USA > Indiana > Vigo County > Terre Haute > Greater Terre Haute and Vigo County : closing the first century's history of city and county, showing the growth of their people, industries and wealth > Part 1
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GREATER TERRE HAUTE
AND
VIGO COUNTY
CLOSING THE FIRST CENTURY'S HISTORY OF CITY AND COUNTY
SHOWING THE GROWTH OF THEIR PEOPLE INDUSTRIES AND WEALTH
BY THE LATE
MR. C. C. OAKEY
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
16,08 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO NEW YORK
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 456685
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ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. 1909 L
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Mannell CuromeHumauch
GREATER TERRE HAUTE AND VIGO COUNTY.
MAXWELL CARSON HAMILL, one of the leaders of the Terre Haute bar, is a native of Sullivan, Indiana, where he was born March 27, 1866. He is a son of the late Hon. Samuel R. Hamill, Sr .. and Martha ( Wood ) Hamill. His father was a native of Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of Jefferson and Williams College and in law of the university at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. When he became a settler of Indiana he located for practice at Evansville, and thence re- moved to Sullivan, where he was long the leader of the bar and promi- nent in the state as a skillful lawyer and an eloquent orator. He served as prosecuting attorney in the district composed of Vigo and Sullivan counties. He died in Sullivan in June, 1876. His mother was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and as a young woman came to Terre Haute with her widowed mother, brothers and sisters. The late surgeon general of the United States Navy. William Maxwell Wood, was her brother. The Wood family was a large one and its various members were prominent in the early financial and social history of Terre Haute and its descend- ants have been influential and leading citizens.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel R. Hamill were: Mary Au- gusta, the wife of Rev. Edward W. Abbey, a minister of the Presbyte- rian church at Smithtown, Long Island, New York: Frances Wood, of New York City : Samuel R .. Jr., who at the time of his death was classed as one of the most able and brilliant attorneys in the West : Charles Wood. also deceased: Elizabeth R., who married Harry J. Baker, a lawyer of Terre Haute : and Maxwell Carson Hamill.
Maxwell Carson Hamill was reared in Terre Haute and educated in the public schools of that city and Hamilton, Ohio. While pursuing his law studies he taught school in the vicinity of Terre Haute and was also with the United States mail service for some time, with headquarters at Indianapolis. During the latter period he was a student in the office of Duncan, Smith & Wilson, of Indianapolis, and finished his studies with his brother, Samuel R. Hamill. Jr., of Terre Haute.
In 1900 he was admitted to the Indiana bar, and at once commenced practice in that city. In the following year he was elected prosecuting attorney of Vigo county and re-elected to the office in 1903. He after- wards served as county attorney for two years, His marked success as prosecuting attorney made him a leader in criminal proceedings, and since he relinquished the office there have been no important cases in that field
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of law in which he has not participated. As a private attorney, however, he has generally been retained by the defense. Still, he is not regarded as a criminal lawyer. for his practice in civil litigation for years has been large and he is retained in almost every important case, and as a legal consultant his reputation is strong and wide and he is recognized as one of the leading lawyers in the state.
Outside of the professional organizations of which he is a member, Mr. Hamill is No. 1 in the Terre Haute Lodge of Elks, and is also identi- fied with Social Lodge, No. 86, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Commercial Club of Terre Haute.
He married Miss Ann Van DerVeer, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, and daughter of Henry Van DerVeer, niece of General Ferdinand Van Der Veer, of Civil war fame, and granddaughter of Thomas Milliken, who was one of Ohio's most distinguished lawyers. Mr. and Mrs. Hamill have one daughter. Mary Milan, born in 1899.
HOMER L. WILLIAMS .- It is a noticeable fact that the young men of today are constantly forging to the front. becoming leaders in the business world, successfully controlling the veins and arteries of traffic. To this class belongs Homer L. Williams, the efficient manager at Terre Haute of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. He was born at Brookhaven, Mississippi. December 18. 1880, his parents being Thomas and Ann Elizabeth ( Martin) Williams, both of whom are natives of Mississippi. The father was a cotton planter of that state for many years, but during the latter part of an active business life engaged in growing rice in Louisiana. He became a prominent and influential resi- dent of his community, exerting considerable influence in public life in both Mississippi and Louisiana. He held membership in the Baptist church, was a leading representative of the Masonic fraternity and also belonged to the Woodmen of the World.
