A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 122

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > Indiana > A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I > Part 122

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gained, and always enjoyed in an exceptionally great measure, the affection of his subordinates. He was re- spected by his equals and superiors and loved by his men. He never directly or indirectly asked for any promotion. He was elected as captain, major, and col- onel by the men, and commissioned upon their recom- mendation. He was made a brigadier-general without his own seeking by Abraham Lincoln, whose memory he greatly reveres, believing him to have been one of the purest and best of those who have occupied the office of chief magistrate of the nation. General Manson, without his knowledge or consent, was nominated by the Democratic party of Indiana, in 1864, as a candidate for the office of Lieutenant-governor, on the ticket headed by Hon. Joseph E. McDonald as the candidate for Governor. Although he ran ahead of his ticket, he was defeated. In 1866 he was nominated by acclama- tion by the Democratic state convention for the office of Secretary of State. In 1868 he was nominated again by acclamation as the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Ninth District of Indiana, his competitor being Hon. Godlove S. Orth. His district being strongly Re- publican, he was again beaten, though he ran far beyond his ticket, and was defeated by only four hundred votes. In 1870 he was again the Democratic candidate for Congress in the same district, having for his competitor General Lew. Wallace. After a very animated joint canvass he was elected by a majority of nearly four hundred votes, though the Republican state ticket re- ceived a large majority in that district. Upon this election he served as a member of the Forty-second Congress. As a member of the Committee on Invalid Pensions he performed a great amount of labor, render- ing great service to his disabled comrades by doing per- haps more than any other man to secure the increase of the pensions for the disabled. In 1872 he supported Horace Greeley for the presidency. He was again a candidate for Congress that year, and was defeated by Judge Cason, by a majority of one hundred and ninety- seven votes, though President Grant in that district had over two thousand majority. In 1873 he was appointed a member of the Democratic state central committee, and in 1875 was made chairman, in which capacity he served during the great campaign of 1876, having full control of the interests of the Democratic party in Indi- ana. He did as much or more than any other man to secure the triumph which his party enjoyed in that campaign in this state. He represented the state at large in the national convention at St. Louis, and strongly supported the candidacy of Thomas A. Hen- dricks for the nomination for President, having charge of his headquarters at St. Louis. IIe was one of the number who went to New Orleans after the election to represent Mr. Tilden. As chairman of the Democratic state central committee, he called the convention of the

8th of January, 1877, to consider the duty of the party in the impending political crisis, moderation being rec- ommended by the committee. In 1878 he was elected upon the Democratic ticket to the office of Auditor of State by a majority of over fourteen thousand, and he is now performing the duties of that office with great ability and to the entire satisfaction of the people of the state. General Manson is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, having united with Warren Lodge, Piqua, Ohio, in 1841. He has taken all the degrees, including the Knights Templar and Scottish Rite, to the thirty- second. He was master of Montgomery Lodge, Craw- fordsville, Indiana, for sixteen years; and all the offices in the Grand Lodge of the state have been filled by him, including that of Deputy Grand Master for two years; and he would have been elected to the office of Grand Master in 1861 if he had not gone into the army. He has been a trustee of the city schools of Crawfords- ville, holding the office of treasurer of the board. He has also been a member of the board of trustees of Purdue University, of which body he was for a number of years the president, a position he resigned upon his entering on the duties of Auditor of State. General Manson has traveled extensively, having been in nearly all the states of the Union, and also in Mexico and Canada. He was reared a Methodist, but now enter- tains the faith of the Universalists. He was married, on the 26th of May, 1850, to Miss Caroline Mitchell, of Crawfordsville. Six children, three boys and three girls, have been born to them, the oldest of whom, a daughter, is now dead. Of these children their parents have great reason to be proud. Their lives reflect much credit upon their father'and mother, and indicate the excellent example which has ever been presented in their happy home. Since the war General Manson has spent several years in agricultural pursuits. He has al- ways dignified labor by industriously engaging in it himself. General Manson is a man of commanding presence, tall and of large body, and until disabled by his wound he was a man of strong constitution and great capacity for endurance. His manner is frank and engaging, and he has the invaluable faculty, springing from kindness of heart and goodness of motive, of making all men, whether high or low, feel at home in his presence. Because of these qualities, doubtless, added to his untarnished and unimpeachable record, he in all his candidacies for office has received many votes and much moral support from his political opponents. He is not fastidious in small things, but is noted for the broadness and liberality of his views upon all subjects. He is an eloquent and persuasive orator, commanding the at- tention, convincing the reason, arousing the enthusiasm, and awakening the zeal of his hearers. A brave and gal- lant soldier, a prudent and conscientious statesman, a pub- lic-spirited and patriotic citizen, a faithful and self-deny-

