma LaVanne Carlton. They were married Nov. 11, 1914, and came to Robinson to make their home where he was working as cashier at the Illinois Central station.
He first came to Robinson about 1911 as Telegrapher on the Illinois central, left and came back to work as Cashier in 1912.
On September 1, 1918, Levit William, Jr., their one and only child, was born. He graduated from the Robinson Schools, attended Purdue University for one year and the Rankin Mechanical School at St. Louis, Mo. for two years, graduating, majoring in Air Conditioning. He was married to Evea Penrod Allsenberrie in 1945 at St. Louis and came to Robinson in 1946 and went into business for himself in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration service. They have one daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, born December 23, 1946.
Levit sr. served twelve years on the Robinson Grade School Board, eleven years as secretary, and it was reluctancy that he resigned due to other responsibilities. He considered it a great pleasure to give his service on the Board.
He became a Rotarian two years after it was organized in 1920 and was President in 1929. In 34 years, he missed only one meeting. Service above self meant a lot to him.
He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, having transferred his membership from Dana, Indiana, and a past High Priest of Royal Arch Mason. A member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and served several years as Chairman of the Crippled Children Committee.
He served on the Board of Directors of the Crawford County state Bank which was organized in 1906. He was active on the War Loan Drives during the Second World War.
In 1915, he and his wife removed their church membership from Raglesville and Linton, Indiana to the First Presbyterian Church of Robinson. Both had become members at an early age.