The maternal grandfather of Mr. Williams was the late Capt. A. J. Martin, of Mississippi, who was born in Lincoln, then Lawrence, county. that state, September 21, 1835. His life record covered the span of years to November 8. 1905. He served in the Confederate army during the Civil war as captain of Company C. Third Mississippi Regiment, and was a brave and gallant soldier and an efficient commander, who inspired his men to deeds of valor by reason of his own bravery and loyalty. He left home for the front on the 15th of April, 1862. muster- ing one hundred and forty men in the company. At the surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina. on the 26th of April. 1865. there were only thirteen members who were able to be at their post of duty. for illness, wounds and death had thus decimated the ranks. This fact alone stands in incontrovertible evidence of the
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splendid service performed by Company C in that long an sanguinary struggle. On the 25th of October, 1855, Captain Martin was married to Miss Sarah Gwin, a daughter of a prominent planter of Lawrence county. Mississippi, and their daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of Thomas Williams and the mother of our subject.
Homer L. Williams acquired his education in the common schools of Brookhaven and also attended the Peabody high school at Summit. Mississippi. Removing with his parents to Crowley. Louisiana, his father there engaged in rice growing and the boy spent his time on the plantation. Later he attended business college at Macon, Georgia, and in 1901 he came to Terre Haute, where he accepted the management of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. In this connection he has given excellent satisfaction to the company which he represents by reason of his clear discernment and sound judgment. his unfaltering energy and his unflagging diligence. In the meantime, however, he returned to Louisiana and spent one season in rice growing, but in 1903 again came to Terre Haute and resumed his position as manager of the branch house of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company at this place.
Mr. Williams was married to Miss Louetta Greggs, of Terre Haute, and the hopsitality of the best homes of the city is cordially extended them. Mr. Williams is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 86, Paul Revere Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and also belongs to the Young Business Men's Club and is in hearty sym- pathy with its purpose to advance the commercial interests of his adopted city. Alert and energetic, he is making good use of his oppor- tunities and his many friends feel no hesitancy in prophesying for him larger successes in the future.
JOIIN NELSON WHITE, who in every relation of life displays a fidelity to purpose and a trustworthiness that have gained for him the respect and confidence of his fellow men, is now in business circles occu- pying the position of collecter with the Root Dry Goods Company, while as a representative of Odd Fellowship he is known throughout the state. He was instrumental in forming what is today the second largest organi- zation of the order in Indiana, and enjoys in the fullest degree the con- fidence and friendship of his fraters of the society. He was born in Ross county. Ohio, September 18. 1855. His parents were William J. and Mary Ann ( Niseley ) White, who were also natives of Ross county, the former born in 1825 and the latter in 1830. The family, however, comes of Scotch ancestry and was established in America by the great-grandfather of our subject, who, leaving the land of hills and heather, came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania, where
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the grandfather of our subject was born and reared. The maternal grandfather was also a native of Pennsylvania and, removing westward to Ohio, became one of the pioneers of Ross county, aiding in laying the foundation for its carly development and progress.
William J. White, born and reared in Ohio, started westward in 1857 and visited Terre Haute, but did not settle here. He located on a farm in Clark county, near Marshall, Illinois, and there his wife died in the year 1861. Long surviving her, Mr. White passed away in Terre Haute in 1897, having made his home with his son, John, during the last twelve years of his life. Both he and his wife were devoted mem- bers of the Methodist church.