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ing friend, an honest man of business, and a true man in all the relations of life, it is not surprising that he holds a high place in the esteem and affection of the people of his state. He rose from poverty and obscurity to a justly deserved eminence, and the bright light which beats upon his life discloses no flaw in his character. Not by accident or the aid of others, but by honest toil and constant perseverance, through the smoke and blood of battle, he has attained success in life-military glory, political and social popularity, and the love and honor of his fellow-men. Such men as he make all their fel- low-men their debtors.

ARMON, DANIEL W., secretary of the Nor- dyke & Marmon Company, Indianapolis, was born in Logan County, Ohio, October 10, 1844. His father, James W. Marmon, was a practicing physician in Logan County, where he resided until 1846, when he moved to Richmond, Indiana, dying there of cholera in 1849. His wife, Hannah Moffitt, the mother of Daniel W., was the daughter of one of the earliest settlers of Wayne County, Indiana; her grandfather Cox originally entered much of the land where the city of Richmond now stands. She followed her husband to the grave about a month after his death, leaving Daniel bereft of both parents at the early age of five years. The name Marmon is undoubtedly of French origin, being a corruption of Marmont; the maternal branch of the family was of North Carolina extraction, and originally Scotch. Mr. Marmon was brought up by an uncle, and attended the common schools until he was seventeen years of age, when he entered Earlham College, then under the superintend- ency of Walter T. Carpenter, and graduated from that institution in 1865. His natural inclinations were for mechanics, and he found some opportunity for the cul- tivation of his tastes in that direction in the shop of the uncle mentioned above, who was proprietor of a wood-working establishment, in which young Marmon spent much of his time. In February, 1866, but a short time after leaving college, at the solicitation of his friend, Mr. Nordyke, he bought an interest in the firm of E. & A. H. Nordyke, which, in the spring of 1871, was incorporated as the Nordyke & Marmon Company. Mr. Marmon's special province became the designing and construction of machinery, in which branch he soon became remarkably proficient. This had been Mr. Nordyke's department before Mr. Marmon's con- nection with the company, which now consists of Messrs. Nordyke, Marmon, and Hollowell. The name and productions of the company are well and favorably known, not only in the United States, but in the old world as well, where their mills and mill machinery

have been extensively introduced. The establishment stands in the front rank of the industries not only of Indianapolis, but of the state of Indiana, and of the whole West. A brief account of its operation and im- portance will be found under sketches of the other members of the company. In addition to the many and varied appliances for the production of their mill- stones and ponderous mill machinery, they have in the establishment all the paraphernalia for the editing, pub- lishing, and printing of a large sixteen-page paper, The Millstone, an illustrated monthly journal, devoted to milling and mechanical interests, and having for its special object the advancement of practical knowledge in these departments. It was among the pioneer news- papers of its class, and has an extensive circulation in all parts of the American continent. It has been pub- lished by the company since November, 1875. A too close attention to business impaired Mr. Marmon's health somewhat, and in 1878 he resolved to travel in order to recuperate. After a couple of years spent in traveling in Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, and Califor- nia, he found his health fully restored, and again set- tled down to business in Indianapolis. In August, 1870, Mr. Marmon married Miss Elizabeth M. Carpen- ter, the daughter of his old superintendent at Earlham College. They have a family of three children : Walter C., aged eight; Howard C., aged four; and Carrie, now two years old. Mr. Marmon and family are mem- bers of the society of Friends, and politically he is a Republican. Few enterprises of such magnitude are in the hands of men so young, but what is lacking in years is made up in actual business experience, indus- try, and strict attention to every detail of the business, while the financial credit and reputation of the concern is of the highest kind. Personally, Mr. Marmon is a most genial and agreeable gentleman, popular with his associates and employés. He has a quick, active tem- perament, and has the air of a thorough business man.