John Nelson White, whose name introduces this record, was but a young lad at the time of his parents' removal to Illinois and was there reared upon a farm in Clark county. There he acquired a com- mon school education, and when not busy with his text books devoted his time and energy to the work of the fields. At the age of sixteen years, however, he left the farm and became engaged on construction work on the Vandalia Railroad. For six months he was employed as a laborer, after which he learned the stone-cutting trade with the com- pany, following that pursuit for about three years. He next entered the employ of the state of Indiana, his time being thus passed between June, 1874, and April, 1876, in assisting in the care of the insane at Indianapolis. Going thence to southwestern Kentucky, he went to work for the firm Booth, Delaney & Company, proprietors of a hub and spoke factory, where he learned the trade of spoke and hub turning. Eighteen months were spent in Kentucky, after which he returned to Terre Haute in the latter part of 1877. He then joined his father in the business of getting out railroad ties in southern Illinois, and the following year took up the occupation of farming in that state, continuing in active connec- tion with agricultural interests for two seasons.
In 1879 Mr. White once more came to Terre Haute, where he made permanent location, going to work in the spoke factory of Shoyer Broth- ers. He was first employed as a turner, but eventually took charge of the works. In 1882 the factory was closed and in the following spring Mr. White took up planing mill work with the firm of Snapp & Rogers, with whom he continued until the dissolution of the company. His next connection was with the Clift, Williams Company in their planing mill. There he was given charge of the machine-made product and so continued until April, 1895, when he withdrew from that line of busi- ness and engaged in the retail grocery trade with his brother, William J. White. In January, 1896, they closed out their establishment and began contracting with the Terre Haute car works, where John N.
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White continued until November 19, 1899. At that time he became deputy under Sheriff Fasig, being a riding deputy. He continued in the sheriff's office until September 5. 1904, when he resigned. having been appointed a member of the Terre Haute city board of works by Mayor Bideman and continued under Mayor Buckingham, who filled out Mayor Bideman's unexpired term. He served on the board as a minority or Democratic member for two years and acted as its secretary during that period. On the Ist of November, 1906, he accepted a position as collector with the Root Dry Goods Company and continues to the present time.
Mr. White became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows on the FIth of October. 1887, when he joined Terre Haute Lodge, No. 51. He took all of the degrees until he became a full mem- ber of the subordinate lodge, and in June, 1888, he joined the encamp- ment, ultimately reaching the highest degree in that department of the society. In February, 1889, he was one of the charter members of Canton McKeen, No. 28, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Ile began active work in the order upon receiving the third degree in the subordi- nate lodge, and as the years have passed his activity has increased until he is today considered one of the leading Odd Fellows of Indiana. He has filled all of the chairs in the subordinate lodge and encampment and retains a membership in the grand lodge and grand encampment. For eleven years he was captain of Canton McKeen, and in 1894 associated with James Colter, he originated the idea of organizing a new subordi- nate lodge, the charter members of which should be composed of tran- sient Odd Fellows, who held withdrawal cards. It required not less than ten to procure a charter to institute a lodge. In pursuance of this plan Mr. White withdrew from Terre Haute Lodge. No. 51, and Mr. Colter withdrew from Fort Harrison Lodge, No. 157. The charter was granted and the new organization, as Amico Lodge, No. 707, was in- stituted on July 16, 1894, with Mr. White as treasurer. Amico lodge began its new life with an initiation of sixty-eight members and is now the second largest lodge in the state of Indiana, having a membership of five hundred and fifty at the report of December, 1907. Mr. White's present activities are in the line of financial secretary of Amico lodge. which position he has filled for the last eleven years, and as secretary of the Temple Association, which was formed for the building of an Odd Fellows temple. Its plans have been perfected and the contract is now let for the building. Mr. White has not only been most active in all the work of the order. but is in thorough sympathy with its benefi- cent spirit and in his life exemplifies that mutual kindliness and broth- erly charity which constitute the basic elements of the order. He be-
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longs to Social Lodge, No. 86, Free and Accepted Masons, is also a charter member of Camp No. 3376, Modern Woodmen of the World, and also a charter member of Tent No. 43. Knights of the Maccabees. He be- longs to the Junior Order of American Mechanics and all of these soci- eties find him most loyal and faithful.
On the 20th of December, 1881, occurred the marriage of Mr. White and Miss Caroline Hoff, who was born in Terre Haute, a daughter of John H. Hoff. a pioneer German resident of this city, and a sister of Charles W. Hoff, of Terre Haute. They have one daughter, Lilly Marie, who was born in Terre Haute, May 10, 1889, and a son, William LeRoy, born March 27. 1892. Mr. White was reared in the faith of the Methodist church, but withdrew from that society and is now with his family a member of the German Reformed church. The analyzation of his life work shows that in all that he has done he has been actuated by a spirit of helpfulness and kindliness. His deference for the opinions of others is one of his salient characteristics. He possesses, too, that executive ability and keen discrimination which enables him to become an effective force in fraternal organizations, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows today recognizes him as one of its most prominent and valued representatives in Indiana.
LOUIS GERHARDT .- The German element in our American citizen- ship has ever been an important one. The sons of the fatherland have brought to the new world the determination and energy ever character- istic of the Teutonic race. and. improving the opportunities of the new world, where labor is not hampered by caste, class, tradition, custom or precedent, they have gained positions of prominence in all lines of life contributing to business development and to the upholding of the legal and political status of the various communities in which they have estab- lished homes. To this class belongs Louis Gerhardt, who for forty years has been known as a thoroughly reliable and enterprising business man of Terre Haute, conducting through four decades a successful bakery here. He was born in Baden, Germany, August 24. 1852, his parents being August and Catherine (Lutz) Gerhardt, both of whom were natives of Baden. The father was born in 1820 and the mother in 1830. They continued residents of Germany until August, 1861, when they crossed the Atlantic to America with their family of seven children, landing at New York, whence they made their way direct to Terre Haute, where they had friends and relatives. Following his ar- rival in this city the father first worked for Mr. Zimmerman, a baker. for a few years, and afterward entered the employ of the Harings in a steam bakery. Acquiring capital sufficient to justify his establishment
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of a business of his own, he opened a bakery on the south side of Main street, between Eighth and Ninth streets, in the old Frey building. He next removed to the old Jenkins property on the corner of Fourth and Cherry streets, and the growth of his business necessitating larger quar- ters, in 1872 he purchased the property on which is located the present bakery of Louis Gerhardt on Thirteenth and Deming streets. There he continued actively and successfully in business until his death, which occurred in 1879. His widow traveled life's journey for twenty-three years longer, passing away in 1902. Mr. Gerhardt was a good business man, who enjoyed in full measure the confidence and trust of his fellow citizens, and by reason of his thorough understanding of the trade he met with gratifying success in his business career.
Louis Gerhardt was a lad of only nine years when the parents left the fatherland and came to the new world. His education, begun in the schools of his native country, was continued in the schools of Terre Haute. He afterward worked in the bakery with his father and in 1880 succeeded to the business. He has continued in this line to the present, and in 1905 erected a fine brick bakery, this building being two stories in height and well equipped for the specific uses to which it is put. Year by year his trade has increased until he now has the largest local sale for bread and cake of any establishment of this char- acter in the city. He utilizes nine delivery and supply wagons and employs eighteen men. He has always aimed at a high standard in the character of service and has sought an increase in trade through merit rather than by a war in prices.
Mr. Gerhardt was married in 1883 to Miss Christina Becker, who was born in Baden, Germany. Their children are Estella, twenty-one years of age : Louis, seventeen years of age, and Mary, a little maiden of six summers. The family are communicants of St. Patrick's Catholic church and Mr. Gerhardt is treasurer of the German Savings and Loan Association. In this connection he manifests his desire to aid his fellow countrymen, and at all times he is interested in matters of public moment, giving efficient aid to many measures that are proving of genuine worth in the community. He is a supporter of the Democratic party and is a member of Humboldt Lodge, No. 42, Free and Accepted Masons, Chapter No. 11, Royal Arch Masons, the Eagles, the Travelers;, Pro- tective Association, the Improved Order of Red Men, the German Club and the German Benevolent Society. Perhaps Terre Haute has no more enthusiastic hunter than Mr. Gerhardt, as is evidenced by his hunting trips. Ilis long residence in Terre Haute, covering almost half a cell- tury, has brought him a wide acquaintance, and his business principles have certainly stood the test of time. The consensus of public opinion
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regarding Mr. Gerhardt and his life is altogether favorable and places him among the representative men of this city.