ANSUR, ISAIAH, banker and real estate oper- ator, of Indianapolis, was born near the old town of Salisbury, Wayne County, Indiana, April 14, 1824. His father, Jeremy Mansur, was a na- tive of New Hampshire, and his mother, Jane (Carr) Mansur, was born in Virginia, but both became identi- fied with the Hoosier State at a very early day. They emigrated to Indiana in 1816 and settled in the county of Wayne, where the subject of this sketch was born. His father combined the occupation of ax-maker with that of farmer, and for years was known through the county as a workman of the highest order. When Isaiah was a little more than a year old, or in 1825, his parents moved from the old settlement in Wayne County

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to Richmond, Indiana. Here his father opened a small [ can scarcely be included among politicians, as he has retail dry-goods and grocery store, and by industry and never been desirous of holding office, giving his entire time and attention to the details of his business, which, in addition to his bank, includes the management of a large amount of real estate, of which he is the owner. He is also the proprietor of three valuable farms in the neighborhood of Indianapolis. Mr. Mansur was mar- ried to his present amiable wife, who was Miss Amelia Brown, on June 25th, 1862. Mrs. Mansur is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They have two chil- dren, Joseph and Cella Mansur. Mr. Mansur is a gentleman of strict business principles ; persistent energy and untiring application have been a part of his stock in trade that has never depreciated. His industry is proverbial, and in all his transactions he is guided by a standard which makes his word as good as his bond. He is widely known as a shrewd, careful, enterprising, and successful man of business. Long after he has passed away his name will be remembered as among the men whose enterprise has made itself felt in shap- ing the business destiny of Indianapolis. Three sisters survive : Mary, widow of Doctor Charles Parry, for- merly of Philadelphia; Clarissa, wife of James C. Fer- guson, of Indianapolis; Sarah J., wife of William S. Reid, pork-packer, of Richmond, Indiana; William Mansur, capitalist, of Indianapolis; and Franklin, who died about 1873. He was also a pork-packer. perseverance and geniality of disposition succeeded in building up a highly successful trade, gradually ac- cumulating a reasonable competency. He continued in trade at Richmond until 1847, when he removed to In- dianapolis and engaged in pork-packing, continuing in that business and also being occupied in farming until his death, which occurred in 1874. His wife still lives in Indianapolis, at the ripe old age of eighty-six, retaining her mental faculties unimpaired. From this brief and imperfect outline of his father's life, some idea can be gathered of the surroundings and early training of Mr. Mansur. He breathed an atmosphere of industry and energy which left an impress upon his character and which has remained through his whole life. His early education was obtained in the public schools and at the Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he finished his studies in 1845. While pursuing his studies at Oxford he was a room-mate and class-mate of the late Senator O. P. Morton, and between the two sprang up a friend- ship that lasted through the life of Mr. Morton. It was largely through Mr. Mansur's assistance that Mr. Morton was enabled to get through college at Oxford, as the latter had little means and no wealthy relatives to aid him. After leaving Oxford Mr. Mansur engaged with his father in the pork-packing business for one season, working at day labor for wages; but, concluding to make the law his profession, he entered the office of Hon. John S. Newman. where he was again associated in his studies with the future Senator Morton. He read ARSH, EPHRAIM, clerk of the Hancock Circuit Court, was born on a farm in Brown Township, Hancock County, June 2, 1845. He is a son of Jonas and Catharine Marsh, honest, reputable people, who enjoyed the esteem of a large circle of friends. His father is of Quaker origin, and removed to Hancock County in December, 1837. By close ap- plication to his studies, Ephraim soon acquired a fair English education, and at the age of twenty he entered Asbury University, at Greencastle, where, in the class of 1870, he graduated with high honors. During his collegiate course he spent one year at Washington City, as clerk in the third auditor's office of the Treasury De- partment, receiving his appointment through the recom- mendation of ex-Governor Hendricks and Judge D. S. Gooding. After graduating at Asbury, he was ap- pointed deputy clerk of the Circuit Court, under Mr. H. A. Swope. While serving in this capacity he also applied himself assiduously to the study of law. In the autumn of 1874 he was elected clerk of the Hancock Circuit Court, and re-elected in 1878. Mr. Marsh is a member of the following secret orders: Knights of Pythias, Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of Odd-fellows, and Ancient Order of United Workmen, joining the same in the following order : February 29, law with Judge Newman for about eighteen months, when his father's failing health compelled his return home to take charge of his business, which had now as- sumed large proportions. He gave his entire attention to his business of pork-packing-then, as now, one of the prominent industries of Indianapolis-for nine years, until, in 1862, he projected and established the Citizens' National Bank of Indianapolis, of which he was made president. He continued in that capacity until 1868, when his connection with that bank ceased, and he im- mediately afterward opened his present private banking house, of which he is still the sole proprietor and man- ager. During the stirring times of the late war Mr. Mansur was appointed commissary-general of the state of Indiana, by his friend and former companion, Governor Morton, and rendered faithful and valuable services to the cause of the Union, feeding the soldiers in camp at Indianapolis on his own credit when there was not a dollar in the state treasury for this purpose. He had always been a zealous supporter of Mr. Morton, whom he urged to make his first race for Lieutenant-governor, and their intimate personal friendship was only closed by the Senator's death. Mr. Mansur has always been a consistent member of the Republican party, although he