FRANK F. SCHMIDT has the distinction of being the oldest German citizen in Terre Haute in point of continuous residence, for he has been prominently identified with its business, political and social life since June of 1849, when the now populous city was but a little hamlet of twenty-three hundred. He was born in Bismarck, Prussia, Germany, No- vember 21. 1830, and was but a lad of eighteen when he came to America with his father, John Frederick, and his brother August. Another brother, Carl, preceded them to the United States about two years, but in 1849, the year of the little party's arrival here, he and the father, who was not pleased with the prospects here, returned to Germany. John Frederick Schmidt was the father of four children and was a brewer and distiller in Germany, operating a large brewery and distillery in connec- tion with a prominent hotel, and was a well-to-do business man. August Schmidt died in Cincinnati, Ohio, of cholera in 1849, the same year of his arrival in this country.
It was in his father's hotel in Bismarck that Frank F. Schmidt was born and reared, attending school up to the age of fourteen, and gained a fair education. A friend of his father was a German army officer, and at his suggestion Mr. Schmidt had his son learn the trade of machinist that a position as such might be secured for him in the army as chief in that department. He accordingly entered upon a three years' apprentice- ship, making a specialty of the edged tool trade, but instead of carrying out the original plan of his father he left with him on the 4th of Novem- ber, 1848, for the United States, landing in New Orleans in February, 1849. after a terrible voyage of fifteen weeks. From there they went up the Ohio river to Cincinnati, Ohio, from whence Frank F. Schmidt came to Terre Haute in June of the same year, and has in the main since lived in this city. At the time of his arrival here his health was im- paired, for he, too, was stricken with cholera in Cincinnati, and he was not able to do any work for about two years or more afterward. But after his recovery he followed various employments until he entered upon his long connection with railroad work in 1851, for eighteen years re- maining with what is now the Vandalia Railroad Company, and during six years of that time he was their foreman. He now has the distinc- tion of being the only man in this city who was among the employes of the first railroad in Terre Haute. He also assisted in running the first locomotive from the canal. It had two drive wheels and was called a "pony."
In 1870 Mr. Schmidt abandoned the railroad business, and for two
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. 1909
Taba NO Schmidt
Frank & Schmidt
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Aster, Lonox and Tilden Foundations. 1909
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years was engaged in the manufacture of stave and cross ties, being at the head of a crew of men, and he was also engaged in the grocery busi- ness at the same time. Since then he has devoted his activities to various industries. In 1873 he was elected a member of the city council and served for six years, or three terms. In the same year, 1873. he, with others, established the Terre Haute Mutual Savings Association, of which he has been the president since, and the institution has become one of the leading ones of Terre Haute. About twelve years ago he was the prime mover in instituting the Terre Haute Mutual Fire Insurance Company. serving as its president since the organization, and he also previously been somewhat identified with the fire insurance business, and has also dealt quite extensively in real estate. He has been successful in business and prominent in the public life of the community. He was one of twelve who organized the first Republican club of Terre Haute, he having been identified with that party's interests for several years, but has since been independent in his political affiliations. He is well and favorably known in Terre Haute and Vigo county, and is universally respected and hon- ored for his many sterling characteristics.
Mr. Schmidt married, November 15, 1855, Miss Ida Nonnenbrunch, who was born near Cologne, on the River Rhine, in Prussia, Germany, June 10, 1837, and came to America with her parents in 1849, arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Ioth of June of that year. The father. Bertram Nonnenbrunch, had, in 1848. been involved in the Prussian revolutionary uprising. and for that cause came with many other of his fellow coun- trymen to America, among the number being the distinguished Carl Schurz. The objective point in this country of the Nonnenbrunch family was Parkersburg. West Virginia, where Mr. Nonnenbrunch intended to build a mill, for he was a miller by trade, but his untimely death from cholera on the Fourth of July, 1849, changed all their plans. The wife and mother then bought the farm in Clark county, Illinois, which Mr. Schmidt's father had previously purchased for him, and thither she re- moved with her family of seven children. She survived her husband for many years, dying in 1880, aged seventy-eight years.
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