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1872, Knights of Pythias; 1873, Free and Accepted Masons; 1874, Independent Order of Odd-fellows; 1878, Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has been Mas- ter for two years in the Free and Accepted Masons, and Past Chancellor in the Knights of Pythias. He is also a Thirty-second Indiana Consistory S. P. R., and a member of Keystone Chapter of the Masons of Indianapo- lis, and Raper Commandery. He married, February 9, 1871, Miss Matilda J. Brewer, daughter of Garrett Brewer, of Franklin. Mr. Marsh is a courteous gentle- man. He is a steadfast Democrat. His hospitable bear- ing has made him many warm friends, who speak of him in terms of the profoundest respect. As an officer, he is efficient and attentive, and has the utmost confidence of his constituents. He intends to make the profession of law his life calling, and is bending every energy to the acquisition of legal knowledg

ETCALF, CHARLES N., M. D., was born in Herkimer County, New York, April 25, 1846. His early life was spent on a farm, where he en- gaged in the multifarious duties incident to such a career. He was a lover of hilarity and amusement, and joined with great vigor in the gay and athletic sports to which his situation gave him access. To this life of freedom in the pure air and blessed sunlight the Doc- tor is largely indebted for his vigorous physical powers as well as strong mental endowments. His education in boyhood was furnished by the country schools of his locality. However, he made good use of the means at hand, and was noted for his success in the acquisition of knowledge. By the time he was eleven years old he was deprived of parents. Thus early in life he was left to his own counsel, and to make his own way in this cold world without the kind and sympathetic words of a mother or the advice and counsel of a father. But he was not discouraged or daunted. He had set his mark high, and pushed steadily and persistently on to his coveted goal, namely, the study and practice of med- icine. He had made up his mind in his boyhood days to practice the healing art as soon as he became a man. When of sufficient age he entered Fairfield Academy, at Fairfield, New York, and began a literary course of study, from which he graduated in due course of time. He next turned his attention to the study of the heal- ing art, entering the Medical Department of Michigan University, at Ann Arbor. Here he graduated with high honors, and removed directly to Eaton Rapids, in the same state, beginning the practice of his profession. From the very outset Doctor Metcalf showed himself to be peculiarly endowed for his chosen profession, and in consequence he attained a success seldom met with in young physicians. He remained in this place for three

years, when he removed to Indianapolis, his present home. He was married to Miss M. C. Montgomery, of Eaton Rapids, in 1877, securing a wife of rare mental capacity. Doctor Metcalf's standing in his profession, in that city, is of a high order. He is a member of the regular school, and applies himself with marked zeal to the utmost detail in his profession. He is an honored member of the Independent Order of Odd-fellows and Free and Accepted Masons. He was nominated by the Democracy of Marion County for coroner in 1878, but, the county being largely Republican, he was, of course, defeated. His bearing is courteous and affable, and he numbers his friends by the score. He is a man of gen- erous impulses and great sympathy for the lowly and down-trodden, and therefore takes great pleasure in al- leviating pain and distress. This fact alone makes him attentive to his patients, and urges him to do all in his power in their behalf. He has large perceptive powers, and is certainly very proficient in the diagnosis of dis- ease, which is so important in the practice of medicine. Although a young man, Doctor Metcalf has a large and increasing practice, and the present foretells a prosper- ous future for him as a professional and business man. He deserves success, and will get it, for he has fought many a hard battle with adversity, raising himself from humble obscurity to a position of prominence.

ARTIN, AUGUSTUS N., reporter of the Supreme Court of Indiana, was born on the twenty-third day of March, 1847, on his father's farm, near Whitestown, Butler County, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest child of John and Eveline W. Martin. His parents were born in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Robert Martin and his wife, the grand-parents in the paternal line, were from the north of Ireland, emigrated to the United States in the last decade of the eighteenth century, and were the parents of five sons and two daughters-John, the father of Augustus N., being the fourth child. John Martin married Eveline White, whose ancestry, the Whites and Sullivans, were inhab- itants of the colonies before the Revolutionary War, some of the males serving as soldiers in General Wash- ington's army. John Martin was auditor of his native county, it being the only office ever sought for or held by him. All of the ancestors above named were Pres- byterians in religion. Augustus N. Martin, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the common schools; in the Witherspoon Institute, an academy of learning at Butler, Pennsylvania; and in Eastman's College, at Poughkeepsie, New York. On the third day of July, 1863, when but little past sixteen years of age, he enlisted in Company I, 58th Regiment Pennsyl- vania Militia, serving with them until discharged with

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the regiment, having assisted in capturing General John Morgan and his command, near Salineville, Ohio. Again, on the twenty-third day of February, 1865, be- fore attaining the age of eighteen years, he enlisted in Company E, 78th Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Vol- unteers, which was then in the command of General George H. Thomas, and served until discharged, on the thirtieth day of August, 1865, at Nashville, Ten- nessee. He taught three terms in the common schools, using the proceeds of his labor to continue his edu- cation. He left his father's house, to " paddle his own canoe," on the twenty-third day of March, 1868, being the day on which he attained his majority, and work- ing on the farm and in a saw-mill and teaching school by turns, as he wended his way westward through Ohio, he reached Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the eighteenth day of June, 1869. Thence he found his way to Ossian, Wells County, Indiana, and during that summer and fall occupied himself at labor on the farm and railroad until the third day of November, 1869, when he commenced the study of law with the firm of Messrs. Todd & Shinn, in Bluffton, Wells County, Indiana. In 1871 he entered on the practice of the profession, in which he continued with great success, and without intermission, except during the winter of 1874-75, until the twelfth day of December, 1876, when he removed to Indianapolis. Mr. Martin was elected a member of the General As- sembly in 1874, by the district composed of the counties of Adams and Wells, and was one of the most industri- ous members of that body, being chairman of the House Committee on Corporations, and being second on the Committees on the Judiciary and Organization of Courts. Hon. David Turpie, speaker of the House,

recognized in Mr. Martin one of the most reliable and efficient members on the Democratic side of the House. On the nineteenth day of April, 1876, Mr. Martin was nominated by the Democratic state convention, after a sharp contest, for the position of Supreme Court re- porter, which he now holds, and, together with the rest of the Democratic ticket, headed by Hon. James D. Williams, was elected in October, 1876. He ran largely ahead of his ticket in his own county of Wells, and stood among the foremost on the total vote in the state. On the twelfth day of January, 1877, he entered on the discharge of the duties, succeeding Colonel James B. Black, who had held the office for eight years. This office had been filled by such able men as Colonel Black, General Benjamin Harrison, Hon. Michael C. Kerr, Hon. Albert G. Porter, Major Gordon Tanner, and Judge Isaac Blackford. Mr. Martin has so discharged his duties as to merit and retain the good will and respect of the Supreme Bench, and of the bench and bar gen- erally throughout the state. He was renominated by acclamation by the Democratic State Convention held at Indianapolis, June 9, 1880. He has all his life been, and now is, a close student. He was married, on the 18th of November, 1872, to Rachel J., youngest daughter of Nelson Kellogg, Esq., of Bluffton, Indiana. Homer A. Martin, their only child, died at Bluffton on the third day of April, 1875. In personal appearance, Mr. Mar- tin is prepossessing, dignified, and courteous, over six feet in height, of slender build, and has the clear com- plexion, gray eyes, and glossy, black, curling hair so often seen in those of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Martin is yet young, and the future undoubtedly has in store for him the success due to earnest and honest endeavor.

END OF FIRST VOLUME.

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A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 122

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1038

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038